Isolated town in northern border region

Du Ming paced back and forth in the study seventeen or eighteen times.

He was woken up from his bed by the steward. When he ran to the front hall in his outer robe, he saw Ma Gui standing outside the threshold with someone on his back, followed by two women covered in dirt.

Du Ming felt his heart skip a beat.

"Your Highness?"

His voice was trembling.

"How come you...?"

Xiao Lie lay on Ma Gui's back, weakly lifting his eyelids.

"Lord Du, could you lend me a place to hide for a few days?"

Du Ming's lips trembled for a long time before he finally welcomed the person in and even vacated the most secluded guest room in the mansion.

Peng Xuan came to visit the next evening.

Du Ming was discussing things with Xiao Lie when the butler rushed in in a panic.

"My lord! Governor Peng has surrounded the government office with his troops!"

Du Ming paused for a moment, then stood up and straightened his clothes.

Xiao Lie leaned against the headboard, his voice very soft.

"Lord Du, can you handle it?"

Du Ming glanced at Xiao Lie's pale face.

"Your Highness, rest assured, I may not have many other skills, but I do know how to play dumb."

Outside the government office gate, Peng Xuan rode on horseback, followed by a squad of fully armed soldiers.

He saw Du Ming come out and gave a cold smile.

"Lord Du, I heard that yesterday someone saw a group of江湖人 (jianghu people) delivering three men in military uniforms to your residence?"

Du Ming cupped his hands in greeting.

"The governor's information network is quite good. However, there are gifts sent to people, but no one in military uniform."

Peng Xuan narrowed his eyes.

"Lord Du, this Commander-in-Chief is acting on imperial orders!"

"If you are harboring a wanted criminal..."

Du Ming raised his head.

"General, I am the Prefect of Bingzhou."

"You've led troops to surround my government office; do you have an imperial edict?"

Peng Xuan choked for a moment. Du Ming's tone was flat.

"Without an imperial edict, you led your troops to surround the prefectural government office?"

"Could it be that the governor is colluding with rebels and plotting a rebellion?"

"If word gets out, isn't Governor Peng afraid the Censorate will impeach you?"

"My Du family values ​​etiquette and moral principles above all else. Although most of our members hold official positions in the Ministry of Rites, we are not without talent in the Censorate!"

Peng Xuan's face turned pale and then red, and finally he gritted his teeth.

"Very well, I will wait outside the city."

"Lord Du, you'd better not give this governor any leverage over you."

He turned his horse around and rode away with his men.

Du Ming stood there, watching the group of people disappear into the distance, his back already soaked with cold sweat.

He turned and walked quickly back to his guest room, only letting out a long sigh of relief after closing the door.

"Your Highness, Peng Xuan has temporarily withdrawn."

"But hiding like this isn't a solution. If Peng Xuan reports this to His Majesty, he might actually send troops to search the residence!"

Xiao Lie leaned against the headboard.

"How many days can we delay?"

Du Ming thought for a moment.

"At most five days, from Bingzhou to Kyoto, the fastest round trip is five days!"

Xiao Lie nodded.

That's enough.

He turned to look at Tie Muyun, who was standing in the corner.

"Iron Girl, bring out the late emperor's edict."

Tie Muyun paused for a moment, then took out the roll of bright yellow brocade from his pocket and handed it over with both hands.

Xiao Lie took it, unfolded it, and the late emperor's blood-written letter gleamed with a dark luster under the candlelight.

He looked at it for a long time, then put down the secret decree and remained silent for a while.

"I only just learned that my father left behind such a will."

"With this imperial edict in hand, even if I lead my troops to crush the capital, it will be perfectly justified!"

Du Ming craned his neck to look at the blood-written letter, and his eyes widened upon seeing its contents.

[Xiao Mu's regicide is an unforgivable crime, but for the sake of the Great Chu, he will be spared for now. If Xiao Mu is virtuous, then we will serve him; if he is not virtuous, then for the sake of the people, we will execute the tyrannical ruler and help Crown Prince Xiao Lie ascend the throne.]

