Chapter 1169

Long Tingzhen pressed his lips together; in an instant he had made up his mind: if he wanted to ascend the throne, he must endure suffering that ordinary people cannot bear—worse than death? He had already endured it; as long as he could take the imperial throne, any pain he could tolerate. He said in a low voice, "Master Hong, please grant me the method of refining the body with medicine; Tingzhen will spare no effort."

Hong Beimo said, "The pill for refining the body is something I spent half my life's energy to refine; it was not easily obtained."

Long Tingzhen fell to his knees with a thud before Hong Beimo: "Master, please accept my bow."

Hong Beimo said, "You must remember one thing: our affairs must be kept strictly secret, not to be disclosed to anyone, not even the emperor."

Long Tingzhen said, "Master treats me as if reborn; I will forever follow your teachings and never do anything against your wishes."

Hong Beimo nodded satisfied: "Good, Tingzhen; if you can pass this trial, no one in the world will be able to stop your advance."

Inside the Yongyang Prince's mansion, Yang Lingqi entered Qiqi's study under Quan De'an's guidance; seeing the memorials piled like mountains on the desk, he also secretly admired the little princess's diligence.

Qiqi put down the memorial in her hand and called out, "Mr. Yang has arrived!"

Yang Lingqi respectfully said, "Lingqi pays respects to Your Highness, the Princess of a Thousand Years!"

Qiqi laughed, "I don't want to live that long; if I really lived a thousand years, wouldn't I become an old hag?"

Yang Lingqi couldn't help but smile; although the Yongyang Princess possesses heavenly talent and extraordinary intelligence, she is still young and often shows a childish side.

Qiqi gestured for him to sit and said softly, "I just received news from Haizhou. Li Yongfu has escorted the hundred thousand shi of grain to the port." She raised the letter in her hand: "Hu Xiaotian's personal letter; he asks me to present it to the emperor, saying he is gravely ill and cannot make the trip this time, and to let me explain on his behalf before the emperor."

Yang Lingqi understood clearly that Hu Xiaotian was definitely feigning illness. The old emperor had him personally escort the grain to the capital; his intention was obvious. If Hu Xiaotian truly returned to Kangdu, he would likely never be able to leave again; even if the old emperor didn't kill him, he would imprison him, never again making the mistake of letting the tiger return to the mountain.

Qiqi said, "What do you think I should say when I go before the emperor?"

Yang Lingqi said, "Just tell the truth!"

Qiqi sneered, "Tell the truth? You think the emperor will believe Hu Xiaotian is really sick?"

Yang Lingqi said, "Even if the emperor doesn't believe it, what can he do? Which of the things Sir Hu has done since going to Dongliang Jun has the emperor approved? Yet the emperor never issued a ban."

Qiqi said, "Do you know about the fleet Dongliang Jun sent out to sea to suppress pirates?"

Yang Lingqi, full of bewilderment, said, "What?" He indeed had no knowledge of it.

Qiqi said, "It seems he doesn't trust you that much. Not everything is shared with you."

Yang Lingqi's face showed embarrassment; he respectfully said, "Lingqi is merely a commoner; thanks to the favor of Sir Hu and the Princess, otherwise I would still be wandering the streets..."

Qiqi waved her hand to stop him from continuing, sighed, and said, "Do you truly understand Hu Xiaotian?"

Yang Lingqi did not answer. Because he could not answer that question.

Qiqi's expression darkened as she said, "I shouldn't have asked you; even I don't know what he's thinking, so how could you? Yang Lingqi, help me write a letter to him. I will handle the matters he entrusted to me; let him rest easy."

Yang Lingqi nodded: "Yes!"

After Yang Lingqi left, Quan De'an quietly entered, seeing Qiqi staring blankly at the object in her hand—a piece of jade pixiu that Hu Xiaotian had given her. Quan De'an sighed inwardly. This little lass is clearly troubled by love; at this moment she doesn't know how to decide.

Qiqi slowly set down the jade pixiu in her hand, turned her gaze toward the window, and murmured, "Eunuch Quan! Is he using me from beginning to end?"

People's Hearts Are Treacherous, the princess is pure and kind, one cannot judge a person's goodness by appearances.

Qiqi said, "When I helped him leave the capital, I was worried the emperor would kill him, hoping he could find a place to hide, but..."

Quan De'an stepped forward, looking at the little princess with pity; he clearly knew that at this moment Qiqi needed a listener, not anyone's opinion.

Qiqi paused for a moment, then continued, "I never expected him to develop so quickly!" I originally thought we would share hardships with Hu Xiaotian, but now I feel a sense of resentment at being ignored by him; after he's been away so long, aside from asking her to help with tasks, he has never shown any concern or greeting toward her.

Quan De'an said, "He indeed is very capable."

Qiqi said, "I never realized his ambition was so great; he wants not only Dongliang Jun, but likely also our Long clan's realm."

A faint bitter smile appeared on Quan De'an's lips; could it be that the little princess has only now seen Hu Xiaotian's true nature?

