Chapter 756: great niece

His Majesty was unusually enthusiastic; the scene seemed like old friends reuniting. Even Wei Shen was left bewildered—have those two met behind his back or not?!

"Li Er, it's been ages—how have you been these past few years?" His Majesty began chatting about family matters.

Bai Li Hu thought this was just an opening remark, but later realized it wasn't; San Pangzi was simply partial, treating Lao Er very differently.

His Majesty didn't give Li Xu a chance to raise a topic, speaking first to start chatting. "…Does my great nephew now understand a thing or two? How about the first‑birthday gift I sent him—did he like it?"

Li Xu recalled: that fellow apparently sent a fine horse back then. The Crown Prince couldn't even walk at the time, and was outright set down by the Prince of Vast Mausoleum.

"Thank Your Majesty for your concern on behalf of the Crown Prince; the Crown Prince very much likes it."

His Majesty waved a hand, "Huh? You saying 'thanks on my behalf'—I won't accept that. I'm the uncle, you're the maternal uncle—by any reckoning I'm the closer relative~"

Li Xu: ．．．

Bai Li Hu gave a dead‑fish stare.

"…This time I came to the Secluded Prefecture to, first, explain the Jin Merchant Caravan affair on behalf of the Prince of Vast Mausoleum to the Secluded Prefecture; second, to report happy news to Your Majesty—the Prince of Vast Mausoleum welcomed a beloved daughter half a year ago."

His Majesty muttered inwardly, Lao Er's rebellion doesn't delay his having kids, nor does he fear it slowing his escape speed.

He showed a look of surprise and joy: "I have a great niece?!"

Wei Shen gave a half‑hearted fist salute beside him: "Congratulations, Your Majesty."

And the repeat‑machine Lao Qi, upon detecting the key information, also turned his head and shouted: "Congratulations, Imperial Elder Brother~"

Bai Li Hu continued his dead‑fish stare: "It's not like he's the one who got a beloved daughter."

His Majesty saw Lao Qi turn over and get another smear of blueberry juice on his face, so he casually lifted the tablecloth and wiped it on him. After wiping his hand he suddenly paused—oh no! There are still guests present!

He did that in front of a gentleman from the prestigious Tian‑Shi Li clan… wiping Lao Qi's mouth with the tablecloth.

Done—another solid blow to the Li Bai clan's low‑rank, fallen‑gentry status.

Even Liang Ben forgot to manage his expression; he'd just cracked a smile when His Majesty gave him a fierce glare, forcing him to behave.

To cover the embarrassment, His Majesty immediately pretended nothing happened. Calmly introducing the few people, he first pulled over the big‑faced Bai Li Zhang and said, "Li Er, you haven't met him yet, have you? This is the only son surviving from Father Emperor in Long Peace—Lao Qi Bai Li Zhang."

"I've seen Prince Seven."

His Majesty began rubbing Bai Li Zhang the way one rubs a little gold ingot, sentimental as if Empress Wei had possessed him. "Er‑ge knows Lao Qi is still alive—he must be delighted. Only pity the old one!"

"Maternal‑uncle~ elder‑brother~"

Li Xu: ……Are you guys that familiar with each other?!

His Majesty didn't care; he went on to introduce Lao Si and Wei Shen, inviting everyone to sit and talk.

Once seated, Li Xu thought they could finally get down to business, but His Majesty kept dragging out the small talk—from his and Bai Li Heng's childhood antics to the last time Bai Li Heng came to Youzhou, a pile of nonsense, just avoiding the real topic.

Bai Li Hu listened, growing increasingly confused—could today be… an emotional offensive?!

Naive.

The royal family talks about feelings?! Does that even exist?!

His Majesty's audience with Li Xu was already late; after wasting time on useless chatter it was practically mealtime, so His Majesty hosted another dinner.

