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Home/ There’s A Beauty / Chapter 62 (Part 1)

How could Zhao Zhizhou not understand his own son? You Shu has always been a stubborn and deadheaded child since he was young, always believing that even eight cows can be pulled back. Since he has a deep-rooted affection for the Ninth Prince, he will definitely accompany him through life and death. If the Ninth Prince dies on the battlefield, the possibility of him surviving alone is very small.

In order to keep his son safe, Zhao Zhizhou even had the idea of tying his son up and hiding him, but he couldn’t prevent that bastard Ninth Prince from blatantly robbing people. 

God knows how many times he had cursed the Ninth Prince after they left, but he had no choice but to pray for him due to his wife’s orders. Because if the Ninth Prince is alive, only then his son can live, and they are now two lives tied together.

Whenever he couldn’t sleep in the middle of the night, he would tell himself and his wife over and over again: The Ninth Prince won’t die, he is the crown prince of Xia Qi, even if the 300,000 troops are all wiped out, someone will find a way to send him back, and our son would be safe with him.

However, he also knew in his heart that it was still unknown whether the army of 300,000 would obey the command of the Ninth Prince or not. These old courtiers, princes, and even the empress in the court, is hoping for the Ninth Prince to die soon. They must have created many obstacles for the Ninth Prince to hinder him secretly, making sure that he would never return. Even the houses of the Zhao family who had firmly stood on the side of the Ninth Prince before, had thrown their lots with the Sixth Prince one after another, squeezing and crushing the big house.

Zhao Zhizhou hated these people very much. So whenever someone in the court stood up and came forward to urge the emperor to issue a decree to the northwest, ordering the Ninth Prince to commit suicide, he would angrily grab that person and curse him. He even dared to spout all kinds of rude words, causing those people unable to lift their heads up before giving up.  

It was precisely because of Zhao Zhizhou’s strong combat power that Emperor Zhongkang felt more at ease and indulged him a lot more in the last few months after the Ninth Prince’s departure. Otherwise, if someone else behaved so recklessly in the court, he would immediately ask the guards to fork him out, and he would be liable for fifty sticks.

Zhao Zhizhou, who was in grief, took over the battle report, reading it as he sobbed, and then froze. After a few breaths, he pinched the battle report and read it again, then he got up with a grunt, laughing and jumping with his hands up, like a madman.  

Originally, this battle report was written by the Ninth Prince himself. Not only did he report the good news of the great victory, but he also wrote that he and You Shu were safe, reassuring his emperor father, Mr. Zhao, and Mrs. Zhao. He also said that he would never break his original promise, even if he died in battle, he would definitely send You Shu back to Shangjing safely.

The Ninth Prince didn’t die….. didn’t die, and he even used 300,000 troops to annihilate the coalition army of a million soldiers. What kind of a miracle is this? 

Although the battle report didn’t specify how the battle was won, Zhao Zhizhou firmly believed in it. He laughed wildly for a quarter of an hour before he calmed down when he heard Emperor Zhongkang coughing. He wiped away his tears with a handkerchief, blew his nose, and straightened his crooked official hat, as if nothing had happened before.

Seeing this, Emperor Zhongkang didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, he waved his hands, “Send the battle report to all the ministers for a look.”

As everyone in the court looked at Zhao Zhizhou’s reaction, they scratched their hearts and lungs with curiosity. Why was this person laughing like a madman, could it be some good news? But it’s impossible!  

How can an army of 300,000 soldiers fight with the coalition forces of a million soldiers and win? Besides, these 300,000 troops are not of one mind and each has their own plans, so how could they be willing to die for the Ninth Prince? Could it be that the reinforcement forces arrived in time to help him? 

However, that’s also impossible. All the other princes have already conspired, and the surrounding troops are not allowed to move without their authorization, unless there is news of the death of the Ninth Prince.

With all kinds of arrangements, even if the Ninth Prince had nine lives, he won’t be able to survive in this battle! Thinking about it this way, many people regained their composure, and circulated the battle report one by one.

However, after reading the report, they all showed expressions of disbelief. Especially the several princes, whose faces look distorted, as if wanting to cry but not being able to, the scene in the court was very weird.

After the battle report was circulated and read by everyone, Emperor Zhongkang knocked on the imperial case and slowly said, “In this battle, the crown prince has won glory for Xia Qi, he has raised our national prestige, and also caused the four other nations to be defeated and afraid. Don’t you feel happy with such great news, my dear ministers?” After speaking, he caressed his beard and smiled, his expression looking carefree.

To be honest, he was never worried about his son. If his son hadn’t found You Shu, he might not be able to get over this disaster, but with You Shu by his side, he would never let himself be defeated no matter what.

