I can only beat noobs.

Chapter 263 The only chance

Chen Ming finally became interested and asked, "What is the identity of that important person? How dare they get involved in such a matter?"

Gu Yuyin, who was outside the door, did not answer directly, but instead asked, "Little sister, may I come in?"

"can."

The door opened, and Gu Yuyin, dressed in her finest attire, walked in, smiling sweetly, "Seventh Brother, why don't you come with me and find out?"

I hate riddle-solving people the most.

Chen Ming thought to himself, but said aloud, "Since it is an important person who has invited me, how can I make things difficult for my sister?"

"Consider it a favor that Little Sister owes Seventh Brother."

Gu Yuyin breathed a sigh of relief. She had volunteered to come and invite this Seventh Brother; it would have been difficult to explain if she hadn't succeeded.

"Let's go."

……

A banquet was being held in a garden within the Duke's mansion, attended by many noble ladies, all of whom were the daughters of the eldest daughters.

This banquet is to entertain a noble person from the palace.

After entering the garden, Chen Ming saw a group of beautiful women in the pavilion and felt a bit of a headache.

He could tell at a glance which one was the important person Gu Yuyin had mentioned. She was a girl of about seventeen or eighteen years old, wearing a bright yellow dress, looking elegant and noble. She was beautiful and had a grand and dignified appearance.

She stood out among the group of women; the others, surrounding her, were clearly supporting characters.

"Seventh Brother, come quickly and pay your respects to the Princess."

Beside that woman stood a beautiful woman in a lake-green dress, who was also extremely beautiful, but she was still overshadowed by the woman in yellow.

This person is Gu Yurong, the legitimate daughter of the Duke's mansion.

So it was the eldest princess!

Chen Ming suddenly realized what was happening and stepped forward to pay his respects, "Gu Xianyu greets the Princess!"

"No gift."

The eldest princess sized him up and praised, "Just as rumored, Young Master Gu is handsome and has an extraordinary air about him. No wonder he could..."

"Cough cough."

Gu Yurong, who was standing to the side, suddenly coughed twice, reminding her not to mention that name.

The eldest princess smiled slightly, knowing her concerns, and said no more, "It's getting late, I should return to the palace."

The rest of the people naturally saw the princess off.

Chen Ming bowed in response, feeling somewhat bewildered. Why was he called over and then just left like that?
What does this mean?

At this moment, Gu Yuyin tugged at his sleeve, signaling him to follow.

Chen Ming followed her out of the garden, and after several twists and turns, they left the Duke's mansion through a side gate. They waited at a spot in an alley.

After a while, sure enough, a luxury car drove up and stopped by the roadside.

A pretty palace maid opened the carriage door and bowed, saying, "Young Master Gu, please get in."

Chen Ming then boarded the carriage, but Gu Yuyin did not follow.

It seems that the princess had something important to discuss with him in private.

Inside the carriage, only the eldest princess was scrutinizing him with a critical gaze, and solemnly asked, "Gu Xianyu, do you know why I summoned you here?"

He lowered his head and said, "I don't know."

The eldest princess suddenly chuckled, "She said you are a hero, a rare and outstanding individual. I really can't see that at all."

Chen Ming said calmly, "In this world, strength matters. With my status and strength, there's nothing I can do. If I dare to mention her, my father can throw me to the frontier and I'll never be able to come back."

The eldest princess scoffed, "So, you want to accumulate strength and wait until the Duke of Jing's mansion can no longer control you before snatching the person back? That wouldn't be the act of a reckless fool, would it?"

He raised his head and said angrily, "If the Princess summoned me here to humiliate me, then I shall take my leave."

After saying that, he turned around and left.

"I'm not that leisurely. Do you want to know how to win back your beloved?"

He turned around abruptly, "Your Highness is not joking, is he? The imperial decree to summon her to the palace has already been issued."

The eldest princess asked, "Do you know why your brother insists on marrying the woman you love?"

"I don't know."

"Actually, my brother is not fond of beautiful women. Since ascending the throne, he has been extremely diligent. Of the three thousand beauties in the harem, he only has one empress and two concubines."

The eldest princess sighed and said, "My brother's idea to make Xia Mudan a concubine is actually for the sake of the Prince of Yan."

"King Yan?"

Chen Ming was somewhat puzzled. There weren't many princes in the Great Jin Dynasty because by the second generation, their titles would gradually be downgraded. Prince Zhenhai, who was adopted out of the family, was an exception.

The status of a typical nobleman depended on how close he was to the emperor.

Is this Prince of Yan an exception?
The eldest princess said, "The Prince of Yan is from the same generation as my grandfather. One year, the four northeastern kingdoms invaded the border, and the border army suffered a great defeat. It was the Prince of Yan who rallied the remaining troops and fought against the enemy. He even single-handedly defeated the enemy army. It was after that battle that my grandfather granted the Prince of Yan the special authority to lead troops."

There's also this story.

Chen Ming understood. This Prince of Yan not only had high prestige and immense power, but also commanded troops. He was a powerful local figure!
The emperor wanted to win over the Prince of Yan by making his granddaughter a concubine.

