Chapter 353: The Great King's Invitation

Fanyang

Compared to Chenjun, Fanyang is extremely close to Youzhou, just not far from the south gate.

The Great King and Wei Shen's joking words at the court assembly, the Great King has already put them into practice.

The Xie Clan's qilin son, Xie Tu, is no feeble scholar; besides studying, he also rides horses, hunts, and goes on outings with his classmates.

Fanyang has just entered March; this year it's cold, the sunny slopes outside the city have no green sprouts, nor any good greenery to tread on; when he goes out of the city, it's just to ride his horse and clear his mind. Who would have thought that after running half a day with two classmates, returning to the city left his heart even more blocked.

Before even nearing the city gate, from afar he saw the city guards shouting at a group of ragged beggars, driving them away from the gate.

Such things in Fanyang aren't exactly novel; but… after the New Year they've become ever more frequent, the norm.

Among the three, only Lu Xiong had the leisure to joke and liven the mood, saying, "Xie brother, cousin, why don't we guess where these people come from? If you guess right, I'll wrap up the essay the teacher left yesterday for you!"

Lu Jia didn't bother to cooperate, saying, "I'll pass; don't bring out your essay and disgrace Xie brother's reputation! It's a huge drop in quality, it'll scare the teacher."

"You……

"Pengcheng, or somewhere nearby." Xie Tu spoke up, cutting off the Lu brothers' argument.

"How do you know?"

"This is the south gate; to the south… I've heard that near Pengcheng, in Sixian, a group has risen calling themselves a righteous army, claiming they will overthrow the court and rule themselves. They've already taken Pengcheng and are conscripting the surrounding villages' and towns' folk into their ranks."

Even the usually cheerful Lu Xiong couldn't laugh now, "……When did this happen?"

"I just heard it from Uncle Zhang yesterday; he just came from Chenjun."

"Where did this righteous army come from? I mean, is its leader a feudal lord or someone else?"

"At first it was just a band of mountain bandits; as they gathered more refugees, they became a force, stormed Pengcheng, seized the city and declared themselves kings, and many locals willingly followed them just to earn a meal."

"What about Pengcheng's garrison? And the governor?"

"Dead, I hear—the governor's head is still hanging on the city gate."

"It's already… come to this?"

The three fell into silence.

Over the past two years, the Lu Clan, such a great family, certainly hasn't been idle, but these younger ones of theirs aren't affected; they still study and play, and though they sense the tension, Lu Xiong never imagined Fanyang would fall into war.

After all, the northern borders have quieted down.

Actually, to these great families, such a righteous army poses a greater threat than those few rebel kings of the Bai Li Clan. Once these rabble become a force, they won't care whether you're the Fanyang Lu Clan or not—face, favor, and dignity will be gone…

The three walked silently all the way to the city gate, listening to the city guards' shouts, which grew ever more grating. Who would have thought that before they even neared the gate, two hulking men like iron towers stopped them.

Lu Xiong was now a jumpy bird, he gripped his whip and spoke first: "What do you want?! Do you even know where this is, daring to stop this young master?! This is Fanyang!"

The two hulks cupped their hands toward them; one looked at Xie Tu and asked, "Are you Xie Tu, the young master Xie?"

Those eyes swept over him; Xie Tu felt as if a fierce beast had locked onto him, a chill running from his spine throughout his body.

Xie Tu gave a slight nod on horseback, "Indeed, it's Xie Tu."

The man withdrew his gaze, then bowed his head slightly in courtesy to Xie Tu, saying, "Young Master Xie, greetings. I am the steward of the Northern Border King's Manor, and I have been waiting here especially for you, Young Master Xie. Libationer Xie has been at our Northern Border Academy for over two years, quite missing his homeland, but the academy's just gotten started, with many affairs keeping him tied down. Learning that Young Master Xie is studying in Fanyang, not far from the Northern Border, the His Highness the King of the Northern Border invites you to a gathering in the Northern Border."

"You, you want Xie brother to go to Youzhou?!"

"What if… I don't go?" Xie Tu asked slowly.

The hulk raised his head, strained to pull at the corner of his mouth, revealing an arc that could hardly be called a smile.

"We'll wait for Young Master Xie outside the city for two days to let him pack; no matter what, in two days Young Master Xie will certainly set foot on Northern Border soil."

Lu Xiong raised his whip again, but his cousin struck it down—this still didn't shut him up, "You you you, this is a threat!"

Xie Tu: ……

Lu Jia: ……

To say it out would only be more embarrassing—what's the point?