Chapter Thirty: The Trial (Part 1)

  "If Big Brother really wants to learn martial arts, then I, Xiao Wang, have nothing to say. But if not... Hehe..." Facing He Lan's eager gaze, Li Xian didn't immediately reveal the solution, but instead chuckled and started teasing him.

  "Hmph, what's Xiao Qi trying to do? Want to see her brother make a fool of himself or something? Alright, alright, no need to beat around the bush. If Brother has it, just speak up and Xiao Qi will get it for you." He Lan Min heard this and immediately patted his chest, vowing solemnly.

  "Brother, I heard that someone at the Hongwen Academy has pointed out that the 'Spring and Autumn of the Thirty States' written by Xiao Fang and others of the Former Liang dynasty has some errors. It seems that it should be rewritten. This matter has not been decided yet. Brother, why don't you go and ask for this task?" Li Xian chuckled and took a step forward, lowering his voice to remind him quietly.

  "Hongwen Hall? 'The Spring and Autumn of the Thirty States'? Ah ha, good idea! If it can be done, I'll treat you to a drink with Seventh Brother!" As soon as Li Xian came up with this idea, He Lan Minzhi was first taken aback, then burst into wild laughter, patted Li Xian's shoulder enthusiastically, and without waiting for his reaction, suddenly whistled and a white horse emerged from behind the screen. He Lan Minzhi rushed forward two steps, stretched out his hand to grab the reins, and with a light movement, he leapt onto the horseback, laughing loudly as he waved at Li Xian before galloping away in a cloud of dust.

  What bad luck, this year is really not good for me, and I actually ran into a pile of dog shit as soon as I went out! He saw He Lan Minzi didn't even say hello before running off, Li Xian silently cursed in his heart, but also didn't say anything else. He lowered his head and walked to the horse carriage that had already been parked by the wall, waved his hand and said: "Go to Nan Jiao Field." As soon as he finished speaking, without caring about how the servants reacted, he bowed and got into the carriage.

  This is a dangerous signal, and it seems that there will be even more trouble ahead! Although he had successfully sent He Lan Min away, Li Xian not only didn't breathe a sigh of relief but instead became gloomier. This was because he knew very well that He Lan Min was just a useless rogue who couldn't accomplish anything but could cause trouble. What was truly frightening was Wu Zetian's schemes. Thinking about Wu Zetian's ruthless tactics, Li Xian couldn't be happy again. Since the arrow had already been shot, for the sake of not being humiliated in the future, Li Xian could only grit his teeth and persevere through this difficult time.

  Meeting He Lan Min, the crown prince will be busy, hehe, it's just unknown whether history will repeat itself. The struggle with Wu Zetian is a long-term thing, Li Xian attaches great importance to it, but doesn't fear it, and after thinking about it for a moment, he puts it aside and starts thinking about He Lan Min's "old affairs" in the Hongwen Academy - In his previous life, He Lan Min also worked at the Hongwen Academy (located in the East Palace, as part of the East Palace affiliated institution), and was responsible for compiling the "Spring and Autumn Annals of Thirty Countries". From this point of view, Li Xian didn't change the course of history much, but just advanced it by a year.

  In Li Xian's view, He Lan Min's attempt to leave the Hongwen Temple was almost impossible to cause a ripple, and the reason was simple. Compiling history was a noble act, much more prestigious than martial arts, and this kind of thing that could leave a name in history would be fully supported by both Korean and Wei Guo Furen. No matter which of the two ladies took the lead, Gaozong would not dare to reject it, and even if Wu Hou had other ideas, she couldn't openly oppose it. In this way, Li Xian could send He Lan Min to the East Palace, and he didn't know how much headache Li Hong would have when he met He Lan Min... As soon as he thought of this, Li Xian's mouth curved up, and a playful smile appeared on his face...

  The South Drill Ground, as its name suggests, is a drill ground located on the south side of the Imperial City. Although it's not very large, covering an area of only about 30 mu (about 2 hectares), it's more than enough for the sixteen guards to use as a drill ground. Today happens to be the day when the Left Valiant Guard is inspecting its officers, so the South Drill Ground is naturally theirs to use. From far away, one can already hear the loud shouts and cries coming from inside, making Li Xian's heart itch with excitement, wishing he could rush over immediately to witness the impressive display of martial prowess by the officers.

  "Halt! This is a military area, no unauthorized entry allowed!"

  The more urgent the matter, the easier it is to get into trouble. Just as Li Xian and his entourage arrived near the gate, a loud shout suddenly rang out, abruptly blocking Li Xian's carriage.

  "How dare you be rude! The King of Zhou has arrived, and yet you still don't retreat!"

