Chapter 27: Perching on a Tree

  On New Year's Eve, a lucky snow fell. Within the passes, a thousand miles of snow fluttered with silver makeup and white wrapping, vast and endless.

  The large drill ground of the Wu Palace was a scene of thunderous cheers and boiling hot blood. Hundreds of soldiers surrounded a circle in the snowy field, passionately shouting with excitement.

  In the arena, Qin Mu Bai Guang wore a white robe and rode a horse, fighting fiercely against Yu Wen Hong Tai and Yin Yang!

  Since then, whenever he had the time, Qin Mubai would often drag them together to practice martial arts and compete. Gradually, the soldiers in the Wang Fu knew about it and came to watch the excitement. As time went on, more and more people gathered to watch, gradually forming a small scale, as if their daily martial arts competition had become a must-see event.

  Yuwen Hongtai is a born warrior, usually silly and foolish, but as soon as he gets on his horse and starts fighting, he immediately becomes fierce and spirited, like a completely different person. The weapon he uses is a relatively rare heavy weapon - the Phoenix Wing Golden Bell!

  It's the kind of weapon that Yuwen Chengdu used in the legend. If it wasn't for the fact that Yuwen Chengdu was a fictional character created by historians, Qin Mubai would have thought that Yuwen Hongtai was his descendant - it's just too coincidental!

  This weapon weighs over 100 catties, and it is impossible for anyone without extraordinary strength to use it. In the middle is a long spear with a phoenix mouth, on both sides are large blades like phoenix wings, which can be used for cutting, chopping, piercing, slashing, sweeping, and combining, making it as versatile as a knife, sword, gun, stick, or axe, with extremely strong killing power. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, armor casting technology was rapidly advancing, so many heavy armor-piercing weapons became popular, and the Phoenix Winged Halberd is one of the most outstanding among them.

  Yuwen Hongtai's martial arts skills were indeed extraordinary. At first, Qin Mubai had a hard time fighting him. Yuwen Hongtai was also very straightforward and never knew what it meant to "hold back", even if Qin Mubai was his superior, as long as they were competing in horseback archery, he would always go all out. Several times, Qin Mubai almost got seriously injured by him.

  However, after a period of hard training, especially after the special training by Qin Xianbao and Cheng Zhijie, Qin Mubai's martial arts skills improved dramatically, completely surpassing Yuwen Hongtai!

  Yin Yang's weapon was a large, mountain-cutting knife. This weapon wasn't part of the standard military arsenal, but rather something he had custom-made for himself, similar to the Qinglong Yan Yue. Typically, only high-ranking generals who were skilled in martial arts would wield such a weapon. Yin Yang came from a family of military officers and had been trained in sword fighting since childhood. Even when on horseback, he still preferred using his knife. However, he found that the horizontal knife was too short for close combat and wasn't accustomed to using spears, so he designed and forged a long-handled, double-bladed greatsword for himself. His martial skills were always exceptional among the many military schools in the Wu King's palace.

  Yuwen Hongtai and Yin Yang joined forces, fighting fiercely against Qin Mubai. The two sides exchanged blows for dozens of rounds, still evenly matched. The military school students watching the battle cheered loudly, going wild with excitement, each one crazed with enthusiasm.

  The snowy scene is like a painting, and the fierce battle is like a madman. In the Wu Wang Fu, a wonderful play with a new look is being performed.

  At some point, Li Ke appeared outside the crowd. He was immediately discovered and people hurried to bow and make way for him. The crowd parted to clear a path, and Li Ke walked into the circle to watch the fight at close range.

  "It's a fierce battle with evenly matched strength!" Li Ke admired for a while and praised, "I thought Qin Mubai was just a refined and elegant young master who excelled in music and had multiple talents, but I didn't expect his martial arts skills to be so astonishing, he truly lives up to being the son of a general!"

  Li Ke's arrival caused the military schools to restrain their enthusiasm somewhat. Qin Mu Bai and others also noticed, only to see Li Ke arrive. So they stopped fighting together and came to pay homage to King Wu.

  "Very good, the three of you have extraordinary martial arts skills. Especially Qin Xiao Wei, he can be called a tiger general of this generation, and it's no wonder that he is the son of the war god Qin Shu Bao!" Li Ke publicly praised them for a few sentences, then said, "It's cold and snowy outside, hurry back to take a bath and change your clothes. Mu Bai, come to my room after you've cleaned up."

  "Yes, Your Highness." Qin Mubai responded and laughed heartily with Yuwen Hongtai and Yin Yang before dispersing to change clothes and take a bath.

  Li Ke invited Qin Mu Bai into his bedroom for the first time, lit a fire in the stove and brewed fragrant tea. The room was warm like a spring day, and the fragrance of the tea was refreshing.