"His Majesty the present... actually... actually..."

"You're not a human being!"

"Such a tyrannical ruler deserves to be punished by everyone!"

The Du family has always upheld the principles of propriety and social order, so Xiao Lie was not surprised at all by Du Ming's reaction.

As for the authenticity of the will?

The imperial edict was written on bright yellow cloth reserved for emperors, and the handwriting was also the late emperor's own, with his personal seal also on it.

Putting these three things together, even if Xiao Lie said it was fake, Du Ming didn't believe it!

Du Ming suddenly knelt down on the ground.

"Your Highness, I humbly request that you raise an army, execute the tyrannical ruler, and restore order to the nation!"

"Your Majesty, I will write home immediately. When Your Highness's army approaches the capital, my entire Du family will act as your inside agents!"

Xiao Lie shook his head.

"Raising an army is the worst possible strategy."

"Besides, if I wanted to raise an army, I would have done so long ago."

"When war breaks out, the people suffer greatly."

"It's nothing more than a matter for our Xiao family; why make things difficult for the common people?"

He looked up and gazed out the window.

"Moreover, the antidote for the Soldier's Powder is still in the hands of the Chu Emperor."

"If I were to raise an army directly, those brothers in the Panlong Guard who are being controlled would never be able to be saved."

"The Chu Emperor will definitely destroy those antidotes before everything is destroyed."

He turned to look at Du Ming.

"Lord Du, please make a copy of the imperial edict for me, and also make a rubbing of the late emperor's personal seal."

"Send it to the capital by express courier."

Du Ming was stunned.

"Send it to the capital? Wouldn't that be directly telling that tyrannical emperor..."

Xiao Lie looked at him.

"That's exactly what we need to tell him!"

"Let him know that I can pull him off the throne at any time!"

"Then I will send someone to inform the powerful families of Yongzhou, and instruct them to take action in the court."

"I want Qingzhou, Yongzhou, and Bingzhou!"

"And the antidote for Bingyongsan."

Du Ming gasped.

"Your Highness, these conditions..."

"Isn't that asking for too much?"

Xiao Lie rolled up the secret decree again and handed it to Tie Muyun.

"Do you think the Chu Emperor will agree?"

Tie Muyun shook his head.

"Is the Chu Emperor that stupid?"

"The Great Chu only has thirteen provinces. The five northern provinces are already in the hands of the Prince. If he were to give up Qingzhou, Yongzhou, and Bingzhou, what kind of emperor would he be?"

"What emperor would give away half the country?"

Xiao Lie did not answer, but instead began reciting poetry while swaying his head.

"Beyond the mountains, green hills rise; beyond the towers, more towers stand. When will the songs and dances of West Lake cease?"

"The warm breeze makes tourists drunk, and they mistake Hangzhou for Bianzhou."

"Of the three continents, my prestige in Qingzhou goes without saying, and Yongzhou is practically already in my hands..."

"In the eyes of the Chu Emperor, it was nothing more than exchanging a few factories in Bingzhou for a secure throne."

"He'll definitely do this deal!"

Before the copy of the secret edict was delivered to the capital, news of the Yongzhou aristocratic families had already spread.

Wang Shouchang, the patriarch of the Wang family, sat in his main hall, holding a secret letter sent from Bingzhou in his hand.

After reading it, he remained silent for a long time before handing the letter to the head of the Li family next to him.

"Take a look."

The head of the Li family took it and read it, and remained silent for a long time afterward.

Wang Shoucheng spoke.

"Back then at the literary gathering in Yongzhou, the prince kept talking about acting for the sake of all the people, and at first I didn't believe him..."

He paused.

"Now it seems that His Highness is serious."

"Even with the imperial edict in hand, he didn't want the people to suffer the ravages of war. His magnanimity... I admire him!"

