Chapter 314: There is spring and autumn in books

At sunset the next day, Xiang Weiyuan walked into Prince Ying's residence.

Prince Ying's residence was grand in scale, occupying even more land than Prince Wei's residence, but as soon as he entered the gate, Xiang Weiyuan felt an air of desolation rushing toward him.

An elderly doorman led Xiang Weiyuan toward the main hall; the entire residence was deep and dark, with only a few lanterns lit. In some places, the dim light was worse than none at all, instead making the entire residence appear even darker.

Weeds had already grown in the cracks of the large blue bricks on the ground, and no one was cleaning them. Xiang Weiyuan didn't see many people in the huge residence; if it weren't for the occasional figure passing by in a hurry, Xiang Weiyuan would have suspected this was a haunted house.

Fortunately, the main hall finally had normal lighting. The doorman led Xiang Weiyuan through the main hall and into a side courtyard. By the pavilion near a small lake, a table of wine and food was set.

A man was already sitting in the pavilion. When Xiang Weiyuan saw him, his pupils subconsciously shrank, and then two lines of tears flowed down.

The man handed Xiang Weiyuan a piece of white cloth, let him wipe away the tears in his eyes, and then said apologetically, "I was injured in the north and have never fully recovered; my physical body and magic power are not very coordinated, and I cannot control my own power. However, unless one is born with keen senses, one generally cannot see my overflowing magic power."

Xiang Weiyuan said, "Prince Ying's magic power is divine; it truly lives up to its reputation!"

Prince Ying shook his head and said, "Cultivating this body of magic power involves endless karma. I would rather return to my younger days when I achieved nothing, but I just cannot let go of the common people in the north."

Xiang Weiyuan asked tentatively, "Is the war situation in the north still okay?"

"The military affairs of Great Jin are in decline, and many names are only on the roster. It is claimed that there is still an army of one million, but in reality, I have no troops to use in my hands and can only barely maintain the front line. It is a pity that the thirteen million people in the north have fallen into the hands of the Liao barbarians, and I do not know when they will be able to return to Great Jin." Prince Ying sighed.

"Come, eat something casually, don't mind the simplicity. There is only one cook in my residence; he is old, and he only knows how to make those few dishes over and over again."

Placed in front of Xiang Weiyuan were only four dishes, one soup, and two bowls of rice. The dishes also only had one meatball, and the rest were vegetarian dishes. The only thing worth mentioning was that the rice was spiritual rice and the vegetables were spiritual vegetables. But what powerful official would eat ordinary rice and vegetables? A seventh-rank official ate spiritual food at every meal.

Prince Ying said, "I have heard some things about you; your original intention of setting up boundary stones and protecting the people deeply touched my heart. It is just that the situation in Great Jin is complex; ice three feet thick is not the result of one day's cold, and many things are a matter of being afraid to break the vase to kill the rat, and gradually the situation has deteriorated. When the King first ascended the throne, he also worked hard to govern, but later encountered a series of changes, which is why his temperament changed drastically."

Xiang Weiyuan said, "Prince, this kind of thing... I seem to be better off knowing less."

Prince Ying smiled helplessly and said, "You are indeed cautious. Hehe, if I had been half as cautious as you back then, I fear I wouldn't have..."

Prince Ying did not continue, and Xiang Weiyuan did not ask. The less one knows about these past events of the royal family, the better; otherwise, one will bring disaster upon oneself in vain. Although Xiang Weiyuan wanted to form extensive evil connections, it was still better to avoid such things.

Xiang Weiyuan casually asked some questions about cultivation to change the subject. Prince Ying gave earnest guidance, and in the blink of an eye, the meal was finished.

To be honest, the daily needs of a cultivator were much more than those of an ordinary person. Xiang Weiyuan had a tough physical body and a low cultivation base, so he needed a large amount of food, or he would have to eat pills like soldier grain pills or grain-avoidance pills.

Prince Wei was too extravagant, and Prince Ying was too frugal. After the meal, Xiang Weiyuan was only twenty percent full. But the old cook clearly didn't intend to cook anymore, so he brought out a large bucket of spiritual rice, and Xiang Weiyuan and Prince Ying each finished half a bucket.

