Chapter 311: The Future Emperor of Great Tang!
"What are you laughing at?"
Wang Chong only found the situation ridiculous. Had he unintentionally said a very funny joke? Furthermore, Marquess Yi's gaze... was making him really uncomfortable.
"Haha. Brat, you really don't know the reason why so many ladies applied to your Deflecting Blade Manor?" Marquess Yi chuckled.
Those words left Wang Chong astounded. This was exactly what Wang Chong had been puzzled over, and it seemed like Marquess Yi knew something about the matter.
Curious, Wang Chong asked. "Marquess Yi, you know something about it?"
"Your expression is really too funny! Hahahaha!" Grabbing her stomach, Marquess Yi burst into another peal of laughter.
"Marquess Yi, hurry up and speak! What is going on?" Seeing how Marquess Yi kept the suspense, Wang Chong anxiously urged her.
"Hahaha! Why don't you try guessing?" The gaze which Marquess Yi was looking at Wang Chong with became even more peculiar.
"How in the world am I to know..." Wang Chong clenched his fists in frustration. Marquess Yi's action of stoking his curiosity while refusing to reveal the truth made him very tempted to punch her, but unfortunately, she just had to be far stronger than him.
Just as he was grinding his teeth in anger, a thought suddenly came to his head.
Staring at Marquess Yi, Wang Chong asked, "Second Sister! ...Is this the doing of Second Sister?"
A person who could stir up a huge farce and generate the "you should know" expression on Marquess Yi, there was only one that Wang Chong could think of… his Second Sister, Wang Zhuyan!
And as though responding to Wang Chong's doubts, Marquess Yi's laughter crescendoed. Grabbing her stomach, she could hardly keep herself upright anymore.
No matter how slow Wang Chong was, it was clear that he was spot-on.
Second Sister!
To think that his Second Sister was really involved in this matter!
"Hahaha, this is really going to be the death of me. Do you know what that fellow, Zhuyan, said?"
Marquess Yi didn't think much of it initially, but after seeing Wang Chong's expression, she suddenly found this pair of cousins really interesting.
"Your cousin let out word that the Wang Clan is intent on finding a wife for you, and anyone who joins the Deflecting Blade Manor will be on the list of candidates. That is the reason why so many ladies from the Three Great Training Camps applied here," Marquess Yi unveiled the mystery.
"What?!"
Hearing that answer, Wang Chong was astonished. He knew that the disproportionate number of ladies did seem suspicious, and those words that they spoke were extremely unnatural as well, having nothing to do with the spirit vein at all. To think that this would be the reason!
"What kind of joke is Second Sister pulling?!" Wang Chong really panicked.
Was this a joking matter? Wang Chong could tell that it was just a prank, but outsiders may not think so. They would really take Wang Zhuyan's words for truth.
He knew that his Second Sister wasn't one to idle around, but he didn't expect her to create such a huge mess for him!
Wang Chong could already imagine the sight of his Second Sister laughing triumphantly on the peak of Longwei Training Camp.
"You should direct whatever you want to say to your Second Sister, I'll go in and take a look at the name list. Now that you speak of it, there are indeed quite a few ladies whom I want to pull into here. I don't wish to see just stinky men when I enter the Deflecting Blade Manor."
Still chuckling, Marquess Yi left the dumbfounded Wang Chong behind and walked into the Deflecting Blade Manor.
A dark streak flashed across Wang Chong's face. Despite being mocked by Marquess Yi, he couldn't find a word to retort.
Isn't Second Sister causing trouble for me?
After giving it some thought, Wang Chong felt that this matter couldn't be ignored. Thus, he returned to his study, wrote an exceptionally stern letter, and had it delivered to his Second Sister. Only then did he step out of the Deflecting Blade Manor and enter the woods.
The War of the Princes was no light matter. For the time being, the First Prince and Second Prince had appeared, and taking into account the seer who divined his spirit vein, a total of three princes had already gotten involved in this matter.
Wang Chong knew that a huge wave of princes would continue to appear to seek his spirit vein, and perhaps even forcefully drag Wang Clan to stand on the same front as them.
In such a crucial period, it was imperative for Wang Chong to calm down and consider his next course of action.
First and foremost, he had to stay out of places where others would expect him to be, such as the training camp and the Deflecting Blade Manor.
For this, the woods was the perfect place to calm down and think.
Executing the Phantom Steps, Wang Chong swiftly disappeared.
------
The depths of the mountain forest were filled with thorns. Other than birds and beasts, very few people would venture into here. Yet, two figures were currently strolling in its midst.
The young man was in his late teens. He had a tall, slim stature and an extremely exquisite face. He possessed a natural grace of nobility, and every gesture of his harnessed both elegance and authority.
However, his face was pale, and he didn't seem to be in a good physical condition.
Walking alongside the young man was a servant in his forties. He was lightly-dressed in a brown shirt, and his face was exceptionally ugly, especially with the wretched expression on his face.
However, what that stood out the most about him was his neck.
Despite being a man, he had no Adam's apple!
Even though a servant should be subservient, he seemed to be very annoyed at the moment.
"Uncle Jing, I have already gone to the extent of hiding here. Do you think that big brother, second brother, and the others will let me off? Father should probably forget about me, right?"
The dashing young man walked along a path under the support of the servant.
There shouldn't have been a path in this thorny forest, but after months of strolling in this area, he had forcefully stepped out a small path here.
Sunlight seeped through the gaps of the tree crowns and fell upon the young man. Feeling the warmth of the sun, a slight smile surfaced on his lips. It was hard to tell whether he was enjoying the sunlight or whether he was looking forward to being forgotten.
