206 Grandmasters Can Be Nurtured
Seeing the low-ranking official barge in in a panic, Song Rentong’s expression darkened. However, when he heard that there was news of His Majesty, his expression quickly changed and he stood up to ask, “Tell me!”
“An urgent report from Fort Liushi in the north!”
As the low-ranking official spoke, he put a jade slip on the table. “Guo Fuzhen, the general of the Northern Garrison, said that His Majesty went to the north to reward the army.”
“The north?!”
Li Tianyi screamed, “The north is thousands of kilometers away from the capital. How could His Majesty appear in the north in two days?”
No one replied. Song Rentong picked up the jade slip and injected a wisp of divine sense into it. After a moment, he frowned. “His Majesty has really been to the Northern Border!”
“Is that so? What did General Guo say?”
Li Tianyi asked anxiously. Although he had some cultivation, such urgent reports were encrypted in a special way. He did not know how to encrypt them. Therefore, he could only look at the jade slip in Song Rentong’s hand anxiously.
Song Rentong held the jade slip and pondered for a moment. “According to General Guo, His Majesty went to the north yesterday to reward the army. Although I don’t know how His Majesty got there so quickly, His Majesty was definitely forced to do that.”
“But that’s weird. His Majesty disappeared from the palace the day before yesterday. How could he appear in the north thousands of miles away in just a day?”
Li Tianyi was overjoyed when he heard this. Although he did not know the whereabouts of the empress yet, as long as he knew that the empress took the initiative to leave the palace, his crime of negligence would not exist!
Thinking of this, Li Tianyi put on airs again. He waved the tai chi whisk and gently swept it across Song Rentong’s hand. “Lord Song, tell me, what exactly did General Guo say?”
Song Rentong also realized that Li Tianyi didn’t do anything wrong, and his attitude clearly softened. “General Guo first reported the good news to His Majesty, then thanked His Majesty for rewarding the army.”
Li Tianyi frowned slightly. “In that case, Your Majesty went alone?”
Song Rentong shook his head. “I’m not sure. General Guo didn’t mention this.”
“But that’s not right!”
Li Tianyi’s frown deepened. “The war just ended yesterday, but His Majesty left the palace the day before yesterday. Did His Majesty know that our army would certainly win?”
Song Rentong’s eyes lit up. He indeed had never thought of this!
The empress set off two days ago, but the war ended a day ago. No matter what method the empress used to reach the north in a day, when she set off, the outcome of the war was still uncertain.
In other words, the empress’s goal in going to the north was not to reward the army, at least not when she set off!
Then why did the empress leave the palace alone and how the empress managed to avoid the heavy guards in the palace became the key questions.
Song Rentong fell into deep thought again.
At the side, Li Tianyi also looked like he was in deep thought because he had just thought of something else—
On the day Lin Ran was conferred the title of general, he went to the imperial study to see His Majesty in disheveled clothes.
However, after Li Tianyi notified Lin Ran of his promotion, Lin Ran barged into the imperial study and then disappeared on his sword.
At that time, Li Tianyi did not know what was going on and closed the door without checking. Now that he thought about it, the empress should have disappeared at that time.
However, this was not the main point. He remembered there was an anxious look on Lin Ran’s face when he left, which meant that he knew where the empress was going.
“Lord Song…”
Li Tianyi’s face was pale as he spoke with a trembling voice. “I seem to have forgotten something very important…”
…
Nanjiang Town, Great Yong Dynasty.
The morning sun rose, and the clear sunlight cast a layer of misty golden light on Nanjiang Town.
After the heavy rain last night, the entire Nanjiang Town became clean. Even the air seemed to have become much fresher.
The empress was woken up by a gust of slightly damp cold wind.
When she opened her eyes and looked around this unfamiliar room, the empress was stunned for a few seconds before she remembered why she was here. She turned around and realized that Lin Ran was not around.
Thinking of Lin Ran curled up on the ground last night, the empress suddenly felt a little guilty.
“Lin… Qiyun? Are you there?”
As soon as the empress spoke, she thought that someone might be keeping an eye on them, so she called Lin Ran by his alias.
“I’m here!”
Lin Ran stuck his head in from outside. “You’re awake? Then come and eat!”
Seeing that Lin Ran’s expression was as usual and that he did not seem to be holding a grudge, the empress’s guilt subsided a little. She nodded and stood up to go to the front hall.
“Good morning, Sister!”
The young man from yesterday sat at the table and looked at the empress with sparkling eyes. “The conditions here are not good. Did you rest well last night?”
“Fortunately, I had a good rest.”
The empress smiled. She wanted to ask Lin Ran how he slept, but seeing that there was someone else around, she didn’t ask.
After breakfast, the young man put away the bowl and chopsticks and left. Only then did the empress look at Lin Ran and say, “I saw water on the floor of the bedroom. Last night, you…”
“Let’s not talk about this first.”
Lin Ran waved his hand and his expression turned serious. “I discovered something last night. This ‘Nanjiang Town’ might be a cover.”
“Last night?”
The empress blinked. “Weren’t we together last night?”
Lin Ran explained, “I was afraid that you would pester me to bring you along to investigate, so last night, after you fell asleep, I walked around the town.”
“You…”
The empress subconsciously wanted to flare up, but in the end, she held back. She looked at Lin Ran with an unfriendly expression and asked, “Then what did you find?”
“Nothing.”
Lin Ran shook his head slowly with a speechless expression. “I’ve walked through the entire town. There are inns, restaurants, and even three casinos! But there’s nothing unusual. Other than the people here, everything is what a town should have.”
“People? Is there anything unusual about the people here?”
The empress asked subconsciously. As soon as she finished speaking, she answered herself. “That’s true. It’s indeed abnormal for someone to enter the Grandmaster Realm in their teens.”
“That’s not all.”
Lin Ran’s expression became even more serious. “There are no old people or children here. Other than your mother, everyone else is between the ages of 15 and 30. The weakest among them is at the first level of the Grandmaster Realm. Do you know what this means?”
The empress shook her head to indicate that she didn’t know. Lin Ran pointed at the ground, his eyes filled with fear. “There are hundreds of grandmasters here. The Great Yong Dynasty has already mastered the way to nurture martial artists!”
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