Upon hearing the news, he suddenly looked up, a glimmer flashed in his eyes, and he slowly put down the pen in his hand.
"Quick, bring it over!"
The house servant immediately stepped forward, handed over a letter in his hand, and then stepped back.
The middle-aged man took the letter, opened it, and his eyes scanned the contents.
At first, his beard curled upward, and his eyes flashed with a sharp light, showing some fluctuation in his expression. But gradually, his thick brows began to knit and furrow deeper and deeper.
After a moment, the middle-aged man folded the letter, and his face returned to calmness.
"Master, how is the Second Young Master?" The house servant under the table noticed the master’s ever-changing expression while reading the letter, not knowing what was written that caused the usually stoic master to react this way.
"Quanzhen has broken through the Martial Vault!" Zhao Wuji slowly spoke.
"What?" The house servant was shocked, then overjoyed, "The young master has achieved Martial Vault at such a young age, incredible, this is a great joy. The Master was indeed right to send him to Shu!"
Then he hesitated for a moment before speaking again,
"But why did the Master frown?"
"He gave up his qualification to attend the Luotian Grand Sacrifice, saying he found his own path in Shu!" Zhao Wuji’s tone fluctuated slightly.
The house servant before the table hastily cupped his fists,
"Forgive this subordinate for speaking out of turn, the Luotian Grand Sacrifice is indeed a rare opportunity, held only once in a Jiazi, a grand competition on the Dragon and Tiger List, famed throughout the world. But did Master not say the Second Young Master found his own path? This decisiveness shows that the Second Young Master’s character has greatly matured, perhaps not needing the Luotian Grand Sacrifice to prove himself."
"This can actually be considered a good thing!"
Yet at this moment, Zhao Wuji slowly stood up, half-turned towards the table, his face changing unpredictably, "But the path he found is in Shu, fighting alongside the military and civilians at the frontline against demons, honoring a certain general there as a Great Virtuous Master."
"Who could the Second Young Master revere so highly?" The house servant was puzzled.
"Who else could it be? The one who stayed at Chen Yuan’s Xuankong Temple last night!" Zhao Wuji’s gaze shifted, his tone firm, looking towards the north of the Imperial City.
"Ah?" The house servant was startled, "This this this..."
How did the Second Young Master get involved with such a dangerous person?
"This time he wrote back, wanting me, his father, to assist this Dragon Tiger General in the Divine Capital!"
Upon saying this, Zhao Wuji’s tone suddenly softened,
"Quanzhen has always disliked me as his father, resenting that I sent him to Enlightenment Mountain at such a young age, far from home, with no close ties to me, making this request all the more rare."
"But he does not understand the imperial court, he overestimates his father, I, just a small Assistant Minister of the Ministry of War, cannot offer such help."
Saying this, he shook his head and sighed.
It turned out, Mr. Zhao was the father of Zhao Quanzhen from Enlightenment Mountain, serving as the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of War, a third-rank official, with discord with Minister of War and Minister of the Court, Li family. Back then, a Li Family’s Housekeeper in Shu had killed Zhao family’s eldest son, Zhao Quanzhen had been summoned to Shu by his father through a family letter to avenge his brother, leading to subsequent events.
"Master need not think too much, you sent the Second Young Master to Enlightenment Mountain to protect him, the young master will understand your good intentions in the future." The house servant lowered his head, speaking softly, including some trivial matters like the mistress’s suppression of the concubine, "But the matter the Second Young Master spoke of involves too many, if Your Majesty does not speak, the Dragon Tiger General’s situation in the Divine Capital will be tough, it is indeed not suitable for the Master to get involved."
"Even without you saying, I know, forget it, let’s assume you didn’t hear about this today, you may leave!" Zhao Wuji waved his hand.
"Yes, Master!" The house servant cupped his fists and retreated, then turned and left the study.
And Zhao Wuji lowered his head, glanced at the letter on the table, hesitated, then finally picked up the inkstone on the table and pressed it down upon the letter.
......
And so,
two days passed.
