Chapter 19

Tianxiang Hall.

Amidst a cacophony of noise,

Not far away, dozens of people gathered in a courtyard.

Li Jixian appeared unusually excited and ran quickly toward the crowd.

The surrounding palace maids and eunuchs were particularly tense, fearing that the Crown Prince would fall and hurt himself.

Gu Jinnian walked calmly, his steps measured.

Eunuch Bai Ying followed behind, explaining to Gu Jinnian.

"Your Highness."

"Those are the heirs of the Qin King, Wei King, Jin King, Qi King, and Hui King, as well as a few princesses."

Eunuch Bai Ying smiled.

"Qin King, Wei King, and Jin King?"

Gu Jinnian glanced over.

He paid special attention to the descendants of the Qin King, Wei King, and Jin King.

The Qin King and Wei King were born to the same mother as the current Crown Prince, all being the children of Empress Guo.

The three had a very close relationship since childhood, while the Jin King was the son of the most favored concubine of his uncle, and was also very favored. The other princes were just so-so.

However, the Qin King and Wei King were not easy to deal with. The entire Daxia knew that the Qin King was very similar to Emperor Yongsheng in both personality and temperament. During the Jiande Crisis, the Qin King was always the first to lead the charge, achieving remarkable feats, and now he commanded the Daxia Tiance Army, wielding real power.

One could say that without the Qin King, his uncle might not have been able to seize the throne.

As for the Wei King, he was the Commander of the Xundeng Bureau, wielding great power. His sixth uncle worked under the Wei King.

The Jin King, on the other hand, was more moderate, with no particular ambitions, so he was relatively safe.

Glancing over,

The heir of the Qin King was probably around eighteen years old, and the heir of the Wei King was about the same age, both of the same generation as Gu Jinnian.

In theory, the heirs of the Qin King and Wei King were not originally these two. They had several older brothers, but they all died during the Jiande Crisis.

Thus, they became the heirs.

The heir of the Qin King wore a green brocade robe, looking more refined, while the heir of the Wei King looked a bit cunning, his eyes darting around. Perhaps influenced by his father, who was the Commander of the Xundeng Bureau, he had learned a few things.

"What are they doing?"

Gu Jinnian asked curiously, seeing a group of people gathered not far away, not sure what they were playing.

"Your Highness."

"Perhaps the Crown Prince and the other heirs are testing their courage."

Eunuch Bai Ying replied.

"Testing their courage?"

Gu Jinnian was curious, what was this about?

"Your Highness may not know, this is a game from the Bianmu Grassland."

"It's a kind of trap, with dozens of mechanisms. One of them, if pressed, will automatically clamp the fingers, but it won't hurt the skin. It's used by the Crown Prince and others to test their courage."

Eunuch Bai Ying smiled in response.

"Testing their courage?"

Gu Jinnian found it somewhat ridiculous.

He walked over, not getting too close, just taking a look at the trap. It wasn't very large, resembling a beast's mouth, with the teeth being the mechanisms.

Isn't this just a kind of puzzle toy?

Damn, they are really a bunch of idiots.

Using this to test courage? Are people in ancient times really this boring?

Not far away, Gu Jinnian felt that these people were indeed quite boring.

But thinking about it, he could understand. These heirs and the Crown Prince, though they looked bright and shiny on the surface, were still not of age.

Moreover, they had spent their lives in the palace or the princely mansions, eating well and drinking well. Apart from using their brains for reading, they had little life experience and few entertainment activities. Even going to a brothel required them to be on edge, so their minds were still somewhat immature.

Gu Jinnian, having lived two lives, was naturally not as naive as them.

Shaking his head, he decided to enjoy the beauty of the palace.

He left and had Eunuch Bai Ying show him around.

Time passed slowly, and before he knew it, half an hour had gone by.

During this half hour, Gu Jinnian took a general look at the palace. Without the modern atmosphere, it indeed gave a unique feeling.

Moreover, the palace maids were indeed all pretty, with not a single ugly one to be found.

All shapes and sizes, it was enough to make one's imagination run wild.

Just as Gu Jinnian was wandering, a few figures appeared from the other side.

"Hmph."

With a slight cold snort, Gu Jinnian couldn't help but look over.

The leader was an old man, about sixty years old, but in this world where immortals and martial artists coexisted, the apparent age was usually a decade or so older.

The old man had white hair, wearing a second-rank brocade robe, and his gaze was unfriendly as he looked at Gu Jinnian. The cold snort was clearly directed at him.

"Minister of Rites, Yang Kai?"

With just one glance, Gu Jinnian knew who it was.

Yang Kai, the Minister of Rites of Daxia.

A second-rank official.

And also a great Confucian scholar, with a status and reputation that were unparalleled.

He didn't expect to meet Yang Kai in the palace?

But what was the meaning of that cold snort?

Gu Jinnian frowned slightly but didn't speak, just looking at the other person.

Feeling Gu Jinnian's gaze, Yang Kai's voice rang out.

"Eunuch Xu, have someone sweep the courtyard inside and out. This is the palace, the holy land of Daxia, and it must not be tainted by any filth."

Yang Kai spoke, not directly confronting Gu Jinnian, but his words were clearly aimed at him.

