Xuanmen Prodigal Son

Chapter 23: The Seventh Prince

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The clear voice was answered by a long silence.

"Royal brother? Royal brother? Stop imagining nonsense and answer my question!"

This time there was an answer, but it was...

"The whole team stops and rests on the spot!"

As soon as the command was given, all the elite cavalry immediately dismounted and guarded the surroundings. The skillful servants quickly built tents and other items, and soon it became a large camp.

At the same time, the voice sounded again, but with a hint of strange meaning...

"Mei'er, you see the sandstorm is so fierce. Why don't you and I wait here for a while until the dust settles before entering Tianjue City?"

"Brother, what do you mean by this?" After these words fell, the crisp child's voice sounded again, and a little beauty in palace dress, about fourteen years old, got off the carriage. She ignored the maid's obstruction and walked straight forward, humming to the person in front of her, "Wouldn't it be better to rush to Tianjue City in one go? It's dirty here, I don't like it!"

But she saw a young man walking in front of her. Although he was dressed in prince's clothes, there was not much arrogance on his face. He looked at the little beauty with his starry eyes, full of love.

This person was none other than the seventh prince of the Great Zhou Dynasty, Lu Xianyuan, and the little beauty was the Emperor Zhou's most beloved daughter, Lu Meir, as rumored.

Seeing that the two men were about to talk, the people around them stepped back, leaving only a few people protecting them in the dark.

"Mei'er, it's a rare opportunity to come to the Ancient Road of Desolate Clouds. This place has unique scenery. Why bother to hurry on?" Lu Xianyuan turned around and looked at the sky full of yellow sand, and said lightly.

"Hmph! My dear brother, you are not telling the truth again!" Lu Meir's petite nose curled up and snorted, "Don't think I don't know that you deliberately slowed down the convoy along the way and always found excuses to sleep outdoors. It's not even dark yet and you want to rest... And you use excuses like 'strong wind and sand' and 'good scenery'... Tell me, what are you thinking?"

Lu Xianyuan smiled and said, "Xiao Mei'er really has a keen eye. You saw through everything."

"Humph! Of course!" Lu Meir looked proud, "But what on earth are you thinking about, brother? Didn't our father send us to preside over the Tianjue City Autumn Night Banquet? If we delay any further and let our father down, I wonder how you'll report it to him!"

"Ah..." Lu Xianyuan was silent for a moment after hearing this, and then he sighed, "Mei'er, do you think that my brother doesn't want to go to Tianjue City earlier? To tell you the truth, this autumn night banquet is not as simple as it seems!"

"Think about it carefully. The Autumn Night Banquet is important, but is it necessary to send two royal children like you and me to Tianjue City at once? This has never happened before. Have you ever thought about why? Think about what kind of person your father is? Thunder, lightning, rain and dew all have deep meanings. The water of this Autumn Night Banquet is very deep..."

Upon hearing this, Lu Meir was not frightened, but instead showed a curious look. She pulled Lu Xianyuan's hand and begged, "What's going on? Tell me quickly, my dear brother~"

When Lu Xianyuan heard such a coquettish voice, he could no longer maintain his calm demeanor. His whole body trembled, and he held his brows with helplessness.

He aspires to be the crown prince, has always been diligent and scheming. His only weakness is his sister, who is born to the same mother as him. When he meets Lu Meir, all his scheming disappears in an instant. From childhood to adulthood, no matter what happens, Lu Meir only needs to act coquettishly a few times, and Lu Xianyuan will have to obey her.

He tried to hold it in but still couldn't stop it, so he could only sigh and signal the attendants around him to step back with his eyes, and then said, "Okay, okay... Brother Huang will tell you."

"I know that my brother is the best!"

"Don't give me that!" Lu Xianyuan rolled his eyes at her and said, "Because of the 'Imperial Garden' incident, Kyoto has now become a huge swamp. Father sent both of us out at the same time. It was a matter of business for me, but it was out of love for you. I was only able to stay away from that whirlpool because of you. This is the first reason. The second reason is that you know the royal bloodline well..."

Before he finished speaking, Lu Meir interrupted him and asked, "Brother, what about the third one?"

"… The third thing… probably, it's checks and balances."

"Checks and balances?"

“Well… In the current situation in Kyoto, Marquis Qin has joined forces with many divine marquis families to attack Marquis Ziyi. Prime Minister Mo’s attitude is strange, and he may have joined forces with Marquis Qin! Prime Minister Wu’s attitude is unclear, but he has no intention of supporting Marquis Ziyi… So in order to maintain a balance, father will pay special attention to Tianjue City this year to support Marquis Ziyi… After all, no matter who mentions Tianjue City, the first person they think of is Marquis Ziyi.”

