Chapter 112: Rewarding Merit

For three consecutive days, the court went back and forth, during which Chu Danqing also saw the Crown Prince.

The other party's face was haggard, yet his spirit appeared very excited.

With the Ghost Market card in hand, the Qiutan Party was heavily implicated, and the people from the Investigative Bureau dared not speak.

Consort Zheng and Prince Fu were beaten back repeatedly, and Emperor Taichang had several times thought about letting Prince Fu leave the capital for his fief.

But in the end, he still withstood the pressure.

Chu Danqing was much more relaxed, having been cultivating in the Donggong all along, and after refining one Five-Cloud Pill.

He had raised the Five Elements Spirit Beast Scripture to LV3 across the board, and it wasn't far from LV4.

The Five-Cloud Pill not only contained thicker and purer Five Elements Qi, but the difficulty of refining it was also greatly reduced.

The effect was better and the efficiency higher, far superior to the Five-Qi Pill, which was why Chu Danqing could take one every three days.

【Five Elements Spirit Beast Scripture (Inheritance) LV. 3】

【Mana +100 per level】

【HP +100 per level】

【Inheritance Skill】

【Five Elements Magic Orb (Active/Passive) LV. 3: Permanently stationed Five Elements attribute orbiting magic orbs, equivalent to 30 points of shield value, simultaneously causing 30 points of Five Elements attribute damage to targets in contact; requires 3 points of mana to condense after shattering】

【Gold Spirit Body Control (Passive) LV. 3: Summoned creature negative status resistance +30 points】

【Wood Spirit Vitality (Passive) LV. 3: Summoned creature HP +300 points】

【Water Spirit Moistening (Passive) LV. 3: Summoned creature mana +300 points】

【Fire Spirit Refining Spirit (Passive) LV. 3: Summoned creature attack power +30 points】

【Earth Spirit Guarding Heart (Passive) LV. 3: Summoned creature defense power +30 points】

The improvement of the Five Elements Magic Orb in the Five Elements Spirit Beast Scripture drove the improvement of the Spirit Seal and Spirit Bead.

The range aura effect and range of the Spirit Seal were both improved, with the range unified to 30 meters, and the effect consistent with the Five Elements passive of the summoned creatures in the Five Elements Spirit Beast Scripture.

The mana storage capacity of each Spirit Bead increased from 200 to 300, but unfortunately, the cultivation efficiency could not be further improved.

However, Chu Danqing had an extra set of Five Elements Magic Orbs; if Guo Ming brought him secret arts next time, he would be able to cultivate them.

In addition, Chu Danqing also used the intelligence of the Donggong to find some Dimensional Apostles.

These found apostles had joined various factions, roughly divided into four types of camps.

Qiutan Party, Investigative Bureau, Jianghu sects, and greenwood bandits.

Chu Danqing's Crown Prince faction seemed to belong to a hidden camp, and wanting to join it was slightly difficult.

Because he was a core figure as soon as he joined, while the other Dimensional Apostles, although not starting from scratch, were not as valued as him.

In these three days, every time the Crown Prince returned from court, he would give him a bonus.

It was all gold, silver, and treasures, which were of limited use to him.

It was estimated that there wouldn't be better bonuses until the dust settled.

He estimated that this time would take another four days; otherwise, the Paradise couldn't have required seven days to generate a new mission for no reason.

The time each Dimensional Apostle arrived in the capital was different, making the subsequent trial missions different.

Chu Danqing's mission was to increase reputation, but others might not be.

This led to some apostles remaining unknown in the capital.

"Lord Chu, the Crown Prince is hosting a banquet and invites you to attend." The attendant attached an invitation; even though Chu Danqing was in the Donggong, etiquette still had to be observed.

Chu Danqing glanced at the invitation; the content was very simple.

Xiong Zhigang was about to set off for the border to garrison tomorrow, and the banquet was to see Xiong Zhigang off.

Chu Danqing put down the invitation and set off immediately.

To be honest, he didn't quite understand why the Crown Prince would do this; after winning, he should just keep a low profile and wait to succeed the throne.

You already know that Emperor Taichang intends to suppress you, yet you still dare to host such a grand banquet to see off a Regional Coordinator who holds heavy authority.

Even if this Regional Coordinator has always been in your faction, you shouldn't be giving Emperor Taichang an excuse at this time.

After arriving, besides Xiong Zhigang, the protagonist of the banquet, Chu Danqing also saw one other person.

Li Wanwu, Commandant of the Investigative Bureau.

Judging from the seating, Li Wanwu was also one of the protagonists of this banquet.

The Crown Prince was drinking and chatting with these two, and after Chu Danqing arrived, he was asked to join them.

It was clear that Li Wanwu, this Commandant of the Investigative Bureau, had defected to the Crown Prince.

No wonder the Crown Prince dared to do this; this political game had reached its end, and the winner was the Crown Prince.

"Father Emperor has already issued an order that after the New Year, Prince Fu will be sent to his fief, letting him spend his last New Year in the capital."

"Before the New Year, he will be reflecting on his mistakes inside Prince Fu's mansion and is not allowed to step out of Prince Fu's mansion for even a single step."

"Consort Zheng has been sent to the cold palace, letting her escape with her life." The Crown Prince was already a bit drunk, and his speech became unbridled.

As for the Tingji case, it was left unsettled, and all the problems were pushed onto the dead Zhang Cai to finish it off hastily.

Everyone had achieved their goals, so naturally, no one would care.

Chu Danqing looked at Li Wanwu, who was being warm with the Crown Prince, and felt it was a bit funny.

Originally, he had intended to tell the Crown Prince about the true culprit of the Tingji case, but now it seemed unnecessary.

Even if he told him, he wouldn't believe it, and it would instead affect himself.