"That's the highest position in the land!"

The head of the Li family put down the letter.

"Grandpa Wang, how should we choose?"

Wang Shoucheng stood up and walked to the window.

"Our roots are already planted in the industrial chain in northern Xinjiang; we have no other choice."

He turned around.

"Pass down the order: all members of the Wang family in the court should be mobilized."

The copy of the imperial edict reached the hands of the Chu people on the evening of the third day.

On the second day in the imperial court.

Several officials from Yongzhou stepped forward almost simultaneously, and someone asked a question.

Who was the imperial physician who accompanied the late emperor on his deathbed? Why was he subsequently executed?

Someone responded.

"I consulted the old records and found that three days before the late emperor fell ill, a special person delivered a tonic from the capital."

Someone subtly raised the issue.

"Is that prescription still on file at the Imperial Medical Academy?"

The hall was completely silent.

Emperor Chu sat on the dragon throne, looking at the officials who had stepped forward, and finally understood the weight of that imperial edict!

It's not just a will, it's a switch.

Once someone takes control, the entire court will begin to crumble.

He began to unpack the "suggestions" listed in the secret edict, one by one.

Qingzhou, Yongzhou, Bingzhou...

He has already lost five states in the northern frontier. If he loses three more, he will only have five states left of the thirteen states of the Great Chu.

What made him even more uneasy was the last sentence of that secret decree.

"If Your Majesty wishes to govern the world with virtue and wisdom, then the late Emperor's edict is just that—an edict."

That was a way out that Xiao Lie left him, but it was also a noose around his neck!

If he is not "virtuous," the noose will tighten until it strangles him on the throne.

The connections between the prominent families of Yongzhou began to take effect.

First, several censors jointly submitted a memorial demanding a thorough investigation into the cause of the late emperor's death. Then, several officials from the Ministry of War began to "inadvertently" mention "the movements of the late emperor's former subordinates in the northern frontier." Finally, even someone from the Ministry of Rites stood up and said something.

Did the late emperor leave any last words before his death?

These words were like a drop of water falling into boiling oil, and the court erupted in chaos.

The Chu Emperor sat on the dragon throne, feeling as if the chair was a piece of ice that was slowly cracking.

He finally gave in.

On the day the imperial edict was drafted, he sat in his study and read the copy of the secret edict again. Then he closed his eyes and said something to the eunuch beside him.

"Send it over."

"Send over the formula for the Heart Source Inducer as well."

After the eunuch received the decree and withdrew, Emperor Chu sat alone in the empty imperial study, watching the sky gradually darken outside the window. After a long while, he spoke a few words in a very soft voice.

"Brother, I am inferior to you... I admit it!"

"But now, I can't even control my own nephew!"

When the imperial edict was delivered to Bingzhou, Xu De also arrived.

In the guest room of Du Ming's residence, Xu De squatted by Xiao Lie's bedside, and his expression changed slightly after taking his pulse.

"Your Highness, your meridians have been sealed quite thoroughly."

"But... thankfully, that person didn't kill him."

Xiao Lie leaned against the headboard and smiled.

"Is there a solution?"

Xu De didn't even look up.

"Yes, but it will hurt for a few days."

Xiao Lie closed his eyes.

"Let's begin."

"Oh, by the way, is Mo Shu also a member of your medical family?"

Xu De sighed and slowly began to speak.

"Mo Shu is my martial uncle..."

"They originally followed the late emperor, but after his death, they were never heard from again."

Xiao Lie frowned.

"He's clearly a doctor, yet he created such an evil substance as 'Bingyong San'!"

"Fine, you go first."

Xu De's hands were very steady.

The silver needles are inserted into the acupoints very quickly, and each needle lands precisely on the node of the meridian.

Xiao Lie could feel a warm current spreading from his chest, like the ice on a river that had been frozen for a whole winter beginning to crack. Pain surged up from all over his body, but the pain was not sharp; it was more like the labor pains of puberty.

