Chapter 294 - 184: I Want to Eat Too

Chapter 294: Chapter 184: I Want to Eat Too

Wang Dayun stammered for a moment before finally steeling himself. "I want to persuade the Eldest Princess not to send troops. This is not the right time."

Lu Changyuan said coolly, "So, you intend to defy the laws of the Daoist Sect and interfere in the affairs of the Mortal World? And not just any affairs, but the affairs of an emperor?"

"Senior... I..."

Lu Changyuan glanced at the tea set on the table, then picked up the teapot and personally poured the still-warm tea. He handed the cup to Wang Dayun. "Have a drink. Don’t be so anxious. Sending troops isn’t something that happens in an instant."

Wang Dayun looked at Lu Changyuan, took the tea, and drank it all in one gulp.

He suddenly felt a sense of calm, perhaps because the tranquility of the man before him was infectious.

Lu Changyuan said, "If you want to interfere in this matter, you can no longer practice cultivation. You would have to discard all of your Cultivation. Are you willing to do that?"

Wang Dayun was speechless.

’The logic was sound. As a Cultivator, Wang Dayun could not interfere in the Mortal World. But if he discarded his Cultivation and became a mortal, the prohibition would naturally no longer apply to him.’

’But if he were a mortal with no Cultivation, what standing would he have to persuade the Eldest Princess?’

"Besides, even if you went to persuade the Eldest Princess, do you think she would listen to you and not send her troops? Unless you threatened her with your Cultivation, I suspect that Eldest Princess wouldn’t give up."

Lu Changyuan’s words made a lump form in Wang Dayun’s throat.

But Lu Changyuan continued, "They have just defeated the Great Yue Kingdom and seized its wealth for their National Treasury. By using war to sustain war, they can likely hold out for another year or two."

Great Xia had won a great victory, after all.

"But... but... Senior, the Mortal World is already devastated."

Lu Changyuan then said, "That’s why the Eldest Princess will impose heavy taxes and corvée labor on the people of Great Yue. She might even conscript soldiers from Great Yue to mitigate the effects of continuous warfare."

Lu Changyuan had seen this pattern before; he was all too familiar with it.

"But even if you’re using war to sustain war, you still need a buffer period. If she acts this hastily, isn’t she afraid the people of Great Yue will rebel again? And then the people of my Great Xia will have to..."

Lu Changyuan cut Wang Dayun off. "Don’t forget, the people of Great Yue are people, too. In the eyes of a Cultivator, there should be no concept of nations. The Daoist Sect established its strict rules precisely to protect mortals. The Mortal World has its rules, and Cultivators have theirs."

’Without a hard and fast rule, mortals could not be protected.’

The Dragon-Seeking Pavilion Master chimed in, "In any war, regardless of who wins, it is the common folk at the bottom who suffer. The people of Great Xia, the people of Great Yue, and even the people of Great Yu. Even so, the rules cannot be broken. Not even if a Great Cultivator from the Nine Gates and Twelve Palaces came here."

Wang Dayun was rendered speechless.

In terms of age, he was but a fraction of the age of the two men before him. He hadn’t yet become one of those ancient beings who had lived for too long. Furthermore, his attainment of the Fifth Realm had been strange—he had ascended two realms in two years without experiencing the hardships of Entering the Dao that preceded the Fifth Realm. Naturally, he still retained a mortal way of thinking.

"But... but..."

For a long while, he couldn’t find the words.

Lu Changyuan said, "The more Power one has, the less one can interfere in the Mortal World. That is the rule of the Daoist Sect... Would you like another cup of tea to calm your mind?"

Wang Dayun shook his head with a bitter smile.

"Calmer now?"

Hearing Lu Changyuan’s question, Wang Dayun could only reply, "I’m still unwilling to accept it, but yes, I’ve calmed down."

Only then did Lu Changyuan say, "Just don’t be hasty."

’Cultivators did not meddle in the affairs of emperors, but if an emperor became entangled with a Foreign Race, then Lu Changyuan had to get involved.’

Lu Changyuan had never intended to interfere in the war. His goal from the very beginning had been clear: kill the member of the Owl Race, then see what Leng Xuanshuang truly wanted, how far she would go, and decide how to deal with her based on that.

As for whether Great Xia would still send troops against Great Yu after Leng Xuanshuang was punished, that was none of Lu Changyuan’s concern.

Lu Changyuan gave Wang Dayun one last look, then turned and left the Dragon-Seeking Pavilion.

The Dragon-Seeking Pavilion Master said, "Dayun, you know that Immortal Master?"

