blueteamnovel Chapter 93
Chapter 93
On an auspicious day chosen by Song Heqing and the other old ministers, they planned to enter the imperial tomb to retrieve the weapon.
Upon learning that they were concerned he couldn’t lift the Fangtian Ji made of wrought iron and wanted to make a replica for him, Chu Chengji coldly declined.
That evening, when he returned home, Chu Chengji found two stone pedestals in the courtyard.
Chu Chengji asked the old servant, “What are these placed in the courtyard for?”
The old servant replied, “The Princess Consort said, Your Highness might need them for martial training.”
Chu Chengji thought to himself, Were they afraid I couldn’t lift the Fangtian Ji, so they want me to practice first?
Once inside, he saw Qin Zheng writing and drawing at the desk and said indirectly, “My strength is still adequate.”
He didn’t need to practice lifting stone pedestals.
Qin Zheng, feeling anxious, said, “I heard the Fangtian Ji weighs around 180 catties. Just to be safe, shouldn’t you practice?”
She wasn’t very familiar with weapons, but after looking at the illustrations in the weapon manual, she learned that the Fangtian Ji had a flat, sharp spearhead in the middle and crescent-shaped blades on both sides of the long handle.
If there was only one crescent-shaped blade on one side, it would be called the Qinglong Ji.
Chu Chengji stared at her for a while and suddenly said, “Will you practice with me?”
After looking at the drawings for a while, Qin Zheng’s eyes were a little sore, but she nodded, “Sure.”
She had thought Chu Chengji would be the one practicing, while she watched, but as soon as she stood up, Chu Chengji picked her up like a little chicken and placed her on his bent arm.
Qin Zheng was startled and quickly hugged his neck, “What are you doing?”
With one arm around her, Chu Chengji found a book from the bookshelf and started reading without lifting his head, “Building arm strength.”
It was like an adult carrying a child, and Qin Zheng happened to sit on his forearm, so he was supporting her entire weight with his left forearm.
Qin Zheng couldn’t help but say, “Is this how you practice arm strength?”
Chu Chengji never looked away from the book and replied seriously, “The stone pedestal is unstable on the arm. This method is more effective.”
Qin Zheng: “...”
It sounded reasonable, and she almost believed him.
Unable to argue, Qin Zheng finally had to let him hand her the book to read.
Chu Chengji insisted that practicing arm strength was indeed practicing arm strength.
Qin Zheng acted as a human stone pedestal, hanging from his left arm for half an hour, then switched to his right arm for another half hour.
Chu Chengji didn’t feel tired, but Qin Zheng’s bottom started to ache from the discomfort, and she refused to be his human stone pedestal anymore.
In the blink of an eye, it was the day to enter the imperial tomb.
To boost morale, tens of thousands of soldiers went to the tomb to watch.
Song Heqing was still worried about potential mishaps, so despite Chu Chengji’s refusal, he secretly had a replica of the Fangtian Ji made, thinking that if the Crown Prince couldn’t wield Emperor Wu’s weapon, they could use the fake one instead, and the soldiers wouldn’t know the difference.
Accompanying Chu Chengji into the tomb were trusted ministers, so there was no fear of gossip.
Before the departure, Dong Cheng noticed Song Heqing secretly sent a long box onto the carriage.
During a rest along the way, he dismissed the guards of the carriage, opened the box, and sneered when he saw what was inside.
It was indeed a fake Fangtian Ji made of wrought iron, weighing just over thirty catties.
Having crossed swords with Chu Chengji before, Dong Cheng knew he wasn’t just for show, but throughout history, there were only a few formidable generals who could wield weapons weighing over a hundred catties on the battlefield.
The Crown Prince’s attempt to embellish himself in this manner disgusted Dong Cheng even more, strengthening his resolve to expose the hypocrisy of the Crown Prince and his faction before the army.
Upon arriving at the tomb of Emperor Wu, before the altar, it was necessary for Song Heqing to recite Emperor Wu’s accomplishments and then elaborate on the current difficult situation.
Finally, he would mention how Emperor Wu had entrusted a dream to the Crown Prince, instructing him to enter the tomb and retrieve the divine weapon to pacify the world.
Emperor Wu’s military achievements were legendary, and not just the weapons he used during his lifetime, even the horses that accompanied him in battle had many legends associated with them.
Therefore, when the soldiers heard about Emperor Wu entrusting a dream to the Crown Prince, asking him to enter the tomb and retrieve his weapon, they were all extremely excited, believing it to be a manifestation of Emperor Wu’s divine intervention.
As Chu Chengji and his ministers entered the tomb, the soldiers outside crowded around, craning their necks to catch a glimpse inside, whispering and praising endlessly.
Only Dong Cheng’s face showed a sneer as he said, “I’ve heard that the Fangtian Ji wielded by Emperor Wu, made of wrought iron, required the combined strength of two ordinary soldiers to lift it.
If the Crown Prince intends to use Emperor Wu’s Fangtian Ji to conquer the world, he would indeed inherit Emperor Wu’s divine power.”
He deliberately said this to raise the soldiers’ expectations of the Crown Prince.
