Please, Young Master, Slay the Demon!
Chapter 498 - 76: Royal Younger Brother [Request for Monthly Ticket!]_1

Chapter 498: Chapter 76: Royal Younger Brother [Request for Monthly Ticket!]_1

Imperial City.

Outside the city gate, there is a tall platform with eight stone dragons carved around the column. There is a specialized sound-amplifying array on it, which could immediately transmit voices throughout Yu Capital City.

Whenever there is significant news in the imperial palace, the common people will be gathered here, and the news will be announced by palace attendants. On important festivals like Yuan Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival, the emperor himself would sometimes ascend this platform to give speeches.

This platform is also known as the "Dragon Platform".

For the disciples of the various Immortal Sects, the utmost honor they yearned for in their youth was naturally to earn a "Dragon Platform ProclaimName, Qinghong Feast".

The Dragon Platform ProclaimName refers to the winners of the Immortal Sect Conference who ascend this Dragon Platform, allowing their names to be heard by all the people of Yu Capital City, and thereby spreading across the Four Seas and Nine Continents, becoming universally known.

Qinghong Feast refers to the subsequent banquet in the palace.

In the imperial palace’s back garden, a kind of extremely rare spirit bird, called Qinghong, was raised. From ancient times until now, the number of Qinghong birds is fewer and fewer, and once nearly became extinct.

Because its meat tastes too delicious.

Legend has it that the spirit bird was raised by the immortals in the heavens, and only a single one accidentally fell into the mortal realm which led to the Qinghong bird species we have today. At present, only the group raised in the palace can be found in the world, and the numbers are also not many. Therefore, even the emperor is not allowed to eat them on normal days.

Only after the Immortal Sect Conference ends, when a few winning disciples enter the palace, can they kill a Qinghong and the emperor and these disciples will taste it together at the banquet to celebrate.

These are infinite honors granted to the winners of the Immortal Sect Conference.

In response to this, Empress Feng, a previous first prize winner, had a sharp comment while on the carriage: "What Dragon Platform ProclaimName, how boring it is, it’s like performing a monkey show with a bunch of people watching you. But that chicken indeed tastes really good, when you go to eat next time, you might as well pack one for me to take home."

Watching her comfortable posture while talking casually, Chu Liang couldn’t help but ask: "Isn’t it a banquet where the emperor and a bunch of people eat from one chicken? Isn’t it somewhat inappropriate to pack it up before the feast even starts?"

If you think about it, the emperor has been waiting for twelve years before he can taste Qinghong meat again, with several promising disciples of the Immortal Sect waiting eagerly. When the whole Qinghong is served on the table, packing it up into a bagful right away and saying my master was craving for it, fear wouldn’t be the only reaction...

"You’re right." Empress Feng smacked her lips, saying: "I’ll find a way to bring one out some other day. The way it was cooked last time was too cumbersome, I don’t know how to do it. But I feel that the meat, if roasted directly, might also be quite fragrant."

Chu Liang jerked, sensing something was amiss.

The emperor normally doesn’t allow it to be eaten, so how are you going to bring one out? And it surely wouldn’t be through proper channels, right?

"Master, please be cautious with your words." Chu Liang advised.

Geez, if you get caught stealing a chicken from the palace, what would the impact be on the next generation? There’s absolutely no need to risk it just for this.

Chatting along the way, the carriage entered the Imperial City. An imperial guard lifted the curtain to inspect it, then immediately bowed and allowed them passage.

The gates of the Imperial City opened one by one, and the carriage slowly drove into the palace, stopping in front of a side hall.

"We are here at the Night Dragon Palace. You may get off now." a familiar voice sounded from outside.

On getting off the carriage, Chu Liang saw that it was indeed Lao Santai.

"Lao Lishi." He was the first to greet him, and Lao Santai responded with a smile.

When Empress Feng got off the carriage, Lao Santai led them into the palace while whispering: "I heard there was some conflict between you two and Cheng Hu at the Regent Residence. He’s an old man in the palace and was only concerned with the safety of the imperial family. I hope Miss Feng and Warrior Chu won’t take it to heart."

"It doesn’t bother me." Empress Feng said indifferently: "After all, I’m not the one who got beaten. It would be better if he didn’t hold a grudge. Your advice would suffice."

Her tone carried a hint of threat.

"Of course he won’t." Lao Santai quickly said: "Cheng Hu asked me to deliver his apologies this time. He doesn’t bear any ill will."

Chu Liang didn’t say anything but glanced at Lao Santai, surprised by his good relationship with Cheng Hu, another high-ranking eunuch.

What he didn’t understand was, due to the overwhelming authority of Yao Dengxian who was in charge of the Dragon Feeding Supervision, among the Four Great Warriors, the other three eunuchs could only maintain their status by aligning their forces. If they show the slightest sign of discord, it’s feared that they would all become Yao Dengxian’s godsons.

In the midst of their conversation, within a few steps they arrived in front of the Night Dragon Palace, which was the place where the emperor deals with political affairs after leaving the court for the day.

The palace looked somewhat antique and seemed like it has not been renovated for a long time, indirectly reflecting the nature of the emperor.

