Chapter 143: Chapter 127: The World in an Uproar, Don’t Worry, Sister-in-law, Clearing the Sixth Prince’s Name?

Prince Zhenbei suffered a great defeat.

The news swept from the border across the whole of Great Yan like a torrential storm.

It was a rude awakening for the officials of the Court, who had been lost in the sweet dream of their Celestial Empire.

The news was impossible to conceal. The sight of the hundred-thousand-strong vanguard, personally led by Prince Zhenbei, suffering a disastrous defeat, coupled with the flight of the logistics corps, had already descended into utter chaos.

The reports that made it back basically said the same thing: an enormous, world-shaking hand had appeared out of the void and annihilated tens of thousands of soldiers with a mere flick of a finger. The suspected culprit was one of the Deities worshiped by the Demon Country.

Normally, military intelligence in ancient times traveled slowly. It could take months for news to arrive.

But the impact of this event was simply too immense.

The army proper was one thing, but the supply train was managed by local civilians and wounded soldiers. These hundreds of thousands of locals from the northern garrisons became the perfect rumor mill.

The news spread like a web, and soon, half the northern territories knew.

The news was of such importance that by the time it traveled from the populace to the Imperial Capital, the battered remnants of the army had already withdrawn to the Northwest Three States—Xiong Wu, Feiniu, and Longxu—falling back behind the Great Wall.

In the Imperial Capital, the Court urgently convened a meeting.p>

The students at the major academies were in an uproar.

“Whoever in the Cabinet proposed the northern expedition against the Demon Country is a criminal for the ages!”

“War exhausts the people and drains the treasury! They’re just a bunch of glory hounds!”

“When the Demon Country eventually comes to settle the score, won’t Great Yan be dragged into a quagmire of war?”

“We shouldn’t have lost so miserably. We should have quit while we were ahead! Prince Zhenbei was too greedy!”

At an intersection near the Imperial City Shengjing Academy, a handsome, White-robed Monk overheard numerous scholars in taverns and restaurants freely discussing matters of the Court.

Jiang Shan placed his palms together. At some point, a monkey had perched on his shoulder. It shook its head, its eyes bright and clear.

“Amitabha Buddha.”

Facing north, he murmured:

’The five-hundred-year cycle of the Celestial Mandate, a legend from the Middle Ages, is about to begin its countdown. I never thought Great Frost would be on the verge of unification, nor that the Holy Netherworld would experience such a shift. I wonder whose chosen champion this is, from which of the Deities… Can it be that the great conflict of this era is arriving ahead of schedule?’

For a time, the entire Imperial Capital was abuzz with activity.

Some cursed the Cabinet for its blind decision-making. Others cursed Prince Zhenbei for his incompetent command. Still others cursed the various lords of the Court for their utter uselessness, failing to advise against or prevent the campaign.

After all, *they* weren’t the incompetent ones. *They* weren’t the ones making decisions. *They* weren’t the ones fighting the war. So they could criticize all they wanted. It wouldn’t affect them in the slightest.

「Yaoguang Palace.」

“My father is headed to the Northern Realm right now. He won’t be affected by this, will he?” Huo Hongling asked, her face etched with worry.

“There’s no need to worry, Princess Consort Huo. Prince Zhenbei has only retreated to the Northwest Three States. The Demon Country hasn’t mounted a counteroffensive, so things should be fine,” Qi Muxue soothed.

Wang Zhaoyan mused, “There won’t be an impact in the short term, but in half a year at most, the Holy Netherworld will surely come to settle its accounts. The pressure on the border will return to what it was at the beginning of Emperor Yong’an’s reign. That’s not good news at all.”

The beginning of the Yong’an era.

Qi Muxue’s expression changed at the mention of that era.

When Emperor Yong’an had just ascended the throne, the empire was in turmoil. Internally, there was the rebellion of the Princes, and powerful ministers had seized control. Externally, the Western Barbaric Demon Clan ran rampant, and a Demon Barrier from the Northern Country encroached upon their lands. A black fog enveloped the Great Wall, blotting out the sun. Their only defense was the protective radiance of the Taoist Sect, the Confucian Temple, and the Buddha Saints of the Buddhist Heaven. The Holy Qi, sent down by the Saints of the Three Religions, blanketed the Great Wall to stop the Demon Fiends from plunging the world into chaos. This fragile peace has been maintained for sixty years.

“The Demon Country won’t make a move so easily,” Qi Muxue replied after long and careful consideration. “The Demoness needs time to deal with the rebellious factions within her own borders. This gives Great Yan time to recover. The Champion Marquis is going at the perfect moment. With luck, it might be the best possible time. If he can repel an attack from the Demon Country, it would be a great merit. What we should truly fear… is a fully unified Holy Netherworld.”

