Time Travel: The Best Doctor in Ancient Times

Chapter 691: Chapter 530: Turbulence in the Imperial Court

Emperor Zhoulin spoke up to this point, his breath slightly unsteady.

The Imperial Grandson, Zhou Mu, on whom he had placed great hopes, and whom the Zhou Family Clan also held in high expectations, but his nature was truly beyond anyone’s control!

Thinking of that headache-inducing Imperial Grandson, Emperor Zhoulin sat back down on the Dragon Throne with a look of utter defeat.

He had always valued ability and accepted advice widely, which was why Great Zhou was peaceful and its people secure. To his dismay, he had unwittingly bound himself because Zhou Mu had left him speechless under pressure from the civil and military officials!

”Your Majesty, since ancient times, never has a woman been made a Prince. Madam Gu Changsheng has neither military achievements nor merits related to the dynasty’s prosperity. How could she be conferred the title of Prince just because she is betrothed to Prince Mu?” the Right Prime Minister, prompted by Prince Liang, took a step forward and spoke up.

”We implore Your Majesty to retract Madam Gu’s princely title. This woman, a harbinger of disaster, led Prince Mu to leave Great Zhou Territory of his own accord. Her intentions are indeed suspect!” the Left Prime Minister also spoke up.

Though they were not from the same faction, when it came to the matter regarding His Highness Prince Mu, they surprisingly shared a common stance!

Emperor Zhoulin had endured repeated provocations with patience, but upon hearing these words, anger surged within him.

Conferring the title upon Gu Changsheng was never his intent; he had been forced into such a decision by a disappointing descendant!

Great Zhou could not exist without Zhou Mu!

But the imperial edict had been issued; to retract it was to slap his own face!

Imperial power reigned supreme; he had granted the Court Officials the right to offer counsel, but he would never allow them to become irrelevant to the agenda of the Zhou Imperial Clan!

”Audacious! An Emperor’s word is no jest. Since the decree has been given, it shall not be retracted!” With a heavy slap on the Dragon Case, Emperor Zhoulin’s patience reached its limit, and he pointed at the kneeling officials, his face twitching with rage, ”Madam Gu was bestowed the title of Prince because Zhou Mu offered his princely title in marriage. You all have toiled over your studies for more than ten years, claiming that only through promotions and achievements can one confer titles on wives and perpetuate family lines. If you may, why can’t my Imperial Grandson?”

”My Imperial Grandson has expanded our territory for Great Zhou, so why can’t he take a wife in return for his title? If you want the decree for Madam Gu’s title to be retracted, your family matriarchs and wives’ imperial authorizations will also be revoked. If you have no objections, I shall issue the order right now!”

Gu Changsheng, he didn’t favor, but now, Gu Changsheng’s birth details were enshrined in the Zhou Family Ancestral Hall. March has passed, and she had already become the consecrated Clan Lady of the Zhou Family!

There was no possibility for reversal in this matter!

The kneeling officials were startled upon hearing this.

Emperor Zhoulin’s words held some logic. To retract the authorizations of their own family matrons and wives...

Thus, the Left and Right Prime Ministers exchanged glances and chose to ignore the issue.

”Your Majesty, even so, due to her own selfish desires, Madam Gu Changsheng has dispatched troops to the Southern Border without authorization and took Prince Mu with her. This is an outright defiance of courtly protocols and Your Majesty’s authority! We implore Your Majesty for a strict punishment!” the Right Prime Minister spoke again.

”It’s not Madam Gu Changsheng! It’s Prince Changsheng! She is already the Prince Changsheng whom I have personally decreed!” Emperor Zhoulin glared at the kneeling Right Prime Minister, his face darkening.

He didn’t want to speak for Gu Changsheng, but as the saying goes, skeletons shouldn’t be aired in public. No matter what, Gu Changsheng was now the grandson’s wife he had chosen, and she was not to be disrespected!

”Your Majesty, you are coddling a villain!” the Left Prime Minister prostrated himself, ”We implore Your Majesty to prioritize the welfare of the state and enforce the law with severity!”

