The next morning.
The imperial palace of Great Li.
The palace complex stood directly north of the Imperial Capital, on high, expansive ground. From afar, it resembled a great dragon coiled upon the earth.
The sprawling Palace halls were roofed with thick golden glazed tiles, their solemn, dazzling splendor shimmering in the sunlight.
Deep within the palace, in a hall that was not especially large but was exceptionally dignified and elegant.
A middle-aged man sat upright before a desk, dressed in an ocher-yellow robe with broad, flowing sleeves like those of a Daoist robe.
He held open a sheet of rice paper, its ink still wet.
He softly recited the lyric written upon it.
Gradually, a dazzling light kindled in the middle-aged man's steady, tranquil eyes.
Especially as he reached the latter half.
"The shame the Barbarian Tribe brought us remains unavenged. When shall a subject's hatred end?
Drive the war chariots forth, trample the Imperial Court of the northern plains.
With soaring resolve, feast on the invaders' flesh when hungry; laughing and talking, drink barbarian blood when thirsty.
Let us begin anew, reclaim our old mountains and rivers, and pay homage at the imperial palace!"
He recited the entire piece in one breath.
His hand trembled slightly around the paper, his breathing quickened, and even his face flushed.
"Excellent, truly excellent!"
The middle-aged man struck the desk before him with his palm, making it shudder.
His excitement was written all over his face.
Standing on either side below the desk.
The princes and imperial children, led by Princess Yaoyin and the Third Prince, were astonished.
The man before them was, naturally, His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Li Dynasty.
Emperor Xuan, Li Ang.
This sovereign had been left with injuries and ailments from his years of campaigning.
For many years, he had cultivated his temperament and nursed his health.
Apart from important military affairs, he left almost all matters of state to his ministers, effectively ruling with his hands off the reins.
Every morning, noon, and dusk.
Emperor Xuan meditated without fail, come thunder or lightning.
Yet this morning, during the time normally reserved for his exercises.
He had summoned the princes and princesses to the Imperial Study.
And asked Princess Yaoyin to take what had been presented at yesterday's Golden Kylin Gathering.
The lyric "Man Jiang Hong: Northern Expedition," which Gu Chenfeng had made public on his father's behalf, and write it out in full.
Seeing their imperial father struggle to contain his excitement after reciting Man Jiang Hong.
The princes and princesses grew even more astonished.
Ever since their father had immersed himself in preserving his health, he had become free of worldly desires, his temperament as calm as still water.
Rarely did his emotions fluctuate so violently.
That alone showed how deeply this lyric had struck him.
"Father, is this Man Jiang Hong truly so extraordinary?"
At that moment, the Third Prince suddenly stepped forward and asked.
Naturally, the Third Prince could see the lyric's heroic passion and brilliant literary merit.
But he could also see that his father's emotions were surging, and that he needed an opening to express them.
Sure enough, Emperor Xuan smiled at his question, a hint of reminiscence rising in his eyes.
"Do you know how our Great Li Dynasty rose above the many empires and dynasties.
To claim supremacy over southern Yan Province and become one of Yan Province's four great dynasties?"
The Third Prince, Li Yuanze, answered immediately.
"According to the histories, four hundred years have passed since the Founding Emperor established our Great Li Dynasty.
Back then, the Great Li Dynasty occupied a remote corner of the south and was merely an ordinary minor dynasty.
Only sixty years ago did our great-grandfather rise to power and lead his armies in sweeping through the other nations.
Our Great Li Dynasty's territory began to expand. Then, through Grandfather and you, three generations campaigned north and south, sweeping away enemies on every side.
Only after driving the Barbarian Tribe, once the strongest force in the south, back to the northern Frozen Expanse did our Great Li Dynasty join the ranks of Yan Province's four great dynasties."
Emperor Xuan nodded approvingly.
"The histories are not wrong, but they gild the sovereigns too generously and overlook those who truly rendered meritorious service.
In those days, my imperial grandfather rose amid troubled times and led the Great Li Dynasty in conquering several neighboring minor nations, but that merely secured Great Li's initial footing.
By then, however, your great-grandfather was already advanced in years and plagued by injuries and illness.
The burden of expanding the empire's borders and campaigning north and south fell upon my father.
Although my father was commander-in-chief, the man who truly directed the armies in battle was Old Chancellor Gu.
At the time, Elder Gu was in his prime. His cultivation was supreme, and his mastery of warfare and strategy was unrivaled throughout the empire.
Who could count the victories and hard-fought battles he won for our Great Li Dynasty, or the talented generals he nurtured?"
Admiration flowed naturally into Emperor Xuan's eyes.
"Especially after my father ascended the throne, Old Master Gu became commander-in-chief, and the Great Li Dynasty's military might reached its zenith.
After sweeping through the other nations and expanding our Great Li Dynasty's borders, he advanced northward until the final confrontation with the Barbarian Tribe.
I, who had already been invested as crown prince, also accompanied the army and took part in that campaign."
As he recalled that battle, a fierce light appeared in Emperor Xuan's eyes.
"In those days, the Barbarian Tribe held sway over southern Yan Province and was our Great Li Dynasty's greatest adversary.
Both sides deployed their finest armies and committed every resource of war to a fight to the death at the Border Pass in the Northern Territory.
That battle was unimaginably brutal. Blood flowed into seas, corpses piled into mountains, and both sides suffered grievous losses.
Back then, I was young and reckless. Ignoring Elder Marshal Gu's warnings, I led my personal guards in pursuit and fell into an ambush by the Barbarian Tribe's experts.
I was trapped deep within their encirclement, with no chance of escape.
Rather than be captured by the barbarians, I was prepared to slit my own throat."
Hearing this account of a past their father had never shared with anyone.
