IDWBE -Chapter 116 A Decisive Force

Hong Ying said, “Your Highness, we didn’t eat well these past few days at sea. You’ve actually lost weight recently.”

Lin Yi rolled his eyes at him. “Can you stop talking nonsense with your eyes wide open? Look at me—how fat have I gotten? What exactly counts as fat?”

Sometimes the truth is hard to hear.

But hearing too many lies isn’t good either.

Anyone, without realizing it, will start to float on flattery.

Hong Ying replied solemnly, “Your Highness, I’m only speaking the truth. You really have lost weight these days. If you want to stroll around, why not wait for another day? It just rained. The mountain paths are wet and slippery—it won’t be easy going.”

“If the road’s hard to walk, then I’ll have to suffer,” Lin Yi said.

He could endure anything—

Except hardship.

Otherwise, in his previous life he would’ve been Peking University or Tsinghua material!

This life was the same. He knew that once martial arts were mastered, one could fly about freely. But as a prince—even an unloved one—he was still surrounded by attendants whenever he went out.

If he could lie down, why would he stand and tire himself out?

Hong Ying suggested, “Then perhaps we could go fishing instead?”

“No,” Lin Yi said. “My sunburn hasn’t healed yet.”

His originally fair face had darkened noticeably after spending time at sea.

No matter what, he had to save a bit of face.

He couldn’t end up too embarrassed to be seen.

Since he couldn’t climb mountains and didn’t want to fish, he simply lay beneath the grape trellis with a teapot in hand. From time to time, he plucked a grape straight off the vine—purely natural, no pollution—didn’t even bother washing it, just popped it into his mouth.

After eating, he amused himself by spitting out the grape skins.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have A-Dai’s skill—he couldn’t spit very far.

He even wondered whether, after learning martial arts, one could pee farther too.

Nearby, Consort Wen was teaching the less-than-two-year-old girl to practice horse stance. The poor child had tears streaming down her face, but Consort Wen showed not the slightest softness.

Lin Yi couldn’t bear to watch and said to Mingyue, “Take the child out to play for a while. If you don’t play much when you’re young, you won’t have the chance when you grow up. She’s just a child—why demand so much?”

After Mingyue carried the child away, Consort Wen sat beside Lin Yi and took a sip of tea. “Fail to strive when young, and you’ll end up like you?”

Lin Yi laughed. “What does that have to do with me? Don’t drag me into everything.”

Consort Wen said, “My junior sister has sided with Prince Yong, and you’re not even nervous. Prince Yong is decisive and ruthless. If he ascends the throne, he won’t care about brotherly affection. Aren’t you worried? By then, even your title as Prince He may not be secure.”

Lin Yi replied, “Shouldn’t the Crown Prince and my other brothers be the worried ones?”

The emperor isn’t anxious, but the eunuchs are.

Consort Wen said, “You really do have a big heart.”

Lin Yi frowned. “Didn’t you say my imperial father dreams of wiping out Jizhao Nunnery? They’re openly helping Third Brother like this—aren’t they afraid of crossing a line? And besides, isn’t Third Brother becoming the obvious target too early? Whether it’s my father or my other brothers, wouldn’t they all gang up on him? That can’t be a good thing.”

Consort Wen said coldly, “Jizhao Nunnery has always acted this way—declaring their stance to the world. Once they make their position clear, those who are wavering will make up their minds. Do you think the number of people supporting Prince Yong will increase?”

Lin Yi rinsed his sticky hands with tea from the pot, wiped them, and continued, “But isn’t it too early to stand out like this? My father isn’t even dead yet.”

“Prince Yong has already lost Yongzhou,” Qi Peng suddenly spoke leisurely. “General Mei Jingzhi is a seasoned veteran. Though he joined forces with Prince Yong, they were united in appearance but divided in heart. Otherwise, how could Cao Datong have seized the opportunity? If Prince Yong were to lose Hongzhou as well, he’d have no place left to stand. No matter what, it can’t get worse than the current situation.”

“That’s true,” Lin Yi snorted. “Is Jizhao Nunnery really that impressive? If that’s the case, why not pour all their efforts into cultivating more Grandmasters and Rank Nine experts? Why bother training soldiers? You have to pay them and feed them—so much trouble for little gain.”

“You think Grandmasters grow on cabbages?” Consort Wen snapped, increasingly irritated. “I’ve already told you—there are only a handful of Grandmasters in the world! No more than twenty Rank Nine experts! Yet Jizhao Nunnery has two Grandmasters—Sect Master Jingyi and Chief Seat Jingkuan. They also have four Rank Nine experts.

“They don’t have the ability to seize the realm, but they do have the ability to decide who can compete for it.”

Lin Yi began to understand.

Jizhao Nunnery had no army, no generals. Though they had martial arts masters, conquering the realm was pure fantasy.

In essence, they were a force that could break the balance between two sides.

At a critical moment, they could act like special forces—carrying out decapitation strikes.

“It’s nothing that impressive,” Lin Yi muttered.

All he cared about now was when cannons and muskets that wouldn’t explode would finally be developed.

“Ignorant child!” Consort Wen snapped, sweeping her sleeve as she left.

Only Hong Ying and Qi Peng remained at Lin Yi’s sides.

Lin Yi asked, puzzled, “Are Grandmasters really that amazing?”

Qi Peng glanced at Hong Ying and lowered his head without speaking.

Hong Ying smiled and said, “Your Highness, if a Grandmaster saw you, they would surely kowtow at once.”

After saying the idiom, he felt very satisfied.

In all of the prince’s novels, the most frequently used idioms—besides “terrifying indeed”—were “kowtow immediately.” Clearly, His Highness loved that phrase!

“Exactly!” Lin Yi clapped his hands. “When the time comes, I’ll make them properly experience what ‘vast righteous qi’ really is!”

Hong Ying pondered for a moment, then bravely asked, “Your Highness, what is ‘vast righteous qi’?”

It was the first time he had heard the term. It hadn’t appeared in any of the prince’s books.

“It’s hard to explain. As for this qi, it is supremely great and supremely firm. If cultivated with uprightness and without harm, it fills the space between heaven and earth.”

Lin Yi couldn’t remember the rest. Seeing Hong Ying’s eager expression, he improvised, “Heaven and earth possess righteous qi, manifesting in myriad forms. Below, it becomes rivers and mountains; above, it becomes the sun and stars. Anyway, it’s something very powerful. Once you have it, your words become law, and you can dispel evil and uphold righteousness!”

He was thinking of Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio.

Too bad he didn’t have time to write it—otherwise, he definitely would.

“Dispel evil?”

Hong Ying’s eyes lit up. Carefully, he asked, “Your Highness, are you referring to the Evil-Repelling Sword Technique?”

“The Evil-Repelling Sword Technique?”

Lin Yi looked at him with pity. This kid had read too many novels and lost his mind!

His becoming like this—Lin Yi bore much of the responsibility. He couldn’t bring himself to scold him and simply brushed it off. “Something like that.”

“I understand now,” Hong Ying said, beaming.

Lin Yi wanted to ask, What exactly do you understand?

But he was too embarrassed.

Let the boy live in his own world—it wasn’t such a bad thing.

After all, he was a pitiful soul.

Lin Yi really should take better care of him.

Especially since he had served at his side since childhood.