DDT - Chapter 48
Chapter 48: General × Little Emperor (3)
"Your Majesty, please wait here. I have eliminated all the villains. I will be back shortly." Chi Junluo decided to take things one step at a time. After giving the young emperor, Yi Han, a slight bow, she picked up the blood-soaked longsword from the ground and began wiping it clean as she walked toward where her horse was tied.
Watching his general walk away, leaving only her back in view, Yi Han couldn't help but feel a thread of nervousness and a lingering fear, even though she had promised to return immediately. If General Chi had been outnumbered and unfortunately defeated just now, what cruel fate would have awaited him?
Yi Han didn't dare to dwell on it.
The clatter of hooves, "da-da-da," grew louder as it approached from the distance. It was General Chi Luo, returning on horseback.
Mounted on a tall steed, General Chi rode up to the young emperor, Yi Han, her expression solemn. Yi Han was covered in dirt and bits of leaves, but the general showed no sign of disdain. Chi Junluo leaned down slightly and extended her right hand to him. "I invite Your Majesty to mount the horse. I will first take you away from this place of conflict."
Yi Han tilted his head up slightly, silently gazing at the general before him. She was handsome and spirited, with a heroic and dashing air. In that instant, Yi Han felt that the person before him was incredibly tall and imposing.
Chi Junluo didn't know what an indelible mark this moment was leaving on the heart of the young, distressed emperor.
Yi Han silently reached out his hand and used her support to climb into the saddle, seating himself in front of Chi Junluo. The great general carefully encircled the precious person in her arms, then squeezed her legs against the horse's belly and flicked the reins. The horse shot forward like an arrow released from a bow, galloping down the forest path. The young emperor, Yi Han, naturally leaned back, resting gently against Chi Junluo's chest. His head nestled into the crook of the general's neck and shoulder. As their bodies touched, Chi Junluo's body began to automatically collect the Power of the Heavenly Dao.
A faint warmth spread from where their heads and shoulders met. The heat slowly radiated through both of them, and amidst the cold wind of the galloping horse, both the general and the young emperor felt a trace of warmth.
Leaning against General Chi Luo's tall and sturdy embrace, Yi Han felt a rare sense of reliability and security welling up in his heart. It was as if, so long as the person behind him was there, he wouldn't have to worry about life or death. This feeling put the young emperor's mind at ease.
Chi Junluo was focused on the path ahead, urging the horse forward, when she suddenly felt a weight settle on her right shoulder. Glancing over, she saw that the pitiful little emperor had fallen asleep against her…
Chi Junluo: …
"Oh, meow meow meow?? Heavenly Dao, why do I get the feeling this emperor is giving off some gay vibes???" Chi Junluo pinged the impossibly tsundere Heavenly Dao in her sea of consciousness.
The Heavenly Dao indicated that it couldn't hear a thing.
Chi Junluo, who was routinely ignored by the Heavenly Dao, expressed that she was already used to it.
The deeply sleeping young emperor, Yi Han: Emmm… General Chi is so warm~
As the sky gradually darkened, Chi Junluo, who was escorting the young emperor back toward the northwest border, had to find a relatively clean patch of grass to rest for the night for the safety of the two of them and the horse.
Chi Junluo dismounted with some difficulty while holding Yi Han. With the reins in hand, she led the horse to a nearby tree. The general then gently placed the young emperor against the base of the tree to continue sleeping.
The night was cool. To prevent His Majesty the Emperor's precious body from catching a cold, Chi Junluo used her sword to clear a patch of grass in front of the tree. She then went into the woods behind them to gather firewood and built a simple campfire, the kind commonly used on military campaigns. Taking out the flint and steel she carried, she lit the fire on the spot.
The flames flared up, illuminating the area for several feet around.
With the campfire burning, Chi Junluo sat down under the tree, relieved. She sat close to the young emperor, Yi Han, to give him some warmth. But this little emperor was a man, after all; Chi Junluo hadn't expected his frame to be so slender…
It seemed the young emperor was truly exhausted from the two days he had spent hiding in the mountains, and he must have been quite frightened. Even the commotion from earlier hadn't woken him.
However, this was a great opportunity to collect the Power of the Heavenly Dao!
A glint of excitement flashed in Chi Junluo's eyes. She gently and carefully extended her right hand toward the young emperor's head, then lightly rested it on top.
She could clearly feel a warm current traveling up her arm and into her body. Although Chi Junluo had already experienced two strange worlds, she couldn't help but be amazed. The process of collecting the Power of the Heavenly Dao was simply too magical!
Inadvertently, Chi Junluo glanced at the bite mark on her left hand and couldn't help but twitch her lips. The little emperor of this world was still a kitten that got its fur ruffled easily. And his bite really, really hurt.
Following the bite mark, Chi Junluo's gaze fell upon the two delicate, golden tattoo-like patterns on her left hand. She suddenly frowned. In ancient times, tattoos of any kind were marks reserved for criminals. These golden patterns of hers were truly inappropriate.
Chi Junluo reluctantly withdrew her right hand for a moment and tore a long strip of cloth from her own clothes. She took out the medicinal powder for wounds that she carried with her and applied some to the injury on her left hand. A cool sensation mixed with a fiery sting stimulated her nerves. After putting away the medicine vial, Chi Junluo wrapped the cloth strip layer by layer around the wound and the golden patterns on her left hand. Only when the patterns were completely covered did she tie a secure knot to finish it off.