"We met once during the Celestial Dao Grand Competition at the Qingcao Sword Sect... That man is terrifying. I saw the Sword Son of the Qingcao Sword Sect acting completely deferential toward him. He might be a True Master from the Nine Gates and Twelve Palaces."

The Fifth Realm and the Sixth Realm. It sounded like a difference of only one realm, but the distance between them was indescribable, not to mention the terrifying Kai Yang Thunder Tribulation.

The Dragon-Seeking Pavilion Master could only watch Lu Changyuan’s departing figure with envy.

’He had no hope of breaking through to the Sixth Realm in this lifetime.’

Around nightfall, a knock sounded at the front door of the Dragon-Seeking Pavilion. A short while later, the Dragon-Seeking Pavilion Master saw the visitor.

The man was dressed in indigo eunuch’s robes, his face pale and beardless. He stood silently on the steps with his hands tucked into his sleeves. It was a eunuch from the palace.

"Greetings, Pavilion Master," the eunuch said. "Her Highness the Eldest Princess has issued a decree, summoning your esteemed disciple, Immortal Master Wang Dayun, to the palace."

The Dragon-Seeking Pavilion Master was slightly surprised. "Dayun has been back for less than half a day. How does the Princess already know?"

The eunuch bowed. "His return did not go unnoticed."

"Why is she looking for Dayun?"

"Pavilion Master, you’re putting this servant in a difficult position. I am merely a servant; how could I know such details? However, this servant did hear that something major seemed to have happened in the palace two hours ago."

The Dragon-Seeking Pavilion Master paused. "What happened?"

"That, this servant does not know. Only that the Eldest Princess has summoned many people. She also said that you should just rest here in the pavilion, and that things will not get out of hand."

"The Eldest Princess wants to see me?" Wang Dayun said, walking over from nearby.

The Dragon-Seeking Pavilion Master was reluctant to let Wang Dayun see the Eldest Princess, but he couldn’t stop him now. He could only hope Wang Dayun would know what he was doing.

The idea that Wang Dayun had just dismissed was somehow rekindled.

He thought.

’Even if he didn’t try to persuade the Eldest Princess to do anything, he could at least listen to what she was planning.’

"Now?"

The eunuch nodded. "Right now. Immortal Master Wang Dayun, please don’t make things difficult for this servant. Please come with me at once."

~~~~~~~~~~

「Earlier, before evening set in.」

Leng Xuanshuang was holding the Young Emperor as she reviewed that day’s memorials.

They were mostly reports about failing to collect taxes in certain regions, insect plagues in others, and some meaningless memorials simply wishing her well.

"Elder Sister, are these people all suffering terribly?"

the Young Emperor in Leng Xuanshuang’s arms asked, pointing to the memorial about the insect plague.

"Yes."

"Then is there any way to save them?"

The Young Emperor had been well-protected by Leng Xuanshuang. For now, he did not know the hardships of the world and still possessed a child’s innocent heart.

Leng Xuanshuang was silent for a long time and did not speak.

But soon, as if she had sensed something, she put down the Young Emperor, walked out of the Imperial Study in a few quick steps, and looked up at the sky.

After a long moment, she returned to the Imperial Study, a faint smile on her face.

"I have a way to end their suffering."

The Young Emperor asked, "Really?"

"Mm. Just as I have a way to deal with those disobedient uncles, and a way to make Great Yue, which bullied us, into our slaves, I naturally have a way to make life better for these suffering people."

"What is it?!"

"This matter will require your help, Cong’Er."

Leng Xuanshuang tossed aside the memorials on top and took out one from underneath.

It was a treasonous memorial. It suggested that the Eldest Princess should emulate the Holy Virtue Empress, as that was the only way to make Great Xia glorious once more.

This was not the first time she had received a memorial on this subject.

In fact, as General Shi won victory after victory on the front lines, the number of such memorials had steadily increased. On the day General Shi returned to Luoyang, a full forty-two of them had been delivered to her desk on the same day.

Previously, Leng Xuanshuang had always discarded these memorials, but a short while ago, she had begun to keep them.

"Elder Sister?"

"Cong’Er, do you find your studies tiring?"

The Young Emperor complained, "It’s so tiring! We do not want to get up every morning just to study."

Leng Xuanshuang said, "I see. In that case, you won’t have to work so hard anymore, Cong’Er."

She turned her head to the eunuch. "Summon General Shi, Scholar Wang... to see me."

After reeling off more than a dozen names, Leng Xuanshuang turned back to the Young Emperor and said, "From now on, Cong’Er, you can do whatever you want. You won’t have to be cooped up in here all day with tedious state affairs."