After ascending to the throne, the present emperor has been reducing taxes and simplifying administration for several decades. Though there haven’t been many actions, at least some incidents have been avoided. As a conservative ruler, this is not a bad approach. At least before the news of the return of the Demon God was spread, the overall livelihood of the people in the Yu Dynasty was fairly good.

"Your Majesty." Standing in front of the gate of the palace, even though the main door was open and the golden folding screen inside could be seen, Lao Santai didn’t dare to enter. Instead, he called out in front of the door: "Miss Feng and Warrior Chu have arrived."

Then, a voice came from inside: "Please come in."

...

This was Chu Liang’s first time meeting the Emperor of the Yu Dynasty. He was an elderly man with a high brow and wide eyes, dressed in a bright yellow dragon robe, exuding a certain majesty.

But Chu Liang was not intimidated. The imperial power of this world was not so overwhelming. The Sect Leader of the Nine Heavens Immortal Sect considered him an equal. Disciples of the Immortal Sect had the right not to bow before the emperor, and the emperor would not use "I" in addressing them...so there were many privileges.

Chu Liang always had a relaxed and joyful conversation with Master Wen Yuan and therefore had no awe towards the emperor.

Curiously, when the Emperor saw Empress Feng, his expression became somewhat constrained; he smiled and said: "You have arrived, second aunt."

"Hmm." Empress Feng nodded, "Why did you call us here?"

"This time, the poison incident in Yu Capital City caused quite a stir, greatly affecting the palace. Thanks to Warrior Chu’s efforts, he saved many lives in the city." The emperor looked at Chu Liang appreciatively, "He is also your disciple, Empress Feng. So it is both appropriate and considerate to meet and reward him."

"There are rewards?" Empress Feng’s eyes lit up, as she promptly thanked him: "Your majesty is wise."

Master, this late courtesy of ours is quite unnecessary... Chu Liang silently thought.

The Emperor looked at Chu Liang, his eyes gentle, and laughed, "Young Chu Liang is talented, attractive, and has a reputation for his sword skills, and his character is excellent, also, he comes from a well-known Shu Mountain..."

Hmm?

Hearing this, Chu Liang suddenly felt that something was amiss.

As expected, the Emperor then spoke: "I have a daughter, who has also reached the marriageable age. She also has the Divine Fire Life, and outstanding talent even among the royals. How about arranging a marriage between them...this way we can unite our families further, what do you think?"

"Your Majesty." Chu Liang immediately responded, "This is inappropriate."

"You don’t have to refuse so hastily." The emperor continued, "My daughter is quite attractive, you would like her when you see her."

"I’m still young and it’s the time for me to strive for Shu Mountain. I’m not ready to..." Chu Liang was putting together a reason, just like Xu Ziyang would.

"Forget it." Empress Feng waved a hand, "My disciple is already engaged."

Chu Liang’s words abruptly stopped, and his face flushed red.

"Haha, is it so?" The Emperor replied: "That’s a pity, I genuinely thought it was a good match."

"Besides, I am your second aunt." Empress Feng added: "My disciple is your peer-- if he marries your daughter, wouldn’t it complicate our relations?"

"..." Chu Liang and the Emperor were silenced simultaneously, unsure of how to respond.

After a pause, the Emperor finally said: "Well, since I can’t arrange a marriage, I don’t know how to reward you. Do you want anything?"

Upon hearing this, Chu Liang’s spirit lifted.

He took a step forward and clearly stated: "Recently, Shu Mountain has been operating Red Cotton Peak, would your majesty happen to know about it? If there are rewards, I hope it can instead be a few court-run shops set up on Red Cotton Peak, to expand its scale. Can that be arranged?"

"Oh?" The Emperor was slightly surprised, this was an unexpected answer.

There are many shops catering to cultivators in Yu Capital City, among them are those run by the court. Since the court has always been in a subtle competition with Taotie City, there are no court-run shops in Taotie City...at least not openly.

So, if a few of these shops could be established on Red Cotton Peak, it would indicate the court’s endorsement of Red Cotton Peak. Regardless of the scale of the shops, its symbolic meaning would be different.

Asking for a few branches did not seem to be an excessive request. But once this precedent was set, future developments would be uncertain.

Thus, the Emperor hesitated slightly.

"Is that it?" Empress Feng suddenly asked, "Compared to a royal princess, isn’t the reward of a few shops too minuscule?"

"Master, a few shops is already quite good. What more do we need?" Chu Liang chuckled.

"Doesn’t it make His Majesty appear stingy?" Empress Feng argued, "Saving so many people in Yu Capital City, and only setting up a few shops... Maybe these shops will earn a lot of money for the court, what kind of reward is that?"

"His Majesty’s agreement to this is already quite generous." Chu Liang countered.

"Really?" Empress Feng doubted, "Could he possibly say no?"

"Hahaha..." The Emperor on the Dragon Chair involuntarily let out a bitter laugh. Looking at the master and disciple who were playfully arguing, he chuckled: "Alright, alright, how could I disagree? I will delegate the Ministry of Internal Affairs to handle this matter, and all shops located on Red Cotton Peak will be managed by Chu Liang."

After thinking for a moment, he continued: "Since we can’t form an alliance by marriage, and since we’re of the same generation, why don’t I confer the title of ’Royal Younger Brother’ upon Chu Liang, is that acceptable?"