Chapter 94: Prince Yong Moves Out; Come Hither, Only His Highness Can…
Prince Yong’s reputation for profligacy was known far and wide.
Even the generals of Jing and Xu provinces, separated by thousands of miles, had heard of it.
Compared to Prince Yong coming to cause trouble, the fact that he was proactively offering to share the Emperor’s burdens felt even more bizarre. The generals in the observation platform were afraid he was there to add fuel to the fire; none of them spoke, but their expressions all changed.
Lian Qing wanted to push Prince Yong back to Chang’an with his eyes!
Prince Yong did not care about these suspicious gazes.
The day they parted in the study, his elder brother had learned of the front-line defeat and immediately set off for Xindu, heartlessly tossing aside both himself and those blazing desires.
Prince Yong thoroughly realized that if he wanted his brother to be unable to leave him, relying solely on pestering and slow, grinding persistence was useless. He also needed to contribute value to the Great Qin.
Otherwise, in Imperial Brother’s eyes, he would forever be the mischievous younger brother, and his brother would treat him like a child to be coaxed.
Only coaxing him when he had free time.
Prince Yong snorted: “This brother’s Qinggong is top-tier; I was taught by many experts of the Inner Palace. I’ve also learned some intelligence-gathering and scouting techniques, and I’m best at escaping—this point, I’m sure you all are very clear on.”
“The skills of ordinary scouts in the army certainly cannot match this Prince. And you all, who are already Great Generals of the army, probably value your status too much to go deep into the enemy camp. Therefore, this Prince will personally share Imperial Brother’s burdens.”
Prince Yong’s attitude was atrocious, offending everyone present!
The generals on the scene were furious:
“What does His Highness mean?”
“We each have our military duties, and there has never been a moment where we haven’t served the court with all our hearts!”
Ying Xi felt a splitting headache. He waved his hand and said, “Provide a seat for him. No more nonsense.”
The soldiers moved a chair over, setting it below the Emperor’s Dragon Throne, and even prepared tea and pastries.
Prince Yong did not take his seat. Instead, because of those flaky pastries, his attitude became even more resolute: “I am willing to sign a military proxy!”
A military proxy involved life and death.
The observation platform became completely solemn.
The generals shifted to a grave gaze; only then did they realize that this dignified Prince of the First Rank, of noble status, was truly intending to face danger.
Ying Xi thought that since words had reached this point, if he didn’t agree to Dang’er, he would be suspected of looking down on him.
“I will confirm with you once more: do you truly want to be a scout?”
“I’m going!” Prince Yong said. “This brother is going to share Imperial Brother’s burdens.”
The two brothers had the same pair of deep grey eyes.
Ying Xi stared blankly into those eyes.
He had watched Dang’er grow up.
He had seen the other’s willful side, his clingy side, his paranoid and gloomy side; most of the time, he was very childish.
The only thing he hadn’t seen was him seriously requesting to execute a mission.
Youth is filled with hardships. Perhaps Ying Dang truly would be entrusted with the mountains and rivers; Dang’er could not become a second Emperor Yuantai, and he too should establish his prestige.
The Emperor thought. Ying Xi nodded and said, “Petition granted.”
However, ultimately worried about his brother, he arranged for two scouts to serve as Prince Yong’s lieutenants. The three of them would look out for each other and act according to the situation to infiltrate Xindu.
This was the elder brother’s kind treatment; Prince Yong laughed inwardly.
It turned out that only when he was also able to contribute sufficient value would his brother, time and again, spare a glance and show him pity.
Prince Yong led his men away.
The heavy rain outside Xindu had not ceased.
Taking advantage of the night, Prince Yong was in the lead with the two scouts behind him. The three of them wore imitation rebel uniforms, approaching the city wall in a triangle formation.
The two he had brought were elite warriors from the scouting camp; their temperaments were decent, and they were willing to listen to Prince Yong’s commands.
As they moved, the two elites whispered to him: “Your Highness, further ahead is the range of the enemy’s sentries. It is not suitable to move recklessly anymore. How should we proceed? Please give your orders, Your Highness!”
The two simultaneously expressed their loyalty while reminding Prince Yong of the danger ahead.
Prince Yong turned around, his phoenix eyes curving, a strange light flickering in the depths of his pupils.
The two scouts instantly felt a sense of danger.
“Your… Your Highness?” Stammering, the scouts retreated half a step in unison.
But Prince Yong had already struck. His hands were like blades; with the rise and fall of his palms, he struck the sides of the two scouts’ necks, knocking them both completely unconscious.
The two scouts were dragged into a hidden spot by Prince Yong.
Ying Dang showed a bit of kindness; before leaving, he also stripped them of their rebel uniforms.
He walked alone through the torrential rain outside the city, slowly approaching and crawling into a pile of corpses.
The rain washed away the smell of rotting flesh; the odor wasn’t strong, but the corpses that had been soaked in rain all turned a deathly white. An ordinary person would likely be scared to death.
