Chapter 147
Translator: NovelMultiverse | Editor: NovelMultiverse
Yu Linglong didn’t expect that the emperor should be so happy . Lord Xu said his thoughts, and the emperor gave him the power of nine battalions and twelve guards .
Did this also mean that the emperor had long been wary of the prince and wanted to find an appropriate opportunity to restrain the prince?
For them, they really didn’t know whether they should be happy or worried .
The nine battalions and twelve guards were not too powerful, and they did not exceed 60,000 soldiers in total, but heading each of them was a strong general who was selected from the nation . It involved the internal army responsible for the imperial band, the imperial guard for the emperor’s travels, and the capital, the armed foreign army, and many other important positions, such as the Xiaojia Camp and the Firearms Battalion in the Ninth Battalion . They possessed the most powerful cavalry and firearms of this era and were almost invincible . The guard battalions were the guards of the emperor and the palace . They were responsible for the important task of guarding the palace . With the commanding power of these nine battalions, they controlled the entire palace and inner city .
The Twelve Guards in the capital, on the surface, were only for ceremonial purposes, but in fact, they shouldered many secret tasks . They only obey the royal family’s orders and only do things in accordance with the royal family’s instructions . For example, Jin Wuwei, who monitored Yu Linglong last time, was one of the twelve guards in the capital . Among them, the secret guard, the secret guard led by Lord Xu, was even more mysterious . Even many court officials had never seen its true face . They only obey the orders of the emperor and are not responsible to anyone, and even the prince didn’t have the right to mobilize them .
More importantly, because of the importance of the nine battalions and twelve guards to the internal and external defenses of the capital, they have a very high status in the army . Most of the royal family officials are in their hands .
The emperor’s t.i.tle given to Lord Xu as the commander of the nine camps and twelve guards was extremely far-reaching . The commander of the nine camps was only a false t.i.tle in name, but this official position was given to Lord Xu, and he had to be careful .
Because the nine battalions and the twelve guards were responsible for all the defense of the capital, each battalion and the commander of each guard was trusted by the emperor . Only the emperor or the person holding the emperor’s ma.n.u.script can mobilize the power in their hands . They usually do their own things and don’t interfere with each other . The leader of the nine battalions and twelve guards was personally appointed by the emperor only when preparing for war, and he was only responsible for the summoning and training of all the leaders of the nine battalions and twelve guards, and could not mobilize the forces under his name .
On the surface, the emperor named Lord Xu as the leader of the nine battalions and twelve guards, but he was extremely fond of the youngest prince, so he flicked his royal brush and gave him such a t.i.tle . In fact, it was a position where you didn’t have to deal with things, but a discerning person knew the tricks in it, such as Yu Linglong, such as the prince .
Handing over the command of all forces in the capital to Lord Xu not only showed his trust in Lord Xu, but it was also a shock to the prince .
This move of the emperor would make the prince vigilant, but there was no reason to oppose the emperor’s suggestion . After all, although the nine battalions and twelve guards were famous, they had no real power .
But if the prince really did something, even if the prince intimidated the emperor, Lord Xu would urgently mobilize all the forces of the nine battalions and twelve guards in the shortest possible time to contend with the prince in the name of the emperor .
In this way, even if the prince had any ambitions, he would be hampered everywhere .
But in this way, Lord Xu will also become the target of public criticism, completely standing on the opposite side of the prince .
Seeing Yu Linglong’s contemplative and silent appearance, his eyebrows frowned slightly . Lord Xu couldn’t help reaching out his hand, gently smoothing the small folds between her eyebrows, and whispered: “Are you worried about me?”
Yu Linglong sighed slightly . She raised her face to look at him and said, “Do you understand what the emperor meant?”
Her eyes like spring water were squiggling, seeming to be filled with waves of ripples . It was such a seductive and deep beauty . Lord Xu can’t help but lean down her face, and his angular lips softly cover her cherry lips like feathers with a bit of joy, a bit of pity .
“Don’t worry, I will be fine . ” He lingered on her delicate and soft lips, and murmured vaguely between her teeth, “I finally got you, so how can I be willing to leave? For you, I will protect myself . ”
Yu Linglong felt warm as if she was holding a little bunny when she was kissed . She couldn’t help opening her teeth and biting him hard .
“Hmm—” When he was bitten by surprise, Lord Xu looked at her with some amazement, but he was facing her moist eyes with anger .
“You’re not going to leave! Let me say this again, see if I won’t kill you!” Her pink lips pursed, and Yu Linglong’s pretty face showed a bit of anger, but her eyes betrayed her unconcealed worry .
Seeing her charming and lovely appearance, Lord Xu felt both distressed and affectionate . His thin red lips were bitten by her and a touch of ecstasy appeared, and his big hand grabbed her back, and he kissed her no matter what .