Qiqi said, "He has been using me all along!" Her voice suddenly turned shrill; the outpouring of resentment and anger startled Quan De'an.

Quan De'an advised, "Your Highness, there's no need to be angry; what's done is done, we can only follow heaven's will; in fact, too many things in this world rely solely on oneself."

Qiqi said, "The emperor is also using me; making me a princess, letting me handle state affairs—these are just facades, merely using me to shift blame, and whenever trouble arises they can push me out at any time." Saying this, Qiqi's beautiful eyes widened, her silver teeth clenched.

Quan De'an said, "The emperor should not now easily act against the princess."

Qiqi sneered, "Because of Hu Xiaotian? That's a joke; this princess still needs his protection to survive in this world. If I run into trouble, Hu Xiaotian won't lift a finger for me."

Quan De'an said, "Even if Hu Xiaotian is so cold-hearted, the emperor doesn't know; he now regards Your Highness as a trump card, a card that can be used to threaten Hu Xiaotian."

Qiqi shook her head, clearly agitated; her gaze fell on the sea chart on the table, and she said softly, "I dare say Hu Xiaotian has almost certainly gone out to sea to suppress pirates."

Quan De'an also glanced at that sea chart and said, "Your Highness, on what basis do you make that determination?"

Qiqi said, "These past few days I've been thinking what he intends to do; this time he wants to use the opportunity to open a sea route; if successful, thereafter neither Dakang nor Da Yong will be able to control him easily."

Quan De'an said, "The princess has guessed wrong this time."

I guessed wrong?

Quan De'an nodded and said, "According to the information I have received, Hu Xiaotian did not go out to sea with the main force this time; instead, he is recuperating in Dongliang Jun."

He is in Dongliang Jun?

Hu Xiaotian lay lazily on the warship's deck, wearing only a pair of big underpants, exposing his entire body to the sunlight; after several days at sea, his bronzed skin had become even darker.

The naval officers on the deck curiously watched Hu Xiaotian; in an era that prizes fair skin, it is rare to see someone who enjoys turning himself into a blackened lump; this lord certainly has many distinctive traits, perhaps it is precisely this difference that enables him to stand out and become a commander of thousands.

The news of Hu Xiaotian coming aboard the ship to suppress pirates was kept highly secret; to avoid leakage, he specially selected a subordinate of similar build and had Qin Yutong help make a mask; when he left Dongliang Jun, he had this subordinate take up residence in his mansion—this person is the so-called shadow warrior, whose job is simply to lie in bed feigning illness, and only a few know this secret.

Chang Fanqi had finished his inspection; as he passed by Hu Xiaotian, he instinctively stopped his steps. Although he had decided to accompany Hu Xiaotian on the pirate suppression mission, there remained some distance between them; unless Hu Xiaotian initiated conversation, most of the time he avoided Hu Xiaotian.

The deck transmits sound well; although Hu Xiaotian had his eyes covered, he could still tell from the footsteps who was approaching; he lowered the black cloth over his eyes, yawned, slowly sat up, and smiled, "Brother Fanqi, how's the situation?"

Chang Fanqi said, "Everything is normal; after two more days of sailing we will reach Mangjiao Island."

Hu Xiaotian said, "Good, finally arriving." The novelty of the sea voyage at the start soon gave way to monotony as time passed.

On the deck rumbled the sound of wheels—over a hundred artillerymen were pushing the Heaven-Shaking Thunder cannons for training on deck; although they couldn't fire after going to sea, the cannon carriages were still moved and ammunition loaded diligently. Chang Fanqi's gaze was drawn to those huge black machines; he had never witnessed their true power, and although he guessed they were weapons, lacking knowledge he still did not understand why Hu Xiaotian had expended so much manpower to bring them aboard the warship.

Chang Fanqi said, "At the latest tomorrow we will enter the patrol zone of Mangjiao Island; that means our fleet could be discovered at any moment. Sir Hu, are you really planning to just openly sail twenty warships straight into Mangjiao Island?"

Hu Xiaotian said confidently, "What if we just sail straight over? If those pirates dare to resist, we will raze Mangjiao Island to the ground."

Chang Fanqi lacked such confidence and warned softly, "One should always be cautious; since Mangjiao Island can dominate the region, it must have considerable strength—Sir, you must never underestimate it."

Hu Xiaotian nodded, "Indeed, one must not be careless—hey, Xia Zhangming should be back soon."

Xia Zhangming also came along this time, responsible for enemy reconnaissance; this morning he had already ridden a snow eagle toward Mangjiao Island to scout the enemy, and now it is noon, which is why Hu Xiaotian said that.

Just then, a cheer suddenly came from the lookout post, but it was the soldier on watch who had already spotted the change in the sky.

Hu Xiaotian and Chang Fanqi both looked up, only to see two white lights flashing like lightning swooping down onto their main ship — it was Xia Zhangming, who had gone to scout the enemy, returning.

As the Snow Eagle swooped low over the deck, Xia Zhangming leapt up and landed lightly on the deck.

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