Imperial Cultivation

When Chu Zhiyuan returned to Listening to the Waves Pavilion for a midday rest, he lay on the couch, still contemplating how to deal with Song Tianhai before falling asleep.

He wouldn't have been angry if Song Tianhai had directly come to his door to challenge him.

But instead of directly attacking him, he targeted his younger sister, Chu Yi, involving his family, which he particularly hated, and he resolved to ruthlessly deal with Song Tianhai.

However, Song Tianhai was a Junior Duke and also a guerrilla general in the army, so figuring out how to deal with him required some thought. The imperial court had its own laws, and even a crown prince couldn't completely disregard them, doing whatever he wanted or hitting whoever he pleased.

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He had to act according to the law and stand on principle.

Directly barging into the Kang Country Duke's mansion, dragging Song Tianhai out, and giving him a beating would certainly not be prevented by anyone, nor would anyone retaliate against him, but he would be severely punished by the Emperor, at worst being confined to his residence to reflect on his actions, and at best having his merits reduced.

Canceling his opportunities to earn merit for several years would delay his cultivation, and one step behind could lead to being behind in every step, ultimately delaying his chance to enter the Grandmaster realm.

"Is there someone you care about?" Chu Zhiyuan asked. "Is there someone you have feelings for, or a woman you fancy?"

Ma Tianhe stood solemnly to the side, without saying a word, only staring at the dossiers in Chu Zhiyuan's hand, waiting for him to finish reading one before putting it into the box.

He slowly put down the dossier, and Ma Tianhe hurriedly stepped forward to take it and put it into the box, whispering, "Your Highness—?—"

Chu Zhiyuan recounted the course of events.

He faintly felt that the tone of the officials on Da Jing's side was softening, and according to this trend, they probably wouldn't be able to hold out against the officials of Da Zhen.

"The Twelfth Prince of Da Lie?" Ma Tianhe was taken aback.

The combination of the two made him suspicious.

After all, there were few such people.

Not to mention inviting eight Junior Dukes, even inviting eight Dukes, as long as they were in the capital, they would come to the banquet.

What surprised him was not the talent of the Surveillance Department, but the content of the negotiations above.

But Da Zhen proposed that two consorts be established side by side, and Chu Zhiyuan could marry two crown prince consorts, Eastern Consort and Western Consort, without distinction of seniority.

This situation was not good.

Chu Zhiyuan looked at Chu Zhiyao.

"Very good!" Chu Mingxuan clapped his hands.

Ma Tianhe didn't dare to urge him or respond.

"It's not just him, let's add us together." Chu Zhiyuan smiled, "And don't do it in the Prince's mansion, let's go to my new residence."

Another was the choice of marriage partner.

Chu Zhiyuan smiled and said, "Eighteenth Uncle, I'm telling the truth, not being sarcastic."

For such a formal banquet, it was not appropriate to send the invitation on the same day, it should be at least a day in advance.

Da Jing officials insisted that the Twenty-third Prince marry the Da Zhen princess, as a prince and princess were the most suitable match, and a crown prince and princess were always a bit lacking, unable to express the sincerity of the alliance.

"Deal with Song Tianhai?" Chu Mingxuan curled his lips, "That kid really needs to be dealt with, Third Brother has wanted to deal with him for a long time!"

Chu Zhiyuan frowned and said, "He doesn't seem like a prince,—?—" It's just a feeling, it's hard to explain clearly, intuition, I'm afraid there's something strange about him."

Chu Zhiyuan frowned, staring at the dossier in front of him.

Chu Zhiyuan said, "Does he have any weaknesses?"

Chu Zhiyuan looked at him and smiled, "Master Ma is very thoughtful,—?—By the way, that Twelfth Prince of the Da Lie delegation is a bit strange."

Chu Zhiyao hurriedly said, "Fourth Brother, how do you want to deal with him?"

"Fourth Brother, do you really want to invite him to dinner?" Chu Mingxuan asked in confusion, "That guy is extremely arrogant, even if you invite him to dinner, he may not appreciate it."

Chu Zhiyao frowned and said, "How did that guy offend you, Fourth Brother?"

They had already discussed for four rounds, and could not convince each other.

Above was the negotiation between the officials of Da Jing and Da Zhen, the conversation between them, recording who said which sentence clearly.

Chu Zhiyuan sat in a room in the Surveillance Department.

There were several points where the two sides were at a stalemate.

"Third Brother, have you been suffering losses from him all these years?" Chu Zhiyuan asked.

His eyes revealed excitement.

He was also obsessed with Xiao Ruoling, the number one beauty in Yujing.

Chu Zhiyuan said, "The day before yesterday, I went to the Sifang Pavilion and ran into him. This Twelfth Prince is not quite right."

"That new residence next to the Bright Moon Pavilion?" Chu Mingxuan asked.

There were such talented people in the Surveillance Department.

He extremely hated this brother-in-law, but he could do nothing about it, which made him feel extremely aggrieved.

