Chapter 728: Hot Spring

When Prince Shun emerged from the pavilion, his face was calm.

The old Sword Hero waiting outside breathed a sigh of relief when he saw him emerge safely, and hurriedly went up to greet him, checking to see if he was unharmed.

This check confirmed that his body was indeed unharmed, not a single hair missing, yet he felt something strange in his heart: it seemed as if... the Prince was different?

Clearly, his clothing and crown were the same, and his expression was as calm and composed as before, his emotions restrained. But for some reason, he just felt different; it seemed as if... the corners of his brows and eyes were somewhat changed?

Carrying a sense of lighthearted and detached ease?

"Your Highness?" The old Sword Hero felt uneasy, asking cautiously, "Are you alright?"

Prince Shun revealed a smile and said, "What could be wrong with me? I am better than ever; I have never felt this good."

Huh?

The old Sword Hero was submissive and hesitant, not knowing what to say for a moment.

At this time, Prince Shun continued to ask: "Immortal Official Xu, can I enter the city now?"

Xu Zhongnan did not know what had happened inside either, but following the orders he had previously received, he said: "I have heard that Prince Shun has an estate in the Jingjiao with a fine hot spring. Why does Your Highness not go and enjoy it?"

Prince Shun laughed: "What, does the State Preceptor still not trust me? Really, it is not that I am being rude, but the State Preceptor's mettle is... far inferior. Fine, since it is arranged, we shall go to Nanzhuang."

The party immediately turned south, circled half of Jingcheng, and arrived at an estate in the Jingjiao.

Upon reaching the entrance of the estate, Prince Shun laughed: "Immortal Official Xu, would you like to come into the estate for a short sit?"

Xu Zhongnan said earnestly: "If Your Highness is willing to leave a small room for me in the garden, this official would of course be willing to linger in this precious place for a few days."

What? A short sit turned into a short stay? To stay directly in the Wangfu, watching him right under the Prince's nose, is it this blatant?

Prince Shun laughed: "Although Nanzhuang is not large, there are still a few vacant rooms; how could there not be a place for the Immortal Official to stay? Please, Immortal Official, go to the guest room to rest. My villa has a good hot spring; the Immortal Official can soak to relieve fatigue."

Although he was full of smiles, Xu Zhongnan clearly saw the old Sword Hero behind Prince Shun looking with a cold, stern gaze, as if looking at a thief breaking in, and he felt guilty himself, but the order he had received was exactly this, and he could not afford to hesitate. Fortunately, the State Preceptor's prestige was at its zenith, and he reckoned that Prince Shun would not dare to do anything to him... right?

After arranging for Xu Zhongnan, Prince Shun finally returned to the back courtyard of the estate.

In the back courtyard, there was his private courtyard, as well as his private hot spring, which was to say, his private bathroom. It was a Wooden House, and inside the Wooden House was a pool built of jade, filled with hot spring water channeled from the outside, both clear and warm; as soon as one entered the door, mist swirled, making it almost impossible to see people clearly.

"Your Highness has finally come."

In the pool, someone spoke.

In the private hot spring intended solely for Prince Shun's use, there was actually already someone soaking.

That person's body was in the pool, with only their head exposed above the water, their complexion flushed red—the state of someone who had been soaking for too long.

"Mm, I've returned. How long has the Mister been soaking? Why do you look like a crab?" Prince Shun teased while taking off his clothes and sliding into the water.

Splash—

That person emerged from the water, revealing a bare body, and sat on the edge of the pool, saying: "It has been four or five hours, hasn't it? I arrived this morning as agreed, but as soon as I entered, I discovered that the surroundings of the estate were full of eyes. Although I am unremarkable in appearance, I am still a new face, and I feared being caught in some slip-up, ruining Your Highness's great cause. I had no choice but to hide in the hot water to remain safe."

Prince Shun could not help but laugh, saying: "You have worked hard, Mister. They are truly ruthless, actually searching even my villa this early; it seems the old man is determined to protect my nephew once more."

That person said: "The State Preceptor has always been this way, respecting only the one on the throne, whoever that may be. I believe that unless the dust settles, this surveillance will not be withdrawn."

Prince Shun said: "It does not matter, let them watch. We have nothing to hide."

That person paused, and echoed with a "Yes."

We... have nothing to hide?

We are meeting in private while soaking in a pool; is this state not shameful enough to hide?

He thought Prince Shun might be trying to sound high-minded and Righteous and Awe-Inspiring for the sake of face, so he followed along: "Exactly, the righteous act of setting things right that we are doing is naturally nothing to hide."

He thought he was giving Prince Shun a way out, but little did he know that Prince Shun pondered for a moment and said: "Ah, that matter, let's just forget about it."

"What?"

The other party did not hear clearly and repeated: "What did Your Highness say?"

Prince Shun repeated: "I said our plan, let us shelve it."

"Plop—"

That person was so shocked that he actually fell back into the pool, splashing countless droplets of water.

Prince Shun naturally knew he was surprised; in fact, he was also surprised by his own decision, but this was truly his sincere thought at the moment: "I have thought about it; although this plan has a possibility of success, it is, after all, still an act of rebellion. At this time, the Great Jin Imperial Court is teetering, and it cannot withstand this turmoil. Once it goes too far and the roots of the Imperial Court are pulled up, even if I were to be the Son of Heaven for three or five days, would it not be a joke?"

He said earnestly: "The Imperial Court is a great tree, and I am the branches and leaves of that tree; if I destroy the foundation of the great tree, I can only wither and die along with the tree..."

The more he spoke, the wider the eyes of the person opposite him grew, gradually losing his usual composure and becoming dumbstruck, as if he were a wooden chicken.