During the two days of court meetings, everything was calm, the submitted petitions still did not include Chen Yuan’s name, no one raised the issue in court, as if everyone had forgotten this person.
Meanwhile, at the foot of Xuankong Mountain, constables from Jingzhao Mansion kept vigil daily, stating that a wanted criminal was hiding here, intentionally implying that the criminal was within Xuankong Temple, a typical act of humiliation and provocation.
There was an undercurrent in the Divine Capital, with many eyes focused on Xuankong Temple to see how that middle-ranking general from Shu would react!
But to the disappointment of many curious onlookers, the figure remained secluded in Xuankong Temple, not appearing, seeming to have understood the situation and become steady?
Surprisingly, no one had visited the remote border general stationed at Xuankong Temple in those two days.
On the morning of the third day, after the court session ended, it drizzled at Xuankong Temple, the air carrying the scent of the earth. The Ninth Rank green-robed clerk from the Six Departments of the Imperial Secretariat who had been running errands before came once again.
However, when he entered the guest room, he saw Chen Yuan and Gongsun Yang playing a game of chess under the eaves, with the rain beading off the tiles.
With the first visit different from before, he swiftly approached, his steps slipped, and he knelt down beside the chessboard with a kowtow, his body almost touching the ground,
"Greetings to General Chen!"
As he raised his head, his face was filled with apprehension, cautiously pulling a folded note from his sleeve,
"General Chen, your petition has been rejected again."
This was different from his first visit when he followed his superior’s instructions with a solemn face, unaware of Chen Yuan’s identity. Afterword got out, he was almost scared to death.
His superior had him continue delivering the repeatedly rejected petition, wasn’t that continually provoking the dignified Dragon Tiger General?
He requested his superior replace him, resulting in a cold glance, and with no power or connections himself, he could only brace himself and continue running errands, repeatedly treading on the General’s temper, though he had to kneel first.
A monthly salary of dozens of stones, why risk one’s life!
He wasn’t foolish enough to do anything foolish just because this matter involved court officials targeting him, people of such stature were beyond his reach, better safe than sorry.
"This time, what reason was given for the rejection?" At the chessboard, Chen Yuan did not lift his eyes, placing a white stone down with a snap.
The clerk trembled, almost prostrating on the floor, stammering,
"They said... there’s an error in the footnotes."
In fact, the petition hasn’t changed, it’s still the same one, but every time it’s rejected for a different error.
"Wait a moment and take it back." Chen Yuan said, continuing to play chess.
"Yes!" The clerk wiped his sweat, narrowly escaping another terrifying ordeal.
At about the same time, meanwhile at the foot of Xuankong Mountain, suddenly a distinguished procession arrived at Xuankong Temple’s mountain gate this morning after days without visitors.
At the forefront were ten in green clothes, four guides, sixty Inner Giving Officers, six Taiqing Dao Commanders on horseback with sabers at their sides, arranged in three tiers, with palace maids in colorful clothing holding side fans, round fans, and square fans numbering eighteen each, along with ceremonial mantles, polearms, halberds, sentinel staves, ceremonial swords, squad swords, standing halberds, reclining halberds, lantern staves, clubs, golden axes two each, among which was the Yandi carriage, with a purple canopy on top, draped with four curtains in four layers, drawn by four horses, creating a grand, majestic spectacle.
This procession, numbering about two hundred, majestically approached the main gate, only to find two rows of spike barriers blocking the path.
As the procession was long, initially only the green-clad ones led the way, six constables instinctively recited their familiar script upon seeing them.
"Jingzhao Mansion on official business, the area is sealed off, who goes there?"
However, before a constable could finish speaking.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh
Sounds of something cutting through the air.
The six constables felt sharp pains in their knees, their legs buckling, dropping to the ground with a cry of pain.
Then, a sharp voice rang out,
"You wretched dogs, the Crown Princess Consort is going to Xuankong Temple to worship, yet you dare block the way, courting death."
"Close those dog eyes of yours and kneel properly, don’t sully the noble’s sight."

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