Leaving behind the jade talisman, Li Junqing gave Xu Yuan an enigmatic smile, then turned and walked away from the high pavilion of Xuanyue Tower.
Amidst the quiet rustle of the evening breeze, Xu Yuan stared at the jade talisman on the table for a long while before slowly reaching out to pick it up.
It felt warm and smooth in his hand, carved from jade of supreme quality. In the outside world, the raw material alone would be worth tens of thousands of taels of silver, to say nothing of the meaning carried by the two characters carved into its face: *Yucheng*.
A retained elder of the Crown Prince's Household.
When the Crown Prince ascended the throne in the future, this jade talisman would serve as proof of meritorious service in aiding the dragon's rise.
Of course, if another prince ended up claiming the imperial throne, this same talisman would become the finest justification for him to be "suicided."
At the thought, Xu Yuan's fingers stroking the talisman paused slightly. An unreadable smile touched the corners of his lips, and he slowly rose to his feet.
Logically speaking, he should not go to see this Crown Prince.
After all, Li Junqing would be right by his side. If Xu Yuan slipped up and said the wrong thing, that fellow might see straight through him.
Yet the problem was that the identity his father had arranged for him possessed a distinct persona.
In other words, this Young Master Wang from the household of the Vice Minister of War had genuinely existed—at least until Xu Yuan began playing the role.
He possessed both talent and aptitude for cultivation, yet had been left frustrated and thwarted by his status as an illegitimate son.
When a man like that encountered an opportunity such as this, even if the road ahead was fraught with uncertainty, he would in all likelihood charge forward without looking back.
If Xu Yuan refused to go, it would actually look abnormal.
Beyond that, Xu Yuan also wanted to see this Crown Prince for himself—to see where the difference truly lay between him and Li Zhaoyuan.
***
"Imperial Brother, I've delivered the jade talisman to that Young Master Wang on your behalf."
Li Junqing pushed open the wooden door to the Tianxun Chamber, speaking with a grin the moment he stepped inside. "Though if you ask me, why would an illegitimate son of a mere vice minister require you to recruit him in person? Leaving the matter to me would have been more than enough."
Inside the room, incense smoke curled through the air, and curtains swayed gently. Behind a painted silk screen depicting verdant mountains and green waters, a middle-aged man of gentle demeanor sat cross-legged on a prayer mat, softly handling the tea set before him.
Hearing Li Junqing's voice, the man spoke in a remarkably soothing tone, evoking the image of a modest, gentle nobleman, pure and warm as fine jade.
"Coming in person is the only way to show proper esteem."
Li Junqing walked over to the tea table and sat down. He casually picked up a cup of fragrant tea the other man had brewed, drained it, and then lowered his voice as he looked at his eldest brother.
"Still, for you to leave the palace at a time like this... surely it will displease Imperial Father?"
The man slowly lifted his eyes. His dark pupils gleamed with a gentle smile.
"In the past, perhaps. But now, Father will not mind. Imperial Father has always treated us brothers impartially. With Zhaoyuan leading troops in the field, his oversight of me has naturally relaxed considerably."
Li Junqing frowned slightly and set down his porcelain cup. Seeing this, the gentle man picked up the teapot and refilled it for him, continuing in a soft, steady cadence.
"Had Father done this sooner, none of these present troubles would have come to pass."
Li Junqing let out a soft sigh. Tapping his fingertip lightly against the porcelain cup, he watched the ripples spreading across the tea and spoke in a hushed tone.
"Even if that were true... Imperial Brother, you still wouldn't have dared to act."
"..."
At those words, the hand pouring the tea paused.
The room fell silent for an instant.
The middle-aged man resumed his motion, shaking his head with a light chuckle.
"Your wits are indeed much sharper than mine, Junqing. Even if Father tacitly permitted it, had I dared to make a move, I likely would not have lived to see today."
With that, the middle-aged man set down the teapot, took up a porcelain cup brimming with tea, and sipped it gently. A faraway look entered his eyes.
"Sometimes, I... truly envy you and the others."
Li Junqing's eyelid twitched, and he immediately waved his hands. "Imperial Brother, I would never—"
"Must you maintain such guard even against your elder brother?"
The middle-aged man gave a dry laugh and shot his younger brother a reproachful glare. "I mean it. You and Zhaoyuan can have many different paths, but from the day I was born, I have only ever had one."
Li Junqing's expression shifted, tinged with a complex melancholy as he whispered, "You are the heir to the imperial throne. With such status, why speak like this?"
"Why speak like this?"
A trace of despondency flickered in the man's soft eyes. A sigh escaped his handsome face.
