Return of the Ancient Gods

After a tiring journey, Chu Nan and his companions finally returned to Beijing safely.

The carriage drove in from the west gate. Apart from Xia Chan and Qiu Lu, who had received the message and had been waiting for a long time, the street was sparsely populated with few people in sight.

"What's going on? Has anything big happened in the capital during the half year that we were away?" Chu Nan asked curiously. The bustling and prosperous capital city that he had grown up in was turned into a ghost town. He felt incredible, but at the same time he understood something and felt a little jealous.

"Not long ago, Chu Xiu was named Marquis of Guanjun by the Emperor of Chu, and he moved today." Xia Chan hesitated, knowing that Chu Nan was not happy with her replacement, and was afraid that he would act on impulse.

"So now everyone in the capital has rushed to the east of the city to congratulate and thank the champion and to admire his demeanor."

The Great Chu had a set of strict regulations for conferring titles on officials. It was rare for a young man like Chu Xiu to be conferred a title of nobility, but it was even more glorious.

"You can talk. I will love you well tonight!" Chu Nan was amused by Xia Chan's flattering words. He pinched her pretty face lightly with one hand. The touch was still so good. After a little fun, he returned to his serious state.

"What did Chu Xiu do to deserve such a generous reward from the emperor?"

"I don't know. The King of Chu didn't say it clearly. It came very suddenly." Xia Chan shook her head. Although she tried her best to collect intelligence, she still knew nothing.

"So many people in the court are very dissatisfied with this, especially Prince Kang..."

"Forget it, I'll go and find out for myself." Chu Nan patted his forehead helplessly. The joy of returning to Beijing was completely washed away by this incident. He muttered angrily:

"I don't know where the emperor dug him out from."

"Uncle, what do you think?" Chu Nan asked curiously.

"This Chu Xiu is not simple!" Chen Hezhi heard it clearly inside and thought for a long time.

"I remember Chu Xiu once proposed to train in your father's demon-suppressing army, but was rejected..."

"That's true. The emperor probably wanted to train him to be a general. But my father didn't like a young boy talking about everything, so he refused."

Finally, I found a reason why I don't like Chu Xiu, but Chu Nan didn't agree with it and asked:

"What other big things are happening in the capital?"

"The head of the Qin family, Qin Wenhan, and Miss Qin Yiyi, have returned to Beijing." Xia Chan reported it briefly without any omissions, listing this item separately.

"It's just right. All the troubles have come together. Let's see what trouble they can cause." Chu Nan frowned slightly, as if thinking about something, and waved his hand to dispel his sorrow.

The carriage was moving slowly along the way, and was about to arrive at the Princess's residence, but was stopped by someone:

"Champion Marquis Chu Xiu, I am honored to meet Prince Chu Nan and the old Prime Minister. Please forgive me for not leaving the city to greet you in time..."

Chu Xiu was dressed in brown cloth, with a constant smile on his face. His triangular eyes were almost narrowed into a straight line. He had an angular appearance, but he was hard to figure out.

"Are you here to put on an eye-catcher?" Although Chu Xiu politely bowed to greet him, and his etiquette was almost impeccable, Chu Nan was even more unhappy, and forced a smile and politely said:

"You are too polite, Marquis Guanjun. We are already sorry that we did not congratulate you on your new home. How dare we trouble you to come and greet us in person?

"By the way, you have already been conferred the title of Marquis of Guanjun and received many rewards from the Emperor. Wouldn't it be embarrassing for you to still dress like this?"

"Your Highness is wrong. Everything I have is given by the Emperor Chu. Not even a stitch or a piece of linen clothing can be forgotten." Chu Xiu replied humbly, maintaining a polite attitude and tone.

"..."

Looking around, the King of Chu was not present, and no one else was watching. Chu Nan was even more surprised:

"You are such a good pretender. Are you still expecting me to praise you in front of the emperor?"

After chatting with Chu Xiu for some inexplicable things, Chu Nan arranged for the old man to stay in his house.

"Mother is on a routine inspection tour in the East China Sea. Uncle He Zhi, you can just stay here and feel free to ask for anything you need. I will arrange matters at court as soon as possible."

"..."

royal palace,

Chu Nan rushed over in a hurry, just when the King of Chu and his two princes were working in the nursery.

"The emperor should support the people. Although this cannot produce enough food to feed the entire Chu, your father wants you to understand the difficulties of ordinary people's lives. He wants you to be compassionate and love the people..."

Seeing Chu Nan coming, the King of Chu quickly dropped everything in his hands, rushed to him, kissed and hugged him, and shouted:

"Xiao Nan, you're finally back. We've been waiting for you for so long..."

"If you want me to give you acupuncture, you must show some appreciation." Chu Nan struggled to break free from Emperor Chu's bear hug and kept wiping the saliva off his face.

