Basically all of the warriors in the flying fish pavilion were weak like jelly right now, with only thirty-two of the participants being fine.
Other than Ming Feizhen, Ye Luo, and Song Ou who were knocked out, all the other contestants were tied up to keep them restrained on the rings.
Liu Shan Men had to surrender since their leaders had been captured, while the Qilin Guards had been dragged into the mess by Long Zaitian, and the emperor's security detail's leaders had fallen into the orange prince's hands too, forcing them to drop their weapons and stop resisting.
As for the wandering warriors, they weren't very loyal to the imperial court to begin with. Plus, they felt that the father-and-son fight was a family affair. It made no difference to them who the emperor was. Putting their life on their line was stupid to them. So the thirty-two who weren't poisoned couldn't escape the fate of detainment either.
Everybody glared at Long Zaitian. If it were not for his graceful act, they wouldn't be in their current predicament.
Long Zaitian wore an "I don't care" expression and went to the orange prince to get his reward.
"Your majesty, I have not let you down. I have completed the mission you trusted me with."
With the orange prince's ambition soon to come to fruition, he extended his hand out and said: "Sit! You were a big help this time, Minister Long. I told you that there would be nothing to worry about with your assistance. Hahahaha."
Long Zaitian laughed along with him, but his eyes were fixated on Shen Yiren's white face, her voluptuous lines, her long-white legs….. Basically he looked at every nook and cranny he could, okay?
The orange prince noticed where Long Zaitian was looking but he didn't bust him. He laughed and said: "Here, Minister Long, a toast to you."
Long Zaitian asked with surprise: "Oh? Thorn-Tears wine?"
The orange prince almost spat as he laughed: "Hahaha, good one, Minister Long."
The two of them clinked their cups and finished them.
The orange prince felt relieved being able to release everything he had pent-up all at once. He looked at Shen Yiren: "This woman doesn't know a thing about romance. My fourth brother once pursued her for many years and is still unsuccessful. Yet she chose Song Ou or whatever his name was. Why are you so infatuated with her, Minister Long? You leave me truly puzzled."
Long Zaitian scratched his chest like his heart was becoming impatient: "You are a dragon, your majesty, and you will soon become the emperor, so it is understandable that you do not fathom the crude thoughts we ordinary people have. I fell for this Shen girl at first sight many years ago. But it is as you said, your majesty, first it was the green prince, his majesty, and then Song Ou getting in my way. I hope that you can help me make my wish a reality, your majesty."
Shen Yiren paid no attention to their conversation. She was busy coming up with an escape plan and a way to counterattack.
They haven't completely lost yet.
The power of Thorn-Tears was strong, but they still had a chance.
But as Shen Yiren moved around silently, she suddenly noticed an unbelievable scene. Many imperial guards were fine since they didn't practice any internal arts, and were therefore free from the pain of thorn-tears. But they obeyed the orange prince. They took the warriors who were incapacitated, brought them together and tossed them onto the rings.
It wasn't odd for them to obey the orange prince since he was a prince, but then it didn't make sense when she thought about it properly. The imperial guards usually take direct orders from their captain and the chance of them meeting a prince is fairly small. Of course, there was the off-chance that the orange prince was forcing these imperial guards to work for him. However, the orange prince hadn't even gone down to the rings. The chance of them taking autonomous action was minute. What if… these imperial guards were the orange prince's men?
More accurately, what if the orange prince was their commander?
Shen Yiren suddenly realised something.
The orange prince's forces weren't just the Black Winds Thirteen Wings and the man called "Jiao Meng". He still had a lot of power he had yet to show.
Shen Yiren pieced together all the events that took place today, ran over them in her mind again and realised that there were lots of things that were unnatural.
The orange prince knew the emperor was coming after him. He even knew that Xiang Batian was a spy…… That's just too strange. The orange prince doesn't reside in the palace, so how……
That led Shen Yiren to a conclusion she was certain of.
There's a traitor!
There must be a traitor!
It's not Long Zaitian but someone with more influence within the imperial palace. The orange prince must've placed a spy by the emperor's side.
A frightening thought suddenly surfaced in Shen Yiren's mind. She thought of one person who is most likely to be the traitor, but at the same time, she hoped that it wasn't him.
