Book 15: Chapter 48
Book 15: Chapter 48
Orange Prince was born and raised privileged, and he was too proud to be beneath anyone, so he deemed the citizens’ world as undeserving of his grace, which was contrary to his brothers. For that reason, not many people recognised the rebellious Prince of legends. Orange Prince, however, recognised the officer he once enthusiastically tried to recruit, only to be backstabbed by during his revolt. Despite the bad blood between them, though, Orange Prince took one glance at Long Zaitian before walking off with his group.
Had Orange Prince’s appearance changed, Long Zaitian wouldn’t have recognised him.
“Hey, you…” The dirty captain called to the new recruit who walked off. Long Zaitian’s aura dipped as soon as the new recruit turned back and glared at him. “Wh-what’s your name?”
“Li Chengzhi.”
He really is…
The other eight troops stared at their captain in confusion. A few of them even suspected the new captain was trying to make life difficult for the good-looking new guy. It wasn’t odd for none of them to recognise Orange Prince when the Princes’ names were seldom mentioned outside of the imperial palace, not to mention none of them were residents of the capital.
Long Zaitian had a suspicion he didn’t dare to pursue straight away. Therefore, he spent the next ten days watching, gathering supportive evidence and analysing. Waking up early for training and carrying out daily duties were a walk in the park for him; they were virtually only an appetiser compared to his usual routine. The majority of his focus was fixated on Li Chengzhi.
Li Chengzhi fulfilled the same duties as the other soldiers, but he was clearly not used to the food, didn’t have the same endurance in training, and wasn’t as proficient as the others in the kitchen. He was always last to rise in the morning, and people would easily lap him five times during their runs. Every job was challenging for him.
Long Zaitian helped Li Chengzhi with tasks that were too demanding for him, such as letting him have a few extra serves of the side dishes instead of having straight porridge. He didn’t provide Li Chengzhi with a private toilet, but he’d give Li Chengzhi two extra sheets of paper, and similar other gestures. He continued to help and monitor Li Chengzhi until he was certain that he wasn’t an imposter or someone posing as Li Chengzhi for a sinister plot. He wasn’t sure if Li Chengzhi was deliberately assigned to his squad, or if someone assigned him to the squad with a specific intention in mind, either. He wasn’t convinced their meeting was a coincidence.
One afternoon, Long Zaitian finally approached Li Chengzhi. “Are you really Li Chengzhi?”
Li Chengzhi stopped filling his water pouch and looked at Long Zaitian out the corner of his eyes.
“Don’t you hate this?”
Long Zaitian only knew one person with a condescending gaze that was annoying enough for him to have an urge to belt them.
“Guess I’m right.” Long Zaitian inhaled, then bowed. “Long Zaitian pays his respects, Your Highness.”
Li Chengzhi snickered. “Not even going to kneel now, yet you have the shame to call me ‘Your Highness’?”
Following his exile, Li Chengzhi didn’t receive any assistance from his mother as she feared her interventions would cost him his life. Still, he was Emperor Yuansheng’s son. Even if the highest-ranking officials weren’t willing to associate with him anymore, there were still ambitious people, such as ignorant merchants, assuming that Li Chengzhi would eventually be restored to glory since he wasn’t executed for treason, so he’d repay them for looking out for him when he was down in the dumps once he was back up. Rather than adding value to someone who was already in a good position, it was a better investment to help someone in need. A Prince would struggle to find genuine companions regardless of whether he was doing well or bad, but there was an opportunity at the moment. If it was possible to openly butter him up, the merchants would’ve lined up from the northern doors to the southern doors daily.
Li Chengzhi never turned anyone or their gifts away, but he never remembered any names. He was aware that it was difficult to tirelessly support someone who was going to struggle for a prolonged period. Without his father having to say a word, a few warnings from others would’ve been sufficient to deter his supporters away in an instant. He knew his father wouldn’t forgive him, but carrying on as he was forever wasn’t his style. His sentence stated he couldn’t start a business, covet fame or glory, but serving as a soldier wasn’t off limits. In hopes of having soldiers at his command, he offered his services to the barrack outside the capital.
“Due to your sentence, this one cannot salute you formally. Once you have recognised your mistakes, His Majesty will forgive you and count on you once again.”
“Mistakes?” Li Chengzhi cracked a smile. “From the dawn of man, the winner takes all, and the loser gets nothing. What mistake is there? I merely trusted the wrong people. If I had adepts on my side, I wouldn’t be in this state, and you’d be on your knees before me. Don’t fret. There’s no need to butter me up. You think I resent you? Defeat is normal in war. Didn’t you lose your place and end up here? I’m not as disappointing as you are, drowning my woes in alcohol and earnestly guarding a gate. You think I need your advice?”
Li Chengzhi walked off after he said what he had to say.
That was Long Zaitian’s first time meeting the real Li Chengzhi. Despite being brushed off, he was elated because he had a realisation. He wasn’t demoted, and His Majesty didn’t give up on him. His Majesty had entrusted him with a daunting and secret mission!