CHAPTER 34: CHAPTER 34: THE EFFECT MARQUIS XUANPING DESIRED

Zhao Yao instructed Tong Xi to take the old man and the two monkeys back to Liang Run’s house. He and his second uncle continued shopping.

Liang Run took Zhao Yao to the most famous dessert shop in the capital and bought a lot of pastries. Zhao Yao planned to take them back to the palace for Liang Zhaoyi.

Zhao Yao then visited the largest bookstore in the capital and bought many storybooks for Liang Zhaoyi.

After buying the storybooks, Liang Run took Zhao Yao to Zhenxiu Building for lunch. They were lucky, as there was just a vacant seat available.

Zhenxiu Building was very popular, and it was always packed with people every day. If you came late and were unlucky, you’d have to queue.

After ordering their meals, they heard the storyteller talking about Prince Dai’s battles.

On the first floor of Zhenxiu Building, there’s a large stage where people perform every day. Some perform music, some tell stories, some act in plays, and some perform shadow puppetry. This allows diners to enjoy various performances while eating.

"Every day at Zhenxiu Building, there’s a storyteller narrating Prince Dai’s battles."

Zhao Yao leaned his right hand against his face, listening with great interest to the storyteller recounting Prince Dai’s success in pacifying Xuzhou and Jizhou.

Xuzhou and Jizhou were critical locations, and not only that, they were also affluent areas. Three years ago, rebels from the previous dynasty caused chaos in these regions, and the Emperor dispatched Prince Dai to quell the unrest.

Prince Dai took little time to pacify the rebels in Xuzhou and Jizhou. That year, Prince Dai became famous for quelling these insurgencies.

When Prince Dai quelled the rebels in these two prefectures, his prowess in commanding troops was finally unveiled. Since then, Prince Dai became increasingly formidable in battle, winning almost every encounter and earning the title of the General of Constant Victory.

Indeed, three years ago, storytellers were narrating Prince Dai’s suppression of the rebels in Xuzhou and Jizhou. At that time, it caused quite a stir. Three years later, storytellers in the capital are revisiting this story not to rehash old news but to build momentum for Prince Dai.

These days, most storytellers in the capital focus on every military exploit Prince Dai has accomplished. It’s to let the citizens know how formidable Prince Dai is and to make them realize the peace they enjoy now is because of him.

"Now when people mention Prince Dai, they all praise him." Liang Run played with the teacup in his hand and said, "Everyone considers him a great hero and recognizes him as the War God of Great Zhou and their protector." Then, his voice suddenly lowered significantly, "Now many people believe Prince Dai surpasses the Crown Prince, thinking the Crown Prince is not as capable as Prince Dai."

"This is the effect that Marquis Xuanping and his allies desire."

Liang Run lowered his voice and asked his inner doubt, "Now that Prince Dai holds great prestige in the capital, even surpassing the Crown Prince, why hasn’t Duke Zhen done anything? It’s quite strange."

"Because Duke Zhen and his allies know that what Marquis Xuanping and his allies are doing is futile."

"Futile?" Liang Run exclaimed, "Now everyone thinks Prince Dai should be the Crown Prince."

Zhao Yao shrugged and said, "What does it matter what people think? It doesn’t change anything. Besides, the Crown Prince is the heir apparent; it’s not something that can be changed just like that." Even if the Emperor wanted to replace the Crown Prince, he couldn’t do so on a whim.

"Even so, isn’t it unusual that Duke Zhen and his allies are doing nothing to counteract?" Liang Run was puzzled, "What Marquis Xuanping and his allies are doing is deliberately humiliating the Crown Prince, why doesn’t Duke Zhen care?"

"It’s simple, they’re intentionally putting the Crown Prince at a disadvantage, purposely allowing Prince Dai to overshadow the Crown Prince."

"Huh?" Liang Run looked utterly confused, "Deliberately putting the Crown Prince at a disadvantage, what use is that?"

"Now everyone admires my second brother and thinks the Crown Prince is not as good as him. But when the situation turns around, and people realize they have been misunderstanding the Crown Prince all along, they will think my second brother was too overbearing and too oppressive on the heir apparent. Then, everyone will sympathize with the Crown Prince." Zhao Yao believed that the reason Duke Zhen did nothing now was that they were saving a powerful move for a dramatic reversal in the future.

