Deposed Crown Prince: After three years of service on the frontier, the entire court knelt and begge

Da Lei said to Ye Mao, "With your brain, if the prince is discovered, they might not be bowing to the sky... they might be bowing to the prince instead..."

Xiao Ce smiled and nodded, giving Da Lei a thumbs up: "Smart!"

He glanced behind him again, then said, "Alright, let's talk about it when we get back..."

The two nodded and then followed Xiao Ce.

After they got into the carriage on one side, Xiao Ce got into his own carriage.

After getting into the carriage, Da Lei kept his eyes fixed on Xiao Ce.

Xiao Ce felt uneasy under Da Lei's gaze: "Why are you staring at me like that?"

Da Lei chuckled and said to Xiao Ce, "Your Highness, when are you going to take off that bamboo hat? Don't worry, no one will check my carriage..."

After hearing Da Lei's words, Xiao Ce quickly took off his hat.

Da Lei's eyes immediately reddened when he saw Xiao Ce's expression.

Xiao Ce's face twitched involuntarily when he saw Da Lei's expression.

"Surely this is too much to ask!"

Seeing Xiao Ce's state, Da Lei waved his hand, then said with red eyes and a choked voice, "Your Highness, you don't know what your appearance means to me..."

Although Night Owl wasn't as sentimental as Da Lei, he nodded in deep agreement.

Night Owl added, "Your Highness, those people were probably kneeling before you from afar, weren't they? You're like a spiritual totem to us..."

Da Lei nodded and then said, "That's right, Your Highness. It's no exaggeration to say that with Prime Minister Yin's propaganda, as long as you appear, the people will be full of energy, even if they don't eat or drink."

"This must be the power of faith!"

Xiao Ce nodded with a smile, even though it was exactly what Xiao Ce had imagined.

But now it always sounds like something out of a cult.

As they were talking, Da Lei's carriage successfully entered the capital.

It really is just as they said!

Da Lei's carriage went straight in, and Xiao Ce lifted a corner of the carriage curtain to look into the capital.

Looking at the state of the capital, he was still somewhat surprised.

Because the capital city is completely different from when he left.

To get a better look, Xiao Ce put on a bamboo hat and then drew back the curtains.

Throughout the capital, some areas have been completed, but many others are still under construction.

Da Lei said to Xiao Ce, "The people here are living better and are starting to build better houses. Moreover, Kyoto is now the capital, and everyone agrees that the capital needs a place that can maintain its prestige."

Before Xiao Ce could speak, Da Lei said, "This money wasn't provided by the national treasury, but by the Golden Society..."

Xiao Ce listened with a face full of curiosity: "This Golden Gathering is quite a big deal. They didn't use it for profit, did they?"

Da Lei waved his hand and said, "According to Yin Xiang and the others, this doesn't exist... However, I don't know for sure whether it exists or not, so I can't comment..."

Xiao Ce nodded, and Da Lei said to Xiao Ce, "Your Highness, are you in a hurry? If you're not, we can take a stroll around."

Xiao Ce listened and said, "I was quite anxious before, but after coming here, there's nothing to be anxious about anymore."

Then Xiao Ce said to Da Lei, "Oh right, I've already forgotten... was your child a son or a daughter?"

Da Lei laughed and said to Xiao Ce, "Kid!"

Xiao Ce nodded and said, "Good, kid! Have you decided on a name yet?"

Da Lei looked at Xiao Ce and said, "Isn't this what we've been waiting for, Your Highness, to come and collect?"

Xiao Ce quickly waved his hand: "I can do anything for you, but I can't do this for you... You two go get it."

Da Lei listened, scratching his head: "Actually, when it comes to naming it, General Dan already has an idea. However, we all wanted you to..."

Xiao Ce smiled and said, "You want me to be your godfather? I'd be happy to. But naming the child is something the parents should do; it's more meaningful that way. What name does General Dan want?"

Da Lei said, "Call him Dan Lei!"

???

Xiao Ce was taken aback at first, then asked Da Lei in confusion, "Dan Lei?"