"Left Guard Commander Chu has impressive skills; why not ask him to remove this hidden danger?" Li Wanwu was a martial artist after all; he didn't have a hint of drunkenness.

He directly fixed his gaze on Chu Danqing, preparing to pit him.

"Is Commandant Li making a decision for the Crown Prince, or are you saying you have such an idea?" Chu Danqing parried.

The former was a great taboo, and for the latter, Chu Danqing wouldn't indulge him.

After the assassination and poisoning incidents, the Crown Prince's already suspicious personality had become neurotic.

"I just want to share the worries for Your Highness." Li Wanwu lightly brushed aside Chu Danqing's question.

"Let's not mention this matter again." The Crown Prince waved his hand, indicating he didn't want to kill Consort Zheng.

He was drunk, not stupid.

If Consort Zheng died in the cold palace at this time, he would be a suspect.

Even if he wanted to kill her, he would have to wait until the wind died down before acting.

For example, after Prince Fu went to his fief after the New Year.

"This time, Left Guard Commander Chu has worked hard and achieved great merit, finding the true culprit in just one night; he truly has my heart." The Crown Prince stood up and clapped his hands.

An attendant brought over a small, exquisite wooden box.

"This is a night-luminescent pearl presented by the Boluo Kingdom; it contains forty-eight small pearls and one large pearl; it is awarded to you." After the Crown Prince finished speaking, the attendant sent the item to Chu Danqing's table.

Chu Danqing didn't care much about this thing, but he responded anyway.

He took the opportunity to investigate it; what if it was useful?

【Imperial Tribute · Night-Luminescent Pearl】

【Type: Treasure】

【Quality: Excellent-tier】

【Effect 1: Gift to natives of the Trial World to increase or decrease favorability based on behavior and personality】

【Effect 2: Sell to the Dimensional Paradise, complete sale price: Paradise Points × 10,000, split sale price: 150 Paradise Points per small pearl, 1000 Paradise Points per large pearl】

When he saw the attributes, he fell silent.

This thing could be so valuable?

It turned out that the quality of the gold, silver, and jewelry he had before was too low, and the Paradise didn't care for them at all.

Chu Danqing didn't quite understand what the use of this thing was; selling it as a package could actually be worth 10,000 Paradise Points.

Unfortunately, the Paradise didn't answer his question, so Chu Danqing could only put it away for the time being.

He would ask about the situation after returning to the Paradise before selling it.

If it couldn't be cashed in in the short term, he would sell it directly to the Paradise.

The next stage was the promotion trial; of course, he should become as strong as possible; why keep it?

Could it be that he was waiting to die and gift it to the enemy as resources?

The Crown Prince gave gifts to everyone who had participated; not a single one was left out.

It had to be said that the Crown Prince had quite a few shortcomings.

But he was very generous with money and power, which made up for his shortcomings.

Otherwise, if he were both stingy and petty, who would be willing to do things for him?

One has to be after something.

It was called a farewell banquet for Xiong Zhigang, but in reality, it was a celebration and a welcome party.

The nature of it was very complex.

The banquet lasted until midnight before the guests dispersed.

On the way back, Chu Danqing walked with Xiong Zhigang.

"Mr. Chu, Li Wanwu is a scoundrel with ill intentions; you must be careful in the future." Xiong Zhigang warned Chu Danqing.

Li Wanwu's defection was too decisive; not only Xiong Zhigang but even Wang Qi had been caught off guard.

The thick-skinned nature of such a person who follows the wind is truly remarkable.

"I know." Chu Danqing had indeed been caught off guard, so he had to act tonight.

As long as Emperor Taichang died, the Crown Prince would be busy ascending the throne, and Li Wanwu would have to cooperate with him to eliminate dissidents, so he wouldn't have the mind to find trouble for him.

Once the Qiutan Party, the dissidents, were wiped out, Chu Danqing would kill Li Wanwu, and the other party's targeting would be too late to implement.

"Sigh, I originally intended to settle you, Mr. Chu, in my hometown; although it's not as prosperous as the capital, you might be able to live more comfortably." Xiong Zhigang only felt that he had pitted Chu Danqing.

Chu Danqing didn't care; the capital is difficult, but the value is high.

"Once I leave, I'm afraid it will be extremely difficult to meet again in this lifetime." Xiong Zhigang continued: "I'm afraid I won't be able to repay Mr. Chu's kindness."

"I have a good friend in the capital who is skilled in the art of animal taming."

"I have written a letter; you can go visit him when you have time, Mr. Chu."

"I once did him a favor, and I have no choice but to use that favor to ask for something." After finishing, Xiong Zhigang took out a wax-sealed letter: "Let my friend gift you his family's animal taming method, Mr. Chu."

Hearing this, Chu Danqing was full of confusion: "Ah, this... are you okay? Forcing someone to give up their family's things is immoral."

He could understand that Xiong Zhigang didn't have anything suitable to repay him, but he couldn't harm others to benefit himself.

If this letter were sent out, the two would break up on the spot, and they wouldn't even be able to be friends.

Besides, he didn't really need animal taming methods.

He pushed the letter back and said: "I don't ask for any repayment from you; let's just leave it at that."

"Very well." Seeing this, Xiong Zhigang took the letter back, but in his heart, he intended to go find his friend overnight.

The latest war report came that the Sushen people had assembled an army of 50,000 and were preparing to enter the pass; if he couldn't block the enemy, he would have no choice but to die for his country.

Fortunately, there was still time for him to arrange his affairs.

He didn't have to worry about family matters; the only thing he couldn't let go of was the escort kindness of Chu Danqing and Zhao Mingqian.

He had handled Zhao Mingqian, but Chu Danqing was more troublesome.

That was why he had come up with this method.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 113 =====