  "It seems that he has something private to discuss with me today." Qin Mu Bai thought, and sat down opposite Li Ke. As he entered the room, he took a glance and found a large pile of books by Li Ke's bedside, like a small mountain piled up at his head. Although he didn't look closely to distinguish which books they were, Qin Mu Bai saw the top layer of several books. Among them was a military book, a current events commentary, and an ancient legal text from the pre-Qin period.

  Li Ke spent most of his time locked in his room, and few people had ever been inside. Only today did Qin Mubai realize that this guy, who seemed to be hiding his light under a bushel, actually practiced diligently every day. His method of practice was reading books! The aristocracy of Chang'an were all fond of collecting books, using them to show off their family's elegance. Many large households had libraries with vast collections of books, but most of them were just for decoration.

  But Li Ke's books were obviously not just for show - because they were all placed on the headboard. Any book placed on the headboard must be one that is often read.

  Military books, political essays, ancient classics... but not a single one of the popular poetry books, music scores, travel notes and miscellaneous talks that are currently in vogue among young aristocrats.

  "What's this, Mu Bai also likes reading books?" Li Ke asked, seeing Qin Mu Bai showing interest in that pile of books.

  "I usually read a bit too." Qin Mu Bai smiled and said, "However, the books I read are quite miscellaneous, mostly wild history notes that are shallow and playful. Unlike Your Highness, who studies profound and subtle classics."

  "Hmph, I'm just extremely bored and casually flipping through. Li Ke smiled casually and said, "But I see you've been practicing martial arts recently with your life on the line, why?"

  "Huh? Your Highness, why are you suddenly asking this? Isn't it a matter of course for the Crown Prince to cultivate his martial arts?" Qin Mu Bai said, but in his heart, he was secretly worried: Could it be that Li Ke has also heard the rumors?

  Li Ke chuckled and poured tea from the water bottle, saying: "Mu Bai, I actually called you here today to talk about something. This thing, you've been wanting to tell me for a long time, but didn't dare, couldn't, or shouldn't say it, so I'll take the initiative to come find you and say it."

  Listening to Li Ke's words, which were like a riddle, Qin Mu Bai understood in her heart: This guy really knew. Alright, it was inevitable that they would face each other eventually, and now that everything was out in the open, it was for the better.

  "Then please speak, Your Highness."

  "Yesterday, I went to the palace to attend a family banquet held once a year by the royal family. At the banquet, my father mentioned a small matter - after the New Year, he will establish a personal guard team to protect the inner palace." Li Ke said, "It was probably a few months ago, when a general of the imperial guard got drunk and rode a mad horse, and actually charged straight into the inner palace all the way to the emperor's throne. He scared two younger siblings of the emperor who were by his side, and my father was furious. That's how this idea came about - this personal guard team is mainly to protect the emperor himself and those around him."

  "Did the Emperor bring the young prince along?" Qin Mu Bai asked.

  "Yes. After the empress passed away, Father Emperor personally raised the youngest of the nine imperial brothers, Li Zhi, and little sister, bringing them by his side. This Imperial Guard, to put it bluntly, is actually Father Emperor's personal bodyguard." Li Ke said, "Mu Bai, these days I've seen you crazily practicing martial arts, at first I thought it was just a temporary interest. But after attending the family banquet yesterday, I finally understood that you were preparing to be selected for this Imperial Guard, weren't you?"

  "Yes." Now that things have come to this, Qin Mubai didn't want to hide it anymore either. He spoke frankly, "Father has already signed me up for it, and I'm also quite interested in the matter myself."

  "Very well, very frank." Li Ke smiled and nodded, saying, "A good bird chooses a suitable tree to perch on. If I were you, I would do the same."

  Qin Mubai slightly furrowed his brow: "Your Highness is blaming me?"

  "No, absolutely not." Li Ke waved his hand and said, "If I had any resentment towards you in my heart, I wouldn't have called you here today to discuss this matter openly. To be honest, I've always thought that you're a rare talent, stuck in this stagnant Wu King's mansion as a small officer, it's really a waste of your abilities. Even if I promoted you to a fifth-rank military officer, what would it change? You'd still be trapped in this palace, and you wouldn't have any great prospects. Since I consider you as a brother, I hope you can have a good future. I'm not selfish enough to keep you by my side just to make you an insignificant minor official."

  "Your Highness has such a broad mind, it makes me feel both grateful and ashamed." Qin Mubai bowed with his hands clasped together.