"All these years, though I have held the noble title of Crown Prince and even overseen the realm as Regent for nearly a decade, in truth, I am merely Father's shadow. Whatever Father bids me do, I must do.
"I have spent my entire life being Father's shadow. Yet in the end, everything I possess still hinges upon a single whim of his.
"Junqing, do you still wonder why I say this?"
"..."
Li Junqing fell silent.
Had the original plans of Imperial Father and Chancellor Xu unfolded smoothly, his eldest brother's life would have been utterly seamless.
The trouble was that the two old men's plans had gone awry.
This exalted status of Crown Prince had turned into a set of shackles.
He could not associate with the people or matters Father did not wish him to touch. He could only passively accept everything Father prepared for him—namely, the sprawling Crown Prince faction in the court.
Yet everything within the Crown Prince faction was merely loaned to his eldest brother by Imperial Father.
Should Imperial Father ever wish to take it back, it would take no more than a single thought.
Now that Father had allowed Li Zhaoyuan to lead troops outside, the choice of successor to the imperial throne had clearly begun to shift in his heart.
Thinking of this, Li Junqing looked at his eldest brother with conflicted eyes.
What Great Yan needed today was not a ruler to govern a peaceful realm, but a ruthless hero who could quell the chaos.
"Junqing... I heard you intend to go to Dongying?"
The gentle voice interrupted Li Junqing's thoughts. Snapping back to attention, he saw his elder brother looking at him with an exceedingly tender gaze.
After a brief hesitation, Li Junqing chuckled, half-joking, "I've entertained the thought, but given the current situation in Di'an City, it seems Imperial Brother cannot do without me..."
"If you want to go, then go."
"..."
Li Yucheng's eyes crinkled with a smile as he took in the surprise on his brother's face. "A journey to Dongying is indeed safer for you than remaining in Di'an City."
"..."
In that moment, Li Junqing suddenly hesitated.
In their childhood, this man had indeed been a very gentle elder brother.
He had romped with him through the palace grounds and snuck him out of the palace walls to marvel at the bustling prosperity of Di'an City.
Yet as they grew up, and as his brother took over the mantle prepared by Father, Li Junqing had also witnessed the cold, ruthless nature beneath that gentle exterior.
The only reason he behaved so obediently now was that he had received harsh discipline from his brother in the past.
"Why look at me like that?"
Li Yucheng paid no heed to Li Junqing's guarded look. Casting a glance in the direction of the Palace City, he said softly, "Imperial Father's mind is difficult to fathom. If a true upheaval occurs, I will in all likelihood not survive. And if I am deposed, you will likely not survive either.
"Therefore, leaving Di'an City is safer for you.
"When it is all over, if I manage to ascend the throne, it will not be too late for you to return."
"..."
Listening to these words, Li Junqing raised a hand and rubbed the bridge of his nose firmly.
He could not tell whether his elder brother was speaking in irony.
Furthermore, hearing him put it this way made it rather awkward for him to simply abandon the man and flee.
Li Yucheng let out a wistful sigh.
"You boy... you are still so suspicious."
Silence fell over the private room.
Li Junqing weighed how to respond.
A man in this world had things he must do and things he must never do.
If his elder brother was truly speaking from the heart, he genuinely could not just run away like this.
Yet the issue remained: Qianxi had died during the assassination attempt on Xu Changtian, and a rift had already formed between the two brothers.
At least on Li Junqing's side, that was the case.
He could not help but harbor suspicions toward his elder brother.
He suspected the man already knew that he had deliberately engineered the death of Qianxi, that powerhouse, to rid himself of the spy planted by his side.
*Knock, knock, knock—*
Amidst the silence between the brothers, a gentle knock sounded at the door.
After a brief pause, Li Yucheng smiled and shook his head.
"There is no need to overthink it. Tomorrow, I shall submit a memorial to Imperial Father on your behalf. Dongying has suffered maritime incursions by those fair-haired outlanders, and Great Yan does need an imperial prince to oversee the situation and uncover the specifics.
"As for now, return to your manor in the Palace City first. I shall receive this Wang Licheng in person."
The knocking ceased, and the room was quiet for an instant. Li Junqing slowly stood up, straightened his robes, and bowed deeply.
"Understood. I shall take my leave then."
With that, Li Junqing walked toward the door.
"By the way."
He had only taken two steps when the gentle voice behind him brought him to a halt.
"Did that Third Young Master of the Prime Minister's Manor, who went south with you... truly die?"
Li Junqing's heart tightened slightly. Turning halfway around, he said quietly, "Though I did not see it with my own eyes, he is almost certainly dead. Against an assassination by one Semi-Saint and four Transcendents, Lou Ji could not have protected him."
Li Yucheng slowly lowered his eyelids and sighed softly.
