Demon Slaying, Gaining 60 Years of Cultivation From the Start

"How dare you! This is the Golden Throne Hall; such foul language has no place here. Guards, take him away!" bellowed Uncle Dingyuan sternly.

"The one who's being presumptuous is you, Uncle Dingyuan. What do you think this place is? I have not even spoken yet; is it your turn to give orders?!"

The crown prince finally lost his temper, and his cold gaze fixed on Uncle Dingyuan and the Marquis of Wuwei. As the heir, he still possessed an authoritative aura.

Seeing this, Uncle Dingyuan quickly knelt down and said respectfully, "Your servant dares not."

The Marquis of Wuwei tried to defuse the situation, saying, "Your Highness, Uncle Dingyuan was just anxious in the moment. In his youth, he earned his military stripes for Da Xia. Please, Your Highness, overlook this..."

"Both of you, relying on your age to be disrespectful! Bringing up such stale matters to me? Whether or not you two earned your glory on the battlefield, what about Gu Chen and the other soldiers? In your eyes, do they count for nothing? Guards, drag these two old men away. I don't wish to see either of them!"

As soon as the crown prince's words fell, the imperial guards stepped forward and pulled both Uncle Dingyuan and the Marquis of Wuwei away.

Seeing the crown prince's genuine wrath, the colors drained from both of their faces. In the past, no matter the circumstance, the crown prince always seemed weak, never daring to act out in public; thus, all the civil and military officials understood his disposition and didn't take him too seriously.

Without King Huai's support, the crown prince wouldn't be able to accomplish anything.

Compared to a deep and calculating emperor, the ministers evidently preferred a puppet-like sovereign—a ruler who wouldn't evoke fear in them like walking with a tiger at their side.

This was the first time the crown prince had shown anger since taking charge, a remarkably rare event, leaving the ministers somewhat dazed, with not a single one coming forward to speak for Uncle Dingyuan and the Marquis of Wuwei.

The two realized they had miscalculated, never expecting the crown prince to diverge from his usual temperament and show such firmness today.

"Your Highness... Your Highness..."

No matter how Uncle Dingyuan and the Marquis of Wuwei called out, the crown prince ignored them, and only after both had disappeared did his expression soften somewhat.

Then, the crown prince turned his gaze toward King Huai and asked, "Uncle, what do you think should be done about this matter?"

King Huai replied indifferently, "As Your Highness deems fit."

"Very well."

The crown prince nodded, then took a deep breath and said, "As long as one is loyally devoted to Da Xia, and none of you betray it, I will not fail anyone here. Pass down my decree: all who participated in the Battle of Yan State shall be acknowledged for their merit, and I will reward them accordingly."

Following that, in the Golden Throne Hall, the Greater Companion of the Eastern Palace distributed awards as per the crown prince's prior arrangements, from the commandants to each and every soldier, each received different rewards.

And as for the Duke of the Liang State, who had perished for his country, the crown prince specially bestowed upon him the posthumous title "Loyal Martial King," with the honor of being enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple and laid to rest with lavish ceremony.

Finally, it was Gu Chen's turn.

The Greater Companion of the Eastern Palace announced with his distinctive shrill voice, "In the battle of Yulong City, Gu Chen bravely put his life on the line, not only holding Yulong City but also saving millions of innocent citizens from calamity. In recognition of his service, I hereby ennoble Gu Chen as Marquis Wu'an!"

"Ennobled as a Marquis?!" Experience new tales on My Virtual Library Empire

Although the ministers had anticipated that the crown prince's reward for Gu Chen would be extraordinary, they still hadn't expected the crown prince to directly make Gu Chen a Marquis.

A Marquis barely into his twenties was an exceedingly rare sight in any dynasty.

This reward was not light, and from this, one could see just how much the crown prince valued Gu Chen.

With King Huai's agreement, naturally, none of the ministers opposed any further, having witnessed the crown prince's recent fury. There was no need to provoke the crown prince at this time.

Soon, the crown prince's rewards were deliberately spread throughout Tiandu, and everyone knew of them for those who had taken part in the Battle of Yan State.

...

Gu Mansion.

Today, Gu Chengfeng was off duty, practicing martial arts in the small courtyard of the Gu Mansion, when a colleague suddenly visited.

"Old Gu, Old Gu, big good news has come your way!" Gu Chengfeng's colleague said excitedly.

"What good news could I possibly have?" Gu Chengfeng shook his head, a trace of invincible sorrow shadowing his brows.

It had been more than half a year since Gu Chen left for Yan State. During this time, Gu Chengfeng's family had been living on tenterhooks, unable to eat or sleep well.

On several occasions, Xu Qinge had woken from nightmares in which she dreamt Gu Chen had been sliced open on the battlefield and perished miserably with his steaming heart devoured by the barbarians of the borderlands.

Particularly since grim news from Yan State often came, about how many had died on which days, which places had been breached by the barbarians. Each piece of news from Yan State threw Gu Chengfeng's family into fear, and with every update, their hearts prayed for Gu Chen's safety.

They were barely relieved when the news of Yan State's great victory arrived, but with Gu Chen still absent, as long as they didn't see Gu Chen return, Gu Chengfeng's family couldn't rest easy.

Regarding the rumors in the alleys of Gu Chen's moniker as a "Butcher" or his single-handed slaughter of a 120,000-strong barbarian army, Gu Chengfeng hadn't paid them any attention and didn't believe them, never mentioning them to his wife and daughter.

"Old Gu, your nephew has made it big. Do you know? I have a brother working at the imperial palace. At court this morning, the crown prince commended those who fought in the Battle of Yan State, and your nephew has been ennobled as a marquis!"

"What?!"

Upon hearing this, Gu Chengfeng was immediately astonished, and then, Xu Qinge and Gu Qingyan, mother and daughter, came out from the inner room and heard the news.

"What did you say, my older son has been ennobled as a marquis?!" Mother and daughter were both stunned.

"Of course, this is the absolute truth. Soon the whole of Tiandu will be talking; if you don't believe it, go out and ask anyone after a while," Gu Chengfeng's colleague asserted confidently.

But the next moment, the royal decree arrived.

"Gu Chengfeng, receive the decree."

As Yan State was some distance from Tiandu, it would take some time for Gu Chen to return; therefore, the crown prince ordered the decree to be delivered to Gu Mansion first.

Gu Chengfeng, Xu Qinge, and Gu Qingyan, all three were still stunned as they accepted the royal decree, barely registering the eunuch's departure and even forgetting to give the customary gratuity.

Of course, the eunuch did not dare ask for it. After all, being an insider at the palace, he was well aware that Gu Chen was currently the crown prince's favorite, and naturally, he did not dare offend Gu Chen's family like Gu Chengfeng.

"Old Gu, what did I tell you? I didn't lie, did I?" Gu Chengfeng's colleague winked at him and said, "Don't forget us old buddies when you rise to great heights."

Gu Chengfeng, still dumbfounded, stared at the royal decree in his hands and mumbled, "My older son has been ennobled as a marquis?"

Xu Qinge felt the same; their whole family was too shocked to react. After all, the news was so abrupt. Just yesterday, they had been concerned about Gu Chen, and now, the royal decree had come, and Gu Chen was a marquis?

It took a long while for the Gu Chengfeng family to accept that all of this was real. Yet, until Gu Chen returned safely to Tiandu, they couldn't be completely at ease; even with the ennoblement, their happiness was subdued.

All they now hoped for was Gu Chen's safe return.

Time passed, and after a while, the day finally arrived. After traveling for more than a month, or even nearly two, Gu Chen and his entourage, having left Yan State, at last reached Tiandu!