101: This king is sincere to every woman (13

Chapter 101: This Prince is Sincere to Every Woman (13)

Li Chang'an brought Zhan Pianpian to the Eastern Market of the capital.

Passing by a fleet of pleasure boats on the Liujing River, Zhan Pianpian suddenly asked, "Your Highness Prince Yong, those small boats are so beautiful. What are they for?"

Li Chang'an stopped, and the two of them paused on the rooftop of a Brothel by the river.

"That place is for finding joy."

Hearing this answer, Zhan Pianpian immediately became interested. "Your Highness, shall we go down and take a look?"

Li Chang'an did not refuse, and gently brought Zhan Pianpian down onto the deck of one of the pleasure boats.

The servants and maids on the deck were silently knocked unconscious by Li Chang'an.

Zhan Pianpian excitedly approached the cabin door, wanting to hear how joyful it was inside.

However, when she heard the joyful sounds from within, her face immediately flushed crimson with embarrassment.

She tugged at Li Chang'an's sleeve, urging repeatedly, "Let's go, hurry and leave!"

The two returned to the rooftop by the shore, and Zhan Pianpian stamped her foot in anger.

"Li Chang'an, how could you take this Princess to such a place?"

"You must have known beforehand, right?"

Zhan Pianpian had read the erotic poems written by Li Chang'an and was also aware of Si Lili's accusation against Li Chang'an.

Li Chang'an did not deny it. "Of course I knew. You were the one who wanted to go."

"And as a scholar, it wasn't easy for me to be too direct with you..."

Zhan Pianpian said no more. She had only ever heard about things like Brothels and pleasure boats.

Having rarely even left the imperial palace, how could she have truly seen them? In fact, it wasn't bad to experience it.

She merely mused inwardly, *Looking at those erotic poems Li Chang'an wrote, they're not only direct, but also thorough!*

"Alright, alright! This Princess believes your nonsense. Let's go eat!"

Afterward, the two arrived at the capital's night market. With Li Chang'an's intentional evasion, the secret agents and informants in the night market were unable to discover them.

In the liveliest roast meat shop, Zhan Pianpian ate roast duck meat in small bites, while Li Chang'an listened to the surrounding voices.

Something major had happened in the capital today, and public opinion was already boiling.

At a table where young scholars gathered, they were discussing the matter of the Celestial Vein Holder.

"So, the Holy Maiden of Northern Qi is not a Celestial Vein Holder at all! She's a fake!"

"His Highness Prince Yong has been exceptionally gifted since childhood. I've long felt that he might be a Celestial Vein Holder!"

"I've heard many legends about Celestial Vein Holders, but the descent of a deity is simply unheard of!"

"The divine oracle said that only a true Celestial Vein Holder can summon a deity through sacrifice. This generation's Celestial Vein Holder happens to be an imperial prince, and it was his sacrifice to the deity on behalf of His Majesty that caused the deity's descent."

Most people believed the story of the deity's descent. Although some were skeptical, they were quickly refuted.

At another table of Jianghu figures, the martial artists, eating large chunks of roast meat, were even more excited about Wu Zhu's appearance.

"Who would have thought that besides the one in the palace and Grandmaster Ye, Great Qing has a third Great Grandmaster!"

"By this reckoning, Great Qing occupies three of the world's five Great Grandmasters. Unifying the world is just around the corner!"

Indeed, the Southern Qing martial artists were very excited about the addition of another Great Grandmaster to Southern Qing.

"However, it is indeed perplexing that this Great Grandmaster struck and killed the young Genius of Northern Qi."

"That's right, our Southern Qing was founded on martial arts, and martial arts duels are common. Once a duel begins, swords and blades have no eyes."

"If Fan, the Harmonizer had lost to Prime Minister Tie of Northern Qi, it would have been fine to admit defeat openly.

But for a Great Grandmaster to suddenly intervene and kill a Northern Qi person, it's a bit of an unfair victory!"

