CHAPTER 1868: CHAPTER 1861: SIGNS OF TURMOIL

After a pause, Cheng Ziang looked at Luo’er, with a slightly ashamed expression on his face: "I know what you want to ask, sorry, I shouldn’t have done that, but, I..."

"It’s all in the past," Luo’er smiled faintly, intentionally or not, averting his gaze and said self-deprecatingly, "Besides, I have no right to say anything about you..."

Cheng Ziang took a deep breath and said sincerely, "We have been stranded in the East Continent for so long, and we don’t know how Luoya is doing. If, and I’m just saying if, she already has someone in her heart, then I won’t blame her, and I have no right to blame her..."

"It’s your business, I won’t interfere much. I trust your character, and if you wish, I would gladly see you two together."

"I know, thank you..."

Cheng Ziang bowed his head deeply.

"There’s no need to be so cautious, it’s okay to remember her, after all, it’s evidence that she was here, perhaps only you remember." Luo’er continued.

With Luo’er’s words, it seemed to touch the softest part of Cheng Ziang’s heart, he couldn’t help but sob, and through the gaps between his fingers covering his face, one could see a glistening sparkle.

Luo’er quietly watched Cheng Ziang sobbing with his head down. Although he also felt bad, he restrained himself from continuing to speak.

To be fair, Luo’er really didn’t like Cheng Ziang flirting with other women, especially since he formerly had mutual feelings with his own sister, only lacking a formal title. Now a stranger has emerged and stirred his heart, making Luo’er feel the taste of betrayal.

But since she has passed, he really couldn’t say much anymore. Even taking a step back, he indeed had no right to criticize Cheng Ziang’s fickleness, given that he himself was still ambiguously involved with two girls, not setting the right example.

On the subsequent journey, the Advance Team still swaggered along the official road in Qi State, but the Anxiang family seemed not to dispatch troops to intercept them anymore, only a few lurking figures seen observing from afar like hyenas trailing behind.

They traveled like this for about ten days, having crossed more than half of Qi State. Along the way, they encountered numerous forces, including government soldiers, refugees, and bandits.

Surprisingly, those refugees seemed to recognize Luo’er, and once they confirmed Master Luo’er’s identity, they behaved very courteously, even inviting the Advance Team to rest at their camps.

The Advance Team noticed that most of these refugee leaders were well-mannered and cultured, unmistakably scholars, despite being clad in military attire, they still exuded a distinguished scholarly aura.

It was clear that these refugees rose in rebellion and built camps because the Wu Family’s seizure of power meant perpetual hopelessness for scholars like them, so they preferred rebellion.

Such refugee powers spread almost throughout the entire Kyushu, after the Wu Family took power, almost the whole Kyushu fell into rebellion.

Of course, among these included not only refugee forces but also bandits capitalizing on the chaos, and some nobility’s soldiers.

Everyone could see that the world was in chaos, a time of upheaval, and understanding how to weigh and decide was crucial for their prosperity in the forthcoming era.

The reason the Anxiang family didn’t send troops to chase the Advance Team was simple because Jufeng Pass in Qi State had fallen. Qi State’s wild commoners seized the opportunity while the Anxiang family was weakened from blocking the Advance Team, launching a large-scale attack on Jufeng Pass.

Equipped with elite artillery, Qi State’s wild commoners’ army took just ten days to capture the pass blocking them for hundreds of years, officially advancing towards the Qi State Plain.

This was evidently a hidden move set by the Wen Family’s court before their downfall, using Qi State’s wild commoners to contain the Anxiang family, a pawn of the Wu Family.

With the situation critical, the Anxiang family dispatched troops to block while also sending envoys to request reinforcement from the Imperial Court. However, after ten or more days, they only received a nonchalant response from the Wu Dynasty to stand at attention.

The Wu Dynasty was too preoccupied to handle Qi State’s internal turmoil because they had already sensed that the Jiuyun Clan and the Gaofeng Family were preparing to act.

After the expedition’s victory, the Wen Family’s court temporarily assigned military authority to these two families, without handing the new army and fleet to the Wu Dynasty.

Although the court repeatedly issued edicts for these two families to return the military, most of those orders sank without a trace, with no news.

