Chapter 721: Prince Shun

Upon hearing this report, Gaoyuan Marquis frowned and said, "Which province are they from? And how far away are they?"

The scout hurriedly said, "It is a troop from Youzhou, flying the royal banner. Prince Shun is leading the team himself, with two hundred men. They are ten miles ahead."

Gaoyuan Marquis was accustomed to leading troops; even though she was only going to Jingcheng for an imperial audience, she still divided her forces according to marching habits and deployed scouts, spreading them out over ten miles. Although this scout was not a Sword Guest, he was among the top of the Knight-Errants, and he rode a fast horse; riding on flat ground and using light-body techniques in the mountains, he returned in the blink of an eye after traveling over ten miles.

Gaoyuan Marquis said, "Tell the troop to stop and wait for half a day to let them pass first. Go and instruct the other scouts to conceal their tracks; don't let them be discovered."

After the scout left, Tang Zhao asked, "Do you have a grudge against Youzhou? Or is it because Youzhou is of the royal family and you are an outside official, making it inconvenient to meet in private?"

This question was very blunt, which only Tang Zhao could ask; when a junior seeks advice from a senior, there are fewer taboos.

Gaoyuan Marquis said, "Both. As an outside official, especially one who still intends to honor the Imperial Court, it is indeed inappropriate to meet the royal family in private, especially when the feudal lords are entering the capital, which is the most high-profile time. But the main issue is this person, Prince Shun of Youzhou..."

She shook her head.

Tang Zhao had only recently returned from Youzhou, and coupled with the matter of Che Lin, he knew that Youzhou was in great Chaos, and that even the headquarters of the Land Inspection Bureau of a province might have been infiltrated by Yin Calamity demons. Although it was not the worst among this world of rot, the rulers of Youzhou were, in any case, not capable people.

He recalled, "I remember that Zhang Xiansheng is from Youzhou..."

Gaoyuan Marquis nodded slightly and said, "The Yantai Yin Calamity is something Wensheng still broods over to this day. It is said that the losses from one Yin Calamity were heavy, but it was truly because the demons were too powerful and the incident happened suddenly, so one cannot blame the government too much. Now that the Yin Calamity has become so severe, there are very few local governments with the ability to deal with it. But Youzhou not only has many Yin Calamities, but its ability to deal with them is very poor. Sometimes, when large-scale casualties could clearly have been avoided, their bungling caused the losses to multiply several times over—human disaster added to Natural Disaster. This is not because they are powerless, but because they have no heart. They just rely on Youzhou's deep foundations to muddle through."

Hearing this, Tang Zhao's heart stirred, and he immediately thought of the hidden clues Che Lin had discovered. The demons had already riddled Youzhou like a sieve, so he whispered, "What if it is not that they have no heart, but that they are intentional?"

Gaoyuan Marquis frowned upon hearing this and said in a low voice, "What clues do you have? You must not speak recklessly."

Tang Zhao said, "I have a friend..."

He briefly explained the matter of Che Lin, omitting only Che Lin's whereabouts, but the general deduction was well-founded. Gaoyuan Marquis pondered, "If that is the case, some things from before actually make sense. I just don't know who is intentional... With such filth right under one's nose, I fear this whole house is already filthy beyond repair."

The Yunzhou troop waited for half a day before slowly setting off.

After getting on the road, Tang Zhao asked, "Marquis, do you think they might have been waiting for us on purpose? Although Yunzhou and Youzhou are both in the North, one is in the East and one is in the West. We are taking the shortest route; if they were also taking the shortest route, we wouldn't have run into them..."

Gaoyuan Marquis said, "I really hope you aren't right... but damn it, you are right!" She pointed ahead.

Tang Zhao looked into the distance and saw nothing, so he had to probe with his Mental Power, finally perceiving that people were coming from several miles away. Moreover, the people coming were not weak; they had passed through the scouts without attracting any attention.

The people from Youzhou had come on their own initiative!

What was this? Trying to avoid them openly wasn't enough, so they had to come knocking on the door?

But the most despicable part was that Tang Zhao discovered only two people were coming, while the Youzhou troop should have had several hundred. To leave the main force and send envoys to meet, and to do so with such calculated secrecy—yet if you wanted to talk about concealment, this was in broad daylight, not in a private room, so it wasn't very concealed either. Putting on a sneaky posture like this—didn't that just create suspicion where there was none?

Gaoyuan Marquis cursed in a low voice, "He came himself; he's afraid it won't cause a big enough scene."

Tang Zhao thought: This is also because Gaoyuan Marquis has a good reputation; that Prince knows to come alone and lightly equipped, not fearing danger. If it were someone with a fearsome reputation who killed princes like chickens, I don't believe he would dare to barge in so brazenly.

He thought for a moment and said to Gaoyuan Marquis, "Marquis, I will go and drive him away, just to ensure he cannot see you. You all continue moving forward; anyway, I don't know him."

Gaoyuan Marquis nodded and said, "Go, but don't underestimate him. Although I am annoyed that he does not care for the people and does not cultivate virtue, that is because he does not care about the people's livelihood from the bottom of his heart, as he is of royal blood and cannot empathize with the suffering of the lower classes. He is without virtue, not without ability. At his level, he is not a fool; on the contrary, he is deeply talented and can be considered a leader of his generation. You must be decisive and not be dragged onto his battlefield and suffer a defeat. Also... show some restraint. Remember that we do not have any intention of opposing the Imperial Court for the time being."

Tang Zhao agreed. He didn't intend to "crack" Prince Shun either; he just turned, dismounted, and ran out on foot like a scout.