”We implore Your Majesty to prioritize the welfare of the state and enforce the law with severity!”

”...”

The kneeling officials immediately repeated the plea.

The Zhou princes standing aside lowered their heads, sneers spread across their faces, especially Prince Liang, who had just been released from house arrest. His smile brimmed with schadenfreude, although he was somewhat pale, evidently unwell...

Emperor Zhoulin massaged his forehead with a pained expression. That woman! The one his Imperial Grandson had set his heart on, there was no one who knew better than him just how audacious she was!

She dared to defy an imperial edict, dared even to assault the imperial messenger, what wasn’t she capable of doing?

But now, the fact that the two of them had dispatched troops to the Southern Border without authorization was undeniable, and the civil and military officials’ kneeling petition had once again left him in an impossible situation!

His greater worry was whether his Imperial Grandson, having left with merely eight hundred soldiers, would return safely from the Southern Border.

”Your Majesty, this matter has already dragged on for two or three months. Any further delays and ministers will become unfaithful, and the nation will no longer be a nation. Please prioritize the bigger picture for the sake of Great Zhou!” the Right Prime Minister prostrated himself, his face etched with sorrow as he spoke.

These words were indeed grave.

Emperor Zhoulin’s lips twitched at these words, and he sighed dismally. After sheltering the child for so long, after so much inaction, was he really no longer able to protect that boy?

No! That couldn’t be! He would certainly protect his Imperial Grandson! As for the aftermath, that detestable woman would have to bear it!

”Summon someone. Issue an order to revoke...” Having made up his mind, Emperor Zhoulin began to speak in a grave voice.

”Urgent military dispatch from eight hundred li away! Urgent military dispatch!”

Just as Emperor Zhoulin had begun to speak, a frantic shout came from outside the Imperial Court. Matters of military dispatches were crucial to the stability of the border, of the utmost importance. Emperor Zhoulin’s expression darkened immediately. Could it be that while Zhou Mu was away from Great Zhou, the other three kingdoms had dared to invade the border?

”It shouldn’t be like this. Although Zhou Mu is not here, his army of a million, save for the hundred thousand left to defend Liuzhou, is stationed at the Three Borders. By all accounts, the Three Kingdoms should not be attacking...”

”Your Majesty! An urgent war report from Nanlu City, eight hundred li away!” A soldier, drenched in sweat and in a disheveled state, ran into the Imperial Court. In front of the war report, the kneeling officials immediately made way.

”Speak!” Nanlu City adjoins Bashu and is the southernmost place at the border of Great Zhou. Hearing it was a war report from Nanlu City, Emperor Zhoulin felt a chill in his heart—could it be that his Imperial Grandson had encountered some misfortune in the Southern Border...

”Nanlu City war report: In the seventeenth year of Emperor Zhoulin’s reign, during autumn, His Highness Prince Mu and His Highness Prince Changsheng passed through Bashu, crossed Dayao Mountain into the Southern Border. Prince Changsheng, with only six female generals under his command, captured Dayao Village, a strategic military location in the Southern Border. The sixty thousand garrisoned troops of Dayao Village collapsed; Prince Changsheng and his six subordinates suffered no casualties. In the battle of Dayao Village, His Highness Prince Changsheng triumphed over sixty thousand with a force of seven—a complete victory!”

The soldier kneeling on the ground to report the battle had a straight back, yet his hands were trembling, and his eyes flickered with excited tears.

Silence!

A sudden silence!

The Great Zhou Dynasty Court fell into an eerie quiet, so quiet you could hear a pin drop, utterly voiceless.

Emperor Zhoulin and the eyes of the civil and military officials all rested on the small messenger soldier kneeling before them...

”What... what did you say?”

After a long while, Emperor Zhoulin finally stood up tremulously from behind the Dragon Case and staggered down the steps. The Chamberlain Eunuch, seeing this, hurriedly followed.

”Your Majesty, His Highness Prince Changsheng triumphed against greater numbers. With seven against sixty thousand, he captured Dayao Village!” Seeing the emperor’s imperial yellow robes, the messenger soldier cried tears of joy, smiling as he spoke.

