[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-top-scholar-of-da-ling":3,"chapter-the-top-scholar-of-da-ling-the-top-scholar-of-da-ling-chapter-16":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Top Scholar of Da Ling",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2288851,4475,"Chapter 16","the-top-scholar-of-da-ling-chapter-16",16,"\u003Cp>Since Murong Yun left, the Crown Prince’s invitations to Jiang Mingyu became increasingly frequent!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Previously, he would only invite Jiang Mingyu to the Donggong for meals on the first and fifteenth of each month, when the Crown Princess was away; after the Dragon Boat Festival, it became a small banquet every three days and a grand one every five days!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This even made Tang Yuxi complain: “Why don’t we just move into the Donggong?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Zhang the steward heard Yuxi’s complaint, he tried to gently persuade her; after all, the Crown Prince was the heir, and cultivating a good relationship with him would greatly benefit Jiang Mingyu’s future career.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though Yuxi was unwilling, she could only sigh inwardly and swallow her grievances.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the day of Start of Autumn, Jiang Mingyu came to the Donggong for dinner as invited.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That evening, the Crown Princess happened to be present, so the three of them dined together in the dining hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Jiang Mingyu sitting alone with them as a couple, his figure looked lonely, and after eating only a few bites, she feigned she was full and excused herself; as soon as the Crown Princess left, the Crown Prince’s face lit up with a smile!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I wonder, Master Jiang, whether you and your wife were married by parental decree and matchmaker’s word?” asked the Crown Prince.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Mingyu nodded and replied: “Something like that…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Something like that?” the Crown Prince asked, puzzled. “What do you mean?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Mingyu: “My wife and I were betrothed while still in the womb—the engagement was sealed before either of us was born.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Crown Prince smiled knowingly and asked: “Forgive my boldness—do you truly love your wife?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this, Jiang Mingyu was taken aback. He asked in return: “How, Your Highness, do you mean that?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Crown Prince drank a cup of wine, sighed deeply, then spoke slowly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Take me, for example. Though I’ve been married to the Crown Princess for many years, we both know our union is purely political—a necessity, nothing more.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Mingyu: “But… but the Crown Princess is a beauty of heavenly grace, her charm making the moon hide and flowers blush—surely Your Highness has never been moved by her?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hahaha…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After laughing heartily, the Crown Prince confessed: “To be honest, I’ve never felt the slightest attraction to her!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Mingyu’s eyes widened in shock; he stared at the Crown Prince for a long time, speechless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Master Jiang, besides your wife, have you ever felt drawn to any other woman in your life?” asked the Crown Prince.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Mingyu snapped back to himself and quickly replied: “Never.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Crown Prince: “Why?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Mingyu: “I’m ashamed to admit it—I’ve spent my life studying books; outside my clan and relatives, I’ve rarely interacted with women. After marrying at sixteen, I knew only my wife, nothing else.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Crown Prince: “You’re… twenty-eight now, aren’t you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Mingyu: “Yes, Your Highness, I am twenty-eight.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Crown Prince: “From sixteen to twenty-eight—that’s twelve years—and you never met a woman who stirred your heart?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Not… not once,” Jiang Mingyu said shyly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon hearing this, the Crown Prince rose, stroked his beard, wore a mysterious smile, and slowly walked from across the table.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He came beside Jiang Mingyu and said with implication: “Have you ever considered that perhaps the issue isn’t with women…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Mingyu looked confused and asked: “Your Highness… what do you mean?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hahaha…” After laughing, the Crown Prince asked: “Have you ever heard of the ‘Longyang Zhenwei Army’?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ve heard of it!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Mingyu continued: “The Longyang Zhenwei Army is also called the ‘Longyang Army.’ When the founding emperor conquered the realm, he personally led the Longyang Army to crush the twelve northern barbarian tribes, pacify the five southern kingdoms, eight provinces, and thirty-six prefectures—it was famed across the land, and even if I were the dullest man, how could I not have heard of it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Crown Prince nodded and asked: “Do you know why the Longyang Army was so fierce and invincible? What was its secret?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This question made Jiang Mingyu burst into laughter!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had grown up listening to his tutors and elders recount tales of the Longyang Army—his ears were worn out from hearing it; he knew every detail by heart!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Longyang Army’s invincible tactics are threefold…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Mingyu continued confidently: “The armored infantry of the Five Armies Camp, the firearms of the Divine Mechanism Camp, the iron cavalry of the Three Thousand Camp…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before Jiang Mingyu could detail each feat of the Longyang Army, the Crown Prince cut him off: “None of those!