At that moment, in a huge mansion within the Imperial Capital.
It was an environment different from that of 'frozen bodies buried under snow all over the city, starved corpses under the bridge next to the flowing river'. In this place, delicacies were piled up high as mountains while fragrant wine flowed freely like rivers.
Between the mountain and river, officials and noblemen gathered, dressed in splendor. They chatted jovially as if the disaster happening outside of the mansion had nothing to do with them.
A dignified looking man was in the main seat. He had a calm and mature temperament about him, and a slightly cheeky yet intelligent look in his eyes. It made him look especially sharp and astute. One look at him and anyone would say to themselves quietly that 'this is a shrewd man and one cannot afford to cheat him'. The aura encompassing the man was forged by a steely resolution about him that had been accumulated from years of experience. There was also a sharp shred of intelligence contained within.
Even though he was seated, he still gave an impression of being someone of great importance.
This man was the great scholar, He Fengwen.
He had stayed behind not because he was abandoned, but because he was given the same duty as the steward, which was to ensure that the Imperial Prince would die in battle and he himself would later leave via the east gates with the secret order alongside his trusted aides.
The great scholar was enjoying the fine wine. It tasted sweet and mellow. The amber-like liquid reminded one of a dancing beauty in satin when swished about. It was intoxicating and infatuating, and one could not help but bring one's lips toward it. Unfortunately, the duty was not done and the event was missing the company of real-life beauties. It was a somewhat disappointing event.
He looked around. Even though his colleagues were toasting each other, the lack of the fragrant and aesthetically pleasing beauties truly put a damper on the gracefulness and enthusiasm of the event.
He Fengwen lifted his cup. "Come, let me give everyone a toast."
All that were present lifted their cups in return.
They drained their cups in one.
A man in grand clothes standing next to the great scholar suddenly sighed while rubbing his wrists. "When will His Highness return to the Imperial Capital? It has been a long wait for all of us, his loyal officers."
He Fengwen said, "It should be soon. This is all because of the Seventh Imperial Prince…"
"The Seventh Imperial Prince is nothing more than the least favorite Imperial Prince."
"I say that he should have died this time. If an emperor wants an officer to die, that person must accept his death. Moreover, his relationship with His Highness is not just a master and servant, but father and son."
"His Highness wanted him to have a good death here and be a filial son and loyal officer, yet he chooses to be neither be filial nor loyal, hoho."
"If the Seventh Imperial Prince had died on the city walls, he would have received acclamation upon death, which is his post of Grand Marshal of the World."
"The Imperial family personally appearing at the frontline and dying in battle would give birth to a hero who ignites a fiery rage within the Shang Dynasty and create a plausible cause for the Imperial Emperor to restructure the entire land when Spring arrives. But the Seventh Imperial Prince refused to be this hero. This is quite unfortunate and disappointing."
"From my observation, this son of the Imperial Emperor was born with great patience and is extremely gifted. Somewhere along the way, he had cultivated such powerful abilities and was even able to defeat the Frost Giants on his own and turn the tables in this crisis."
"Oh, so Master Wen, you think that the Imperial Capital was protected because of the sole contribution of Xia Ji? Do you think that the fifty thousand elite soldiers guarding the Imperial Capital and the many commoners are nothing but decorations?"
"This Xia Ji is a reckless man. Who is he showing off to with his patience, what is his reason for such tolerance? What is he planning with the vast Imperial land of the Shang Dynasty? Does he really think that he is bearing the destiny given by the heavens and believes that he is the center of the world?"
"Everyone has their destiny. And his destiny was to die at the Imperial Capital, to die on the city walls and create a potential push for the coming year. He has gone against the heavens and does not know what is good for him. He is a man with no regard for his master or his father!"
"Master Bi is right. This man is neither loyal nor filial and has gone against heaven's wishes. He has no idea what he is doing and the minor ability that he has cultivated has gone to his head. He thinks he is invincible just because he had a few exceptional encounters. The truth is that he is nothing but a jester who is performing his antics."
"If I was in his shoes, I'd just allow the rioters to continue their instigation and do nothing more than pacify them. I wouldn't execute the rioters so blatantly at this time."
"Or, I would send people to blend into the group of refugees to shout positive words on his behalf. Doesn't he have a brain? Does he think that so many rioters did all those things without us controlling them behind the scenes?"
"And to think that I've even planned various backups, waiting for him to try and pacify the masses by sending his people to blend into the refugee groups. Who would have thought that these backups did not come into play at all…"
"His stupidity is laughable. It's pathetic, yet sad. Hahahahahahaha."
"There have been many people like him since the Ancient Times. Look what happened to them in the end. They ended up with horrible deaths. This is all there is to the Imperial Prince. There is no difference between him and those reckless fools who had died in the past."
"Everyone, there is no need to overthink this. From my point of view, this Imperial Prince is lacking in the art of strategy. He has fallen into our trap. If we were to compare the people's will to a frying pan, his actions are just like adding fire into the pan."
"He has lost popularity among the people and he has nothing in the Imperial Palace. Aside from the Ninth Imperial Princess who will be married off to Tujue in the next year, what other friends does he have?"
