These remarks of Xia Yu almost made Jun Lan Xin faint from anger. âYou!â She pointed at Xia Yu. Her fingers trembled slightly, âYou donât deserve to be Dong Luâs citizen!â
âImperial grandmother, donât get angry!â Xia Zheng quickly poured tea for Jun Lan Xin and gave her another round of shoulder massages. This made Jun Lan Zinâs anger calm down, âSince you all want the throne, but have no way to convince the other, then hand this matter over to heaven!â
Jun Lan Xin had no way to deal with these few imperial grandsons. She could only let people bring five tortoiseshells with pennies in them and put them in front of everyone. âThe one who could divine the greatest luck using the divine trigram is the new emperor of Dong Lu and can also lead everyone to defeat Bei Zhou and restore the glory of before!â
The so-called greatest luck is all the five copper coins in the tortoiseshell land on the âYangâ side. The recommendation of the empress dowager got the five princesâ agreement. Since no one could convince the other, then give the choice of destiny to God.
âKuang, kuang, kuang...,â Eldest prince Xia Qi rocked the tortoiseshell first. âHualala....,â sounded. The three of the five coins on the ground were positive, two were negative and this led to a sigh. The next one was Xia Yu. One positive and four negative. Third eldest brother got four positive and one negative.
When it was fourth brotherâs turn, he closed his eyes and prayed for a long time. Then, he finally blew in the tortoiseshell. âKuangdang....,â five positive copper coins appeared on the ground.
âHow could this be? Why was it like this?â
The result of Xia Zhengâs divination let the princes and the officials debate. Some, who were licking the boots, immediately kowtowed and shouted long live for ten thousand years.
âThis, this is impossible!â As soon as Xia Qiâs hands was about to touch the copper coin, Jun Lan Xin shouted, âDo you want to go against godâs wishes? Or is it that you want to suffer the wrath of heaven?â
Jun Lan Xinâs words successfully scared Xia Qi. A mortalâs heart revered the gods. Besides, theyâd already agreed that the one who could divine such a result would be the new emperor. Now, even if the other princes were not willing, they could only drop this matter.
With Xia Zhengâs greatest luck, fifth prince hadnât divined yet, but he was already ignored by the others. The original problem about the new emperor had been tangled for so long and was now solved by a small divination. Although the other princes were unwilling but just now, everyone had recognized this approach. Now, Xia Zheng had really divined the greatest luck. If they oppose and by chance, they angered the gods, then it would be troublesome.
Just at this moment, a âSir Duyi has arrived!â spread over.
The one who came was a man about thirty years old. He was dressed in black and had a dark aura around him. The moment Duyi arrived, he first smilingly congratulated Xia Zheng, âCongratulations Your Majesty! Congratulations Your Majesty!â
âSir Duyi!â Xia Zheng grinned from ear to ear. âThank you, thank you!â
The two talked politely for quite a while, making Xia Qi unable to look at it any longer, âSir Duyi, may I ask when will the reinforcement of Penglai Island arrive? It has been so long, why hasnât there been any news?â
âI came to talk about this! Iâve just received a letter from Penglai Island. Master had sent one hundred supreme disciples of Penglai Island and theyâve already embarked on the boat. Soon, they will reach Dong Lu.â
Duyiâs words let the hearts of the people, who had been worried about the demise of Dong Lu, settle down a bit.
âRight, ah?! Right, ah?! With Penglai Island stepping in, we will certainly beat that Feng Cang and let him be gone forever!â
âRight, right, right! Every one of Penglai Islandâs disciples is a master at martial arts. They could simply take Feng Cangâs head at the battle. By then, even if didnât want to retreat, they would have to retreat!â
âYes! Before, it was said that Bei Zhouâs regent Long Ao Tian would go to battle. I thought that a new character had appeared. I didnât think that it was Feng Cang. Although Feng Cang is a young god of war, but behind our Dong Lu is Penglai Island! Penglai Island is not something Feng Cang can afford to provoke!â
A storm about succession was calmed down by just five copper coins.
Although Feng Cangâs army was approaching, but the people of Yuchuâs palace didnât seem to be aware of the imminent danger. Everyone pinned their hopes on the hundred Penglai Islandâs disciples Duyi talked about.
Because of the war and the lack of time, the ascension of the new emperor of Dong Lu wasnât as lively as in the past. But even so, it was extravagant. In the morning, Xia Zheng received the officialsâ worshipping and also issued the first edict after the ascension. It was to make the other four princes become wangye,1 built residences for them in the capital and ordered that they could not leave the capital without permission.
