Chapter 1262: The Regent First Prince!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
In investigating the Sage Emperor’s condition, w.a.n.g Chong needed all the information available regarding the Divine Martial realm. In this aspect, what was available to the public was far inferior to what was available to the Imperial Palace. For this reason, w.a.n.g Chong had requested the a.s.sistance of Fifth Prince Li Heng. Li Heng had always taken w.a.n.g Chong’s requests seriously, so he had gotten his hands on much information as he could.
He had even dispatched Li Jingzhong to attend to w.a.n.g Chong.
“I understand! I will call you if I need anything!” w.a.n.g Chong indifferently said.
“Yes, this old slave will take his leave then. If Your Highness has any other requests, please give the order. In addition, His Highness has asked that if you discover anything or make any progress, he would like to be informed as quickly as possible. His Highness has always been an extremely filial son and is extremely concerned about His Divine Majesty.”
Li Jingzhong bowed to w.a.n.g Chong after saying this and quickly withdrew from the room.
Once Li Jingzhong was gone, leaving w.a.n.g Chong alone in the study, w.a.n.g Chong put down the book in his hands, looked out the window, and deeply sighed.
Given w.a.n.g Chong’s present status and the a.s.sistance of the Fifth Prince, w.a.n.g Chong had far more books and texts available to him than most people in the world. Yet even after a sleepless night of browsing through countless texts, he had come away with nothing. The only information he had found regarding the Divine Martial realm was that trying to break into this realm was fraught with danger. Once begun, one could not be interrupted midway. But there had been nothing saying that failure to reach the Divine Martial realm would result in cultivation defect and constant decline of one’s martial arts.
Now that he thought about it, in his last life, everything he knew regarding the Divine Martial realm and the Sage Emperor had come from legends and speculation.
In the entire world, very few people had ever been able to touch the Subtle realm or learn of its existence. Even the mighty Imperial Great Generals knew almost nothing about it. And this wasn’t even considering the fact that the Divine Martial realm was above the Subtle realm.
If not for the Sage Emperor, many people would have probably gone their entire lives unaware of the existence of this realm.
w.a.n.g Chong had a career marked by constant victory, and he was hailed as the War G.o.d of the Great Tang’s new generation. Even Qutaybah had died at his hands, and countless Great Generals would want to flee upon seeing him. However, the more he investigated and understood the Divine Martial realm, the more w.a.n.g Chong felt that there was an enormous chasm between him and the Sage Emperor.
Even the Sage Emperor who was greatly weakened after failing to reach the Divine Martial realm still possessed an unfathomable cultivation level. Even at w.a.n.g Chong’s current level of cultivation, he still could not fathom just how powerful the strength of the Divine Martial realm was.
But when he thought about the Sage Emperor’s condition as relayed to him by Yang Zhao and the chaos in the Central Plains once the Sage Emperor pa.s.sed, w.a.n.g Chong felt like he needed to do something. Even if he had only a one-in-ten-thousand chance, he still had to try and stop this all from happening.
……
As w.a.n.g Chong continued to gather up texts and search for information on the Divine Martial realm, during the court session of the next day, a surprising development took place.
“Acceding to the will of the heavens, the Emperor declares:
“The First Prince, Li Ying, as the eldest son, is polite and modest to the extreme, tolerant and courteous. To serve as an example to the princes, We have decided to temporarily have First Prince Li Ying preside over court, deciding all matters jointly with the Prime Minister and King Song. Thus is the Emperor’s will!”
The ma.s.sive dragon throne in the upper reaches of the hall was empty, the Sage Emperor nowhere to be seen. However, the Director of the Inner Court, Gao Lis.h.i.+, had stepped forward, his whisk in one hand and a divine decree in the other, and loudly declared these words to the gathered officials.
Boom! Gao Lis.h.i.+’s voice was like a heavy weight being thrown into the court, causing a ma.s.sive earthquake. The Sage Emperor had reigned for so many years, but he had never once failed to attend morning court, much less made anyone a regent. Moreover, according to the customs of the Great Tang, a regent would only appear when the Emperor was preparing to abdicate so as to prepare for the ascendancy of the future heir apparent.
But the Emperor was still in his prime and possessed peerless cultivation. This abrupt order left everyone uneasy.
“Eunuch Gao, just what has happened? Where is His Majesty? Why can we not see His Majesty?”
“Right! What’s wrong with His Majesty? Why is the First Prince temporarily presiding over the court?”
A pile of officials immediately stepped forward, their voices panicked and worried.
“Eunuch Gao, just what has happened to His Majesty?” w.a.n.g Chong suddenly said.
While investigating what happened after a failure to reach the Divine Martial realm, he had never expected that the Sage Emperor would so quickly withdraw from the Imperial Court, concealing himself behind the curtain and allowing the First Prince to stand in for him. w.a.n.g Chong had an extremely ill foreboding, sensing that the Sage Emperor’s condition was even worse than he had imagined.
Buzz!
The moment w.a.n.g Chong spoke, the entire Imperial Court instantly fell silent. Countless officials began to look back and forth between w.a.n.g Chong and Gao Lis.h.i.+. As the Great Tang’s King of Foreign Lands and after that string of incidents, w.a.n.g Chong had successfully branded his unyielding and determined att.i.tude into the minds of the court officials.
w.a.n.g Chong now possessed unusual weight in the Imperial Court, becoming a leader of the court similar to King Song.
Gao Lis.h.i.+’s brow creased, and as he waved his horsetail whisk and prepared to speak, another voice resounded through the hall.
“I will answer this question for you!”
