When he returned to the manor that evening, the moon was already high in the sky.
Remember the domain name of the website where it was first published: 𝕥𝕨𝕜𝕒𝕟.𝕔𝕠𝕞
The streets and alleys of Jade Capital City were still bustling, even more so than during the day, especially the taverns, where laughter and cheerful voices drifted far.
Chu Zhiyuan strolled leisurely, surrounded by his guards, shaking his head.
Don't these people ever sleep?
How can it be more lively at night than during the day?
Could it be that the energy of martial arts practitioners is so vigorous that it leads to this? But martial arts practitioners also need to rest and cultivate.
He really couldn't understand the lifestyle of these people.
Suddenly, he spotted Huang Shirong in the crowd, surrounded by two white-clad girls.
Huang Shirong was still aloof and beautiful as ever.
Wearing an apricot-yellow silk dress, she was graceful and slender, like a willow swaying in the breeze. The long sword at her waist still made people's hearts tremble, fearing it would break her slender waist.
She also saw Chu Zhiyuan in the distance and suddenly accelerated, nimbly weaving through the crowd to approach him.
Chu Zhiyuan waved his hand.
Guo Chi retreated knowingly, clearing the path.
Huang Shirong came before Chu Zhiyuan with a faint fragrance, cupped her fist, and smiled charmingly, "Your Highness."
"Hall Master Huang, hope you've been well," Chu Zhiyuan said with a smile.
Huang Shirong smiled and said, "Your Highness has such a good mood?"
Chu Zhiyuan said, "I've acquired a residence near the Mingyue Tower, and I occasionally go there to change my mood."
Huang Shirong nodded lightly.
Under normal circumstances, a luxurious and imposing royal residence would not be enough to live in for a lifetime, and one would never want to buy another residence elsewhere.
But the Fourth Highness was different. Having been imprisoned in the royal residence for twenty years, he would likely have a vague aversion and fear towards the residence.
Speaking of which, this Fourth Highness is also a pitiful person. Mental trauma is the most troublesome, and it may take a lifetime to slowly heal.
Chu Zhiyuan asked, "Have you figured out why it's so lively?"
Huang Shirong immediately frowned slightly, "Recently, more and more experts have been pouring in, saying they are here to see the excitement."
"What excitement?"
"The Great Zhen envoy is about to enter the capital, and they are here to see the people of Great Zhen."
Chu Zhiyuan raised an eyebrow, "They're here for revenge, right?"
Huang Shirong nodded lightly, her expression grave.
They say they are here to see the people of Great Zhen, but they are obviously eager to take revenge on Great Zhen.
Great Zhen and Great Jing once had a honeymoon period, but during the recent two emperors, they have been almost constantly at war.
Great Zhen and Great Meng secretly formed an alliance, flirting with each other and tacitly dealing with Great Jing, causing Great Jing to suffer too many losses.
This time, Great Zhen wants to form a marriage alliance with Great Jing, and there are too many people who oppose it.
The relatives and friends of those who died in the wars between Great Zhen and Great Jing have a deep blood feud with Great Zhen, how can they allow Great Jing to let Great Zhen go?
Even though forming an alliance with Great Zhen is more beneficial for dealing with Great Meng.
But ordinary people don't care so much, they just want revenge.
This has brought great pressure and burden to the镇武司 and the City Patrol Guard. If something goes wrong, it will cause great chaos.
If something really happens to the Great Zhen envoy, it will definitely affect the alliance between the two countries, and no one in the 镇武司 can bear this responsibility.
Chu Zhiyuan smiled and said, "However, Director Jiang is no ordinary person, and Hall Master Huang, you are also clever, this won't be difficult for you."
"I hope for Your Highness's good words," Huang Shirong said with a wry smile.
Chu Zhiyuan cupped his fist, and Huang Shirong wisely bid farewell and left.
When he returned to the royal residence, the entire Qing Royal Residence had quieted down, with only guards patrolling back and forth.
Qing Royal Residence Street was as bright as day.
Rows of carved lanterns painted with the character "Qing" on both sides of the street gathered the light, overflowing the entire street, and illuminating the newly painted gate and golden nails, making them shine brightly.
Chu Zhiyuan entered the gate of the royal residence, returned to his courtyard, and waved his hand to let Mo Yi and the four girls, who had fallen asleep on the table, go back.
Just then, Zou Fang came in and said that Liang Guanjie had been waiting, waiting for most of the night, insisting on waiting for His Highness to return.
Chu Zhiyuan nodded.
A moment later, Liang Guanjie lifted the curtain and entered the study, cupping his fist in salute.
Chu Zhiyuan waved his hand and said, "It's late, make it short, how is it?"
Liang Guanjie's Maitreya-like smile disappeared, his expression solemn, and he whispered, "Your Highness, it has been found out that the defense of the Jing Royal Residence is jointly undertaken by the City Patrol Guard and the 镇武司, the Surveillance Division is also among them. There is a Grandmaster in each of the east, west, south, and north of the residence. This humble one suspects that there is also a Great Grandmaster stationed there... No one in the residence is allowed to go out, all purchases are handled by the 宗武司, then handed over to a special forbidden palace guard, and then handed over to the eunuch."
Chu Zhiyuan frowned, "It's that tight?"
Thirty years have passed, why is the confined Highness still so heavily guarded?
If it's really dissatisfaction with the Second Prince, harboring anger, thirty years should have passed and the anger should have subsided, and they should be too lazy to pay attention.
It's still so tight, it's really abnormal.
Liang Guanjie said solemnly, "This humble one also inquired that these guards are rotated every year and never repeated."