Da Lei nodded and explained, "That's right. Although Your Highness has bestowed upon me the surname Xiao, I think my child shouldn't use Xiao. Actually, General Dan's idea is very simple. Since General Dan has no given name and I have no surname, we thought we could use Dan's surname and my given name! We'll call him Dan Lei!"

Xiao Ce nodded in agreement: "It is indeed very romantic! The name is also quite nice... but why does it feel like it was named for you..."

Da Lei scratched his head: "I also think it's quite good. If Your Highness doesn't want to take it, then we'll use the one General Dan took..."

Xiao Ce nodded: "Okay, let's use Dan Lei! It's actually a pretty good name!"

Night Owl chimed in agreement.

As they spoke, they circled around Kyoto once more.

Xiao Ce discovered that the plan here was the same one he had used before.

Da Lei said that this was hosted by the Qian brothers, Da Fang and Da Hai, who were quite generous in their spending.

After looking around, Xiao Ce said to Da Lei, "Alright, there's nothing else to see. Let's go to your place."

Da Lei said to Xiao Ce, "Shall we go find Prime Minister Yin?"

Xiao Ce waved his hand and said, "No rush, no rush! Let's go to your house first!"

Da Lei nodded. His residence was in a house not far from the palace.

The house wasn't very big; we arrived at the entrance.

Seeing Xiao Ce's strange expression, Da Lei asked, "Your Highness, the house you gave me before was too big. General Dan said he wasn't used to living there... so you found this house instead..."

As they spoke, they reached the door, pushed it open, and heard the sound of martial arts practice.

In a small courtyard, a burly woman was wielding a long spear with impressive skill.

Meanwhile, a maidservant was holding a child and cheering incessantly.

"Dan, look who's here."

Da Lei shouted excitedly, and General Dan heard Da Lei's words and then put down the spear in his hand.

He looked toward the direction from which the sound came, and immediately spotted Xiao Ce.

She was taken aback at first, then exclaimed in surprise, "Your Highness!"

He then jogged over and bowed to Xiao Ce.

The maid holding the child was also stunned for a moment, then her eyes filled with tears. She put the child down and almost prostrated herself on the ground, her voice trembling.

"Meet the prince!"

Xiao Ce first addressed the maid who had placed her child aside in order to pay her respects to him: "Miss, please get up. It's not appropriate to put the child on the ground."

Upon hearing Xiao Ce's words, the girl snapped out of her daze and quickly picked up the child.

Xiao Ce then walked up to General Dan and helped her up.

"General Dan, I've separated you and your husband all this time. You've suffered all by yourself."

After General Dan was helped up by Xiao Ce, he quickly said, "Your Highness, you're being too polite... He was just playing around with you outside... You're doing things to protect the country, as the saying goes, without a country, there is no home..."

Xiao Ce had forgotten that General Dan had always been a man of great strategic vision...

"Haha, okay, as long as you're not mad at me."

General Dan smiled and said to Xiao Ce, "Moreover, I should thank you... for letting him come back first, and he even made it in time for our son's birth."

Hearing General Dan say this, Xiao Ce thought of the Mad Taoist again.

This really wasn't his doing. If it weren't for the Mad Taoist's brilliant foresight, he wouldn't have known about this.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Xiao Ce said to General Dan, "Let me see my godson..."

After listening to Xiao Ce's words, General Dan looked at the maid who was holding the child and was still crying tears of excitement.

"Xiaohua, what are you standing there for? Bring the child over here."

The maid only came over excitedly at this moment.

General Dan further explained, "Your Highness, please don't mind. These children revere you like gods...you are their savior..."

Then General Dan began to talk about the maid's background.

This maid's family had been persecuted by the people of Fusang, and all of them were infected with the "Fairy Ointment." Later, they were saved by Xiao Ce's help.

They drove away the Japanese, vigorously eradicated the "divine ointment," and provided considerable relief from the government.

He single-handedly pulled everyone back from the brink of falling off a cliff.

Therefore, the maids and others revered Xiao Ce as a god, or rather, placed him in a position even higher than that of gods.

After all, praying to gods and Buddhas didn't do much for these people, but Xiao Ce's help to them was very direct and tangible...

This maidservant is just a microcosm of this group of people; there are countless others like her throughout the entire Xiao Kingdom...

