Chapter 3 Illusions
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The princes and princely heirs are not fools; each one is a worldly-wise individual.
Do they not know that the Jade Lock Gold Barrier Skill can attract the Emperor's attention, serving as a shortcut to winning the imperial favor?
Why have they abandoned this shortcut?
Among the princes and princely heirs, there are also martial arts geniuses. None choose this path, proving it's an unworkable shortcut, hence the abandonment.
But there's no need to explain this to Bai Ningshuang, who doesn't understand martial arts. Let's agree for now and decide after checking the mental method.
Chu Zhiyuan said solemnly, "Mother, no one visiting is just the current situation. Everyone's watching and waiting. We must remain calm and steady, shouldn't act rashly."
Bai Ningshuang snorted, "I'd like to stay calm, but I'm so angry."
"Then visit your Imperial Grandmother more often and learn from her."
"...Alright." Bai Ningshuang nodded helplessly. "Your Imperial Grandmother's side is also lonely. Poor thing, now that we're unblocked, we can accompany her more and have someone to talk to."
——
Before daylight, the Prince Qing Mansion was already bustling with activity.
The Listening Wave Courtyard was the bedroom of the princely heir, where the candles burned brightly like daylight.
In the outer room of the bedroom stood a purple sandalwood chi pattern round table, with eight dishes and four bowls of soup on it, shining enticingly under the candlelight.
Chu Zhiyuan stood before the table, arms outstretched, as two maids in red attended to his dressing.
Two other maids in white tended to his meal.
All four maids were as beautiful as flowers, graceful and elegant, easily mistaken for noble young ladies from wealthy families when seen outside.
The two maids in red carefully adjusted his bright yellow combat uniform, delicately positioning the crane-shaped belt tag.
He wore no other accessories, save for this crane-shaped silver belt tag.
Chu Zhiyuan said, "That's enough."
The two maids in white put away the silver chopsticks and spoons, signaling with elegant hand gestures for a group of maids outside to come in and clear the table.
As Chu Zhiyuan dropped his arms, he lightly caressed the cheeks of the two red-clad maids, who playfully pouted and glanced at him as he left the Listening Wave Courtyard.
Zou Fang, dressed in a blue robe with a White Jade Dust Brush at his waist, holding a lantern, waited outside. Seeing him emerge, he quietly led the way.
In the brightly lit main hall, King Qing Chu Minghou was seated, while Princess Bai Ningshuang paced back and forth. A lovely, graceful girl also sat by the table.
Chu Minghou, slender and frail, exuded an ethereal, otherworldly aura. He smiled and said, "Madam, don't worry too much. Yuan'er can handle it. Sit down and rest."
Bai Ningshuang stopped and looked askance at him, "Master, Yuan'er has no experience dealing with these people!"
Yuan'er has been confined to the mansion for twenty years, having seen no outsiders, while those princes and princely heirs constantly gather, honing their wits. How can one not worry about Yuan'er, who goes to Mingwu Hall like a lamb among wolves?
"Experience doesn't matter; Yuan'er's wisdom far surpasses that of ordinary people. He won't suffer."
"Sigh..." Bai Ningshuang sighed worriedly, sitting beside him with a graceful motion.
Chu Minghou shook his head with a smile.
Just then, Chu Zhiyuan lifted the curtain and entered, his bright yellow combat uniform illuminating the room.
The graceful young girl laughed, stepped forward, and took his arm, "Big Brother!"
Chu Zhiyuan smiled, "Finally willing to leave Wanqing Courtyard, huh."
"Big Brother, you can finally enter Mingwu Hall!" The girl Chu Yi chuckled gleefully.
She showed no concern, only joy.
In her heart, her big brother was omnipotent and all-knowing, and the Mingwu Hall was just full of youths, hardly worth mentioning.
"Yuan'er," Bai Ningshuang stepped forward to straighten his attire, "when you get there, don't be timid. Don't provoke them, but don't be afraid of them either!"
Chu Zhiyuan smiled and agreed.
