Chapter 183

　At dawn on February 24, the team participating in the imperial hunting left Tianjing in a mighty manner and headed towards their destination, the Royal Hunting Ground at Quyang Mountain. Pang Jun was far away in Liaodong and did not go to Tianjing, but went directly to Quyang Mountain to join the imperial hunting team.

　　Under the guidance of the eunuch, Pang Jun came to a temporary palace and saw Emperor Yang Shao again.

　　"Your Majesty, I am Liu Jun."

　　"Get up."

　　"Thank you, Your Majesty." After Pang Jun stood up, he looked up at where Yang Shao was, feeling somewhat surprised. In his impression, Yang Shao was only in his forties. The last time he saw the emperor, he looked healthy and in high spirits. But at this moment, although Yang Shao's face could not be said to be haggard, he was definitely not energetic, and there was even a hint of futility between his brows, which was obviously caused by excessive drinking and sex.

　　Then he saw a petite and lovely beautiful girl leaning against Yang Shao. She had a fair complexion and crystal clear skin on her pretty face. She had a bright and shy pink complexion, a natural innocence, and an unconcealable charm. She looked at Pang Jun with curiosity, her beautiful watery eyes blinking. Pang Jun knew that this person was probably Yang Shao's niece and new favorite concubine, Nanchong Yinan Feifei.

　　At this time, Yang Shao smiled and said to Nan Feifei: "My dear, this person is the world-famous Liu Jun, what do you think?"

　　Nan Feifei giggled and said, "Hehe, the loyal ministers selected by His Majesty are all handsome and talented, and Lord Liu is one of the best." After saying that, she winked at Pang Jun with her charming eyes, sending him a wink.

　　Through intelligence and analysis of the information brought to him by Wei Wangshu, he concluded that this young Concubine Nan, who was not much older than Yang Yue, was not as innocent as Yang Yue. She was very likely a ruthless person. She looked pure and cute, but in fact, she had quietly gained all the favor of the emperor. Even the aborted child was very likely related to her.

　　So, he calmed down and said, "Your Majesty and the Queen are too kind. Liu Jun is just following the orders of the Emperor and doing his duty."

　　"You are always so cautious," Yang Shao said with a smile, and then he said to Nan Feifei, "My beloved, Liu Qing and I still have some state affairs to discuss. You should go back and rest first. I will come to you later."

　　"Yes, Your Majesty." Nan Feifei said, and then left the room obediently.

　　After Nan Feifei left, Yang Shao looked at Pang Jun for a long time before he said slowly, "From your looks, it seems like it was a success. Tell me, how did you do it? Is she okay?"

　　Pang Jun sorted out his thoughts and said, "This is what I thought. The Japanese thought I would take action in Liaodong, so I set traps every night in Liaodong. Of course, I would not knowingly commit a crime, so I only pretended to take action on the first night they settled in Yanzhou to alert the enemy. In fact, I have always planned to take action in Japan. In this way, even if the Japanese want to attack, they have no reason to do so."

　　Yang Shao nodded and continued to ask: "How do you do it in Japan? Although Japan is not as good as our Great Jin, their capital must be full of experts. Wouldn't it be more difficult for you to take action?"

　　Pang Jun shook his head and replied: "It seems that the capital of Japan is indeed full of experts, but in fact, they have more things to take into account, which makes it more likely for me to make a feint to the east and attack in the west. Your Majesty, do you still remember the Lankavatara Sutra enshrined in Huangjue Temple?"

　　"Remember, so what?" Yang Shao asked puzzledly.

　　"There are only five copies of the Lankavatara Sutra in the world, all of which are extremely precious and unique. It can be regarded as a treasure in our Great Jin, let alone in Japan. It just so happened that the abbot of the Kinkakuji Temple where this book was enshrined and a group of eminent monks all went to attend the wedding ceremony of the Crown Prince of Japan. The guards were empty, so it was easy for me to succeed. More importantly, their Kinkakuji Temple is not far from the Crown Prince's residence. After I succeeded, I set it on fire and lured several masters to the Kinkakuji Temple." Pang Jun mentioned the Lankavatara Sutra at this time because Wei Wangshu had suggested it to him. Instead of hiding it, it would be better to be open and aboveboard. Yang Shao must have spies in Japan, and he might know about the Lankavatara Sutra. The questioning was probably just a test.

