The Human Emperor

“Did His Majesty (Li Heng) tell you?” Gao Lishi said, sitting across from Wang Chong.

“Yes!”

Wang Chong nodded.

Gao Lishi needed the approval of Li Heng to build his hut next to the imperial mausoleum.

Wang Chong had learned of Gao Lishi’s location from Li Heng.

“Sir Eunuch, Wang Chong has something he doesn’t understand, and requests Sir Eunuch’s instruction.”

Wang Chong went straight to the point.

“Speak. I will tell you what I can,” Gao Lishi calmly said, his indifferent eyes seeming to see through all.

“This junior wishes to ask Sir Eunuch about a matter from thirty years ago, about the deposed Crown Prince, Li Xuantu,” Wang Chong said.

“Li Xuantu?”

The snow-white brows on Gao Lishi’s calm face twitched upon hearing this.

“Why do you wish to find him?”

Wang Chong swiftly described Genesis Supreme’s recent activities and his speculations on Li Linfu.

Eunuch Gao’s brow creased in thought after hearing Wang Chong’s words.

“Li Linfu dares to collude with the men in black? How bold!”

The news Wang Chong had brought was an immense shock to Eunuch Gao.

“Eunuch Gao, forgive this Wang Chong for being presumptuous, but did the deposed Crown Prince really not die in the Divine Dragon Coup thirty years ago?” Wang Chong asked.

He stared at Eunuch Gao, taking in every shift on his face.

Eunuch Gao continued to frown as he pondered the question.

This simple action made Wang Chong’s heart thump.

If Li Xuantu was already dead, Eunuch Gao wouldn’t have hesitated and would have outright denied it. But his silence indicated that there had been something suspicious about that matter, that the historians had not recorded the truth.

After a long while, Eunuch Gao raised his head and sighed.

“After so many years, I did not think anyone still remembered him!”

Bang!

This simple sentence was like a boulder crashing into the lake of Wang Chong’s mind, stirring mighty waves.

Li Xuantu… really wasn’t dead!

Although Eunuch Gao had not directly said it, his expression said it all.

“How could this be?!”

Wang Chong’s mind was in turmoil.

He had only had some speculations, but alas, his last ember of hope had been extinguished.

But Wang Chong had one thing he didn’t understand. Everyone believed that Li Xuantu had been executed after the Divine Dragon Coup. Why had the Sage Emperor left him alive?

As if knowing what Wang Chong was thinking, Eunuch Gao began to speak about that matter of the past.

“Thirty years ago, when Gaozong reigned and the previous Emperor was still a Prince, the most dazzling Prince was not the Sage Emperor, but the now-deposed Crown Prince, Li Xuantu. In terms of cultural, political, and martial attainments, none of the other Princes could compare. In certain aspects, not even the Sage Emperor could match him.

“Thus, Li Xuantu naturally became His Majesty’s strongest foe and rival.

“Who would not like a son like this!? Emperor Gaozong was naturally no exception. In addition, Li Xuantu was the eldest son of the Empress, so Emperor Gaozong was set on having Li Xuantu succeed to the throne, not the Sage Emperor at all.

“If the Sage Emperor hadn’t appeared, the Emperor of the Great Tang would probably have been Li Xuantu!”

Eunuch Gao became sentimental as he recalled the events of the past.

He had been raised in the imperial household ever since he was a child, so he naturally understood the situation back then.

Wang Chong listened to all of this in shock.

Eunuch Gao was devoted to the Sage Emperor, his number one confidant. Thus, Wang Chong was surprised to hear that Eunuch Gao would have such a high evaluation of this enemy, even finding him to be superior to the Sage Emperor in some ways.

“Alas, he was too proud and conceited. None of the Princes had been able to surpass him before this, so it wasn’t obvious, but when the Sage Emperor appeared, his hidden flaws were completely exposed.

“Before the Divine Dragon Coup, Li Xuantu and the Sage Emperor were already getting along like fire and water, each person gathering many capable subordinates at his side. By that point, the situation was an arrow on the string, and it was no longer the arrow’s choice whether it was to be loosed or not. In the end, the Sage Emperor won, resulting in the Great Tang’s golden age!!”

Eunuch Gao let out a deep sigh.

No one who had not been deeply involved in that incident could ever understand just how dangerous it was.

It did not matter who had been right or wrong. What mattered the most was that the Sage Emperor was the victor.

And the circumstances showed that this was the best result for the Great Tang!

“What happened after that? Why didn’t the Sage Emperor kill him?” Wang Chong said.

Wang Chong had been born after the coup, and though he hadn’t been through the coup, he could tell through Gao Lishi’s tone that Li Xuantu was a talented strategist of extraordinary quality. For every day a man like this lived, another enormous threat would hang over the Sage Emperor’s head.

