Chapter 715: Chapter 424: King Rui’s Ability
At the beginning of the New Year, the people of Chang’an finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The Emperor, who had reigned for thirty-seven years, officially passed the throne to King Chun. King Chun did not support the restoration of the old laws but handed the governance over to the three provinces. He seemed even more unreliable than the previous Emperor, spending his days either fishing with the Minister of Justice or experimenting with cooking in the Imperial Kitchen.
However, there was no criticism of King Chun either among the populace or at court.
After years of trials and tribulations, people have come to realize one thing.
The country can do without an Emperor.
An Emperor who only loves fishing and cooking is far better than a tyrant.
Chang’an.
Furong Garden.
The warm spring sun filtered through intricately carved railings, casting dappled light on the bluestone path.
Ripples appeared under the float on the lake’s surface as King Chun gently lifted the rod, revealing an empty hook.
With some regret, he cast the line again. The sound of footsteps came from behind, darkening the water in front of him, reflecting the figure dressed in casual attire.
King Chun patted the hem of his robe, handed the fishing rod to that person, and stood behind him.
The Xia Emperor held the fishing rod, gazed at the water’s surface, and asked, "Is it worth it?"
Li Xuanjing did not speak. The Emperor continued, "For the sake of people unrelated to you, you became estranged from everyone and bore the scorn of the world for twenty years. In the end, what did you gain... was it worth it?"
Li Xuanjing smiled slightly and said, "Allowing the Emperor to quietly fish here, is that not worth it?"
"But I can only fish here."
The Xia Emperor lowered his head, saying in a deep voice, "Li Xuanjing, you made me lose terribly, yet what did you gain? Public support? What’s the use of that? Power? I know you don’t crave power; wealth? You lack none of it; women? You don’t even like women. You must be after something..."
Li Xuanjing said softly, "Xie Mingyuan, Shen Qingyan, Su Dan, Lin He, Chu Huaiqian, Jiang Wenshao... Great Scholar Su, what are they after?"
The Emperor did not answer. Holding the fishing rod, he shook his head and said, "You Confucians are a bunch of dull people..."
Silence gradually enveloped the lakeside.
One by one, figures appeared in the garden.
Today is a family banquet of the Imperial Family.
Regardless of whether it was King Han, King You who were previously imprisoned, or King Xin, King Xuan, King Ji who were long out of the power struggle, all appeared here.
King Rui, who hadn’t shown up for a long time, stepped into the Furong Garden gate with a book in his hands, reading as he walked.
King Gong followed him into the garden. From afar, he looked at King Chun wearing the imperial crown, sighed long and said, "Who would have thought, among us, the final victor would be him..."
Thinking back, King Han and King You were in their prime, King Rui had many supporters, and I plotted secretly. Who had ever paid any real attention to King Chun?
Yet they all lost to the seemingly most inconspicuous King Chun over the years.
King Rui closed his book and said softly, "It is heaven’s mandate, nothing surprising."
King Gong sneered, "Heaven’s mandate, what nonsense. I’ve never believed in such a thing. He was just lucky!"
King Rui merely smiled slightly, offering no further explanation.
To King Gong, this smile was full of mockery.
The failure to seize the throne made him feel like a joke. This smile shattered his defenses again. King Gong reached out to grab King Rui’s collar, angrily saying, "What are you laughing at!"
But as he extended his hand, his palm passed through King Rui’s chest.
King Gong tried several times more, all with the same result.
King Rui’s whole person seemed to sink into nothingness. He was clearly standing there, yet untouchable.
Never had King Gong seen such a peculiar scene before. He collapsed to the ground, trembling, "Are you human or ghost!"
Li Nuo, holding Anning’s hand, had just walked into the garden entrance. He suddenly looked upward ahead, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.
What kind of power is this?
Just now, there was a very peculiar wave of power emanating from King Rui.
Li Nuo’s body contained the powers of various schools, yet King Rui’s power was unlike anything he was familiar with.
