Chapter 83: Beating Up the Crown Prince
"Everyone, stand back!"
With a thunderous command, a squad of no fewer than a hundred Imperial Guards clad in armor and wielding halberds, led by their commander He Zhizhang, drove away the crowd that had gathered outside the Li residence and surged directly into the manor.
"Greetings to the Prince Consort. I am He Zhizhang, sent by imperial decree to offer my assistance."
...
"His Majesty actually dispatched He Zhizhang himself?"
"Not just him. Look at those behind him—every one of those armored warriors has reached the Golden Core stage."
"Gasp!..."
"It's not as if they're destroying the family or wiping them out—why send such a force?"
"Shh! Keep your voice down. Do you have a death wish?"
...
Despite his hundredfold reluctance, Gu Xiaopang finally gave a begrudging nod.
At He Zhizhang's order, the hundred Golden Core guards swept a cold glare outside, and in an instant, the courtyard was cleared. The countless members of the Li clan were rounded up and placed under guard. The more timid among them were so frightened they lost control or collapsed in terror.
"Alas, Commander He, my family has met with great misfortune," Li Daochen, having regained some of his composure with the help of Song Wuji, clasped his hands to He Zhizhang with a wry smile.
The subsequent interrogation—if it could be called that—hardly required any effort, as the terrified members of the Li clan confessed everything without resistance.
It turned out that the mastermind behind it all was none other than the exalted Crown Prince himself. After failing to win over the Li family with repeated offers of wine, he turned to threats and coercion, manipulating the elders of the clan to act behind the back of Li Daochen, the uncle who paid little heed to worldly affairs. At a high-level family banquet, they slipped Drunken Immortal Wither Spirit Powder into the drinks of the patriarch's line...
Thus, when Li Haisong returned to the family, he was taken down before he even had a chance to pay his respects to Li Daochen, and not a ripple of trouble was raised.
...
All those of the Li family implicated in the affair had their cultivation sealed and were gathered in the ancestral hall. As Gu Xiaopang put it, their fate—life or death—would be decided by Li Haisong in due course.
At that moment, Li Haisong, having taken all manner of restorative pills, sat in his room, gazing with deep emotion at Gu Xiaopang, who stubbornly refused to leave and insisted on guarding him.
He never imagined that a friend he had made by standing up for justice in a moment of chance would become, by some twist of fate, the savior of himself and dozens of his kin...
...
The events at the Li residence that day spread through the imperial capital as if on wings.
As for the upheaval within the main and branch lines of the Li clan—arguably the leading family of the second tier, beneath the Four Great Clans—few cared to give it much thought.
All anyone could talk about was how Gu Xiaopang had braved the gauntlet alone for a friend, how his combat prowess rivaled late Golden Core cultivators, and how his secret arts could even defeat those at the early Nascent Soul stage...
Even Emperor Zi Qiankun himself realized he had underestimated Gu Changqing.
This thoroughly extinguished any lingering desire among the defeated disciples of the Nine Prefectures to challenge him again and regain their lost honor.
...
At dawn the next day, after bidding farewell to Li Haisong—who had recovered enough to walk—Gu Xiaopang set out for the palace with Bai Ling'er.
His purpose was simple—not to pay respects to His Majesty, nor to catch a glimpse of the little princess, but purely to give the Crown Prince Zi Wuming a good thrashing.
"Greetings, Prince Consort!"
"Mmm, you may all rise."
"You! Lead me to the Eastern Palace."
"Yes, Prince Consort, please follow me."
...
A quarter of an hour later, the Eastern Palace gates loomed ahead. Dismissing his escort, Gu Xiaopang strode inside with Bai Ling'er at his side.
"Prince Consort, what brings you here? His Highness the Crown Prince is likely busy at the moment, I..."
"Out of my way!"
"Ouch! Prince Consort, you can't just force your way in!"
...
All the commotion naturally drew the Crown Prince's attention. As heir to the throne, he couldn't fathom who would dare barge into his Eastern Palace so brazenly. He had barely opened his door, foot still on the threshold, when he came face to face with Gu Xiaopang, who had forced his way straight in.
"Ah, isn't this my dear brother-in-law? What brings you to your good brother-in-law's place? You could have at least sent word..."
"Brother-in-law? To hell with your brother-in-law!"
With a single kick, Gu Xiaopang sent him flying back into the room, followed him inside, and shut the door behind him.
The countless eunuchs and maids who had tried to block his way now heard nothing from within but the Crown Prince's repeated cries and the sounds of chaos.
"The Crown Prince decrees: he is unwell and requires several days of seclusion. Any who disturb him will be executed!"
After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Gu Xiaopang opened the door, casually closed it behind him, left behind those words, and strode off with the white-robed beauty.
...
"Have you heard? The Prince Consort cornered the Crown Prince in his room and gave him a thorough beating!"
"Who hasn't? What a scandalous affair!"
"Indeed! The Crown Prince once took a liking to my youngest daughter. If I hadn't begged His Majesty..."
"Tell me about it. Word is, the trouble at the Li residence a few days ago was the Crown Prince’s doing as well."
...
News of Gu Xiaopang forcing his way into the Eastern Palace and thrashing the Crown Prince sparked another wave of heated discussion.
As expected, in the days that followed, not a soul caught sight of the Crown Prince—not even at court.
...
A few days later.
The Crown Prince finally opened his door. As he and the Second Prince, Zi Chengfeng, prepared to leave together after a visit, Gu Xiaopang arrived for another "visit."
Once more, chaos erupted—the sound of crashing tiles and wailing could be heard throughout the residence, as the Crown Prince and Second Prince cried out in distress...
...