Chapter 46: Heavenly Pride of the Imperial Family

A mighty procession marched down the street, heading straight for the Maple Forest Town government office.

After the convoy passed, all the townspeople on the street secretly let out a breath of relief.

"A black dragon flag—this is the imperial family."

"I just caught a glimpse inside the carriage—there seemed to be someone wearing the Yun clan's brilliant gold-embroidered long dress; the imperial family and the Yun clan have both come, and Maple Forest Town is going to be in chaos!"

"Older brother, you're really bold—I didn't dare lift my head the whole time, fearing I'd offend these big shots and die for no reason."

"Sigh! Stop gathering around—quickly stock up on supplies; it's best not to go out for a while."

"Exactly! Who knows—you might go out one day and get casually cut down."

The people nearby chatted anxiously, all shaking their heads and sighing as they left the street, preparing to go home and hide.

Fang Xu glanced at the bodies lying haphazardly in pools of blood on the street, and suddenly saw the eldest daughter of the Wang butcher's family that Wang Ergou had mentioned earlier.

She had been trying to retrieve the few pieces of meat hanging at her doorstep to bring back to her shop, but she didn't notice the carriage approaching; a gold-armored soldier hacked off her head, her large skull landing on the butcher's chopping block, and her headless body collapsed in front of her own store.

Sigh!

He shook himself, and Fang Xu turned and walked toward his own small courtyard.

In the courtyard, Chu Mu was holding the wheelchair's armrest, straining to try to stand; Fang Xu rushed over, stepped forward, and supported her, saying, "Mu, don't push yourself so hard—you've endured over ten years already; a few more days won't matter."

Leaning against Fang Xu, Chu Mu smiled faintly and said, "My soles have feeling now; I just want to see if I can stand."

"Fang Xu brother, what's wrong?" Observant Chu Mu noticed Fang Xu's expression was off and quickly asked with concern.

After helping her sit back in the wheelchair, Fang Xu gave a slight shake of his head.

He didn't want to tell Chu Mu about this bloody, cruel affair.

"During this time, try not to leave the courtyard." He stroked her head and spoke softly.

Before, Chu Mu would sometimes take advantage of Fang Xu's daytime cultivation to push her wheelchair outside the courtyard gate for a stroll, but hearing his words now, she also knew something must have happened, so she shouldn't cause him trouble at this time.

"I understand, Fang Xu brother." Chu Mu nodded in agreement.

……

Maple Forest Town Government Office.

At this point, the gold-armored soldiers had already cleared out all idle personnel from the government office.

Town Mayor Huang Dechuan and all the clerks of the government office were driven out; given his status, he obviously wasn't even qualified to see that middle-aged man.

Inside the government office.

Yun Wan looked at the middle-aged woman before her, who greeted her with a delighted expression, and said, "Auntie, I didn't expect you to come in person."

Yun Jin smiled slightly, then turned serious and said, "You're grown now—don't be ignorant of etiquette! Hurry and pay your respects to the Seventh Prince and the Heir Apparent."

Upon hearing this, Yun Wan then bowed slightly toward the middle-aged man beside her and the strange child, saying, "Yun Wan greets Your Highness and greets the Heir Apparent."

The Seventh Prince shifted his gaze from the fox in his arms, glanced at Yun Wan, and nodded slightly, saying:

"In Central Province there have long been rumors about you—people say you are the Yun clan's qilin prodigy, and at such a young age your cultivation has reached the ninth level of Martial Master."

"Having seen you today, it's truly impressive."

Yun Wan bowed slightly with a light smile and said, "Seventh Prince, you flatter me; my talent is not even one ten‑thousandth of the Heir Apparent's."

Upon hearing that, the Seventh Prince smiled with satisfaction and looked over at the strange child beside him, saying, "Li Xun's talent is naturally beyond reproach."

"Yun Jin sister, how old is Wan'er?" He shifted the topic and suddenly said:

This question made Yun Jin's face stiffen for a moment, then she smiled and replied, "Twenty‑one—still young."

"Twenty‑one is not young; ordinary women in the countryside are already married by the age of the hair‑pinning ceremony."

"Are you betrothed?" the Seventh Prince asked again.

Yun Jin dared not lie about this, so she shook her head and said, "Wan'er is devoted to the martial path and has never been betrothed."

Upon hearing this, the Seventh Prince's face showed a hint of a smile:

"Not being betrothed is good, not being betrothed is good……"

"What do you think of my son, Wan'er?"