"True enough. I had the Imperial Shadow Guard investigate Huizhou County earlier, and the ruins matched what you described. It is just a pity for that girl..."
Hearing this, Li Junqing's heart dropped violently, but Li Yucheng continued in the next breath:
"...To declare that she will remain a widow for that Third Young Master for the rest of her life."
"Imperial Sister likely just does not wish to remarry," Li Junqing replied with a hollow smile.
Li Yucheng considered it for a moment, a faint smile touching his lips. "Knowing her temperament, that is indeed quite possible."
"..."
With nothing left to say, Li Junqing nodded in farewell, walked to the entrance, and pulled open the door.
*Creak—*
The door swung open. Locking eyes with the young man outside for a brief moment, Li Junqing patted his shoulder and brushed past him, chuckling softly.
"Young Master Wang, my imperial brother awaits you inside. This prince will not disturb the two of you."
"Ah, yes."
Xu Yuan gave an agreeable response, though his eyes cast an odd glance at the departing figure.
The moment the door opened, his spiritual vision had caught an expression in Li Junqing's downcast eyes that was chillingly dark.
Yet that darkness vanished as if it had been an illusion. By the time the prince lifted his head, his gaze had already returned to its usual smiling, pleasant facade.
Of course, Xu Yuan did not believe his senses had deceived him. He bowed toward the direction of Li Junqing's departure, then turned his gaze into the chamber.
Just now, the two imperial brothers must have discussed something.
Still, he did not care much about their private affairs. Now that this troublesome fellow had left, he no longer had to worry about slipping up.
Closing the door, stepping inside, and exchanging formal greetings, Xu Yuan came face to face with the Crown Prince of the realm, Li Yucheng.
After a round of polite pleasantries, Xu Yuan knelt across from the tea tray and began a tentative bout of small talk.
Li Yucheng did not get straight to the point, keeping the conversation to harmless, inconsequential matters. What slightly exceeded Xu Yuan's expectations, however, was that this Crown Prince of Great Yan was far too gentle.
Indeed.
Gentle.
If the eldest brother in Xu Yuan's own family was a cold, domineering CEO, then this elder brother of Li Qingyan and Li Junqing felt like a central air conditioner—radiating warmth to everyone.
Every topic he brought up, every word he uttered, carried the dignity appropriate to his status while making Xu Yuan feel genuinely valued.
It was like basking in a spring breeze.
Yet compared to Li Junqing and Li Qingyan, Li Yucheng was noticeably older.
Even with profound cultivation sustaining him, the passage of time had etched itself upon him, giving him the appearance of a middle-aged man.
*So there really are people in this world who remain Crown Prince for sixty years.*
Still, if this man truly managed to claim the supreme throne in the end, his demeanor suggested he would become a benevolent sovereign.
Naturally, that was merely a conjecture based on first impressions. Looking at the court dynamics of Great Yan, history seemed poised to repeat its classic trope: the original Crown Prince was almost never the one who actually ascended.
After another round of tea and idle chatter, Xu Yuan drained the cup the prince had poured for him and finally steered the conversation toward the night's true purpose.
"Your Highness, you surely did not summon me here tonight merely to speak of such things?"
Li Yucheng's gentle eyes showed not the slightest surprise. He gave a soft chuckle.
"Meeting Young Master Wang felt like reuniting with an old friend. In our conversation, I nearly forgot my true purpose.
"I came here tonight because I wanted to ask you a question."
Xu Yuan raised an eyebrow and nodded slightly. "Please ask, Your Highness."
"This was a question Imperial Father once asked Duke Xu."
"..."
Xu Yuan's heart gave a slight jolt.
*He's subtly comparing me to Duke Xu.*
If Duke Xu weren't his own father, he might have been genuinely touched.
Though such thoughts crossed his mind, Xu Yuan composed his expression into a sober look and nodded respectfully.
"Young Master Wang, how do you see our Great Yan realm today?"
"..."
A look of difficulty appeared on Xu Yuan's face. Had he been answering in his true identity, he could have answered however he pleased, but now he had to weigh his words carefully. After a long pause, he said softly:
"It can barely be considered an age of peace and prosperity."
Li Yucheng smiled faintly and nodded.
"It seems Young Master Wang has his own insights on the matter, though it is inconvenient to speak candidly. But would you like to know how Duke Xu answered back then?"
A glimmer of curiosity flashed in Xu Yuan's eyes. He truly wanted to hear how his old man had answered.
"Please enlighten me, Your Highness."
Li Yucheng tapped lightly on the table, his tone leisurely.
"Duke Xu said back then: 'Our Great Yan may be in a prosperous age, but it is not at peace.'"
Chapter 462