This sudden voice immediately caught the attention of all the officials. Even Gao Lis.h.i.+ turned in the direction of this voice. At the entrance to Taihe Palace stood a golden figure, tall, slender, and majestic, wearing a four-clawed-dragon robe. He stepped over the threshold and entered the hall.
The First Prince!
w.a.n.g Chong slightly grimaced at the sight of this figure, a thought flitting through his mind.
First Prince Li Ying had a disdainful look in his eyes, and he slowly stalked forward like a tiger or dragon. Upon seeing him, all the officials hurriedly lowered their heads and bowed.
“Your Highness!”
“Your Highness!”
Li Ying said nothing, and he held his head high and lightly waved his hand to indicate that all the officials should rise.
“Milords, there is no need to be so polite. Imperial Father has recently felt unwell. In addition, everyone knows that Imperial Father’s martial prowess is unrivalled in the world. Imperial Father must be sensing another breakthrough and so has decided to seclude himself, making this Li Ying a regent to preside over the court. Imperial Uncle, Lord Prime Minister, in the future, I will have to trouble you for your a.s.sistance!” Li Ying said, his gaze turning to the Prime Minister and King Song.
“Your Highness is too polite!” Prime Minister Li Linfu stroked his beard and chuckled.
King Song, on the other hand, felt a chill in his heart and repeatedly said, “I would not dare!”
“Milords, I will have to rely on your instruction in the future!”
Li Ying scanned the rest of the officials in the hall.
“We would not dare!”
“The First Prince is wise and heroic. His Majesty’s decision cannot be wrong! How could you possibly need our instruction!”
The officials hurriedly lowered their heads.
According to the custom of previous dynasties, the moment the First Prince was made regent and allowed to preside over the court, this meant that the First Prince was highly likely to become the heir apparent, the next Sage Emperor of the Great Tang. At this moment, all the officials had nothing but reverence in their hearts.
The First Prince held his hands behind his back and kept his head raised as he slowly walked toward the dragon throne, his demeanor like that of a tiger or dragon. At this moment, the First Prince was bursting with energy, exuding an aura that regarded the whole world with disdain. But as he pa.s.sed by w.a.n.g Chong, the First Prince paused for a moment.
“Heh, King of Foreign Lands, we meet again!”
Bzzzz! This minor action immediately drew the attention of the officials. All eyes in the court gathered on the two of them. One was the Sage Emperor’s eldest son, the future heir apparent, while the other was King of Foreign Lands, fresh off a victory on the battlefield and possessing enormous influence in the court. The mood immediately turned strange.
And before this, there had already been a rumor that the First Prince had tried to recruit w.a.n.g Chong but had apparently been refused.
“First Prince is too polite!” w.a.n.g Chong indifferently said.
At this time, he was the only person able to maintain a calm and confident composure. w.a.n.g Chong held his hands behind his back, fearless even in front of the First Prince.
“It is truly a pity. On that day in front of the palace gate, you should not have refused me!” said a soft whisper in his ear. Shocked, w.a.n.g Chong noticed that the First Prince was smirking at him, his lips softly moving but making no noise. It seemed like he was using a secret messaging skill. At the same time, the distant King Qi s.h.i.+fted as if he heard something, and then a smug smile appeared on his face.
Before w.a.n.g Chong could reply, the First Prince grinned and continued onward.
Meanwhile, King Qi gave a sinister smile and used a secret messaging skill so that his voice could resound in w.a.n.g Chong’s mind. “Foul brat! In the end, it was still your w.a.n.g Clan that lost!”
He had suffered several setbacks at the hands of w.a.n.g Chong and the w.a.n.g Clan, and this time, the Sage Emperor had even appointed King Song to a.s.sist the regent First Prince, but not him, leaving King Qi infuriated.
But in the end, w.a.n.g Chong and the w.a.n.g Clan had still lost. He had always been close to the First Prince, and so once the First Prince ascended the throne, the w.a.n.g Clan would undoubtedly fall out of favor. Despite all the effort w.a.n.g Chong had put in, he would still lose.
w.a.n.g Chong condensed his energy and replied with a faint smile on his lips, “Heh! Your Highness is laughing too early!”
“You!”
King Qi was enraged, but by this time, the First Prince had reached the raised platform and seated himself on the Sage Emperor’s dragon throne. He did not dare to speak any more at this time.
w.a.n.g Chong grinned and ceased quarreling with King Qi.
The First Prince would not be able to sit on the Emperor’s throne. Of this, w.a.n.g Chong was absolutely confident. The First Prince and King Qi were counting their chickens before they had hatched.
Once the court session was over, Zhangchou Jianqiong, King Song, w.a.n.g Chong, and w.a.n.g Gen squeezed themselves into a large carriage. Zhangchou Jianqiong was the first to speak, his brow furrowed in worry and his head slightly lowered.
“w.a.n.g Chong, the situation is bad. His Majesty has retired to the palace, and we can’t get close unless he summons us for an audience. And with the First Prince presiding over the country, all power is in the hands of the First Prince, Li Linfu, and King Song, and King Song is the only person on our side with any decision-making power. Moreover, the First Prince has never been very close to us. Now that His Majesty has placed him in charge of the country, there’s a fifty percent chance that he will be made the future sovereign. This is extremely ill news for us.”
When Zhangchou Jianqiong had still been Annan Protector-General, the First Prince had tried to recruit him, but Zhangchou Jianqiong had refused him. As for w.a.n.g Chong and King Song, they had also had their differences with the First Prince, so none of the three had much of a relations.h.i.+p with him. The news that the First Prince was presiding over the empire could definitely not be considered good news. Once the First Prince a.s.sumed the throne, the three would be put in an even worse situation. Zhangchou Jianqiong’s worries were completely understandable.