“Linglong, my Linglong…”
Different from the soft-touch like cotton just now, the true feelings of Lord Xu at this moment seemed to have forgotten everything around her . The corners of her cold lips were aggressively being attacked, with a brutal breath and wild strength, on her cheeks, on her neck, and on her collarbone . He moved down inch by inch, as if he wanted to burn his exclusive marks all over her body .
He loved her so much it hurt . He adored her, and as long as she belonged to him, he will never leave forever .
Yu Linglong was a little confused and confused by him . She was trying to keep the last trace of clarity in her mind, and whispered softly: “I’m talking business with you…”
Before she finished her words, she only felt her body lighten suddenly . Her slender waist was squeezed tightly by him, and she rose into the air and rolled into his arms .
Although the couch was large, they couldn’t help lying side by side . Lord Xu simply lay down on it, hugged Yu Linglong in his arms, and let her lie on his body .
His big hot hand rubbed her soft ear earlobes restlessly, and the other was pinching and touching on her cinched waist, obviously very fond of it .
Finally, Lord Xu pecked her swollen pink lips and then raised her eyes with a smile, with a slightly narrow laugh in his tone .
“Huh? What business?”
At this moment, the sun was setting . The splendid sunset glow in the spring cast colorful and brilliant colors on the high sky, and it fell on the beautiful woman on the couch through the fine screen windows .
Her spring clothes were messy, and her fragrant shoulders were slightly exposed . Her white porcelain-like skin glowed with a seductive light pink, the delicate curve of her collarbones were exquisite, and there were a few plum blossom-like marks on her chest, and her beautiful eyes were filled with mist that made her look like a fairy that descended on the mortal world, full of unreal beauty .
Even though I saw more of the stunning Lord Xu in the world, I couldn’t help holding my breath at this moment, and the ink-colored pupils became deeper and deeper as if he was indulged in her beauty and didn’t want to wake up .
The temperature of his palm was hot on her waist, and her ears tickled with his flickering caressing . Yu Linglong leaned on his chest . She couldn’t help taking a deep breath, trying to calm her mind so that her voice could calm down .
“What are your plans?”
Since the emperor gave him such great powers, he naturally instructed him to have full power against the prince and to bring Lord Xu from a dark to a bright place . This might make the prince who was suspicious of Lord Xu deliberately seizing the throne speed up the pace of murdering him . How should Lord Xu respond?
The big hand tightened and pressed her in his arms closer to himself . Lord Xu’s lips fell on Yu Linglong’s forehead, and said lowly: “If the emperor does this, the prince has three ways to go: one way is to give up the previous deployment, accept the will of Father, and be a virtuous prince, a.s.sisting the father wholeheartedly; the other way is to take risks, resist the arrangement of Father, and take the world in his own hands; the third is to follow them with the same, and he can’t bear it, waits for the best time, or waits for a reason why he has to rebel . ”
Lord Xu paused and said, “If you were the prince, what would you do?”
The setting sun gradually sank below the horizon . The splendid sunset clouds all over the sky turned into a deep purple, and a few bright stars had already appeared in the east .
As night fell, no candles were lit in the room, and even though it was a spring night, the cold air was still immersed in the cold .
Yu Linglong leaned in his arms . His warm embrace, even in the cold night, gave her infinite heat and stability .
In the darkness, her voice seemed quiet and peaceful, as if she was just talking about tomorrow’s weather with Lord Xu .
“The important thing is not which way he chooses, but which way we want him to choose . ”
The prince had made up his mind to get rid of Lord Xu . At this time, avoidance and disguise were no longer the best way . Only by facing difficulties can he take the initiative and win a place for himself .
In this world, whether it was ancient or modern, whether it was society or nature, it was always true that the weak eat the strong . If you are not strong enough, you can only become a fish on the chopping board .
Two evenly matched forces can never coexist peacefully . Even if they are brothers, they cannot coexist at the same time .
Even if Lord Xu was unwilling to fight for the throne, his ident.i.ty was destined to be impossible for him to remain neutral in the storm . If he did not fight, it represented weakness . He could only be slaughtered, and he could only die silently . In the history books, at most, only his pale and feeble name was left .
If this was the case, it would be better to give it a go . Why can’t he have what the prince owns!?
Lord Xu obviously had the same thought . In countless pretenses and forbearance, the prince did not care about brotherhood at all . He would press every step of the way and finally murder him . Under such circ.u.mstances, why should he go any further? How could he endure it anymore!?
The setting sun had completely gone down, the room had plunged into a pitch-black darkness, and the air was floating with a faint fragrance, full of melancholy power, and it seemed to be ready to explode anytime, anywhere .
Yu Linglong moved in Lord Xu’s arms and changed to a more comfortable position . Her small face was slightly raised, and her flawless face was amazingly white in the dark, making her watery eyes shine .