"Do allow me to be blunt, if the Imperial Prince is planning to revolt, who will revolt alongside him?"
"The mind of this Imperial Prince is absurdly simple. What he plans to do is to use the present time to convince officers to side with him. For example, that General Deng. Hoho, laughable. It's just too laughable."
"Everyone, if not for the Imperial Prince, the entire Imperial City, and even the refugees coming from the West, would have suffered a great calamity. There would have been countless casualties. After all, he did manage to guard the doors of the nation…"
"Tsk tsk tsk, Master Wen is, after all, a new member of the nobility. The Shang Dynasty possesses vast territory and has tens of billions of people. So what if a few million of them die? As long as the basis of the nation's foundation remains untouched, overcoming the crisis would simple."
"Master Wen, do not forget that this world belongs to only one, the one who is determined by fate and destiny. Everything in life has its place and if one insists on going against heaven's orders, it would bring about an even greater calamity."
"I understand…"
Everyone toasted each other once again.
It was only now that He Fengwen laughed and said, "The Seventh Imperial Prince is much too foolish. Sorrowful Divine Monk from Leiyin Temple noticed he was fated with Buddhism and came down from the mountains to point him in the right direction by attempting to convince him to give up the materialistic world and become a monk. Instead, he killed Sorrowful Divine Monk. He brought this sin upon himself and should not be left alive."
"However, we still need to be careful. Pass down this message in gradual waves and slowly make the people of the Imperial Capital stand against him."
"Great Scholar, when would His Highness be able to…"
He Fengwen smiled and said, "Do be patient, everyone. We should focus on solving the current situation. His Highness will be doing everything in his power to get those of caliber from various sides to stand by him when he returns from the South to take his rightful place in the capital. He is widely inviting hidden great scholars who are looking to accomplish great things. Rumor has it that he has managed to snag one to his side."
"Besides that, the vanguard used by His Highness to stabilize the Imperial Capital should be arriving soon."
"Great Scholar, I have something I need to inform you."
"Master Bi, it's fine. We are surrounded by trustworthy people. You may speak freely."
"The reckless Xia Ji has actually sent Eunuch Mei to secretly investigate us. Unfortunately, his lead had been broken by my subordinate's subordinate. However, what intrigued me is that Eunuch Mei, whom Xia Ji thinks can be trusted, has actually hinted at his willingness to join our side."
"To think that even the trusted aide of this reckless man does not have confidence in the success of his master. What's even more hilarious is that this reckless man is still reveling in delight. What a joke."
"Hmm… Master Bi, do not be rash about this or take it lightly. We have yet to ascertain what is fake and what is true."
"Although, Eunuch Mei was originally serving under the subordinate of His Highness and his right arm had been destroyed by the Seventh Imperial Prince. It would be utter nonsense to claim that there is no hatred buried in his heart. He must have submitted himself to the Seventh Imperial Prince because he was shocked by the prince's tactics and had the idea of wanting to give his fate of servitude an upgrade, but when he witnessed the Seventh Imperial Prince's forceful actions, it scared him. That is why his offer to stand on our side might not necessarily be fake."
Scholar He stroked his beard as his sharp and intelligent eyes turned about before finally smiling and saying, "Don't reject him first. Let's just get him to spy on the Seventh Imperial Prince, but be careful not to let the prince catch wind of you through this."
"Great Scholar, do not underestimate me. I may repeatedly say that Xia Ji is a reckless man, but I have never underestimated anyone when taking action, especially when it comes to this Imperial Prince, who has great forbearance, defeated Guifang, and is a powerhouse who possesses great and legendary powers. It is even more important for me not to underestimate him."
"That's good. Don't reveal your face and don't let anyone suspect you. When it is needed, you may even pretend to offer him help."
"I am an expert when it comes to this. When it comes to physical power, a thousand of me would never be his match, but when it comes to tactics… hahaha."
Everyone looked at each other as they burst into laughter.
…
The snow flew about boundlessly and it finally buried the entire Imperial Capital deep in the night. The snow had been cleared, but built up again, and then cleared again. In the end, the snow's thickness continued to build up past the height of one's ankles.
Xia Ji lit an oil lamp.
The Ninth Imperial Princess was still reading a book under the lamp's light.
"A dragon is considered a species of bug that is able to be domesticated and ridden. However, there are inverted scales underneath its throat which are several feet, anyone who crosses it would be killed by it…"
Xia Ji glanced at her. Only tenderness could be seen in his eyes as he sat under the snow-ridden roof.
Since the books here were only able to provide him with white and green skill beads, creating divine weapons would obviously be a more beneficial way to spend his time.
He quietly carved prayer beads.
He needed more.
It was because the power of his Buddhist instrument was closely connected with quantity.
If one hundred and eight of them were able to form a golden Buddha's palm of ten feet, then what would form if he had one thousand and eighty Buddhist prayer beads?
He carved until exhaustion crept up to him and he gave a relaxed sigh as he turned to look at the direction of Lake Huaqing.
The empty bait had been left out for quite a while. Those strange fishes should be biting on the hook soon, right?
If they were still not biting, he would give them a hand tomorrow…