C66

Chang'an, Imperial City.

Today, the Imperial Palace was abnormally quiet. The ministers who arrived early did not whisper to each other before the arrival of the Emperor. The officers standing in front of the hall were on either side. All of them lowered their heads, not daring to speak a word.

He had received the news yesterday that the great general Chu Yinan, who was far to the northwest, was in the imperial court today!

Thirteen years. That figure that he had not seen in the imperial court for a full thirteen years was finally about to appear once more beside the court officials.

"The emperor has arrived!"

All the court officials were startled. How dare you! Even when the emperor had arrived, Chu Huainan was still nowhere to be seen.

"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"

The crowd burst into cheers as Emperor Chu surveyed the crowd. Indeed, there was no one there! Suppressing the rage in his heart, he sat on the dragon throne and said, "Honorary officials, please rise."

"Reporting..." Your Highness Duke Huai is here to see you. "

The young eunuch was submissive, sweat beading on his forehead.

The atmosphere in the imperial court fell into a mysterious silence. Other than the State Grandmaster Xun Bai Liu, who was still dozing off, the rest of the people, regardless of whether they were civil or military, were all sweating profusely.

"Oh? Hehe … Let him, the newspaper, enter! "

The door to report in! All the court officials were scared out of their wits. How could they report in? He wanted Chu Huainan to walk forward and announce, "To see His Majesty, King Huainan. Long live His Majesty! Long live His Majesty!" He walked a few steps and called out a few times as he made his way to the front of the hall. For martial artists, this was a method used to punish generals who had violated military rules. It could be said to be a great insult.

"This... "Your Majesty, Duke Huai might have met with some troubles along the way. About this …"

Watching Emperor Chu's cold gaze, Lu Haozhu, who was about to speak up, didn't dare to make a sound. Instead, he lowered his head and said nothing. It seems like Chu Di was going to show off his power.

"Northwest … "Chu Yinan."

Everyone only felt their vision blur as a figure appeared out of nowhere in front of them, standing shoulder to shoulder with State Grandmaster Xun Bai and Liu Ming at the very front.

"Your Majesty!"

One step, just one step. That was why Chu Huainan had only given the order once!

"You …"

"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"

Emperor Chu gnashed his teeth, unable to utter a word for a long time.

After a long while, Emperor Chu finally calmed down. His tone was light and without a trace of emotion as he said, "Duke Huai, there's no need to be so courteous."

Only then did Chu Yinan straighten up and turn around slightly. She glanced at the Minister of War and nodded her head to show that she had accepted his favor.

"If there's anything up, then it's up. If there's nothing …" "Withdraw."

The court officials naturally knew that this was a battle between the emperor and Duke Huai. They knew that Chu Huainan had not come to the imperial court for decades, so he must have come a long way to settle some important matters. None of them dared to make a sound. They lowered their heads, thinking about something. They didn't want to get involved in this mess anyway.

"Your Majesty, the great general must have come all the way to Chang'an to discuss something important. Why don't you let the great general talk about it?"

In this situation, only the Imperial Advisor, Xun Bai Liu, would dare to speak out and give both of them a way out. Emperor Chu wanted to put on a show for Duke Huai, because he was a proud and arrogant person. It was already good enough if he could say it out loud, so naturally, he wasn't willing to lower his head.

"Oh? I wonder what's so important about Duke Huai? "

In fact, he was the one who had said those words out of anger, as well as a bit of regret. After all, no matter what, Chu Huainan lived a thousand miles away, and had been guarding the border for dozens of years. Basically, he did not need to ask the court for permission.

"Your Majesty, this old servant has two requests for you today."

A request? Chu Yinan didn't say 'please', but rather 'please'.

"I wonder why Duke Huai is doing this?"

"Your Majesty, first of all, this old subject wishes to seek a successor for my good-for-nothing son."

"Hehe, Duke Huai, you must be joking. Since that is your own son, why don't you... "To inherit your family business, there is no need for me to agree."

Emperor Chu's words were light, but everyone could feel the chill in his tone.

Chu Huainan was no different. He just needed to know what was going on and what was going on.

However, perhaps only Chu Huainan and the Chu Emperor could understand what he meant. If they could understand what he meant, they would say, "The crown prince has also gone to the northwest. Your Majesty, please don't do anything to my son."

How could Emperor Chu not clench his teeth? However, Xun Bai Liu still looked indifferently at the battle between Chu Yinan and His Majesty. He could faintly see that Emperor Chu was holding back his laughter.

"Since that is the case, this old official shall now speak of the second matter."

With that, Chu Xinan stood up straight. He looked around at all the ministers and officials, and then he turned to face the Chu Emperor, staring straight at him!