The little hand tapped on his chest, and her plain and pretty face smiled and said, “You have the power to make the prince be jealous of you . This is just the first step of the plan . ”
Affected by her soft smile, Lord Xu reached out and held her restless little hand, his inky eyes gleaming in the dark, like stars .
“Then, tell me, what’s the next step?”
Seeing his bright eyes, Yu Linglong knew that he already had an idea, but he just wanted to see if their ideas coincided .
Yu Linglong thought for a while and laughed: “Although the emperor has given you military power, he obviously took care of the prince’s feelings and refused to give you real power in public . This makes it possible for the prince to still choose to stand still . Our next plan is to make the prince—”
Raising her hand and smoothing the fluffy hair near her ears, Yu Linglong smiled, and her pink lips exuded the next words with murderous awe .
“…Have no other option but to rebel . ”
Although the emperor wanted to frighten the prince, he did not dare to press too hard . The prince did not have any major faults except that his generosity was too small and his suspicion was too heavy . In contrast, the emperor must be more willing to choose a conservative approach . Can he protect the lives of his other sons without any worries, and have the prince ascend to the throne smoothly? Now the emperor is in power and can still control the prince, but after the emperor turned a hundred years old, how could the prince be willing to tolerate these powerful younger brothers?
Yu Linglong could understand the emperor . His psychology was contradictory . It was weak . The princes such as Lord Xu were his sons, but the prince was also his son, and he was the prince of the country that he had cultivated after years of painstaking effort . He wanted to try to ensure a balance so that the crown prince and Lord Xu and others can live together peacefully, but this was just his wishful thinking as a father .
There was only one in this world, there was only one throne . When the throne he sat on became the focus of everyone’s contention, it would inevitably cause a b.l.o.o.d.y battle of life and death .
If they are to blame, they can only be blamed for their careless reincarnation and being born in the emperor’s house .
There has never been a perfect thing in this world . Since you have chosen to enjoy the supreme superiority brought to you by power, and at the same time you bear the endless pain it brings to you . If you want to climb up to the throne, you must step on a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood . You even have to step on the corpses of your brothers and sisters before you can sit on it .
What you want is the most precious thing, and naturally you have to pay the most precious price for it .
In the darkness, Lord Xu’s chest rose and fell . His breathing was heavy, and he was obviously determined .
The corners of his thin lips brushed over her soft cheeks, leading him to answer in a low and resolute manner: “Yes . ”
…
The next day when it was dark, Lord Xu went to court .
After he went out, even though she was very sleepy, Yu Linglong gradually became sober and couldn’t sleep anymore .
The early morning of the spring was extremely cold . Without the warm embrace around her, the chill slowly soaked into the brocade . The charcoal fire had long been extinguished, and the whole room was shrouded in the dim light of dawn, looking cold and empty .
After tossing and turning for a while, Yu Linglong finally got up helplessly .
Dependence on others was really not a good thing . She once slept so steadily with him, and now without him, she became so squeamish .
Calling the maid to come in, Yu Linglong cleansed her face with warm water, which made her feel a lot more comfortable .
After wiping the water drops on her face with a snow-white silk kerchief, Yu Linglong dropped the kerchief in the copper basin, only to find Ling’er standing at the door, looking like she was hesitant to speak .
Her eyebrows raised slightly, and Yu Linglong asked, “What’s the matter?”
Ling’er had always been refreshed and happy . Why was she so awkward today?
Seeing her ask, Ling’er walked over slowly . The expression on her face looked very strange, and after thinking about it for a moment, she said: “Princess, there is someone outside the house…someone is visiting . ”
Yu Linglong stood up, and the maid immediately covered her slender body with a scarlet brocade jacket, and the room suddenly became brighter .
Sitting in front of the dressing table, Yu Linglong asked casually: “Who is here?”
Ling’er followed, with a bitter smile on her face, and said, “It’s the one named Gao Song . ”
“Gao Song?” She tilted her head . Yu Linglong thought this name was a bit familiar, but she couldn’t remember where she heard it, “Who is that?”
Ling’er was taken aback for a moment, and then she realized that the princess had beaten up those gangsters yesterday, and then she completely forgot after the fight, and she didn’t even remember what his name was .
Ling’er had to say: “Princess, have you forgotten? Gao Song is the blue and white tiger that we met in the Cyclamen restaurant yesterday!”
Yu Linglong thought of the tattooed fellow, and she couldn’t help showing disdain: “What is he doing?”
Ling’er said helplessly: “As soon as those people heard that they had offended you, they ran over at night and knelt outside the gate of the palace, saying that they wanted to apologize to the princess . ”
“Last night?” Yu Linglong was startled slightly, “Then why did you report this morning?”
