Chapter 77

Due to the urgency of the war, the enthronement ceremony was waived, but the ancestral sacrifice to announce to the world could not be omitted. After receiving the imperial edict, Chu Shaoling entered the palace to pay respects to the Emperor and Empress Dowager, then accompanied the Emperor to the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

The Emperor was unwell and wanted to have his relatives take Chu Shaoling, but several censors simultaneously advised against it, leaving the Emperor no choice. He drank a bowl of medicine and changed into ceremonial robes, letting people carry him there.

After offering sacrifices in the main hall of the Imperial Ancestral Temple, the Emperor eloquently extolled Chu Shaoling's virtues, finally informing the ancestors of the decision to establish Chu Shaoling as the Crown Prince, seeking the ancestors' blessings and so on.

Chu Shaoling, wearing a four-dragon pearl crown and a black dragon-patterned ceremonial robe, stood solemnly behind the Emperor, appearing even more majestic than the ailing Emperor. The Emperor expended much effort to say this long string of words, slightly panting: "Are you satisfied now?"

The father and son had completely torn off their masks. Chu Shaoling couldn't be bothered to put on a show anymore, calmly saying: "The position of Crown Prince should have been mine all along. The enthronement ceremony is nearly twenty years late, so it can't be considered satisfactory."

Hearing this, the Emperor couldn't help but recall his various promises to Marquis Zijun and Empress Ling when he ascended the throne, secretly sighing that everything has its destiny. The Emperor coughed a few times and said in a low voice: "No matter what, this position is finally given to you, and my imperial throne will also be yours in the future. You must treat your younger brothers well."

Chu Shaoling acted as if he heard a huge joke. The Emperor continued intermittently: "With the crown prince position settled, you don't need to be wary of them anymore. Treat them better and earn a reputation for being benevolent. Wouldn't that be good?"

Chu Shaoling lightly nodded: "Your son will not be intolerant. If the fifth and sixth princes can revere your son as their monarch in the future, your son naturally won't mistreat them. Bestowing royal titles, arranging marriages, rewarding fiefdoms - your son will not skimp on any of that for them."

The Emperor's forehead veins bulged as he angrily said in a low voice: "What about Ruan'er then? What about Chu Shaoyang? You unfilial son, do you not even care about your own brothers?!"

Chu Shaoling sighed lightly: "What Chu Shaoruan has done to your son, what Consort Li has done to Imperial Mother - Your Majesty is well aware. As for Chu Shaoyang, your son has his own judgment."

The Emperor breathed more and more rapidly: "Hasn't the crown prince position already been given to you? Yet you still bring up those past matters? With your narrow-mindedness, how can you assume the throne?!"

Chu Shaoling bowed his head: "In the presence of the ancestors, does Your Majesty want to retract the enthronement edict?"

The Emperor was rendered speechless by Chu Shaoling's retorts. After a while, he said: "I understand now. No matter how many benefits I give you, you don't know gratitude. You, you are..."

The rest was unpleasant to say. Chu Shaoling kindly finished for the Emperor: "An ungrateful wretch who bites the hand that feeds him."

"So you know!" The Emperor clutched his chest, angrily saying in a low voice, "I raised you in vain..."

Chu Shaoling couldn't be bothered to say more. He silently gazed at the portraits of generations of emperors in the hall, inwardly sneering. If the ancestors in heaven had spirits, they should also see his previous life's many grievances. In this life, with the chance to start over, why should he endure humiliation again? Why should he suffer the same torments as before?

Seeing Chu Shaoling ignoring him, the Emperor said no more. He knew Chu Shaoling's temperament. If others didn't provoke him, he would still go looking for trouble, let alone those who had crossed him before.

The Emperor muttered in a low voice: "So resentful and vengeful. Ling'er, you've always hated me, right? You hate that I was unfaithful and unappreciative, wronging your imperial mother, so you never let me off easy. It's been so many years since the Empress passed, yet you still can't let go."

Chu Shaoling stared fixedly at the Emperor and said softly: "Imperial Mother never put a foot wrong in her entire life, yet suffered so much. Your Majesty doesn't need to tell your son this. Your Majesty knows best how you treated Imperial Mother."

The Emperor laughed coldly: "You've never been surrounded by three thousand beauties in the rear palace. Saying this now is a bit premature. When you stand in my position, who knows if you'll still treat Wei Ji the same as today."

