Chapter 78: The Free and Easy Young Marquis (11)
Marquis Huo leading three hundred elite soldiers to suppress bandits caused quite a sensation in the imperial court. This sensation wasn’t because Marquis Huo hadn’t led troops in years, but because of the number “three hundred.” According to the statistics from the county yamen where Black Wind Mountain was located, the number of bandits was at least seven thousand. Sending three hundred elite soldiersâeven with the word “elite”âcouldn’t be counted as one man fighting ten. Even if they could fight ten to one, three hundred multiplied by ten was only three thousand.
In short, Emperor Haoyuan’s move was clearly sending Marquis Huo to lead three hundred men to their deaths.
Emperor Haoyuan probably realized he had provoked public anger. Being someone who usually wouldn’t turn back until hitting the south wall, and who would stick his neck out refusing to admit mistakes even when wrong, he lowered his head for the first time and increased the three hundred elite soldiers to one thousand.
The Ministers: “???”
Your Majesty, are you teasing us?
Do you really think one thousand elite soldiers can defeat seven thousand, or do you think “elite soldiers” can truly each fight ten men?
However, no matter how much the court officials protested this time, even the Eldest Princess going into the palace to cry was useless. Emperor Haoyuan seemed determined to send Marquis Huo, his brother-in-law, on the road to the Yellow Springs. Some even speculated whether Emperor Haoyuan was possessed by a ghost or cursed. Otherwise, given his doting on the Eldest Princess and Huo Xian, he would never send the Eldest Princessâs husband and Huo Xianâs father to a dead end.
Although, in earlier years, it was heard that Marquis Huo resembled his father, the Duke of Dingguo, and held the title of “God of War” on the battlefield, Black Wind Mountain was easy to defend and hard to attack. The generals sent previously with thousands of soldiers had all failed. Could Marquis Huo really turn the tide?
Due to the great controversy in the court, to avoid listening to more chatter, Emperor Haoyuan directly ordered Marquis Huo to depart. The Eldest Princess was so angry she wanted to take a silk cord and hang herself at the palace gates, but was barely stopped by Marquis Huo and Huo Xian.
Marquis Huo knew this bandit suppression trip was fraught with grim possibilities. He didn’t want his wife to cry, so he found his son and instructed him to take good care of the Eldest Princess. He emphasized that his departure was by imperial decree, and if something untoward happened, he must not hold resentment.
Huo Xian listened to his speech without much expression. Instead, he said, “Kind people won’t have bad luck.”
“What?” Marquis Huo was puzzled by his sudden remark.
Huo Xian hooked his lips and said, “Dad, I believe Heaven will watch over you. You will definitely return in triumph.”
Marquis Huo smiled too, nodding: “I hope so.” But his words lacked confidence. He wasn’t afraid of death; rather, he had been thinking about how to crack the problem but had come up with nothing even after racking his brains. He would have to survey the site first.
After he left, Huo Yuan came out from behind the screen and asked Huo Xian, “Huo Xian, aren’t you going to Black Wind Mountain too? You’re not going with your dad?”
Huo Xian shook his head, a trace of coldness in his eyes. “Emperor Haoyuan all but held a knife to my dad’s neck. I don’t know where his malice comes from; he seems like a completely different person. And I have a premonition that his malice isn’t just directed at my dad, but perhaps at me too. I won’t leave him any handle to grab.”
“But Liangzhou is far away with high mountains. You have to enter the palace to study every now and then. How will you go?” Huo Yuan considered the practical issues.
“In half a month, it will be the anniversary of my grandfather’s death. I will leave the capital on the pretext of paying respects to my grandfather.” Huo Xian had clearly already thought of a countermeasure.
“Will Emperor Haoyuan agree?”
Huo Xian affirmed: “He will!”
In previous years, he might not have agreed, but this year he definitely would. Because his grandfather’s only son, Marquis Huo, now had a knife at his neck that could fall and chop it off at any moment. Emperor Haoyuan had effectively sentenced him to death. Marquis Huo obviously knew his fate. Emotionally and reasonably, Emperor Haoyuan wouldn’t stop him from paying respects to the meritorious official who had conquered the empire with the Late Emperor.
As Huo Xian predicted, Emperor Haoyuan agreed after a brief hesitation. However, a small interlude occurred. When Huo Xian proposed returning to the ancestral home, Xiao Jinli expressed a desire to visit as well, as Huo Xian’s grandfather, the Duke of Dingguo, was a childhood friend of the Late Emperor and their ancestral homes were in the same place. Emperor Haoyuan did not agree to his request.