　　"Well, that's right, but the Japanese still have many experts. How do you deal with them?"

　　"No matter how big a fuss I made before, it was only a warm-up, because my target is still people. So as long as they guard the Crown Prince's mansion, I will be helpless. So, I will directly attack their Crown Prince," Pang Jun paused and continued, "The wedding of the Crown Prince of Japan has a long and arduous ceremony. After a long time, it is inevitable that people will be in a hurry, because the King of Japan will also be present. At that time, the masters of Japan may not always follow, and there may only be guards as guards. As long as I hide and guard the path he must pass, I will definitely gain something. Once the Crown Prince disappears, it will not be comparable to the fire in the Golden Pavilion and the theft of scriptures. Of course, these things cannot be done by me alone. A year ago, I rescued a group of martial artists in Songzhou. In order to repay this favor, they are willing to help me make all the preparations." Pang Jun said.

　　"Good, you are brave and resourceful. I didn't misjudge him. Hahahaha, the Japanese made me and the entire court feel sick for a long time. Now I can finally let out a sigh of relief. Even if they want to bring an army to accuse me, they have no evidence. Well done." Yang Shao stood up from his seat, walked to Pang Jun, patted his shoulder, and whispered, "I have watched Yue'er grow up since she was a child. From now on, I will hand her over to you to take care of. You must treat her well, otherwise the King of Wei and I will not forgive you."

　　Pang Jun said quickly: "I have always regarded the princess as a treasure. Your Majesty, please rest assured that I will protect the princess well throughout my life and make her happy."

　　"Okay, okay. Oh, by the way, when you were making a feint to the east and attacking the west in Japan, didn't you say you stole a copy of the Lankavatara Sutra? How is the book now?"

　　Facing Yang Shao's sudden question, Pang Jun had already prepared a response: "Your Majesty, I have always carried this "Lankavatara Sutra" with me. This time I came here to present it to Your Majesty." After saying that, he took out a copy of the "Lankavatara Sutra" from his arms. It was the one he stole from Japan, but the martial arts hidden in it had already been copied down by him.

　　"Great! Those five copies of the Lankavatara Sutra were the most precious treasures of the Buddhism of Great Jin. This one was taken away by the Japanese. Now it has returned to Great Jin. It is cause for celebration. Hahahaha," Yang Shao said to Pang Jun while laughing. "My dear, you have done a great deed again. I don't know how to reward you."

　　"This is all my job. I appreciate your Majesty's kindness." Pang Jun responded modestly.

　　Yang Shao shook his hands: "No, no, I'm not just rewarding you with these, more importantly, Yue'er, I feel guilty for letting Yue'er, a little girl, endure such a thing."

　　Pang Jun then came to realize that although he was already the Marquis of Changning, he was only a fourth-rank county marquis, which was far inferior to the princess status of Yang Yue. Yang Shao wanted to improve his own status to be worthy of Yang Yue's princess status, even if Yang Yue could no longer appear in front of the world.

　　"Well, let's put it this way. If you perform better in the hunting grounds these days, I will upgrade your marquisate to a third-rank mansion marquis. It will look better."

　　"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace." Pang Jun hurriedly bowed to express his gratitude.

　　"Do a good job. I have high hopes for you and regard you as the future pillar of the Great Jin. Okay, that's all for today. Leave now."

　　Only then did Pang Jun leave Yang Shao's palace.

　　However, not long after he left the palace, Pang Jun was intercepted by Li Changluo, who said that the King of Wei wanted to see him. Pang Jun then followed Li Changluo to see the King of Wei, Yang Tong.