Xia Zheng being like this attracted the anger of the four princes, âHim doing this, isnât it like holding us captive?â
However, Xia Zheng had long known that his brothers wouldnât readily accept this request. He didnât wait for them to resist and let people forcibly imprison them.
âSir Duyi, thank you for giving zhen2 advice. Zhen salutes you with a cup of wine!â
Inside the harem, Xia Zheng, whoâs wearing the dragon robe, was beaming. Duyi also laughingly took the cup of wine and drank it in one shot, âWasnât this because Your Majesty is the true son of heaven?!â
Hearing Duyi say that, Xia Zheng took out the previous tortoiseshell and poured the coins out. âNo one would believe that the two sides of these coins are the same. If it wasnât because sir Duyi came up with the plan to use divination to determine the heir to the throne, zhen wouldnât have this day! So, zhen still needs to toast with you!â
The two drank a whole earthen jar. When Xia Zheng was drunk, Duyi let people escort Xia Zheng to his chambers to rest. He went to empress dowager Jun Lan Xinâs palace.
âDuyi, how is it? Do Penglai Island intend to help us?â
âNo.â He changed his relaxed expression of before. Duyiâs face turned gloomy. âNow, master is in seclusion. Without eldest seniorâs order, no one would listen to me.â
When mentioning eldest senior Misha, Duyi felt endless resentment. Obviously, he was older than Misha, but he had to call Misha eldest senior. Also, master gave Misha the power when he went into seclusion. This was obviously being biased!
Earlier, Misha had rushed to Bei Zhou. Although Duyi didnât know why he went to Bei Zhou in such a hurry, but he (D) grabbed the chance. He imprisoned all those disciples in Dong Lu who were biased to Misha.
Now, the imperial family of Dong Lu only recognized him Duyi. This let the gratification in his heart expand eagerly. However, after that, Bei Zhou invaded. Feng Cang led the eagle troop and took up two thirds of the city with irresistible force. Everyone in Dong Lu wanted him to ask for help from Penglai Island. This forced Duyi back to his original place.
âWhat? Why is it like this? Where is Misha? Did you find him?â The moment she heard that Penglai Island didnât send people to help, Jun Lan Xin got anxious. âThen all the things you had said before were lies? Why did you lie to everyone?â
âEmpress dowager!â Duyiâs face was gloomy. âWasnât I afraid to let the popular sentiment be in disorder?! If I say that no one from Penglai Island would be coming as reinforcement, then wouldnât the whole capital been in a mess a long time ago?! My eldest senior went to Bei Zhou and I donât know if heâs dead or alive...â
âOh god!â After listening to Duyi, Jun Lan Xin felt dizzy. âCould it be that the heavens want to let my Dong Lu perish?!â
âEmpress dowager, I already let people go find eldest senior and I also let people go to Penglai Island. Donât worry, nothing will happen!â
Although he was saying that, but in fact, Duyi told people to kill Misha without pardon when they find him. He had been pushed around for so long by Misha. Finally, he had found the chance to blow off the steam; how could he let Misha appear and take away his limelight?!
âNothing will happen?! When you let the emperor mobilize the army, you also said that, but what was the result? In the end, the emperor died. The general also died. Now, Dong Lu is about to perish. You still say nothing will happen? How can you let me be assured?! If by chance Dong Lu perishes, when I die, how will I go face Dong Luâs ancestors?!â
Jun Lan Xinâs noisiness made Duyi annoyed. He went forward and covered her mouth, âEmpress dowager, is it that you want this thing to get out, let everyone know that Penglai Island wonât help, let the court be at unrest and let the capital become a mess? You want to die, but I donât want to die! Thereâs nothing to be afraid about that Long Ao Tian. Give me twenty thousand people. I will personally lead the soldiers!â
Only when Duyi said that did Jun Lan Xinâs heart calm down. Anyhow, Duyi was Penglai Islandâs second disciple. No matter what, he is also capable! In only a moment, Jun Lan Xin agreed to Duyiâs request and gave him twenty thousand of Dong Luâs elite soldiers.
âMaster Duyi, zhen awaits you good news!â
Duyi departed with the army. Xia Zheng personally sent him off. After drinking Xia Zhengâs wine, Duyi smashed the cup on the ground. The whip pointed to the west, âDepart!â A mighty twenty thousand people and horses followed Duyi to the northwest.
After Duyi travelled seven days on the road, two people arrived at Yuchu palaceâs entrance. The woman carried a pale faced man on her back. âGo, tell your emperor that Penglai Islandâs grand disciple ask for an audience!â
The soldier was only a small character. He had never heard about the name Misha. However, the loud name âPenglai Islandâ made it so that he couldnât ignore it. He immediately went in to inform.
