Misty Rain of the Old Times

Even though Chen Xuan had explained it very clearly, the little princess still found it hard to believe. She couldn't understand why her fifth brother, whom she had only met a few times since childhood, would do such a thing, or how he could do it. But that didn't stop her from being deeply shocked.

Du Juan and the others beside her were also shocked. To be honest, this kind of thing, which had risen to the level of usurping the country and fighting for supremacy, was beyond their understanding. In their previous understanding, fighting in the martial arts world was already magnificent enough, and they could not have imagined that it was about fighting for supremacy.

However, they are more likely to accept this fact, since it doesn't concern them.

Since the Rong Kingdom delegation had stormed the palace demanding an explanation, it was probably true. From the bottom of his heart, Chen Xuan also admired Prince Qing's methods and strategies, and sighed, "My wife, I don't need to joke with you. It's 90% true, it's just that the news hasn't spread that fast yet. But such things will probably spread throughout the world and everyone will know about them very soon."

As the saying goes, "If you don't make a sound, you'll be astonished when you do." Chen Xuan never expected that Prince Qing would pull off such a big stunt without making a sound. The news hasn't spread yet, and those few who know what Prince Qing has done must be in a daze.

Nearly twenty years ago, after Prince Qing came of age and was enfeoffed as a king, he led troops to guard the southern gateway of Jing Kingdom. He remained silent during the several changes of the crown prince position. He did not make any extra moves when Zhou Chen became crown prince. He showed no dissatisfaction when Zhou Chen was the regent. He even seemed unaware of Zhou Hong's rebellion last year. However, at the critical moment when the old man abdicated and Zhou Chen ascended the throne, he suddenly stood up, catching the whole world completely off guard.

Chen Xuan was also puzzled as to how he did it. It wasn't just amazing, it was downright incredible. You had to admire him.

The little princess knew, of course, that Chen Xuan wouldn't lie to her, but it was just too fantastical. She had never dared to write something like this in her stories before, but sometimes reality is even more fantastical than fiction.

Amidst her turbulent thoughts, she worriedly said, "But Fifth Brother, aren't you afraid of provoking a war between the two countries by doing this? It will plunge the people into misery, especially given the current trend. Natural disasters are probably unavoidable, and what if it causes widespread suffering? And then, Father Emperor has just abdicated, and he does something like this. What will Father Emperor think?"

To this, Chen Xuan could only say, "What's done is done, there's no turning back now. Prince Qing has no way out. As for what will happen next, it depends on what your Ninth Brother will do. And Rongguo, they certainly won't allow Prince Qing to encroach on their territory. Prince Qing might be attacked from both sides. Whether he can gain a foothold and grow stronger in the cracks depends on his ability. This kind of thing can't be controlled by any one person alone; it involves too many people. We can only wait and see how things develop as bystanders. As for how Father-in-law will react, there are only two possibilities: either everyone around him keeps it from him, and he's just a carefree old man traveling around, or he knows but pretends not to know. After all, he's no longer involved in affairs now. His son has grown up and become independent, and he can't control him anymore. It's better to pretend he doesn't know anything than to worry about it."

The little princess was speechless. Yes, there was nothing they could do. They were worried about the old woman's feelings, but they needed to know where she was. The world was so big, where could they possibly find her?

After thinking it over, she looked at Chen Xuan helplessly and said, "Then what should we do next, my husband?"

"What else can we do? Just do things normally. Not only is it unnecessary, but we also have no interest in getting involved in this mess. Besides, we can't get involved anyway, and making a fuss will only cause us more trouble," Chen Xuan said, shrugging.

Thinking about it, the little princess stopped worrying about it and asked, "Should we go back to Yang County?"

Actually, she felt that instead of overthinking here, it would be better to go to the countryside for some peace and quiet; to put it bluntly, she subconsciously wanted to get away from the storm.

Chen Xuan nodded and said, "Go back, of course we'll go back. We've already agreed on it. We need to go back to start our honeymoon, so we can't let these things affect it. But we have to wait for Aunt Mei to come back."

"Mmm," the little princess nodded obediently. She was just a weak woman with little on her mind; matters of state and family were not something she should worry about.

Then Chen Xuan pondered for a moment and said, "For the next while, let's keep everyone in line and avoid getting into trouble. As long as we don't cause any trouble, there's a high chance no one will bother us."

No matter how the situation changes, he still has this confidence, and his cultivation level is the source of his confidence.

"Master, I'll inform him right away," Yunlan responded from the side. As the little princess's personal maid, her words carried considerable weight, especially since she was conveying Chen Xuan's message.

Chen Xuan nodded and let her go, but in his heart he was thinking about how the new emperor Zhou Chen would react. He wasn't worried about himself, but he was more concerned about whether Prince Qing's actions would implicate the Gao family. That was what he was really worried about.

