HLnovel Chapter 300: A Stormy Era Begins
Chapter 300: A Stormy Era Begins
Chapter 300: Turbulent Times
Ye Pianran was pushed off the cliff by Ye Yanxun. Shocked and angry, she was in a life-or-death situation when the Lingyuan Vine automatically grew out of her body and turned into countless vines to cling to the cliff wall and slow her fall. 666 also took over her body and used the wind in the cliff to protect her body. In the end, she fell into the river at the bottom of the cliff without any danger.
Despite the help of Lingyuan Vine and 666, the current at the bottom of the cliff was swift. Ye Pianran lost consciousness as soon as she fell into the water. 666 had not yet returned to its ultimate form, so it could only use its energy to wrap Ye Pianran to prevent her from drowning and let her drift downstream with the current.
After drifting on the river for a day and a night, Ye Pianran was finally washed ashore and rescued by a nearby family. Upon waking, she first checked her spatial storage and, finding that 666 hadn't reverted to its initial form as before, and that the Spirit Abyss Vine was unharmed, she breathed a sigh of relief. Recalling Ye Yanxun pushing her off the cliff, Ye Pianran clenched her fists in hatred. After bidding farewell to the family who rescued her, she disguised herself and embarked on her journey back to the capital.
Meanwhile, during the autumn hunt in Xingzhou, Prince Yue made thorough preparations and launched a surprise attack under cover of night, catching the emperor off guard and forcing him to flee in disarray. He was extremely pleased with himself, believing victory was assured and that he was about to become emperor. But at this moment, Chunyu Jing, accompanied by Ye Yingrou, approached him.
Seeing Ye Yingrou and Chunyu Jing standing together, Prince Yue understood everything. He knew he had fallen into Chunyu Jing's trap, and his act of treason today was actually paving the way for Chunyu Jing!
However, Chunyu Jing did not kill Prince Yue. Instead, he had Ye Yingrou use a Gu poison on Prince Yue, turning him into a puppet. Afterward, Chunyu Jing pretended that he had just escaped from Qishan and returned to Xingzhou Prefecture, and volunteered to the emperor to go to the battlefield to kill the rebel leader.
The emperor was deeply moved and immediately agreed, handing the tiger tally to Chunyu Jing and ordering him to lead his troops in retaliation. With the Imperial Guards and Chunyu Yang's Xuanjia Army present, the troops led by Prince Yue were no match for them. Chunyu Jing did not need to expend much effort to defeat Prince Yue's rebel army and capture Prince Yue alive, bringing him before the emperor.
When Chunyu Yang and Chunyu Shan returned to Xingzhou Prefecture, the situation was basically under control. When they met with the emperor, the emperor was furious that they had not returned in time to provide assistance. He greatly praised Chunyu Jing and, as a matter of course, ordered Chunyu Jing to thoroughly investigate the case of Prince Yue's treason.
Chunyu Yang suppressed his anger and told the emperor about his encounter with two different groups of assassins in the mountains, and presented the emperor with the evidence representing the people of Ye Chu carried by one of the assassins.
Ye Chu's move was tantamount to declaring war on the Great Xia, enraging the emperor. He immediately ordered Chunyu Yang to lead troops north to attack Ye Chu. At the same time, he ordered Chunyu Shan to reorganize the autumn hunting party and set off back to the capital three days later.
Chunyu Jing was ordered to thoroughly investigate the case of Prince Yue's treason. As planned, he handed over the forged letter between Gongsun Zhan and Prince Yue to the emperor. Prince Yue, who was manipulated by Ye Yingrou, also admitted that he had received help from Gongsun Zhan. The emperor was furious and ordered the arrest of Gongsun Zhan.
Fortunately, Ye Pianran was prepared. Before the autumn hunt, she visited the Prime Minister's residence and discovered something strange about the woman named Zheng Yan that Gongsun Zhan had brought back. She removed the "blood puppet" from Zheng Yan's body and learned Ye Yingrou's plan from her. Only then did she understand why Gongsun Zhan had been implicated in Prince Yue's rebellion in her previous life. After discussing it with Gongsun Zhan, she decided to turn the tables on him. At the same time, she sent people to gather evidence of Prince Yue's collusion with Shi Zhenghan and followed the clues to find that Prince Yue's rebellion was backed by a Jianghu (martial arts world) force, which happened to be the Ronghua Pavilion's branch in Chenzhou.
They had hoped that if the case of Prince Yue's treason fell into Chunyu Yang's hands, he would be able to get to the bottom of it. However, Gongsun Zhan did not expect that the emperor would put Chunyu Jing in charge of the treason case, and that the Ye Chu Kingdom would provoke the Great Xia Kingdom at this time, leaving Chunyu Yang with no choice but to send troops to defend against the enemy.
Gongsun Zhan knew in his heart that Shi Zhenghan was a supporter of Chunyu Jing, and that Prince Yue's rebellion was also manipulated by Chunyu Jing. His granddaughter Ye Pianran disappeared during the autumn hunt. He could only sigh helplessly that it was fate, and perhaps this was the destiny of their Gongsun clan.
When Marquis Anshi learned of Gongsun Zhan's arrest, fearing he would be implicated, he immediately told the emperor that he had no knowledge of the matter. He and the Gongsun family had always been at odds, which angered Gongsun Zhan to the point of almost vomiting blood. He finally saw the true colors of his son-in-law and was utterly disheartened.
Chunyu Yang naturally didn't believe Gongsun Zhan was involved in Prince Yue's rebellion, but he had to immediately lead his troops north to attack Ye Chu. He could only ask Chunyu Shan to find a way to rescue Gongsun Zhan and secretly investigate the matter. Chunyu Shan admired Gongsun Zhan's character, so during the interrogation, despite the extremely unfavorable situation for Gongsun Zhan, Chunyu Shan argued forcefully and secured a glimmer of hope for him, allowing him to return to the capital and be investigated by the Dali Temple.
The emperor escorted Prince Yue and Gongsun Zhan back to the capital, but unexpectedly received terrible news on the way—while they were on their way to Xingzhou for an autumn hunt, the crown prince took the crown princess and secretly left the palace to enjoy themselves at the Lishan Palace. In a moment of carelessness, the palace caught fire, and the crown prince and the crown princess both lost their lives at the Lishan Palace.
Upon hearing this news, the emperor was so enraged that he vomited blood and fell ill.
The Crown Prince's death at the Lishan Palace was not an accident, but rather Chunyu Jing's opportunistic act. He had known all along that the Crown Prince had sent assassins to kill him during the autumn hunt; he was simply going along with it and giving the Crown Prince a great gift. Moreover, he had a perfect alibi, having accompanied the Emperor to Xingzhou for the autumn hunt, so no one suspected him.
When the emperor fell ill, Chunyu Jing acted like a dutiful son, attending to him at his bedside every day, but secretly administered a slow-acting poison to the emperor.
In addition, the emperor was carefully cared for by Consort Zhuang throughout the journey. Consort Zhuang had some spiritual spring water given to her by Ye Pianran. She mixed the spiritual spring water into the medicine and fed it to the emperor. Unexpectedly, it inadvertently neutralized the slow poison in the emperor's body, and his illness was cured quickly, preventing Chunyu Jing's conspiracy from succeeding.
Seeing the emperor getting better day by day, Chunyu Jing was furious and had no choice but to temporarily give up on poisoning the emperor to avoid arousing the emperor's suspicion.
By the time they returned to the capital, the emperor had fully recovered. Upon seeing the crown prince's body, the emperor sighed deeply, angered by his son's lack of ambition, and held a funeral for the crown prince and his wife.
The autumn hunt failed, Ye Chu openly provoked the emperor, Prince Yue plotted a rebellion, the emperor's most trusted minister was suspected of colluding with Prince Yue, and the crown prince died... One thing after another happened at the same time, leaving the emperor exhausted.
Furthermore, the court officials unanimously expressed that the current situation was fraught with uncertainty, and the former crown prince's dereliction of duty and subsequent death at the palace was a disgrace to the Great Xia Dynasty. They argued that a virtuous and capable person should be appointed as crown prince to stabilize the country and put pressure on the emperor. Among them, Chunyu Jing was the most popular choice. The emperor remained outwardly calm, but inwardly he couldn't help but harbor doubts about Chunyu Jing.