Not only was Prince Yong not afraid, he was even somewhat inexplicably excited.
The thought of what he was about to do next stimulated him so much that the corners of his mouth lifted high, and his heart pounded wildly in his chest.
He pulled out his short blade—his brother had given it back to him.
The hilt still carried his brother’s scent and tenderness.
Prince Yong gripped the hilt, aiming the tip at his left shoulder, and slashed a long cut from his chest down to his lower abdomen.
Agony pulsed from the wound!
Blood flowed out, soaking into the rainwater and meandering around his body. Prince Yong’s face instantly became as pale as paper!
Yet, he was joyful.
It was as if, in the moment of self-mutilation, he could see his brother smiling at him, worrying for him, and feeling infinite distress for him.
Prince Yong threw the precious blade far away!!!
The hilt’s crimson pigeon-blood ruby drew a long arc in the torrential rain; it was worth a fortune, yet it was discarded like trash.
No one would ever know that such a beautiful blade had come from the top of a corpse pile, from a cleverly disguised wounded rebel soldier.
Prince Yong closed his eyes to preserve his strength.
He was waiting.
“Quick, quick! There’s another one here!”
“Carry him away; his wounds can still be saved.”
On a night when the heavy rain had just ceased and the fighting had paused, the team that customarily cleaned the battlefield came out of Xindu.
Prince Yong had slept for half the night facing the sky, not daring to sleep soundly because he truly would die. By the latter half of the night, he finally felt his body become light as he was lifted onto a stretcher; the enemy had taken him for a wounded soldier.
This was Prince Yong repeating an old trick, but it was even more real than the time he had snuck into Guangling.
The blade wound on his body was fresh and deep; the wound was soaked in water, and his whole body smelled of corpses. The front of his chest was still throbbing with numb pain.
After today, he would surely fall seriously ill; Prince Yong didn’t care at all.
He deliberately closed his eyes and talked nonsense, shouting for his parents in a local dialect.
Prince Yong was originally from the Jiangnan region; the accent of Guangling was not much different from Xindu, making him even more convincing.
Even the soldiers carrying him were moved by his cries, involuntarily pausing their steps for a moment of silence.
Prince Yong was carried through the dilapidated city gates.
To prevent night raids by the Jiangbei Army, the torches on the city towers were bright, and heavy guards were stationed there all night.
Now, the final obstacle to the unification of the world, Xindu City, was beneath Prince Yong.
Inside Xindu, it was extremely quiet.
Yet it wasn’t the kind where everything was silent; rather, the entire city was shrouded in a deathly aura.
No one chatted, no one spoke; the troops stationed on the city walls were as motionless as statues.
Prince Yong curled his lips mockingly.
“Put him here, let’s go!” The soldiers carrying him placed Prince Yong and the other wounded in a requisitioned residence near the city gate for treatment.
That residence had been seized; inside, along both sides of the walls, hundreds of wounded soldiers were lying in rows.
During treatment, the wounded let out wails of agony.
Prince Yong lay there for a while until a military doctor came over, tore open his outer clothing, and applied herbal medicine to the blade wound on Prince Yong’s body. Combined with the sword wound on his back that had not yet healed, how could he not look like a rebel soldier?
“Good lad, so young yet covered in wounds,” the old military doctor said while treating the injuries.
Prince Yong snorted inwardly; he hated being called “young.”
After the medicine was applied, he didn’t dare stay long. Prince Yong found an opportunity to slip out of the treatment area, having only half a life left in him.
He leaped onto a roof, and the treatment area was gradually left behind, turning into a faint point of light.
Looking down from a high vantage point, he finally discovered that large swaths of lamps in the entire Xindu City were dark; there were barely a dozen places in the city with lights.
Compared to Chang’an, this was extremely abnormal.
Where had the common people gone?
Were they all hiding in their houses?
The doubt only lingered in Prince Yong’s mind for a moment.
He stepped on the thatched tiles and approached the Xindu Palace; the scale of the palace lights far surpassed anywhere else in the city.
Prince Yong landed beneath a wall near the main gate. The light from the palace lanterns cast a circular shadow around his feet from the tower above.
Holding his breath, he heard the rustling of armor plates; heavy armored guards were walking back and forth on the city tower.
Prince Yong could not win with force. Carrying injuries, he pressed his back against the palace wall, hiding himself beneath it, and lifted the corner of his mouth triumphantly.
But he was only relaxed for a brief moment.
Opposite him, another team of guards clad in armor and wielding sharp weapons approached; that patrol of heavy armor came closer and closer.
The palace wall was too high, and with Prince Yong’s physical limitations, he couldn’t climb up. The silhouettes of the enemy soldiers were already reflected in his phoenix eyes—there was no way into heaven or down into the earth!
Lying on the ground, Prince Yong had a flash of inspiration. Taking advantage of his half-dead state, he pointed tremblingly at the direction of the palace patrol that had already rushed over to surround him: “There… an assassin, a Jiangbei assassin…”
This topic violently triggered the nerves of the guards!
