Grandson Leaves the Palace

The night was well past its midpoint, and the cold wind grew even more biting. Ning Chen could feel the familiar ache in his legs returning, and he descended the pagoda, a scowl on his face, feeling irritable.

The pagoda stood ten zhang tall, and the crippled figure was undeniably dead. The Azure Bow and its quiver lay scattered not far away, emitting a chilling glow.

This is a good bow, Ning Chen thought to himself.

In truth, he had no idea what made a good bow or a bad one; he was simply judging by feel.

This bow had nearly shot him through last time, and it had almost done so again this time. It was safe to say they had a deep-seated grudge.

The bow's material wasn't wood but an unknown metal. There were too many strange things in this world for him to distinguish them.

Engraved on the inside of the Azure Bow were the characters "Po Shang," looking ancient and grand. It seemed quite old and probably worth a good sum of money.

From this day forward, this Azure Bow was his, and so was the quiver.

The road back was quite long, and Ning Chen didn't want to exert himself, so he walked slowly. The wheelchair squeaked as it rolled over the stone path, a grating sound, but still better than emptiness and loneliness.

Dark clouds gradually obscured the moon. This damn sky seemed intent on snowing again, endlessly, annoyingly.

Occasionally, a faint sound came from behind him. Ning Chen knew someone was following him, and not just one or two.

He couldn't be bothered to care. As long as no one was trying to kill him, it was a good day.

Among those behind him, there were surely spies from Grandson. If he accidentally harmed the wrong person, the consequences could be severe.

There weren't many people in this world he feared. Unfortunately, Grandson was one of them.

The cold wind felt particularly sharp at the hem of his clothes. Ning Chen, walking along, shivered involuntarily, his hands on the wheelchair slightly stiff.

Don't tell me I'm going to cough up blood again.

The dull ache in his chest worsened his already foul mood. He had taken medicine that evening, but it seemed to have had little effect.

Eight hundred taels of silver wasted.

Lingyan Pavilion was already quiet. Even the women of the pleasure house needed rest. They say courtesans are heartless and actors unrighteous, but in truth, the truly heartless and unrighteous ones were these self-proclaimed cultured patrons.

Ning Chen hated nothing more than these so-called cultured scholars. The scholars might be cultured, but behind their cultured facade lay the blood and tears of women.

Du Shiniang jumped into a river, Chen Yuanyuan became a nun, Liu Rushi hanged herself, and Li Shishi preferred death to submission.

He wasn't a hothead, but if anyone dared to call themselves a "cultured scholar" in front of him, he would certainly slap them with the sole of his shoe.

"Young Master Ning."

Just then, a beautiful figure slowly emerged from beneath the moon. It was Yue Ling, whom he had parted with not long ago.

"Not asleep yet, so late?" Ning Chen asked, a hint of surprise on his face.

Yue Ling looked thoughtfully in the direction of the pagoda and replied softly, "I heard some sounds just now, so I came out to see."

Ning Chen understood. It must have been the commotion from the arrow colliding with the Large Black Umbrella. He hadn't expected Yue Ling to notice from such a distance. It seemed that tonight's events would quickly spread throughout the Imperial City.

The night by the Yin River was beautiful, but the heavens were unkind; a light snow began to fall.

"I'll see you back," Ning Chen said, concerned for Yue Ling's health.

"Mhm." Yue Ling didn't refuse. Her residence wasn't far from here, less than a quarter hour's walk.

Ning Chen propelled his own wheelchair, not letting Yue Ling push him. The night was too cold, and the wheelchair would be very chilly.

"Cough, cough."

The falling snow was beautiful, and also very cold. Yue Ling wasn't dressed lightly, yet she coughed softly and continuously. It seemed they had found another similarity: neither of them liked snow.

Having known each other for only a few days, Ning Chen realized he knew almost nothing about this unique woman. He couldn't help but ask, "Where is your hometown, Miss Ling?"

"North," Yue Ling said softly, pointing northward.

Ning Chen chuckled. He knew it was north; they had met in the northern part of Great Xia. But since Yue Ling didn't want to say, he wouldn't press further.