After dinner, Prince Ying said, "The Autumn Hunt is the top priority at the moment, and there are other hidden circumstances within it. If you encounter any strange things during the Autumn Hunt, don't care about them, just treat them as if they don't exist, act normally, and take the share you deserve."

Xiang Weiyuan asked, "If it is truly a matter of great importance, shouldn't I withdraw?"

"That's not necessary, or rather, for the sake of the country and the people, you cannot withdraw." Speaking of this, Prince Ying said with some sarcasm and helplessness: "The national treasury is empty now, and there is not much left. If you don't take the remaining resources, someone else will naturally take them. But if they fall into their hands, it will only make the rich richer, and it will have nothing to do with the common people, nor will a single half-tael of silver be used for military supplies and defense."

Xiang Weiyuan pondered for a moment and said, "Then I will take the share I deserve."

Prince Ying smiled and said, "That would be best!"

Until he left Prince Ying's residence, Xiang Weiyuan actually didn't understand what Prince Ying called him to eat this meal for. Thinking about it, it seemed most likely that he just wanted to see him?

As for what hidden circumstances were in the Autumn Hunt, Xiang Weiyuan was not curious at all, and even less wanted to know. Now he just wanted to participate normally, get some rewards, and it would be best if he didn't make the trip in vain; if he came back empty-handed, it wouldn't matter. Listening to Prince Ying's implication, it seemed he wanted to transfer the troops of the Western Regions back to the north, so that he wouldn't have to worry about his rear and could focus on advancing west.

At the top of Cloud Mountain outside the royal capital, a magnificent palace was built. Its style was strange, resembling both a temple and a shrine; it was unknown which sect's dojo it was.

The main hall was thirty zhang high, filled with smoke and mist, and there seemed to be people chanting in low voices. There was a pond in the hall, and the water was bottomless. At the end of the hall stood an altar, but there was no statue on the altar.

Prince Jin stood in front of the altar, with the square pond behind him, and bowed seven times to the empty altar. Suddenly, five-colored misty Qi rose from the pond water and merged into Prince Jin's body.

Prince Jin's body trembled slightly, his face gradually glowed, and his aura rose somewhat.

The clouds and mist in the hall parted to both sides, and a person in green clothes walked out from inside. The green clothes were very thin, and one could almost see the body inside completely.

She walked slowly toward Prince Jin, and wherever she passed, white flowers grew on the ground.

Prince Jin seemed to sense something, turned around, saw the figure walking gracefully, bowed his head slightly, and said, "Bodhisattva, the progress has been slow recently, what should be done?"

She didn't stop until she reached Prince Jin, and said, "No need to be anxious; the great medicine will sprout after the Autumn Hunt, and that is when the medicine guide will appear. The national fortune will naturally be stimulated after that. Now, it is time for evening lessons."

"Bodhisattva is merciful." She turned around and walked toward the back hall first. Prince Jin followed behind her, walking on the path where white flowers bloomed. As she walked, the green clothes fell to the ground piece by piece, turning into lush green grass.

There was a small door leading to the back hall. She opened the door but didn't go in, instead standing by the door, waiting for Prince Jin to enter before she followed.

Inside the door, there seemed to be immeasurable light, which dissipated the mist on her face, revealing a pair of green pupils.

Jin Capital Royal Palace, Chunhua Palace.

It was late at night, but Concubine Yuan had no intention of sleeping at all, twisting a grass stalk and teasing the thrush in the cage.

Behind her stood a young eunuch with red eyebrows, head bowed, not daring to look around, recounting clearly and quickly everything Xiang Weiyuan had done since entering the royal capital.

The grass stalk in Concubine Yuan's hand suddenly stopped, and she asked, "When he said that sentence 'it's just a prince without real power,' did Prince Wei hear it?"

"Many young masters in the hall heard it at the time, and Prince Wei should have heard it too."

"Go down."

The young eunuch bowed his head and quickly exited Chunhua Palace, not daring to look around from beginning to end. The previous eunuch who saw what he shouldn't have seen lost his eyes on the spot, and now no one knew where he was.

!.

Concubine Yuan asked indifferently, "Where is the King?"

A maid who had been standing in the shadows replied, "The King went to the Vajra Zen Temple outside the city tonight and should not be coming back."

"Oh, then let's sleep."

The maid exited the room to prepare washing utensils.

