Why have these two encountered each other again?
The last ti at the Crown Prince Mansion with bows and arrows drawn, Feng Bailing still rembered vividly.
Feng Bailing was secretly anxious.
Neither of the two’s horse carriages would give way, confronting each other.
"Dugu Wu, for the sake of our past friendship, heed my advice and give up on this Competition Among Ten Countries. You should know you have offended many people. Now that your legs are disabled, participating in the competition will put your life at risk as many will target you. I am thinking for your sake."
The Crown Prince spoke first.
Emperor Yongye had put them both in charge of this competition. Initially, the Crown Prince thought that his father wanted him to cooperate with Dugu Wu.
Not until today was he summoned to the Imperial Study.
"This is a trial for you; you’ve been unconscious for four years, the court has already changed drastically. You can use this opportunity to build your own power base, and also deter the other nine countries."
Though Emperor Yongye had rid himself of the love poison, a severe illness and especially the poison from the Heartbreak Grass had greatly weakened him.
His gaze towards the Crown Prince was very stern, lacking any fatherly affection.
"If you do not perform well this ti, I would not mind replacing the Crown Prince."
When Dongfang Yu walked out of the Imperial Study, recalling these words, he felt cold sweat all over.
The Father Emperor had always been strict, but today, he seed even more so.
The Crown Prince must seize this opportunity to show his worth.
Dugu Wu’s eyes darkened.
"Crown Prince, you are still just the Crown Prince."
The implication was, unless Emperor Yongye himself asked him to withdraw, he, Dugu Wu, would not listen to anyone else.
"Ungrateful."
The Crown Prince said coldly.
Dugu Wu’s legs were already useless; his attending the competition would only elicit ridicule from other countries, causing Great Chu to lose face.
Dugu Wu was not willing to withdraw, but the Crown Prince had his own thods to force Dugu Wu out.
Both were recruiting participants for the competition; if Dugu Wu could not recruit even a single person, he would naturally have to give up.
The two parted on bad terms, the horse carriages going their separate ways.
"Get on, or do you plan to walk back alone?"
After the Crown Prince left, Dugu Wu’s horse carriage stopped.
Feng Bailing erged from the shadows.
She had appeared just then, and Dugu Wu had already noticed her.
Without Feng Bailing saying it, Dugu Wu already knew why she had co to the palace.
Both refrained from ntioning last night’s matter, silently reconciling.
"I regret it now. If I had known the Crown Prince was such an ungrateful person, I wouldn’t have saved him."
After getting on the horse carriage, Feng Bailing pursed her lips.
The Dragon Queen was injured, still sleeping in the Buddhist Alms Bowl without awakening, the promised reward for saving the Crown Prince was gone, and the Crown Prince was still sidelining Dugu Wu, which made Feng Bailing very dissatisfied.
Luckily, she wasn’t so saintly figure; she had kept a fallback initially.
"Are you sticking up for ? It’s really not necessary. What suitable candidates can Dongfang Yu pick? His judgnt in people has always been poor."
Dugu Wu spoke, his lips curling up slightly.
"Pot calling the kettle black; you’re one to talk about others."
Feng Bailing muttered.
Just for the fact that both of them had taken a liking to Nalan Yan’er, one could tell that their eyesight wasn’t good.
Seeing Feng Bailing looking puffed up with anger, Dugu Wu was sowhat baffled. What temper was this woman throwing now?
"Leaving other matters aside for now, I heard that you only visit Yuxiu Academy a few tis each month?"
Dugu Wu glanced at Feng Bailing.
The purpose of Feng Bailing entering Yuxiu Academy was to marry into Prince Shun’s Mansion, and her frequent absences from classes had already spread throughout the academy, drawing quite a bit of criticism.
Feng Bailing beca defensive, feeling the guilt of a student who had been caught skipping classes by a teacher.
"The headmaster has allowed not to attend classes every day. Besides, I pass the monthly evaluations every ti."
She certainly didn’t want to be like Ouyang Chenchen, forced by the headmaster to study daily.
"I’ll remind you of two things. First, Yuxiu Academy also has slots to recomnd students for the Competition Among Ten Countries. However, the recomnded students must et the attendance requirents to qualify. Second, there’s a Calligraphy and Painting Room in Yuxiu Academy with many enlightening poems and paintings that you might want to explore thoroughly."
Dugu Wu now knew who Feng Xiaoli’s attitude towards learning resembled—it was her mother, Feng Bailing.
Yuxiu Academy has such a place?
A look of surprise crossed Feng Bailing’s face.
It seed, the artwork and poems in this so-called Calligraphy and Painting Room likely had effects similar to that painting made by Lady Dugu.
"That Calligraphy and Painting Room doesn’t always open; it only opens on the first and fifteenth days of each month, and each student can only stay for one hour. Nalan Yan’er also had her epiphanies in that room."
Dugu Wu said aningfully.
Dongfang Yu returned to the Crown Prince Mansion and night had already fallen.
Outside the Crown Prince Mansion, soone was waiting.
"Wushang, just as you predicted, Dugu Wu is not willing to give up on this Competition Among Ten Countries."
Dongfang Yu said, feeling a headache.
After waking up, Nalan Yan’er told him that during the ti Dongfang Yu was unconscious, Hua Wushang had helped the Crown Prince Mansion a lot, even caretaking Dongfang Yu’s illness.
He is also a trusted aide of the Old Grand Preceptor, hoping Dongfang Yu would give him a significant role.
Initially, Dongfang Yu thought the Feng Bailing couple were his lifesavers.
During the ti he was unconscious and lost awareness, before he woke up, it seed he had entered a sealed space filled with strange and bizarre objects and a woman’s voice whispering in his ear.
Then he felt a sharp pain in his head and woke up.
Unfortunately, these were just vague mories, he couldn’t see the exact person.
Nalan Yan’er also had their son Dongfang Jin testify, and thus Dongfang Yu believed that Hua Wushang was also his true lifesaver.
He quickly regarded Hua Wushang as a confidant.
"The Crown Prince need not worry. As long as we follow my plan, Dugu Wu won’t be able to recruit anyone."
Hua Wushang smiled.
The Crown Prince and Ninth Prince were jointly responsible for the Competition Among Ten Countries, with interested parties able to sign up at either the Crown Prince Mansion or Prince Shun’s Mansion, with the best candidates chosen.
Once the news spread, the doorway of the Crown Prince Mansion was crowded to the point of breaking.
From noble scions to people from various places, everyone wanted to join the Crown Prince’s camp, after all, the Crown Prince was the legitimate heir to the throne of Great Chu, and there were nurous benefits to joining his camp.
On the other hand, Prince Shun’s Mansion was quite desolate.
Three days into the registration, and still no one had co to sign up.
Lu Yin went out to investigate and ca back furious.
"How preposterous, the Crown Prince Mansion is shaless—claiming that joining the Crown Prince’s camp could help consolidate either the Wenhua Seal or the Wuji Seal. Who could resist such a temptation? No wonder no one is signing up with us."
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