Just as General Dan was speaking, the maid nodded repeatedly, choking back tears as she expressed her gratitude to Xiao Ce.

If she hadn't been holding her child, she probably would have knelt down again.

Seeing this, Xiao Ce said to the girl who was crying with tears streaming down her face, "Alright, child! You don't need to thank me for this... To be honest, I should be the one thanking you... If it weren't for you, Xiao Kingdom wouldn't be where it is today."

"It's less that I saved you, and more that you saved yourselves... So the person you should thank is never anyone else! It's always yourself!"

As he spoke, he took the child from him.

Although both General Dan and Da Lei are very burly, they actually have very delicate features.

So a child was born, and the child's features were also very beautiful and delicate.

"What a handsome child! If he doesn't learn martial arts and becomes a scholar, he'll surely charm countless young ladies in the capital..."

After hearing Xiao Ce's words, General Dan nodded: "Your Highness, you are right... I really don't want Dan Lei to learn martial arts anymore!"

Even Da Lei, listening from the side, nodded approvingly: "That's right, Your Highness. Actually, I was thinking that he should study the Four Books and Five Classics in the future... instead of practicing martial arts... Martial arts is too hard and too tiring."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ce was somewhat surprised: "Oh? I'm quite astonished that you two have this idea. I originally thought you would definitely have your child learn martial arts and join the army..."

The two of them almost shook their heads: "No... Your Highness... Actually, we want him to become someone like you in the future."

After Da Lei finished speaking, General Dan added, "Of course, we know that it is impossible for him to completely follow your teachings... but as long as he learns even a fraction of what you have taught him, it will be enough for him to benefit for a lifetime."

Upon hearing General Dan's words, Xiao Ce couldn't help but smile wryly and gently touched the child's nose.

"Don't ask me anymore... I've wandered for half my life, and I've had too much to lose... It wouldn't be so bad if I just lived a simple and ordinary life."

General Dan didn't quite understand.

However, Da Lei can be said to have accompanied Xiao Ce through all the hardships of his journey over the years.

"A peaceful and ordinary life is good! Your Highness, let's not dwell on this."

Then Da Lei asked General Dan if the hot pot he had ordered was ready.

General Dan nodded and then instructed the maid to make the preparations.

Da Lei looked at Xiao Ce and said, "Your Highness, why don't we go to Yin Weiyong's place, and invite Prime Minister Yin over as well? He's an old man living alone..."

Xiao Ce smiled and nodded, then said to Da Lei, "Then don't tell anyone about my arrival."

Da Lei nodded with a smile.

...

At this moment, Yin Weiyong was in his own residence, sitting in a rocking chair.

Although there were many servants in the Prime Minister's residence, Yin Weiyong still felt a deep loneliness.

Previously, Yin Weiyong was obsessed with power, but after the real Xiao Ce gave him power...

He suddenly realized that once he truly had power in his hands, it had no allure; instead, it felt like a heavy burden.

It was only after he gained power that he realized Xiao Ce was truly intelligent.

He can't get rid of it now, no matter how hard he tries.

The higher he stood, the more he realized, truly realized, that he had no close relatives...

No wonder emperors throughout history have been described as lonely and isolated figures.

Just as he was lost in thought, a servant rushed over.

After the servant ran over, Yin Weiyong asked him, "What's wrong?"

The servant prostrated himself on the ground and then said to Yin Weiyong, "Prime Minister Yin, Mr. Da Lei has sent someone to invite you to his residence for a gathering!"

Yin Weiyong listened with some curiosity: "Go to his house? Before, I wanted to visit his children, but he declined... Now he's taking the initiative to invite me."

"Sure! I'm free anyway, so let's go check it out."

As he spoke, Yin Weiyong stood up with the help of others.

He knew that Da Lei had moved house, and that he had been sending people to take care of Da Lei while he was away.

Just as he arrived at the gate of the house, Yin Weiyong heard a familiar voice.

Yin Weiyong was stunned for a moment, unable to recover...

"Prime Minister Yin, what's wrong?" a servant asked softly as Yin Weiyong stopped where the carriage had come from.

A look of joy and excitement appeared on Yin Weiyong's face.