With a sharp shout from Emperor Yuan, Eighth Prince Zhao Jian, who had just stepped forward, was startled.
Daring not to act presumptuously, he was forced to check himself, looking at Emperor Yuan with a grievance-stricken face. His mouth was full of blood, and two of his molars had been knocked out.
Emperor Yuan spoke with anger blazing across his face: "Today's affairs end here! If anyone stirs up trouble again, do not blame Us for being discourteous!"
Zhao Lie answered loudly: "This son respectfully obeys the Imperial Father's decree and will never be the first to provoke trouble!"
Hearing Zhao Lie's words, Emperor Yuan took even greater note of him. The boy's words carried a hidden meaning; right here before all the civil and military officials of the court, he was declaring that he would not strike first, implying that if anyone moved against him, he would not sit idly by and wait for death.
Upon hearing Zhao Lie's words, the civil and military officials were all astonished. Today's Ninth Prince was worlds apart from his past self; judging by his performance today, they all concluded that the Ninth Prince's habitual cowardice must have been a facade.
Eighth Prince Zhao Jian had swallowed a bitter pill. He had wanted to make a move to turn the tables, but with his Imperial Father shouting him down, he dared not disobey. With no other choice, he merely replied, "Yes!" and retreated back into the ranks.
The other seven princes all looked at Ninth Prince Zhao Lie with shock, as if they were complete strangers to the younger brother who had spent more than a decade swallowing every insult and compromising at every turn.
Crown Prince Zhao Yong, in particular, stared at Zhao Lie with wide-open eyes.
Meanwhile, Zhao Lie spoke up: "Imperial Father, this son takes his leave!"
"This concubine takes her leave!" By this time, Zhu Lian was drenched in cold sweat, knowing that she and her son had just walked through the gates of hell.
Even now, she could not fathom why the son before her possessed such eloquence and martial prowess, for in the past, no matter how much they were bullied by his eight older brothers and three younger sisters, her son Zhao Lie had never dared to strike back.
Today, he had not only dared to berate the Prime Minister, but also dared to beat the Eighth Prince, knocking out two of his teeth. Looking at the Eighth Prince's badly swollen cheek, it seemed Zhao Lie had struck in earnest, and with considerable force.
Once mother and son had stepped out of the Golden Throne Hall, Zhu Lian grabbed Zhao Lie's hand and said, "Son, your ruckus in the Golden Throne Hall just now nearly frightened your mother to death! Your Imperial Father has a bad temper, and with the Jin troops repeatedly harassing our Nanchu, he hasn't slept a single peaceful night in the past decade or two! If you had provoked your Imperial Father's wrath today, I fear you would have been left without a burial site. Your Imperial Father already dislikes you to begin with; I hope my son will never act so impulsively in the future, lest you invite a fatal disaster!"
Zhao Lie smiled and said, "Mother, rest assured, your son knows what he is doing! Nothing will go wrong."
"Oh! That's good then! If any mishap were to befall you, how could your mother go on living?" Zhu Lian's eyes were already moist.
Zhao Lie comforted his mother, saying, "Don't worry, Mother! Lie'er will be fine!"
Talking as they walked, mother and son soon reached their quarters.
These were two side rooms located in the eastern part of the inner palace. Back then, after Zhu Lian became pregnant, she was conferred the rank of Cairen.
Not long after, Emperor Yuan pondered it over and over, feeling that there was something questionable about Zhu Lian's pregnancy, yet he had no evidence to prove that the child she carried was not his.
Over this matter, Emperor Yuan had harbored a bellyful of resentment for twenty years. Shortly after conferring upon Zhu Lian the rank of Cairen, the more Emperor Yuan thought about it, the angrier he grew, until he finally found an excuse to strip her of her title.
Once her title of Cairen was revoked, Zhu Lian naturally became no different from an ordinary palace maid, and mother and son were assigned to these two side rooms, where they had lived for twenty years.
Now things were looking up: Zhao Lie had been appointed Prince of Yelang, and a mother rises in status through her son. Zhu Lian hoped that after all their bitterness, sweetness would finally follow, and her son would at least have a place of his own.
Though Yelang was situated amidst towering mountains and distant, rugged paths—truly a desolate and remote backwater—it was still a place to call home!
Upon returning to his quarters, Zhao Lie immediately set about packing his luggage to prepare for his departure in the coming days.
Zhu Lian also helped her son ready his belongings, neither of them speaking a word.
After bustling about for a while, mother and son finally got Zhao Lie's luggage ready, when suddenly a high-pitched, duck-like voice rang out from outside the door: "The Imperial Decree has arrived! Ninth Prince Zhao Lie, receive the decree!"
