Chapter 1152: Chapter 723 Kui Wei Northern Hunt

In places unknown to most, war has already begun.

Scouts clash, armored warriors roar, blood and flesh pile into mountains, rivers of crimson flow, and the collision of military formations erupts as if overturning heaven and earth, countless vibrant lives withering into oblivion within moments.

But at the origin of this war,

the center of power in Dayan,

the tense atmosphere among the three elders dissipates swiftly.

Only because the Prime Minister held back.

Xu Yinhè, though laying bare the war quietly fermenting beneath the surface, refrained from revealing the name of the one who rashly initiated the troops.

Perhaps it was patience, perhaps compromise.

But either way, it showed that the Prime Minister still wished to avoid tearing things apart for now, preferring to negotiate amidst battle and limit the war to Xize State, aligning with everyone’s short-term expectations.

Under the pull of the nine-headed earth dragons, the Emperor’s Palace majestically and steadily arrived at its destination, the escorting Wugui Army halting their ranks at the outskirts of the Imperial Dragon Forest, where the Golden Armor Forbidden Army stationed at the hunting ground took over the duty of protection.

Riding a strange beast resembling a Pixiu, dressed in a python robe, Li Zhaoyuan gazed calmly at the now distant palace on wheels, and at the misty water-ink woods shrouded in lakes and mountains ahead. His voice carried a tinge of reminiscence:

“This hunting ground… remains unchanged.”

The general before him, clad in heavy armor and handling the reins of Li Zhaoyuan’s steed, turned back, slightly surprised:

“Back then, Your Highness would have been but a child; you still remember?”

Li Zhaoyuan stared toward the misty mountain forest, his gaze piercing through time, softly murmuring:

“I wish I could forget, but I can’t. I can’t forget how my mother and I were humiliated here under the Imperial Dragon Banner by that Empress.”

The general withdrew his gaze and said in a deep voice:

“Your Highness, in the year since you took command, that Empress must not have been at ease, especially over the past three days. That venomous woman must certainly be trembling in fear.”

The Emperor, on the verge of his limits, embarking on a journey without the protection of the Imperial Guards and instead entrusting the Second Prince to lead troops, was already an unmistakable political signal.

“Fate is undecided; speak no rash words.”

Li Zhaoyuan’s voice lost its smile, laced with meaning: “My eldest royal brother just met with the Third Young Master not long ago, and the Third Young Master appears to hold little regard for me.”

Finishing his words,

Li Zhaoyuan waved to interrupt the general before any words could be spoken:

“Marshal, change the formation.”

“…Understood.”

As the military orders were relayed, no murmurs or chatter emerged from the ranks. The armored warriors, tightly gathered in formations, began silently and efficiently reassembling.

Aside from the Central Army surrounding the formation core, tens of thousands of armored warriors swiftly dispersed outward, encircling the Imperial Dragon Hunting Ground with a city-surrounding formation resembling scattered stars aligned in a sprawling constellation.

When the reformation ended, the Emperor’s Palace had entirely disappeared into the mist-filled expanses of the Imperial Dragon Mountain Forest. At last, a trace of emotion emerged in Li Zhaoyuan’s otherwise calm, deep gaze. In a low voice, he murmured:

“Today should be Father’s day to make a decision. I must prepare in advance.”

…

…

“The Wugui Army has changed their formation.”

Under the Yellow Luo Umbrella, gazing toward the rising Qi waves from the formation shift in the rear, Ran Jianli stroked his beard and laughed: “Ran isn’t adept at military formations; Prime Minister, can you help me identify what formation this is?”

“Does the State Preceptor fear for Zhao Yuan?”

Before Xu Yinhè spoke, Li Yaoxuan’s drooping eyelids slightly lifted, fixing his gaze on Ran Jianli with an ambiguous smile: “With the State Preceptor’s cultivation level, if you can’t break this formation, surely you can escape it?”

Ran Jianli’s face twitched.

He hadn’t expected Li Yaoxuan’s words to be so blunt.

However, as he considered the Emperor’s impending end, it seemed there was little need for pretense anymore. He retorted irritably:

“Your Majesty, you jest. With a formation of this scale, the three of us combined could perhaps barely manage to break it.”

And then,

Ran Jianli suddenly asked:

“Your Majesty, do you still recall the Northern Hunt involving Lady Qin?”

Lady Qin, Li Zhaoyuan’s mother.

Li Yaoxuan’s gaze flickered briefly, his cloudy eyes instinctively sweeping over the flatlands west of the palace. In a soft voice, he replied:

“State Preceptor, you mean the 癸未 Northern Hunt thirty years ago?”