"This old official requests a battle! Northwest, please fight! "

Emperor Chu's eyes widened. Invite them to battle? Where?

"This old official humbly begs for the emperor to allow the Northwest Generals to leave Saibei!"

"..."

Long Xi, House of the Marquis of Peace.

Today, a group of seventeen people from the martial arts world had arrived at the Residence of the Marquis of Tranquil East.

The seventeen of them arrived in the morning, and in the afternoon they had already found out the identity of Yan Zhuzhe. In one fell swoop, they had revealed the identity of this fellow who was messing around with the name of Missing Moon Tower, but it seemed like Yan Duo Zhuo already had information on this matter, and by the time Xu Qingzhi had ordered Li Tongxuan's men to apprehend him, Yan Zhuo was already gone.

These seventeen people were originally only there to deal with the evil Yan Ying Zhuo from the Missing Moon Restaurant, but in the end, they were still a step too late. If Cui Wei had not risked his life to protect them, then the Grandmaster Qing Yu who was provoked by Yan Yu Zhuo might have already killed Xu Qing.

This caused the seventeen people to feel very guilty. Originally, they had wanted to find out how much of a compensation they had received from the sparring, but they still let this fellow escape. Although they had announced on the spot that Mount Li had been removed from the Missing Moon Tower, everyone knew in their hearts that they were only able to see the situation a little better.

Currently, these seventeen people were awkwardly sitting at the banquet arranged by Li Chen. Xu Qingzhi could tell that these people were uncomfortable with just a glance. These pure martial artists were like this; they feared being ungrateful to others. However, Xu Qingzhi already had a plan.

He smiled as he sipped the wine. He quietly looked at those martial artists drinking wine at the table. "Don't worry, I won't let you all be idle. It'll be up to you guys in three days."

This young man was personally sent here by the great general Tie Bugui under Chu Huainan's watch. He said that he would travel along with Xu Qing, and when he arrived, he would carry a small bag with him, as well as an enormous ancient zither. Looking at this young man's appearance, Xu Qingzhi subconsciously assumed that this young man was a young Daoist.

"Lin Xuan, don't even mention drinking with me, I'm afraid you're not as good as His Highness!"

Xu Qingzhi truly could do nothing about Wei Youdao's ability to set people off to the side. When Lin Xuan had first arrived, he had clearly seemed to be an elegant and dashing young master, especially his beautiful zither skills. That sort of melody, Xu Qingzhi, was only heard by a lowly subordinate of Ye Yangzi.

However, it was this elegant young master who, after knowing the other elegant young master, Wei Youdao … His entire body collapsed. He could still maintain some integrity in front of his elders, but once the few of them gathered together and drank some wine … This is how it is now.

"How... How could this be? Xu Qingzhi … You can't win against me! "

"I say … Lin Xuan, now this, can you still play the zither? "I heard that the great general is going to Changan to request a war. I wonder how my little brother is doing in the battlefield?"

"Plays..." Playing the zither, I'm not drunk yet! "

Finished speaking, Lin Xuan took the huge zither and shakily walked to the middle of the crowd.

When Li Shen saw this scene, he secretly wiped off his sweat and quickly reprimanded the girl dancing in the middle back into the back of the youth. 'Birthday! I actually let the current crown prince play the zither in his mansion for others to see … ' If the emperor were to know about this … He didn't dare to think about it.

Lin Xuan wobbled and finally carried the zither to the center of the main hall. His brocade robe was already disarrayed, and the shoes on his left foot had flown off to who knows where. He just sat on the ground with his tail resting on his knees.

"Clang!"

A clanging sound could be heard. Lin Xuan's messy long hair fluttered in the wind, and his voice was like a golden spear or the west wind …

"Wine!"

Xu Qing gave a loud shout and drew his sword. Xu Qingzhi flew over, her longsword dancing like the wind. The tip of the Taibai sword firmly caught the jar of wine thrown at her, and with a twist, she took the bottle of wine in her arms. The Taibai sword stabbed into Xu Qing's back, and Xu Qingzhi fell backwards like this, his longsword leaning on his side.

Lin Xuan stroked his zither with one hand, and the sounds of iron-like noises continuously rang out. His other hand, however, was filled with the remaining strong wine in the jar.

One played the zither, the other danced the sword. There were neither swords nor spears, nor any battlefield. However, the sounds of the iron horses and the flashes of swords and shadows seemed to appear in front of everyone's eyes.

"Good …" "Alright!"

Li Shen was inexplicably excited. As he looked at the two insolent and unbridled people, this old Northwest General, who had served in the army for half his life, could not help but tear up. How many years had it been? The last time it had happened was in Chang'an City, where the Emperor was clad in a dragon robe and his hands were on his shoulders. How many years had it been since he had killed a general with a spear … Thousands of years later, it was still an unsurpassable sight.

