Chapter 629: Secret Manual
Our willingness is useless; the main thing is whether the Peaceful State is willing. And the Xie clan—are they willing to marry the princess? Earlier they didn't take office; Xie Tu's father was forced by you into the position of sacrificial wine steward, and they don't want any ties with your imperial family.
The Xie clan is unwilling, but I have my own ways. As for older sister, she certainly wouldn't be unwilling—Xie Tu is so handsome, he's on par with me… huh? Cousin, where are you going?
I ate too much at the banquet just now; I feel a bit nauseous.
Zhao Bao: The Second Young Master is really……
The Great King showed no sign of being bothered by the dislike, saying, "He's ugly, so he's jealous of me and my elder cousin's good looks～"
Zhao Bao, posing as a wall painting: ……
He really couldn't think of a reply; after struggling, he finally thought of a topic: "Your Majesty, the Wusun envoy has again requested an audience and is still waiting at the South Hua Gate."
Then I'll leave through the East Gate.
Zhao Bao: ……
Then, should we send someone to find out what they're up to?
Sure." The Great King was casual, after all he wasn't in a hurry.
The imperial procession returned to Dark Prefecture, and the prince's mansion was renamed the Purple Forbidden Palace; even the Yingtai Isle to the south was spoken of as if divine, said to be another immortal's abode. All this brought Dark Prefecture back to life, and even merchants grew more confident about the prospects of the northern border.
The most obvious sign was that Vermilion Bird Avenue became lively again, and the stalls that had closed during the autumn harvest reappeared.
The street was bustling; several young masters of Dark Prefecture City were still gathering at the Taste Sea Pavilion around midday, having eaten half their meal when two latecomers finally showed up. These two didn't bother with eating; they mysteriously pulled out two books.
"Liang Ben, we've found something great today! Your family isn't military officers, right? Want to copy a copy for your elder brother? This is a secret manual!"
When Liang Ben, who had been eating his meal like an ox or horse all morning, finally took two more bites and set down his chopsticks, he said, "Look at you two, so clueless!"
He took a look and saw
Oh wow～
That Young Master Fan San had already been rattling on about how awesome that ancient battle formation was, how long the Heavenly Gang Palm had been lost, and Liang Ben was at a loss for words.
"You two aren't ignorant country bumpkins, so how could you be fooled by this?"
"What you mean, Liang Ben? …Impossible!"
"How could it be impossible? Where would a secret manual or ancient battle formation come from? If it were real, it wouldn't be a rare treasure to hoard—you could present it to the imperial family, auction it at the Pagoda Pavilion, and make a killing! Who would sell it on the street? How much silver would it fetch?"
Liang Ben picked up his chopsticks again and asked casually, only to hear Fan San say it was over two hundred taels!
…He couldn't eat another bite—this was making a fool of his brother!
"You two don't know martial arts, so why are you letting yourselves be suckers?" He was purely curious.
Fan San: ……
He thought back a bit…… Now he even felt it was a bit amazing himself. "…Probably those two guys are just too smooth‑talked; the more they spoke, the more it sounded true. They slapped their chests and said no one on Vermilion Bird Avenue would dare sell fakes, these two books are their family's inheritance, you won't find them elsewhere, they're one‑of‑a‑kind, and I and Xia Er thought they weren't that expensive…"
You think you think, Liang Ben thinks these two idiots are hopeless.
"Times really have changed—how can letting two kids sell fakes on Vermilion Bird Avenue let them dodge punishment? Come on, let me take this young master to have a look; I want to see who dares to pull this trick on Vermilion Bird Avenue!"
Everyone at the table jumped up; the Eastern Capital Marquis, Duke of Guo, Liang He also rose two ranks, and Young Master Liang Er in Dark Prefecture was the talk of the town, with many followers. If he weren't on duty, his life would be invincible. Too bad he refuses to quit this post, for his father warned before leaving that if he dared resign and come home, he'd break his legs.
Fan San finally realized what was going on; flipping through the Heavenly Gang Palm, it was obscure and mystifying—clearly a scam, and it made him lose face in front of Young Master Liang Er. He stormed over, dragging Liang Ben straight to the recent street corner, shouting, "Liang Ben, look—those two brats by the Flower Contemplation Gate!"
Liang Ben looked up, and as soon as he made out the stall, he quickly lifted his wide sleeve to cover his face, about to turn and flee, thinking, "I'll forget about this; I just remembered I still have…"
Before he could finish, the stall‑owner spotted him and shouted, "Young man in the blue robe, want to take a look at this exclusive martial arts secret manual,
Liang Ben: ……Good heavens!
Fan San grew even more furious upon hearing that: "Great, they're definitely swindlers! Where's the promised one‑of‑a‑kind copy?"
Liang Ben: "Can you just shut up?"
===GOLossary===
【
Peaceful State
Xie Clan
Xie Tu
Zhao Bao
Second Young Master
Great King
Elder Cousin Brother
Your Majesty
Wusun
South Hua Gate
East Gate
Imperial Procession
Dark Prefecture
Purple Forbidden Palace
Yingtai Isle
Vermilion Bird Avenue
Taste Sea Pavilion
Liang Ben
Liang He
Young Master Liang Er
Young Master Fan San
Fan San
Xia Er
Heavenly Gang Palm
Heavenly Bow Formation
Pagoda Pavilion
Eastern Capital Marquis, Duke of Guo
Flower Contemplation Gate
Dark Prefecture City
】
End of Chapter
