Love Affairs in Chang'an - Chapter 27

Chapter 27 Choose a Tree to Dwell on
The day before New Year’s Eve, snow fell. Thousand Miles of Snow Wafting Silver Makeup was wrapped in a vast expanse of silver makeup.

On the grounds of the Wu Palace, however, there was a scene of thunderous roars and boiling blood. Hundreds of soldiers surrounded the snow and cheered loudly with passion.

Within the circle, Qin Mubai was riding a horse naked, fighting Yuwen Hongtai and Yin Yang!

During this period of time, as long as there was time, Qin Mubai would often drag the two of them to practice martial arts together. Gradually, the soldiers in the palace found out and came over to watch the fun. Over time, more and more spectators gathered, gradually forming a small scale. It was as if their daily martial arts competition had become a must-see event.

Yuwen Hongtai was a natural born martial artist. Normally, he was simple-minded and foolish. As long as he got on the horse and fought, he would immediately be filled with killing intent, as if he was completely reborn. The weapon he used was a relatively rare heavy weapon-the Phoenix Wings Gold Plating Clang!

It was the weapon used by Yuwen Chengdu in the romance legends. If it weren’t for the fact that Yuwen Chengdu was a fictional figure of a historical novelist, Qin Mubai would have thought that Yuwen Hongtai was a descendant of Yuwen Chengdu-what a coincidence!

This weapon weighed more than a hundred jin, and was utterly incapable of being used by a person without boundless strength. A phoenix-mouthed curved spear in the middle. The large blades on both sides were like phoenix wings. It could cut, cut, pick, stab, hack, sweep, and merge. It was like a sword, a spear, a rod, and an axe. It was extremely destructive on all sides. At the turn of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the forging technology of armor was very developed with each passing day. As a result, many heavy armor-piercing weapons became popular, and the Phoenix-winged Gold-plated Clang was one of them.

Yuwen Hongtai’s martial arts skills were indeed extraordinary. At first, Qin Mubai struggled to fight him. Yuwen Hongtai was also very straightforward. He never knew what “letting go” meant. Even though Qin Mubai was his immediate superior, as long as he was in the horse race, he would do his best. Several times, Qin Mubai almost got seriously injured by him.

However, after a period of painstaking training, especially after Qin Shubao and Cheng Zhijie’s special training, Qin Mubai’s martial arts skills had improved by leaps and bounds, completely surpassing Yuwen Hongtai’s!

Yin Yang’s weapon was a Mountain Piercing Slash Blade. This kind of weapon was not a conventional weapon of the army. Instead, it was specially made by him. It was somewhat similar to the Azure Dragon Crescent Moon. Normally, only generals who had mastered martial arts would be able to use it. Yin Yang came from a military and martial family, and he had practiced a good saber technique since he was young. After getting on the horse, he was still accustomed to using his saber. He felt that the Battle of Steps Saber was too short, and he wasn’t used to using a gun, so he designed and made a long double-edged broadsaber. His martial arts skills had always been outstanding amongst the many military academies in King Wu’s Mansion.

Now, Yuwen Hongtai and Yin Yang had joined forces to fight Qin Mubai. The two sides had fought back and forth for dozens of rounds, but there was still no distinction between victory and defeat. The military academies watching the battle cheered loudly and crazily, all of them as crazy as crazy.

The snow was picturesque, the battle was fierce, and a good show was being staged in King Wu’s Mansion.

At some unknown time, Li Ke arrived outside the crowd. Immediately, someone discovered him and hurriedly bowed respectfully to make way. The crowd consciously dodged a path. Li Ke walked into the circle and enjoyed the battle the closest to him.

“What a close battle.” Li Ke appreciated for a while and praised, “I originally thought that Qin Mubai was just a talented and elegant young master with a long tune. I didn’t expect his martial arts skills to be so astonishing. He really deserves to be called the General’s Tiger!”

Li Ke’s arrival caused the enthusiasm of the military academies to subside. Qin Mubai and the others also noticed that Li Ke was here. So they stopped fighting and came to pay their respects to King Wu.

“Very good. The martial arts skills of the three of you are extraordinary. Especially Captain Qin. He can be called the current Tiger General. As expected of the son of Qin Shubao, the War God!” Li Ke praised in front of everyone and said, “It’s cold and snowing heavily. Go back and take a bath and change your clothes. Mubai, come to my room and talk after packing up.”

“Yes, Your Highness.” Qin Mubai agreed, and laughed heartily with Yuwen Hongtai and Yin Yang as they changed their clothes and took a bath.

