Chapter 352: Brothers Finally Meet (Seeking Monthly Votes)

"Your Highness, shall we go to Imperial Concubine Ran first?"

Yang Wusheng's voice entered the carriage, causing the murderous intent in Li Yiyi's eyes to slightly recede.

"Mm."

Returning home this time, it was only natural to visit Mother first; as for Father... that could wait until there was time.

The excuse given to Shi Enguang was merely a pretext; Li Yiyi had no intention of following through.

"In any case, Father the Emperor is busy with ten thousand matters a day and likely has no time to see me. It won't be too late to pay my respects when he goes to Mother's place."

Li Long could not be found in the Imperial Palace, but in Imperial Concubine Ran's room, one could certainly corner him...

Regarding Li Long, Li Yiyi did not hold the same awe and reverence as the other princes.

There was respect, but not that much fear.

The excellent relationship between his parents also made Li Yiyi slightly spoiled.

In Li Yiyi's eyes, Li Long was more of a father who did not stand on ceremony than an Emperor who needed to be looked up to by all the people.

Riding in the carriage with excitement to visit Imperial Concubine Ran, Li Yiyi was just preparing to close his eyes and rest for a moment when he suddenly widened his eyes:

"... Wait, why do I feel like I've forgotten something?"

A chill suddenly ran down the back of Li Yiyi's neck; he felt as if he had forgotten some important detail, and his whole body felt uncomfortable.

"What on earth did I forget?"

The young man's forehead broke into a light sweat as he hugged his arms and thought carefully.

"I prepared a gift for Mother, didn't I? Where exactly was the oversight?"

At the same moment, Imperial Concubine Ran was lying on a rocking chair, comfortably enjoying the service of her two daughters.

"Hehe, you two little rascals."

"Fine, I'll give you both a little holiday today; there is no need to cultivate anymore."

Yu Yu and Li Lingling exchanged a glance, both seeing the joy in the other's eyes. The two expressed their thanks, and their work became even more diligent.

Li Lingling knelt by the rocking chair, pounding Imperial Concubine Ran's calves, and chatted with her with a smile:

"Hehe! Mother, is Yiyi coming back today?"

Ran Yeting moved her hand from the top of the white fox curled up on her lap, placed it among her daughter's hair, and rubbed it, smiling:

"Mm, it should be today."

"It's been a long time; do you miss your younger brother?"

Li Lingling first rubbed against her mother's palm like a little cat, then nodded vigorously:

"Miss, miss, miss! With him gone, no one is willing to spar with me! I feel like I'm almost rusting away."

As she spoke, she moved her neck, producing a few crisp cracking sounds.

Before entering the Divine Path Sect to cultivate the Dao, Li Lingling was a Body Cultivator who specialized in refining the body, and Li Yiyi was her designated sparring partner...

Or to use a more common term—a punching bag.

To Li Lingling, her younger brother Li Yiyi had always been a useful and obedient living punching bag.

And having been abused like this, Li Yiyi naturally was not without a temper, but he dared to be angry and dared to speak, but dared not dodge...

If he talked back, he would just get hit harder.

If he dared to run, it would truly become a case of domestic violence.

And most crucially, his parents, who had always treated their children fairly, were consistently biased in this matter and had never once stepped in to stop it.

They would even take sides!

It was too much!

The three of you bullying me, a child!

After protesting several times without result, Li Yiyi gave up on useless struggles.

If you can't beat them, join them.

He would keep retorting with his mouth, but in the end, his body would still honestly serve as a sparring partner.

The downside: his whole body would be sore and covered in bruises.

The upside: in terms of pure physical combat, Li Yiyi was likely the strongest person in all of Wentian City, aside from Li Lingling.

To a certain extent, this could be considered a blessing in disguise.

After stretching her limbs, Li Lingling asked her mother with some excitement:

"I wonder what gift he prepared for me this time?"

Hearing this, Yu Yu, who was standing behind the rocking chair kneading Imperial Concubine Ran's shoulders, blinked her eyes, wondering if she should voice her doubt.

That... isn't Junior Martial Nephew Yiyi in the same sect as us?

Returning from the mountain gate, there shouldn't be a need to bring any local specialties, right?

But seeing that both Li Lingling and Imperial Concubine Ran looked as if it were a matter of course, Yu Yu felt a bit confused.

Could it be that this is actually my problem?

Imperial Palace, Imperial Study.

The Grand Eunuch Su Peiqing stood guard outside the door, bowing his body; his lowered eyes were filled with shock, and his body could not help but tremble.

Just a moment ago, he had seen someone.

Someone who had disappeared from Wentian City for a very, very long time, but whom he had never truly forgotten!

"Qin King..."

Su Peiqing thought of the face he had seen when brushing past the other person, and the agitation in his heart could not be calmed for a long time.

"Why did he suddenly return?"

