Chapter 29: Either Thin or Die!
Getting into the carriage, Huangfu Chang’an pulled Bai Su to sit inside and immediately started digging for information about that majestic and spirited cavalry unit.
“What is the background of that Wolf Fang Cavalry? How dare they act so tyrannically in the Imperial City? What Li family or Wang family? Those little brats were acting so cocky. Is the Li family really that big of a deal?!”
Although His Highness the Crown Prince had lost his memory, it had been nearly a month since falling into the water, yet he didn’t even know about the Li clan, who held overwhelming power in the court. As the heir apparent… Bai Su lowered her eyelids, a deep sense of worry for the nation and its people spontaneously rising within her.
However, to be honest, Huangfu Chang’an couldn’t really be blamed. Ever since she transmigrated into this short, fat, and round body, her primary goal was to figure out how to lose weight quickly. As for those messy harem favorites and powerful court officials, they all had to step aside until she slimmed down into a lightning bolt! Even if the sky were to fall, she had to shake off this layer of blubber first!
Besides, she was the Crown Prince, the future Emperor of the Yelang Dynasty. No matter how awesome or cocky those people were, could they be more awesome than her? Could they out-swagger her? In the end, wouldn’t they all have to kneel at her feet, kowtow three times and bow nine times, and respectfully address her as “Your Majesty”? Oh hahahaha…
Ahem, sorry, got carried away.
“The Li clan has served in the military for generations. Their ancestor, Marquis Yuantai, was ranked first among the nine founding dukes. They have made countless contributions to the Yelang Dynasty, possessing distinguished military merits and overwhelming power in the court. Together with the Pojun Manor, they are known as the Twin Heroes of Yelang; one guards the East, the other guards the North, protecting our territory from foreign invasion. They are highly valued by His Majesty. The person Your Highness saw earlier wearing the wolf helmet is the fourth son of the Li family, Li Qingchi. Master Li began practicing martial arts at four, accompanied the army to war at seven, and was granted the rank of Major General at twelve, guarding the Eastern Pass. The Wolf Fang Cavalry under his command is the number one cavalry of the Yelang Dynasty, invincible and renowned far and wide…”
Holy shit! Ignorance was bliss; knowing the truth made her legs go weak from fright!
That cocky brat with eyes on the top of his head was actually that badass! Going to war at seven? And he didn’t die… Made a Major General at twelve! She really must have been blind!
No wonder everyone kept calling him General. A twelve-year-old General! What kind of concept was that! If it were hereditary, that would be one thing, but Bai Su wasn’t the type to exaggerate. Judging by her tone of solemn respect, even if that Li Qingchi relied somewhat on family connections, the Wolf Fang Cavalry he led was definitely not built on empty praise. In other words, that guy had climbed to his position step by step relying on his own ability!
Fine, awesome people have the right to be a bit cocky. This time, it really was her having eyes but failing to recognize Mount Tai… silently biting her handkerchief.
She hadn’t expected her Emperor father to have such talent under his command. No wonder he skipped work and left the palace every few days without worrying about his backyard catching fire or trouble arising from within. Damn, anyone who dared to rebel would just get stabbed to death with a bayonet, right?!
Seeing Huangfu Chang’an’s face full of fascination and amazement, Bai Su paused and didn’t continue.
The deeds of the Fourth Young Master of the Li Manor were far more than just these. If one were to recount them seriously, the storytellers in the teahouses could go on for ten to fifteen days without sleeping. From birth until now, that brat had always been the focal point of the Imperial City, worthy of being called a prominent figure of the Yelang Dynasty.
But telling the Crown Prince this much was enough, lest she become lovestruck again and try to ravage the flower, which would definitely provoke public outrage. At that point, even ten Bai Sus might not be able to save her…
Chatting along the way, the carriage soon arrived at the foot of Bai’an Mountain.
In Huangfu Chang’an’s impression, any mountain with a famous temple or Taoist shrine would invariably become a tourist attraction. Being a tourist attraction meant the mountain would have been heavily developed and renovated. Even if there wasn’t a winding mountain road for cars, there would be spiraling stone steps paved to facilitate tourists going up and down.
Now, in ancient times where transportation wasn’t developed enough, Huangfu Chang’an didn’t hope for a winding highway, but at least there should be decent stone steps for climbing, right?!
However, after getting off the carriage and looking up at the peak of Bai’an Mountain, Huangfu Chang’an realized she was ultimately too naive!
Only now did she realize just how “high” Bai Su meant when she repeatedly emphasized that “the mountain is very high”!
On a clear and sunny day, the peak of Bai’an Mountain was still shrouded in clouds and mist, enough to prove its altitude towered above the rest. What was even more depressing was that the winding path up the mountain was unexpectedly treacherous. The narrow stone path, covered in green moss, gave off an inexplicable, gloomy feeling of leading to a mountain of death.
So, Huangfu Chang’an laughed spinelessly, a very sycophantic laugh.
“Um, Bai Su… don’t you know… lightness skills?”
Bai Su originally had her eyelids lowered with an expression that said, “I warned you not to come but you insisted, now you’re scared witless, aren’t you?” But upon being asked by Huangfu Chang’an, her icy face instantly cracked a nearly imperceptible fissure.