When he eventually exposed the Crown Prince’s true face, the soldiers would be even more indignant.
The soldiers immediately exclaimed, “Since the Crown Prince’s birth, he has been said to have the same destiny as Emperor Wu. I dare say, our Crown Prince might be the reincarnation of Emperor Wu himself!”
Dong Cheng’s smile became even colder.
As a martial artist himself, he had always respected Emperor Wu instinctively.
Song Heqing was so angry that his beard quivered, about to order someone to drag Dong Cheng away, but Chu Chengji spoke up, “Young General Dong’s courage is commendable. Come up and take the Fangtian Ji.”
Song Heqing was frantic with worry that Dong Cheng would mess things up, but since Chu Chengji had spoken, he couldn’t disobey Chu Chengji’s orders.
He could only watch helplessly as Dong Cheng ascended the high platform, giving countless warning glances during the process, but Dong Cheng turned a blind eye to them.
Thinking back to what Cen Daoxi had said earlier, Song Heqing couldn’t help but feel a chill.
Could it be that Dong Cheng was really going to harm His Highness?
Chu Chengji’s indifferent manner of letting him take the Fangtian Ji also made Dong Cheng somewhat suspicious.
However, he had already seen the fake they had made on the carriage earlier, and the more he thought about it, the more Dong Cheng felt that Chu Chengji was playing psychological warfare with him.
He just wanted to scare him off, making him miss the opportunity to expose his true self in front of the army!
Seeing Chu Chengji hand over the Fangtian Ji with one hand, Dong Cheng didn’t think much of it and reached out with one hand to receive it.
However, the weight that landed in his hand caused him to stagger and almost fall to the ground.
Dong Cheng widened his eyes in disbelief.
How could it be so heavy?
Seeing him unable to hold it steady, Chu Chengji kindly reached out to help him hold the shaft of the weapon. “Young General Dong?”
Dong Cheng hastily steadied his footing and exerted all his strength.
Finally, he managed to lift the Fangtian Ji with one hand, barely swinging it halfway before handing it back to Chu Chengji. “This Fangtian Ji is indeed heavy, and I was too presumptuous.”
As he descended from the platform, the hand that had held the weapon still trembled uncontrollably.
The soldiers below burst into laughter, and Dong Cheng hung his head, letting them laugh.
Song Heqing and the other advisers were puzzled.
Song Heqing even suspected that Dong Cheng was deliberately provoking trouble by causing a scene on the stage to make the soldiers more convinced.
Unexpectedly, Chu Chengji immediately said, “Is there anyone else who wants to try how heavy this Fangtian Ji is? You’re welcome to come up.”
Song Heqing was so shocked that his beard trembled three times.
He thought to himself, Could it be that His Highness not only found Dong Cheng as a pawn?
He was indeed considerate.
“Your Highness, I also want to try!” a burly man walked up to the stage, immediately attracting everyone’s attention.
Initially, Dong Cheng’s suggestion to try the Fangtian Ji had a somewhat aggressive tone, but now that Chu Chengji had proactively invited others to try, no one laughed at Dong Cheng anymore.
Dong Cheng understood that Chu Chengji’s words were a way to help him save face and not feel overly embarrassed.
Although he couldn’t help feeling a bit ashamed on the surface.
However, his heart was even more confused.
He had clearly seen a fake Fangtian Ji, so how could the one the prince took out be real?
Thinking of this, Dong Cheng broke out in a cold sweat.
Could it be that the prince already knew that he was sent by the Crown Prince’s side to feign surrender, and today’s actions were a test for him?
Was the prince’s current assistance meant to give him a chance to reform?
Dong Cheng’s heart trembled.
Looking up at the high platform, he saw the burly man exerting all his strength with both hands just to lift the Fangtian Ji.
When the man came down, facing the questioning of the soldiers, he just shook his head repeatedly. “Such a heavy thing! His Highness has great strength!”
There were other soldiers who wanted to come up and try how heavy the Fangtian Ji was, and Chu Chengji gave it to them all a try.
He maintained a stern face without smiling, and the soldiers, who usually feared him, now felt that the prince was not so unapproachable.
He stood there like an unscalable peak, inexplicably making people convinced and willing to entrust their lives to him.
Dong Cheng tightly gripped the sword at his waist, looking at Chu Chengji with a particularly complex gaze.
Song Heqing watched as one soldier after another went up to the stage to try the Fangtian Ji, seeing them all turning red-faced and bulging veins on their foreheads.
He thought to himself that the pawns His Highness had found were really not bad at acting!
Finally, after waiting for the ceremony to end, Song Heqing hurriedly led people to transport the real Fangtian Ji, intending to hide it elsewhere.
“Be careful, this Fangtian Ji weighs one hundred and eighty catties, it’s quite heavy!” he reminded the soldiers carrying the box.
The two soldiers exerted all their strength to lift the box containing the Fangtian Ji, but it was unexpectedly light inside.
They used too much force and ended up falling down. Looking at the fake Fangtian Ji that fell out, Song Heqing finally realized that something was wrong.
Could it be that the prince had taken out the real one from the beginning?