Chapter 114: The Wuwei Command

Chapter 114: The Wuwei Command Token

Wu Songran raised her proud head, casting a cold gaze at the guards whose faces had turned ash-gray. The guards, who had been so arrogant only moments ago, were now completely deflated, daring not to meet the eyes of Wu Songran or Wu Hong.

Although the Great Qian Dynasty had been established not long ago, the Imperial Palace was a relic passed down from the previous dynasty, bearing a long and storied history. After several renovations, it appeared remarkably rustic; while it lacked a certain modern opulence, it was permeated with an ancient and majestic aura. Each building within the palace complex soared over a hundred meters high, making anyone standing at their base feel as insignificant as an ant.

Passing through the outer palace gates, traversing long corridors, and crossing clusters of grand halls, Eunuch Li led Wu Hong and Wu Songran to an expansive open space. This area served as the military training ground within the palace, a place where the Imperial Guard and numerous palace sentries held drills. At the center of the training ground stood a massive platform, vast enough to accommodate tens of thousands of people.

On the high terrace of the training ground, rows of stone steps stretched upward. Emperor Yangwei sat calmly on the imperial throne at the very summit. On either side of the steps, civil and military officials stood in solemn formation. Below the sparring platform, tens of thousands of Imperial Guards in shining armor and silver helmets stood in high spirits, their eyes sharp and vigilant, ready to deliver a fatal blow should any incident occur.

Below the high terrace stood dozens of individuals in strange attire—some scantily clad, others in armor—yet all possessed piercing gazes, showing little respect for Emperor Yangwei above.

"The eldest young master of the Wuwei Prince’s Mansion, Wu Hong, has arrived!" the eunuch in charge of announcements proclaimed, his voice drawn out, melodious, and long-reaching, carrying clearly to the ears of all the officials and soldiers present. It was evident that this minor eunuch possessed remarkable internal strength.

Wu Hong, calm and composed, led Wu Songran through the narrow path between the rows of soldiers until they stood directly beneath the steps where Emperor Yangwei sat. He did not kneel.

"Audacious, Wu Hong! How dare you refuse to kneel before His Majesty? Do you know this is treason?" the Minister of Rites shouted, darting out from among the civil officials.

Wu Hong ignored him, instead drawing a token from his pocket and holding it up for all to see.

Every civil and military official of the Great Qian Dynasty gasped in unison. Even Emperor Yangwei was startled, nearly rising from his throne.

"How is this possible? Wu Hong actually possesses the Wuwei Prince’s token! How can this be? Could it be that the Prince of Wuwei intended to pass the title to Wu Hong all along?"

Wu Hong’s sudden action surprised even Wu Songran. Though she was inseparable from him, she had no idea where he had obtained this token.

The numerous officials began to whisper, casting aside all decorum and dignity. Even some of the guards on the training ground began to murmur, their eyes flickering with a fanatical light. Some of the military generals, who had previously looked down on Wu Hong—viewing him as nothing more than a useless wastrel of the Wuwei Prince’s Mansion, burdened with the reputation of a fugitive accused of murdering his own father—now felt differently. The token in Wu Hong’s hand did not merely represent the Prince of Wuwei; it represented the inheritance of all his power and authority.

In other words, the token in Wu Hong’s hand meant that he was now the new Prince of Wuwei.

In the past, the Prince of Wuwei had been almost equal in status to Emperor Yangwei. He never knelt before the Emperor at court, and he commanded more than half of the Great Qian Dynasty's military forces; his power was even greater than that of the Emperor himself. Had the Prince of Wuwei desired to rebel, the Great Qian Dynasty’s rule would likely have been extinguished in an instant. This was why the Prince of Wuwei had become the target of Emperor Yangwei’s schemes—a conspiracy involving women and the inheritance of the title that had eventually dismantled the Prince’s influence.

Emperor Yangwei had come close to total success. He had planted his own women by the Prince’s side to monitor everything, and had used the pretense of righteousness to place his own children near the Prince to await the struggle for succession. They had framed Wu Hong and meticulously planned for over a decade. Yet, by a stroke of fate, the Prince of Wuwei had reached the Innate Realm after being poisoned.