His feelings were the exact opposite, filled with longing and eagerness.
"Exactly, Big Brother. Don't hold back against them. Hit them until they cry for their parents!" Chu Yi clapped her hands in support.
Chu Zhiyuan chuckled, "Little sister, you shouldn't always tend to those flowers and plants. Go out more, see the world, and interact with people."
His lively little sister was a bit of a recluse, accustomed to the life within the Prince Mansion, never stepping outside even after the mansion was opened. She preferred plants over people, finding them more interesting.
"Too lazy to go out. It's so dull and filthy," Chu Yi pouted.
Chu Minghou stroked his three strands of beard with his left hand, speaking slowly, "Yuan'er, you're also the Emperor's grandson, no different from them. Just act freely and decisively!"
"Father, I understand." Chu Zhiyuan nodded.
He held great respect for his father, Chu Minghou.
Even though weak and unable to practice martial arts, he didn't despair after being confined to the mansion. Instead, he focused on calligraphy and painting, achieving a high level, worthy of being called a master in both arts.
Bai Ningshuang hurriedly said, "Yuan'er, be respectful to the princely heirs, but show some reverence to your thirteenth Imperial Uncle..."
"Mother, I understand. It's getting late, I'm off."
...
When Chu Zhiyuan stepped out of the Prince Qing Mansion, the first light of dawn had just appeared.
Prince Qing Street was shrouded in thin mist and cold air, with lanterns swaying in the cold wind on either side of the street, creating dappled shadows.
Guards in dark robes moved in groups of five among the shifting shadows, exuding a menacing aura.
Guo Chi and eight Innate Masters escorted him a hundred meters to the South Palace Gate.
The South Palace Gate is the first entrance to the Imperial Palace.
A line of officials in crimson robes and wide belts, wearing official hats, formed two ten-meter-long queues, one with bird motifs, the other with beast motifs.
Twelve Forbidden Palace Guards stood solemnly, sternly inspecting every waist tag.
Chu Zhiyuan didn't queue at the back, but went directly to the front of the two lines. With his crane-shaped waist tag and Zou Fang, he passed through the palace gate unimpeded.
Guo Chi and the eight guards couldn't enter, staying outside the palace gate.
Entering the South Palace Gate, he encountered an expansive square, where officials in crimson robes and hats were already waiting to go to court, forming a dense, solemn mass.
With a bright yellow combat uniform, anyone could recognize him as a member of the Imperial Family, prompting the court officials to give way and cast glances.
Chu Zhiyuan walked on as though no one else was present, calm-faced.
In his mind, he recalled the two stalkers.
They concealed their presence, with dimmed aura—a highly skilled stealth technique that even Guo Chi and Zou Fang could not detect.
What remained uncertain was whether Feng Xi, hidden in the shadows, could find them and identify their origins.
Feng Xi, as the head of the mansion, practiced the top mental methods of the Forbidden Palace Eunuch, being stealthy and silent, swift as a ghost, and in the Grandmaster Realm.
Two grandmasters were among the South Palace Gate Guards.
Above the heads of both, there were phantoms three feet high.
One was a flying crane, two feet tall, standing on one leg in the void, with its neck bent and head hidden under its wing.
The other was a white tiger, three feet long, lying in the void, also resting.
The Grandmaster Realm is divided into nine heavens, with Guo Chi and Zou Fang at the third heaven, and Feng Xi at the fifth heaven.
Only his Super Sense could see these phantoms, and after summarizing patterns, he found that each foot of the phantom represented one heaven.
He crossed the square, passed another palace gate, walked another hundred meters, and crossed another palace gate, each gate guarded by grandmaster guards.
Eventually, he arrived at a wide martial arts training ground.
He waved at Zou Fang.
Zou Fang bowed, "Princely Heir, this servant will wait outside."
"Hmm."
Zou Fang withdrew through the palace gate, waiting outside.
...
To the north of the martial arts training ground stood a grand hall, with the plaque bearing the words "Mingwu Hall" in gold shining faintly in the morning light.