With Chunyu Shan's secret help, new doubts were discovered in the case of the Left Chancellor Gongsun Zhan and Prince Yue's treason, which seemed to be a foregone conclusion. Moreover, because Prince Yue was transferred to the Dali Temple's prison, Chunyu Jing did not have the authority to enter, and Ye Yingrou was unable to use the Gu she had planted on Prince Yue to manipulate him. This allowed the people of the Dali Temple to discover that something was wrong with Prince Yue and secretly report it to the emperor.
The emperor, recalling Prince Yue, was reminded of the Wan Ku Sect, which had wreaked havoc in the martial arts world seven years prior. Overwhelmed with fear and paranoia, he became increasingly distrustful of those around him. He even neglected Consort Zhuang, whom he had previously favored again. Aside from attending court, he spent all his time in his palace, hoping for news of victory from the border and Chunyu Yang's triumphant return.
Meanwhile, at the Anshi Marquis's residence, his two children accompanied him to Xingzhou for the autumn hunt, but only the Marquis returned. Gongsun Yuan anxiously pressed the Marquis for details about Ye Pianran and Ye Yanxun's whereabouts. The Marquis told her that Gongsun Zhan had colluded with Prince Yue and launched a rebellion during the autumn hunt. Ye Yanxun and Ye Pianran had both disappeared during the rebellion and their whereabouts were unknown.
Upon hearing the news, Gongsun Yuan fainted. When she awoke, she received a letter of divorce from Marquis Anshi. Marquis Anshi feared that Gongsun Zhan's plot to rebel with Prince Yue would implicate the Marquis's household. Disregarding their years of marital affection, he directly divorced Gongsun Yuan and ordered her to leave the Marquis's household immediately to avoid bringing shame upon it.
Gongsun Yuan was furious and utterly disappointed in Marquis Anshi. Taking advantage of Marquis Anshi's absence, he packed his valuables and left the Marquis's residence with Ye Yankang, deciding to go north to Xingzhou to find Ye Yanxun and Ye Pianran.
Upon hearing of this major incident, Ye Lingyue rushed to the Northern Martial Prince's residence. Chunyu Jingxuan, upon learning the news, arrived at the city gate to try and persuade Gongsun Yuan to stay. Gongsun Yuan declined his offer, explaining that the Gongsun family was currently in a difficult situation and the Northern Martial Prince's residence should not be implicated. Chunyu Jingxuan then suggested that Ye Yankang be left at the residence to be cared for. After careful consideration, Gongsun Yuan agreed, and then left the capital with Ye Lingyue.
On the other side, Ye Pianran, after escaping death, originally intended to return to the capital, but she inadvertently heard the news of the war between the Great Xia and Ye Chu Kingdoms in a teahouse. After thinking it over, she turned around and went to the northern frontier to find Chunyu Yang.
On the way, she ran into Ye Yanxun's classmate Tong Zhu, but Tong Zhu did not guess her identity. She got the information from Tong Zhu that he was going to join Chunyu Yang to fight in the army, so the two traveled together.
Upon arriving in the northern frontier, because Chunyu Yang was at the forefront of the war and his special status made him difficult to approach, the two had to find another way. Tong Zhu didn't mind starting as a lowly soldier, while Ye Pianran became a military doctor, practicing her Tai Su Ling Needle Technique and improving her skill proficiency while also inquiring about Chunyu Yang's whereabouts.
With the war intensifying, a large number of wounded soldiers were being sent to Ye Pianran every day. This was the first time she had faced so many patients since learning medicine from Liu Luluo. From initial confusion to becoming adept, her medical skills improved significantly. She also gained a large amount of spiritual energy and rewards from the wounded soldiers. Maxing out the soldiers' favorability also brought her many generous rewards. Her Tai Su Spirit Needle Technique, spatial level, and physician level all increased by one level, and her "666" appearance also underwent some changes.
Having a highly skilled military doctor in the army is extremely important, because it reduces casualties and allows soldiers to recover quickly. The Xia army is clearly more courageous than before, and the soldiers dare to charge forward on the battlefield, causing the Ye Chu army to flee in disarray on several occasions.
Chunyu Yang quickly noticed the change and sent people down to investigate. He learned that there was a military doctor in the army who could bring the dead back to life. For some reason, he had a sudden thought and had someone take him to the camp where the doctor was. He saw Ye Pianran busy treating the wounded. With the person he had lost and found right in front of him, he could not hide his joy and excitement. Ignoring the many wounded soldiers present, he rushed forward and hugged Ye Pianran tightly.