Chapter 56: Marrying the Princess, Aiming for Youyun

Changshan County, Wuning Palace.

The quiet Wuning Palace is located on the most prosperous street in the city and is a magnificent building complex.

However, after Wuning King Liu Xinwu was deprived of his military power by the new emperor Zhao Gan for unfounded reasons more than half a year ago, the Wuning Palace, which was once crowded with guests, has now become deserted and looks cold and cold.

In recent days, there have been some new vendors on the streets near Wuning Palace, running some unprofitable businesses.

Many times, these vendors don’t have a good face for the customers who come to the door, but their fierce and sharp eyes are always lingering around the Wuning Palace.

Liu Xinwu saw the identity of these strange vendors at a glance. They must be the minions around the current emperor, the notorious Red Guards of the Great Xin Dynasty, who specialize in doing some shady things for the current emperor.

It turned out that since the news that Chen Huaian, the prince of Jin, raised an army in Longcheng and fought against the court under the banner of "Fengtian Jingnan", reached Zhao Gan's ears.

The latter immediately strengthened the surveillance of the other kings of the Daxin Dynasty, fearing that there would be another traitor like Chen Huaian who would raise an army to rebel.

On this day, the servants of Wuning Palace got several large carriages of chickens, ducks, and geese from somewhere, and prepared to transport them into the palace from the back door of the palace.

At this time, a group of red-clothed guards wearing flying fish clothes and holding embroidered spring swords suddenly rushed out from the alley not far away, and stopped the servants of the palace aggressively.

The leader shouted arrogantly:

"Red Guards are here for inspection. I order you to take out all the things in the carriage for inspection!"

Seeing this, Zhuge Yunsheng, the butler of the palace, replied with difficulty:

"Sir, these are some poultry and livestock that my prince ordered me to buy. If they are all released, it will be difficult to catch them later!"

As he said this, Zhuge Yunsheng looked around, and then he took out a ten-liang silver ingot from his wide cuffs and handed it to the Jinyiwei Qianhu, smiling and saying:

"Sir, a little gift, a pot of wine for you and your brothers!"

Clang!

However, facing Zhuge Yunsheng's actions, the Jinyiwei Qianhu mercilessly pulled out the embroidered spring knife he carried with him, and the cold and sharp blade was directly placed on the neck of Zhuge Yunsheng, the butler of the palace.

"Stop!"

Suddenly, a sharp shout came from the back door of Wuning Palace.

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw a tall, broad-shouldered middle-aged man walking out of the back door of the palace.

He was wearing a red python robe, and his eyebrows revealed the heroic spirit of a superior. His steps were firm and powerful. He was one of the eight famous kings of different surnames in the Great Xin Dynasty, Wuning King Liu Xinwu.

As soon as Liu Xinwu went out, he saw the Red Guards Qianhu drawing his sword against Zhuge Yunsheng, the housekeeper of the palace. He immediately frowned and glared, and shouted in a dignified manner: "How dare you!"

"My dignified Daxin Wuning Palace is not a place where you can be so presumptuous. Put down your sword!"

"Greetings, Your Majesty!"

Hearing this, the arrogant and domineering Red Guards Qianhu had to smile and put away his sword in a sullen manner, and replied with a smile on his face:

"Your Majesty, this is my duty, and I hope Your Majesty will understand!"

Hmph!

Liu Xinwu had no good face for these lackeys of the court, and he shouted sternly: "This king has not been stripped of his title by the emperor, right?"

"As the great Wuning King of the Great Xin Dynasty, buying a few chickens, ducks and geese into the palace, do you still need the approval of your Red Guards?"

As he said this, Liu Xinwu changed the subject and sneered:

"Hmph, Zhuge Yunsheng, send these carts of chickens, ducks and geese to the palace for me, I want to see who dares to do it?"

After speaking, Zhuge Yunsheng really commanded a group of servants to send all the carts of chickens, ducks and geese back to the palace.

With Wuning King Liu Xinwu in person, this team of Red Guards really did not dare to embarrass the servants of the palace.

It was not until the two heavy wooden doors at the back door of the palace were closed from the inside that the leading Red Guard Thousand Household spat and said unhappily:

"Ah, what is this? Isn't he just an idle prince with no soldiers and no power? Why are you so arrogant!"

"Tomorrow, the emperor will issue an imperial decree to deprive you of your title. Then I will deal with you. Humph!"

"Let's go!"

Soon, the dozen or so Red Guards put away their knives and left, disappearing into the alleys around Wuning Palace.

However, the Red Guards merchants who were ordered to monitor the palace's every move were still doing business absent-mindedly near the palace, keeping their eyes wide open and their ears perked up to pay close attention to every move and every word of the palace.

In the palace, Zhuge Yunsheng, the housekeeper who hurried back to Wuning Palace from Longcheng, the fief of King Jin, was called to the study of King Wuning by Liu Xinwu, King Wuning, without even bothering to wash off the dust and the smell of chicken, duck and goose manure.

In the study, Liu Xinwu personally brewed a pot of hot tea for Zhuge Yunsheng, and asked with concern: "Yunsheng, how was the trip to Longcheng?"

Zhuge Yunsheng held the hot tea cup and nodded to Liu Xinwu with a firm look.

Then, he licked his cracked lips and replied with relief: "Reporting to the prince, His Royal Highness the King of Jin has agreed to the prince's request, but-"

At this point, Zhuge Yunsheng hesitated and didn't know how to start.

Seeing Zhuge Yunsheng talking halfway, Liu Xinwu suddenly became anxious and said: "But what, say it!"

Zhuge Yunsheng wiped the sweat from his forehead, gritted his teeth, stamped his feet, and said:

"However, before I left, His Royal Highness Jin Wang's teacher, the black-robed old monk Dongfang Xiao from Qixia Temple on Fengming Mountain, took the initiative to stop me and said-"

"He said that His Royal Highness Jin Wang is about the same age as my princess and is not married yet. If we can sign a marriage contract, it would be a legitimate reason for him to send troops to rescue the princess in the future."

"The old monk also said that the prince can protect the princess for a while, but not for her whole life. If the prince dies in the future, who can protect the princess for a lifetime? We can't let His Royal Highness Jin Wang protect the princess for a lifetime without a legitimate reason!"

Buzz!

As soon as Zhuge Yunsheng said this, the mind of Wuning King Liu Xinwu exploded with a buzzing sound!

The heroic and wise eyes also became uncertain at this time.

After a long while, Liu Xinwu asked, "Yunsheng, is this what Chen Huaian meant, or what the old monk Dongfang Xiao meant?"

Zhuge Yunsheng hesitated for a moment, thinking back to his time in the Prince of Jin's mansion.

Then, he replied uncertainly, "Reporting to the prince, His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin has never expressed this meaning in front of me, but——"

"This Prince of Jin once said in front of me that the black-robed old monk Dongfang Xiao and him are like father and son!"

"So..."