Chapter 177
No secrets stay hidden forever, especially not someone as restless as Li Yuanying. Gone for a whole day, the place he frequented is noticeably quieter than usual!
As the Cheif Secretary of Prince Teng, Wang Yifang, while not necessarily inseparable from the prince needed to know what he did each day.
Hearing that Yuanying was ill, Wang Yifang immediately visited him, wondering why he is unable to leave his residence.
Upon arriving, he was told that Yuanying’s illness is quite serious and he can’t anyone. Wang Yifang couldn’t sit still and immediately offered to fetch the renowned physician Sun, fearing that Yuanying’s condition might worsen. How could he possibly repay the Emperor with another brother if something happened to Prince Teng?
Seeing that things were about to escalate, Wei Shu had no choice but to tell Wang Yifang the truth.
So Wei Shu’s group sat in a row, enduring Wang Yifang’s scolding together.
“Knowing he’d gone to sea, why didn’t you tell me sooner? Why didn’t you send someone to bring him back? You even helped keep it a secret? If anything happened to him, you’d all be in deep trouble, not one of you would escape!”
Actually even if Yuanying returned safely, this news wouldn’t bring any good in Chang’an. Did they really think they could be free forever just because they tasted some freedom now? If Li Yuanying continued to act like this, they can all dream!
Wei Shu and the others remained silent, obediently enduring the scolding.
Wang Yifang didn’t try to keep it a secret. He immediately ordered a messenger to send an urgent message to Chang’an at full speed, while simultaneously sending a spare sea vessel out to sea to pursue him.
Although the chances of catching him were extremely slim, Tengzhou had to make strong impression, showing that they weren’t unwilling to pursue him, but rather they couldn’t catch him. Otherwise, if the Emperor found out they had helped deceive him, they would all be fired!
If things really escalated, they truly wouldn’t be able to help at all.
Wang Yifang finished assigning tasks and sat down, rubbing his throbbing temples. Glancing from the corner of his eye, he saw Lu Zhaolin about to come and help him. Wang Yifang scolded, “You all spoil him! Look what you’ve spoiled him into! That’s the sea! You covered for him this time, but next time he’ll dare do it again. Do you think the storms at sea will also let him get away with it?”
Lu Zhaolin didn’t dare argue and could only diligently massage Wang Yifang’s temples.
Wang Yifang’s words awakened Wei Shu and personally inform Lady Liu about the matter with no delays.
Lady Liu was worried but she appeared calm in front of Wei Shu. She even comforted the girl saying, “It’s not your fault. Whatever he wants to do, he’ll do it no matter how you try to stop him. He’s always been headstrong; he doesn’t listen to anyone.”
In the past, when Yuanying suffered mistreatment outside, he never vented it to her. He would avenge things himself and return with only happy stories. When Yuanying was young, Lady Liu was quite worried and would have Dai Ting report to her about his daily life. Later as Yuanying grew older, Lady Liu feared that prying into his life would upset him, so she stopped asking too many questions and believed whatever her child said.
Sometimes, it’s good to be a little oblivious!
Seeing that Lady Liu didn’t blame them, Wei Shu felt even more ashamed and stayed with her for a long time.
After a brief period of chaos, Yuanying’s staff all returned to calm. Everyone stood firm at their posts, waiting for his return so that they could give him a good scolding.
Meanwhile, Yuanying had left the island for a new voyage. In high spirits, he followed behind Li Dejian, running around energetically to encourage the hardworking crew.
Knowing that Prince Teng is with them, the crew worked extra hard to set sail.
Yuanying having slept for half a day was full of energy. As night fell, they were still adrift at sea. He led the resting crew members to sit on the deck, chatting idly, looking around at the vast ocean.
He looked up and saw a sea of stars stretching as far as the eye could see, making the crescent moon appear strangely dim.
He nudged Li Dejian, inviting him to admire this unique starry sky at sea.
Li Dejian initially didn’t want to pay him any attention, but seeing the man’s gleaming eyes and excited expression—as if he wouldn’t sleep until someone had a good chat with him—he reluctantly obliged to keep him company, offering only half-hearted replies.
Yuanying caught up in the conversation even mentioned his future plans: “Next time, I’ll bring Sister Shu and the others.” Having successfully sneaked in without any problems, Yuanying is now energized and began planning his next trip.
“Don’t even think about it. Nobody will let you on the ship next time.”
Yuanying didn’t care whether Li Dejian agreed or not, confidently stating: “If you won’t take me, fine, I’ll have Dai Ting take me.”
Li Dejian fell silent. He felt Yuanying was far too optimistic. Their return might not be greeted by the cheers of the people, but rather by the people sent by the Emperor to arrest him! For him and Du He to let Li Yuanying come with them, even if it wasn’t intentional, is still a huge dereliction of duty.
Yuanying on the other hand didn’t think about any consequences but was excitedly planning to bring his wife next time. Wasn’t he afraid Wei Zheng would drown him in spittle?!
Li Dejian ignored Li Yuanying, and Yuanying didn’t bother him anymore. He found a place to lie down and look at the stars, thinking that such a day was incredibly beautiful!
The ship sailed at sea for more than four days, finally arriving to destination on a sunny afternoon. Upon learning that it was a fleet from Tang and that Prince Teng was on board, the Wo Country took it seriously.