What made the Wu Dynasty most uneasy was the disappearance of the two White Dragon princesses, with informants indicating that they seemed to have been sent to the Gaofeng Family in Yun State.

If the intelligence is accurate, it would mean that the Gaofeng Family could completely use these sisters to launch a coup against the Wu Dynasty just as they did before.

And as for the Jiuyun Clan, it’s even more self-explanatory; the White Dragon’s sister was married off to the Jiuyun Clan, and they have a daughter. The Jiuyun Clan didn’t even need hostages, they could advance on the Capital City, deposing the emperor to establish a ruler.

Immersed in the joy of power seize for many days, these Wu Family people suddenly realized they might have fallen into a trap laid by the Wen Family long ago.

Though they had overthrown the Yichuan Clan and purged Wen Family officials from the court, they also made enemies of all those associated with the Wen Family’s interests and powers.

Moreover, crucially, the Wen Family launched two wars abroad, reallocating all military forces, seemingly creating a huge loophole, but now it seems, this was just a trick to lure the Wu Family to step in.

Once the Wu Family stabilized their regime, they realized that the two military detachments sent by the court had not returned, and the military tokens hadn’t returned to their hands but fell into the hands of two border nobility families.

Although the Wu Family had always considered the Jiuyun Clan and the Gaofeng Family to be part of them, judging from the current situation, it seemed to be just wishful thinking on their part.

The Wu Family believed controlling the court meant obtaining everything, but now, it seemed aside from venting their anger, they gained nothing.

The reason the two major families haven’t acted might still be considering Bailong An, as he is after all the current Emperor Wu of the Empire and regained the throne through a duel in front of the emperor, so legally, his throne is legitimate.

However, although the two major families held back their armies, others in Kyushu didn’t think so; rebellion in states and prefectures was escalating, with the insurgents having superior numbers and weapons compared to the Wu Family, incomparable by far.

Helplessly, the Wu Dynasty had to command other Wu Family aristocrats to aid in quelling the rebellion. Yet, more and more Wu Family aristocrats gradually realized the inevitability of the great trend, so they either delayed in quelling the rebellion, or made various excuses not to dispatch troops.

With the Wen Family’s collapse, Kyushu had already become so chaotic, so Wu Family aristocrats started adopting a wait-and-see approach, observing the situation’s trajectory without taking action.

The Advance Team continued carefully probing for changes in the times while continuing west, without stopping, hoping that upon entering Hua State, things might improve, with Huayu Ting’s coverage protecting them.

On the other side, Bailong An, resting in Yangxin Hall, was becoming more and more haggard from anxious waiting. Since ascending the throne, he had hardly received any good news, and he even began to doubt if he had made a wrong decision.

The internofficial brought him medicinal soup, but his attendant Jing Guan stopped him. Jing Guan sniffed the soup in front of the internal official, then took up the cup, dismissed the official, and presented the soup to Bailong An.

"Your Majesty, please take the medicinal soup," Jing Guan bowed his head, dutifully saying.

"I know," Bailong An, somewhat haggard, took the cup, sighed deeply before drinking, and looked at Jing Guan asking, "Jing Guan, from your perspective, did I really make a mistake? Why have I ended up with no family around me?"

"High above, above everyone, thus without kin beside, governing the masses below the throne." Jing Guan thought for a while before answering.

"Is that really so?"

Bailong An sighed lightly, bowing his head to drink the medicinal soup.

Jing Guan bowed his head in silence, seemingly hesitating to speak. After a while of silence, he suddenly asked, "Has Your Majesty ever truly felt guilty for what you are doing?"

"What do you mean?" As if caught off guard by such a heinous question, Bailong An looked up, shocked, and questioned.

"People say, when a wise ruler takes the throne, clouds form, rain falls, and blessings cover Kyushu. Yet, now under Your Majesty’s rule, war and chaos spread, smoke and fire everywhere. In this situation, has Your Majesty ever felt guilty?" Jing Guan calmly inquired.

Seemingly taken aback by this question, Bailong An looked at him with wide eyes in astonishment, yet was speechless, not knowing how to respond.