To be honest, the current emperor of the Jin Dynasty is in a rather awkward situation.

The Empress Dowager was extremely powerful, and crucially, the Emperor was not her biological son. Rumors circulated that the Emperor had been ruling in his own right for over a decade, and while the Empress Dowager claimed she no longer interfered in politics, the court remained under her shadow.

Chen Ming hadn't paid much attention to politics before, and he would just listen to such rumors without taking them to heart.

In retrospect, this rumor was not without merit.

So, the major defeat in northern Xinjiang last year might have been related to the power struggle between these two.

It was only natural for the emperor to win over the powerful Prince Yan, a member of the imperial clan, in order to consolidate his power.

Chen Ming said, "Since the emperor wants to win over the Prince of Yan, he is even less likely to give up."

The eldest princess smiled slightly, "Normally speaking, that is indeed the case. But it's not that there's no chance. The Ghost Festival banquet in twenty days from now will be your only chance."

"Please enlighten me, Your Highness."

"The Mid-Autumn Festival banquet will invite members of the imperial family and sons of nobles to participate. Anyone under the age of thirty can perform on stage. There is a rule at this banquet that the winner can ask the emperor for a reward in person."

"..."

Chen Ming never expected that she would come up with such a solution.

If someone were to tell the emperor, in front of all the civil and military officials and nobles, "I want your concubine," they would probably be taken away on the spot and executed by slow slicing.

He looked at the princess with suspicion. "I've heard that Your Highness and the Emperor are born of the same mother..."

Why come up with such a terrible idea?

If he really did that, would the emperor agree or disagree?
If the emperor agrees, he will truly become a laughingstock.

If I don't agree, I'll be criticized.

No matter what you do, you'll eventually find yourself in an awkward situation.

Does she have a grudge against the emperor?

The eldest princess said, "You don't need to worry. I did this for the good of my brother."

She didn't explain further, only saying, "This is your only chance. If you really want to win back your beloved, then win the championship at the Ghost Festival banquet."

Taking the opportunity, Chen Ming said, "With my strength, I'm afraid it will be difficult for me to win the championship. Since Your Highness is willing to give me some pointers, why not go all the way and do me a favor?"

The princess frowned slightly, seemingly displeased with his overstepping boundaries, and asked, "What kind of help?"

Chen Ming said, "These past few days, I've been in the Heavenly Prison, sparring with the second-rank prisoners there, and I feel I've made great progress. It's just a pity that my token doesn't have enough authority to find a first-rank prisoner."

The princess stared at him for a while, then said, "You can leave now."

"Yes."

Chen Ming was not disappointed; the fact that she didn't refuse on the spot meant there was still a chance.

……

Chen Ming got off the carriage and found that it was already dark. The streets were unfamiliar, and he had no idea where he was.

There wasn't a single pedestrian on the street.

There was a curfew in the inner city of the capital; once it got dark, no one was allowed to go out. You couldn't even find anyone to ask for directions.

He was just thinking about asking his colleagues from the Six Doors patrolling the city for directions when he saw Gu Yuyin appear at the street corner and wave at him.

"This younger sister is quite considerate."

Chen Ming walked over and followed her back to the Duke of Jingguo's mansion.

Along the way, they encountered several groups of constables from the Six Doors patrolling the city. After ascertaining the two men's names and backgrounds, they released them without causing them any trouble.

After all, they are from the Duke of Jingguo's mansion.

Gu Yuyin didn't ask him what he and the princess had talked about until they returned home and entered through the back door before they parted ways.

Chen Ming returned to the courtyard and was met with Gu Zhengshan's sharp gaze. "Where did Seventh Brother go?"

He said dejectedly, "Yu Yin forcibly dragged me to see a distinguished person, but we left without saying a word. I don't know the way, and I wandered around for ages before finally finding a servant to ask for directions before I could come back."

Gu Zhengshan clearly still had doubts in his heart, and said, "Next time, I should go with you."

"I should have taken Fifth Brother with me. It's getting late, I'm going back to my room to practice my skills."

After Chen Ming finished speaking, he returned to his room and took out the visualization diagram to practice.

……

The next morning, Chen Ming went out in his usual car.

Upon arriving at the prison, he discovered that he was being received by a first-rank official in purple robes.

The woman in purple robes looked him up and down and asked, "Are you Gu Xianyu from the Duke of Jingguo's mansion?"

Chen Ming said respectfully, "It is indeed your subordinate. May I ask what your orders are, sir?"

The man laughed heartily, "Since we're on the same side, there's no need for formalities. From now on, you can use this token to interrogate any prisoner you want. Entering the third level is no problem either. This was specifically ordered by His Highness."

The Eldest Princess!
Chen Ming was overjoyed. "Thank you, sir."

The man continued, "His Highness specifically instructed me to protect you in case you get hurt. Although those first-rank martial artists are imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison, no one knows what other hidden methods they may have. We must be careful."

"Your Highness is very thoughtful. In that case, I will trouble you, sir."

"We are all doing things for His Highness."

(End of this chapter)