"Slap!"

Suddenly, Prince Shun slapped himself in the face.

He gritted his teeth and said: "What kind of bullshit metaphor is this?"

That person was overjoyed and hurriedly said: "You have realized it? This metaphor is simply absurd! Even if the Imperial Court is a great tree, it is currently withering; that is not caused by Your Highness, is it? On the contrary, this is the great tree courting its own death, committing mistake after mistake, being gnawed by insects and ants, losing its vitality, to the point where it is now about to wither."

"At a time like this, how can one do nothing, muddling through the days, and let the great tree collapse on its own? Are there few such muddled members of the imperial clan?"

"In my opinion, only when you become the great tree, bathing in the wind and rain anew, drinking the dew, can it flourish and cause the great tree to sprout new buds again!"

"Rather than clinging to the broken and the old, it is better to break and then establish!"

He spoke sincerely, his emotions even more agitated, and Prince Shun listened earnestly, sighing: "How could I not know that what you say makes sense? This plan was originally started by me. But now I truly do not have the heart for it. I just feel it is meaningless. I am tired; I really do not want to struggle anymore."

"It is meaningless, and it is not possible to succeed." He shook his head, "Forget it, let it be."

As Prince Shun spoke, he stood up from the pool, dripping wet, and wiped himself with a towel. Logically, because he was meeting this person in secret, he had no servants around him, and this person should have come out to serve the Prince temporarily, but that person just soaked in the pool, eyes looking toward the sky.

Prince Shun shook his head and went out. Soaking in the bath was originally an activity he enjoyed; even if he were not plotting, soaking for half an hour would be normal, but now it was completely devoid of interest.

He seemed to have lost all motivation in an instant.

Once he left, that person immediately flipped up, took a robe, tied his hair up slightly, lifted a board in the Wooden House, and crawled out from it.

He walked along the tunnel until he reached an exit, and upon exiting, he was in a quiet room; there was no one there.

He rolled up the window curtain, sat down at the table, and waited quietly.

After a while, an old man walked in, closed the door, and said: "An Xiansheng, I knew you would look for me."

That An Xiansheng stood up and said: "Cheng Gexia, you must tell me what happened on the road to Shangjing! Prince Shun is like a completely different person; there must be something fishy about this!"

The old man was precisely the Sword Hero who attended the Prince, and at this moment he said, "Very well. I also feel the matter is strange, and I was just about to ask An Xiansheng to make a decision."

He then began to speak from the very beginning, recounting the entire series of events from the start to meeting the Gaoyuan Marquis, to being rejected by the Gaoyuan Marquis, and then being intercepted on the road to Jingshi by the State Preceptor's envoy.

"There are two places along the way where the Prince might have been ambushed: one is that subordinate of the Gaoyuan Marquis, and the other is that subordinate of the State Preceptor. I feel the second place is more suspicious."

"Hmm," said An Xiansheng, "Indeed. Since the Prince still had you deliver a letter to the Gaoyuan Marquis after waking from his hallucinations, his ambition naturally had not dissipated. However, after meeting the State Preceptor..."

He suddenly asked: "Did you see anything while you were waiting outside?"

The old Sword Hero shook his head and said: "I did not see it, but one of my subordinates said they seemed to see a flash of Thunder Light."

"Thunder Light..." said An Xiansheng, "It can only be the State Preceptor! It was the State Preceptor who tampered with things! We were careless. We only knew the State Preceptor was powerful, that his words become Sword Law, and that Heavenly Thunder descends at his will, but we never knew he had such insidious methods beyond Heavenly Thunder. This kind of method is truly impossible to guard against the first time it is used. No, it might not even be the first time; who knows who else he has used it on? Otherwise, why is Jingshi so peaceful?"

"In recent years, governors in various regions have been causing an uproar; compared to that, how stable is Jingshi? Although there are rumors that this Prince has ambition, or that some powerful official wants to cause trouble, from beginning to end, who has dared to act in Jingshi? All along, people have said the State Preceptor suppresses Jingshi, making others afraid to act rashly, but that is underestimating the State Preceptor. He is clearly drawing the firewood from under the cauldron."

The old Sword Hero said: "So you mean, the Prince really has fallen victim to the State Preceptor's methods?"

Seeing An Xiansheng nod, the old Sword Hero stamped his foot and said: "Then it is difficult. Even if we know the State Preceptor's methods, since it is the State Preceptor who acted, who can resist? Even if he fell into a trap, there is no..."

He swallowed the four words "beyond saving," but that was exactly what he meant.

It was not that he was boosting others' morale and destroying his own, but rather that the State Preceptor is an Immortal from the heavens; how can a Mortal break the methods of an Immortal? When the State Preceptor decides to act, the outcome is already set.

For a moment, he felt dejected in his heart, truly possessing a sense of defeat like "the Momentum is gone, you return to your Shuiliandong, and I return to my Gaolaozhuang."

An Xiansheng frowned, appearing to have a moment of worry, but in an instant he calmed down and said: "The State Preceptor possesses an unsolvable power; we cannot resolve this through power. But there is something that can restrain power, and that is rules."

The old Sword Hero was speechless for a moment; these words were correct, but they were the same as saying nothing.

You do not even know what rules the State Preceptor is using, so how can you restrain them?

An Xiansheng said: "Currently, there are two people we can count on: one is reliable but may not have the ability, and the other is unreliable but undoubtedly has the ability. The first one is, naturally, that person..." He pointed with his hand.

The old Sword Hero smiled bitterly: "The divine dragon sees its head but not its tail; the Prince might not be able to find them, so how are we to find them?"

An Xiansheng said: "Then the second one; we must go and beg her. That is the Gaoyuan Marquis."