Daqing Reborn Prince, Intercepting Si Lili at the Beginning

Chapter 20: A Fifth-Ranked Martial Artist! The Assistant Minister of Personnel! The Emperor’s Shock!

The next day, Li Chengyuan got up early from beside Sang Wen.

During this period, it was still Sang Wen who kept Li Chengyuan company every night.

Li Chengyuan could sense that Qingniao also had feelings for him.

It wasn’t that Li Chengyuan was being conceited, but as a personal maid, Qingniao didn’t have any other options.

Moreover, with Li Chengyuan’s appearance, personality, and integrity, all being impeccable, and adding to that his talent, it was hard for Qingniao not to like him!

The reason Li Chengyuan hadn’t made a move on Qingniao yet had nothing to do with any grand reason.

It was just that he had been busy copying books recently, and Qingniao had just recovered her health, so he wasn’t in a rush.

Once he finished his current work, he certainly wouldn’t disappoint her.

As soon as Li Chengyuan woke up, Sang Wen also woke up.

Sang Wen skillfully helped Li Chengyuan dress and wash up before grooming herself.

Today, Li Chengyuan wore the ceremonial robes of a prince.

The robe was a deep red, with golden dragon patterns embroidered on it, appearing both luxurious and imposing.

Today, he had an audience with the Emperor, so he dressed more formally.

Breakfast consisted of steamed buns, rice porridge, and pickled vegetables.

Li Chengyuan only took a few bites before leading his guards towards the palace.

Whenever Li Chengyuan went out, he always traveled by carriage, and naturally, the one driving the carriage was Old Huang.

Sitting in the carriage, Li Chengyuan didn’t waste any time and summoned the system to check his status.

[Host: Li Chengyuan Age: 18 Identity: Third Prince of Qing Nation Physique: Immune to all poisons, immune to all diseases Cultivation: Fifth-ranked Martial Artist Cultivation Technique: Azure Dragon Technique (Third Transformation of the Swimming Dragon) Martial Skills: Dragon Claw Hand, Swimming Dragon Movement, Azure Dragon Fist, Dragon Suppressing Palm, Dragon Shaking Blade Items: Revitalizing Pill ×5 Controlled Force: Miaoyin Pavilion Servants: Swordmaster Jiu Huang, Qingniao]

Compared to when the system had just awakened, Li Chengyuan had gained quite a lot!

Among these, the biggest gain undoubtedly came from intercepting Sili Li.

Twice, he had intercepted Sili Li; the first time, he had gained two unique physiques.

The second time, he had obtained Qingniao, along with two bottles of elixirs and a piece of intelligence.

The Dragon Tiger Elixir, which he had obtained, had been consumed the very next day.

As a result, the Azure Dragon Technique had smoothly broken through to the Third Transformation of the Swimming Dragon, and his cultivation had reached the fifth rank.

Of course, in this world, martial strength could not be determined solely by cultivation rank; martial skills were equally important.

All the martial skills on Li Chengyuan’s status panel came from the Azure Dragon Technique.

Among them, he had only practiced the Dragon Claw Hand and Swimming Dragon Movement so far, but with little success due to his lack of foundation.

However, Li Chengyuan wasn’t in a hurry; after all, such things couldn’t be rushed and depended on talent!

As for the Revitalizing Pills, Li Chengyuan hadn’t used them yet.

But he had already devised a preliminary distribution plan for the five pills!

The first one was reserved for the son of the Assistant Minister of Personnel!

The classified intelligence from the system contained detailed information about Zhao Wencheng, the Left Assistant Minister of Personnel.

Zhao Wencheng, now over fifty years old, had been serving in the court for more than thirty years.

For more than three decades, he had been diligent in his duties, earning an excellent reputation.

Even the Emperor had praised him many times for being straightforward, loyal, and upright, a man who never abused his authority!

Because of this, he did not align himself with the Crown Prince or the Second Prince.

Of course, with his temperament, he couldn’t be a confidant of the Emperor either.

