Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 121: The Prince Delivers a Letter
The Crown Prince’s question left everyone stunned; beside him, Ge Zhengfeng was especially dumbfounded—this question you asked is a bit… unwise! You’re essentially asking, “Are you planning to rebel?” This is a question that leaves no room for retreat!
As for Li Xian, upon hearing the Second Prince’s question, he recalled Xu Ren’s evaluation of the three princes of the Great Xia Kingdom: the First Prince is unworthy, the Second Prince is useless, and the Third Prince is underage—yet none of them possess the talent of a true emperor.
As a Crown Prince, even if Li Xian truly intended to rebel, this question shouldn’t have been asked in this manner! Even asking something like, “Do you still have loyalty to the Great Xia Kingdom?” would be a thousand times better than the four words “What is your intention?”
Li Xian? He seemed quite “confused.” “Your Highness, I have been overseeing the construction of the imperial tombs at Yunding Mountain for over four months and haven’t heard of any movements from Anyang!”
Li Xian decided to play dumb! This way of answering made Ge Zhengfeng nod slightly; this was a versatile response that completely resolved the awkwardness brought by the Crown Prince.
Unfortunately, Xia Shu was already filled with rage, “You don’t know? Didn’t you communicate with Anyang every few days?”
Li Xian’s pupils instantly constricted—too much information was revealed in that sentence. First, Li Xian could be certain that the ones intercepting Anyang’s letters must be Xia Shu or the Second Prince’s faction! Anyang had already lost hundreds of elite soldiers in delivering messages; someone must be held accountable for that. Furthermore, Xia Shu’s words indicated—he had been monitoring Li Xian all along!
On the surface, Li Xian could only give a bitter smile, “Your Highness, you only know that I communicate with Anyang every few days, but there are too many intercepting messengers along the way. The last time I received a letter from Anyang was two months ago!”
Xia Shu was momentarily speechless.
Li Xian quickly added, “Then, could Your Highness please inform me of what has recently happened in Anyang?”
Xia Shu gasped for breath, trying to quell his anger, “I’m saying that Anyang is preparing to attack Luliang County and Zhongshan County! You really don’t know about this?”
Li Xian sighed, “Your Highness, the one responsible for Anyang now is the princess, not me. I believe since Qingqing has dispatched troops to attack Luliang County and Zhongshan County, it must be that the governors of the two counties did something wrong.”
Xia Shu was left dumbfounded; this time, he truly hit a wall. Yes, the one in charge of Anyang now is Xia Qingqing, the princess! How could she possibly do anything disloyal to the country?!
Cold sweat broke out on Xia Shu’s forehead, but he finally came up with a quick-witted response, “Well, a while ago, the governors of Zhongshan County, Shi Chengsong, and Luliang County, Zhao Guoshan, did indeed make a small mistake, but they have already corrected it. They even sent three hundred thousand taels of gold as an offering to the imperial tombs.
Li Xian, you see, they have already corrected their mistakes and recognized their errors, so there is no need to dispatch troops to attack anymore, right?”
As for Li Xian? Of course, he understood what the real situation was; he had personally issued the order to attack Luliang County! But at this moment, Li Xian’s ability to play dumb was quite impressive. “Your Highness, you know that I have been here for four months, and I truly have no idea what is going on in Anyang.
This matter should be discussed with Princess Qingqing; I really am too far removed to influence it.”
Smooth as silk!
In that moment, both Xia Shu and Ge Zhengfeng were utterly impressed by Li Xian’s response. Shifting responsibility like that, claiming ignorance, and clearing himself of all blame! At this moment, not only Xia Shu but even Yuan Yong would be left dumbfounded!
However, our Crown Prince still had his way; all he needed was a thicker skin. “Hehe… Li Xian, I see now that I was wrong about you. How about this: you write a letter urging Anyang to cease hostilities?
The Great Xia Kingdom can’t afford to be in turmoil right now; you need to consider His Majesty’s interests too, right?”
“Well… Your Highness, let me be straightforward. I currently have no idea what the situation in Anyang is. How about this: I’ll write a letter to advise them?”
Xia Shu thought for a moment and realized there wasn’t much else he could do, so he nodded. “Then hurry up and write it; make sure the letter is sent out tonight.”
Li Xian sighed, a look of helplessness on his face. “Your Highness, most of my guards are injured. We can’t set off for at least five days.”
“I…ugh…” Xia Shu glared fiercely at Li Xian, wanting nothing more than to grind this bastard to dust, but he ultimately had to speak up: “As it happens, I need to go to Anyang as well. Let me take the letter.”
Li Xian wrote the letter almost without thinking, sealed it up, and handed it directly to Xia Shu.
“What did you write in your letter?” Xia Shu asked.
Li Xian gave a “bashful” smile, “Naturally, it’s a letter of admonition.”
Xia Shu glanced at Li Xian and finally nodded. “Alright then.”
In the afterglow of the setting sun, Li Xian watched Xia Shu leave. Bathed in sunlight, the shadows on Li Xian’s face seemed to conceal a hint of inexplicable mockery.
Ge Zhengfeng looked at Li Xian, who was draped in a layer of dark red light by the setting sun, and suddenly sighed, murmuring to himself, “Heaven’s mandate is ever-changing; the concept of fate seems to be quite inaccurate. Perhaps I still need to continue my research.”
Night quietly descended, and Song Xing began an unprecedented period of seclusion, preparing for the foundation-building stage!
Meanwhile, Li Xian was contemplating the effects of heavenly tribulation. If heavenly tribulation could reduce powerful beings to ashes, then how could he control lightning and temperature to “sterilize”? Well, not sterilize, but to eliminate the lingering souls and wills of the powerful remaining in the oil.
“Instantaneous sterilization technology? That’s a promising area of research! Passing oil through an environment of anoxia, sealing, high pressure, high temperature, and powerful current to obliterate everything left by the powerful!
Alright, this is the direction to take, but… sigh, I wonder if there are any other places with oil? If it’s only here, when can I acquire all the rights? No, I should ask Ge Zhengfeng; since he recognizes this as the so-called ‘underground turbid qi,’ he must have some knowledge.”
Meanwhile, the Crown Prince rushed back to the imperial capital overnight and then consulted with his uncle about Li Xian’s attitude. Although the Crown Prince lacked political wisdom, having grown up in the royal family, he sensed that Li Xian’s attitude seemed somewhat strange.
His uncle, Yue Qingfeng, also frowned, unable to judge the situation. Since the Crown Prince could not make sense of it, he had no choice but to seek out Yuan Yong overnight.
Yuan Yong first carefully inquired about the events, conversations, and Li Xian’s demeanor at the time, and then decisively stated, “This letter cannot be sent! It absolutely must not reach Anyang! Otherwise, everything will be ruined!”
The Crown Prince felt that Yuan Yong was overreacting. “Lord Yuan, should we not open the letter and take a look?”
This was indeed a good idea, but letters had certain confidentiality measures: the envelope, handwriting, sealing method, folding method, watermark, seal, and paper quality, among other strict regulations, meant it wasn’t just a matter of wanting to open or forge it.
Beside them, Yuan Zhao, whose eyes were spinning with curiosity, suddenly spoke up: “Father, I recently received help from a remarkable person. Perhaps he has the ability to read the contents of the letter without opening the envelope.”