"Okay, just tell me what reward you want, I will grant you everything."

"I only have two requests. The first is to revoke Chu Xiu's title of Marquis of Champion..." Chu Nan went straight to the point without any politeness.

Upon hearing this, the Emperor Chu's face immediately darkened, and he seemed a little embarrassed, and asked in a roundabout way:

"Why, did Chu Xiu do something wrong that made you unhappy?"

"Not really, I just don't like that guy." Thinking back to the confrontation with Chu Xiu, Chu Nan curled his lips and answered nonchalantly, completely ignoring the booing reminders from the people around him.

"No merit, no reward. Chu Xiu was given the title of Marquis of Guanjun for no reason. Emperor, aren't you afraid of being called a tyrant?"

Hearing this, the King of Chu couldn't help but heaved a sigh of relief. It turned out that some people were just jealous. Then he sighed and said:

"Hey, these days, King Kang and other court officials have been chattering about this matter, demanding that Chu Xiu's title of Champion Marquis be revoked."

"That's right, then let them do what they want. Why should we break the rules for that guy? It's better to have less trouble than more, isn't it?" Chu Nan said, taking advantage of the victory.

"Xiao Nan, your uncle has it so hard. You know that King Kang and King Han have always been at odds with me, and I am alone and weak. In addition, after what happened back then, there is a lack of talent in the court. What we lack most is outstanding young talents." The King of Chu sent the others away and complained to Chu Nan crazily, patting him on the shoulder and saying:

“You were like that before, well, let’s not talk about it anymore, I can only find Chu Xiu to be your replacement.

I have observed that Chu Xiu is a man of upright character and loyal, and he will definitely be able to assist me well..."

"Now that I'm back, the counterfeit is useless, right?" Chu Nan insisted.

"It would be great if you could cheer up, but let's wait a little longer." Emperor Chu was stubborn. Although he liked Chu Nan more, Chu Nan's performance in the past three years was not up to expectations. It would take some time for his strength and prestige to recover. He consoled him:

"Wait until you have recovered to your peak in all aspects, then it won't be too late to withdraw Chu Xiu, right? Chu Xiu has performed well, and it would be disheartening if he was suddenly withdrawn like this. Besides, with his help, wouldn't it be easier for you to do things?"

Although he could hear some of Chu Nan's opinions about Chu Xiu, the King of Chu hoped that Chu Nan could let go of his prejudices and that the two of them could work together to better assist him.

"It's true, this Chu Xiu is really capable! You also know that the Tianxiang Sect, one of the three major sects, has always been unruly and disobedient. I let Chu Xiu infiltrate it, and he unexpectedly became the young master. He performed really well..."

The King of Chu praised Chu Xiu with all kinds of words, and he was almost dry-mouthed when he spoke in a monologue. He was also a little disappointed when he saw Chu Nan was stubborn and unyielding:

"Xiao Nan, I thought you would grow up a little bit after encountering things, why are you still so petty? After all, one person is weak, if more people were gathered together, how could what happened back then happen?

Chu Xiu is only here to assist you. He has no intention of competing with you and will not threaten you. How come you don't have the slightest tolerance for others?"

"..."

Although he had expected it, Chu Nan still underestimated the favor that the Emperor Chu showed to Chu Xiu. If he didn't know the Emperor Chu's character, he would have really thought that he would have a new cousin.

Anyway, this is not the most important purpose today, so Chu Nan didn't insist.

"But there is one thing I want to discuss with you." The King of Chu calmed down and lowered his head in embarrassment. He was too embarrassed to look at Chu Nan and said hesitantly:

"I want to ask, Xiaonan, are you interested in Qin Yiyi, the girl from the Qin family?

In the past, you have always been called the golden boy and jade girl, and everyone thinks you can be a couple. It’s not kind of me to say this, but if you don’t have any interest in each other, I want to help Chu Xiu, because he seems to be quite interested in Qin Yiyi…”

As he spoke, the Emperor Chu fell silent.

"It doesn't matter. I really don't need this. If you didn't mention it, I wouldn't even remember this person." Chu Nan shrugged and replied calmly.

"The second condition is that I want phase!"

Now, after much difficulty, the old man had been invited out of retirement. Although Chu Nan had not had a head-on confrontation with Qin Wenhan, he was helpless.

Seeing Chu Nan's serious look, Emperor Chu was delighted. They had the same idea, but they didn't want to do it themselves.

“I agree, but whether it succeeds or not depends on your ability.

I will discuss it at the morning court tomorrow, so you should prepare well."

"Okay!" Chu Nan agreed readily.

Although the situation was more complicated than he had imagined, his goal had been achieved. Chu Nan played and chatted in the palace for a long time before leaving.

"Alas, good things take time. I still have to worry about this child!" Looking at Chu Nan's departing figure, Emperor Chu couldn't help but sigh.

……