One could only say that he was a man in the court that the Emperor trusted.

Moreover, Zhao Wencheng was not only of excellent character but also highly capable.

In his more than twenty years of government service, he had never made a mistake.

One could say that a man with Zhao Wencheng’s personality would never form factions or engage in corruption.

But everyone has their weaknesses, and Zhao Wencheng was no exception.

His greatest weakness was his son!

Zhao Wencheng had only one son, Zhao Yunting, who had broken his leg three years ago in an accident, leaving him crippled.

Zhao Wencheng was particularly indulgent towards his only son, as he was the last heir of the family.

Zhao Yunting was a very promising young man, excelling in both academics and martial arts, with an upright character.

Yet, one unfortunate accident ruined Zhao Yunting’s entire future.

And nearly destroyed the hope of the Zhao family!

After all, even if a cripple could marry and have children, by the time his son grew up and became talented, who knows how many years would have passed.

By then, who knew if Zhao Wencheng would still be alive?

Of course, even if Zhao Wencheng had retired from the court, he would still have his connections.

But by that time, the Zhao family would have fallen far from its current status.

Once a family falls into decline, it’s incredibly difficult to rise again.

Thus, if Li Chengyuan could cure Zhao Yunting’s leg at this time…

Even if Zhao Wencheng were as iron-willed as he was, he would most likely submit to Li Chengyuan, wouldn’t he?

Therefore, this intelligence was essentially a gift to Li Chengyuan, giving him control over an Assistant Minister of Personnel!

And the Ministry of Personnel was the head of the Six Ministries!

Having control of the Ministry of Personnel was equivalent to establishing a solid foothold in the court.

This step was crucial!

However, Li Chengyuan wasn’t in a hurry.

Zhao Wencheng’s son had been crippled for such a long time; waiting a little longer wouldn’t matter.

Li Chengyuan was simply waiting for the right moment to approach Zhao Wencheng.

After all, he had to proceed cautiously to ensure the Emperor didn’t catch on.

’

After traveling for about the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, the carriage arrived at the gates of the palace.

Li Chengyuan got out of the carriage and entered the palace alone.

After being announced, Eunuch Hou led Li Chengyuan to the Emperor’s bedchamber.

There was no morning court today, so the Emperor was quite free.

He was wearing informal clothes, tinkering with his little “mechanical inventions” inside the hall!

When the Emperor saw Li Chengyuan, he looked pleased.

“Your son greets Your Majesty!”

“You may rise,” the Emperor said after a glance at Li Chengyuan. “You’ve just been released from house arrest; why aren’t you out enjoying yourself? Why have you come to see me instead?”

“Replying to Your Majesty, your son is here to submit the task you assigned! During my house arrest, I was ordered to copy ten thousand characters, and I wouldn’t dare slack off. I’ve come to submit it to you!”

“Oh?” The Emperor’s curiosity was piqued. “So you’ve written ten thousand characters?”

“Replying to Your Majesty, your son didn’t just write ten thousand characters but twelve thousand!”

“What?” Both the Emperor and Eunuch Hou were startled.

The Emperor thought he had misheard and asked again, “How many did you say?”

“Twelve thousand characters!”

“Twelve thousand characters? What book did you copy to write so much?” the Emperor asked, shocked.

“Replying to Your Majesty, at first I intended to copy a book, but later I felt that copying was meaningless, so I used the time to write a novel myself!”

“…”

The Emperor was dumbfounded.

As someone who prided himself on being shrewd and calculating, capable of predicting events to some extent, this was the first time he had encountered such an unusual situation—punishing someone by having them copy a book, only for them to write a book instead.

Why does this brat always do things so unpredictably?

The Emperor was stunned for a moment, then suddenly laughed.

This third son of his, being the son of Ye Qingmei, always managed to surprise him with new tricks! *

’’

Footnotes:

• • Ye Qingmei: Li Chengyuan’s mother, a significant character known for her intelligence and wisdom, adding depth to Li Chengyuan’s talents and abilities.