Faced with his smiling countenance, Yun Wan's expression suddenly changed, and for a moment she didn't know what to say.

The Seventh Prince Li Xingchao is famed in the Great Yu Dynasty as a smiling tiger—gentlemanly in appearance but ruthless and calculating at heart; these years, the current Emperor Yu has devoted himself to secluded cultivation, and basically all major and minor affairs of the court are handled by him and the Eldest Prince.

Li Xingchao now counts as the real power holder of the dynasty.

His son Li Xun was born a dwarf, yet his martial talent is extraordinarily monstrous; at only twenty years old he has already reached the peak of Martial Master, just one step away from entering the Venerable Realm, the third great stage of the martial path.

The Venerable Realm is already the level at which many senior martial masters have stalled—for example, her aunt Yun Jin, her uncle Yun Tianhe, and the Prefectural Army Commander Lü Yuan—all of whom still possess the strength of the fifth level of the Venerable Realm to this day.

However, perhaps because of his congenital dwarfism, Li Xun's temperament is extremely wayward, and he often takes pleasure in massacring civilians.

Furthermore, rumors circulate throughout Central Province that any woman he takes a liking to rarely escapes his grasp; once they fall into his hands, their ultimate fate is to be tortured and humiliated to death.

That is why, as a princess of the Yun clan, Yun Wan causes Li Xun to feel a slight apprehension, so he dares not openly seize her.

"The Heir Apparent possesses extraordinary talent; his future achievements are limitless." Yun Wan had wanted to praise him further, but the thoughts that came to mind were unsuitable for Li Xun, so she could only compliment his martial talent.

"Haha…… Wan'er, you're truly straightforward—I like it."

"Yun Jin sister, I intend to form a marriage alliance with the Yun clan—what do you think?"

Form an alliance through marriage!?

Upon hearing this, Yun Wan's pretty face involuntarily changed; before her aunt could speak, she blurted out, "This is an honor for Wan'er, but Wan'er has devoted her life to the martial way and has no interest in love affairs, so……"

"No problem, no problem." Li Xingchao chuckled and waved his hand, saying, "Pursuing the utmost in martial arts and getting married are not in conflict."

"With Xun'er's talent, if you marry him, husband and wife would support each other—wouldn't that be even better?"

"Well……" Yun Wan wanted to say more, but Yun Jin beside her quickly interjected, "Seventh Prince, marriage is a major matter; neither I nor Wan'er can decide it ourselves—we must first return to Huangzhou and consult our elder brother and sister‑in‑law."

"What do you think?"

Li Xingchao's schemes, even combined with hers and Yun Wan's, would not be a match for him; it's better to leave this matter to his elder brother to handle.

"Never mind; when the time comes I'll personally discuss it with Elder Brother Tianming." After pondering a moment, Li Xingchao finally stopped pressing the issue, and Yun Wan and Yun Jin couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"Seventh Prince, let's first talk about the matter at hand—" Afraid Li Xingchao would keep bringing up things that embarrassed her, Yun Jin immediately changed the subject.

But before he could finish, Li Xun beside him interrupted: "Aunt Jin, I heard that an ancient ruin has appeared in Tilan Mountain; does the Yun family know about this?"

Upon hearing this, Yun Jin's expression changed slightly; she was about to object when Li Xingchao beside her chuckled and said, "Xun'er, don't be rude."

"Tilan Mountain lies within Huangzhou Prefecture; if an ancient ruin were to appear, how could the Yun family not report it to the imperial court?"

"Idle gossip shouldn't be taken as truth; Yun Jin, what do you say—is it true or not?"

Seeing Li Xingchao smiling at her, Yun Jin wasn't foolish; she realized the father and son were putting on a double act.

The matter of the ancient ruin had obviously been leaked; the imperial court surely had received the news as well, and to deny it now would be utterly unwise.

"Your Highness, what the Heir Apparent said about the ruin is indeed not mere rumor."

"In Maple Forest Town, traces of shamans had recently been discovered; Second Brother, worried that the subordinates would mishandle it, came himself to investigate, never expecting to lose his life here."

"Before his death, Second Brother had sent a message to the clan, saying that those shamans had gathered in this small place of Maple Forest Town because they had discovered an ancient ruin in the mountains."

"This matter, Elder Brother originally intended to report to the two princes, but hearing that Your Highness was planning to come personally to Maple Forest Town, he had me act in his stead; who would have thought I would forget this on the way—please punish me, Your Highness."

Hearing this far-fetched excuse, Li Xingchao couldn't help but laugh.

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(End of chapter)