Chapter 453

Yueyang City is a major city in the south of the Tian Ce Dynasty.

Xu Kequan had left here for many years. Wearing his general's uniform, he had just arrived at the gate of Yueyang City when the guard captain recognized him and immediately led the team forward to welcome him.

"Prince Wang Shizi! Why are you back? I'll go notify the Prince right away!" The captain knelt on one knee excitedly.

Xu Kequan saw an old acquaintance and also had a smile on his face: "Call me by my job title outside. I am a captain now."

The captain bowed respectfully: "Okay, Captain Xu, welcome to Yueyang City for inspection."

Walking into the city gate, what came to his face was the prosperous atmosphere unique to a large southern city.

As the core major city in the south of the Tian Ce Dynasty, Yueyang City carried millions of people. The streets were noisy, and the traffic was like water.

The shops along the street were like scales, and the shouts of selling rose one after another.

From time to time, one could see cultivators dressed in various costumes shuttling between them, including sword cultivators carrying long swords, Taoists holding whisks, and quite a few witchcraft cultivators dressed in Miao costumes.

"Prince Wang Shizi is good!"

"Prince Wang Shizi is back!"

Many peddlers along the way recognized Xu Kequan and greeted him enthusiastically.

Xu Kequan responded with a smile one by one, showing a calm bearing in his gestures.

Compared to the arrogance when he was hiding his clumsiness in the Imperial Capital, he now appeared much more calm and restrained.

The guard captain beside him was secretly surprised. This once high-spirited Prince Wang Shizi now actually had a bit of the demeanor of a great general.

Xu Kequan's reputation in Yueyang City was really good. At that time, many people were thinking that Xu Kequan should be the next Prince of Zhennan, so everyone took him as the core. He was the absolute core here, and no one dared to disobey him.

However, after Li Chen's beating, Xu Kequan's temperament had indeed become much calmer, and even the captain beside him felt that Prince Wang Shizi had changed.

Arriving at the Prince of Zhennan's Mansion, that imposing mansion was comparable to the imperial palace.

The vermilion gate was inlaid with ninety-nine copper nails, and the stone lions on both sides were majestic and strong.

The Prince of Zhennan had made great contributions to the late emperor back then. This capital was almost equal to a prince of the same rank, so the power was definitely great.

Hearing that the Prince Wang Shizi had returned to the mansion, the guards and stewards of the Prince's Mansion hurried out to welcome him.

"Prince, you are finally back!" The old steward's voice trembled with excitement.

Xu Kequan was indifferent on the surface: "Be low-key, I'm just coming back to see."

But the slightly raised corner of his mouth still leaked his inner joy.

This was the place where he was born and raised, and every brick and tile carried childhood memories.

"Where is my dad?" Xu Kequan looked around and asked.

The steward replied respectfully: "Prince, the Prince is out, and should be back soon. Do you want to send someone to notify him?"

Xu Kequan waved his hand: "No need, my dad is busy with official business, wait until he comes back."

And at this time, the Prince of Zhennan, Xu Su, had quietly arrived at the camp of the southern expedition army.

Just after Xu Kequan left, this prince who shook the southern border arrived on horseback.

In the middle army tent, Yun Xu was still sitting at the desk reading military books, without raising his head.

The Prince of Zhennan was not polite either, and walked in directly by lifting the curtain.

"Your son has already gone back." Yun Xu said lightly, his eyes still not leaving the book in his hand.

Xu Su stood with his hands behind his back: "I know. I owe you a favor this time."

He only had this one precious son, could he not care? Since Xu Kequan entered the southern expedition army, the Prince of Zhennan had been paying attention.

If it weren't for the imperial court not allowing it, he would have wanted to send personal guards to help Xu Kequan.

What Xu Su worried about the most was that Yun Xu, this old rival, would target his son. Now it seemed that Yun Xu was quite good to his son, and it could be considered official business, so Xu Su said so.

Yun Xu snorted coldly: "This subordinate cannot afford the favor of the Prince of Zhennan. You should take it back."

As the commander of the Second Group Army appointed by the late emperor, Yun Xu's duty was to contain the Prince of Zhennan, so he naturally wouldn't give a good face.

In his eyes, except for Emperor Li Chen and Grand General Guo Guo Po Yun, no one was worth him getting up to welcome.

What's more, now standing opposite was Xu Su, his attitude had to be like this.

He couldn't let Li Chen and Guo Guo Po Yun hear a little movement. For example, if someone impeached him for colluding with Xu Su, that would be a big trouble, and he might have to eat a few impeachments.

So he sat there as if he didn't see it, talking to himself, only so cold.

Xu Su didn't say anything either, and left the military camp tacitly.

His appearance was just to express his meaning. Whether Yun Xu accepted the favor or not was Yun Xu's business.

They were all old foxes at this level, so they naturally wouldn't leave flaws for each other.

The Prince of Zhennan returned to the Prince's Mansion and deliberately pretended not to know the news of his son's return.

When he saw Xu Kequan, a look of surprise appeared on his face just right: "Feng'er? Why are you back?"

Xu Kequan immediately stepped forward and bowed deeply: "This child pays respects to Father!"

Xu Su looked at his son kneeling on the ground, his eyes slightly red.

How many years had it been, father and son could finally meet formally like this.

He quickly helped Xu Kequan up and looked him up and down: "Did anyone bully you in the Imperial Capital? Did you encounter injustice in the military camp? Tell Dad, Dad will definitely seek justice for you!"

This was not a joke. Xu Su only had this one son, so he was definitely very concerned.

Xu Kequan smiled and shook his head: "Father, don't worry. In the Imperial Capital, there are Aunt and the Empress Dowager to take care of me, no one dares to make things difficult for this child. In the military camp, Grand General Guo Guo Po Yun has taken care of this child a lot, and this time following Commander Yun on the expedition, he also took care of me quite a bit."

In fact, Xu Kequan still hid some things, because when he was in the Imperial Capital, there was a woman named Lin Yue'e who often caught him in prison.

But although Xu Kequan was arrogant, he was not stupid. Lin Yue'e was just doing her own job. It was after Xu Kequan made a mistake that she caught him. She didn't mean to make things difficult for Xu Kequan, so he didn't say it.

In the military camp, that went without saying. Xu Kequan's ability was very strong. If the Grand General and Commander leading the army were not secretly ordered by the Emperor to target Xu Kequan, they would still reuse this capable vanguard general.

Hearing this, Xu Su felt much relieved in his heart.

Back then, the late emperor took Xu Kequan into the Imperial Capital as a hostage. He was indignant and even had the idea of rebellion.

Now the new emperor Li Chen not only let his son follow the army on the expedition but also allowed him to return home to visit his relatives. This favor made him have to reconsider.

Xu Su was a smart person, and of course, he could understand that Yun Xu letting Xu Kequan return was definitely not his intention. Although Yun Xu was the commander of the army, he still didn't have the qualification to release Xu Kequan.

The Empress Dowager definitely wouldn't interfere in such things either.

Only Li Chen spoke, and Yun Xu dared to release people, or do a favor.

Even why Yun Xu released him, Xu Su understood.

Because Yun Xu couldn't wait for Xu Su to come and beg before releasing people; this would be a bit 'ambiguous'.

There would be court officials who would think, did you, Yun Xu, reach a consensus with Xu Su? You released him?

Since he knew Xu Su would definitely come, Yun Xu simply released Xu Kequan in advance to avoid being impeached, and could also make Xu Kequan grateful, killing two birds with one stone.

(End of chapter)