"Yes, asking a Master for help when you can't win, and even killing someone, indeed lacks the demeanor of a great nation!"

Speaking of Great Grandmasters, these people began to wildly speculate about Wu Zhu's identity.

"I heard that Great Grandmaster is blindfolded and very young. It's said he's Fan, the Harmonizer's Master."

"So Fan, the Harmonizer is a Great Grandmaster's Disciple. No wonder he could win the Junior Martial Champion title!"

"No, no, how come I heard that person is Fan, the Harmonizer's long-lost brother..."

Li Chang'an listened to various opinions and found that people's hearts indeed favored their own country.

They were proud that Southern Qing had produced another Great Grandmaster, so they found reasons to excuse Wu Zhu's sudden killing spree.

Excuses like a Master caring for his Disciple, or a brother fearing his younger brother would be injured, and even claims that Prime Minister Tie's sneak attack was against martial ethics and he deserved to be killed, all surfaced.

For several days in a row, Li Chang'an took Zhan Pianpian out to eat, drink, and have fun.

On the last day, Li Chang'an escorted Zhan Pianpian back to her room and brought up the matter of the marriage alliance.

"Princess Pianpian, regarding your marriage alliance, our Empress Dowager has already replied to your Empress Dowager's letter."

Zhan Pianpian's face flushed, and she lowered her head, saying, "I also wrote to my mother. This Princess wants to form a marriage alliance with His Highness Prince Yong..."

Li Chang'an said seriously, "Our Empress Dowager's reply suggested that the Princess marry the First Prince."

"If you marry this Prince, Princess Your Highness can only be a concubine."

Zhan Pianpian looked up, but she didn't seem too surprised.

"This Princess knows that you have coveted Miss Fan of the Sinan Count Manor since childhood."

Li Chang'an did not deny it. "It seems Princess Your Highness is quite well-informed.

This Prince has always been open and will not conceal this matter."

"The first time this Prince met Princess Your Highness, I felt an immediate kinship, which is why I presented you with poetry."

"If Princess Your Highness forms a marriage alliance with this Prince, this Prince guarantees that the main consort and concubines will be treated equally, with favor distributed evenly, and Your Highness will certainly not be neglected."

Zhan Pianpian's eyes widened. She hadn't expected Li Chang'an to be so direct and so shameless.

"Your Highness Prince Yong, aren't you a bit greedy? Not to mention having two beautiful maids by your side, you even want to claim two of the top three beauties on the Langya Pavilion's beauty list?"

Li Chang'an smiled. He was close to claiming all top four, so Zhan Pianpian still underestimated him.

"Princess Your Highness, this Prince was born into the imperial family. Having three wives and four concubines is truly unavoidable; it's beyond my control."

"Even if the Princess doesn't become this Prince's concubine, there will always be daughters of princes and nobles who, with His Majesty's arrangement, will marry this Prince.

Rather than marrying a woman I don't know, this Prince would prefer to marry a woman I am familiar with, like Your Highness."

"This Prince does have many women by my side, but for each and every one, I am sincere.

This Prince is not greedy, but rather confident in taking good care of all women."

Li Chang'an said this without blushing or a racing heart. He was speaking the truth; every prince in this era was like this.

Zhan Pianpian pouted, feeling both unable to let go and a little wronged.

Li Chang'an continued, "If the Princess is unwilling, this Prince will petition my imperial brother tomorrow and voluntarily withdraw from the marriage alliance."

Hearing Li Chang'an's words, Zhan Pianpian hurriedly stood up. "No! Please allow this Princess to reconsider."

Li Chang'an stood up, took Zhan Pianpian's delicate hand, and showed a hint of a smile.

"You don't have time to consider. If you don't agree tonight, this Prince will go to petition tomorrow."

Zhan Pianpian's large eyes looked aggrieved.

This was a lifelong matter, did she have to choose now?