Along the way, Dai Ting, sent by Wang Yifang, caught up with Li Yuanying and his party. He is now explaining the current situation in Wo Country to them. In the past, Wo had secretly colluded with Baekje, supporting Baekje against Silla. The current emperor is the empress of the former emperor, known as Empress Kōgyoku. Because Empress Kōgyoku was thrust into power during a fierce struggle for the throne, she doesn’t actually hold much real power; instead, the powerful Soga clan runs rampant.
Currently, two forces are vying for control: one is the powerful noble family led by the Soga clan, and the other is a coalition of various factions seeking to overthrow the Soga clan.
It’s worth noting that Wo Country and Tang are not entirely peaceful. While they appear to have little interaction, they are actually vying for power in Liaodong. The Tang leans towards Silla and Wo Country leans towards Baekje. Recently due to the Tang’s assertive stance in Liaodong, Wo has even secretly extended its reach to Silla and Goryeo, attempting to cultivate good relations with these small Liaodong states!
These were all things Dai Ting had gathered during his campaign in Goryeo. At the time, unaware that Yuanying was going to visit, Dai Ting hadn’t mentioned much, but now they were proving useful.
Yuanying listened with great interest, especially to the secrets of the imperial family which is laced with frequent intermarriages within the royal line. For example, the current Empress Kōgyoku was actually the empress of the previous emperor, having been married once before bearing a son. Then she had two more princes and a princess after her second marriage. As for internal intermarriages, they were considered perfectly natural, and some even believed it helped maintain the purity of the imperial bloodline.
Yuanying loved these gossips, listening intently even though Dai Ting’s voice was flat. By the time he landed ashore, he had a fairly good understanding of the imperial family and felt confident in his abilities.
Li Dejian and Du He were skeptical of his confidence.
However, Dai Ting’s arrival reassured them considerably. Despite being younger, Dai Ting had accomplished far more. Yet he showed no arrogance, remaining respectfully by Yuanying’s side.
With someone as capable and loyal as Dai Ting around, they at least didn’t have to worry about losing him in the blink of an eye!
Yuanying unaware of how unreliable Li Dejian and his group considered him to be, felt extremely self-satisfied. Upon disembarking, he calmly greeted the messengers sent to welcome them.
To anyone unaware of Li Yuanying’s background, his appearance and demeanor would be striking. His greeter was Prince Katsuragi, son of Emperor Kōgyoku, whose appearance stood out and was quite extraordinary.
He was rather short though.
Yuanying looked around and saw that from princes to commoners, most were not tall; Prince Katsuragi was already above-average in height.
Yuanying smiled slightly, revealing two dimples and walked up to speak with Prince Katsuragi. Although the two did not speak the same language, Yuanying had Dai Ting who was fluent in multiple languages, and Prince Katsuragi had an accompanying translator, so communication was not too difficult.
Compared to Yuanying’s seemingly defenseless strength, Prince Katsuragi was clearly trained in martial arts. Even though he appeared friendly, he still possessed an undeniable fierceness.
He expressed his love for Confucian classics of the Han and Tang dynasties and even recounted several historical anecdotes.
The old Li Yuanying would have been completely ignorant of these things, but the current Li Yuanying was a completely different person. He responded to every topic with ease, and could even provide numerous positive and negative examples.
Prince Katsuragi was impressed and earnestly invited Yuanying to join him for conversation that evening. In fact, the Prince had already heard of Li Yuanying. Among his translators were those who had studied in Tang and witnessed Yuanying’s status at the Imperial Academy: Li Yuanying treated the prestigious Imperial Academy like his own territory!
Therefore, while everyone else paid little attention to Yuanying’s visit, Prince Katsuragi personally came out to greet him.
Both sides wanted to learn more about the other, so they chatted amiably.
Previously, Wo Country was a small island in Yuanying’s mind, but after his encounter with Prince Katsuragi, its true nature gradually became clearer. Even in a small country, various forms of struggles are inevitable and so are all sorts of strange and wondrous tales.
“I love these strange tales you’ve told me. Why don’t I send a few people to stay behind and collect some of your legends and stories, so I can have a good time?”
Prince Katsuragi having heard of Yuanying’s love of stories, readily agreed.
Dai Ting, you can stay here with a few people.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Prince Katsuragi looked in the direction of the voice and noticed a handsome young man standing behind Li Yuanying. He was not yet twenty and he looked even more harmless than the playboy prince. He seemed to be someone who helped collect stories.
Li Dejian and Du He: “…”
They had a feeling that Li Yuanying was going to trick them.
Li Yuanying was completely unaware that he was tricking people and even went to meet Emperor Kōgyoku.
The Emperor is just over fifty and possessed a dignified air. However he appeared to be quite amiable towards Yuanying, repeatedly asking him if he was enjoying the food.
Also present at the banquet was Soga Irika, the current head of the Soga clan. This gathering was arranged after learning that Emperor Taizong (Li Er) held his younger brother in high regard.
Even facing the two de facto rulers Yuanying held his own, eating and drinking as he pleased, and enjoying song and dance performance. He appeared so relaxed that someone even asked him if he needed serving that evening!
Li Yuanying of course, firmly refused.
He didn’t want to leave any royal bloodline in a foreign country. Even with numerous methods of contraception, it was easy for someone to plot against him. The best way to avoid falling into a trap was to control himself! Besides, he needed to preserve so he could have a smart child with his sister Shu.
Li Yuanying slept soundly.
At this moment, an urgent memorial sent by Wang Yifang to Chang’an arrived.
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Young Prince: Woohoo! Woohoo! Woohoo! Woohoo!
Li Dejian: You’ll get beaten to death sooner or later.
Du He: You’ll get beaten to death sooner or later.