“Haha, Today is a happy day, I must drink a few jars of good wine to my heart’s content when I go back and be drunk for three days and three nights!” Zhao Zhizhou twisted his chubby body and stepped forward to flatter him. Subsequently, several old officials of the iron blooded faction also clapped their hands and laughed, saying that they wanted to drink with him.

Looking at the rest of the crowd, there was a bit of silence and embarrassment.  

A moment later, a famous official came out and bowed as he questioned, “Your Majesty, an army of 300,000 fought against a million soldiers, this battle must’ve been tragic and brutal. However, His Royal Highness mentioned in the battle report that our side had only a few tens of thousands of casualties, which is truly unbelievable. In order to prevent some people from spreading false news and taking credit for unearned merit, I request His Majesty to send someone to the northwest to investigate.”

Emperor Zhongkang smiled but remained silent. He has communicated with his son every few days in the last months, so how could he not know the true situation in the Northwest? The 30,000 casualties reported in this victory report were indeed a false figure, but they were not underreported, but overreported. If the truth was told to these people, their jaws would drop in shock. 

It would not be long before the legend of the “battle of heaven’s condemnation” would become famous everywhere, and it is inevitable that these people wouldn’t believe it. However, I still need to warn my son to protect You Shu well, and not let other nations know that he is the immortal master.

Thinking of this, Emperor Zhongkang waved his hand to dismiss the court, ignoring the questioning official. After Zhao Zhizhou bent down and sent the emperor away, he fiercely bumped that official with his chubby body, showing a very unfriendly expression on his face.

“Don’t you have any brains at all? If the battle report was false, the coalition forces already would have broken through the dragon pass and arrived at Yumen Pass by this time. And once Yumen Pass was lost, that iron cavalry of a million soldiers would’ve been able to break into the Central Plains unimpeded and taken half of Xia Qi. Who dares to conceal things with such serious consequences? Do you really think that His Highness the Crown Prince is a villain like you, who will disregard the country’s sovereignty for his own self-interest?” Not to mention knocking people down, Zhao Zhizhou even criticized everyone, including the several princes, causing them to feel embarrassed.

The sixth prince clenched his fists tightly. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that Ji Minzhi(Ninth Prince’s name) wouldn’t do such a stupid thing as reporting false news related to the battle. But how could it be possible for an army of 300,000 to fight against a million troops, and still win a big victory? Let’s just wait, it will become clear in a few months whether the report is true or not.

This wait lasted for two years, and almost every few months there would be good news from the frontier. The Ninth Prince advanced towards the east from the dragon pass, conquering Zheng and Qin all the way, and now he has reached the border of Jin. 

While the state of Chu, which is located in the most remote and weakest position, surrendered without a fight, sending many gold, silver, jewels, and peerless beauties to Shangjing in exchange for an agreement to avoid the flames of war.

The convoy who came to deliver the letter of surrender brought hundreds of carts of tribute into the city, causing many people to stop and watch the excitement. They all praised the deeds of the Ninth Prince, such as the reappearance of the emperor star, the unification of Kyushu, the fate of destiny, as well as the assistance of the immortal in the battle, who was invincible.  

In short, the Ninth Prince, who was originally known as the demon star, is now recognized as the true blood of the dragon, and anyone who goes against him will be punished by heaven.

The Ninth Prince was still fighting outside, but Xia Qi’s people had already regarded him as the next emperor. While the other princes, who still wanted the throne, it was simply their wishful thinking 

All kinds of deeds were spread in Shangjing one by one, and then throughout the whole Kyushu. The princes no longer felt lucky as they realized that unless Ji Minzhi suddenly died outside, Xia Qi would never have another crown prince. Even though there are too many people in the world who want his life, no one can really hurt him. He even has an immortal master beside him to help.

Several princes were eager to lure the immortal master into their camp, so they sent many spies to investigate the army, but they couldn’t get any news. Even the previously sent spies were transferred to the Ninth Prince’s command, and they kept their mouths shut about the real identity of the immortal. 

Well, it’s fine if they can’t find out, but what caught them off guard was that the Emperor father, who had been indifferently watching the situation all this time, pushed their hands secretly, and began to settle their crimes. 

The first one to be pushed out was the first prince, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for the crime of plotting rebellion, followed by the second prince and the third prince… while the sixth prince, the brother of the Ninth Prince from the same mother, was also demoted to a commoner for plotting against the crown prince, embezzling military funds, and forming a party for personal gain. In the end, he was expelled from the palace forever.

Although the sixth prince was still free, one can imagine the feeling of embarrassment and despair after losing his superior status and authority. As a result, the sixth prince developed hysteria, laughing and crying loudly, saying that he is the Emperor Star. He would drape the sheets over his body like a dragon robe, causing the passers-by to kowtow and kneel.

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