As an old man who had served in the palace for a long time, Su Peiqing had actually always secretly favored the two princes back then.

One was the current Emperor.

The other was this Qin King who had disappeared for so long.

Back then, although the two of them were not often in Wentian, they had always enjoyed a great reputation in Wentian City.

One might even say that if not for that sudden change back then, the First Emperor suddenly dying, the new Emperor ascending the throne according to the last edict, and the Qin King inexplicably leaving far away... it was still unknown who the throne would have ultimately fallen to.

"What is the Qin King doing returning to the palace this time?"

What Su Peiqing least wanted to see was the Qin King coveting the Emperor's seat.

"Please, let it not turn out like that..."

This old eunuch tried hard to eavesdrop on the sounds in the room, but regretfully discovered he could not hear a single word.

His Majesty the Emperor had marked the entire Imperial Study within a domain, completely isolating it from the outside world.

And inside the room, two figures sat quietly facing each other.

"..."

"..."

Li Long looked at this long-lost brother, his eyes filled with emotion and even more sorrow.

The moment he saw Jian Xinxin, Li Long almost did not recognize that this was his own brother.

He had changed.

The once high-spirited Qin King was gone.

Sitting across from him was merely a down-and-out Daoist full of decadent air.

"Xiaojian..."

Although he had already known about Jian Xinxin's current situation through various channels in advance, when Li Long was truly face-to-face with him, he was still somewhat dazed for a moment.

The impact this brought was far greater than what he had imagined words could convey.

Li Long looked at Jian Xinxin, and in his mind, he could not stop recalling that high-spirited, unrestrained, and dashing young man from back then.

He could not help but compare the person before his eyes with that person in his memories back and forth.

He had grown thin.

Although his face had not changed, he looked much older.

However, fortunately, although he looked decadent, his spirit was still quite good, and one could feel the burgeoning vitality beneath his exterior.

His heart had not yet died.

And Jian Xinxin, looking at Li Long—who was little different from his memories, save for the beard he had deliberately grown—also felt some emotion.

With the imperial robe on his body, it was not as incongruous or baggy as when the two of them had stolen it to wear as children; it no longer looked out of place at all, and no one was more suited to this attire than him.

The Sovereign of the Nine-Five, the common master of the world.

The true supreme lord of the Northern Qian Dynasty.

"Your Majesty..."

Jian Xinxin looked at the disappointment flashing in Li Long's eyes, paused, and switched back to the original form of address:

"No, Imperial Brother."

He looked at Li Long and said softly:

"It has been many years."

At this moment, Li Long, having come back to his senses, laughed out loud, pressed both hands onto Jian Xinxin's shoulders, and said "good" three times in a row.

"You and I, the two brothers, truly have not seen each other for years."

"Imperial Younger Brother, you have lost quite a bit of weight over these years!"

Jian Xinxin's shoulders were patted several times, and feeling his shoulders ache a little, he said helplessly:

"Living in seclusion for too long and not walking about often is not a big problem."

As he spoke, he quietly took a step back and broke free from Li Long's devilish grasp.

Li Long did not pursue, but suddenly raised an eyebrow, looked at his empty waist, and asked curiously:

"Wait, where is your sword?"

Jian Xinxin shook his head, not offering much explanation, and only said indifferently:

"I left it on the mountain and didn't bring it out."

"I stopped practicing the sword long ago."

He did not explain, but Li Long still heard something in his calm voice and sighed.

Jian Xinxin had also been famous in Wentian back then as a swordsman with superb sword skills, yet now he had not held a sword for over a hundred years.

The world plays tricks on people.

Thinking of that past event, Li Long sighed lightly:

"This is truly a coincidence; I was still hoping that when you arrived, I would have you properly instruct your nephews and nieces and pass on some sword techniques."

"You also know that although I am qualified to wield the Qian Sword, my sword skills are actually not as good as yours and Xiaojian's... cough! Cough, cough, cough."

Speaking to the end, Li Long suddenly realized he had made a slip of the tongue and coughed hard, wanting to cover up his mistake.

It's over!

In a moment of agitation, he had actually brought up the matter of Xiao Mei!

This is bad; he had just rubbed salt into his Imperial Younger Brother's wound...

Li Long was incredibly embarrassed, but Jian Xinxin smiled gently and said softly:

"Imperial Brother, there is no need for this. I can distinguish right from wrong, and you... also do not need to avoid the subject of her."

"I have already let it go."

"Besides, if Imperial Brother needs me, that is naturally no problem."

"However, it cannot be called teaching; if they have talent, I can offer a few pointers."

"After all, I am their uncle, am I not?"

Li Long's throat moved; he wanted to persuade Jian Xinxin not to force himself, but seeing his gentle expression, he swallowed his words back and nodded.

"Good, I know. I will never speak such distant words again."

