Chapter 1099: Chapter 2: Emperor Wu, Big Brother Will Take You to Snatch the Bride!
This Commandery Prince position of Prince Xin has not been downgraded, because the original fief of Prince Xin was already small, just a single commandery, and he did not hold military power, merely serving as a scapegoat, akin to Lingde King.
Thus, Liu Cheng’an now inherits his father’s Commandery Prince position, as for the former Lingde King, and Prince Anning, they have passed away.
"Mr. Zhao." Liu Cheng’an greeted Zhao Xing, still addressing him as a brother, even though he is a Prince and Zhao Xing merely a Marquis.
"Brother Liu." Zhao Xing replied, "I suppose you have guessed my intentions?"
"Aware." Liu Cheng’an said as he raised the official document in his hand, "Just about to send it out."
"Thank you." Zhao Xing cupped his hands in gratitude, then proceeded directly to the highest floor of the Hundred Soldiers Tower, where he intended to meet Luo Hou King.
On the highest floor of the Hundred Soldiers Tower, Luo Hou King stood before a sand table, surrounded by towering Earth Mirrors.
"Your Highness." Zhao Xing cupped his hands in greeting.
"Has Liu Tianning not yet emerged from closed-door cultivation?" Luo Hou King inquired.
"Indeed." Since Liu Tianning entered secluded cultivation, the only person he could liaise with was Zhao Xing.
Lao Liu’s closed-door cultivation differed from Zhao Xing’s; his avatars only handled predetermined tasks and were not connected to the main self.
This was a specially designed Cherian Technique for him by Zhao Xing, where roughly every ten years, the main self would reclaim the avatars, then use the core soul to eliminate the lesser souls before releasing new avatars, akin to metabolism, achieving the purpose of retraining through this method.
"You’ve worked hard running errands for him." Luo Hou King said.
"The Princess has cared for me for over a century, and my family has resided in the Princess Mansion for over a century. Even without the teacher relationship, I would oppose it." Zhao Xing expressed his stance firmly.
"This matter is difficult." Luo Hou King sighed, "I requested an audience with His Majesty, but His Majesty’s summons is restrictive; now I can’t even meet with the Princess, Liu Tianning is still in seclusion, and many officials from the six ministries are unsure how to proceed."
Luo Hou King fundamentally did not understand Emperor Jing’s intentions, only feeling that the imperial disposition was unpredictable.
After pausing, Luo Hou King said: "I will host the first decision of the six ministries, I will oppose it, letting the matter be shelved temporarily."
"But the second decision will commence in seven days, the acting premier ’Tong Wensheng’ will certainly fully support it."
"The third decision will be hosted by Li Boqian, but he... I estimate he won’t get involved in this matter."
...
"Luo Hou King is very right, I won’t meddle in this affair." Li Boqian said leisurely, "Between Princess You Ruo and Liu Tianning, this is a personal matter."
"Being impartial and not adding insult to injury is the least I can do in fairness."
In a residence within Xuantian Academy in Dao Yuan Continent, Zhao Xing also met Li Boqian.
Zhao Xing felt helpless, the factional struggles of the Minister of Agriculture had reached its later stages; Liu Tianning in the dojo never lost a single battle, all victories were clean and decisive.
This made the internal face of the Xuantian Academy quite diminished.
Li Boqian himself had also relinquished power, with even official duties managed by several Junior Ministers of Agriculture.
He no longer handled official duties, how could he possibly get involved in royal affairs?
Li Boqian was ultimately the Grand Minister of Agriculture sent by the Heavenly Time Sect, definitely unlikely to help Liu Tianning handle such personal matters.
"If you want to marry the Princess, that would be more likely." Li Boqian chuckled: "Even if I had to crawl, I would come to uphold justice."
"What southern barbarians dare to compete with our Heavenly Time Saint Heir?"
"You can still joke at this moment." Zhao Xing sighed.
"No joke." Li Boqian suddenly sat up, laughing: "Why don’t you go and marry Princess You Ruo? I would certainly stand up and cheer for you."
"With your influence and prestige across the three sects, you would hold sway effortlessly."
Zhao Xing: "..."
Is the prestige across three sects used like this?
The old man truly becomes more humorous as time passes.
Seeing Li Boqian’s demeanor, Zhao Xing knew there was no point in further discussion.
"Please rest well, I will come visit you later."
"Come early, Yuan Feng hasn’t been taught yet." Li Boqian called out, "I can’t hold on much longer, once in the grave, learning won’t be so convenient."
"Got it!" Zhao Xing transformed into a cloud of mist and dissipated.
"Hey, truly fascinating." Li Boqian shook his palm-leaf fan, "Even an avatar can execute the Distance Technique to an extraordinary degree."
...
Li Boqian was completely indifferent to the matter, his only concern was Zhao Xing’s accomplishments.
Xuan Yuan Qingtian from Kunyuan Academy held the same attitude.
"If only Liu Tianning had proposed earlier to marry the Princess, he might have had a chance."
"But now...it’s difficult."
"Uncle Master, what do you mean?" Meng Kun assisted nearby, "Isn’t Liu Tianning superior to those barbarian bugs?"
Meng Kun harbored deep prejudices against the Southern Barbarians, primarily due to the Flame Light Royal Court.
The Babok Worm could also burrow through tunnels, wasn’t that stealing their job?
Historically, they couldn’t dig the Ancient Earth Tunnel to fight the Southern Barbarians because of the existence of these creatures.
The Babok Worm had caused them fatalities, making it impossible to dig, hence such dislike.
As long as one is a Geographical Advantage Sect Minister of Agriculture, they greatly dislike the Flame Light Royal Court.
Among the four royal courts, the Flame Light Royal Court is the most detested by the Geographical Advantage Sect Minister of Agriculture.
"I didn’t say they are unworthy." Xuan Yuan Qingtian said, "But the crux doesn’t lie on the surface."
"Not on the surface?" Meng Kun was taken aback.
"Little Kung-Kun, look deeper into the issue, dig beyond the surface soil to see how the roots intertwine."
Meng Kun’s face darkened: "Can you not call me that, I’m almost four hundred years old."
"Hahaha."
Upon hearing, Zhao Xing realized Xuan Yuan the old man was an insightful person.
But clearly, he wouldn’t dig beneath the royal family’s surface soil either.
Stuffing oneself to risk offending Emperor Jing for a private matter involving Liu Tianning?
At Xuan Yuan Qingtian’s place, Zhao Xing didn’t receive any support either. Old Xuan Yuan was nearing the end of his days, sharing a mindset with Li Boqian.
If it were Zhao Xing, he would go to any lengths to fulfill Zhao Xing’s wishes.