Liang Run listened in astonishment, dazed for a moment before snapping back and eagerly asking, "What does ’the situation turns around’ mean?"

"Duke Zhen will not always sit idly by; they will surely fight back later, and then the situation will reverse," Zhao Yao confidently stated, "A grand show is waiting for us to watch."

"What grand show? What is Duke Zhen planning to do?"

Zhao Yao shook his head and said, "I don’t know." He added, "When my second brother returns, Duke Zhen and his allies will make their move."

"Speaking of which, when is Prince Dai coming back?" Ever since the news of the great victory in Liangzhou reached the capital, there had been talk of Prince Dai every day, but he had yet to return.

"Second brother is coming back tomorrow," Zhao Yao said, "Apparently arriving in the capital in the afternoon."

"Coming back tomorrow?" Liang Run thought Prince Dai would take a while longer to return to the capital, but unexpectedly, he would be back tomorrow.

"Originally, he was supposed to take a few more days, but he seems to have sped up during the journey, arriving a few days earlier," Zhao Yao grinned, "Looks like he’s eager to come back too."

"With Prince Dai’s return this time, will there be another struggle between him and the Crown Prince?" Liang Run frowned, "Will the capital become unsettled?"

"It has nothing to do with us," Zhao Yao noticed Liang Run’s unease and comforted, "No matter how fierce the fight between my Crown Prince brother and my second brother, it won’t involve us, so you don’t need to worry."

Liang Run thought deeply for a moment and realized this was indeed the case, which eased his heart considerably.

"That’s true."

As they were speaking, the waiter brought the freshly prepared dishes. Zhao Yao and Liang Run immediately turned their attention to the food.

After lunch, the uncle-nephew duo decided to return home. On their way back, they saw some older beggars kicking and punching a younger beggar.

The young beggar, pinned to the ground, curled up, covering his head with his hands, and biting his lips tightly, not making a sound. His eyes were cold and fierce, seemingly wanting to devour the bullies alive.

Unable to bear it, Liang Run approached and chased away the older beggars, helping the severely beaten young beggar to his feet.

The young beggar was scrawny and dirty, his face beaten so badly it was black and blue, making it hard to see his original appearance, but his eyes were remarkably bright.

As Liang Run lifted him up, the young beggar’s wolf-like gaze suddenly turned bewildered, seemingly confused as to why he was being rescued.

Liang Run carefully examined the young beggar’s body, discovering he had many wounds and bruises.

"How are you?" The young beggar seemed to be about the same height as Yao Yao, probably around the same age as him too.

The young beggar snapped back to reality, his eyes suddenly filled with caution. He quickly retreated, putting distance between himself and Liang Run.

Seeing the young beggar looking at him with such wary eyes, Liang Run smiled gently: "I’m not a bad person; I just wanted to see if you’re hurt anywhere. Are you in pain anywhere?"

The young beggar glanced at Liang Run, then at Zhao Yao standing behind him, and then ran away without looking back. Unfortunately, his leg, having been kicked earlier, gave out after just a few steps, causing him to fall.

Liang Run hurried forward to check. The young beggar was clutching his right leg, looking in immense pain.

"What’s wrong with you?"

Zhao Yao walked over and, seeing the young beggar holding his right leg, gritting his lips in pain, guessed, "His leg might be broken."

"Broken?" Liang Run reached out and examined the young beggar’s leg, confirming it was indeed broken. Without any hesitation, he picked up the young beggar, not minding his dirty appearance.

"Second uncle, are we going to a clinic?"

"No need for a clinic; we’ll head home directly." Liang Run knew some medical skills and could treat a broken leg.

The young beggar passed out from the pain. After taking him back, Liang Run first used two wooden boards to splint his leg, then carefully took his pulse, finding many illnesses afflicting the young beggar. He wrote several prescriptions and instructed Tong Xi to fetch the medicine from the clinic.

"Second uncle, are you planning to take him in?"

Liang Run laughed, "Meeting him is fate, so I’ll lend him a hand."

Zhao Yao suddenly recalled a dream he had when he was ill, where he was taken to a special place with many children around his age. They studied and trained together from a young age, becoming the most trusted comrades for one another in that dream.

"Second uncle, since that’s the case, maybe you should take in more little beggars or orphans."

"Huh?"