Zhao Lie hurriedly went outside with his mother and prostrated themselves on the ground.
This was the old eunuch Yan Song delivering the decree:
By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees:
The Ninth Prince Zhao Lie, nineteen years of age, is hereby appointed Prince of Yelang. After the start of spring, he shall depart the city through the West Gate, and is concurrently bestowed marriage to Li Lihua, daughter of Minister of War Li Gang, to accompany the Ninth Prince to Yelang. Let there be no delay!
Respect this!
Yan Song handed the imperial decree to Zhao Lie.
After shouting "Long live the Emperor" three times, Zhao Lie received the decree with both hands.
Yan Song looked Zhao Lie up and down before saying, "Ninth Prince—no, we should call you the Prince of Yelang now. From Ancheng to Yelang is a journey of ten thousand miles; this old servant hopes the Ninth Prince will take utmost care. Before departure, His Majesty has assigned you seven retainers. These seven are inner-palace experts, each possessing extraordinary martial arts, who can guarantee your safe journey! May the Prince of Yelang attend strictly to the duties of a subject upon reaching Yelang! This old servant takes his leave."
Zhao Lie cupped his fists in salute to Yan Song and said, "Many thanks for your kind words, Eunuch, and sorry to have troubled you."
Yan Song smiled and said, "There is no need for such formality, Your Highness! The mountains are high and the road is long; I wish Your Highness a safe journey!"
Zhao Lie thanked Yan Song repeatedly.
After sending Yan Song off, Zhao Lie asked his mother, "The Imperial Father has bestowed upon me the daughter of the Minister of War as my wife. What kind of man is this Li Gang? Has Mother ever laid eyes on Li Lihua?"
Zhu Lian replied, "I have heard that Li Gang is a hardliner who opposes ceding territory to the Jin Kingdom to sue for peace. He is the head of the pro-war faction, while Qin Kui is the head of the peace faction. Therefore, for the country and its people, Li Gang is a loyal minister of our Nanchu. As for his daughter Li Lihua, rumor has it she is the greatest beauty in the capital. I do not understand why your Imperial Father would betroth her to you; it seems somewhat..."
Zhao Lie instantly understood his mother's implication: she felt he was not a match for Li Lihua.
In his heart, however, Zhao Lie thought: *Mother underestimates her own son far too much. Your son is, after all, born of the imperial bloodline, and now he has been enfeoffed as the Prince of Yelang. Furthermore, your child is a transmigrator—a special forces king from the twenty-first century—how could he possibly be unworthy of a mere Li Lihua?*
Mother was boosting others' prestige while undermining her own family's confidence.
Thus, Zhao Lie comforted her: "Mother, do not overthink this. With your son's abilities, I am more than a match for any woman in this world!"
Of course Zhu Lian did not believe him. No one knows a son better than his mother, and she was clearer than anyone on how much weight her son carried.
Hearing Zhao Lie speak thus, she felt her son was simply bragging, so she said softly, "Son! It's fine to say such things to me, but you must never say them to others, lest people laugh at you."
Zhao Lie protested, "Mother, you..."
"Alright, alright! My Lie'er is formidable and has a bright future..." Knowing what Zhao Lie wanted to say, Zhu Lian hurriedly offered comforting words.
Zhao Lie knew that the original owner of this body truly had been a coward. Because of his background, he had suffered bullying and cold stares, making it impossible for his mother to hold her head high.
Therefore, although Zhao Lie's performance in the Golden Throne Hall today had been brilliant enough to shock the imperial court, freezing three feet of ice does not happen in a single day. No matter how formidable Zhao Lie was now, Zhu Lian was his closest kin who had lived by his side day in and day out—how could she not know his true depth?
After mother and son finished eating lunch, Zhao Lie lay down on the bed to take an afternoon nap. Unwittingly, his thoughts drifted back to Emperor Yuan's bestowal of marriage. He truly could not figure out what kind of medicine his father, Emperor Yuan, kept in his gourd.
In the original owner's memories, there was scarcely any information regarding the Minister of War.
Zhao Lie understood the original owner; an out-of-favor prince like him naturally found it difficult to reach the level of high officials and grandees in the court.
Since Emperor Yuan disliked him, why did he marry off the daughter of the pro-war faction's leader to him?
Yet in the original Zhao Lie's memories, Emperor Yuan was also a coward who clung to life and feared death—a thoroughly capitulationist emperor seeking peace at any cost.
Once he looked at it this way, Zhao Lie figured it out. Bestowing Li Gang's daughter upon him was clearly a move that said: "You want to advocate war? Fine, I'll marry your daughter to a good-for-nothing."
With this thought, Zhao Lie drifted drowsily into sleep.