Along with the annexes on the east sides, the three halls resembled three giant beasts perched in the dawn, exuding an inexplicable sense of oppression.
The ground of the martial arts training ground was a kind of dark green soil, both soft and resilient, akin to the rubber tracks of his previous life.
Twelve young men in bright yellow combat uniforms were frozen in peculiar poses in the morning light. It was clear to him that they were practicing the Little Purple Sun Skill.
The twelve turned their heads towards the sound of footsteps.
He could clearly sense everyone's emotions: curiosity.
He sensed it twice more, confirming their emotions were indeed curiosity.
He found it strange.
He had expected coldness, even disdain, or even sarcasm, not the lack of malice, only curiosity.
Could the children of the imperial family and the Emperor's family be innately kind-hearted?
Impossible.
Their friendliness was likely influenced by their parents, indicating that his father's reputation among the princes was quite good.
It made sense; being unable to practice martial arts, his father's gentle, magnanimous nature, valuing emotions and righteousness, made him a beloved brother.
He approached the emaciated, short old man at the side of the field, clasped his fists in salute, "Junior Chu Zhiyuan greets Thirteenth Great Uncle."
The hairs on his neck stood up, warning him to stay away.
In front of him was an old man with crane-white hair and a childlike face, frail and short, seemingly easily knocked away with a punch.
As he extended his Super Sense, his vision suddenly blurred.
In that blur, he felt as if he stood atop a mountain peak among towering mountains.
Amid the layering dark clouds, two sections of towering peaks separated, with a wide river winding into the distance.
At the end of the river, a rising sun just pierced the skyline, casting a vast golden light, half veiled by thick clouds.
The golden rays turning the clouds purple, the river into a golden dragon, and the surrounding peaks into golden mountains.
He snapped back to clarity, withdrawing his Super Sense, immediately returning to normal.
As if it were all an illusion.
Standing before him was still the frail, short, seemingly a wind's blow away old man.
This is the Great Grandmaster!
An innate glow for one layer of light, the Grandmaster Realm shows external manifestations of mental methods, what is this Great Grandmaster?
"The son of Old Third Minghou, Chu Zhiyuan?"
The frail, short old man's eyes were bright and lively, showing no signs of aging.
"Indeed, my grandnephew," Chu Zhiyuan said, pale-faced, struggling to suppress his body's slight trembling, forcing a smile, "Father has asked me to bring greetings to Thirteenth Great Uncle."
"How is Minghou?"
"Father says he wishes not to cause trouble for others or the mansion, so he might as well stay within the mansion, so everyone fares better."
"...This child—"
Chu Qingfeng paused for a moment, shaking his head with a soft sigh.
He then deftly extended a hand to grasp Chu Zhiyuan's wrist, sending a thin stream of energy that swiftly swept through his meridians.
Chu Zhiyuan found himself immobilized before he could react.
Releasing his wrist, Chu Qingfeng nodded approvingly, "Good, very good!"
The other princely heirs and princes grew even more curious, eager to approach.
As their teacher, Chu Qingfeng was known for being stern, prone to reprimands and sardonic remarks, rarely giving praise.
Is this an act of love extends from another?
A round-faced, burly young man called out, "Thirteenth Uncle, what's Old Fourth's realm?"
Chu Zhiyuan was ranked fourth among the Prince's generation.
"Focus on your practice! Postnatal is already perfect, much better than your Uncle Eighteenth!"
The round-faced, burly young man grinned, "Postnatal perfection isn't much, Uncle Ninth and Uncle Tenth are also postnatal perfect."
"Eighteenth Prince, you are an uncle, yet your cultivation is no better than that of a nephew. Do you really have the nerve to speak?" Chu Qingfeng glared at him, "Shut your mouth!"
Eighteenth Prince Chu Mingxuan sulkily snorted, closed his mouth, and, eyes shut, feigned concentration on his practice.
Otherwise, worse words would follow.
"Come over here to talk."
"Yes."
The two left the martial arts training ground and entered the main hall.
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