Within the main camp of the Mongols, in front of the command tent…
Fan Lingyue peered intently into the distance, at the purple flow of Qi hanging high above Grand Xia. It was dimming and that meant that Grand Xia’s destiny wasn’t improving at all but rather worsening.
However, not everyone knew of this fact. After all, the number of people who could read Qi were far and few between. For the most part, the masses remained ignorant.
“Lady Strategist.” Qing Wuyou called out but simply left it hanging there. He wanted to ask the Lady but knew not how to.
He simply couldn’t understand why the Lady Strategist was making concession after concession to Grand Xia. Were they truly going to sue for peace?
“There’s no need to ask any more than you have, you’ll know soon enough.”
Fan Lingyue answered cryptically without elaborating any further. Grand Xia’s situation hadn’t reached its boiling point so she knew that she had to wait some more.
Right now, the fact that Ning Chen was still alive and had even returned to the palace, was what concerned her the most.
A lot of times, it merely took the existence of one person to alter the course of history.
Who would have ever expected that in Grand Xia’s battle against the Buddhist Nation, it would be the Buddhists who lost in the end. Third-Calamity experts were invincible, that was the common sense of this world. Except when faced against an expert of the same level, these experts were basically undefeatable.
And yet such an expert still lost, horribly and miserably.
Even though she never expected the Buddhist Nation to cause too much of a change in the war situation, she never expected it to lose so quickly either.
……
Back at Weiyang Palace.
Ning Chen was still in a comatose state, completely oblivious to the events of the outside world.
As before, the Third Prince and the Tenth Prince were still trying their best to sway the independents of the court to their side. In such a crucial time, neither were willing to even yield an inch.
The fight for the throne had always been a zero-sum game. One ascended while the other died without so much as a gravestone to mark their passing. That was the main reason why co-existence between the princes was basically impossible.
‘The Imperial household was a cruel one,’ that saying rang true since time immemorial.
After all, men like the Eldest Prince and Prince Yan, men who didn’t lust for the throne, were amongst the minority.
However, there was another issue facing the court ministers that wasn’t about the two princes for once.
How were they to reward Marquis Zhiming for his service?
Zhiming’s origins were basically a secret one knew in their hearts but never spoke of. At least, there was no one stupid enough to bring it up at such a time.
In the war against the Buddhist Nation, Marquis Zhiming had delivered stunning results : the mighty Buddhist Nation was basically defanged, the Mortal Buddha thoroughly defeated, three of the dharmapalas were dead and the entire Mijie Mountain had been looted of its ancient scriptures and treasures.
It could be said that the peace in the southwestern region was won with the blood and lives of Marquis Zhiming and his five thousand soldiers. Should the court mishandle the matter of Zhiming’s awards, it would undoubtedly chill the hearts of countless soldiers all over Grand Xia.
Like that, the simple matter of an awards ceremony ended up becoming another headache for the Three Grand Dukes. While the Xia Emperor was still alive, he constantly suppressed the achievements of Ning Chen so they never had to tackle this problem. Now that they had to actually tally up his achievements, they finally realized how much the teen had contributed to Grand Xia without their knowledge.
From the rank and file of the court, to the upper echelons of power, everyone had their sights on this matter right now. How would the Three Grand Dukes and Her Majesty handle this matter? That was the question on their minds right now.
Normally such a war record was more than enough for one to be conferred the title of military marquis. With the death of Marquis Wangchuan, there so happened to be a vacancy amongst the ten military marquis and no matter how one looked at it, Marquis Zhiming’s strength and record qualified him for just such a position.
Three days later, the Grand Dukes finally came to a decision. Ning Chen was to be a military marquis with the same title of Zhiming as before.
The moment that proclamation was made, a tremor shook the entire court, especially amongst the camps of the Third and Tenth Prince. Their attentions were immediately drawn towards Weiyang Palace.
Everyone knew exactly how huge a military marquis’s authority and influence was in Grand Xia, especially when said marquis was the most trusted aide of the Empress.
Lest one forgot, the final decision in this battle for the throne laid with the Grand Dukes and Her Majesty the Empress. Obtaining the support of Zhiming was for all intents and purposes, the same as obtaining the Empress’s support.
For the next few days, the two princes tried to visit the newly christened military marquis under the guise of visiting the Empress but were disappointed to find the former unconscious.
“Exactly how long do you plan on hiding?” Xia Ziyi softly asked as he looked at the ‘unconscious’ Ning Chen.
“No idea, for long as I can, I guess.” Ning Chen answered while coughing.
He had woken up two days ago but because of all the gigantic mess happening outside, chose not to reveal himself. As for his new title, he didn’t care about it and neither did Zhang Sun. Had it not been for the Eldest Prince telling him about this fact, he would still be in the dark about his conferment.
“Your Highness, I still owe you an apology.” A look of serious regret crossed his pale face as he said that. Standing before him was the one and only person in the palace whom he felt he had wronged.
“You don’t owe me anything and certainly not an apology. All the choices I made were of my own choosing and had nothing to do with others.”
Hearing that, Ning Chen sighed to himself. Why was such a person born in the Imperial Household.
“Ming Yue, come here for a second.” He waved at the girl.
Not too far away, a bored little Ming Yue immediately sprang to her feet and ran over upon being called.
“Fetch my sword for me, will you.” Ning Chen pointed at a nearby counter.
“Kay.” Ming Yue took a small jog to the counter in front of the window, reached out for the broken Ink Sword and…failed to lift it up.