Chu Shaoling raised his eyes to look at the Emperor. The Emperor, driven mad with anger by Chu Shaoling, wished he could jump up and down cursing. Seeing Chu Shaoling react, the Emperor felt a trace of pleasure in his heart and chuckled softly: "Ling'er, when you return victorious from the great battle, I should select a crown princess for you. At that time, I will certainly choose an excellent match. I imagine General Wei will also be delighted."

Chu Shaoling lowered his gaze: "Your son is in no hurry."

"How can you not be in a hurry?" The Emperor laughed weakly. "Even if you're not in a hurry now, later when you become emperor, the three palaces and six courtyards will be a must. Who knows what will become of your beloved General Wei then?"

The Emperor struggled to catch his breath and slowly said in a low voice: "I won't interfere in Wei Ji's matter. I'll wait and see how you continue with him in the future. You hate that I wronged Empress Ling. I'll wait and see you wrong Wei Ji, becoming the same as me, the same as the ancestors - a lonely, solitary man."

Chu Shaoling suddenly laughed and said softly: "Your Majesty is tired. Let's return to the palace."

The Emperor thought Chu Shaoling had gotten cold feet and laughed a few times as he walked out of the main hall.

Chu Shaoling turned to survey the great hall and after a moment of silence, followed out.

The Emperor, lacking strength, had already left on a palanquin. Chu Shaoling slowly walked behind. The Imperial Ancestral Temple was incomparably solemn. The beams were wrapped in aloeswood, the stone steps carved with intricate gilded dragon patterns, and the corridor pillars pasted with openwork gold flowers. Every detail was exquisite and luxurious.

Chu Shaoling descended the nine stone steps. Directly facing him was the West Hall housing the spirit tablets of meritorious officials of different surnames. Chu Shaoling took a deep breath. A hundred years later, his spirit tablet would be enshrined in the main hall. Before that, he would personally place Wei Ji's spirit tablet in the very center of the West Hall, letting Wei Ji enjoy the offerings of descendants for ten thousand years together with him. No one would be able to separate the two again.

After leaving the Imperial Ancestral Temple, Chu Shaoling went straight to the army. With the Emperor in poor health, the task of deploying soldiers fell to Chu Shaoling. Fortunately, Wei Ji had already drafted a list for Chu Shaoling the day before. Chu Shaoling made some slight changes and directly put it to use: Wei Zhan was appointed Guardian General, veteran general Bai Yunjiang was appointed Stabilizing General, Xu Xuan and Lian Yu were appointed Chariot Generals. Not to mention the many lower-ranking officers, including Chu Shaoling and Wei Ji, there were a total of twenty-six generals and soldiers.

In the autumn of the 15th year of Tianqi, the Crown Prince led his troops on a western expedition to Liaoliang.

Chu Shaoling had already requested 100,000 troops from the Emperor. This time, Chu Shaoling was determined to thoroughly subdue Liaoliang. If it weren't for the barrenness of Liaoliang's territory, Chu Shaoling would have even considered directly conquering it to solve the problem once and for all.

"Your Highness, you mustn't." Wei Ji heard Chu Shaoling's plan and hurriedly advised, "Your Highness will know when you get there. The climate in Liaoliang is really not suitable for living. Even if we conquer it, no one will be willing to reside there. It could be used as a place of exile, but it's remote, and if bandits rise up again, it will be troublesome."

Chu Shaoling smiled, "I was just saying that. Want some dessert?"

Chu Shaoling opened the food box, took out a plate of desserts and placed it on the small table in the carriage. Wei Ji took a small porcelain bowl and poured a cup of tea for Chu Shaoling. He said softly, "Marching like this, it will probably take another 11 or 12 days to reach the northwestern border."

Chu Shaoling took a sip of tea and said with a smile, "You think I'm moving too slow?"

"I wouldn't dare." Wei Ji slightly lifted the carriage curtain and glanced outside. He mumbled, "A forced march would be fast, but after arriving in Liaoliang, it would be inevitable to be physically exhausted and lack strength for follow-up. This is good too."

Chu Shaoling smiled, "Don't worry. The 60,000 soldiers transferred from the north will arrive in the west in about five days. By then, the barbarians of Liaoliang will not dare to be presumptuous. They will just wait for us to attack and conquer them. When the army presses on the border, we won't be in a hurry. The one in a hurry will be the Liaoliang King."