"Young Master Ning, what is your life's greatest aspiration?" Yue Ling looked toward the distant north, a glint of exceptionally bright color in her eyes, so intense it was hard to meet her gaze.

Ning Chen fell silent. This question was too difficult for him to answer. Before, he wanted to leave the palace. Later, he did leave, but now he was trying every means to get back in.

If he had to say, it was to be able to stand up one day.

A simple wish, yet seemingly out of reach.

"What about you?" Ning Chen countered, not answering directly.

"Peace under heaven, and prosperity for the common people!"

When she spoke these words, there was no pretense on Yue Ling's beautiful face. She was pure and noble, untainted by a speck of dust.

Ning Chen grew even quieter. He was not like her. He always pushed the idea of "peace under heaven" to the next life because he knew he couldn't achieve it.

It was an ideal that could not be desecrated, yet also the most difficult to realize.

After arriving at Yuelai Inn, Yue Ling went up to rest. Ning Chen watched her ascend the stairs, then turned his wheelchair and left.

He sincerely hoped her ideals could be realized.

Upon returning to Lingyan Pavilion, Ning Chen sat before his bed, looking at the Po Shang Bow in his hand. He then circulated his internal energy and gently drew the bowstring.

It was an incredibly stiff bow; it didn't budge. Left with no choice, he had to apply more force, channeling his true essence into the bow. He felt a powerful suction, and his internal energy instantly decreased by thirty percent.

No wonder.

Ning Chen frowned, muttering to himself. This bow was indeed strange; it consumed true essence too rapidly. An ordinary person wouldn't even be able to draw it once.

Even he could probably only draw it twice at most now.

This thing was fine for self-preservation, but it couldn't be used in every fight, or he'd be exhausted to death.

Putting the Po Shang Bow behind him, Ning Chen closed his eyes and began to meditate. He'd been fighting too often recently, and getting injured was as common as eating. If he didn't seize this opportunity to heal now, and his injuries flared up during the next battle, he'd be in for a rough time.

Night passed quickly, but dawn didn't arrive as usual. Light snow fell slowly, painting the entire Imperial City in a beautiful white.

Outside Lingyan Pavilion, Ning Chen had left his room early. He wheeled himself to the Yin River, watching the falling snow cover the ice. Gradually, he found himself growing fond of this pure and beautiful scenery.

If it weren't for his legs, snow might not be so bad after all.

The snow in the Imperial City wasn't heavy and didn't hinder people's travels. People came and went, bustling and peaceful, reflecting the journey of life.

After a night of contemplation, Ning Chen finally knew how to contact Grandson in a way that would make the Xia Emperor and Western Palace wary and prevent them from openly making a move.

Unfortunately, he would have to leave without saying goodbye again.

Ning Chen wheeled himself to the Buddhist pagoda. From its top, he gazed at the distant Imperial City, then took out the Po Shang Bow from behind him, drew the string, nocked an arrow, and shot it towards Weiyang Palace.

Whoosh!

The iron arrow, empowered by the Scroll of Life's true essence, was enveloped in a silver light. It pierced through the void, streaking towards Weiyang Palace like a meteor.

Inside Weiyang Palace, Qing Ling's expression drastically changed. Seeing the silver light shooting across the sky, she darted three zhang forward, drew one of her closest swords, then stomped her foot, launched herself into the air, and swung her sword to block the terrifying arrow light.

With a bang, the longsword couldn't withstand the immense force and shattered into pieces. Qing Ling's eyes narrowed, and her slender hand reached for the iron arrow in the silver light.

Suddenly, Qing Ling's body jolted. After grabbing the iron arrow, she spun around and darted towards Grandson's sleeping quarters.

Behind the iron arrow, a Moon-shaped Jade Pendant swayed. Qing Ling's heart felt heavy. She knew this was something the empress specially left for that boy's protection. Very few people knew about it, so no one could possibly use it as a threat.

Therefore, this jade pendant must have been shot by Ning Chen himself.