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Mingyu was stunned by the correction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Had everything he’d learned from his elders been false?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Crown Prince smirked slightly, leaned close to Jiang Mingyu’s ear, and whispered: “This is part of imperial strategy—it cannot be spoken of openly. But I’ll tell you in secret: the secret to the Longyang Army’s invincibility… is ‘brotherhood!’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Mingyu looked puzzled and asked: “Bro… brotherhood? What brotherhood?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Crown Prince: “Have you heard of ‘Longyang passion’?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Mingyu suddenly understood, stammering: “Could it be… that the ‘Longyang’ in Longyang Army means…?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Exactly…” the Crown Prince continued. “The ‘Longyang’ in Longyang Zhenwei Army refers to ‘Longyang passion!’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Jiang Mingyu’s worldview shattered and struggled to reassemble, the Crown Prince added:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I privately call the Longyang Army… the ‘Longlong Army!’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Mingyu: “Long… Longlong Army!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Crown Prince: “Yes, Longlong Army.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Mingyu: “Why… why does it sound… cute?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your tone is wrong,” said the Crown Prince. “It’s… cute-ah!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Huh?” Jiang Mingyu’s face was now blankly dumbfounded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Crown Prince offered no further explanation about the Longlong Army. Instead, he placed both hands on Jiang Mingyu’s shoulders, leaned down, and pressed his face close to Jiang Mingyu’s right cheek—so close that Jiang Mingyu could feel the Crown Prince’s beard brushing his temple!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Crown Prince: “Tomorrow… come with me to the Left Guard Capital Command to observe the current ‘Longlong Army’… see for yourself what they’re like.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Mingyu: “Left Guard Capital Command?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Crown Prince kept his face pressed against Jiang Mingyu’s right cheek as he whispered: “After the realm was pacified, the birds were gone and the bow stored away—the founding emperor disbanded the Longlong Army, keeping only elite soldiers and officers, reorganizing them into the Capital Guard Army.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“During the ninth year of Renzong’s benevolent rule, it was restructured again into the Capital Guard Command, divided into five divisions—Front, Back, Center, Left, and Right—to guard the five directions of the capital: East, West, South, North, and Center.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the Crown Prince spoke, Jiang Mingyu could still smell the strong scent of wine, drifting through the air with each breath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s still scorching hot with the autumn tiger’s wrath—why are you dressed so heavily? I’m sweating just looking at you!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he spoke, the Crown Prince reached out with his right hand, attempting to remove Jiang Mingyu’s green summer robe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a moment of carelessness, the knot on Jiang Mingyu’s right shoulder was loosened—the green robe slipped halfway down!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Mingyu, visibly uneasy, wanted to stop him—but whether from fear of the Crown Prince’s power or his own shyness, he remained silent, letting the Crown Prince undo the inner tunic’s knot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Jiang Mingyu offered no resistance, the Crown Prince’s sly smile widened. He quickened his hands, and in moments, the tunic was undone—Jiang Mingyu’s bare shoulders now lay exposed before the Crown Prince’s eyes!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just then, the Crown Princess returned—followed by the maid Xiao Zhen, who carried a brocade box in both hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing the Crown Princess return, Jiang Mingyu quickly pulled his tunic and robe back on, then deliberately coughed twice, feigning nonchalance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Crown Prince, seeing this, stopped and gave up. He asked, slightly dejected: “My love… why did you return so suddenly?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Crown Princess: “Your Highness, I recently acquired several ‘Mopan Xungu’ from southern ocean tribute merchants. Since Master Tang is visiting the Donggong tonight, I thought to bring one to gift to Master Jiang.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mopan Xungu…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Mingyu’s eyes instantly brightened in surprise: “Is this the ‘Southern Ocean Ginseng’—the Mopan Xungu?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Crown Princess smiled: “Master Jiang, as a newly crowned top scholar, your knowledge is vast—yes, it is indeed the Southern Ocean Ginseng, the Mopan Xungu.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Crown Prince, initially disappointed by the Crown Princess’s sudden return, now brightened at the sight of the Mopan Xungu. He suggested: “Do you have more? I’d like to present some to His Majesty.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Crown Princess: “Yes, I’ve already prepared some.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Crown Prince: “Good. Tomorrow morning, when I pay my respects to the palace, I’ll present them to His Majesty.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Tomorrow morning, audience with the Emperor!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Mingyu suddenly looked tense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Crown Prince smiled and said: “Don’t worry. Paying respects is my daily duty—it has nothing to do with you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Crown Prince patted Jiang Mingyu’s shoulder again and added: “Tomorrow… after I return, I’ll take you to inspect the Left Guard Capital Command together.”\u003C\u002Fp>",1493,"2026-06-20T03:28:17.113Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","ff0505d5e7cb8fb756b59b2a45b40e2e7d1c1c9bb20071f692fcc83b325abd01","the-top-scholar-of-da-ling-chapter-17","the-top-scholar-of-da-ling-chapter-15",392,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-top-scholar-of-da-ling-cover.jpg"]