Seeing that, Ning Chen couldn’t help but chuckle. He had completely forgotten how heavy the sword was for a child like little Ming Yue.
Taking note of that as well, Xia Ziyi waved his sleeves and summoned to the Ink Sword to the bedside.
Ever since that battle with the head abbot, the Ink Sword had remained like that, severed in two, seeing as he still had no time to repair it.
“Your Highness, I’ve heard that the Confucian School possesses a special weapon forging technique. Would it be possible for them to repair this sword?”
Xia Ziyi leaned in for a closer look, then nodded and said, “They can, but this sword of yours is crafted from a rather unique material so repairing it might be troublesome.”
Having said that, Xia Ziyi paused for a moment before continuing, “It’s worth a try, I’ll help you bring it to them though it will most likely take some time.”
“I’ll have to trouble you then.” Ning Chen thanked the prince from the bottom of his heart.
This sword had followed him, step by step, till this very day. It held a special meaning for him and if possible, he wanted it fixed to the best possible condition.
“Alright then, it’s getting late so I’ll take my leave for now, have a good rest.” Noticing the darkening skies, the Eldest Prince bade his farewells and left with the Ink Sword in tow.
“Mhm.” Ning Chen nodded but just as the prince was about to leave, he spoke up once more, having suddenly remembered another matter. “Your Highness, a moment if you please.”
“This is a buddhist technique I found in the head abbot’s room, perhaps it might help you.”
He knew that Buddhism and Confucianism shared a number of similarities, whether it was their cultivation methods or techniques. While the Diamond Body technique might not help him, it might just help the Eldest Prince who studied the Confucian School.
“Many thanks.” Not rejecting the teen’s goodwill, Xia Ziyi accepted the technique gratefully. The technique was in fact, a great help to him.
After the Eldest Prince’s departure, Qing Ning pushed the door open and threw Ning Chen a strange look: “When did you become so generous?”
Hearing that, Ning Chen awkwardly rubbed his nose. Wasn’t that just an admission of guilt?
“Oh right, Sister Qing Ning, isn’t it kind of inappropriate for me to remain in Weiyang Palace like this?”
His identity was no longer that of a junior eunuch’s so staying here would most likely cause some trouble for Zhang Sun.
“This Empress isn’t even afraid of that so what are you scared of?!” It was then that Zhang Sun entered and rebuked the teen.
Ning Chen immediately shut his mouth on the spot. Ever since he was injured, he found his sensory abilities severely diminished to the point where even Zhang Sun could step in on him undetected.
As of right now, Zhang Sun clearly had enough on her plate thanks to the two princes. The last thing he wanted to do was stir up this lightning storm so low-key was the game plan.
“How’s your body, is it better now?” Zhang Sun calmly asked.
“It’s a lot better now.”
“I’m sure Ziyi already mentioned the matter of your conferment. I’m sure the two princes would try and sway you to their cause, you need to be careful.”
“Mhm.” Ning Chen nodded.
“You should be able to leave the palace tomorrow. Your new manor has been prepared as well, from now on, you’re a military marquis of Grand Xia. Make sure you to watch your conduct.”
“Understood.” He nodded again.
“Alright, go have a rest. This Empress still has some matters to handle and can’t spend more time looking after you. You may leave at your own discretion tomorrow.” Having said all that was needed, Zhang Sun immediately left without even stopping for a drink.
“Has Her Majesty always been this busy?” Now that Zhang Sun was gone, Ning Chen leaned in and whispered into Qing Ning’s ears.
“Mhm, for the past few days.” As she said that, a look of worry crossed her eyes. Her Majesty’s health truly concerned her, would it be able to hold out at this rate?
At the side, Ning Chen frowned. Looks like the matter of succession was even more troublesome than he had initially thought.
What Grand Xia feared the most right now was a military coup. Of the two princes, one had to ascend while the other had to be abandoned. No matter who ascended however, the risk to Grand Xia wasn’t small.
“Sister Qing Ning, how’s the situation at Beichui City?” He asked, having suddenly remembered the letter Zhang Sun sent him long ago when he was still in the Buddhist Nation.
“Marquis Taiping has been in negotiations with the Mongolian strategist for a while now. So far it has been proceeding smoothly. The Lady Strategist has ordered her army to retreat another hundred li and has even shown a willingness for peace.”
Qing Ning answered as plainly as she could. She wasn’t versed in the art of war and thus couldn’t see the strangeness in this whole matter.
Hearing that, Ning Chen frowned again. Back then he was away from Grand Xia so he wasn’t entirely familiar with the matter. Now however, it was starting to become clearer to him. Given his understanding of Fan Lingyue, this show of peace was definitely a false one.
If he wasn’t wrong, she was trying to numb the senses of Grand Xia, to dull the strong sense of danger it had right now.
The Mongolian army was an external threat. Should it become too strong, Grand Xia would have no choice but to face it together. The conflict between the two princes would temporarily come to an end then. After all, everything was for naught if Grand Xia collapsed.
However, now that the external threats had weakened, the internal woes of Grand Xia exploded without any reservation. The two princes were dead set on being Emperor meaning any compromise was also impossible.
Fan Lingyue was most likely waiting for just such a moment. That was why she chose to relent time and time again. From the moment of the Emperor’s assassination, this frightening plan of hers had already began. People were merely oblivious to it thanks to the Buddhist Nation’s sudden invasion.