Not a while later, someone came to meet them. When Xia Xue carrying Misha appeared, the twoâs sorry figures made Jun Lan Xin and Xia Zheng startled for a moment.
âIâm hungry. Give me some food first. Also, I want clean clothes and a place to wash myself.â Misha sat on the chair with a look full of fatigue. Not waiting for Xia Zheng to open his mouth, Misha ordered first.
The feeling of being ordered seemed very bad and also very uncomfortable. However, because Misha was Penglai Islandâs grand disciple and there were a lot of things that needed Penglai Islandâs help, Xia Zheng didnât express his emotions. Instead, he let the palace servants go prepare.
âCome, quickly get everything ready for sir Misha! Quickly, quickly!â
âI also need a wheelchair. My wheelchair got broken.â
âYes, yes! Quickly go get a wheelchair!â
After taking a bath and being satiated, Misha got into his new wheelchair, âI will sleep first. Before I wake up, sort out all the information about the front. I will look at it when I wake up.â
Misha âblatantlyâ went to rest, leaving Xia Zheng, whose face was full of gloominess.
âImperial grandmother, would he really do well? Looking at his appearance, could he be a swindler?â The moment Misha left, Xia Zheng complained to Jun Lan Xin. Seeing her grandsonâs face full of grievances, Jun Lan Xin laughed.
âEmperor, heâs indeed Misha. Donât look at his paralyzed legs. Heâs very tremendous! Now, with Misha, aijia3 really doesnât have to worry and can sleep with a peaceful mind.â
Jun Lan Xin, who had been alarmed and frightened by Duyi, after Mishaâs arrival, she was finally relieved. With Misha here, as long as he writes a letter to Penglai Island, Penglai Island would certainly come help them!
Of course, Xia Zheng didnât know that Duyi couldnât invite Penglai Islandâs disciples. Now, after seeing Jun Lan Xin speak for Misha, Xia Zheng was a bit dissatisfied, but he didnât say anything. He only smilingly let people escort Jun Lan Xin back to the palace and waited for Misha to wake up before making a decision.
After Jun Lan Xin left, Xia Zheng kicked the stool in front of him. âHumph! What kind of thing does he think he is? He actually dared to command zhen! Who does he think he is?! Bastard...â
âIf it wasnât for the sake of the overall situation, zhen wouldâve long dragged off this cocky bastard and cut off his head!â
Of course, Xia Zheng could only say these complaints behind his (M) back. The enemy was in front. He could only ask help from Penglai Island.
When Misha woke up, it was already night. After reading all the conditions of the war, Misha said, âNot good!â
Hearing this, Xia Zheng frowned, âSir Misha, what do you mean by ânot goodâ?â
âI mean, Iâm afraid Duyiâs twenty thousand men would be gone forever!â
âThis is unlikely...,â Xia Zheng frowned. âNo matter what, sir Duyi is Penglai Islandâs second disciple. Zhen believes in his ability....â
Xia Zheng didnât finish speaking, when someone hurriedly came forward and handed Xia Zheng the battle report of the front.
âKuang...â After reading the contents of the report, Xia Zhengâs hands became unstable. The battle report fell onto the ground. âLet me see!â Misha reached out. Xia Xue handed the battle report to Misha.
The content of the battle report made Mishaâs words came true. Duyi was indeed defeated. His head was severed before the army by Feng Cang.
âHim again!â Seeing Feng Cangâs name, Misha clenched his fist. The injured left eye began to hurt. Sure enough, this man had some ability. Misha somewhat knew the ability of Duyi. The two armies had fought. Duyi had actually lost to Feng Cang within a hundred strokes. This Feng Cang is really too powerful!
âWhat to do, ah? What to do?!â Xia Zeng cried in panic. âHeâs coming! Heâs approaching the capital! Zhen doesnât want to die, zhen doesnât want to die!â Xia Zheng kept repeating. He also panicked.
âNo! Servants, servants!â
âEmperor, whatâs the matter?â
âPack up things. Weâll go to the south. Quickly let people pack things up and go to the south!â
Xia Zhengâs action undoubtedly was to abandon the capital and flee. He hadnât competed with Feng Cang yet, but already wanted to give up the capital. Xia Zheng was probably the first emperor of Dong Luâs history who was a deserter.