The Third Prince, Princess Yaoyin, and the others had not witnessed that great battle themselves.
Yet they could feel its horrific spectacle, the flashing blades and a million bodies strewn across the field.
Especially when they heard that their father had been surrounded by the Barbarian Tribe and driven to the brink of taking his own life, they could not help tensing.
For an imperial prince, especially a crown prince.
Capture would be a national humiliation, a stain he could never wash away.
"Father, what happened afterward?" Princess Yaoyin could not help asking.
Emperor Xuan gazed out the window at the slowly rising sun.
He recalled those days, surrounded by countless soldiers and horses, caught in a hopeless struggle between life and death.
And that towering figure who descended from the sky like a heavenly god.
"It was Elder Marshal Gu.
With the overwhelming strength of his Grandmaster realm, he charged single-handedly into the encirclement and broke through countless Barbarian Tribe Army soldiers alone.
Carrying the wounded me on his back, he fought through thousands of troops, forests of spears, and storms of arrows, breaking through one enemy battle formation after another and slaying countless foes.
He even withstood the combined assault of three Barbarian Tribe Grandmasters and fought his way out of the encirclement with me!"
"Ah...!"
Sharp intakes of breath filled the Imperial Study.
The princes and princesses had naturally heard how terrifying the strength of Source Manifestation Realm Grandmasters was.
Yet they had never possessed any concrete understanding of that realm.
Until this moment.
They pictured Elder Marshal Gu standing alone against thousands upon thousands of soldiers.
While also having to confront three Grandmasters of the same realm.
And rescuing their father from such a desperate situation.
This was no mere miracle-it was more like an act of the gods!
Seemingly moved by those memories, Emperor Xuan's breathing grew heavy, and his eyes reddened.
"Had the old marshal not risked his life to save me, I would likely have died on that battlefield long ago, my corpse dismembered and trampled by the enemy.
I owe the old marshal my life.
And because of that battle, he was gravely wounded by the Barbarian Tribe's three Great Grandmasters, leaving him with hidden injuries that have yet to heal!"
At this, understanding dawned upon the princes and imperial children.
No wonder their father not only showed the old chancellor every consideration, but revered and cherished him.
Gu Beiwu had not merely expanded the Great Li Dynasty's territory.
He had also served his sovereign and saved his life.
No one in the Great Li Dynasty could surpass his achievements.
"I tell you these things because I also want you to understand.
Whatever slander or rumors may arise within the empire.
Old Master Gu and the Gu Lineage are the greatest contributors to our Great Li Dynasty. No one may question that.
Though the old marshal no longer commands armies for the nation, his son Gu Lingxiao, my sworn brother, still stands in the Northern Territory!
That troublesome rascal of those days has long since matured.
Not only did he utterly defeat the Barbarian Tribe for the empire and drive them all into the northern Frozen Expanse.
He firmly secured our Great Li Dynasty's supremacy."
Emperor Xuan's gaze returned to Man Jiang Hong. His fingers stroked the rice paper, his eyes brimming with emotion.
"This Man Jiang Hong: Northern Expedition shows all the more clearly that the entire Gu Lineage possesses hearts of unwavering loyalty and serves the nation with utter devotion!
From this day forth, have this lyric mounted and hung in the Hall of Imperial Polarity.
I want not only the imperial family, but every civil and military official at court to know of the Gu Lineage's loyalty!"
At these words, the Third Prince's gaze shifted slightly, and he grew thoughtful.
At present, the Right Chancellor happened to be in seclusion, recovering from his injuries.
The Left Chancellor's faction had been making frequent moves, continually striking at the Right Chancellor's faction.
Their father, who had seldom concerned himself with court affairs in recent years, had suddenly summoned the princes and princesses today.
Then he had recalled the Gu Lineage's achievements and the old chancellor's rescue of his sovereign in such vivid, emphatic detail.
He even intended to hang this Man Jiang Hong in the main imperial hall.
Clearly, their father was declaring his position and firmly supporting the Right Chancellor and the Gu Lineage.
With the Gu Lineage's achievements, even if Old Master Gu fell, the Gu Lineage likely would not.
At that thought.
The Third Prince's eyes flickered as he thought of his eldest Imperial Elder Brother, commanding troops at the Border Pass and earning ever greater merit.
He thought of his second Imperial Elder Brother, born to the late empress, backed by powerful connections and held in high regard by their father.
Both had deep foundations and the support of great lineages behind them.
Now, the position of crown prince remained undecided.
It was time he made plans of his own.
As thoughts flashed through his mind, Li Yuanze bowed.
"Your son has learned much. I will surely remember your teachings and never forget the Gu Lineage's loyalty.
However, Man Jiang Hong was not the only fine work to emerge from this Golden Kylin Gathering.
Old Chancellor Gu's grandson debated alone against the Imperial Academy's students and the great scholar Zhong Yanqi.
He composed a poem on the spot, displaying astonishing talent that likewise left a deep impression upon me."
"Oh...?"
Emperor Xuan looked slightly surprised.
"You mean the Gu Lineage's third son, Gu Chenfeng? I remember holding him when he was a month old.
But I heard that the boy has no talent for cultivation and is somewhat frivolous in his conduct."
Li Yuanze hurriedly replied, "Though Gu Chenfeng's reputation is poor, he truly possesses genuine talent and learning. I witnessed it myself."
"Yes, that fellow does have some literary talent."
At that moment, Princess Yaoyin also spoke up in his support, a rare occurrence.
"Even you are praising him, my girl. It seems the boy does have some ability. Tell your father about it.
If Gu Chenfeng truly possesses some learning, I can certainly reward him handsomely."
Princess Yaoyin's lovely face flushed. After a moment's hesitation, she gave a truthful account of what had happened at the Golden Kylin Gathering.
Before you continue