Chapter 31.1
It was very quiet outside, almost no sound could be heard.
That familiar cold fragrance floated in the air, swirling, lingering, and circling upwards. It could be smelled through the thick door panel, which could make any person feel refreshed.
Emperor Yuan didn’t like the fragrance of a calming incense used by dignitaries, and he didn’t like the ambergris most commonly used by the late emperor. The only thing he liked was the kind of cheap vanilla incense. This kind of vanilla itself was simply a kind of weed. It could be found almost everywhere. Sometimes, when common people didn’t have fire grass, they liked to chop a large bundle of it and take it back as firewood. The smell of it when burned was pungent and irritated the nose, but it was also refreshing, and was often used in the military.
When Zong Luo was at the border, he often smelled this fragrance. In a daze, he thought he was back to the days when he fought with the iron cavalries.
Even by just simply standing outside the door like this, it seemed to have brought him back to that point in time.
At that time, the Witch Sacrificial Ceremony had just ended. Originally, according to the rules, the candidate for the crown prince position should be announced at the end of the ceremony, canonized on the spot, and subsequently, be followed by a grand ceremony.
However, at the moment when the grand ceremony was about to end, after the Great Witch presented each prince’s fate tablet, Emperor Yuan became furious after seeing it. Without saying a word, all the people who participated in the ceremony were dismissed directly.
Afterwards, the entire Imperial City was under curfew and martial law, and guards patrolled everywhere every day.
There was no movement in the palace, and the several princes who fought to seize the crown prince position did not dare to act rashly.
Just when Zong Luo was about to enter the palace to request permission to leave and prepare to attack the Yu Country, an imperial decree suddenly came from the palace, and without a say or anything, the tiger seal in his hand was directly recalled. Not only that, but he was also ordered to stay in his Third Prince’s Mansion, and to not go out at will.
This was tantamount to degeneration house arrest.
Zong Luo didn’t understand, and he still didn’t understand.
A crown prince would be chosen during the Witch Sacrificial Ceremony, but he had no intention of taking the throne at all. It didn’t matter which imperial younger brother would be selected, anyway, no matter who became the supreme ruler, he didn’t need to be afraid as long as he had military power in his hands. As long as a crown prince was established, he would ask Emperor Yuan for the seal, and even if he withdrew from the Imperial City in the future, he could simply stay in his own territory with peace of mind.
Before that, Zong Luo never doubted the importance his father attached to him.
Many people in court say that the Third Prince was not favored, but he himself thought otherwise.
Although Emperor Yuan was very strict with him on ordinary days, among the so many princes, Zong Luo was the only one who held a tiger seal, formed his own soldiers, and right away decentralized, which in itself was already a kind of value.
Many times, Zong Luo would even think…..Maybe it’s just that Emperor Yuan can’t express it.
After all, he was the emperor, he couldn’t help it himself, plus, he had many heirs, it would be difficult to do things impartially.
After the eldest brother and the second brother died one after another, he became the eldest son. Naturally, he had to set an example, thus it was inevitable that he would be strict to him.
Because of this, Zong Luo honestly stayed in his mansion for a month after his military power was withdrawn.
Midway, all the news seemed to have sunk into the sea, he felt something was wrong, therefore he blatantly defied the imperial decree and rushed into the palace.
Zong Luo would always remember that day. That day, it had snowed heavily.
The snowflakes were very big, each piece was as big as half an inch of a finger, drifting profusely and disorderly, blanketing the red palace walls together, making the edge no longer visible.
It seemed that it would never end.
When Emperor Yuan didn’t see him, he knelt outside the Zhang Palace for a whole day and night.
Ordinary people wouldn’t be able to do it even for a few hours, but thanks to Zong Luo’s excellent physical quality and a body protected by deep internal force, he managed to endure.
But even so, after kneeling for a long time, he also felt that his eyesight had gone dark, and his knees were numb.
During this period, a little servant who had received the favor of the Third Prince couldn’t help but come to persuade him, but who would have thought that just as he had taken two steps closer, before he could say a word, he was dragged down by an imperial guard.
Terrible screams resounded through the sky.
The white snow was dyed fiery red, and whispers in the distance could be heard.
“His Majesty is furious, whoever dared to intercede would be killed to death.”
At dawn, Yuan Jia finally came with an imperial decree.
“Accept the mandate by heaven, longevity and eternal prosperity, admonishes: Third Prince Zong Luo will immediately withdraw from the Imperial City with his own soldiers, and guard the border of the sand dunes for an indefinite period of time. He must not return at will, otherwise he will be charged with treason.”
Zong Luo became bewildered at that time, but the words still fell into his ears like a “thud”.
He went silent for a long time, almost becoming a snowman.
In the end, he still didn’t dare to tear up the imperial decree and rushed to the door in front of him.
But now, time had passed, and another door was in front.
However, that same person was still behind the door.
Zong Luo twitched the corners of his mouth in his heart, and finally finished all the psychological construction, and slowly pushed it open.
The room was silent, only the rustling sound of writing could be heard.
As early as yesterday, Emperor Yuan moved the memorials from the Zhang Palace to here to prepare for the Qingsi Festival in the next two days.
After conquering a new country, whether it’s recruiting troops or counting the national treasury, there were too many things to reckon to an extent. Nowadays, the many things that were neglected were started, and too many memorials came from all over the world, which made it impossible to review from morning to night. What’s more, the Bajia Banquet was still being held in the Imperial City, and now, the Qingsi Festival was catching up, things were almost piled up together.
The emperor in black imperial robes was sitting upright behind the table, with stacks of thick memorials placed on top of it, with a grim expression on his face.
He stared at the incomprehensible small characters on the bamboo slips, his brows furrowed, and he felt in his heart that he should unify the world, and that unification of characters was also an imperative.
Otherwise, as the emperor, he had to learn the seven languages of the different countries, which was ridiculous!
Hearing the sound of the door being pushed open, he didn’t lift his head, and simply said in an impatient tone, “Yuan Jia, what’s the matter with you? Zhen told you not to let anyone disturb Zhen.”
Qingsi Festival was considered to be a rare trip out of the palace once a year, where all the princes, princesses and concubines had to come.
Not long ago, the Yu Country eagerly sent envoys, along with beauties with beautiful faces and moon-like appearances. Emperor Yuan didn’t say anything, and didn’t even take a second look. With a big wave of his hand, they all filled his harem.
Send if one wanted to, and accept all what was given away. Anyway, the Great Yuan’s population was huge and prosperous, and it’s not that they wouldn’t be able to afford it.
