Luo Wei and Wei Lan left the main hall of Changming Palace. Outside the hall, they couldn’t see Long Eleven and Long Twelve, who were brought over by the Crown Prince.
“Will they be in trouble?” Wei Lan asked Luo Wei.
“They will be okay,” said Luo Wei as they walked towards his palace. Emperor Xingwu didn’t even blame Wei Lan, let alone blame Eleven and the others. However, Luo Wei thought about the look Emperor Xingwu gave Long Xuan, fearing that the Crown Prince might incur Emperor Xingwu’s displeasure.
There were a few young eunuchs standing in the courtyard, but the palace guards in front of the hall were nowhere to be seen, indicating they were dismissed by Emperor Xingwu. When the young eunuchs saw Luo Wei coming in, they hurriedly bowed. Luo Wei raised his hand to let the young eunuchs stand up and led Wei Lan back to the room.
“Young Master,” Wei Lan entered the room, closed the door, and asked Luo Wei, “Do you want me to take action halfway along the road?”
Luo Wei quickly pulled Wei Lan away, opened the door and looked around, fearing that what Wei Lan had just said would be overheard.
“I can hear whether there are people outside or not,” Wei Lan pulled Luo Wei into the room, “Young Master, don’t worry, there are only a few people outside now.”
“Let’s go inside,” Luo Wei still carefully looked at the doors and windows of the room. When he saw that they were closed, he and Wei Lan walked into the inner room.
“Does Young Master mean this?” Wei Lan entered the inner room, stood still, and asked Luo Wei, “Do you want Wei Lan to take the Young Master away halfway to Northern Yan?”
“Lan,” Luo Wei pulled Wei Lan to sit down and said, “You go to the southeastern army, my second brother will value you. However, it’s a battlefield, where arrows and knives have no eyes. You must be careful in everything. I know your martial arts are very high, but the battle between two armies is different from the fights in the Jianghu. You…”
“If I go to the southeast, what will you do?” Wei Lan became anxious when he realized Luo Wei was really asking him to join the southeastern army. “The enmity of killing one’s father is irreconcilable. Don’t you understand this truth?”
“Sima Qingsha won’t kill me,” Luo Wei said. “You don’t need to worry about me dying.”
“How can you be sure?” If Luo Wei didn’t stop him, Wei Lan would jump up. “If you go to Northern Yan, what can you do if Sima Qingsha wants to harm you?”
“Don’t worry,” Luo Wei held onto Wei Lan’s hand firmly. “Lan, I can’t leave.”
“If you can’t leave now, can’t we leave halfway?” Wei Lan suggested, “Will there be so many guards following you out of the palace?”
“Not so many, but if I escape halfway, the Luo family will be in trouble,” Luo Wei said.
“You are no longer a member of the Luo family. Whatever happens has nothing to do with the Luo family!” Wei Lan argued.
Luo Wei sighed and said, “That’s theoretically true, but can you reason with the emperor? As long as I honestly go to Northern Yan, nothing will happen to anyone. If I run away again, even if you are with me, we may escape, but Eleven and the others won’t be safe.”
Wei Lan was stunned for a moment and said, “Are you saying we fell into a trap? Did doing this today actually endangered the Young Master?”
“There’s no harm done. I’m very happy to see you, even just once,” Luo Wei forced a smile onto his face for Wei Lan.
“You are wholeheartedly devoted to the Crown Prince, and he treats you like this?!” Wei Lan resentfully said, “There is also the Senior Chancellor. Madam has been quarreling with him every day at home, saying he’s too ruthless, asking him to return the Young Master to her. For the sake of the Young Master, the little Master You also cries and throws tantrums at home, wanting to find Young Master. But the Senior Chancellor,” Wei Lan glanced at Luo Wei and said, “the Senior Chancellor says Madam is compassionate, and he ignores the little Master You. He just says that treating Young Master like this, he feels ashamed in private but has no regrets in public.”
Luo Wei’s smile turned ugly.