She blew on the wound through the cloth, then placed her right hand back on the young emperor's head to continue collecting the Power of the Heavenly Dao. At first, Chi Junluo forced her eyes wide open, determined to collect as much as she could. But she couldn't withstand the exhaustion from two consecutive days of travel. In the latter half of the night, she finally closed her eyes and fell asleep. Her right hand, no longer supported by her strength, slipped from the young emperor's head to his shoulder. In the slightly chilly night, Yi Han instinctively leaned toward the source of warmth. And just like that, the young emperor was enfolded in the great general's right arm.
Both of them slept soundly.
In the Imperial City.
The princes, led by the Fourth Prince, had finally breached the Imperial Palace with their troops. The Fourth Prince was so angry he wanted to curse. Those Imperial Guards were a bunch of blockheads. The emperor had already abandoned them, abandoned the entire palace and the entire Imperial City, and fled, yet these damned old fools were still putting up a desperate resistance.
Incorrigible! Idiots!
After entering the palace, the Fourth Prince and the other princes headed straight for Longmian Hall and Xuanzheng Hall, as these were the two most likely places where the Imperial Jade Seal could be hidden.
They never would have imagined that the young emperor, Yi Han, exhausted from fleeing for his life, would have had the presence of mind to take the Imperial Jade Seal with him before he left.
The princes had their men practically turn the two grand halls upside down, but they found absolutely nothing. They even discovered the secret doors in the emperor's bedchambers and ransacked Yi Han's private treasury. Inside, there was nothing but a pile of useless things like gold, silver, and jewels.
Inside Xuanzheng Hall, the Fourth Prince angrily swept an antique vase from a low table onto the floor. The poor, priceless antique vase shattered into pieces all over the ground.
A group of soldiers knelt on the floor, so frightened they didn't dare to breathe. Only the other princes looked on with disdain.
The Third Prince found a chair and sat down. "Fourth Brother," he said, "I told you before not to alert the enemy. We don't know that little emperor very well. Don't be fooled by his age; that damn emperor is younger than all of us, but his mind is sharp."
The Fourth Prince was already furious, and being mocked by his third brother, who was only two months his senior, made him even more displeased. "Damn emperor! If he wants to run, fine, but why take the seal! No matter. He can't have gone far. I've already sent my secret guards to pursue him. The area outside the Imperial City is only so big. He won't be able to escape, even if he grows wings."
"Tsk, tsk. I just wonder, before this Imperial Jade Seal is recovered, who among us is qualified to sit on that Dragon Throne before us? Heh." The Seventh Prince had been dragged into this to make up the numbers. He had been perfectly content in his own fiefdom, but the Fourth Prince had gotten his hands on concrete evidence of him amassing a private army. This forced him, with his wings not yet fully grown, to bring his pitifully small private force to the Imperial City.
The young emperor, Yi Han, was the fourteenth in the royal line. Three years ago, when the old emperor fell gravely ill, the royal princes fought tooth and nail for the throne. The Fourth Prince, in particular—the Fourth Prince at the time—was skilled in both civil and military affairs and fiercely ambitious. He had his own views on governance and even advocated for invading other nations to expand their territory. For the Great Chang Kingdom, which was at its peak of power, he was indeed a fine choice for crown prince, and many ministers and military officials strongly supported his ascension. The Fourth Prince's greatest rival at the time was the Third Prince, and their conflict was intense.
Who would have thought that after the old emperor passed away, an imperial edict would name the quiet, unremarkable, and only thirteen-year-old fourteenth prince as the new emperor. The edict of succession shocked the entire court. The most incredulous were the Fourth and Third Princes. They forcefully and repeatedly inspected the edict, trying to find any trace of forgery, but to their disappointment, the document was genuine.
To this day, they still didn't understand why their imperial father would pass such an important position as the ruler of a nation to a mere brat.
Because the ministers had all chosen to side with the more advantageous princes before the edict was announced, after Yi Han ascended the throne, there was almost no one in the vast imperial court he could use. The court officials were also dissatisfied with this little emperor who had come out of nowhere and blocked their career paths. As a result, in just three short years, the court became rampant with treacherous officials, and it gradually became a place where the word of the Third and Fourth Princes was law.
It was precisely these circumstances that fueled the princes' ambitions, leading to this coup, which could be considered almost successful.
The only flaw in their plan was that the Imperial Jade Seal had been taken away by that undeserving little emperor.
At the head of Xuanzheng Hall, the Dragon Throne was a dark gold color. Two dragons were carved into its back, with a massive, luminous pearl embedded in the center. The base of the throne was a black tortoise, symbolizing that the entire continent belonged to the emperor alone. The black tiger head armrests on either side treated the divine beasts as his right and left hands in ruling the world. This throne was truly a beautiful sight!
The Fourth Prince reached out a hand, lingeringly caressing every detail of the carvings on the back of the throne, and let out a sigh. He had waited for this throne for so many years. Now, he had to sit on it! He was compelled to sit on it! This was the mission he was born with! He would lead the Great Chang Kingdom to new prosperity! He would lead Great Chang to conquer the entire continent!
Get instant access to all the chapters now.
Comments
Post a Comment