"Since this is what Father meant, shouldn't we hurry to Tianjue City as fast as possible?"

"That's the trouble." Lu Xianyuan's face became serious, and he said in a deep voice, "Do you know that we just started on the road, and someone has already made a move in secret? I didn't know about this until halfway through the journey... An old man under my command had been bribed... No, this person should have been the other party's man from the beginning. You also know the conditions required to participate in the Autumn Night Banquet, right? That person seized on this point and actually let the Tianjue Chu family's quota be replaced by the Jingdu Chu family."

"Ah?" Lu Meir was shocked when she heard this. "Then... then wouldn't it be asking for trouble if we go to Tianjue City again? Marquis Zi Yi is such a protective person, after this move, he will probably regard us as his mortal enemies... Moreover, this is also contrary to what my father wants... Who is that person? Does he want to put us on the fire?"

"Yeah..." Lu Xianyuan sighed slowly, "I've been deliberately slowing down my journey these days, hoping to come up with a solution before reaching Tianjue City... The man behind the scenes has big plans, I'm afraid it's not just Tianjue City's game, he also wants to drag us into the quagmire as well. If we really follow his intentions, the two of us will probably end up with only one outcome..."

"Brother, then, then have you thought of a solution?"

Lu Xianyuan's expression calmed down upon hearing this, and he said in a deep voice, "There is only one solution for now, and that is to make a decision when necessary. Otherwise, if the reputation of being indecisive spreads to the ears of the emperor, it will be even worse."

Lu Meir was also very smart. Her eyes lit up when she heard this and she said, "Brother, what you mean is... why don't we make a quick decision and directly borrow the advantage from the winning party?"

"That's right! Since we have already lost the initiative, if we continue to hesitate, we may offend both families. In this case, it is better to completely offend one family and form an alliance with the other..."

"But... after being fooled like this once, can the Tianjue Chu family still turn things around?"

"... That depends on whether there are people with clear minds in the Tianjue Chu family..."

Lu Xianyuan sighed softly and said, "To be honest... Actually, my brother also feels that it is impossible to be on good terms with the Tianjue Chu family. There is a master behind Marquis Qin who is scheming - I suspect it is Prime Minister Mo! He has gradually transferred the power of the Purple Robe Marquis's Mansion out, causing it to be full of loopholes. I think... the Tianjue Chu family should not have any good results left at this moment, and that first-rank imperial lady... She is sensible, but she loves her only son too much, too much! And her only son is... so ridiculous." Lu Xianyuan shook his head and sighed, "I racked my brains along the way, and found that no matter how I show goodwill, Chu Tianxiao, the prodigal son, is always a hurdle that I can't get around... And for this prodigal son, I can't guess his trajectory at all..."

"Without any help, I can only make the safest choice, waiting here for the dust to settle, and then heading to Tianjue City... This way I won't gain the most, but I won't lose too much either, there is always room for recovery."

Lu Xianyuan said slowly: "As for the matter of 'checks and balances', I will report it to my father and work on it slowly..."

Hearing this, Lu Meir pouted: "But I don't like the Qin family at all! I don't like Prime Minister Mo either! I don't want to form an alliance with them!"

Lu Xianyuan said: "I am no exception, my royal brother. But Qin Yun from the Qin family is still good. If he can recover, he can be considered a genius of our Great Zhou..."

"Humph! What Qin Yun! When we get to Tianjue City, I must see him for myself!"

Lu Meir pouted and said, and just as Lu Xianyuan was about to answer, an elite soldier suddenly stepped forward and whispered, "Seventh Prince, there is news from Tianjue City..."

"Hmm?" Lu Xianyuan and Lu Meir looked at each other, and both saw the surprise in each other's eyes, "Is the winner decided so quickly?"

Lu Xianyuan narrowed his eyes slightly, took the jade slip from his subordinate's hand, and slowly read out the information in it with the help of the treasure used exclusively by the royal family...

Then, his pupils shrank rapidly, and a look of shock first appeared on his face, and then gradually turned into amazement and praise, and a smile unconsciously appeared at the corner of his mouth...

"interesting… "

"This prodigal son really knows how to have fun!"

"This is to create a name for myself!"

"Wait... Isn't this also for me to see?"

Lu Xianyuan's eyes narrowed, and he ordered his subordinates: "Pass the order, move out the camp, and enter Tianjue City before tonight!"

"yes!"

"Also... send a message to the Wasteland Guild and tell them that the gift can be delivered!"

Just as Lu Xianyuan made the final decision and confirmed his attitude, the grand "family-wasting event" in Tianjue City finally came to an end...

The entire Tianjue City has gone crazy!