“If you decide not to escape,” Wei Lan said to Luo Wei, “I won’t persuade you anymore. Just let me go with you to Northern Yan. No matter what we encounter in Northern Yan, it’s better to face it together than for you to face it alone, right? I am a Shadow Guard. If necessary, I can still take you away. If you’re afraid of implicating your family or Eleven and the others by running within Great Zhou’s borders, would running away in Northern Yan still implicate them?”
“But my father really said that at home?” Luo Wei asked.
“Yes,” Wei Lan said, “The Senior Chancellor really said that. I’m not making it up. He also forbids Second Madam from writing to Second Young Master, saying if Second Young Master knows about Young Master’s situation, he won’t be able to focus on the southeastern war. Does Second Madam need to write to him about Young Master’s situation?” Wei Lan was now full of dissatisfaction with Luo Zhiqiu. “The Emperor has already announced it to the world. Can Second Young Master still not know? I didn’t see it before. The Senior Chancellor’s heart is made of iron!”
Luo Wei’s heart was filled with bitterness. He understood all the reasons Luo Zhiqiu had for the sake of the public, but understanding didn’t mean he, Luo Wei, could do it.
“Young Master!” After Wei Lan finished venting about Luo Zhiqiu, he remembered the main issue and asked Luo Wei, “Did you hear what I just said?”
“Escape halfway?” Luo Wei asked.
“Are you willing?”
Luo Wei shook his head.
“Then I’ll go with you to Northern Yan.”
“Oh, that’s what you’re talking about,” Luo Wei seemed to understand only now.
“Why are you still so calm?” Wei Lan was almost sweating.
“Things are already like this. It’s useless for me to worry,” Luo Wei said.
Seeing Luo Wei sitting like this, seemingly unconcerned about the matter they were discussing, Wei Lan became even more anxious. “His Majesty has already issued an edict. You must go ask him to retract his decree, right?”
“Don’t blame my father for being ruthless. If His Majesty doesn’t agree, it’s useless no matter how cruel my father is.”
“I’m not talking about this, I’m talking about me going with you to Northern Yan!”
“Lan,” Luo Wei looked seriously at Wei Lan this time, saying, “If I go to Northern Yan, no matter how Sima Qingsha treats me, he won’t kill me or let his subordinates kill me. After all, I am a prince of Great Zhou. If I die in Northern Yan, even if there are such natural and man-made disasters in Great Zhou in the future, for the dignity of the royal family, we will still have to face Sima Qingsha with troops in a few years.”
“What will he do to you then?” Wei Lan asked.
“At most, he will be disrespectful in my daily life, insult me verbally, that’s all,” Luo Wei comforted Wei Lan, “He won’t torture me because my body can’t stand it, and he has to take care of my life.”
“So?” Wei Lan’s heart still couldn’t relax. “Do I have to go to the southeast army? Since it’s just going through such days, isn’t it better for me to accompany you?”
“I let you join the army because I want to come back earlier,” Luo Wei said.
Wei Lan couldn’t understand why him joining the army would make Luo Wei come back earlier.
“The reason I have to go to Northern Yan is because of the natural disasters and unrest in our Great Zhou Dynasty,” Luo Wei explained further to Wei Lan, “When will the natural disasters pass? I’m not a God, so I don’t know. But the unrest is caused by people. As long as we put in more effort, pacifying the unrest is just a matter of time. Lan, you go help my second brother. If you can settle the rebellion of the barbarians in the southeast earlier, I will have a better chance of leaving Northern Yan earlier.”
“As long as the rebellion in the southeast is quelled, you can come back?” Wei Lan didn’t quite believe Luo Wei’s words. He said, “There are still refugees rebelling in the south.”
“Refugees are just a bunch of riffraff,” Luo Wei said. “As long as you quell the rebellion of the barbarians, my second brother’s army can go to the south. The south will be pacified soon.”
Wei Lan thought about Luo Wei’s words. He knew that Luo Wei’s words were sometimes unreliable. He didn’t know if Luo Wei was telling the truth this time, or if he was just trying to deceive him.
“Lan,” Luo Wei leaned his head on Wei Lan’s shoulder and said softly, “Just join the army and strive to make a reputation for yourself.. I’ll wait for you in Northern Yan. When you come to Northern Yan as the general of Great Zhou, personally pick me up in person.”
Boundless Dao 
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