495: Chapter 495 I Can't Learn It

The maid's eyes turned cold the moment she heard the name Crown Prince Li Chenghao.

"That guy is truly lecherous and audacious. It is one thing for him to have no shame, but he also ruined the Princess's reputation."

"Princess, can we not just kill him and find someone to disguise themselves as him?"

"You are thinking too simply. Crown Prince Li Chenghao is a fool, but the people around him are not..."

Consort De scoffed, "He has been coming to see me so frequently lately that I fear those old fogies like Prime Minister Yang Gengzhong have already grown suspicious of me."

"Back when First Prince Li Chengqi and I conspired to steal the blueprints from the Xuanji Sect, we were nearly caught by them."

"If First Prince Li Chengqi had not faked his death, preventing them from continuing their investigation, we would have been exposed long ago."

"Then what should we do?" the maid asked uneasily. "Prime Minister Yang Gengzhong is a man of the Prince of Zhenbei."

"What is there to fear? They cannot see me, so their suspicions can only remain in their thoughts."

"As for Lin Xiao, he does not have the time to concern himself with a consort deep in the palace right now."

"For him, the one he would be more wary of is actually First Prince Li Chengqi, who provoked him. That boy... he really does not give me any peace of mind."

The maid sighed, "First Prince Li Chengqi is accompanied by Venerable Fire, so he should be fine."

"I hope so. Once we complete the task for the Heavenly God and eliminate Lin Xiao, our mother and son... should be able to reunite."

As Consort De spoke, she looked up at the northern sky...

The stars were brilliant.

Beneath the starry sky lay the Xiata Valley of the Northern Desert.

Several Northern Barbarian merchant caravans were heading to Baishui City to purchase goods. At night, in the camp by the river, they lit bonfires to drink and eat meat together.

"Young man, you are from the Central Plains, right?"

A Northern Barbarian merchant looked at the handsome young man warming himself by the fire opposite him and asked curiously.

First Prince Li Chengqi looked up and revealed a pure, innocent smile. "Yes, I am."

"Are you here in the Northern Desert to do business?"

"You could say that. I am just seeing what there is to do."

"You have guts! Many of us Northern Barbarians go to Cang Province to do business, but it is rare for people from the Central Plains to come to the Northern Desert and travel this deep!"

The Northern Barbarian merchant said enthusiastically, "Actually, the Northern Desert is very safe now. With the Zhenbei Army clearing out horse bandits everywhere, life is much better than before!"

"Is that so? But the Zhenbei Army has killed so many of your people; do you not hate them?" First Prince Li Chengqi asked.

The scene immediately went quiet.

Several Northern Barbarian merchants looked surprised; it seemed they had not expected this young man to be so audacious as to bring up such a sensitive topic in front of them.

"Hate, of course, there is."

An elderly merchant with a white beard said, "After all, the war between the Northern Barbarians and the Central Plains has not been going on for just a day or two; for generations, there has been so much blood feud."

"But in the end, everyone is just trying to survive. If we can do business peacefully like we are now and everyone has food to eat, who would want to fight?"

A group of Northern Barbarian merchants nodded frequently, all expressing their agreement.

"Indeed. Thanks to the Prince of Zhenbei, our tribe can now use honeycomb coal, tea bricks are much cheaper, and the price of cattle and sheep has also risen by thirty percent."

"The Zhenbei Army has killed many people, but most of them were nobles. Those guys were not good people either!"

"Ever since the Holy Maiden took office and started listening to the Prince of Zhenbei, the offerings collected by Shamanism have decreased, which has lightened our burden quite a bit."

"Young man, you must also admire the Prince of Zhenbei, right? The people from the Central Plains I have met all worship the Prince of Zhenbei like a god!"

First Prince Li Chengqi smiled with a complex look in his eyes and nodded. "A god... that might be an exaggeration, but the Prince of Zhenbei is indeed very impressive."

"Yo, you kid, you have a big mouth. It sounds like you have crossed swords with the Prince of Zhenbei before, haha..."

The group of merchants did not take it seriously and continued to drink.

First Prince Li Chengqi found an opportunity and quietly slipped behind a carriage.

Venerable Fire was already waiting there, holding a bundle in his hand, which contained some valuables he had just pilfered from the merchant caravan.

"Quite a haul, huh?" First Prince Li Chengqi curled his lip.

"It is enough for us to find a small tribe and live off of them for a while." Venerable Fire grinned.

"As the dignified Venerable Fire, would it be beneath you to be a pickpocket?"

"Since you, the First Prince Li Chengqi, are willing to help me keep watch, what do I have to mind?"

"That is true..."

First Prince Li Chengqi shrugged and said, "However, I have changed my mind. We are not going to find a place to hide."

"What do you mean?" Venerable Fire frowned. "You are not going to risk your life against Lin Xiao, are you? Are you crazy? With Consort De there and the weapons of the Xuanji Sect, we are far from defeated!"

First Prince Li Chengqi smiled. "Of course, I am not seeking death. It is just... I feel that Lin Xiao has already established himself. I cannot learn his skill in winning over people's hearts."

"Even if my mother, Consort De, can cause trouble for the Zhenbei Army on the battlefield by relying on the things left behind by the Xuanji Sect, public opinion is hard to go against."

"Public opinion? Public opinion is worth nothing! Success or failure determines the outcome; when has public opinion ever decided who sits on the throne?" Venerable Fire looked disdainful.

First Prince Li Chengqi could not be bothered to argue with him and said, "Whatever, I have decided anyway. I am going to Alimu Mountain!"

"Alimu Mountain? Why go there?"

"To find the Heavenly Palace, to find the Heavenly God, and to pay my respects! This is the only way I can think of to defeat Lin Xiao!"

After saying this, ignoring Venerable Fire's stunned expression, First Prince Li Chengqi strode away...

...

Baishui Prefecture, Prince's Mansion.

In the early morning, Lin Xiao woke up in Zhao Caiwei's bed.

Because just yesterday, Zhao Caiwei and Mu Wanying had returned to Baishui City with the remaining soldiers.

The two women had worked so hard, so Lin Xiao naturally could not treat them poorly. They talked all night, discussing projects worth billions.

After getting out of bed, he looked back at the two disheveled, fair-skinned, beautiful women with devilish figures. Lin Xiao hesitated about whether to ask them to join him for morning exercises; after all, the best part of the day is in the morning!

Just as he was thinking about it, he heard someone shouting outside.

"Sister! Sister!! Are you up?!"

Zhao Cailing suddenly ran into the courtyard and pushed open the bedroom door without waiting for Lin Xiao to say anything.

Upon seeing the scene inside the room, the girl's face instantly flushed red, and she turned around and closed the door.

After the time it takes to burn an incense stick, Lin Xiao and the two women came to the parlor to have breakfast and saw the sister-in-law again.

"Cailing, do not overthink it. It is mainly because this Prince's Mansion is small and there are not enough courtyards, so we are just squeezing in."

Lin Xiao made up an excuse casually, not caring whether Zhao Cailing believed him or not.

"Brother-in-law, I did not ask anything at all."

Zhao Cailing puffed out her cheeks. Did he think she was a three-year-old child?

"Alright, Cailing, you came early in the morning; is there something the matter?"

Zhao Caiwei did not care about what happened in the morning; after all, her sister had grown up and should face these things.

"Oh, I almost forgot, my master has sent a letter!"

Zhao Cailing said with an excited face, "Brother-in-law, you really know my master; she wrote a letter specifically for you!"

As she spoke, the girl took out the letter and handed it to Lin Xiao.