“Throughout history, the price of peace has always been sacrifice. The true crisis will be if the Holy Netherworld manages to organize a massive offensive on the scale of the one from sixty years ago. The situation isn’t nearly that dire yet.”

Lu Mingyuan listened without offering his own opinion, his gaze falling upon his two wives.

’It wasn’t that he was trying to feign ignorance; he simply had a more detached perspective on the matter.’

’If the Holy Netherworld actually managed to conquer all three of the Northwest States, then he might sigh and think, *Great Yan is in danger.*’

’But right now, nothing was set in stone. The Demoness hadn’t even attacked yet. He didn’t have the energy to worry about it.’

’Perhaps she had only borrowed the power of a ritual to halt Prince Zhenbei’s advance, a warning to keep Great Yan from getting too arrogant.’

’The goal was to warn, not to counter-attack.’

’This made Lu Mingyuan click his tongue internally. When had Great Yan become so fragile that it couldn’t afford a single loss?’

’Then again, maybe it wasn’t Great Yan that couldn’t afford to lose.’

’It was the people of Great Yan who were afraid of losing.’

’No one wanted this golden age to end, to return to the hardships of the past.’

’They didn’t want to see a return to an age of chaos.’

’It showed that everyone, from Huo Hongling to the Imperial Capital Cabinet to the common folk, held expectations for Great Yan that were simply too high. The moment they faced the slightest setback, they grew anxious and fearful.’p>

’This was a classic symptom of having lived in a golden age for too long.’

’Qi Muxue hadn’t been wrong, though. Peace had its price.’

’If not for the sacrifices of those who came before, paving the way for the future, there would be no peace for those who came after.’

’No matter how the winds of change blew across Great Yan, it wouldn’t reach him.’

’If the Demon Country invaded, the first line of defense would be the various Immortal Influences that had pledged allegiance to Great Yan.’

’Great Yan hadn’t sold them that land for free. Guarding it was part of the deal.’

The group steered clear of the topic, and after offering some words of comfort to Huo Hongling, the morning meal concluded.

“Husband, I shall come again this evening to pay my respects.”

Qi Muxue was the first to take her leave, offering a perfectly courteous bow.

“Mm.”

Lu Mingyuan nodded in assent.

Huo Hongling, standing to one side, said with some embarrassment, “I… we’ll see… I feel like after… what we did last night… my Acupoints have inexplicably loosened. It feels like my chance to break through to the Middle Fifth Grade is here.”

“Go on, then.”

Lu Mingyuan maintained his smile, giving her a magnanimous wave.

The moment he returned to Qingzhu Hall, he found a Red-clothed Princess Consort waiting for him.

Only, she wasn’t *his* Princess Consort.

“Brother-in-law…”

Yang Yingchan clutched a letter, her fair, jade-like face etched with anxiety.

Apparently, she had received a reply from Prince Zhenbei.

Lu Mingyuan entered the hall and poured himself a cup of tea before pouring one for her as well. “Don’t be anxious, Sister-in-law. Prince Zhenbei is fine. The Court is counting on him to defend the Northwest Three States.”

“I know that, but… my father describes the situation as dire. He says that without reinforcements from the Court, the Demon Country’s army will be at the Northern Pass within half a year at most.”

“What exactly happened?”

Lu Mingyuan asked, his eyes narrowing.

’Everyone said Prince Zhenbei had been defeated, but no one knew the specifics.’

’Only from his sister-in-law could he hope to get the latest intelligence.’

“There was… a huge vortex in the sky, and a colossal eye, as vast as a mountain, appeared from who knows where.”

“An eye?”

Lu Mingyuan stroked his chin, lost in thought.

“Your Highness, wonderful news!”

A gentle voice called out.

Zi Yun burst in, her steps as quick as flight, her chest creating quite a stir with her sudden entrance.

“What’s so wonderful now?”

Lu Mingyuan’s train of thought was broken. He frowned and asked,

’He’d just been inundated with bad news; how could there possibly be any good news?’

“Your Highness, just look at today’s gazette,” Zi Yun said, her face a mask of anticipation, practically begging for a reward.

“Hm?”

Lu Mingyuan took the gazette and glanced at it.

The headlines were quite long.

*SHOCKING! Is the Sixth Prince Innocent? A Hidden Story Behind the Demoness Affair? The Truth Revealed!*

*Buddha’s Relics Not Missing, Just Claimed by a New Master…*

*The Things Prince Jin Does in the Dead of Night That You’ll Never Believe…*

When Lu Mingyuan saw the articles’ source, he nearly coughed up a mouthful of blood.

The Drumming Institute!

’What kind of shameless Confucian Scholar would write this sort of trash in the official gazette?’

When he saw the byline, he completely lost his composure.

The author was none other than his “dear” brother.

Lu Yunqing.

…

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep