Chapter 16: Countless Obstacles
“Fang Chen went to the manor of the minister of war?”
"Could he still be holding a grudge over that one incident back then? You can't really blame Ye Dongming for that. It was his subordinate that made the mistake of sending Fang Chen’s military provisions to the wrong location.”
“Is there still no news from the emperor? Why haven't the people from the Grand Brilliance Bureau captured Fang Chen yet?!”
Currently, the upper echelons in the capital city were closely monitoring Fang Chen's movements. Each faction had dispatched its own men in order to ensure that they would receive the latest news on him.
*
The minister of war’s manor.
The gates of the manor were slowly opened, and Ye Dongming, accompanied by his family, met Fang Chen with a silent, steady gaze.
“Could Divine General Fang be suspecting that Xiao En is hiding in the minister of war's manor?” Shock flashed through the eyes of the official from the Grand Brilliance Bureau.
Logically speaking, there was no reason for the minister of war to hide the remaining martial artists from Qingsong. After all, it was Fang Chen who was after them. Sheltering them would imply that he intended to go against the great Divine General Fang!
Fang Chen and Ye Dongming stared at each other in a brief moment of silence.
Ye Dongmin was the first to open his mouth. "Divine General Fang, it's been a while. Ever since you stopped attending morning court, I hadn’t had the chance to meet you. But that’s fine, since I know that we'll be able to meet in court very soon. Is there a reason for your visit today?”
The members of the Ye family silently observed Fang Chen, as well.
They heaved a sigh of relief when they noticed that the Divine General had seemingly lost his former sharpness and vigor; he was merely a shadow of his former self, the sheer pressure he used to exude and the raw fear he used to instill just by standing in his presence was no longer there.
“I’ve thought about the matters of the court countless times over the past five years, and I decided not to concern myself with them from now on.” Fang Chen smiled, shaking his head lightly. “Thus, I doubt we’ll meet each other in court in the future.”
What? A hint of surprise rose on everyone's faces
Not only were the members of the Ye Family astonished, but even those from the Grand Brilliance Bureau were taken aback. Nearby onlookers—including commoners, scholars, and martial artists alike—all showed disbelief when they heard what he said.
Divine General Fang is not planning to concern himself with the matters of the court?
Doesn’t that mean that he won’t be leading the army in the future?!
Ye Qinghe's breathing turned slightly heavy as he stared at Fang Chen, his gaze intense. All he wanted at this moment was to verify the authenticity of Fang Chen’s words.
“Divine General Fang, you must be kidding. Now that your cultivation has recovered, I don’t think it will be long before His Majesty will assign you an army to prevent any moves from the Qingsong Empire,” Ye Dongming said in a deep voice.
“If that’s what you believe, feel free to treat whatever I said as a joke.” Fang Chen laughed.
Ye Dongming’s expression shifted slightly. “Why are you here today then, Divine General Fang?”
"I’m looking for someone. And I hope you will hand him over" Fang Chen said.
Looking for someone? Handing him over? A hint of confusion appeared on Ye Dongming’s face. The same went for the rest of the people present.
Was there someone in the Ye Family who deserved Fang Chen’s personal visit?
Hearing his words, Ye Qinghe was the only one whose eyes flickered with a hint of panic. He found it unbelievable that Fang Chen knew that Xiao En was in the Ye Manor.
Did someone leak his whereabouts?!
His mind raced with thought, and the more it did, the more he started to feel annoyed and betrayed. He refused to believe that the ladies there would spread the news, especially since they knew his background. There was only one other possibility; it had to have been one of the other younger masters he had invited.
One face after the other started to appear in his mind as he pondered in silence. Who could it be?
“Divine General Fang, is there someone in my Ye Manor of interest to you? Perhaps, you’ve come to the wrong place,” Ye Dongming said with a faint smile before glancing at the official of the Grand Brilliance Bureau, his brows scrunching up.
"The son of Xiao Tianci, Xiao En, is currently inside your manor. Minister Ye, you just have to hand him over to me," Fang Chen said with a smile.
"Wait a moment!" Shock appeared on Ye Dongming's face. "Xiao Tianci's son, Xiao En? Divine General Fang, please don't mess around! You can’t go around accusing people for no reason! Why would I be hiding such a person?!” he retorted.