  Following the horse carriage, Gao Mei was afraid of startling Li Xian, and since he had come this time on imperial orders, he didn't want to lose face in front of several patrol officers, so he rushed forward and started shouting loudly.

  Damn it, it's too late! Li Xian sat upright in the carriage, but his ears were listening to the outside noise. When he heard Gao Min's arrogant tone, his heart sank instantly. Without waiting for the carriage to stop completely, he hastily opened the curtain and jumped down, his movements quick, but unfortunately, it was already too late.

  "How dare you, you scoundrel, disrupt military discipline! Come, take him away!"

  As expected, Gao Miao didn't put on airs, but this shout made the leader of the team angry. He glared, pulled out his knife and shouted. In an instant, more than a dozen guards drew their knives and turned towards him, exuding killing intent. Poor Gao Miao was just a small eunuch with little experience, and he was immediately frightened pale and retreated in disarray.

  "What are you doing? What do you want to do? Don't scare the king, you, you..." Gao Mei was already scared stiff, but still refused to show weakness, and stuttered as he carried Li Xian out, trying to intimidate the other side.

  Damn it, this foolish kid is really something! Isn't this just digging a hole for us to jump into? As soon as he sees Gao Lian, he's going to die trying to hold on. Li Xian secretly cursed his bad luck in his heart, not because of anything else, but because the great general Zu Wei was Su Dingfang, and the two words "Zhou Wang" were useless when spoken in front of him. There was no doubt that this group of patrolmen dared to act like this, openly showing that they were acting on Su's orders, just wanting to play a trick on them. Even if Li Xian followed the rules to report, he would definitely be given some trouble, let alone Gao Lian being so high-profile in his actions - wasn't that just asking for it?

  "Hold on." Although Li Xian was somewhat dissatisfied with Gao Yun's arbitrary claim, he couldn't just sit back and watch him take advantage of the situation. He quickly rushed forward from behind, shielding Gao Yun behind him, and cupped his hands in respect to the officer, saying with a smile: "This general has arrived, I am Li Xian, sent by His Majesty on an urgent matter to request an audience with General Su, please grant us passage."

  "Hum, by imperial order? Where is the imperial edict?" As soon as Li Xian, the real master, appeared, that team leader did not dare to approach him with a knife again. However, he still didn't give Li Xian a good look and stretched out his hand, actually asking Li Xian for the imperial edict in a very impolite manner.

  An imperial edict naturally exists, and it was clearly announced to the world half a month ago. It has been archived in the emperor's secret chamber, so it is impossible for Li Xian to get his hands on it. Even if it were an edict from a few days ago, it would have been an oral decree without any evidence. How could Li Xian possibly produce such an imperial edict? Would he need to go back to the palace and ask Emperor Gaozong for another one? Not to mention that Emperor Gaozong might not be willing to do so, even if he were, it would be too late by then. By the time Li Xian gets his hands on an imperial edict, the military exercise in the drill ground will probably have already ended.

  "This general, Xiaowang had already informed Your Majesty some days ago, the imperial edict has been announced to the world, and I have come here also following Your Majesty's oral decree. Of course, I don't have the actual imperial edict in my hands, but if you are willing to make an exception, please inform General Su about it, just say that I came to visit and humbly request General Su to grant me an audience. Would that be alright?"

  "So that's all you want, Your Highness, just to pay your respects to General Su? I didn't mishear, did I?" As the saying goes, "Don't hit a smiling face," since Li Xian had already shown such humility, it would be unbecoming for him to turn a cold shoulder. So he hesitated for a moment and asked in a measured tone.

  "Not bad, that's right, please make it convenient for the general." Under the eaves of the house, Li Xian naturally lowered his head when he should have, smiling and nodding in response.

  "Since that's the case, I'll just go and try my luck. Whether it succeeds or not depends on whether General Su has time to spare, so let's wait." The officer gave Li Xian a slanted glance, saluted with a slight bow, turned around and swaggered away through the gate, while the other officers and soldiers remained standing at attention, closely watching Li Xian and his group without any intention of relaxing their vigilance.

  Li Taishi, we've been had by you, old man. Why did you have to recommend Su Lao's general? This is going to make us look good, isn't it? Alright, I'm afraid there's still more to come, and today is probably not going to end well for me. Watching that team go in a long time ago and not coming back, Li Xian was secretly lamenting in his heart, knowing that this trip to pay respects to the master would be full of twists and turns. If things didn't go well, he'd become the laughing stock of the entire capital. But since we've come all this way, we can't just turn back now. With no other choice, he could only wait silently. As time passed, Li Xian's heart grew more and more anxious, the torture probably comparable to that of an ant on a hot skillet...