Only the power of the School of Calligraphy seemed to resonate with that force, but there was no similarity between the two.
And King Rui’s ability to turn his body intangible was something even a well-read person like him had never heard of.
At that moment, King Rui seemed to have left this space.
One must admit, each prince of the Daxia Royal Family possesses something extraordinary.
Li Nuo, holding Anning’s hand, walked to King Rui’s side and asked, "What kind of ability is this?"
Though they had some past grievances, those were now matters not worth bringing up.
King Rui put away the book in his hand, smiled slightly at Li Nuo, and said, "I’m not sure which school this ability belongs to. If it needs a name, let’s call it ’Reading,’ a power I’ve sensed from years of reading..."
Li Nuo nodded slightly, holding Anning’s hand, and walked away.
Anning glanced back, curiously asking Li Nuo, "What is ’Reading’? I’ve never heard of it."
Not only Anning, but actually, Li Nuo had never heard of it either, but that was not strange.
Confucianism, Legalism, Mohism—these didn’t exist from the beginning; there is always an originator. King Rui’s "Reading" could be a path he created himself.
From the sense just now, this ability seemed to have no threatening nature.
Yet the ability to vanish into voids was somewhat novel, especially when I locked eyes with him, giving me a feeling of being seen through.
In this vast world, there’s nothing new under the sun. Li Nuo had surpassed the phase of being curious about everything.
Li Nuo did not refuse the invitation to this family banquet initiated by the former Emperor.
This indicates that the resentment between the Royal Family and the Li Family was something he’d let go.
For Anning, this is the best outcome.
Li Nuo held Anning’s hand, enjoying the scenery in the garden, then headed towards Li Yun and the mechanical lady nearby.
King Rui stood beneath a tree, his gaze sweeping over everyone present.
A delicate man stood beside King Rui, glancing at him.
The prince’s gaze upon them was just like when he read books.
These past two years, the prince has changed considerably.
Especially in recent months, he noticed a persistent sadness in the prince’s gaze.
At a certain moment, he found King Rui’s gaze changed somewhat.
Following the direction of his gaze, he saw the Minister of Justice, Li Xuanjing, by the lake’s edge, just caught a big fish...
Seeing King Rui staring at that figure for a long time, he couldn’t help but ask, "Your Highness, what’s wrong?"
King Rui shook his head with a smile, a smile containing self-mockery and melancholy, and said softly, "In this world, some people are born different from us..."
Yet when his gaze fell by the lakeside, specifically seeing Li Nuo, that gaze which sees through everything showed a slight confusion.
By the lakeside, Anning held Qingqing’s hand, examining carefully, marveling, "Truly! Looks just like a real person..."
The mechanical lady before them, whether from afar or up close, showed no signs of being a Mechanical Man, even her eyes were as lively as those of a real woman.
Li Yun chuckled, "We found some rare materials and Mohist secret techniques from a Mohist family in Qi Country. How does it look? You can’t tell Qingqing’s body is made of mechanical materials, right..."
The lady looked at her delicate arm, said, "What’s wrong with being made of mechanical materials? Never aging, even if damaged, new materials can replace. Humans should abandon the burdens of flesh..."
Before she finished, Li Yun covered her mouth, smiling and saying, "She’s talking nonsense, don’t take it to heart..."
...
Chang’an.
The Royal Family banquet at the Furong Garden was underway.
The Southernmost Land.
Atop a snow mountain, three figures stood before the snow cave, endlessly arguing.
"You’re the eldest, you go in first!"
"I went first last time, it’s your turn now."
"Junior brother, you go."
"By order, it’s eldest brother’s turn..."
...
In the end, the Wei Kingdom’s National Master sighed, stepped into the snow cave.
Moments later, a voice full of anger echoed from the cave.
"What, you failed again?"
"Teacher, it really wasn’t our fault this time; the enemy was too strong. How about you go see for yourself..."