Everything seemed to favor the success of Emperor Yangwei’s plot, but man proposes and God disposes. Wu Hong had survived, forged his own path through the pugilistic world, grown strong, and returned to the capital.

Recently, Wu Hong had felt that his rash intrusion into the palace lacked a legitimate claim. Suddenly, he recalled a conversation with the Prince of Wuwei, who had mentioned a vital object hidden twenty meters beneath the floor of his room. How could the "wastrel" Wu Hong of that time have ever retrieved such a thing?

It was not until a few nights ago that Wu Hong remembered his father’s words. After channeling his internal energy dozens of meters into the ground, he had indeed sensed a familiar energy fluctuation—the very signature of the Prince of Wuwei’s internal power. Upon retrieving the object his father had held so dear, Wu Hong, in a fit of ecstasy, had stored the token in his spatial ring, gaining newfound confidence for his trip to the palace.

Now, as Wu Hong brandished the Wuwei Command Token, it was as if a bomb had been dropped into a calm lake, causing a massive upheaval.

"Fake! It’s fake! It must be fake! Even if it were real, Wu Hong, your patricide is unforgivable by heaven!" The Minister of Rites, his face twisted in horror, kept insisting it was a fake. Yet, the unique energy fluctuations emanating from the token made him realize it was genuine. Unable to hide his inner panic, he resorted to bringing up the charge of patricide.

"Hmph! Who is the true killer of my father? I believe you all remember the words my father spoke while he was alive. He declared that whoever holds my token and appears before the court shall be the Prince of Wuwei, the heir to everything I possess! Whether he is a beggar or a servant, it matters not. As long as he holds my token, he is the Prince of Wuwei!"

Wu Hong’s voice was thunderous, reaching every ear in the training ground, the sheer volume causing the people present to buzz with ringing in their ears.

An absolute silence fell over the crowd. They knew Wu Hong was correct; the Prince of Wuwei had declared this many times before his troops and the people of the world. No one dared to dwell on whether Wu Hong was the murderer of his father anymore, for that no longer mattered.

The world would be forever changed by the existence of this new Prince of Wuwei. When Emperor Yangwei had ascended the throne, he had once promised that as long as the Great Qian Dynasty existed, the rights and military forces of the Prince of Wuwei would never be diminished. This had been intended to appease the hearts of the military and the people, but it had now become the ultimate weapon against the Emperor.

Only the moment he obtained the token did Wu Hong understand why the position of Prince of Wuwei had remained vacant for so long after his departure from the capital. His father had planned for this years ago. The Prince of Wuwei had long foreseen Emperor Yangwei’s treachery. From the Dragon King Jade Pendant that led Wu Hong to inherit the legacy in Wu King Village, to this small token, everything was the result of his father’s deep foresight.

"Long live the Prince of Wuwei! Long live! Long live!" Some of the soldiers in the training ground, who were old subordinates of the Prince, began to chant. When the previous Prince was alive, he had been honored with the title of "Long Live"—an immense glory, as the Emperor was titled "Ten Thousand Years Long Live." This showed just how formidable the Prince’s power and prestige had been.

Back when Wu Hong was the "wastrel" eldest son of the Wuwei Mansion, he had run wild in the capital. Even when he beat a prince, Emperor Yangwei would only lecture his own son and praise Wu Hong, for the Emperor had over a hundred sons and dozens of daughters, and he knew Wu Hong was the only heir to the Prince of Wuwei—a person he dared not offend. Such had been the unfettered life of the eldest young master in those days.

The civil and military officials were in turmoil, their minds reeling from the shock. Unconsciously, they began to divide into two factions.

Just as the officials were debating, Emperor Yangwei suddenly stepped down from his throne and approached Wu Hong. With a face full of feigned delight, he said, "Brother, I welcome your return! Today, I appoint Wu Hong as the new Prince of Wuwei!"