After returning to the Princess’s residence, Huo Xian was blocked by the Eldest Princess. Beside her was Qingzhu, who had recovered from his injuries and returned to serve. Qingzhu looked guilty because he had been packing Huo Xian’s luggage when the Eldest Princess saw him and, upon interrogation, learned that Huo Xian was going back to his grandfather’s ancestral home.
The Eldest Princess didn’t ask questions in front of the servants. Only after sending everyone away did she ask sharply, “Are you really going to pay respects to your grandfather?”
Huo Xian knew the Eldest Princess wouldn’t believe him if he answered “yes,” so he confessed frankly, “No, I’m going to Liangzhou.”
“What are you going to Liangzhou for?” The Eldest Princess frowned.
Huo Xian said calmly, “To save Dad.”
The Eldest Princess fell silent. After a long time, she said with difficulty, “Your father’s trip… is fraught with grim possibilities.”
“So, I want him to come back safely,” Huo Xian said calmly.
This time, the Eldest Princess was silent for even longer. “âŚDo you have a plan?”
“I have a plan, but I don’t know if it will succeed yet.” Huo Xian didn’t speak in absolutes; accidents always happened suddenly, and he couldn’t guarantee there wouldn’t be any.
The Eldest Princess bit her lower lip. A sharp glint flashed in her narrow phoenix eyes. She took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, “The Emperor’s mind is hard to predict, and his shrewdness has deepened in recent years. I can no longer understand him. However, if he truly intends to take your father’s life, he surely won’t let anyone disrupt his plan. If you say you’re going to Wengzhou, he will definitely send people to follow in secret.”
Huo Xian had thought of this too and had a countermeasure, but he still asked, “Mom, what do you mean?”
The Eldest Princess had completely calmed down. She said, “When your grandfather’s remains were transported back to Wengzhou for burial, I couldn’t go because I broke my leg. In seventeen years, I have never gone to pay respects. Your father’s ‘campaign’ this time is dangerous. I need to inform my father-in-law in person.” As she spoke, she sneered.
Huo Xian realized that the Eldest Princess’s reason for going to the ancestral home in Wengzhou matched his. Emperor Haoyuan had agreed to his request, so he wouldn’t deny the Eldest Princess. Her purpose was simpleâto provide cover for him.
Just as well, Huo Xian felt the capital wasn’t safe either. If his mother went to Wengzhou, she could avoid it for a while. However, just in case, they had to bring more manpower.
Both mother and son were people of action. Although the Eldest Princess’s intention was indeed to cover for Huo Xian, he couldn’t really travel alone. So, Huo Xianâs idea of finding someone to impersonate him had to be put into practice.
This world didn’t have prevailing disguise techniques, but Huo Yuan’s collected video data contained a pile of makeup tutorials. Wasn’t makeup artistry a form of disguise technique?
However, before their departure, an unexpected person rushed into the Princess’s residence.
“Huo Xian, I’m here!” The voice arrived before the person.
Huo Xian followed the voice and immediately saw a handsome young man dressed in sapphire blue, wearing a gold crown, running into the courtyard holding a folding fan in a most unrefined manner. The visitor was none other than Ning Chen, a good friend the original host had been close with since childhood.
Ning Chen was brilliantly talented, but he mostly used it to flirt with young ladies. He was improper all day long. However, despite his smooth talk, he was romantic but not lewd. A large reason he became friends with the original host was that the original host had a good face. Ning Chen, a high-level face-con from a young age, would follow behind his butt calling him “Brother” like a little tail as soon as he saw him.
Ning Chen’s thick skin contributed significantly to their friendship.
Huo Xian pointed to the boxes on the ground and said, “I have no time to entertain you today. Make yourself at home.”
“I wanted to ask before I entered. Are you planning to move house? Isn’t the Princess’s residence comfortable enough?” Ning Chen didn’t mind the lack of hospitality, speaking casually. Just as he finished asking, he glimpsed a youngster peeking out from beside Huo Xian. His eyes immediately lit up. “Hey now, whose young master is this? How is he so handsome?”
Huo Yuan was just curious about the only person in the original timeline who stood up to help the original host. The result of this glance was that the manâs curiosity was piqued high.
