The First Venerable of the Prosperous Age

The rage that had been building up in Xue Wang's heart could no longer be contained, so he rushed to the door and shouted, "Guards! Kill them all!"

He was stunned. The massive army that had been gathering in front of the gate was completely blocked by a man in black robes.

The man in black robes stretched out one hand, and a green light appeared in front of him: all the horsemen and soldiers who stepped forward were thrown off balance, and the black clouds collapsed in fear, with no one daring to go forward again.

All of this was done by the Immortal Pavilion Master.

King Xue was stunned and speechless. "Ning... Ning Konglou... when did he become... also a first-class expert...?"

Lu Xiaosan went behind him and put the black travel crown back on his head.

King Xue turned around abruptly, both surprised and furious.

Lu Xiaosan looked at him with a puzzled expression, "Why are you making such a fuss?"

"What are you doing? You injured my uncle, and now you're trying to murder me. What do you think I want to do?" King Xue roared, his eyes wide with rage.

Lu Xiaosan patted Xue Wang's shoulder with a smile, and Xue Wang trembled as his hand fell.

Lu Xiaosan laughed and said, "Brother, since we're here, let's have some drinks and have some fun. You can always find another uncle if you lose one. If you don't mind, I can be your uncle too. A good mood is what matters for a lifetime."

Lu Xiaosan was teasing his uncle when he suddenly saw Prince Xue straighten his crown, squint his murderous rat-like eyes at Lu Xiaosan, and slowly take out a gold tube from his bosom.

As soon as the golden scroll was presented, everyone inside and outside the Zhexian Tower immediately knelt down before it, except for Lu Xiaosan and Chang'an who stood there dumbfounded.

"How dare you! The Emperor's decree, how dare you disobey!" Prince Xue glared and shouted.

"It's his business to issue the imperial edict, whether I accept it or not is my business. If he can cure my illness and send me to Qiantang, I will listen to him."

Ning Konglou couldn't help but wonder, "He wouldn't really be planning to assassinate the Sage, would he?"

Taking advantage of Xue Wang's shock and anger, and the moment his attention was diverted, Lu Xiaosan snatched the golden edict from his hand.

King Xue was shocked to see that the imperial edict was already in Lu Xiaosan's hands, and he hurriedly knelt down at Lu Xiaosan's feet.

Lu Xiaosan opened the gold scroll and saw a large number of characters on the gold paper, but he did not recognize a single one of them.

Lu Xiaosan bent down and asked Xue Wang, "What does this say?"

King Xue, kneeling on the ground, was furious and humiliated. Veins bulged on his forehead, and his face was contorted with rage. He tilted his head and said viciously, "When I get back and report to His Majesty, I will make sure you... oh my..."

Lu Xiaosan kicked him to the ground.

"Just read it when I tell you to, stop with all this nonsense." As soon as she finished speaking, she felt a fragrance waft over, and something soft seemed to be placed on her back.

He turned around and saw Fu Rou with her hand on his shoulder, her eyes full of seductive smiles, saying, "Can I take a look?"

"Can you understand?"

Fu Rou nodded gently.

Lu Xiaosan revealed part of the imperial edict to her, and Fu Rou did not delay, immediately reading: "Ning Konglou, the master of the Zhexian Tower, respectfully welcomes the imperial edict."

Ning Konglou knelt down: "Your subject respectfully welcomes the imperial edict."

Fu Rou abandoned her usual coquettish tone and said solemnly, "By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: I have heard that Wang Xiantong has suffered unjustly at your hands, and I am deeply saddened. Heaven and Earth are just, and I will certainly treat everyone the same. I hope that you will have a long and detailed talk with Prince Xue, and that you will surely turn enmity into truth, so that the emperor and his ministers can be of one mind and work together. So be it."

Ning Konglou stood up, bowed, ran over, knelt at Fu Rou's feet, and received the imperial edict: "Your subject receives the edict." The crowd then shouted in unison, "Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!" and kowtowed.

Prince Xue stood up and looked at the soldiers at the door with an almost commanding gaze, "With the Emperor's decree, what are you afraid of?"

The soldiers looked at each other and stood up. They all knew the rules of the Immortal Pavilion: anyone who did not enter would lose their legs.

Even if it's not obsolete now, it might be obsolete in the future.

So even if there were an imperial edict now, no one would dare to step into the Zhexian Tower.

Taking the opportunity, Fu Rou leaned close to Ning Konglou's ear and whispered with a smile, "Ning Konglou, I just spent a lot of money to renovate these two doors. Do you know how much silver it cost me? Are you just going to let him do whatever he wants?"

Ning Konglou, not wanting to get too close, quickly took two steps back and said apologetically, "Let's put this matter aside for now..."

Now that the Emperor was backing him up, Prince Xue dusted himself off, straightened his official hat, tightened his jade belt, snorted, and once again adopted the same arrogant demeanor he had when he first arrived.

"Since you read the imperial edict for me, you should know what to do."

Fu Rou suppressed her temper and turned to Prince Xue with a smile, saying, "Prince Xue is truly resourceful; you've even managed to obtain the Emperor's decree."

Prince Xue glared at everyone in the building. "Hmph, just as I expected, my name alone is not enough to subdue the Immortal Pavilion. In the end, I will have to ask my elder brother to stand up for me."

Fu Rou smiled faintly, "Your Highness Xue wouldn't go out of your way to ask for an imperial decree just so the Emperor can kill a dying child for you, would you? If this gets out, even if Your Highness doesn't care, he should at least consider the Emperor's feelings."

Prince Xue glanced at him sideways and sneered, "Hmph, a child?"

He roared again, "Can such an audacious, arrogant, and rebellious person be called a child?"

Fu Rou smiled and nodded, "Xue Wang's uncle is also an audacious, arrogant, and rebellious person, yet he still treats himself like a precious child. Why is it that he doesn't treat others the same way?"

The displeasure on Prince Xue's face intensified, and he reached out to stop Fu Rou from speaking. "I do not wish to argue with you any further. Although I came in a hurry, I will certainly not do as you say and tarnish my brother's reputation."

Ning Konglou asked, "So what do you plan to do?"

Prince Xue sighed again, "My uncle is seriously injured now, and I don't know if he can pull through..."

"My uncle had been saying that he wanted to indulge in a life of luxury with me here. But he can't come now. So I have to come alone to prepare a feast for him."

Lu Xiaosan's eyes widened in disbelief. "Such a simple matter? You went to the trouble of requesting an imperial decree..."

Prince Xue turned around and glared at him. "I will not argue with you, you impudent fool. You made a mountain out of a molehill by riding your carriage."

Fu Rou exclaimed with delight, "Lord Xue is truly a magnanimous man, Xiao Mei!"

"Yes," Chang'an replied.

"Go and get some good wine and food for Prince Xue."

"it is good."

"Wait a minute," said Prince Xue.

"what happened?"

Xue Wang slapped his thigh and sighed, "That's right, I remember now, my uncle's favorite dish used to be the Luoyang Water Banquet..."

"Then hurry up and prepare the Luoyang Water Banquet for Prince Xue."

"Oh, oh." Chang'an hurriedly ran towards the kitchen.

"Wait a minute, little one," Xue Wang said with a smile.

Fu Rou asked, "What, does Prince Xue want to go back on his word?"

Prince Xue found another table, sat down, and took a sip of wine. “Of course not, but I haven’t finished speaking yet: my uncle’s favorite food is the Luoyang Water Banquet at the Qiaoxiang Pavilion in Xiushanfang.”

"Then go to Qiaoxiang Pavilion. Why are you still suffering here?" Lu Xiaosan asked.

Upon seeing that the speaker was Lu Xiaosan, Prince Xue said in an annoyed tone, "I have to stay here with my uncle and can't leave. I'll have to ask you to take your little brother to Qiaoxiang Pavilion in Xiushanfang."

Lu Xiaosan stared wide-eyed at himself and said, "Me? Out of all these people, it's me?"

"To be honest, my uncle loved beautiful women most of all when he was alive, and the girls in your building are all stunningly beautiful. Today, I will take all the girls in the building on my uncle's behalf."

Xue Wang twirled the wine cup in his hand and glanced sideways at Lu Xiaosan and Chang'an, "So, you'll have to make the trip yourself."