Isolated town in northern border region

As soon as the carriage entered the capital region, Xiao Lie sensed that something was amiss.

The ridges between the fields on both sides of the official road were crowded with people. Some held up banners they had made themselves, while others held their children and stood on tiptoe to look around.

Xiao Lie sat on his horse, looking puzzled.

"When did I acquire such renown beyond the northern borders?"

Jiang Min sat in the carriage, lifted the curtain, held a book in her hand, and had a slight smile on her lips.

"His Highness's deeds have already spread throughout the land!"

"Could it be that the seasoned King of the Northern Frontier is actually feeling intimidated?"

Xiao Lie stood ramrod straight, his body rising and falling with the horse's hooves.

"I'm not nervous, I just feel a bit unaccustomed to it."

"When I left the capital last time, I was in a very sorry state!"

Jiang Min did not refute.

"Everything we have today was earned by Your Highness's own hands!"

Xiao Lie remained silent as the distant outline of the city wall gradually became clearer in the morning mist…

We've arrived in Kyoto!

The city gates were wide open, and people crowded on both sides of the gates.

There were merchants in brocade robes, farmers carrying hoes, women holding children, elderly people with white hair, and children perched on their fathers' shoulders, peering out at the street.

The entire street, stretching from the city gate all the way to the palace gate, was completely packed with people.

Xiao Lie dismounted, took the reins, and led the way, walking at the head of the group.

He wore a plain-colored python robe, with a Northern Frontier Taiping sword at his waist, and his boots made a steady sound as they stepped on the bluestone slabs.

The morning light fell on his shoulder, casting a straight shadow behind him, like a flagpole planted in the ground.

The people on both sides were silent for a moment when they saw him, and then, like a pot of water being boiled, all sorts of voices rushed up at the same time.

An old man shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Your Highness! You're finally back!"

The person next to him chimed in.

"Your Highness! How are the crops growing in the northern frontier?"

Someone shouted.

"Your Highness! You really married the Princess of Jing?"

Some people, holding children, pushed their way forward, trying to get a clear look at Xiao Lie's face.

Jiang Min sat in the carriage and peeked out from behind a corner of the curtain. The noise outside had grown even louder.

Someone pointed in her direction and shouted.

"That's Princess Minyue! The most talented woman in the world!"

"The prince has married the most talented woman in the land; the literary tradition of our Chu Kingdom is about to flourish!"

Xiao Lie paused upon hearing the shout, glanced at the carriage, then turned back and continued walking.

"What does my marriage to the most talented woman in the land have to do with the literary tradition of the Chu Kingdom?!"

At the palace gate, the Imperial Guards lined up on both sides, with a captain in heavy armor at the head.

He stepped forward and blocked Xiao Lie's path.

"Your Highness, according to palace rules, weapons are not permitted when entering the palace..."

Xiao Lie rested his hand on his sword.

"Hmph! I have fought countless battles, and no one has ever dared to lay a hand on my blade!"

The Imperial Guard captain looked troubled, but could only cup his hands and say.

"Your Highness, please don't make things difficult for me..."

Before he could finish speaking, a series of hurried footsteps came from inside the palace gate.

A red-robed eunuch rushed out, carrying a bright yellow imperial edict in his hands.

He ran up to Xiao Lie, unfolded the imperial edict, and read it aloud.

"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Xiao Lie, the King of the Northern Frontier, has restored the five prefectures of the Northern Frontier and stabilized the three prefectures of Qing, Yong and Bing, for which his merits are invaluable to the nation."

"He was granted special permission to wear a sword and shoes in the palace, and to not bow before the emperor."

After reading it aloud, the eunuch closed the imperial edict and stepped back.

"Your Highness, His Majesty is waiting for you in the Imperial Garden."

Xiao Lie glanced at the Taiping sword at his waist and then at the eunuch.

"The Imperial Garden?"

The eunuch nodded.

"His Majesty said that there are only emperor and his ministers in the court, while uncles and nephews are in the imperial garden, where it is easier to talk."

Xiao Lie didn't ask any more questions and stepped into the palace gate. Jiang Min followed behind him, while Xu De carried the medicine box at the very back.

The Imperial Garden was much quieter than Xiao Lie remembered.

He lived in the Eastern Palace in the capital for more than ten years and had walked every path in the Imperial Garden, but he had never walked into this place in the light of an autumn evening.

A man sat in the pavilion, dressed in ordinary dark clothes, not wearing a dragon robe. Two cups of tea were still steaming on the table.

The man looked up at Xiao Lie when he heard footsteps, and Xiao Lie also saw the face clearly.

A year had passed, and Emperor Xiao Mu of Chu had aged considerably compared to his memory. His temples were now gray, and the wrinkles around his eyes were several deeper than when they last met.

Xiao Mu picked up his teacup, took a sip, and then put it down, his voice calm.

"Lie'er, you're here."

Xiao Lie stopped opposite him.

"Nephew...pays respects to Imperial Uncle."

The Chu Emperor looked at him.

"A trip to northern Xinjiang has made me look much stronger!"

"Sit down quickly."

Xiao Lie did not sit down; he looked into the eyes of the Chu Emperor.

"His Majesty has aged considerably from living in the deep palace for so long..."

The Chu Emperor shook his head with a wry smile.

"Every single gray hair on my head, isn't it all for you?"

Xiao Lie sat down smugly.

"Your Majesty summoned me here not just for tea, could it?"

The Chu Emperor remained silent for a moment.

"You think I'd kill you?"

The Chu Emperor put down his teacup.

"Actually, I have thought about it..."

"Moreover, in order to make you hesitate to act rashly, I even sent someone to the northern frontier."

"But then again, you're being unfair. My daughter-in-law and the eldest grandson are, after all, your sister-in-law and nephew. You actually arranged for them to shear sheep on a farm, and even let my grandson mingle with those herders!"

"Back then, I didn't treat you like this!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Lie slammed his knife onto the stone table without saying another word.

"I'm giving you face by calling you Imperial Uncle, but if you dare to lay a finger on my sister-in-law or nephew..."

"I'll chop you up right now!"

Emperor Chu was startled by Xiao Lie, and the eunuchs and imperial guards around him all rushed forward.

"Step back!"

"I was just joking with my nephew, what's the big deal!"

"All of you, get out!"

The Chu Emperor dismissed everyone, and Xiao Lie frowned.

"Your Majesty, are you truly fearless?"

The Chu Emperor sighed deeply, his sigh filled with relief.

"What do I have to fear? My elder brother didn't kill me back then, so how could his son possibly slaughter his own family?"

Xiao Lie snorted coldly.

"Hmph! I know there's something fishy about Father's poisoning, but what about my elder brother Xiao Yu?"

"You can't even tolerate your own flesh and blood?"

Xiao Lie drew his Taiping Blade, turned around, and slashed the railing in half.

"Xiao Mu!"

"The Mystery of My Father's Death!"

"The revenge for my elder brother's poisoning!"

"If you don't give me an explanation today..."

"The State of Chu is about to suffer another national mourning!"

Xiao Lie's sword was held horizontally in front of the Chu Emperor, its blade reflecting the twilight outside the pavilion, like a dark red scar.

The Chu Emperor neither dodged nor called for help. He simply looked down at the knife lying in front of him, remained silent for a while, and then gently pushed the blade aside.

"Lie'er, put the knife away."

"These old bones of mine, how could it be your turn, King of the Northern Frontier, to lay a hand on me?"

"Sit down, I'll speak slowly."

Xiao Lie twisted his neck, sat down with the air of a bandit, and stared intently at Emperor Chu, Xiao Mu, as if he were ready to kill him at the slightest provocation.