Wei Ji thought for a moment and nodded. A few horn sounds came from outside. Wei Ji hurriedly put on his cloak and said, "It's time for me to go on patrol."

Chu Shaoling nodded and picked up the map spread out on the table to look at it. Wei Ji tied his cloak, got off the carriage, pulled the black horse tied to Chu Shaoling's carriage, mounted it with a flip, and lightly tapped it with his horsewhip.

The horse was quite intelligent. It turned around and ran to the back of the troops. Wei Ji started inspecting from the very end, squad by squad, and gave instructions to each squad leader one by one. After inspecting these soldiers, nearly an hour had passed. During this time, the troops kept marching without stopping. Relying solely on his strong memory and keen eyesight, Wei Ji rode his horse to catch up with Chu Shaoling's carriage. The coachman hurriedly stopped the carriage. Wei Ji got on and handed the booklet with the squad leaders' circles to Chu Shaoling, "No one fell behind, no one sneaked away."

Chu Shaoling had no worries about things Wei Ji had checked. He didn't even look at it and directly threw the register aside, saying, "The patrol method you devised is very appropriate. Patrolling once every four hours, and an additional one or two unscheduled patrols every day, there are almost no omissions. It's hard on you. Even old generals are not so meticulous."

Wei Ji shook his head, "It's better to be careful than to make mistakes."

Every time Chu Shaoling saw Wei Ji's mature appearance, he found it amusing. He leaned over, pulled him into his arms, letting him lean against his body, and whispered with a smile, "You've been putting on a straight face since leaving the imperial city. Isn't it just going to fight a battle? How can it be so fatal?"

Wei Ji smiled and shook his head. Chu Shaoling's hand slid down mischievously and pinched Wei Ji's buttocks. He whispered, "Are you afraid of not being able to gain merit? Or are you afraid of embarrassing me?"

Wei Ji's face turned red, either from being groped or from being embarrassed by having his thoughts exposed. He pressed Chu Shaoling's wandering hand and whispered, "Your Highness..."

"I won't tease you. Tell me." Chu Shaoling gently stroked Wei Ji's back. "Or are you tired? In the future, you don't have to go on patrols."

"No." Wei Ji thought for a moment and said softly, "It's my first time on the battlefield. I'm afraid that what I've learned will turn out to be just armchair strategy in the end. I'm afraid... afraid of disappointing Your Highness."

Chu Shaoling smiled knowingly. It was indeed like this.

Chu Shaoling lowered his head and kissed Wei Ji's head. He said softly, "You won't. This time, you will surely be able to gain great merit. Even if you don't gain any merit, so what? I brought you here to earn military achievements. Even if you do nothing on this trip, you can still be promoted when you return. What are you still worried about?"

Wei Ji's expression improved a bit. Chu Shaoling teased in a low voice, "Besides, General Wei accompanying me and relieving my boredom is also a meritorious deed."

As he spoke, his hands started to wander again, deliberately touching the places Wei Ji was afraid of being touched. Wei Ji was both embarrassed and anxious, fearing that the soldiers outside would hear. He bit his lip tightly. Seeing that Wei Ji didn't dare to struggle too much, Chu Shaoling became even more fearless. He teased Wei Ji until he was on the verge of tears before stopping. He then held him in his arms and coaxed him for a while.

After being tormented for half a day, the little worries in Wei Ji's heart completely disappeared. He lay in Chu Shaoling's arms, half-asleep. Chu Shaoling gently played with Wei Ji's earlobe and asked softly, "Are you angry with me for always bullying you?"

Wei Ji raised his head, stunned for a moment, and his face turned red again. After being pressured by Chu Shaoling for a while, he finally said in a low voice, "Not angry."

Chu Shaoling felt like a kitten gently scratching his heart, feeling extremely comfortable. He pulled the blanket from the side to cover them both and coaxed in a low voice, "I knew you were the most obedient. Sleep for a while."

Wei Ji nodded and leaned closer to Chu Shaoling, closing his eyes.

Author's Note:

After bullying someone, you still ask if they're angry or not. Crown Prince, you... you're going too far!

We're finally going to the battlefield, oh yeah!