”Seven against sixty thousand... seven... against sixty thousand...” Emperor Zhoulin stared blankly into the distance, muttering to himself in disbelief, then suddenly burst into laughter, ”Haha... excellent, excellent! Truly a Zhou Family Clan Lady to be proud of! Wonderful, wonderful!”

”Summon someone! Decree the following: Prince Changsheng, achieving victory against the odds, capturing Dayao Village with seven against sixty thousand—an unprecedented feat to be recorded in the annals of history, to be celebrated for eternity. His Foster Father, Mr. Ban Shan, to be appointed as the administrator of Liuzhou Region for his contributions to the state, and additionally, be granted the title Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince!”

As the imperial edict was announced, Emperor Zhoulin laughed and walked out of the Imperial Court.

This time, the officials kneeling down did not speak a word, nor did they remember to offer help to stand; they had all forgotten!

What does it mean to fight against sixty thousand with just one?

The officials suddenly felt a shiver in their hearts. Such a military achievement, even Prince Mu had never accomplished...

Gu Changsheng, a woman, leading her female generals, with a mere seven women, captured Dayao Village, a strategic defense location of the Southern Border!

The officials suddenly felt that their world had plunged into chaos. This triumphant war report turned their previous understanding upside down and made them start doubting the reality of their world...

The princes standing at the side of the Imperial Court were pondering Emperor Zhoulin’s last edict.

The Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince, throughout history, had always been the teacher of the Crown Prince...

To bestow this edict to Mr. Ban Shan, a literary giant, would not normally be an issue, but granting it to the Foster Father of Gu Changsheng, the future father-in-law of Zhou Mu, now that was a significant problem!

Thus, Emperor Zhoulin’s intentions had suddenly become clear, as clear as day!

The Imperial Court was about to witness another battle without gunfire...

...

Meanwhile, Gu Changsheng, after resting and consolidating her troops, believing that her notorious reputation was sufficient deterrence, set out with her army!

This time, without even a Vanguard Army to clear the way, the mighty force of eight hundred marched directly!

Xiangka Tianji had issued orders to resist to the death, but such was the intimidating reputation of Gu Changsheng, as the one blessed by the God of the Red Sun, that...

That, as Gu Changsheng’s eight hundred-strong army advanced as if entering an unguarded territory, there were no traps in the mountains, white flags hung from the city walls, and as they passed, it was as though they were walking on level ground, without a hint of resistance!

”This is infuriating! Absolutely infuriating! Gu Changsheng, you’re definitely doing this on purpose!” Borjigin Nian, her face filled with indignation, gazed at the carefree woman before her and couldn’t help but swing her Long Whip toward her, ”Gu Changsheng, you’re certainly doing this deliberately. Along this journey, not to mention fighting a battle, I haven’t even seen a soldier’s hair. How can I become famous from just one battle this way?”

Before they even reached the city, white flags were already hoisted at the gates, and not a single soldier could be seen on the city walls!

How can there be a battle then? How? What battle is there to fight when even Gu Changsheng let her lead the way as the vanguard?

Wasn’t this just playing her for a fool?

”Aren’t I doing this because I see that you’re wholeheartedly eager and don’t want to break your heart? Who would have known that these people in the Southern Border are so cowardly and afraid of death that they dare disobey the Xiangka Clan’s orders, deserting the city one after another...” Gu Changsheng shrugged indifferently, signaling that she too was helpless.

”Defying a direct command could lead to execution by the Xiangka Clan—perhaps ending in death, but resisting you? Well, that wouldn’t just be a possibility of death, but instant execution. Changsheng, my love, what do you think they would choose?” Zhou Mu said, smiling faintly as he popped a date into her mouth.

”From this, one can see there truly is no shortage of wise people in this world!” Gu Changsheng exclaimed, moved by the words.

Standing to the side, Borjigin Nian pointed at the two who were resonating in agreement, feeling deeply that she was being scorned...