Chapter 408: You Cannot Take It

"The Eighth Prince is also a man of his word."

Daoist Qingye clasped his hands and said this as a polite parting remark. Beyond that, he truly had nothing else to say.

At those words, Li Musheng narrowed his eyes faintly, "You have quite an accurate read of people."

Daoist Qingye's eyelid gave a sharp twitch, and he took his leave to go see his Senior Sister.

Li Musheng waved him off and indicated he should do as he pleased. Then Li Musheng put away the Tianqi Secret Treasury key.

With that, his business in Taixuan City was concluded. This trip had been remarkably profitable, and now it was time to get back on the road toward White Emperor City.

The key Daoist Qingye had obtained had come from Great Zhou. The remaining three keys were likely held by the Great Wu and Great Chu imperial families, and the proprietor of the Qingshan Tower.

Unfortunately, White Emperor City was at the far western edge of Great Xuan's territory, nowhere near either of those two dynasties. Going around to them would add at least twice the journey.

"One thing at a time. White Emperor City first."

Li Musheng shook his head and decided to set out early the next morning to leave Taixuan City.

And so another day passed. Ever since Zhao Muning had ascended the Great Xuan throne, Taixuan City had at last settled into genuine calm, with nothing of note taking place.

Li Musheng had someone pass a brief message to Zhao Muning, then quietly boarded the carriage with Shen Anran and the others and prepared to depart.

Daoist Qingyu, Daoist Qingye, and the Director of the Hidden Intelligence Bureau all learned of Li Musheng's departure and came to see him off before he left.

Over the past few days, Daoist Qingyu had apparently come to terms with the loss of her cultivation and foundation.

She also blamed herself deeply for the fact that in pursuit of her own ambitions, one of her Junior Brothers had endured torture and lost his cultivation, while the other had lost an arm.

But at least the three of them were still alive. This experience had also given all of them a clearer view of many things.

"Your Highness is a young hero with a long road ahead in the martial world. This poor nun may never see Your Highness again after today, but I believe Your Highness's name will one day be known throughout the world."

Daoist Qingyu spoke her parting words. Li Musheng told her to be a good person from now on and turn over a new leaf.

With that, Li Musheng and his party stayed no longer, boarded the carriage, and left the inn heading for the city gates of Taixuan.

Before long, their carriage passed through the Great Xuan imperial capital's gates without obstacle.

Once Li Musheng's carriage had faded into the distance, a group of people came out onto the walls above the city gate.

Zhao Muning, dressed in plain clothes, stood on the wall top. Beside her were her two Senior Aunts and her younger brother.

"Di, you must always remember that the Eighth Prince is a benefactor to both of us. Were it not for his protection, we might well have died at Zhao Kuang's hands."

Zhao Muning watched the departing carriage and spoke to her younger brother beside her, an unreadable expression in her eyes.

She had been quietly keeping track of Li Musheng's situation all along. When Li Musheng made ready to leave Taixuan City, she had set aside everything she was dealing with and come at once to see him off.

But Li Musheng had evidently had no intention of seeing her, and so she had not presented herself either.

In truth, even if they had met, she would not have known what to say.

At this moment, she had somehow ended up as the Great Xuan emperor through a series of events she had never expected. When she stopped to think about it quietly, she sometimes felt as though none of it was quite real.

"Your sister's words, I keep in my heart."

Zhao Ji's gaze was also fixed on the carriage growing smaller in the distance. Over these past days, Zhao Muning had told him everything that had happened.

He recalled the time before all of this, when he had been enjoying himself in the palace and had even been grabbed by Li Musheng once. Their father had still been alive then, and the entire Taixuan City had been prosperous and bustling.

As one of the more overlooked among the many princes, he had never had any prospect of the throne. Beyond living as a prince of leisure, there had been nothing else to do.

But things were very different now. His father was dead. His royal brothers and sisters were almost all gone. Even Zhao Kuang had been given a cup of poison wine in the dungeon. The two surviving princes had been placed in lifelong confinement, never to see daylight again. And his sister before him had ascended a throne countless people had dreamed of.

As for himself, having passed through death's door once, he was no longer the idle prince he had been.

Zhao Ji withdrew his gaze and turned to look at Zhao Muning, who had been gazing silently into the distance for a long time. His thoughts shifted, and he said, "Elder Sister, the Eighth Prince's kindness is something we genuinely should not forget."

But he paused, then shifted direction, "Even so, the fact that Elder Sister has ordered the withdrawal of troops and formed an alliance with Great Li is itself an enormous gift to Great Li. That alone could arguably be considered repayment enough..."

But before Zhao Ji could even finish, Zhao Muning turned to look at him, a firm warning in her eyes, "I know the Old Ancestor has been speaking with you. Whatever he said to you, I do not care. But you must remember that the Eighth Prince is not someone you, I, or the Old Ancestor can afford to provoke."

"I never wanted the throne of Great Xuan to begin with. I have always felt it was not mine. But by the same token, it is not something that is yours simply because you want it."

"If you do something that cannot be undone, I will not be able to protect you."

At those words, Zhao Ji's expression went through several uneasy changes. He looked at his sister, immediately suppressed whatever had been in his mind, and lowered his head, "Elder Sister has misunderstood. That was not what I meant."

Zhao Muning held her younger brother's gaze, then shook her head and let her voice soften, "If you truly want to be Great Xuan's emperor, I can help you. But not now."

"The situation among the five kingdoms is already shifting. With your current capabilities, you are simply not ready for the throne. You still need to grow, until the day you are fit to be a proper emperor."

As she said this, Zhao Muning withdrew her gaze from her brother and looked back toward the horizon where the carriage had already nearly disappeared, "When that day comes, I will personally ask the Eighth Prince to allow me to pass the throne to you."

At those words, Zhao Ji was silent for a moment, then furrowed his brow and said, "Elder Sister, does this mean the throne of Great Xuan will always require the consent of a foreign prince?"

"And if the Eighth Prince does not agree, if he does not allow you to pass the throne to me, what would Elder Sister do then?"

At those words, Zhao Muning's brow creased slightly as she looked at this younger brother of hers who had suddenly become somewhat unfamiliar.

That he had survived near death and grown from it was something she was genuinely glad about.

But at the same time, a worry was taking shape in her heart, and she was not sure whether this was a good thing or not.

After a brief pause, Zhao Muning's expression became grave, and she said with clear authority, "No one can say for certain what the future holds. But you must understand this: the throne of Great Xuan is something I must give you. Only then can you accept it. If I do not give it to you, you absolutely cannot take it."

At those words, an unpleasant look passed across Zhao Ji's face. But in the end he said nothing more, and simply lowered his head in assent.

Only in the instant he lowered his head, something difficult to read surfaced in the depths of his eyes.