121: Chapter 1 The Little Prince?

Song Dynasty, Shaoxing Prefecture, Shanyin County.

On a hillside outside the county seat, a young man in a green robe sat atop a fine horse, gazing at the town in a daze.

This youth was none other than Meng Li.

He was living yet another life.

Counting from his original memories, this was his third life.

In this life, through his observations, he could conclude that this world was also the world of a Wuxia drama he had seen in his first life.

That drama was called 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes'!

Because this world had the Eastern Evil, Western Venom, Southern Emperor, Northern Beggar, and Central Divine Ability.

Several imperial powers in the background also matched: the Song Dynasty, the Jin Kingdom, the Great Desert tribes, the Dali Kingdom, and the Western Regions.

However, Meng Li was not yet certain which specific version of 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes' it was.

This was because he hadn't encountered any major characters he recognized yet; he could only roughly determine it was the Mainland version based on the clothing.

Unlike his previous life, he didn't start as an orphan this time, but with a single parent.

His father died young, his mother was still alive, and he had an older brother three years his senior named Zhao Yuju.

As for him, his name in this life was Zhao Yu Rui.

This 'Zhao' was the Zhao of the current Song Dynasty imperial family!

Therefore, Meng Li could be considered to have a bit of imperial Bloodline in him this life.

According to his mother in this life, Madam Quan, he and his elder brother Zhao Yuju were tenth-generation descendants of the Song founder Zhao Kuangyin, and ninth-generation descendants of Zhao Dezhao, the Prince of Yan.

This identity sounded prestigious, but in reality, they belonged to a distant branch of the imperial family; their relation to the current emperor was extremely tenuous.

His father in this life, Zhao Xilu, was merely a ninth-rank county lieutenant in Shanyin County, Shaoxing Prefecture.

By Meng Li's generation, they didn't even have hereditary titles and lived the lives of ordinary commoners.

When he was four years old, Zhao Xilu passed away unexpectedly.

Madam Quan was unable to raise the two brothers alone and had to take them to live with her maternal family.

Although their uncle Quan Baoshou treated their family well, they were ultimately living under someone else's roof.

And Quan Baoshou, true to his name, was just a village head with a low income.

Thus, the family lived a very meager life.

This situation only changed when Meng Li's memories of his two previous lives awakened like a dream.

Relying on his memories of two lives, he revealed some methods under the guise of an Immortal's dream, successfully leading his family out of poverty to wealth. He also resumed practicing the Martial Arts from his previous life and solved the issue of his name along the way; his name remained Zhao Yu Rui, but his courtesy name was Meng Li.

Nowadays, men usually take a courtesy name at twenty, but if it involved an Immortal, making an exception was normal.

When he reached the appropriate age, Meng Li began to travel.

This travel was said to be for broadening his horizons, but in reality, it served other purposes.

First was to improve his Martial Arts; the Yi Hua Jie Mu Version of the Marrying Clothes Divine Skill—those who know, know.

Second was to see if he could encounter major characters to determine which version of 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes' this world was.

Finally, he would occasionally rob the rich to help the poor, using his Golden Finger to accumulate some wealth.

As for his Golden Finger, whether due to being reborn or some other reason, it had changed!

It was no longer the power of contract from his previous life, but a portable space.

Its volume grew over time and was now as large as a football field.

Meng Li didn't dwell on it.

Because he couldn't figure it out, and because with the accumulation from his previous two lives, he was confident he could live freely in this world.

His arrival in Shanyin County this time was because his travels had ended and he intended to return home.

Pulling back his drifting thoughts, Meng Li composed himself and urged his horse toward the city gates of Shanyin County.

As he neared the gate, he dismounted, preparing to walk in.

The soldiers guarding the gate came over for a routine inspection. Upon looking at him, one cried out in surprise, "Oh, Meng... no, it's the Little Prince! You've returned from your travels?!"

Meng Li: "???"

He knew this soldier, named Li Yi, who occasionally used inspections as an opportunity for petty extortion, but he was observant and knew when to back off, so he fared well enough.

Meng Li had dealt with him while leading his family out of poverty.

However, the man's words right now left him bewildered.

Little Prince?

At this moment, Li Yi saw his confusion and immediately smiled. "You've just returned, so you probably don't know yet. Your elder brother went to Hangzhou not long ago and was favored by the Emperor. He inherited a princedom and is now a bona fide Prince."

"You are his biological younger brother, so naturally, you are the Little Prince."

Only then did Meng Li realize, but then he felt even more confused.

He didn't remember such an event in the plot of 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes'.

Of course, it was possible that it wasn't mentioned because it didn't involve the main characters.

Because the imperial court in the original story of 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes' was basically just a background element.

Not just in 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes', but the courts in almost all of Jin Yong's Wuxia stories were like this.

Regarding the background of 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes', Meng Li only remembered it was the Southern Song, but he didn't know the specific period very well.

After learning about it in this world, he only knew the current Emperor was named Emperor Zhao Kuang, the thirteenth emperor of the Song Dynasty, but that was all. He had no idea what Emperor Zhao Kuang's achievements were or what his posthumous titles were in later generations.

Therefore, the sudden inheritance of a princedom by Zhao Yuju surprised Meng Li.

With his doubts, he returned home and saw his mother Madam Quan, his uncle Quan Baoshou, and his aunt Madam Zhang.

After being fussed over and having a brief chat with the three, Meng Li asked about his brother Zhao Yuju suddenly becoming a Prince.

Madam Quan smiled and said, "Speaking of which, this is all thanks to your uncle."

Then, she told the story in detail.

It turned out that not long after Meng Li left for his travels, one day during a heavy rain, someone came to their house to seek shelter. Quan Baoshou and Zhao Yuju saw that the man was dressed extraordinarily and chatted with him for a while. Through the conversation, they learned the man was named Yu Tianxi, an aide to the current Prime Minister Shi Miyuan, and had come to Shaoxing Prefecture on orders to find members of the Zhao imperial clan.

Quan Baoshou immediately introduced Zhao Yuju.

Nothing happened then, but a few days later, Yu Tianxi returned, saying Prime Minister Shi Miyuan wanted to evaluate Zhao Yuju.

If Zhao Yuju could pass the evaluation, there would be an immense benefit.

Zhao Yuju was very curious, and since he possessed the Hun Yuan True Qi taught by Meng Li, he was not afraid of danger and followed Yu Tianxi to Linan Prefecture.

This trip really did bring an immense benefit!

He successfully passed Prime Minister Shi Miyuan's test and was recommended to the palace. Favored by the current Emperor, he was renamed Zhao Guicheng and inherited the title of Prince Yi.

When this news reached home, Meng Li's family immediately added 'nobility' to their 'wealth'.

Zhao Yuju—no, he should be called Zhao Guicheng now.

He had returned later to explain the situation: he had inherited the princedom and would reside in the Prince's Mansion in Hangzhou. Additionally, since he was nominally designated as a descendant of the former Prince Yi, he feared he would rarely have the chance to return home, but he would take care of the family's expenses.

He had also sent word to Shanyin County and even Shaoxing Prefecture to ensure the family would be looked after.

If anything happened, they could send someone to the Yiwang Manor in Hangzhou to find him.

After explaining everything, Madam Quan added, "Your brother specifically told me that when you return, you should go find him when you have time, or send someone to inform him, and he will come back to see you."

"Do you want to go find him, or shall we send someone to call him back?"