âYour Majesty, you canât leave!â
Mishaâs words came from behind Xia Zheng. âYouâre an emperor of a country. How can you leave Yuchu at this moment and abandon the capital?! The soldiers at the frontline are striving and fighting at close quarters. You doing this, wouldnât this make people be bitterly disappointed?â
âEnough!â
Mishaâs words irritated Xia Zheng completely, âWhat do you know? Youâre here talking about some nonsense, you can! Because if Bei Zhouâs people captured you, they wouldnât do anything to you! But what about zhen? If by chance, zhen falls in their hands, then it would be like living is more painful than death!â
âRight, I should also âthankâ you Penglai Islandâs people. If it wasnât because of Duyiâs instigation, zhenâs imperial father wouldnât have lost his mind and go fight Bei Zhou! Now, itâs great. Something bad happened and I donât see your Penglai Islandâs people coming to help! Now, youâre criticizing zhen. What qualifications do you have?!â
âHey, what are you talking about?!â Seeing Xia Zhengâs attitude towards Misha was so bad, Xia Xue was very angry. Her hands were on the hilt of her sword. She looked coldly at Xia Zheng. âIf you have the guts, say it once again!â
âIf zhen say it, what can you do to zhen? Could it be that you want to kill zhen?â
Xia Zheng looked sinisterly at Xia Xue, âZhen remembered now. When Duyi instigated for imperial father to mobilize the army, you, Misha went to Bei Zhou. It couldnât be that you and Bei Zhou ganged up against our Dong Lu, right?! Right, it must be like this! You two operated separately. One let us mobilize the army and fight Bei Zhou. The other made a pact with Bei Zhou. The motive is to topple our Dong Lu!â
Talking till here, Xia Zheng suddenly ârealizedâ. He pushed everything that had happened to Dong Lu onto Misha, Bei Zhu and Penglai island. âZhen served you with good meat and wine. It turns out that youâre the culprit behind the scenes! Servants, capture them for zhen!â
âStop!â Just when Xia Zheng commanded people to arrest Misha and Xia Xue, Jun Lan Xin rushed over. âEmperor, what are you doing?!â
âImperial grandmother, zhen feels that everything that has happened to Dong Lu is their fault!â Xia Zheng pointed at Misha, âZhen feels that this is Penglai Islandâs plot!â
âEnough!â Seeing Xia Zheng being so ignorant, Jun Lan Xin got a headache because of anger, âEmperor, what time is it? Donât make any more scenes! If we still have an internal strife in front of the enemy and let Bei Zhou know, then wouldnât it be a joke on us?â
Jun Lan Xin was now the grand empress dowager. She also had some prestige at court. Xia Zheng had just ascended the throne. On a lot of things, he still need to depend on this imperial grandmother. So, now that Jun Lan Xin spoke, Xia Zheng endured this and didnât talk back. âAnyway, no matter what, zhen has to leave Yuchu! Itâs no longer safe here. Zhen doesnât want to become a destroyed countryâs emperor!â
Jun Lan Xin couldnât oppose Xia Zhengâs decision. Seeing that the new heir of Dong Lu was like this, Misha couldnât help but sneer.
He had rushed all the way here and arrived covered in dust. Originally, he wanted to reverse the situation. He didnât expect that Xia Zheng was actually such a bastard. He had seen the battle report. This Feng Cang was determined to win Dong Lu. However, with only his (M) strength, itâs impossible to reverse the situation. Moreover, he was confronted with such a muddle-headed emperor. It would be more difficult to win Feng Cang and to drive Bei Zhou out. Besides, he also didnât want to help Xia Zheng.
Thinking till here, Misha opened his mouth slowly, âAfter I studied the battle report, I discovered that Bei Zhou had pulled their battle line very long. If Feng Cang continues to go forward in such a hurry, the battle line would become elongated and it would be difficult to supply the army provision, the ones who would suffer would be them.â
âContinue!â Jun Lan Xin quickly told Xia Zheng to be quiet and listen to Mishaâs opinion.
âThe one who provides the army provision for Bei Zhou is princess Zhen Guo Feng Qi Qi. Everyone in Bei Zhou knows that princess Zhen Guo and the regent are a couple. Now, Feng Qi Qi is at Min province. We can send a cavalry to Min province. Firstly, we can burn the army provision and leave Feng Cang without a thing to rely on; secondly, we can capture Feng Qi Qi and use her to threaten Feng Cang!â
âCapture Feng Qi Qi to threaten Feng Cang? Do you think Feng Cang is stupid? Give up the country for a woman? If it was you, would you be willing?â Xia Zheng disdained Mishaâs proposal very much.
1. Wang/wangye: first-rank prince
2. Zhen: I, used by the emperor
3. Aijia: I, used by an empress dowager