It wasn't until noon that Xia Mei, who had gone to gather information, hurriedly returned. She found Chen Xuan and the others, her usual composure gone, and said anxiously, "Master, Your Highness, I've learned some things through various channels and came to report immediately. I'm still having more people gather information."

Chen Xuan gestured for her to calm down, pointed to the tea, and said, "Thank you for your trouble, Aunt Mei. Please sit down, have some water, and we can talk slowly."

Seeing his composure, Xia Mei also calmed down and immediately said, "My lord, through some connections in the palace, I learned that it wasn't Prince Qing who rebelled, but rather that he declared himself king, calling himself Nan Jing. With a single call, seven prefectures in Rong Kingdom submitted to him, meaning that His Highness Prince Qing suddenly occupied a large part of Rong Kingdom's territory. Now, he even claims to have a million soldiers. This matter caught everyone off guard, and Rong Kingdom is furious, currently gathering troops to suppress Prince Qing's rebellion..."

She paused for a moment, then nodded earnestly and affirmed, "Yes, Rong Kingdom would certainly not tolerate Prince Qing's usurpation of the country. It's said that they're suppressing Prince Qing's rebellion, but I've heard that Prince Qing is actually on the side of righteousness. He even wrote a proclamation denouncing Rong Kingdom, saying that Rong Kingdom is immoral and has caused the people to suffer, and that he is performing a righteous act to save the people. The specific details of the proclamation are still unclear and need further investigation."

"Then the Rong Kingdom's embassy in our Jing Kingdom received this news and angrily stormed the palace to demand an explanation. They are currently arguing fiercely, and I've even heard they almost came to blows. In short, it's a complete mess."

Xia Mei has protected the little princess since she was a child and often goes in and out of the palace. Although the little princess did not plant any spies in the palace, over time, Xia Mei naturally developed her own channels of information, so it was not difficult for her to find out what was happening in the palace. After all, such a big thing could not be covered up.

At this point, she became curious. The old man and the others seemed rather calm. It shouldn't be like this. Although their cultivation was high, they shouldn't be indifferent to such a major event that involved the upheaval of the nation.

Chen Xuan already knew what she had said, but not as much as Xia Meihua had gathered in a few hours. Comparing the two, Chen Xuan once again admired Prince Qing. Taking advantage of Zhou Chen's ascension to the throne and the country's in disarray, he launched his rebellion. He also secretly laid the groundwork by exploiting the chaos of the severe drought and widespread warfare in Rong Kingdom last year. In such a situation, the people of Rong Kingdom were suffering, making it the perfect opportunity. As long as they were given food, wouldn't the desperate commoners risk their lives to follow him? He had everything in the right place at the right time. With such a situation, it seemed quite reasonable for him to set up such a large operation right from the start.
Chen Xuan didn't care much about these questions and casually asked, "Has Aunt Mei found out what the court's reaction is to this matter?"

Xia Mei immediately said, "My lord, please forgive me. The specific situation is unclear, and we are still inquiring. However, I have learned that the court has not yet reached a conclusion. As for trying to appease the Rongguo delegation, the civil and military officials are mainly divided into three groups. Some advocate understanding the specific situation before making any plans, some advocate asking His Majesty to issue an edict to summon Prince Qing back to the capital to inquire about the situation, and some advocate directly sending troops to join forces with Rongguo to suppress Prince Qing and escort him back to the capital for questioning. The three sides are at odds and are arguing fiercely."

Chen Xuan remained noncommittal about this. It was unrealistic to come up with a clear and feasible solution for such an important matter all at once, especially since Zhou Chen had only recently ascended the throne and, even though he had taken over the entire country, he had not yet established the authority to make final decisions.

As before, Chen Xuan didn't care about these things. Since there were no outsiders around, he went straight to the question he cared about most: "Aunt Mei, have you found out if the Gao family has been mentioned in court or by His Majesty? Or if there has been any talk about the Gao family's arrangements?"

Xia Mei immediately shook her head and said, "Master, I haven't heard of that. Perhaps it hasn't been discussed to that extent yet, or perhaps the person I inquired with simply hasn't paid attention to these things."

"Oh, I see. Anyway, thank you very much, Aunt Mei," Chen Xuan nodded.

Xia Mei said, "Master, please don't say that. It's my duty. I'll go and continue to gather information."

Seeing this, Chen Xuan waved his hand and said, "No need, Aunt Mei. Let's pack up and head back to Yang County. Let him handle things here; we don't need to worry about it, and we can't anyway."

"This... I understand," Xia Mei said, nodding after a moment's hesitation. She couldn't understand why Chen Xuan was ignoring it, but she would just follow the instructions and not worry about anything else.

Glancing in the direction of the palace, Chen Xuan wondered to himself whether Xia Mei's information channels were not so well-connected, or whether, as she said, the court had not yet had time to discuss the Gao family.

The simplest way to do this would be for Chen Xuan to secretly go to the palace to listen in and witness firsthand information. However, he did not do so and never even considered such a thing.