If the traitor who she was thinking it was, then maybe everything she does will be for naught.
When the emperor and Eunuch Nan exited the secret path, it was already very late.
The snowfall made the dark sky more apparent, and now it really had merged with the darkness. There wasn't a star to be seen in sight.
The path from the throne leads straight down underground. There wasn't just one path dug out as it was intended for escaping dangerous situations. The multiple paths would serve to mislead and confuse pursuers. The flying fish pavilion is situated inside the imperial city. The emperor was now inside the Forbidden City so he had gone quite some distance.
The emperor had lost all of his internal strength, making it hard for him to walk. He was only able to make it through the secret path with Eunuch Nan's support.
The emperor thanked him: "Thank you, brother Junfei. I don't know how that unfilial son would've humiliated me otherwise!"
Eunuch Nan's original name is Nan Junfei. He came from the pugilistic world and met the emperor many times in the past. Afterwards, he pledged his services to the imperial court. The emperor recognised him so he promoted him throughout his time. Nan Junfei was a famous figure in the martial world in the past. He possessed astonishing skills. The emperor had always refused to treat him as a servant. When there was no one around, he would follow the practices of the martial world and refer to him as "Brother Junfei".
Flustered, Eunuch Nan replied: "You should not call me that, your highness. I would be beheaded for that."
After checking to see that there was nobody around, he said: "Your highness, his majesty has occupied the flying fish pavilion now. I do not know what other tricks he has up his sleeve. So please advise me on what to do from here on out, your highness."
The emperor's anger and resentment resurfaced at the mention of the orange prince. That naughty kid dared to plot against me, and he was even successful. The emperor was always informed of the orange prince's plans and actions, hence thinking he was always impregnable, and even gave him countless chances to admit his wrongs. But based off the current circumstance, it looks like he underestimated the orange prince.
Not only was his plan much more complete then he imagined, his men were also skilled. The one that disguised himself as a Qilin Guard, "Meng Jiao" something or rather was honestly amazing.
The emperor regathered himself and replied: "The important task at hand is to regain our strength. As long as I have my skilled-fighters beside me, that unfilial son won't be able to pull any funny tricks. Hmph!"
The emperor scoffed indifferently and said: "At the end of the day, he only has about ten men. They couldn't have snuck into the palace without the imperial martial arts tournament, which goes to show that they have no chance against my tens of thousands of imperial guards. Once I eliminate this poison from my body, the imperial guards alone will be enough to apprehend him."
Eunuch Nan asked: "So shall we first make contact with the imperial guards?"
The emperor nodded: "We also have to look out for an opportunity to call for backup. The ultimate three all have missions of their own and are too far away, However, Hu Po is in the capital."
The emperor took out an obsidian pellet from his shirt. What he took out was called a dragon's apricot. It's an object royal family members can use to call their guards. This particular pellet was used to call upon Hu Po and his men for the most urgent situations.
Eunuch Nan and the emperor exchanged glances: "Once we release this, we need to immediately move. Brother Junfei, my pace is slow, so I'll need to rely on you."
Thorn-tears locks one's meridians, so you will feel indescribably limp and numb when you try to mould qi, as well as feeling like jelly all over. Eunuch Nan was aware of this so he relaxed his body and didn't use his strength. Surprisingly, he was able to walk as per usual. The emperor tried himself but he found no success.
Eunuch Nan nodded to indicate he understood.
The emperor thought to himself: Cheng'er, perhaps I wronged you in many ways in the past, but that does not excuse what you have done today. I hope you look after yourself……
A yellow firework appeared in the sky not long after, creating a unique streak in the sky as it melded in with the snow.
"Let's go, Brother Junfei."
"Your highness, I am strong, so how about I carry you?"
"Haha, this thorn-tears drug is very strong. I'm amazed you can resist it. You were called "Southern skies rainy night" back then, and indeed, your qinggong and internal strength live up to the reputation."
Nan Junfei, Yu Ye, laughed: "Thank you for your praise, your highness, I dare not claim it for myself."
Glossary
*I'm changing "Emperor's Entourage" > "Emperor's Security Detail" if you don't mind. I believe it is a better choice of words
**Yu Ye = Night Rain (Go back to the things MFZ said during his fight with Fu Xiang)