Concubine Yuan gently stroked her lower abdomen, revealing a faint smile, and muttered to herself, "Still knowing how to enter the game with one's own body, such a sensible little puppy, I must feed you another bite no matter what."

For the next several days, Xiang Weiyuan did not receive any more visiting cards. It seemed that after the unhappy parting with Prince Wei that night, many people who originally wanted to set up a trap banquet had backed out. Others who had intended to make friends quietly withdrew their visiting cards to draw a line with Xiang Weiyuan.

Xiang Weiyuan was happy to be quiet, ordering the officials at the relay station to bring over a dozen boxes of Jin history, observing the sword every day, and reading them one by one slowly when he was free.

Xiang Weiyuan read from the recent to the distant, first looking at the recorded recent history. After reading two books, he saw the sigh hidden by the historian under the text.

According to Tang rites, the various princes of the feudal lords could only be conferred as marquises, not even dukes. Only the Son of Heaven could confer titles of prince and duke. But as the Nine States grew stronger and the Son of Heaven grew weaker, the various states had long been a pile of dukes, and it was not uncommon for the royal clan to confer titles of prince themselves, and there were even those who conferred titles of prince to people of different surnames. To this day, everyone had long been accustomed to it.

Jin history was full of spring and autumn writing styles, and Xiang Weiyuan also found it very difficult to read. However, he was proficient in Tang history, and by comparing it with Tang history, many secrets were slowly unearthed.

Xiang Weiyuan discovered that in the first thirty years of Prince Jin's personal rule, he pushed the border three thousand miles to the north. This alone could be called wise and martial. But in the following fifty years, Prince Jin seemed to have changed into a different person, capricious, employing treacherous officials, causing the people to live in misery.

And misfortunes never come singly; in the past, every three to five years, a natural disaster occurred that was enough to be recorded in history books. As a result, the people became increasingly impoverished, and there were even incidents of people starving to death from time to time.

Prince Jin had been on the throne for eighty years; the current Crown Prince was established as Crown Prince at the age of twelve and moved into Chengqian Palace, which had been forty-four years ago.

Seeing this, Xiang Weiyuan was thoughtful; Prince Jin was already long-lived in the position of the King of Men.

Jin history only recorded one side of it, and it was fragmented and vague, full of spring and autumn writing styles and avoiding mentioning the faults of the honorable. Besides Jin history, there was also Immortal history.

Western Jin had two major families among the seven surnames and thirteen hopes: one was the Xu family, and the other was the Lu family, both with Immortal Lords sitting in them. Interestingly, the Lu family with Immortal Lords was based in Ningzhou, and Prince Jin's branch did not seem to be the direct line of the Lu family.

It was just that there was no information to check in Immortal history, and what Xiang Weiyuan remembered was only the content taught in the immortal path general knowledge class during the concentrated teaching. Looking at it now, the relationship within the Lu family was somewhat strange.

For example, the three Lis of the seven surnames and thirteen hopes, two of which were the Southern Qi Li clan and the Zhao Guo Li clan, whose main family was the royal family, and the Tinghai Xianjun also came from the royal clan; this point was completely different from the Lu family.

Now Prince Jin had a total of nineteen sons and twenty-seven daughters, most of whom were concentrated between the ages of fifteen and thirty-five. A few of Prince Jin's children were conferred as princes, and most were dukes, making the total number of dukes in Jin State reach more than fifty. Among the sons, the one who caught Xiang Weiyuan's attention was the son born to Concubine Yuan, who was seven years old this year and conferred as Prince Fu.

When meeting Prince Jin, Xiang Weiyuan discovered that Prince Jin was full of vitality, and living another ten years was not a problem at all. By then, the Crown Prince would have had no achievements for many years, the various princes would be in their prime, Prince Wei's wings were already full now, and ten years later, he would be even stronger. And ten years later, Concubine Yuan's son would be seventeen; would she have no ideas, no actions?

Her actions were already quite large now!

After reading historical materials for several days in a row, a word gradually became clear in Xiang Weiyuan's heart: seizing the throne!

At this moment, the night was deep, the frost wind was howling, blowing the large trees in the courtyard to rustle, and the last few leaves were also blown off.

When the sky brightened again, it would be the Autumn Hunt.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 315 =====