Chu Zhiyuan nodded slowly, his eyes flashing.
Liang Guanjie said, "This humble one suspects that there is a Great Grandmaster, so I didn't dare to go deep, and there was no way to find out more."
Chu Zhiyuan slowly said, "Have you seen Second Uncle?"
Liang Guanjie nodded, "I took a peek from afar, King Jing looks good."
Chu Zhiyuan asked, "What about the others?"
Liang Guanjie said, "King Jing's Consort passed away three years ago, leaving only one Princess, who is about the same age as the Princess."
Chu Zhiyuan frowned, "Anything else?"
"King Jing has no side Consorts, nor concubines. Now the huge Royal Residence seems to have only King Jing and the Princess."
"What about the servants in the residence?"
"Far inferior to our Royal Residence," Liang Guanjie shook his head, "Their spirits have fallen, they are all lazy and懈怠."
Chu Zhiyuan was silent.
Liang Guanjie whispered, "Your Highness, do you want to communicate with King Jing?"
"Wait a little longer, you withdraw first... You haven't been discovered, have you?"
"Your Highness, rest assured, it is impossible for us to be discovered."
"Find Chief Manager Feng to get some silver and spiritual pills, go to the manor outside the city to retreat for half a month, and then come back."
"Yes."
Liang Guanjie cupped his fist and exited the study.
Chu Zhiyuan paced back and forth, shaking his head.
Although his Father wants to visit King Jing very much, but now it seems that the situation is very abnormal, it is still not suitable to visit, to avoid attracting fire to himself.
If you really want to visit, you have to wait until you become a Grandmaster.
You've waited thirty years, it's not too late for another year and a half.
—
The next day, when the morning light first appeared, he went to the Mingwu Hall to practice with Chu Mingxuan, Chu Zhichuan, and Chu Zhiting.
Setting up the Ziyang Stance, they practiced the Small Ziyang Art, and he practiced the Great Ziyang Art.
The true energy of the Great Ziyang Art has many wonderful effects.
Extremely yang and extremely strong, extremely pure, and it has a special burning effect after entering the opponent's meridians. Even if they are one or two levels higher, it is difficult to dispel and resolve.
More importantly, the Great Ziyang Art has the effect of nourishing the body. At the same realm, the lifespan is longer, and it is even a miraculous skill that directly leads to the Great Grandmaster.
Ordinary mental cultivation methods will damage the foundation, causing deficiencies in essence, qi, and spirit. Even with deep enough fire, one cannot achieve the Great Grandmaster.
This is also one of the reasons why Great Grandmasters are rare in the world.
During the breaks in cultivation, he gathered with the princes and the princes to talk about some idle things.
He talked about what he saw and heard in the Ministry of Rites, they talked about what they heard from their parents, exchanged with each other, and chatted enthusiastically.
When the sun rose high, he bid farewell to everyone and went to the Ministry of Rites to report.
He stayed in Tongtian Pavilion until noon, returned to Qing Royal Residence, and had lunch with his family.
During lunch, Chu Zhiyuan noticed that Bai Ning霜 was beaming, so he curiously asked the reason.
"In a few days, it will be Prince Xuan's birthday, and he invited me to attend the birthday banquet. Yuan'er, you will come with us then."
"Fourth Uncle?" Chu Zhiyuan smiled, "Congratulations, Mother Consort."
Although because of his outstanding performance in the winter hunt, and stepping into the acquired realm and entering the Ministry of Rites, some people have begun to come to propose marriage.
When entering the palace, the attitude of the Consorts had changed.
But this was the first time a prince or royal prince had issued an invitation.
This is a major signal, signifying a new beginning, the first step for Qing Royal Residence to integrate into the royal family.
"It's Yuan'er, you are promising!" Bai Ning霜 smiled, "Otherwise, they would still pretend not to know me!"
She smiled and looked at Chu Zhiyuan, "Yuan'er, you will come with me."
Chu Zhiyuan hurriedly waved his hand, saying that he was busy.
He was indeed busy cultivating, and he was not satisfied with the progress, wanting to be faster.
Bai Ning霜 glared at him dissatisfied.
Chu Minghou persuaded her a few words, telling her not to delay Chu Zhiyuan's business, his son is not an idle person now, he is working in the Ministry of Rites.
"The Anguo Duke's Mansion should also be invited, maybe that Miss Xiao will be there, Yuan'er, don't you want to see her?"
Chu Zhiyuan flatly shook his head.
He is not in the mood to be distracted by these things now, only thinking about cultivation.
Bai Ning霜哼ed dissatisfiedly, "Okay, then I'll go with Yi'er."
Chu Yi immediately frowned, looking at her pitifully, with a pleading expression.
Bai Ning霜 was not soft-hearted, 哼ed and said, "Don't stay in the courtyard all day playing with those flowers and plants, come with me to meet people!"
"Mother—!"
"No more nonsense, it's settled!"
Chu Zhiyuan turned a deaf ear to Chu Yi's pleading gaze, buried his head in his meal, said "I'm full" and got up to leave, Chu Yi's dissatisfied calls failed to stop his departure.
"Also, I asked your grandmother to find a female official from the palace, and learn some etiquette these days."
Chu Yi said unconvinced, "Mother, I don't need to learn anymore."
"You learn in a muddle, if something goes wrong, you will lose face, and be ashamed of your name."
"Mother—!" She turned her head and looked at Chu Zhiyuan pleadingly.
Chu Zhiyuan pretended not to see it, put down the bowl, said "I'm full" and got up to leave, Chu Yi's dissatisfied calls failed to stop his departure.