"Your Highness, are you a fool?" Upon hearing those words, the servant felt even more irritated, and his tone reflected his mood.
"As a child of the royal family, the offspring of the noble Sage Emperor, you should be trying to boost your intimacy with His Majesty and win his favor so that you can grasp supreme power in your hands. Yet, you requested to come to this humble Kunwu Training Camp, and now, you are even fearing that you aren't far enough from His Majesty? How can you be so placid?"
As he spoke, the servant grew more and more critical. If not for the fact that eunuchs had no choice where they would be dispatched, he would have never followed such a useless master.
With this kind of personality, that fellow would be nothing more than cannon fodder in the whirlpool of authority. When the new emperor was crowned, the only road left before him would be death.
It was one thing for this fool to die, but he would be implicated, as well!
Since ancient times, princes who failed in the vying for royal authority would be bound for death, along with those supporting them.
"Uncle Jing, do you know? I really hate fighting with big brother and the others. Furthermore, I am not a match for them at all. Isn't it better for me to be forgotten by father? Besides, this place is very quiet, and I like it a lot." The young man paid no heed to his servant's snappish words and smiled instead.
"Enough! If you wish to die, do it alone! I have no intentions of following suit!" The ugly servant forcefully tossed aside the young man's arm and stomped forward angrily.
The more he thought about the matter, the more frustrated he felt. If not for the fact that he would be a goner if he did so, he would have long killed this foolish Fifth Prince.
How could such a placid person exist?
The years serving him had really gone to waste!
"Hehe, Uncle Jing. I know that you are only saying these words out of anger!"
The young prince had a really good temper. Despite the servant flinging his arm away, he didn't seem to be angry at all. With a light chuckle, he rushed forward to catch up with him.
Kinship was something that had never existed in the royal family.
The young prince's mother was a lowly concubine of the Sage Emperor back when he was still a crown prince, and she had died when the young prince was still little.
Before the schemes in the palace, it was difficult for a lonesome prince without any backing to survive. While he had managed to preserve his life to this point, those around him had died.
All he had left was Uncle Jing.
This was the reason why he valued this relationship a lot.
Looking in the direction Uncle Jing had disappeared, the young prince hurriedly followed his footsteps.
---
Hualala!
Pigeon after pigeon flew across Wang Chong's head, headed in the direction of the Deflecting Blade Manor. For some reason, Wang Chong heaved a long sigh of relief upon seeing them.
At the very least, he wouldn't have to deal with those troublesome matters for now. It seemed like leaving the training camp was a wise decision.
Those princes won't be easy to deal with!, Wang Chong thought. He didn't panic even when facing Yao Guang Yi back at the Vast Crane Pavilion, but this incident had really left him a little distressed.
Hua!
Crouching down, Wang Chong leapt, leaving a reverberating tree branch behind him. Like a sharp arrow, he flew in an arc and landed on another tree branch several zhang away.
Wnag Chong felt exceptionally relaxed in this quiet place, allowing him to calm down and organize his thoughts.
"Don't follow me! ..." At that moment, an angry bellow sounded. Amidst the depths of the mountain, it was exceptionally conspicuous.
"Hm?" Wang Chong frowned in surprise. "There's someone here."
"You useless bum! ..." That angry voice sounded once more from the distance. He seemed to be reprimanding someone.
"This is weird..."
Wang Chong couldn't help but feel a little curious about this situation. Even though Wang Chong, Su Hanshan, and the others were able to leave Kunwu Training Camp easily, they were the exceptions. Most of the recruits weren't allowed to leave the premises casually.
It was only because of Zhao Qianqiu that they possessed this privilege, and it was for this privilege that Wang Chong sought Zhao Qianqiu.
Sou! Sou!
Leaping from the tree branches, Wang Chong headed southwest, the direction the voice seemed to have originated from. Soon, from a distance of thirty to forty zhang away, divided by a layer of thick tree leaves, Wang Chong saw a dashing young man seemingly arguing with someone else.
Wang Chong didn't think much at first sight, he was only perplexed that at how familiar the other party looked. However, at second glance, Wang Chong's eyebrows twitched violently.
"Li Heng?!"
These words flashed across Wang Chong's mind like a streak of lightning. To think that he would meet Fifth Prince Li Heng here!
In this world, there might be very few people who had heard of Li Heng, but in his previous life, there was no one who didn’t know of this Fifth Prince.
The reason was simple.
He was the final great emperor of Great Tang and the Central Plains!
Li Heng was the personal name of Emperor Suzong of Tang, who was the successor of the current Sage Emperor. Also, Uncle Jing was more commonly known as Li Fuguo in history, a eunuch that wielded immense authority during Li Heng's rule.
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TL Notes:
The happenings in the story will probably be a little different, but this is a basic glimpse of what happened in Great Tang in history.
In both history and the story, there is no crown prince at the current moment. However, a highly favored eunuch by the Sage Emperor's side known as Gao Lishi (He has appeared in the story in Chapter 172 as Gao-gonggong) would soon recommend the Sage Emperor to choose Li Heng as the crown prince.
If you recall the regional commanders incident, that is basically the build-up to the rebellion of the Hu under An Lushan. The rebellion of the Hu caused the Sage Emperor (Emperor Xuanzong) to flee to Jiannan to seek refuge as An Lushan's troops were swiftly approaching the capital Chang'an. However, Li Heng decided not to flee to Jiannan due to the long distance, which would make it difficult to recapture Chang'an. Do note that it is a huge disgrace to have the capital of a country captured, and it can make the people lose confidence in the monarchy. Thus, Li Heng headed to Lingwu to rally an army, but under the pressure of the locals there, he ended up declaring himself emperor.