Ning Chen’s appreciation of beauty didn’t distinguish gender, although he only loved beauties.
Huo Xian intercepted Ning Chen just as he was about to lean in front of Huo Yuan, warning him slightly, “Stay away from him.”
Ning Chen got excited hearing this. raising his eyebrows high, he spat out a classic line: “Huo Xian, something’s wrong with you.”
Huo Xian also raised his eyebrows, mimicking him, and asked with a fake smile, “Is your skin itching?”
In the past, the two often played together. Or rather, Ning Chen dragged the original host to play, and the original host followed him around most of the time. There were rare occasions, like when Ning Chen wanted to go to brothels, where he would refuse. Then Ning Chen would always try to trick him into going. When the original host felt he went too far, he would use force to teach him a lesson. Although Ning Chen was also born into a military family and learned some martial arts from a young age, compared to the original host, he was a three-legged cat. Every time, he was beaten until he howled.
Hearing the threat, Ning Chen’s curiosity climbed another level. He tapped Huo Xian with his fan, then opened it to cover his mouth, saying ambiguously, “Tell me, satisfy your brother’s curiosity. You know, although I appreciate his looks, in my heart, I still like fragrant and soft girls.”
“Aren’t you afraid of getting a disease?” Before Huo Xian could speak, Huo Yuan popped out a sentence.
Ning Chen: “âŚGetting a disease?”
Just as Huo Yuan wanted to continue, Huo Xian covered his mouth first. He turned his head and said to him grumpily, “Constantly hanging around fireworks places (brothels), don’t you have an idea whether you’ll catch a disease?”
Ning Chen froze for a moment before reacting. His face turned green then white. He wanted to curse back, but seeing Huo Xian’s protective stance and those innocent, beautiful eyes, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. After a long while, he choked out a sentence: “My pink confidantes only have me.”
In other words, he sought out girls who were originally clean.
Huo Yuan, having his mouth covered, couldn’t speak, so he spoke to Huo Xian via consciousness: [Scumbag, big scumbag!]
Huo Xian replied, laughing and crying: [Exchange of benefits, mutual consent. There’s no scumbag or not scumbag here.]
Brothels were legal in this era, and it was legal for men to have three wives and four concubines. Ning Chen hadn’t married, nor had he taken any tongfang or concubines. He was a naturally free and loose man. He passed through ten thousand flowers without a single leaf sticking to him. He got along well with his pink confidantes, reciting poetry and discussing romance, but not discussing feelings. Calling him a scumbag wasn’t actually accurate.
“Today, Mom and I are going to Wengzhou to pay respects to the ancestors. We have to depart in another hour. I really can’t entertain you,” Huo Xian changed the subject.
Ning Chen was slightly stunned upon hearing this. “Why suddenly think of going to Wengzhou to pay respects…” He stopped halfway, paused, lowered his voice, and asked hesitantly, “Is it because Uncle is leading a thousand elite soldiers to suppress bandits?”
Although he had just returned from Jiangnan, he had heard quite a few voices discussing the bandit suppression outside the city. At first, hearing “one thousand elite soldiers,” he thought it was a slip of the tongue. But after entering the city, he heard the more accurate version. It wasn’t a slip; it was indeed one thousand. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he was greatly shocked.
Didn’t His Majesty like his nephew Huo Xian very much? Why would he suddenly send Marquis Huo to die? Or was it that during the time he left the capital, the Huo family had offended His Majesty over something? But was that possible? He had heard his father say more than once that the Duke of Dingguo ruthlessly got rid of the second child in his wife’s womb to preserve the Huo family. After handing over military power, he requested a decree to lower his only son’s title. Marquis Huo even married a princess and took an idle job. After marriage, he only had one son with the Eldest Princess. The Huo family had avoided the sharp edge like this; what reason did His Majesty have to put them to death?
Huo Xian knew Ning Chen was smart. He didn’t say much, just patted his shoulder: “We’ll meet again.”
Ning Chen intuitively felt something was wrong.
Soon, the Princess’s convoy officially departed. As Ning Chen described regarding “moving house,” the traveling team consisted of a full sixteen carts, large and small, with over three hundred accompanying personnel.
Outside the Princess’s residence, in a large banyan tree, a dark guard dressed in black, blending almost perfectly with the tree, locked his gaze on Huo Xian, who had been ordered into the carriage by the Eldest Princess. Then, his figure flashed and vanished without a trace.
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