Her hands were nervously clasped together, somewhat at a loss.

"This Princess... naturally agrees, but I'm just afraid my mother won't agree."

"After all... this concerns the dignity of the Great Qi imperial family..."

"Ah!"

As Zhan Pianpian spoke, Li Chang'an suddenly lifted her chin, and her red lips were easily captured by Li Chang'an.

After a long while, Zhan Pianpian recovered from her dizziness, her entire body already held in Li Chang'an's arms.

She protested by lightly hitting Li Chang'an's chest with her small fists, but a sweet smile curved at the corner of her mouth.

"Duoduo was right, you really are a scoundrel."

Li Chang'an then said, "After you return to Northern Qi, tell Empress Dowager Wei that you, as a princess of a nation, will become this Prince's concubine."

"Furthermore, the wedding must be grand and spectacular; this will help raise this Prince's prestige."

"This Prince is a Celestial Vein Holder and a literary titan. The higher this Prince's prestige becomes, the sooner it will arouse Emperor Qing's apprehension."

"This way, it might even trigger internal strife in Southern Qing, which would be a great benefit to Northern Qi.

If you tell Empress Dowager Wei this, she will definitely agree."

Zhan Pianpian said in surprise, "Wouldn't that cause you trouble?"

Li Chang'an stroked Zhan Pianpian's flawless cheek and said confidently, "Don't worry about that, this Prince has his own way of dealing with it."

He had imperial status; as long as he wasn't caught with solid evidence of rebellion, Emperor Qing wouldn't make a move against him before pacifying other Great Grandmasters.

Li Chang'an's only solid evidence of rebellion was the Net. Although the Net was effectively controlled by Li Chang'an, its nominal owner was Gao Yao, the chief eunuch of Western Qin.

Later, when his strength was greater, let Emperor Qing be suspicious if he wished. For the imperial family, mere suspicion wouldn't lead to death.

No matter how suspicious Emperor Qing was, Li Chang'an was still of the imperial family. On the stance of unifying the world, their interests were completely aligned.

If he was strong enough, Emperor Qing would even have to try to win him over, as Emperor Qing needed many pawns to set up his schemes against Si Gu Jian and Ku He.

At worst, he would enter the game himself and contend with some princes and princesses. Li Chang'an did not fear them either.

When Emperor Qing later realized that Li Chang'an had become a Great Grandmaster, but Emperor Qing himself dared not easily reveal his Great Grandmaster identity, that would be truly stifling!

Li Chang'an found it amusing just thinking about it.

Dongyi City.

The news of Prime Minister Tie's death at the hands of Wu Zhu had reached Si Gu Jian.

At this moment, Si Gu Jian was discussing countermeasures with his second Disciple, Li Bohua.

Li Bohua said in some surprise, "Master, Prime Minister Tie was actually your last Disciple!"

Si Gu Jian frowned. "Yes! I truly didn't expect such a promising talent to be accidentally killed by Wu Zhu."

From the news brought back by Yun Zhilan, Si Gu Jian easily recognized Wu Zhu's identity.

Back then, when Si Gu Jian was still a fool, it was only by relying on the Secret Manual gifted by Ye Qingmei that he achieved Great Grandmaster status.

Si Gu Jian naturally remembered the young man who followed Ye Qingmei, blindfolded and using a steel rod, with great clarity.

His moves lacked the fancy Sword Qi or palm winds, going straight like a machine, without even True Qi. No one else but Wu Zhu came to mind.

Li Bohua couldn't quite keep up with Si Gu Jian's pace. "Master, you know that Great Grandmaster from Southern Qing?"

Si Gu Jian said expressionlessly, "I know him. That person will not be of one mind with Emperor Qing, so you don't need to be overly nervous."

"As for that person's identity, he is an old acquaintance of mine."

What Si Gu Jian didn't understand was, if Wu Zhu wasn't afraid of exposing his whereabouts for Fan Xian, then who was Fan Xian?