This was the first time Li Ke invited Qin Mubai into his living room, lit a fire and boiled tea. The room was as warm as spring, and the fragrance of tea was even more pleasant.

“Looks like he has something private to talk to me about today.” Qin Mubai thought and sat down with Li Ke. When he entered the room, he glanced around and found that there was a large pile of books by Li Ke’s bed, piled on the head of his bed like a small hill. Although Qin Mubai did not carefully distinguish the books, he saw a few books on the top floor. Among them was a military book, a political commentary on current affairs, and an ancient book of the Legalists from the pre-Qin period.

Li Ke locked himself in his room for more than half of the time, and very few people came in. Only today did Qin Mubai realize that although this fellow was hiding his strength and keeping a low profile, he usually cultivated quite a bit. His method of cultivation was to read books! Chang’an nobles are popular collection of books, to show the scholarly family. In the study rooms of many wealthy families, there were a large number of books, but many of them were for decoration.

But Li Ke’s books are obviously not decorative-they are all on the bedside. Any book on the bedside must be read often.

Military books, political commentaries, ancient books … However, there was not a single poem, music, travel notes, and other things that were popular among noble young masters nowadays.

“What, Mu Bai also likes reading?” Li Ke saw that Qin Mubai was interested in the pile of books and asked.

“Normally, I would also look at it a little.” Qin Mubai smiled and said, “However, the books I read are very miscellaneous. Most of them are superficial things that make people laugh. Unlike His Highness, they are all extensive and profound books.”

“Heh, I’m just so bored that I can casually flip through it.” Li Ke smiled casually and said, “But I think you’ve been practicing martial arts very hard lately. Why?”

“Hmm? Why did His Highness suddenly ask about this? Isn’t it only a matter of duty for a general to practice martial arts well?” Qin Mubai said, but his heart was slightly stupefied. Could it be that Li Ke also heard the wind?

Li Ke chuckled and casually poured tea from the kettle. “Mubai, I actually called you here today to tell you something. You actually wanted to tell me about this matter a long time ago, but you didn’t dare to. It’s hard to say, so it’s inconvenient to say. So, I took the initiative to come and talk to you.”

Hearing Li Ke’s tongue twisting command, Qin Mubai understood that this fellow did know. Well, sooner or later, we’ll have to face it.

“Then please tell me, Your Highness.”

“Yesterday, I went to the palace to attend an annual royal family banquet. At the banquet, Father Emperor mentioned a small matter. After the New Year, he will set up a personal guard to protect the inner palace.” “About a few months ago, there was a palace guard general who drank too much wine and rode a crazy horse. He actually broke into the inner palace until the emperor arrived. It frightened the two little royal brothers and sisters beside Father Emperor. Father Emperor was furious. “And so the idea came to mind–this personal guard, mainly to protect the emperor’s private life and the people around him.”

“The Emperor also brought the Little Prince with him?” Qin Mubai asked.

“Yes. After the Empress passed away, Father Emperor brought Li Zhi and Little Emperor Sister, who were the youngest children of the Empress, with him and raised them personally. This personal guard was actually Father Emperor’s personal nurse, to put it bluntly.” Li Ke said, “Mubai, these days I’ve seen you crazily practise martial arts. At first, I thought you were on a whim. After attending this family banquet yesterday, I finally understood that you were preparing for the selection of this personal guard, right?”

“Yes.” At this point, Qin Mubai didn’t want to hide anything anymore. He frankly said, “Father has already signed me up. I’m more interested in this matter myself.”

“Very good, very frank.” Li Ke nodded with a smile and said, “Good birds choose to live on trees. If I were you, I would do the same.”

Qin Mubai frowned slightly, “Is Your Highness blaming me?”

“No, absolutely not.” Li Ke waved his hand and said, “If I were to blame you for the hatred in my heart, I would never have called you here today and told you this matter frankly.” To be honest, I always thought you were a rare talent. Staying in my stagnant pool of King Wu’s Mansion as a small captain was truly inferior. So what if I promote you to the Fifth Grade Canon Army? If you are trapped in my palace, you will have a rare future. Since I regard you as my brother, I hope you can find a good way out. I won’t be so selfish as to insist on keeping you by my side and being an insignificant official. ”

“I am grateful and embarrassed that His Highness has such a generous mind.” Qin Mubai cupped his hands and bowed.