Chu Zhiyuan was thoughtful, "Martial—?—"

Super-sense could sense this aura.

Among the people he had seen, only two had this photographic memory, one was Zou Fang, and the other was Huang Shirong.

Da Zhen officials insisted that Chu Zhiyuan establish the Da Zhen princess as the primary crown prince consort.

The sound of birds chirping outside the house entered his ears.

One was the number of troops on the border, the number each side retained, with Da Zhen tending to retain more troops, while Da Jing tended to retain fewer troops.

"Fourth Brother, are you really not joking?" Chu Zhitian asked in confusion.

Da Jing officials flatly opposed it.

Chu Zhiyuan's silence at this time made him feel immense pressure, like the calm before a storm, not daring to move.

Chu Mingxuan chuckled, "What else can I do besides suffer losses? Who told him to be my brother-in-law? We're family! Princes and crown princes of Da Jing, princes and crown princes of Da Zhen, even the envoys from Da Jian have this aura, only this prince from Da Lie doesn't."

Chu Zhiyuan smiled and looked at him.

Using their methods against them.

"This is good." Chu Mingxuan smiled and said, "It's a pity that there aren't many of the eight Junior Dukes in the capital, they're all in the army."

Ma Tianhe said, "Does Your Highness have any worries? Although I am foolish, I might have a helpful idea!"

He loved excitement the most, and upon hearing about such excitement, he couldn't wait to start the banquet now.

He couldn't help but admire the power of the Surveillance Department, with its wide network and talented people.

Even though Da Jing officials had stated that the Crown Prince of Qing had already been betrothed to the daughter of the Anguo Duke's mansion, and this marriage could not be broken off.

"Fourth Brother, I support you dealing with him, just don't kill him!" Chu Zhiyao snorted, "I'd love to see him suffer!"

The room was so quiet that a pin could be heard dropping.

"This is that guy's method, despicable, shameless, and insidious!" Chu Zhiyao coldly snorted, "Like a toad, he doesn't bite, but he's annoying!"

This was a gift to the Surveillance Department, considered a return for their kindness.

"What's not right about him?" Ma Tianhe perked up.

Chu Zhiyao said, "He practices his skills all day long, and is not interested in women. He rarely goes out to drink,——As for marriage, he's not engaged yet."

Fourth Brother defeated Cheng Tianfeng at the palace banquet, winning the hearts of all the royals, so he wasn't afraid that guests wouldn't come.

Chu Zhiyuan smiled and said, "Everyone must be very curious, so let's have a banquet there, invite the Junior Duke and his friends to come together, and it's best to invite the other Junior Dukes as well."

"Weaknesses——" Chu Zhiyao thought for a while, "It seems like he doesn't have any weaknesses."

"Then let's send out the invitations tomorrow, and have the banquet the night after tomorrow, how about it?"

Da Zhen officials advocated that Xiao Ruoling be established as a secondary consort, and the Da Zhen princess as the primary consort, after all, Da Zhen's consort was a princess, while Xiao Ruoling was just a daughter of a duke's mansion.

Da Jing's side had chosen the Twenty-third Prince, but Da Zhen firmly disagreed, demanding that it must be Chu Zhiyuan.

At that time, the Da Lie prince and his guards had strange expressions, obviously feeling guilty, as if they were afraid that he would discover something.

"Fourth Brother, are you not joking?" Chu Mingxuan hurriedly said.

Chu Zhiyuan's gaze had been fixed on a dossier for a long time, without moving.

Princes and crown princes, these royals, have an aura that ordinary people don't have, this aura is very faint and thin, and it's also difficult to explain clearly.

"How about this, it's better to resolve a feud than to prolong it. After all, he's your Third Brother's brother-in-law, and also a Junior Duke, so we can't create a deadly feud." Chu Zhiyuan pondered, "Why don't we invite him for a drink, to resolve this matter."

The two sides were temporarily deadlocked.

Being able to remember these words clearly not only required someone to be present, but also required amazing memory.

Establishing two consorts side by side was a specification only emperors had, an empress of the Eastern Palace and an empress of the Western Palace. As a crown prince, he could only establish one primary consort, and was not allowed to have two consorts side by side.

Chu Zhiyuan's expression became more and more solemn.

"There's absolutely no problem." Chu Mingxuan said with great interest, "Everyone wants to get close to you, but they don't have the chance."

These words startled Chu Mingxuan and the others, and they looked at each other.

But now that Xiao Ruoling had become Fourth Brother's wife, it was inappropriate to talk about her, so they avoided mentioning it directly.

If they couldn't deal with Song Tianhai's sisters, after all, they were Chu Zhiyao's crown prince consort, or the crown prince consort's sisters, then they would make a fuss about other women.

"However many there are, that's how many we'll invite, I just don't know if they'll give me face." Chu Zhiyuan smiled.

Chu Zhichuan also looked at him in confusion.

Chu Zhiyao said, "It's not like I'm always suffering losses, I can defeat him honorably, and surpass him with merit!"