　　When he saw King Wei Yang Tong, Pang Jun was shocked by his appearance: if Emperor Yang Shao just looked weak, then King Wei was indeed much older. Yang Tong was only forty years old, but now his hair was full of gray, like a man over fifty. It seemed that Yang Yue's departure and Tang Yuxian's health had hit him hard.

　　When Yang Tong saw Pang Jun, a smile appeared on his gloomy face. He ignored the others and quickly walked up to Pang Jun, then nervously whispered beside him, "How is it? Ziye, Yue'er, how is Yue'er? Where is she now?"

　　Looking at Yang Tong's appearance at this moment, anyone would think that he was not a dignified and powerful prince at all, but just an ordinary helpless father who was worried about his daughter. This made Pang Jun sigh in his heart. He said to Yang Tong: "Your Highness the King of Wei, Princess Yaoyue is now in Songzhou. She is living a good and happy life, but she is a little homesick."

　　"Huh..." After hearing Pang Jun's short words, Yang Tong breathed a long sigh of relief, and even shed tears in front of Pang Jun, muttering, "That's great, that's great, Yue'er is fine, that's good." That complexion felt like a spring breeze, as if he had become a few years younger, which made Pang Jun feel deeply that he loved his family and children from the bottom of his heart.

　　Then, Pang Jun said hesitantly, "Wei...Your Highness the King of Wei, and...Yue'er...Yue'er is pregnant." When Pang Jun left, he just found out that Yang Yue was pregnant.

　　When Yang Tong heard Pang Jun's second sentence, she stopped crying and stared at Pang Jun and said, "What? Say it again?"

　　At this moment, Pang Jun was just like a son-in-law who was meeting his father-in-law for the first time. He repeated what he had just said: "Yue'er is pregnant. Yes, it's my child. Your Highness, don't worry. Yue'er is fine. Someone is taking care of her all the time."

　　Yang Tong stared at Pang Jun for a long time with narrowed eyes, and suddenly laughed out loud: "Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha," he patted the confused Pang Jun on the shoulder and said with a smile, "You're really good, our Yang family's darling, we're afraid of dropping him if we hold him in our arms, and afraid of melting him if we hold him in our mouths, but you, not long after coming back from Japan, you asked my Yue'er to give birth to a baby for you! Our Yue'er has grown up, and has started to take care of her husband and children. As a father, I'm also very pleased."

　　Pang Jun was a little stunned. He didn't expect Yang Tong to be not furious but very happy. Then he heard Yang Tong say, "Don't think that I don't know that my daughter is well-educated and well-mannered in front of outsiders, but in fact she has a restless temper. Now she can finally settle down. How can I not be happy as a father? Since Yue'er left, the princess has been too sad and her health has become not so good. She did not participate in the imperial hunt this time, but stayed in the capital to recuperate with her children. If she knew about Yue'er's situation, she would definitely be very happy. How about this, after the imperial hunt is over, you and I will go back to the capital to meet the princess and tell her in person about Yue'er's situation. She has always been optimistic about you and Yue'er, and I believe she will get better because of this."

　　Knowing Tang Yuxian's current situation, Pang Jun was a little worried, but when Yang Tong told him that the emperor had invited him to return to the capital with him after the hunt, he felt relieved.

　　After learning the news about Yang Yue, Yang Tong said that he had not been so happy for a long time, and he insisted on pulling Pang Jun to stay for dinner. The father-in-law and son-in-law drank a few more jars of wine before the banquet ended. Only then did Pang Jun leave Yang Tong's residence and go to his own residence.

　　It was late at night and Pang Jun was walking back when he suddenly felt something was wrong. A strong wind blew towards him from behind. He wanted to dodge, but he had just drunk a lot of wine from Yang Tong's place and his body was not as handy as usual. He tried his best to dodge, but was finally hit in the left arm by an unknown object. Just as he was about to see who was attacking him from behind, he suddenly smelt a fragrant wind and heard a sentence: "Not bad, you can dodge after drinking so much wine, but it's still too slow." Then he felt a pain in his neck, his eyes went black, and he fainted.