Chapter 78: Chapter 72: The General Exiled, Bandit Uprising, Headless Buddha Meets Young Nun, Riding Alone to the Autumn Exam

Li Xuan pondered for a moment.

He had previously received information from Cao Shuda and Liu Yingyi, knowing that within the court, the Prime Minister and the Grand General were the two main factions.

This time, through Liu Baiqing, he saw more and more clearly.

The Grand General had more soldiers, while the Prime Minister had more Secret Martial Artists.

The Grand General was abroad but valued by the Sovereign, whereas the Prime Minister held control over the Sovereign from within.

Thus, to say that the Prime Minister was a "traitor using the Sovereign to command ministers" would not be an exaggeration.

And it was obvious that the Grand General’s side was in a weaker position, as could be seen from Liu Baiqing’s demotion.

The Sovereign obviously did not want Liu Baiqing to go to the Hundred Flowers Mansion, yet reluctantly agreed.

Liu Baiqing, seeing him silent, suddenly said sternly, "To serve the king, what is there to hesitate about?!"

Li Xuan raised his eyes, his gaze clear and unyielding as he looked at the elderly man with a beard and hair all standing on end, and said, "I want to see with my own eyes."

The usually amiable Liu Baiqing seemed enraged, raising his hand to heavily slap the stone and angrily said, "Absurd! A courtier should be loyal and should not be double-minded!"

The air quieted down.

"Go go go go go!!"

Liu Baiqing angrily pushed Li Xuan out.

To face a lifetime of conviction, the hesitation of this young man was simply an insult.

After pushing Li Xuan out of the house, the old man sat heavily on a stone bench, patting the stone table, and sighed deeply.

...

...

Outside the door.

A petite maid in purple was trying to reach the willow twigs on tiptoe.

The willow branches drooped with tender green strands, swaying in the spring breeze.

The little maid tightened her embroidered shoes, her hand like a cat’s paw drawing small arcs in the air, only able to barely touch the lowest slender willow leaves with her fingertips.

Hearing the cursing sounds from the mansion and seeing the young master being sent out, she stopped her actions, just about to say something, but saw the young master already in front of her.

Li Xuan patted Rose’s head and said, "If you jump now, you won’t grow taller."

Rose said coquettishly, "Young master, you are annoying."

Li Xuan said, "Indeed, if not annoying, would I be chased out?"

Rose stamped her feet angrily and said, "It’s really infuriating, what’s wrong with this Prefect."

Li Xuan said, "Let’s go."

The reason was very simple.

In terms of emotion, he could not be loyal to any Sovereign.

In terms of reason, he could not take sides with a weaker party when the situation was unclear.

Regarding himself, he was even less willing to be involved in turmoil, unless... the benefits were substantial and he had completed a risk assessment.

Should he still take the imperial examinations?

Of course, he should.

If he did not, how could he leave the Hundred Flowers Mansion?

Liu Baiqing was a good official, a good general, and an old man with personal charm, but unfortunately... in his eyes, there was only the Sovereign.

The history of his previous life told Li Xuan: whichever side mastered the more advanced power would be the protagonist of the future. Although this subversion involved pain, the dissemination of advanced power would ultimately promote the overall progress of the group.

So, if he had to choose between the Prime Minister and the Sovereign.

He would choose the Prime Minister.

Because the Prime Minister had already begun nurturing Secret Martial Artists, while the Sovereign could not even control his own soldiers.

Mm... to put it bluntly, he was actually greedy for the Prime Minister.

He was greedy for the Prime Minister’s "simplified Bone Marrow Cleansing Pill formula that could alter innate talent", greedy for the Prime Minister’s comprehensive Secret Martial Arts system, greedy for the secrets the Prime Minister held; knowing... that his current understanding of the Prime Minister was just the tip of the iceberg, who knows how many treasures the Prime Minister still had.

He was greedy.

Thus, he was a bit tempted, wanting to become the Prime Minister’s disciple.

...

...

Cyan Wood Province.

To the east.

A few miles off the coastline, there was a great headless Buddha, still attended by incense offerings.

A beautiful young girl in a light green dress knelt devoutly in front of the Buddha.

This Buddha was not the headless Buddha, but the Buddha of Xinci Temple.

"Miss, have you decided?"

An old nun in a kasaya stood under the dignified Buddha, making a final inquiry.

The young girl lowered her eyes.

In her mind, memories flashed by like a lantern show.

She originally had an engagement but was suddenly hit by a plague, her father died of illness, and her mother took her into the mansion of her eldest brother in the State City.

Her eldest brother was kind, but the situation was pressing, without a place of her own, how could there be freedom?

She refused the new marriage proposal and broke ties with her family, finding herself with nowhere to go, her heart feeling like dead ashes.

Since there was no home.

Then... she would become a nun.

The memories in her mind suddenly burned away, turning entirely to ashes.

Cao Yi raised her eyes and said, "Please shave my head, revered master."

"Amitabha," the old nun chanted, "all conditioned phenomena are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows, like dew and lightning... since you are becoming a nun, you will bear the prefix ’Jing’; hence, your dharma name will be — Jing Miao."

Three thousand strands of blue silk fell with just a stroke of the razor.

Cao Yi’s eyes grew ever more serene.

It was merely a world with one less infatuated lover, under the ancient Buddha and green lamp there was one more person chanting scriptures.

...

...

Speaking in two parts.

Li Xuan finally left the Hundred Flowers Mansion.

Before leaving, he went to the Canal Gang again for a look.

The result was: no elixir fish, no treasure fish, and the upper and lower streams of the Hundred Flowers Mansion were all the same.

Zhang Fanyang gritted his teeth and promised that next time he would go to a deeper, more dangerous water region to have a look.

Afterwards, Li Xuan returned to Xiongshan County, spent a sweet month with his wife, then packed his books, with Rose driving the carriage, leaving via the west gate of Xiongshan County, turning southeast, heading straight for Cyan Wood Province to participate in the autumn examination in August.

For ordinary people, along the way, there were bandits, bloodthirsty and murderous, making the road difficult to travel.

However, all these bandits... were relocated early before Eldest Young Master Li’s departure, sent north to attack a city.

Thus, Eldest Young Master Li’s journey was exceptionally smooth and unobstructed.

...

...

Note: Once serialized, the word count needs to be expanded, and writing back and forth, it couldn’t be split into two Chapters, because two Chapters needed to consider the middle break, so it was better to finish it as one big Chapter.

The word count is about 8000 words.

Old readers should all know this...