The situation was urgent, and Qing Ling didn't have time to ponder how he could possess such ability. Worry clouded her mind; she was afraid he was in some danger and desperately needed her and the empress's help.

Grandson had only recently woken up. The First Prince wasn't in the palace, and the Ninth Princess was grounded because of Ning Chen, so no one would come to pay their respects so early in the morning.

As for the imperial concubines, they wouldn't arrive until after breakfast.

Qing Ling didn't knock, pushing the door directly open. This caused Grandson, who was still dressing in the room, to frown slightly. It wasn't a reprimand; she understood Qing Ling's character and knew she wouldn't be so rude unless it was extremely important.

"What's wrong?" Grandson continued dressing, asking calmly.

Qing Ling quickly stepped forward, handing over the arrow in her hand, her expression filled with worry.

Grandson saw the jade pendant on the arrow, and her hand, which had been dressing, paused. After a moment's thought, she rose, her gaze serious. "Come, follow me out of the palace."

"Empress, did something happen to Ning Chen?" Qing Ling asked anxiously.

"No, he wants to tell me he has something urgent to discuss with me," Grandson shook her head, saying.

At the same time, the Western Palace and Heavenly Edict Hall reacted. That arrow was too dazzling; the hidden strong practitioners in the palace had all seen it, but no matter what, this time they were slow.

Even the fastest intelligence from scouts takes time. By the time Ning Chen's action reached the palace, Grandson and Qing Ling had already left.

After shooting that arrow, Ning Chen remained on the Buddhist pagoda without moving. He was waiting for Grandson to arrive.

Sure enough, after not long, a carriage slowly approached from a distance. There were no imperial guards, no palace maids, or eunuchs—only Qing Ling accompanying her.

Grandson's trust weighed heavily on him. To dare to leave the palace like this after having been assassinated once made the burden on his heart even heavier.

However, from his high vantage point, coupled with Qing Ling's presence, no one in the world, unless a Xiantian Realm expert personally intervened, could harm Grandson.

Standing high, one could see far, and his arrows could naturally shoot far.

Grandson's carriage soon arrived. There were many scouts from Weiyang Palace outside the palace, making it easy to determine his location.

The carriage stopped below the Buddhist pagoda. Qing Ling accompanied Grandson up the pagoda and immediately saw Ning Chen sitting in his wheelchair.

"Empress, Sister Qing Ling."

After a long time apart, Ning Chen was a little unsure what to say. He grinned, greeting them.

Seeing the wheelchair beneath Ning Chen, Qing Ling felt a pang in her heart, and tears nearly fell. Ignoring Grandson's presence, she walked forward and gently patted his head.

"Hmph."

Beside them, Grandson let out a cold huff. While her heart ached, she also harbored a myriad of dissatisfaction and anger towards this boy.

Time was pressing, and Ning Chen dared not delay. He wheeled forward and handed over the letter in his hand. "Empress, this letter involves too much. I truly had no other choice but to resort to this drastic measure to ask you to come out."

Grandson took the letter, glanced at the torn wax seal, and said lightly, "You've read it?"

This was a unique wax seal for generals and higher-ranking officers in the military camps; it was only used for matters of extreme importance. Privately opening military correspondence was also a capital offense.

Ning Chen scratched his head awkwardly. If I hadn't looked, how would I have known how serious it was?

Grandson didn't dwell on it. If she really held a grudge, this kid had made far too many mistakes; even dying a hundred times wouldn't be enough.

Opening the letter, Grandson's eyes narrowed slightly after a glance, and her expression quickly grew grim.

"What a Northern Martial Marquis!"

(P.S.: A new chapter is here! Many thanks to Man Lu Qiu Suo for the reward! Another chapter will be out later, though it might be very late. If you can't wait, feel free to go to bed and read it tomorrow!)

Sogou Novel is the first to publish the latest chapters of "First-Rank Blade-Wielding Eunuch" at high speed. This chapter is [Chapter Name], and the address is [URL]. If you think this chapter is good, please don't forget to recommend it to your friends in your QQ groups and on Weibo!