After walking three or five miles, he saw two people in cloaks hurrying through the forest. Although the cloaks were not black, they were long and wrapped around their entire bodies. Tang Zhao thought: Do you want people to see you or are you afraid they won't? How could you not be conspicuous dressed like that?

He let out a loud shout, "Who goes there?"

This shout startled at least a hundred sparrows; everyone who could hear it, heard it.

The leader stopped, and the one behind him rushed up to block the way, saying in a deep voice, "Who dares to block a noble?"

Tang Zhao said, "Hiding your head and showing your tail—what kind of noble could you be? I think you are a thief!"

Having said that, he thrust his sword over. This sword strike was extremely fast, far beyond what an ordinary person could block.

The person in front tried hard to block it, but was a step too slow. At this moment, the person behind stepped forward without hesitation, facing the sword tip directly.

The sword tip lunged straight at his face. The man stood where he was, like Mount Tai, as if being pierced wouldn't even make him blink.

But in the end, the sword tip stopped three inches from the man's eyes and did not move forward another inch, even though no external force could have stopped it.

The person being pointed at was unscathed and laughed loudly, "Stab! Why don't you stab? You are ten times stronger than me, why don't you stab?"

"Because you know my identity, so you don't dare!"

As he spoke, he pulled off his cloak with one hand, revealing a spirited face under thirty, and said, "So, don't pretend you don't know me. You know me, and Gaoyuan Marquis knows me too. Why go in circles? I must see Gaoyuan Marquis today. You cannot play dumb, and you cannot do anything to me. What is the point of wasting time here? It would be better to take me over. I will only say a few words to Gaoyuan Marquis; I have absolutely no intention of offending Yunzhou."

The man paused, his voice softening, and said, "You don't need to worry about Gaoyuan Marquis blaming you. She just misunderstood that I had some improper intentions. Once I go over and explain it clearly, I will also explain it for you. We are blood relatives, not outsiders; how can we remain estranged? With me here, I won't let you suffer."

As he spoke, he wore a gentle expression but carried a unique royal arrogance that made people involuntarily want to retreat.

The Sword Guest who came from the opposite side was shrouded in a layer of light, silent and speechless.

The man was very patient and did not urge him, just watching him like that.

Finally, the shadow in the light silently retreated, clearing the way for him.

The man was overjoyed and laughed loudly, "Good, good! Haha, you are indeed an upright person; I naturally won't let you be wronged. Hahaha, lead the way, haha..."

"Your Highness?"

"Ha?"

"Your Highness, wake up."

The Prince opened his eyes to see blue sky and white clouds.

For a moment, his vision was hazy and his head felt dizzy, with only large patches of light halos flashing. After a while, he gradually returned to normal and could see white clouds floating in the azure sky; only then did he realize he was lying on the ground.

And then... had he just fainted?

He asked in a hoarse voice, "What just happened?"

The person beside him, his personal guard, an old man with graying hair, said, "We were walking just now when a thief darted out from the forest. The thief rushed up and swung a sword, and the Sword Light illuminated your whole body, and then you fainted."

The Prince's eyes were full of confusion, clearly caught in doubt and trance. After a while, he said, "You said his sword strike was still far from me and didn't reach my eyes?"

The old guard said, "Of course, he only feinted with the sword. I didn't even have time to block it before he turned and left, without saying a word, like a ghost. I wanted to chase him, but you were lying on the ground, and I was afraid of falling for a 'lure the tiger away from the mountain' tactic, so I chose to stay and guard you."

The Prince gradually understood and suddenly said, "I fainted as soon as I saw him? And then, after I fainted, did I say anything?"

The old man's eyes flashed slightly, and he said, "You didn't say anything. You just suddenly started laughing..."

The Prince snorted, stopped asking, and immediately added, "Who was the attacker? Why did I see only a ball of light?"

The old man said, "I saw a ball of light too. He ran too fast."

The Prince said angrily, "How could you not see clearly either? Aren't you a Sword Hero too? It's one thing to be unable to fight the enemy, but you couldn't even see the person? The attacker could only be a Sword Hero; surely Yunzhou wouldn't need to use a Sword Immortal, would they?"

The old man stammered, "He... he ambushed... I didn't see clearly..."

The Prince was furious, but this old man had been left behind by his father, the late Lao Shunwang, and his loyalty was beyond question. His strength... his strength was also that of a Sword Hero. It would not be difficult for the Wangfu to recruit another Sword Hero, but it would not be easy to recruit another absolutely reliable one. Therefore, he could only be secretly angry and found it hard to say anything, merely saying, "This is one of the Gaoyuan Marquis's people; they are more formidable than others. Now she is growing increasingly arrogant, and her subordinates are all such powerful people. No wonder she doesn't take me seriously. The agreement she made with my father back then naturally no longer counts."

The old man wanted to speak but hesitated.

The Prince looked at him, and the old man sighed, "Actually, why must you use such a scheme and risk danger yourself to force a meeting with her? Why not use the usual methods of communication among nobles and let this old man deliver a letter in the dead of night? It would be both discreet and not arouse suspicion. That Gaoyuan Marquis is an upright and honorable person; by doing this, you will only make her resent you..."

The Prince sneered and said, "Her, upright and honorable? That's just to fool the young. The things she did back then were more devious than anyone's. It's just that my strength was insufficient, and she looked down on me and couldn't be bothered to cross swords with me. Forget it, we shall see who regrets it when we meet again in Jingcheng."

The old man said, "Then we shall meet again in Jingcheng. Should this old man not send her the letter then?"

The Prince paused and said, "You... send her one tonight and see what she has to say."