But then he shook his head and said:

"Since that is the case, you must stay in Wentian for a while longer. You have a niece who just went to the Sword Casting Hut; you must wait until she returns before discussing anything else."

Although Jian Xinxin knew this was his Imperial Brother finding a way to make him stay, he still nodded silently:

"No problem, I will guide the others first, and wait for her to return."

Seeing that Jian Xinxin had given his word, Li Long was completely relieved. His Imperial countenance was filled with joy, and forgetting his previous reserve, he grabbed his shoulder and laughed:

"Haha! Good! Imperial Brother, rest assured, you will not be waiting in vain. Once you see her, you will certainly not be disappointed."

He pulled Jian Xinxin to sit at the dining table and began pouring wine for him, saying as he did:

"Li Qiushui, your ninth niece, she is just like Xiao Mei, a Heavenly Sword Spirit Body."

Jian Xinxin nodded; he had guessed this long ago.

Li Long asked him to guide the various princes and princesses, but in reality, it was only for the sake of Li Qiushui alone.

Because currently in this world, only he, Jian Xinxin, possessed the sword techniques of the previous generation of Sword Spirit Body.

But at this, Jian Xinxin shook his head and smiled gently.

"... Heh, it shouldn't be just one person; she has already returned."

"Hm? What did you say?"

"Nothing, nothing at all, just talking to myself; a habit I've developed over these years."

Jian Xinxin did not tell Li Long about the revival of Mei Yongdi, not because he wanted to keep this secret to himself, but because he felt the time was not yet right.

When Mei recognizes herself and is willing to accept her true self, it would not be too late to tell his brother and sister-in-law this good news then.

Otherwise, if any accident occurred in the process, it would only lead to their empty joy.

This time, no matter the result, he would face it alone.

That night, the two brothers, who had not seen each other for many years, seemed to have completely let go of their inner knots and drank incessantly.

By the third round of drinks, under the influence of alcohol, the two completely forgot those unpleasantries and laughed together.

Suddenly, Jian Xinxin raised his wine cup and asked with a strange smile:

"If I am not mistaken, that letter was not written by you, right?"

And Li Long also laughed incessantly, slapping his thigh repeatedly and nodding vigorously:

"It was not!"

"The one I received was not written by you either, right? Thinking it over, it must have been your sister-in-law and that disobedient junior brother of yours colluding together."

"You guessed it too, didn't you?"

"Mm."

Li Long looked at Jian Xinxin and said slowly:

"But you still came back."

Jian Xinxin looked back frankly and nodded:

"Because you invited me."

The two brothers looked at each other, laughed, clinked cups, wine splashing, and tilted their heads to drink it all.

Thud!

Slamming the wine cup heavily onto the table, Li Long shouted:

"Imperial Concubine Ran forged the letter! This act is truly rebellious!"

"I shall punish her... for the crime of deceiving the Emperor! Cast her into the Cold Palace!!!"

Jian Xinxin: Hm???

Wait!

What is the situation?

"Cough! Cough cough! Imperial Brother, there is no need for this, right? Sister-in-law was also acting out of kindness..."

Wasn't Ran Yeting doing it for our own good? How can you fail to distinguish good from bad?

Li Long blinked, thought about it and realized this was the logic, so he corrected his mistake and followed the suggestion readily:

"Mm! You are right! It was my slip of the tongue! Then, I shall issue an edict of self-reproach!"

"Cast me into the Cold Palace as well!!!"

Jian Xinxin:??

"Cough cough!"

Wait, have I drunk too much?

Is this the Li Long I know?

"This..."

Li Long waved his hand dismissively and said:

"No need to persuade me further; Imperial Concubine Ran and I go to that place often, we are very familiar with it!"

Jian Xinxin:???

While I wasn't looking, what kind of messy things have you two husband and wife been playing at?

Jian Xinxin did not dare to think too deeply about what might have happened between these two in the Cold Palace, so she changed the subject:

"Right, I came back this time together with Li Yiyi."

"Oh? What do you think of him?"

"Not bad, much better than you were when you were young; his temperament is very much like your wife's."

"Hahaha! You are wrong! Compared to your sister-in-law, he is definitely more like me; I would never be mistaken about that."

Li Long waved his hand and filled his wine cup once again:

"Alright, enough about him, let's drink."

"It just so happens that with your sister-in-law being kept company by those siblings, no one can stop us brothers from drinking properly tonight!"

"Today, you and I shall drink until we are dead drunk!"

……

……

"This cup, I toast to you, drink it in a big gulp."

"Your Highness, this, this wouldn't be appropriate..."

"You won't drink?"

Ren Yidao looked at the pale-faced Qingteng with a sincere smile and pushed the wine cup even closer.

"Realgar Wine, it warms the body, so please don't be polite with me."

"Not drinking?"

"Then that means you aren't giving me face, right?"