Yun Shu stood nearby, invisible, watching the Child Emperor use his silver tongue to coax General Wang into heading toward Zhenbei Prefecture. She thought that the Child Emperor's mind was not too slow after all.
Even after she had told him that the Divine Lady was a true deity, he still dared to say such things. It showed he possessed a fair amount of courage.
Then again, the Child Emperor was likely backed into a corner with no other options. After all, whether he went to Zhenbei Prefecture or not, it was a dead end either way.
General Wang's eyes flickered. His fingers tapped lightly on the iron hilt of his saber as if weighing his options.
“Your Majesty's words do make some sense,” he said slowly. “However, the State Preceptor's order to me was to obtain the abdication decree and escort you back to the capital to live out your days in retirement. If I take it upon myself to escort you to Zhenbei Prefecture to propose marriage, and the State Preceptor lays the blame on me, I fear my head will not remain on my shoulders.”
The Child Emperor straightened his back. “General Wang, think carefully about what I just said.”
“If you truly bring my abdication decree back to the capital, the State Preceptor will inevitably install another child emperor. When that happens, the court will fall into chaos. If the northern Divine Lady takes this opportunity to lead her armies south, who will be able to stop her?”
General Wang remained unmoved. “Your Majesty, such grand affairs of state are for the State Preceptor to decide.”
The Child Emperor's heart tightened. His mother's words suddenly flashed through his mind: “You have never truly tried to fight back.”
He took a deep breath. Ignoring his disheveled appearance, he took another step forward. “General Wang, you have served the State Preceptor faithfully for so many years, but what have you gained in the end? Nothing more than the position of a fourth-rank Guard Commander, with a salary that cannot even compare to those wealthy merchant sons who bought their way into office.”
“Do you not wish to rise even higher?” His tone carried a hint of enticement. “Now that the State Preceptor's Five Minerals Powder has become a poison that everyone in the capital avoids like the plague, no one looks up to him anymore. He is nothing but a grasshopper at the end of autumn, living on borrowed time.”
“Why should you still fear the State Preceptor?”
He paused, lowering his voice even further. “General, everything the State Preceptor failed to give you, I can give you.”
“If this journey to Zhenbei Prefecture to propose to the Divine Lady succeeds, you will be the meritorious official who saved the Great Yong Dynasty. Even if you are made the State-Defending Duke of our Great Yong, no one would dare object.”
His final words rang out with powerful resolve, causing even the Marquis of Ningyuan to look up at the Child Emperor in surprise.
The cowardly young emperor of his memory actually showed a trace of undeniable sharp resolve between his brows at this moment.
General Wang fell into deep thought, casting a glance at the waves around them and the faint horizon in the distance.
This isolated island was completely cut off from the world. If he killed the Child Emperor and the Marquis of Ningyuan here, no one would ever know. However, the resulting mess would not be easy to clean up.
Once the crime of regicide was exposed, the State Preceptor would most likely throw him out as a scapegoat to appease the public's wrath.
The Child Emperor was right.
Despite following the State Preceptor for so many years, his salary was still lower than those useless fools who bought their way into court.
Since the State Preceptor treated him with such disregard,
there was no need for him to continue risking his life for the man!
With this thought,
he finally sheathed his saber and bowed with cupped hands. “Since Your Majesty possesses such ambition, I am willing to take this gamble. However, if we arrive in Zhenbei Prefecture and the Divine Lady refuses Your Majesty's proposal, Your Majesty should know what the consequences will be.”
The Child Emperor's heart tightened, and his legs nearly gave out, but he maintained his composure, refusing to show any weakness.
General Wang said no more. Turning around, he waved his hand and shouted orders to the soldiers scattered along the shore.
“Get our ship ready! Check the masts and rigging thoroughly. Make sure nothing goes wrong at sea!”
The soldiers immediately went to work.
Before long, the ship was ready.
As they boarded the ship, the Child Emperor could not help but look back once more at the isolated island that had trapped him for several months.
The sea breeze carried a salty, fishy scent as it whipped against his face.
In a daze, he seemed to hear his mother's voice whispering in his ear once more, “A'yue, go.”
Clenching his fists, he turned and stepped onto the deck.
Once everyone was on board, General Wang stood at the bow, waved his hand at the men behind him, and shouted with a voice like a booming bell.
“Set sail! Head north to Zhenbei Prefecture!”
The moment the ship left the island, a large wave surged forward, crashing heavily against the hull and kicking up white sea foam.
Yun Shu stood on a reef, watching the massive ship drift further and further away into the distance. She said to the little fox, “System, go tell Xiao Lan to return to the ocean floor. It shouldn't come up for the next few days.”
Although the little fox did not understand why Yun Shu wanted this, it obediently did as told without asking any questions.
General Wang took the helm himself, pushing the ship to its maximum speed, clearly eager to reach Zhenbei Prefecture as quickly as possible.
Inside the cabin, the Child Emperor sat with the Marquis of Ningyuan and his daughter. They were wrapped in dry outer robes taken from the soldiers, and aside from their pale complexions, they were otherwise unharmed.
Watching the retreating waves through the window, the Child Emperor suddenly remembered something. He jumped up and stumbled out to the bow.
“General Wang, we cannot go forward! We must take a detour!”
General Wang was studying the sea chart. Hearing this, he frowned and turned to look at the Child Emperor. “Why does Your Majesty say that?”
The Child Emperor's face grew even paler as he pointed at the endless blue sea ahead. “The reason I was trapped on that isolated island was because I encountered a giant fish in the waters ahead, the legendary Kun. It was the one that capsized my ship!”
General Wang's expression darkened, clearly not believing a word.
“Your Majesty, could you have some other scheme in mind? Are you trying to stall for time, waiting for someone to rescue you?”
The Child Emperor said urgently, “I have no such intention! The matter of the giant sea beast is by no means a baseless rumor...”
“Your Majesty!” General Wang interrupted, his tone laced with impatience. “When I came to the island, I took this exact route and never saw any giant fish. If you have nothing else to do, please return to the cabin and rest instead of interfering with our journey.”
“Gen... General Wang...”
The Child Emperor wanted to say more, but General Wang had already waved his hand, signaling two soldiers to carry him back to the cabin. He also ordered them not to let him out again.
Returned to the cabin, the Child Emperor was filled with restless anxiety.
However, a day and a night passed.
The sea remained as calm as a mirror. As the sun sank below the horizon, bathing the sky in twilight, not even a slightly larger fish leaped from the water.
Standing at the bow, General Wang stared coldly at the tranquil sea ahead. He then glanced back at the tightly shut cabin door and let out a cold snort.
“What Kun? It was clearly just a trick born of his fear of death.”
Turning to his deputy general, he said, “This emperor looks weak and helpless, but he has quite a few tricks up his sleeve. Go and drug him now. Make sure he cannot run away.”
Seeing this, the little fox, who had been monitoring the ship's movements, quickly alerted Yun Shu, who was currently browsing the prize pool.
“Host, General Wang is planning to drug the Child Emperor. Should we find a way to stop him?”
“No need to interfere. Let him administer the drug. Just keep an eye on things and make sure the Child Emperor doesn't get poisoned to death.”
Yun Shu continued drawing from the prize pool.
The crime of desecrating a deity was too severe. However, if the Child Emperor and his companions were poisoned and brought to Zhenbei Prefecture against their will, she would have the room to maneuver and let them off lightly.
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