The Sovereign was currently incredibly sensitive; who would dare slacken the palace defenses?
The patrol instantly seemed as if their tails had been stepped on, and they all drew their blades and ran in the direction Prince Yong had pointed.
“Catch the assassin!”
“There’s an assassin over there who wounded our brothers; don’t let anyone into the palace!”
The guards quickly moved away, and the sound of armor plates gradually faded.
A thief crying ‘stop thief’ could also work; Prince Yong lay on the ground and stretched, sitting up with a grin.
“Tch, stupid dogs.”
Having a crooked talent always brings a few more bits of joy than being a common mortal.
Prince Yong looked up and studied the palace wall for a moment, pursing his lips tightly. He truly shouldn’t climb the wall here.
Then where should he go?
A dull pain came from the wound on his chest, and cold sweat seeped from Prince Yong’s forehead, reminding him to move quickly.
A suitable breakthrough point jumped into Prince Yong’s head; he remembered Li Yilong’s harem.
Li Yilong had dozens of concubines; the scale of the harem must be massive!
With manpower so tight, he didn’t believe that old geezer could protect every single consort. The harem defenses would surely be neglected in some places.
Having thought through this link, Prince Yong estimated the size of the Xindu Palace and performed Qinggong leaps, moving up and down.
He moved deep along the palace walls and only stopped when he was close enough. Standing on his tiptoes, he raised his head to look as far as he could.
He saw neither soldiers on the city tower nor any lit lamps; it was pitch black.
He decided to take a gamble—gamble that an unflavored consort happened to live inside.
As his mind moved, a long shadow flitted across the ground!
Prince Yong scrambled onto the top of the palace wall, his arms gripping the edge of the wall and refusing to let go. His arms exerted strength, his muscles bursting with hard curves. The wound tore open, bringing a sharp pain, and bean-sized beads of sweat slid down his face!
Prince Yong gritted his teeth deathly hard, his phoenix eyes slowly reflecting the internal scenery of the palace.
—It was a small courtyard, at most ten paces long and wide.
His luck was good; in the center of this courtyard grew a tree, which completely obscured his figure in its shadow. Jumping onto the tree caused the shadows of the leaves to sway.
Just as Prince Yong wanted to land, he heard a light sound from a door inside the courtyard. Someone was there!
That person walked from the side of the door to beneath the tree, moving gracefully with the delicate tinkling of a jade pendant. It was a consort.
The woman supported herself against the tree trunk, slapping it heavily several times, and said with a hateful voice: “You little thief, how dare you come?”
Prince Yong’s heart skipped a beat!
She took him for a thief???
But after the woman finished speaking, the small courtyard door opened, and another figure suddenly crashed beneath the tree, recklessly pulling the consort into an embrace.
“I am but a thief who has stolen your heart. If I don’t come, who will cherish you?”
The man pressed the consort against the tree trunk. Their clothes rubbed together, and the crown of the tree shook violently. The space beneath the tree was filled with panting and the woman’s flirtatious giggles.
“The Sovereign has over forty concubines. His eyes are clouded; how could he still remember a beauty such as you?”
The woman became increasingly pleased, responding intermittently: “The Sovereign has… over forty consorts… he cannot attend to me, yet he only has one strategist left. The dignified ‘Poisonous Scholar’ Master Fan—you are a busy man, yet you come to the Autumn Fragrance Hall to have a tryst with me… to do this sort of thing…”
This wasn’t a theft; this was… an affair.
Prince Yong’s phoenix eyes brightened as he leaned against a branch and pricked up his ears.
Translator’s Note:
Bird/Dog (鸟尽弓藏，兔死狗烹): This is a classic Chinese idiom used by Emperors. It literally means “once the birds are gone, the bow is put away; once the hares are caught, the hunting dog is cooked.” It refers to the historical tendency of rulers to get rid of the generals and officials who helped them win power once the state is stable. Ying Xi is scolding Lu Heyu for being too obvious about this “ruthless” political move while the war is still ongoing!
Autumn Fragrance Hall (芳兰殿/秋香殿): These palace names often use “Fragrance” (香) or “Orchid” (兰) to denote the living quarters of consorts.
Poisonous Scholar (毒士): This is a common trope in Chinese historical fiction for a strategist who uses ruthless, underhanded, or “poisonous” tactics to win. Master Fan is set up as the primary brain behind Rebel Li’s defenses.
Chicken Blood (打鸡血): This is a modern Chinese slang term used to describe someone who is suddenly hyper-energetic, agitated, or acting as if they’ve been given a stimulant. It’s funny to see Ying Xi use it here in his internal monologue!
Wait, Prince Yong really just slashed his own chest to go undercover? Talk about commitment (and a bit of a psychological complex)! Let’s see what “Master Fan” is really up to in the next chapter. Enjoy the cliffhanger!
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