That was a martial artist from the Qingsong Empire! Even more, he was the son of Qingsong Superior’s Academy Master, Xiao Tianci!
If news of him chaperoning such an individual were to spread, shade would be thrown toward him to no end! Not just that, he would probably be attacked whenever he strolled on the streets, even, and the citizens of the empire would likely bombard him with rotten eggs if not stone him to death!
In fact, just when Fang Chen had uttered those words, discussion started to fill the air. The citizens pointed their fingers and whispered among themselves, and even the scholars started to voice their opinions a little more vocally. Even worse, the martial artists started to roll up their sleeves!
"Are the people from the Grand Brilliance Bureau here for Xiao En? Fang Chen wouldn’t have really reported me using those baseless accusations. But why would he do that to me, why would he say that Xiao En is in my manor...!” Ye Dongming’s thoughts raced.
By now, Ye Qinghe's expression was starting to crumble, and tiny beads of sweat started trickling down his forehead.
He had thought that it would be impossible for Fang Chen to find out about Xiao En’s whereabouts. But instead, Fang Chen showed up on his doorstep after one short night! The situation has terribly escalated, and he was severely unprepared to deal with it.
"Lord Ye, you might want to ask your son about this," Fang Chen said, the usual calm smile on his face.
Ye Dongming turned to glare at Ye Qinghe, shock and anger in his eyes. "Qinghe, have you seen Xiao En? Hurry up and tell General Fang that he’s not in our manor!”
“Father, I’ve never even met Xiao En before.” Ye Qinghe shook his head slightly before turning to Fang Chen. Cupping his fist in greeting, he said, “Brother Fang, I’m not sure where you got that piece of information, but I think this is all just one big mistake.”
“Yeah... Divine General Fang, could there be a misunderstanding?”
“The minister of war would never hide a martial artist from the Qingsong Empire.”
“Heh. Divine General Fang is not an immortal. How can he possibly know everything? Now that I think of it, I once heard that there was some conflict between the minister of war and Divine General Fang in the past......"
"Could Divine General Fang be deliberately using this matter to settle old scores?"
Whispers echoed around.
Hearing their conversation, Ye Dongming's expression shifted constantly. He stared at Fang Chen and growled, "Divine General Fang, I have indeed failed in my duty that one time. However, His Majesty had already addressed that matter, and it had been settled. I accepted my punishment back then. We should leave it at that! You can’t come up with any random accusation just to tarnish my reputation!"
“Minister Ye, may I enter and search the manor?” asked Fang Chen back. He didn’t seem to care about the minister’s words.
"Fang Chen, don't go too far! This is the minister's manor! You can’t just barge in and do whatever you want! Do you really think you’re still the Divine General of our Grand Xia?! You are just a lowly commoner who’s not even qualified to set foot into the imperial court!" Ye Qinghe snapped.
Saying that, Ye Qinghe thought his father would vehemently oppose Fang Chen's search, but unexpectedly, Ye Dongming signaled for him to remain quiet.
Ye Dongming stared at Fang Chen with indifference. “Divine General Fang, my manor isn’t too large, you can go ahead and search it to your heart's content. However, if you fail to find traces of Xiao En, will you be able to give me a proper explanation?”
“If I fail to find him? In that case, I will return to the Grand Brilliance Bureau and turn myself in. What other explanation would you like?” Fang Chen pointed toward the Grand Brilliance Bureau official beside him.
Only then did Ye Dongming realize that the Grand Brilliance Bureau was there to apprehend Fang Chen. Turns out, he had been thinking too much into the matter.
He inwardly sighed in relief.
“Very well, Divine General Fang, please.” Ye Dongming agreed, nodding slightly.
“Father?!” Ye Qinghe's eyes betrayed a hint of panic.
“They can do whatever they want. After all, the Heavens are always watching over us. If we didn’t do anything wrong, why should we be afraid?” Ye Dongming snorted.
Ye Qinghe fell silent, words stuck in his throat; if he said another word, he would probably expose himself......
Just as Fang Chen was about to enter the manor, a group of people on horses made a swift appearance.
The leader of the group dismounted and stared at Fang Chen with indifference. “Fang Chen, you cannot enter the minister of war’s manor."
“The crown prince?!!” Stunned by the man’s sudden appearance, Ye Dongming hurriedly bowed. “Your Highness.”
Everyone standing around was shocked. The crown prince has actually made an appearance!
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