“Is Your Highness suggesting that this subordinate… carry Your Highness up?”
Huangfu Chang’an tried hard to widen her eyes, attempting to look pitiful: “…Is that not okay?”
Bai Su looked up and down at Huangfu Chang’an’s massive physique, which was equal to two people. She gritted her teeth and didn’t make a sound, but that powerless expression said it all—
At least, Huangfu Chang’an interpreted the meaning from her face as: “Sorry boss, can I apply for resignation?”
“Sigh.” Dropping her head and sighing, Huangfu Chang’an patted Bai Su’s shoulder understandingly. “Forget it, I won’t make things difficult for you.”
Saying that, she rolled up her sleeves, hitched up her robes, broke off a tree branch from the side to use as a walking stick, and huffing and puffing, began the long and arduous cultivation of climbing the mountain—treating it as weight loss!
Bai Su stood at the foot of the mountain, lightly lifting her eyelids to watch that obese youth… or more accurately, young woman. Like a reckless youngster, she took difficult and clumsy steps, struggling to climb upward without the slightest intention of giving up. Even though she had clearly seen how high Bai’an Mountain was and how difficult the path was, she never showed a hint of fear or retreat from beginning to end.
On the mountain path, Huangfu Chang’an’s wobbling back looked very comical. But in that moment, for the first time, Bai Su felt that her master was different from before, and compared to others… seemed very different as well.
“Snap!”
Suddenly, the branch she was leaning on snapped. Huangfu Chang’an wanted to cry but had no tears. She turned back and waved to Bai Su: “Hey… lend me your sword to use!”
Hearing the voice, Bai Su snapped back to reality, then her face tightened… Holy shit, for a split second just now, she actually thought Huangfu Chang’an was charming! She must be going crazy!
The journey up the mountain was extremely arduous. Coupled with Huangfu Chang’an’s speed being barely faster than a snail, half a day was simply not enough. Forced by circumstances, Huangfu Chang’an had to sleep in the open halfway up the mountain for a night. Fortunately, Bai Su helped build a fire and roast a pheasant, so she didn’t end up too miserable or disheveled—ever since becoming a damn fatty, her survival skills had instantly hit rock bottom.
Therefore, there were only two choices in front of Huangfu Chang’an—Either thin! Or die!
When she panted and climbed to the peak, stopping in front of the Taoist temple with trembling, weak legs, Huangfu Chang’an looked up at the majestic building with tears in her eyes, feeling as if she would ascend to immortality in that instant.
She was certain that after climbing such a long mountain path, she had lost at least ten jin! If she hadn’t lost ten jin, it would be an injustice to her shoe soles, which were about to be worn through!
Perhaps thinking that no idiot would go through the trouble of climbing to the top of Bai’an Mountain to steal things, the doors of the Taoist temple were wide open with no priests guarding them. Huangfu Chang’an walked all the way into the temple without encountering a single priest. Just as she was feeling surprised, a figure emerged from the corner of a corridor not far away.
“Hey—wait!”
Huangfu Chang’an’s face lit up, and she quickly ran up to stop him.
“Uh,” the person was not dressed as a priest and didn’t look like someone from the temple. Turning back and seeing Huangfu Chang’an, his expression changed slightly, showing a hint of surprise. “Your Highness the Crown Prince… why are you here?”
“Eh? You recognize this Crown Prince?”
Huangfu Chang’an found his voice a bit strange; it didn’t sound like a normal man’s voice, but rather a bit like the eunuchs in the palace.
“This servant is an attendant from the Orchid Palace, accompanying my master to visit the old Daoist priest.”
Orchid Palace? Huangfu Chang’an lowered her eyes and thought for a moment. She vaguely remembered that it seemed to be the residence of a not-very-favored imperial concubine, and it appeared that her Second Imperial Brother, whom she had never met, lived there.
According to palace rules, the procedure for an imperial concubine to leave the palace alone was very cumbersome. Unless accompanying the Emperor, they had to go through a series of processes. However, princes could enter and exit freely with their waist tokens. In that case, the person currently inside the Taoist temple should be her legendary Second Imperial Brother, who was known for having few desires and keeping strangers away.
Not meeting in the palace but bumping into each other in this Taoist temple on the peak of Bai’an Mountain felt truly peculiar.
“Second Brother is here too? Perfect, lead the way. This Crown Prince will go meet him.”
“Uh…” The little eunuch paused again, verifying uncertainly, “Does Your Highness really want to see the Second Prince?”
Huangfu Chang’an found it strange: “Could this be fake?”
“Then… please wait a moment, Your Highness,” the little eunuch bowed slightly and said, “His Highness the Second Prince is still talking with the Daoist priest in the garden. This servant will go announce you first.”
Seeing him walk away, Huangfu Chang’an asked Bai Su in puzzlement: “Is it strange for me to go see Second Brother? Why was his reaction so big?”
Bai Su answered truthfully: “Because Your Highness used to be very afraid of the Second Prince. Even if you met in the palace, you would take a detour.”
“Why?”
Bai Su shook her head, indicating she couldn’t understand the psychology of her former master. She paused, then added, “Probably because the Second Prince is quite serious. Your Highness has said more than once that His Highness the Second Prince… is very fierce.”
Uh… well… silently admits defeat.
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