Wang Chong didn’t understand. Why would the Sage Emperor leave him alive?

“This!”

Eunuch Gao hesitated before finally beginning to speak.

“I also cannot fathom His Majesty’s mind. When that matter was over, Minister Yao and I advised him many times to deal with him, but His Majesty would not listen. Later on, after some thought, we concluded that His Majesty was considering the affection between brothers and also cherished his incredible talent, in the end sparing his life. After all, didn’t His Majesty also give Third Son Xuan a chance?”

Wang Chong had nothing to say.

If someone found out that a major threat like Li Xuantu still lived, it would undoubtedly stir up a great storm. Leaving him alive was undoubtedly unwise.

But when he thought about it, this was truly in line with the Sage Emperor’s style!

If there was one person in the world with the confidence to successfully restrain people like this, it could only be the now-deceased Sage Emperor!

Wang Chong was sure that this was not out of some softheartedness.

The Sage Emperor’s open-mindedness and daring had transcended those of everyone in the world!

But now was not the time to sigh in wonder. Wang Chong only wanted to know where the Sage Emperor had imprisoned him.

“I’m also not sure about this. I only vaguely know that he was imprisoned somewhere under the imperial prison, somewhere deep under the abandoned palace of the Sui Dynasty. Every year, His Majesty would pay a visit, but he would bring no one with him, not even me. No one except His Majesty knows where the entrance is.

“But now that I think of it, didn’t you also pay a visit to the imperial prison three-some years ago during the Regional Commanders incident?” Eunuch Gao said.

Bang!

It was just an offhand comment from Eunuch Gao, but Wang Chong was thrown into turmoil, his brow twitching.

Beneath the imperial prison… the Sui Dynasty’s palace… the deposed Crown Prince Li Xuantu…

Wang Chong suddenly recalled a person.

Three-some years ago, he had been only sixteen. A single memorial of his had offended all the Hu of the realm, and he had been imprisoned by the Sage Emperor in a mysterious prison beneath the imperial prison. At the time, he had encountered an enigmatic character who had asked him a few questions using a voice transmission technique.

That man had even transferred him some energy, assisting him in breaking that bottleneck and cultivating the Little Yinyang Art.

Wang Chong remembered that he had asked that man where he was, and the man had replied that he was twenty floors below the imperial prison, in the Sui Dynasty’s palace.

Could it be him?

Wang Chong had a complicated expression on his face.

He had never imagined that the mysterious man he had encountered in the prison would be the Sage Emperor’s greatest foe from Emperor Gaozong’s reign, deposed Crown Prince Li Xuantu!

“Eunuch Gao, my thanks!”

No longer able to restrain himself, Wang Chong prepared to leave.

“If you are worried that Li Xuantu will be used by the men in black, there is no need to concern yourself. Although I have never personally been there, I do know that the area is heavily guarded, reinforced with powerful formations and seals. Li Xuantu has no chance of escaping. If it had really been that easy, someone of Li Xuantu’s ability would have gotten free many years ago rather than waiting until now.

“Moreover, the previous Emperor should have understood the danger Li Xuantu presented. He must have done this because he was confident that he could restrain him and prevent him from doing harm to the Great Tang,” Eunuch Gao sternly said.

The Sage Emperor had extraordinary methods, and Li Xuantu was extremely dangerous. He naturally couldn’t have been imprisoned in some ordinary cell.

“I understand!”

Wang Chong stood up, bowed, and quickly departed.

“Wait!” Eunuch Gao called out when Wang Chong was about one hundred feet away.

“Although there are many things that I am not sure about, if you wish to find Li Xuantu, if you find that bronze box the Sage Emperor left for you, you might find some clues. All of His Majesty’s possessions were left in that box!”

“Many thanks, Sir Eunuch!”

Wang Chong strode away, quickly vanishing out of sight.

……

Clap!

Only

With a crisp crack, Wang Chong opened the box the Sage Emperor had left behind.

The Sage Emperor had left all of his backup plans inside the box, and not even Eunuch Gao had ever seen its contents.

The box’s contents were for Wang Chong’s eyes only, but he had not seen anything in there concerning Li Xuantu.

“That shouldn’t be. Li Xuantu is no ordinary person. If the Sage Emperor had wanted to kill him, he would have just killed him. Since he left him alive, he almost certainly made appropriate plans.”

Wang Chong frowned as he mused to himself.

He passed his eyes over the box. He had already browsed through all the notebooks and letters, but finally, at the very bottom of the box, he spotted a copper key, about eight inches long, and his mind was shaken.

Wang Chong had already seen this copper key many times, but what drew Wang Chong’s attention the most this time were the images of the palaces engraved on the key.

These palaces were not built in the style of the Great Tang.