  "It's nothing, it should be." Li Ke smiled calmly and said, "After I was demoted and returned this time, many of my old friends from before avoided me, treating me like a plague. Some court officials who were still somewhat friendly to me also kept their distance, as if I, Li Ke, would really bring them disaster and ruin. However, I don't blame them. I know that now I am a thorn in the eyes of the Crown Prince and Wei Wang, no matter how low-key I keep, they are always thinking about me. This Wu Wang Fu seems calm on the surface but is actually turbulent underneath. Mu Bai, do you know how many informants for the Crown Prince and Wei Wang there are in this mansion?"

  "Is this really happening? Why doesn't the prince think of a way to drive these people out?" Qin Mubai couldn't help but furrow his brow, he had never interacted with the crown prince and Wei Wang before, and such things were indeed unheard of.

  "What's the hurry to drive them out? They like staying here, let them stay." Li Ke smiled indifferently and said, "I don't have anything shameful to hide, nor do I have anything worth their attention. On the contrary, if I were to drive these people away, it would only make the Crown Prince and King Wei more suspicious. Who knows what kind of trouble they'll stir up again, going to Father Emperor to accuse me."

  "So it seems that Your Highness is indeed wise." Qin Mubai said, thinking to himself: This was the first time Li Ke had mentioned to him the conflicts between him and the Crown Prince and Wei Wang. Although it was only a small scale, it was enough to see that the struggle for the throne in the imperial court had already infiltrated every corner.

  "You are the son of Qin Shubao, and from the beginning, you were promoted by the Emperor himself. Although you hold a position in my Wu Wangfu, I have never considered you as one of my subordinates. In fact, you should always be an official under the Emperor." Li Ke smiled and said, "Do you still remember when the Emperor wanted to grant you an official title at your home? At that time, I just happened to help out with a personal favor. You should have jumped out of Wu Wangfu long ago and served as an official under the Emperor."

  "If Your Highness says so, then I have nothing more to say." Qin Mu Bai bowed his hands and said, "In any case, I am extremely grateful for Your Highness's promotion and kindness."

  "It's all just empty words, not worth listening to." Li Ke waved his hand and said, "You, me, and Frost sister, we've all been together since childhood. Although we've gone our separate ways as adults, my feelings towards you two are still the same. You may not understand what it's like being a prince. For us, true relationships are extremely rare. Friendships, romantic love, even familial love, all become distant and scarce in the struggle for power, sometimes seeming more like a sarcastic joke. Mu Bai, I'll be honest with you! I really like Frost, and have always wanted to marry her. But I also know that if I married her, it might put her in danger, or even harm your Qin family. Right now, the Crown Prince and Prince Wei are not on good terms with me, I don't know what I did to offend them, it's really frustrating and helpless. This period of time has made me think clearly, loving someone doesn't necessarily mean being together. In the past, I always tried my best to marry Frost, but now I've changed my mind."

  "What changed your mind?" Qin Mu Bai asked.

  "Emotions are unmatched, true feelings are hard to come by." Li Ke shook his head and smiled lightly, "When you truly love someone, you sincerely hope they're doing well, that's enough. It doesn't mean you have to keep them by your side or possess them."

  Qin Mubai was silent, this Li Ke, indeed a sentimental person with a gentle disposition.

  "For you, Qin Mu Bai, although our identities are worlds apart, I have always considered you as my good friend, not a subordinate or servant." Li Ke said, "Since we are friends, then I hope you can do better. Leaving the Wu Wang Fu and going to the Emperor's side to work is a great thing. I support you."

  "......" Qin Mubai fell silent for a long time, his eyebrows slightly furrowed, and said, "And you, Your Highness?"

  "I won't have any trouble." Li Ke smiled slightly and said, "Although the Crown Prince and the King of Wei are united in their opposition to me, I won't give them any excuse. I'm just a born-out imperial son, if it's about contending for the throne, how could it be my turn? What I think about now is being a peaceful king, enjoying wealth and honor, that's all I want. As time goes on, they will understand, I won't pose any threat to them, so naturally there won't be any trouble."

  Qin Mubai shook his head, speechless. As for Li Ke's words, whether they were sincere or not, the fact was that he had never made any moves towards the Crown Prince and the King of Wei, nor had he ever openly expressed any ambition in the struggle for the throne. The Crown Prince and the King of Wei targeted him solely because he was too capable, a versatile talent with sharp edges, posing a latent threat.

  If being capable is also a mistake, then Li Ke is indeed guilty of a crime punishable by death.

  But this is not necessarily too ironic!

  "I have few friends, and I've always cherished them. You're one of them." Li Ke raised his tea cup, "Let's use tea instead of wine to send you off. May you soar to great heights after leaving the palace!"

  "Thanks, Your Highness!" Qin Mu Bai raised his cup and clinked it with him, downing the tea in one gulp, but feeling quite unwell inside.

  Call for red ticket support, thank you everyone!

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