"Bohua, what's frustrating now is that Prime Minister Tie was secretly lent to Northern Qi by us, originally to deal with that Fan Xian."

"However, this conspiracy absolutely cannot be known to Emperor Qing."

"Prime Minister Tie and Fan Xian having a fair martial arts duel, potentially injuring or killing him, is one thing. Northern Qi and Eastern Yi conspiring to cripple Fan Xian is an entirely different matter."

Li Bohua said dejectedly, "So, it means we can't even express anger over our Junior Brother's death!"

Si Gu Jian nodded helplessly. "How much does Wu Zhu killing a young man from Northern Qi have to do with Dongyi City?"

"Even if there's to be equivalent retaliation, it can only be Ku He of Northern Qi who makes a move."

"You personally make a trip to Northern Qi and have Shang Shanhu facilitate this. The unspoken rule that Great Grandmasters cannot casually make a move must not be broken."

...Three days later, Ku He's Cultivation secret ground.

Haitang Duoduo was specifically entrusted by the Empress Dowager and the young Emperor to invite Ku He out of seclusion.

"Master, for so many years, the Great Grandmasters of the three nations have had an unspoken agreement not to casually make a move."

"If a Great Grandmaster could make a move, you could slap down a thousand soldiers with one palm, and Great Qi wouldn't have lost territory!"

"Now, Southern Qing's Great Grandmaster has openly made a move, killing General Shang Shanhu's last Disciple. We must react!"

"Currently, the court and common people are in an uproar, extremely indignant about Southern Qing's unauthorized use of a Great Grandmaster!"

Shang Shanhu and Zhuang Mo Han's secret plot naturally could not be revealed to the Qi Country court, so Prime Minister Tie's identity was that of Shang Shanhu's Disciple.

Ku He, however, was not at all anxious. "Duoduo, tell me in detail the news that has come back from Southern Qing."

After Haitang Duoduo finished speaking in detail, Ku He suddenly gave a bitter laugh. "So that's it, it's that person beside Miss Ye."

After hearing Haitang's description, Ku He instantly connected all the dots.

First, Prime Minister Tie's sword finger used the method of Western magic that he had developed.

And this method had recently been borrowed by Zhuang Mo Han, and now it seemed it was used to deal with Fan Xian.

Wu Zhu's characteristics were too obvious, so Ku He and Si Gu Jian naturally recognized him immediately.

If it had truly been Hong Sixiang who made a move as a Great Grandmaster to kill someone, then Ku He could immediately go and kill an important figure of Southern Qing as equivalent retaliation.

A Great Grandmaster cannot make a move casually. If you use a Great Grandmaster first, then I must use one equivalently.

This is the pattern of great power games.

If you throw a nuclear bomb, I must also throw one.

But the problem was, the one who made the move now was Wu Zhu.

Wu Zhu was different from the Great Grandmaster in the Southern Qing palace; that Great Grandmaster in the Southern Qing palace had never made a move.

However, Wu Zhu had fought against both Ku He and Si Gu Jian.

Therefore, Wu Zhu would definitely recognize at a glance that Fan Xian had been harmed by the methods of Ku He and Si Gu Jian.

If Wu Zhu told this to the Southern Qing court, then the matter of Eastern Yi and Northern Qi conspiring to harm Fan Xian would also be exposed.

However, Ku He also clearly understood that the two nations conspiring to harm Fan Xian was one thing, and Southern Qing's unauthorized use of a Great Grandmaster was another.

"Duoduo, go report back to the Empress Dowager that this Revered Master will definitely make a move once, to make Southern Qing pay the price."

"Great Grandmasters must not act lightly. This rule cannot be broken!"

Haitang Duoduo asked, "Which important Southern Qing figure does Revered Master intend to kill?"

Ku He opened his eyes and said, "How about Li Chang'an?"