“It’s nothing, it should be.” Li Ke smiled calmly and said, “After I was banished back this time, many of my old friends hid far away from me and treated me like a god of plague.” In the past, some court officials who treated me fairly well also treated me with respect, as if I, Li Ke, would really let their wives and families break up and die. But I don’t blame them. I know, now I am a thorn in the side of the Crown Prince and King Wei. No matter how low-key I am, they will still miss me. On the surface, this King Wu’s Mansion of mine looks like a pool of stagnant water, but in reality, it is a turbulent undercurrent. “Mubai, do you know how many Crown Princes and King Wei have spies in my manor?”

“There is such a thing? Then why doesn’t His Highness think of a way to drive these people out?” Qin Mubai couldn’t help but frown. The Crown Prince and King Wei hadn’t come into contact with each other. This was indeed the first time he had heard of such a thing.

“What are you driving out for? They like to stay here, so let them stay.” Li Ke smiled indifferently and said, “I have nothing to hide, and nothing to worry about. On the contrary, if I drive these people away, it will make the Crown Prince and King Wei even more suspicious. Perhaps they will cause trouble again and go to Father Emperor to sue me.”

“In that case, Your Highness is indeed wise.” Qin Mubai said, thinking, This is the first time Li Ke has told me about the conflict between him, the Crown Prince and King Wei. Although there was only a scaled claw, it was enough to see that the struggle for the throne had already seeped into every corner of the court.

‘”You are Qin Shubao’s son. You were originally promoted by Father Emperor. Although you are an official in King Wu’s Mansion, I have never regarded you as my subordinate. In fact, you should have always been a member of the Emperor.” Li Ke smiled and said, “Do you still remember the time when the emperor wanted to grant you an official position in your home? At that time, I was just pushing the boat to make a favor. You should have jumped out of King Wu’s Mansion and become an official beside Father Emperor long ago.”

“Your Highness said so, then I have nothing to say.” Qin Mubai cupped his hands and said, “No matter what, I am very grateful to His Highness for his promotion and kindness.”

“This is all a cliche. It’s not pleasing to hear.” Li Ke waved his hand and said, “You and I, as well as Shuang’er, have been playing together since childhood.” Even though I have grown up and gone my separate ways, my friendship for you is still there. You may not be able to sense the state of mind of a prince. True friendship is very rare for us. Friendship, love, and even kinship have become indifferent and rare in power struggles, sometimes looking more like a mocking joke. Mubai, I’ll be honest with you! I like Shuang’er very much and have always wanted to marry her. But I also know that if I marry her, I might harm her, or even your Qin Family. Right now, the Crown Prince and King Wei are incompatible with me. I really don’t know where I offended them. I’m very helpless and helpless. During this period of time, I have thought about it carefully. Love doesn’t have to be kept. I used to try my best to marry Shuang’er, but now I have changed my mind. ”

“What did you change your mind about?” Qin Mubai asked.

“Friendship is unparalleled. True feelings are rare.” Li Ke shook his head and smiled. “When you really love someone, you really want her to be well. That’s enough. You don’t have to keep her by your side and have her.”

Qin Mubai was speechless. This Li Ke was indeed a sentimental seed with a temperament.

“As for you, Qin Mubai, although our identities are vastly different, I have always treated you as my good friend, not as a subordinate or servant.” Li Ke said, “Since you are a friend, then I hope you can live a better life. Leaving King Wu’s Mansion to work next to the emperor is a great thing. I support you.”

“…” Qin Mubai remained silent for a long time. He frowned and said, “Then what about you, Your Highness?”

“I’ll be fine.” Li Ke smiled and said, “Although the Crown Prince and King Wei are all focused on me, I won’t give them anything.” I’m just a concubine prince, so it’s not my turn to compete for the inheritance. All I want to do now is to be a Prince of Peace and enjoy wealth and honor. “They’ll know soon enough that I won’t pose any threat to them. Naturally, it’ll be fine.”

Qin Mubai shook her head, speechless. Li Ke’s words were true or false, but the truth was that he had never made any moves against the Crown Prince and King Wei, directly expressing his obvious ambition to seize the throne. The Crown Prince and the King of Wei were all focused on targeting him because he was too capable.

If it was a mistake to be able to do so, then Li Ke deserved to die.

However, this might not be too ironic!

“My friend, Young Master Liao, has always cherished him, and Mubai, you are one of them.” Li Ke raised his teacup and said, “Come, replace wine with tea. I’ll give you a ride. Good birds choose to live on trees. I hope that after you leave the palace, you will be able to prosper day by day!”

“Thank you, Your Highness!” Qin Mubai raised her glass and greeted him with a toast. She drank a mouthful of tea, but she felt rather uncomfortable in her heart.