Ran Jianli smiled and nodded:

“Indeed, the very hunt where the Second Prince claimed first place.”

In a world of extraordinary power, the elite aristocracy inevitably revered martial prowess. Even the emerging clans over the past century maintained rigorous systems for assessing the martial virtues of their descendants. Hunts were one such evaluation applied by the Imperial Family to their princes.

During the 癸未 Northern Hunt, the young Zhao Yuan crushed the competition and seized first place with overwhelming might. The Empress grew envious and, in the presence of the court, forced his mother Lady Qin to serve tea as a display of “affection.” Later, she commanded mother and son to kneel beneath the banners of the Imperial Clan and offer salutations, never permitting them to rise.

Kneeling before the banners of the Imperial Clan was considered a reward for princes of lesser status. Generally, after completing the ceremonial bows, one would receive accolades from the Emperor.

But the Empress’s words, “With Zhao Yuan’s remarkable talent, the ancestors must surely rejoice. Your sincerest bows are necessary; they may even respond,” kept mother and son kneeling for ten days straight. When the hunt ended, Li Zhaoyuan and Lady Qin were brought back to the palace.

Recalling this, Li Yaoxuan’s expression remained unmoved:

“I do remember that hunt. Serving filial piety was not an easy task for Zhao Yuan.”

“Filial piety?”

Ran Jianli’s eyes flitted with a ghostly glance toward the Wugui Army’s formation, shaking his head as he commented:

“Your Majesty, I recall the Empress banished the Second Prince to Jingshu Palace for seven years.”

The conclusion of the 癸未 Northern Hunt didn’t mark the end of the first-place tale, but merely its beginning.

After returning to the palace, the Empress added, “If your ancestors didn’t hear your sincere bows, continue kneeling,” and immediately sent Li Zhaoyuan and Lady Qin to the cold palace. There, in the courtyard beneath the banners of the Imperial Clan, they continued their kneeling penitence.

The lofty words from the Empress, when imposed upon the former palace maid Lady Qin and her illegitimate son Li Zhaoyuan, became a crushing burden akin to a mountain.

For seven long years, Li Zhaoyuan and Lady Qin knelt.

Seven years marked the upper limit.

Because eventually, emissaries of the Imperial Clan arrived to bestow the title of prince upon Li Zhaoyuan.

At age sixteen, he was mandated to leave the palace.

During those seven years,

deprived of Origin Qi, the cold palace stunted Li Zhaoyuan’s cultivation growth.

Constant kneeling pushed Lady Qin, frail in cultivation, to the brink of death several times.

And through it all,

Li Yaoxuan merely watched in silence.

With these thoughts swirling,

Ran Jianli fixed his gaze upon Li Yaoxuan’s eyes, chuckling softly as he asked:

“Given such an ordeal, Your Majesty, are you not worried the Second Prince may fail to fulfill his filial duties at all?”

“State Preceptor, he isn’t worried.”

Xu Yinhè abruptly interjected, his tone measured and calm: “If the Second Prince had the audacity to commit patricide, then, in fact, His Majesty would be delighted.”

“Am I correct, Your Majesty?”

“…….”

Silence hung in the air.

When the propriety of ruler and minister begins to collapse, words grow increasingly blunt.

Li Yaoxuan’s aged, gaunt features gradually broke into a smile. His frail frame shivered with low laughter, his gaze complex yet mirthful as he looked at his old friend and said:

“Indeed, Xu Yinhè, you understand me best…”

Xu Yinhè remained expressionless, directly asking:

“So, Your Majesty, have you prepared for the event of his patricide?”

Li Yaoxuan hesitated briefly, then admitted:

“I’ve made some preparations, but certain things are beyond even me.”

“If the Second Prince truly harbors such intentions, he would surely account for them.”

“You hold Zhao Yuan in rather high regard.”

“Not exactly. That statement presumes the Second Prince dares to act.”

Xu Yinhè shook his head slightly, his gaze drifting toward the expansive military formations on the horizon as he remarked:

“Judging by the configuration, the Second Prince seems to be waiting for Your Majesty’s decision.”

Li Yaoxuan understood this logic all too well, sighing lightly:

“Perhaps, had I made my decision earlier, he wouldn’t need to wait for me. But alas…”

Saying this,

Li Yaoxuan suddenly turned to Xu Yinhè, his eyes deep and enigmatic:

“Prime Minister,

“I’ve made arrangements for what follows my death. But what about you?”