After the banquet, Li Xu really didn't know what His Majesty was up to today, and the prelude had gone on long enough. He'd met plenty of smart people, but such nonsense was rare. Before leaving he had no choice but to bring up again the Jin Merchant Caravan's tragedy in Youzhou and the identity‑swap incident.

His Majesty looked enlightened, "Oh, there is such a matter!"

"I trust Er‑ge; afterward we investigated and found it was Lao Si who did it. The massacre of the Wusun envoy and the village slaughter were all Lao Si's doing."

Bai Li Hu nearly spat out a mouthful of old blood!

"How could it be me who did it?! I wasn't even in Jing Prefecture at the time, I had no idea about this!"

His Majesty said airily, "Oh, if it were you I'd tell you to keep it down—it was Jing Prefecture that went over you and did it, is that glorious? It sounds even worse."

Bai Li Hu: "…You're just playing favorites!"

His Majesty admitted, smiling narrowly at Li Xu: "My bond with Er‑ge is different. The situation changed, but feelings don't. The promise I made to Er‑ge back in Long Peace I exchanged then, and I still acknowledge it."

"Let Er‑ge linger a few more days on Abyssal Terrace Island, and I'll prepare some gifts for my great niece."

After Li Er left, Bai Li Hu couldn't help bringing up His Majesty's favoritism again, his attitude toward the Prince of Guangling starkly different. "Shouldn't you let Er‑ge disband his rebels within a deadline? Back in Long Peace I already sensed you and Er‑ge had a different relationship. He's shown no sign so far, yet you treat him with indifference—you're just playing favorites!"

His Majesty nodded, "Exactly, I admit it! We used to have an agreement; now I'm willing to give Er‑ge face and let him decide for himself."

As Bai Li Hu began to seethe and gather his qi, His Majesty leisurely added, "Er‑ge did rebel, true, but I rebelled too then—anyone rebelling back then could be understood. I know Er‑ge has been expanding his troops and territory in his fief, but he's never crossed any of my red lines!"

But what about you in Jing Prefecture? In the Battle of Douye that killed Father Emperor, what role did the Cui clan play? You didn't know before, but now you ought to have it figured out. Also, colluding with the Western Regions and laying siege to the Southwest Army at Dun City—enough to warrant extermination of nine lineages. Lao Si, Jing Prefecture and Marquis Chen joining forces to strip the Wei clan of its main strength to weaken my power—did you ever think about the ordinary folk of Dun City similarly besieged within its walls?

Bai Li Hu's face turned ashen.

The Viewpoint Platform seemed to freeze, and Lao Qi instinctively shrank closer to Wei Shen.

After a long while Bai Li Hu finally rose, "That was the first time I ever fell out with my maternal uncle." He glanced at Wei Shen, then continued: "Sometimes I truly envy you—your maternal clan is far away, so they can't meddle in everything. From birth onward, everything has been arranged for me by the Cui clan; when I finally sensed something was wrong, I couldn't change it. Believe it or not, I had no hand in the Dun City affair. Those warriors nominally serving Jing Prefecture aren't under my command either."

His Majesty spread his hands, "So that's why I'm willing to look past your face—so the Empress Dowager can return and continue as Empress Dowager."

Bai Li Hu nodded, "I've already sent Mr. Hu to personally meet Empress Dowager Chen Qing, and I've brought a handwritten letter for my maternal uncle and Jing Prefecture." After throwing out that line, Bai Li Hu got up and left.

He left, and His Majesty also wanted to go, but Wei Shen had more to say.

"This isn't what I expected! I'm talking about Guangling—is that it? You shouted all the way from afar, and that's it?! What about the promised show of force?"

His Majesty shoved him away, "Even the two of us plus Lao Qi together aren't as sharp as Li Xu—wasting breath on all this pointless talk only hurts feelings. As for the show of force, talking about it is pointless; Abyssal Terrace Island and the Xiongnu Royal City have already spoken for me~"

Wei Shen pondered, then took another look at the big‑faced Bai Li Zhang—something's off!

You…… you scold and lead people away this far?!