"No one believes in him. This Emperor … believes in him!"

"Today, the Son of Heaven shall guard the gates of the Empire, and the King shall die in the Land of the Nine Nations!"

"Even if I die, I still believe that Chu Yinan will not carry me!"

"..."

"Northwest Chu Yinan is here, but ask, who dares to hurt my Lord!"

"His Majesty is beating his drum at the very top of the city wall. The battle is going on and on without end!"

"No matter how many years have passed, he is still our fellow disciple!"

"Past the river? "What a joke, you little b * tch of the Wu Clan, even if I, Chu Yinan, were to allow a million men and horses to break the river, you can forget about crossing even half a step over the Yangtze River!"

General, did you see that?

Lee Chang didn't know why Chu Yannan and the Chu Emperor had become like this, but this Northwest Old General had never forgotten those boneless nights, the two men in the same uniform as the soldiers and the two men in the same tent. He had never forgotten the days of being together with the soldiers and the words' Jiang Shan 'that Chu Yinan had given to you. I can't forget what that man said, but I will live on the throne for a day, and the world will share the burden!

He didn't know when, but everything had changed. Everything … They were all different now.

The sound of the zither and the unrestrained dancing of the sword caused everyone present to be moved. Perhaps they were only moved by the scene, but after a long time, when they found out that the person who had played the zither and danced in front of the hall that day was the current crown prince and the Northwest Crown Prince, they were no longer just moved.

When the song "Great Wave Sands" was finished, the crown prince who had changed his name from "Lin Xuan" got drunk and fell asleep immediately. One could see that Lin Xuan's face was very red, though it was unclear whether it was because of the alcohol or because of his passion.

"Xu..." Celebrate, and … "Fight!"

Xu Qingzhi had no idea what Lin Xuan was thinking about, but he was so drunk that he spoke nonsense. Xu Qingzhi could not help but want to laugh.

"Okay, don't worry. I, Xu Qingzhi, do not have the right to retreat without a fight. Fighting is everything!"

Lin Xuan smiled. In his dream, he saw hundreds of thousands of soldiers surrounding Chang'an, and when despair arose in his heart, he heard Xu Qingzhi's familiar voice, "I, Xu Qinghui, shall fight!"

Xu Qinghui clasped his hands and bowed, then returned to his seat.

"Good!" Great! "How lucky we are to be able to watch His Highness' wonderful sword dance!"

Everyone was stunned by this Zither Sword, unable to recover from their shock for a long time. It was only after Qin Zhiwu had rested for a long time that they managed to react. Following that was wave after wave of praises and applause.

Li Shen calmed his agitated mood. Just now, when he saw Xu Qingzhi and the crown prince's zither sword together, he thought of many matters of the past. Immediately after, he could only sigh.

If the story was finished, then it would be a thing of the past …

"That... Let's send Young Master Ying out to rest first, and take good care of him. "

Xu Qingzhi narrowed his eyes and looked at Li Shen. Just as he was practicing his sword, Xu Qingzhi suddenly discovered something on Lin Xuan's waist. It was a jade pendant with a dragon tattoo on it — Nine Dragon Jade!

He had originally thought that the situation that Chu Yinan and Lin Chengyan had planned was already a dangerous one for the army, but he hadn't expected that they would actually send this person to his side. He had already thought of something, people, it was like this, only when facing an enemy would there be an unprecedented unity within the city, and only when an external force was strong enough to threaten him, would he think of the forgotten people.

"..."

Kaiyang, Clear Water Town.

In contrast to the prewar preparation of the major cities and towns, this small town that was quietly built at the border of Chu was still as beautiful as ever.

Early in the morning, Wang Tu's family quickly got up to slaughter the pigs. Wang Ping had sent someone to deliver a letter to them a few days ago, saying that he had some other fortuitous encounters and had gone out to study with a new Master. However, there was one thing that confused him. The messenger looked like a bandit, but his actions were swift and decisive. He couldn't figure out who his son had acknowledged as his teacher.

However, when the Xu couple heard Liu Yan'er's story about Xu Qingzhi, they couldn't tell whether they were happy or sad. On the other hand, the people that Xu Shi sent to pick them up came back in waves after waves because they didn't want to leave Border Town to go to that large city. However, they had probably never thought that a student who only studied at the academy would have such great power to move his friends and relatives there …

On the other side of the town, Liu Yan'er, who had returned from Yanyang a long time ago, bade farewell to her parents. After so many days of consideration, this ambitious little girl finally made up her mind … A long journey.