Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 1017 - 1017 0604 Emperor Jianwu Takes Action_1

Chapter 1017: Chapter 0604: Emperor Jianwu Takes Action_1 Chapter 1017: Chapter 0604: Emperor Jianwu Takes Action_1 Chapter 0604: Emperor Jianwu in Action

Since the Princes had issued the command, all Li Mijia and Yang Yongqi could do was to bravely move forward, never to retreat.

Yang Yongqi and the others exchanged a look, and without any verbal communication or special means of secret exchange, they quickly understood each other through their gazes alone, reaching an unspoken consensus. After all, they had been together for at least a hundred years; although they couldn’t claim to understand every action or look in its entirety, they could almost always accurately interpret each other’s intentions.

Out of them all, Yang Yongqi was the one most likely to win Zhao Shibo’s trust. Taking a step forward, he said to Zhao Shibo, “Your Highness, we mean no harm. We only wanted to ascertain what disturbed the Spirit Qi and alarmed the Prince, never expecting such a large reaction from you, nearly treating us as enemies. Why must it be like this? Let us all calm down. I will take my men and leave for now, and after you’ve calmed down, we can discuss and communicate about today’s events.”

As Yang Yongqi and Zhao Shibo were talking, Li Mijia, Ma Ruyi, and their people started to withdraw, retreating backward, including several Gold Core Realm experts from Chaoyang Palace. This action made it easy for onlookers to assume Chaoyang Palace, Huoyang Palace, and the other imperial palaces were willingly conceding in this negotiation.

Zhao Shibo secretly let out a sigh of relief, but he never dared to truly let down his guard – how could he be sure that Yang Yongqi and the others were not employing some deceitful scheme?

Zhao Shibo said to Yang Yongqi, “Commander Yang, I will certainly report today’s events to the Prince exactly as they have happened. Whether it was you or me who was right or wrong, the Prince will surely make his own judgment. I believe it won’t be long before the Prince issues a decree, which should clarify matters for us both. No matter the outcome, I hope not to damage the harmony between us. Also, please convey my regards to Emperor Chaoyang. Tell him that I am deeply sorry for any offenses caused today, and I will certainly visit to apologize later. I hope he won’t hold it against me—this junior—for today’s impropriety.”

Among the six Princes of the Eastern Capital City, Emperor Chaoyang was the most powerful and held the highest seniority. Strictly speaking, if Zhao Shibo were to address Emperor Chaoyang as “Magistrate,” it would be considered a reduction in rank for Emperor Chaoyang. However, these emperors, once retired from the throne of the Great Zhao Nation and entered the Imperial Family Secret Territory, rarely cared about such seniority. The path of cultivation is already an act against nature, and if one were to prioritize seniority in all matters, then the successors might as well not cultivate at all—which, of course, would be unacceptable to them.

Yang Yongqi nodded and then turned around to leave.

Seeing that Li Mijia had led his people to retreat half a street away, and even Yang Yongqi, renowned as the First below Nascent Soul, had left with them, all the cultivators who had been on edge guarding Jianwu Palace finally breathed a sigh of relief, their tense nerves easing at once.

In the history of the Imperial Family Secret Territory, there had never been a case where the imperial palaces fought openly with each other. Despite whatever grudges were held in secret, they all maintained superficial harmony and courtesy. Even with significant disputes, they would usually reach a mutually acceptable resolution under the mediation and supervision of other Princes.

It was like this partly because of the blood relation they all shared, being descendants of the same ancestor with the saying “bones are broken, tendons still connected,” and partly because of the competing environment within the Imperial Family Secret Territory: between the Eastern Capital City, Xidu, and Zhongdu, fierce competition existed. Now, with the competition from the cultivation forces beyond imperial control and, more importantly, challenges from the core area, it was determined that peace between the imperial palaces had been preserved for a long time.

Based on such an assessment, the cultivators headed by Zhao Shibo, who were responsible for securing Jianwu Palace’s safety, still held a degree of wishful thinking, which allowed them to dare to relax slightly at this time. However, they couldn’t have anticipated how much trouble this momentary lapse would cause them.

After turning around, Yang Yongqi gestured to Li Mijia and the others across the half street. Instantly understanding, they didn’t waste a second and began to make their moves. Surprisingly, neither Yang Yongqi nor Li Mijia was the fastest to act, but Shi Yongqing from Yonghe Palace.

Both Yang Yongqi and Li Mijia had their reservations, considering the unprecedented nature of their actions within the Imperial Family Secret Territory. Although they were deeply trusted by their Princes, they couldn’t guarantee they wouldn’t be cast aside as scapegoats in the future. Shi Yongqing, in contrast, had far fewer concerns. As the de facto consort of Emperor Yonghe and his only companion, she was deeply trusted by him. Even if she caused an uproar, she believed Emperor Yonghe would take care of it for her.

Favored and trusted by Emperor Yonghe regularly, Shi Yongqing would certainly not be lenient when it was time to act on his behalf.