Hearing this, Gu Jinnian almost laughed.

Good grief, your daughter wronged me, and you, a great Minister of Rites, living for seventy or eighty years, don't have any sense?

Coming out to curse? Bullying a child?

Gu Jinnian was a bit angry. The incident with Zhou Ning hadn't been resolved, and now you're messing with my mindset?

Just bullying a child? If my grandfather were here, would you dare say this?

At that moment, Gu Jinnian's voice rang out.

"A gentleman's path is always pure, while a small person sees only filth."

His voice wasn't loud, but it was just enough to reach everyone's ears.

Instantly, the Minister of Rites' gaze turned cold, filled with deep disdain.

Yang Kai indeed despised Gu Jinnian. First, because Gu Jinnian had flirted with his granddaughter, and second, because Gu Jinnian had insulted him as an old fool. But what truly made Yang Kai despise him was that to resolve the incident, he had to give up a direct admission to the Daxia Academy.

It wasn't that the admission was very important, but he believed that sending Gu Jinnian to the Daxia Academy would bring shame to the academy.

This was the source of his anger.

So when he saw Gu Jinnian, he couldn't help but say something.

But he didn't expect Gu Jinnian to dare to respond?

"Ridiculous."

Yang Kai's angry voice rang out, his gaze cold.

Gu Jinnian was completely unfazed.

"Do you call yourself a gentleman?"

"You truly defile the title."

"At such a young age, you are already uneducated and disgracing the Gu family's name. Relying on your family's power, you act recklessly. People like you will surely become a great threat in the future."

"If it weren't for the sake of the Duke, I would have disciplined you long ago."

Yang Kai's words were a scathing rebuke.

This made Gu Jinnian truly angry.

But before he could speak, Yang Kai's voice rang out again.

"Shut up."

"I don't have time to argue with you."

"You used trickery to get into the Daxia Academy, and you're still boasting here."

"Outside, I don't say anything because of your status."

"But once you enter the Daxia Academy, if you continue to be disrespectful and act recklessly, don't blame me for being ruthless."

Yang Kai's words were passionate, clearly meant to provoke Gu Jinnian.

Moreover, he emphasized the Daxia Academy.

What made Gu Jinnian angriest was that Yang Kai didn't give him a chance to respond, scolding him and then walking into the courtyard.

But it wasn't out of fear, but because he had urgent matters and didn't want to argue.

Yang Kai left.

Leaving Gu Jinnian with a calm face.

He knew Yang Kai had a deep grudge against him.

But that wasn't a reason for him to cause trouble.

"Your Highness, don't be angry. Minister Yang is just troubled, not targeting you."

"Your Highness, don't be impulsive."

At that moment, Eunuch Bai Ying hurriedly spoke, trying to calm Gu Jinnian's anger.

"I understand, don't worry, Eunuch."

"Let's go back to Tianxiang Hall."

Gu Jinnian nodded, knowing he couldn't confront Yang Kai.

But he couldn't let this go.

A gentleman's revenge is ten years in the making.

Hearing Gu Jinnian's response, Eunuch Bai Ying was secretly pleased, admiring Gu Jinnian's wisdom. If it were the Crown Prince, he would have already caused a commotion.

Soon,

Eunuch Bai Ying led Gu Jinnian back to Tianxiang Hall.

On the way, Gu Jinnian seemed preoccupied.

Two things were on his mind. One, he was curious why Yang Kai's anger didn't seem to have any resentment.

Two, he was planning his revenge.

At that moment,

In Tianxiang Garden,

Li Jixian was still playing the barbarian trap game with the heirs of the Qin King and others.

Gu Jinnian stood to the side, glancing over, but his mind was elsewhere.

Why there was no resentment, he didn't know.

Perhaps it was because of Confucian principles.

But that wasn't important. What was important was how to take revenge, using his own methods.

Unable to think of a plan immediately, Gu Jinnian could only look at the group.

At that moment, only two mechanisms were left on the trap, meaning one of them must be the trigger.

Pressing the wrong one would result in a painful hand.

Ten fingers connected to the heart, this thing would definitely hurt.

But Li Jixian had the courage. After choosing one, he pressed it without hesitation.

Some of the more timid princesses closed their eyes, afraid.

But Li Jixian was lucky and didn't trigger the mechanism.

Instantly, his triumphant laughter rang out.

"Two to one, I dared to choose. Tell me, am I the bravest in Daxia?"

Li Jixian's voice echoed.

He was very proud, after all, with a fifty-fifty chance, the others didn't dare to choose, only he did.

Though the method was childish, he was indeed brave.

"This is only the third round, let's continue."

"Right, only the third round, two more rounds, best of five."

The heir of the Qin King and the heir of the Wei King were clearly not satisfied and demanded to continue.

These young people, that was all they were good for.

Seeing the Crown Prince's triumph, a plan formed in Gu Jinnian's mind.

A perfect plan for revenge.

At that moment, the heir of the Wei King, who had been looking around, turned his gaze to Gu Jinnian.

"Brother Jinnian, you're here too."

He spoke, a friendly smile on his face, inviting Gu Jinnian.