Ling’er carefully checked Yu Linglong’s face and said, “Those people don’t dress like good people, and the porter didn’t dare to announce them without authorization, so they knelt outside, saying that they will leave after they knelt for an hour or two . Who knew they had knelt all night . ”
What Linger didn’t dare to say was that when Lord Xu saw these people at the door in the morning when he was in court, he asked about them . As soon as he heard that it was the little gangsters who had offended the princess yesterday, he asked the guard to beat them again . Suddenly, at this moment, all of those people had bruised noses and swollen faces, and their injuries were more serious than when they were beaten by Yu Linglong yesterday, but they still refused to leave . They had to see the princess .
The concierge in the mansion didn’t dare to conceal it anymore, so it had to be reported to Yu Linglong and the princess had to be asked to come forward and resolve the matter .
Otherwise, after waiting for a while, the prince came back from court and saw these people, saying that they could not make any more efforts, or he would give them a good beating .
The prince and the princess were newly married, and it would be unlucky to cause death for this matter .
Picking up a piece of rouge made in her hand, Yu Linglong said casually: “I see . let them go to the side hall and wait . ”
This was a promise to meet Blue and White Tiger and them .
Ling’er breathed a sigh of relief and quickly went out to give orders .
After Yu Linglong had finished dressing and had breakfast, she walked to the side hall of the outer courtyard .
Blue and White Tiger and others were already waiting in the side hall . As they were, they naturally didn’t dare to sit and wait, but the princess didn’t arrive, so it would be too silly to kneel on the ground like this . Several people were standing awkwardly . They heard the news from outside, “The princess is here” and he knelt down on the ground in a panic . They shouted, “We are bowing to the princess, long live the princess!”
Yu Linglong couldn’t help but laugh when she heard this nondescript yell . What was this all about? She was a princess, not a queen, and they also yelled that she was here . Were these b.a.s.t.a.r.ds really ignorant of the rules? Did they still want to flatter her?
Yu Linglong refrained from laughing, walked up to the leader sternly, lifted her red skirt, sat down, and then looked at the group of people who were kneeling on the ground .
She saw that they were all festooned and wounded everywhere . Some of them were still b.l.o.o.d.y, and some of their faces were criss-crossed, and they were obviously beaten severely .
Yu Linglong was a little stunned . She clearly remembered that she had just smashed them twice with a plate . How could they be injured like this overnight?
She thought of Ling’er’s hesitant and halting appearance, and after a few rounds of thought, she understood the internal cause of the matter, and the smile on her face could no longer stop .
Okay, you Yu Lieyang . They must be reported . If someone bullied your wife, do you just clean them up like this?
If it weren’t for the upper court, it was estimated that Lord Xu would come up with some tricks to take revenge on these young gangsters who were sincerely afraid to come to the door to make amends .
She knew him too well . Like her, he had never been a good man and believer in his bones . It was even more fantastic for both of them to accept them when they meet . What she and he liked most is to beat people .
It was absolutely impossible for those who have offended them to be forgiven by bowing . They will definitely not be forgiven when they kneel and beg for mercy, they would have to have their tails between their legs before they would be let go .
If it weren’t for these people who had been kneeling at the gate of the palace all night, Lord Xu would have been too lazy to fight, so he would have them tied up and sent to jail .
Watching Yu Linglong walk into the room, Blue and White Tiger wished he could not press their bodies and foreheads to the ground . Their eyes were closely following Yu Linglong’s embroidered shoes, and they constantly adjusted their knees and bows according to where Yu Linglong was walking .
Yu Linglong sat on the head seat, and Blue and White Tiger and the others followed her in a 180-degree half-circle .
Seeing that Yu Linglong was sitting steadily, they bowed quickly, cried bitterly, and said one after another: “We have made a mistake . We have offended the princess, please forgive us!”
“Princess, you are so great . Please don’t argue with us, you can spare us!”
“Princess, please be kind to us . Forgive us, and we will work ourselves to death to repay the princess’s kindness!”
They didn’t dare to look up . They only desperately touched the ground with their foreheads and made a dull bang . If they raised their heads, they would be astonished to see Yu Linglong at this moment, with a smile on the corners of her eyes and mouths that had the tenderness that came when she thought of someone .
Blue and White Tiger and the others begged for a long time before Yu Linglong withdrew her thoughts and her face returned to coldness .
Reaching out to take the teacup from Ling’er, Yu Linglong gently sipped the tea, but said nothing .
She did not speak, and the Blue and White Tiger and others who were kneeling down were even more disturbed, and no one could figure out the thoughts of the princess .
Could it be that the princess is thinking about how to deal with them?
Blue and White Tiger and others are used to being aggressive and domineering most days . They fell into the hands of others for the first time at this moment . Of course, they were extremely indebted . The more they thought about it, the more they were afraid . The big and rough men shuddered slightly