After all, it wasn't the old man's time to be in power, so what he did was taboo. Without the old man's indulgence, Rong Lao, who was only loyal to the emperor, would definitely step in to stop him immediately, and there might even be a conflict, so there was no need for that. Besides, Chen Xuan wasn't the kind of person who could do whatever he wanted just because he had some ability. Such actions might be convenient for a while, but how could Zhou Chen, as the emperor, not care? If things got serious, the other party might not be able to do anything to him, but it would still be a troublesome matter.

With his mind racing, Chen Xuan smiled calmly and suddenly realized that he had probably overthought things. It wasn't that the entire court and the new emperor Zhou Chen couldn't have imagined the Gao family. With Prince Qing doing such a thing, how could the Gao family, as the maternal family of Prince Qing's wife Gao Jingyu, not be implicated?
They simply chose to avoid the topic, reluctantly accepting that Prince Qing was Prince Qing and the Gao family was the Gao family, since the Gao family were subjects of the Jing Kingdom and hadn't been involved in any trouble with Prince Qing.

The reason for avoiding the topic lies, of course, with Chen Xuan!
It is undeniable that the court's treatment of the Gao family must take into account Chen Xuan's attitude. Last year, when Chen Xuan used the Wu family's household registration book to massacre them, it was no joke.
Before the Gao family has made any clear mistake, the best approach is to avoid mentioning it. There's no other way; the Gao family has Chen Xuan, a murderous genius, standing behind them. Just thinking about how he slaughtered the entire Wu family line sends chills down everyone's spine.

Having figured this out, Chen Xuan immediately stopped worrying. As long as the Gao family behaved themselves, they wouldn't be in any trouble in the short term.

Ultimately, it depends on what Prince Qing does next. If Prince Qing is quickly suppressed, the Gao family will probably be forgotten. But if Prince Qing advances triumphantly and succeeds, things will get interesting. Even if Chen Xuan isn't behind the Gao family, the Jing Kingdom will have to carefully consider how to treat them. The best approach would be to expel them and send them to Prince Qing's side. What else can they do? Take down the Gao family to threaten Prince Qing, or even the 'Emperor Qing' after he succeeds? Wouldn't that give Prince Qing a legitimate reason to march his troops north?

Tsk, what a mess this is. If Prince Qing really succeeds in usurping the country, then Jing Kingdom will really be divided into two dynasties, North and South. In that case, the old man's son will be the emperor. Who will be the rightful heir?

To be honest, Chen Xuan found the thought of that situation quite amusing, though he wondered if that day would ever come.

Then, one wonders what the old man's feelings will be when both of his sons become emperors. Regardless of the current situation of Prince Qing, it is an indisputable fact that he has declared himself king. As for whether it is a flash in the pan or a triumphant advance, that depends on his future performance.

Speaking of Prince Qing's undertaking of such a grand scheme, it has been considered a success so far. So what has he relied on? It should be noted that Rong Kingdom also has Grandmaster-level experts, and more than one. If he did not have equal strength, where would he get the courage and audacity?
Therefore, Prince Qing probably possesses such power. Either he has a strong person under his command who wants to gain merit by supporting the emperor, or he has colluded with such a strong person for mutual benefit, or Prince Qing himself may have reached this level!

It's not impossible for Prince Qing to reach the Grandmaster realm. Everyone grows and can't stay stagnant forever. Besides, when he took Gao Jingyu as his concubine, she reached the Innate Realm at the age of seventeen. How proud and arrogant she was! If Prince Qing was just a good-for-nothing relying on his status, how could he have won Gao Jingyu's heart? Therefore, the most likely scenario is that Prince Qing not only has a noble status, but his martial arts talent is also high enough to make that genius girl, Gao Jingyu, sincerely admire him.

It can only be said that Chen Xuan knew too little about Prince Qing and never took the initiative to learn about him. Now that I think about it, he really is no pushover.

Never mind, since the Gao family isn't involved for the time being, Chen Xuan stopped worrying about it and packed up to head south to Huiyang County with the little princess and the others, as originally planned.

The sun was still shining brightly. Yan Quan, who had been circling Yang County, was covered in dust and his mouth was dry. If it weren't for his strong foundation in cultivation, he would probably have died of exhaustion after two days without sleep, food, or water.

Tian Bin, watching from the side, was still shaken. He dared not touch him, nor could he stop him. He could only comfort him, saying, "Brother Yan, just bear with it a little longer. I've already sent news of you being bullied back to the Qingyang Sect. My pet Flowing Light Swallow, which carries the bloodline of a strange beast, returned first. It's very intelligent and told me that your master was furious when he learned you were bullied and would personally travel south to help you. It's probably on its way now and will arrive at any time. Everything will be alright soon."

Yan Quan, head down, paced in circles, unable to speak, his heart filled with despair. "Master, please don't come any closer! With your infatuated nature, and at your age, if you make a fool of yourself by seeing Chen Xuan, I'd rather be dead..." (End of Chapter)