Xu De wiped the sweat from his forehead as he finished the acupuncture.

"The meridians are open."

"But you're too depleted; you need a medicinal bath to replenish your energy."

He took a prescription out of his pocket and handed it over.

"This is the body-tempering formula from the 'Archery Manual,' which comes in handy."

"Your Highness, you should soak in the water for a few days."

The medicinal bath water is dark brown, and when the steam rises, it carries a spicy herbal aroma.

Xiao Lie sat in the bathtub, the water reaching above his chest, and could feel the medicinal power seeping into his bones through his pores.

Five days later, when Xiao Lie stood up from the bathtub, he could feel that his hands were clenched tightly.

He clenched his fist, his knuckles making a crisp sound, and went out into the yard to stretch his muscles. His knuckles cracked and popped, like a chain being tightened again.

Xu De sat on the veranda drinking tea and glanced at him.

"Your Highness, you are in better health now than before you went to Wolf-Looking Mountain."

Xiao Lie stretched his shoulders.

"Then I must thank you, Your Majesty the Imperial Physician."

Xu De rolled his eyes and didn't reply.

When Xiao Lie changed his clothes and walked out of the courtyard, Le Duo was already waiting outside.

He saw Xiao Lie stride out, his eyes reddening.

"Your Highness, you..."

Xiao Lie patted him on the shoulder.

"A man several feet tall, don't do this."

"Let's go, it's time to settle accounts with Peng Xuan."

Peng Xuan was captured in his own tent. He was still asleep when the soldiers of the Trapped Camp rushed in, and he was stunned when he saw Xiao Lie standing at the tent entrance.

"You...how could you...?"

Xiao Lie walked in, picked up the seal on the table, and glanced at it.

"Governor Peng, you colluded with rebels and murdered a prince. Will you confess yourself, or will I confess on your behalf?"

Peng Xuan's lips trembled for a long time.

"His Majesty will not let you off the hook."

Xiao Lie put the seal back on the table.

"Do you think he'll admit he ordered you to do it?"

He tossed the seal to Ledo behind him.

"Take him away and, according to the law, escort him to the capital and hand him over to the Emperor of Chu for processing."

After Peng Xuan was taken away, Xiao Lie stood at the entrance of the camp, looking at the distant, rolling mountain shadows.

"Order the northern frontier to deploy troops to Qingzhou, Yongzhou, and Bingzhou."

Ledo clasped his hands in a fist salute.

"This subordinate will take care of it immediately."

Xiao Lie added a sentence.

"Qingzhou is to be handed over to Xiao Xiong; there are horse farms there that need someone to keep an eye on them."

"If Yongzhou is handed over to Luo Daniu, his unruly nature will be just right to keep those aristocratic families in check."

"Bingzhou was handed over to Shen Chongyuan, who was tasked with understanding the local resources, using the new army's weapon-making factories as a base."

Ledo noted everything down, then accepted the order and left.

When the news reached the northern frontier, Zhou Xun was arguing with the Fifth and Sixth Princes.

After hearing the message, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Your Highness has finally returned."

After dismissing the messengers, Zhou Xun stood up and bowed to the Fifth Prince and the Sixth Prince.

"Your Highnesses, if you wish to see the King of the Northern Frontier, you may go to Bingzhou!"

"If you are unwilling, I will send someone to escort you both back to the capital on behalf of the Prince!"

The Fifth Prince Xiao Jin and the Sixth Prince Xiao Ye looked at each other in bewilderment.

No? Xiao Lie just came back to life so openly and honestly?

What should we do about Father's decree?

The Fifth Prince, Xiao Jin, slammed his fist on the table in a huff.

"Hmph! I will return to the capital myself; my brother need not trouble himself!"

The sixth prince rolled his eyes and bowed to Zhou Xun.

"Mr. Zhou, I wonder... if I could stay in the northern frontier and do some work for Brother Wang?"