Chapter 150: The Pitiful Chubby Li

"Enough!" A majestic voice rang out. A man strode over, and Du He's subordinates immediately dropped to their knees, shouting, "Greetings, Eldest Young Master."

Du Gu ignored them completely and said directly to Du He, "If you've had too much to drink, go find somewhere to sleep. What kind of drunken scene are you making here?"

"Hehe, this dog actually cursed Father to not live past two years. If I don't teach him a lesson, I'm not leaving."

"What do you know? What do you understand? Who sent you here? Get back to the estate immediately! You pack of worthless hounds, come and help the Second Young Master back, or do you believe I'll break your legs?"

Du Gu spoke with extreme anger. He had been present in the imperial court as well, though he lacked the qualification to speak.

As Du He was hoisted up by others, he struggled and cursed, "Don't I know what's in your mind? You're just wishing Father would die sooner so you can inherit the title of Duke. You've always been thinking about..."

Du Gu was in too much pain to speak. This younger brother of his had always coveted the position of Duke and had never been close to him as an elder brother.

"Pardon the trouble of passing a message to the Marquis. Tomorrow, the Du family will definitely come in person to offer our thanks and apologies. I ask the Marquis to forgive tonight's events," Du Gu said, cupping his fists toward the person on the wall before leaving. This left the servants of the Cai residence muttering in disappointment, having thought they were about to witness a grand drama of aristocratic succession, only for it to end with a whimper.

"Marquis, they're gone," Xu Jie said, bending slightly as he spoke to Cai Cong.

"This Du household is truly on the decline. Although Du Ruhui's uncle and younger brother are both exceptional men, unfortunately, his sons are mediocre. They won't amount to anything in the future."

"No matter what, it's still a Duke's estate. No matter how much of a fool he is, he's still better than scum like me," Xu Jie said with a hint of bitterness. Leaving Du Gu aside, this Du He was a total fool, yet simply because he had a good father, Emperor Li Shimin had betrothed a princess to him early on. In the future, he would inherit a dukedom—a social standing Xu Jie's family could never catch up to, even after three generations of striving.

"No matter how high one's status is, without a brain, one is merely a chess piece, and will be played to death without even knowing who did it. Alright, go to sleep! I overestimated those bald donkeys. They haven't shown up even by this hour; it seems they still don't know what happened in the imperial court."

Cai Cong looked up at the moon, which had already begun to slant westward. Those useless baldies were probably still bickering over uncollected interest, how to seize more land, and how to increase the temple's incense offerings.

Corrupted by such secular desires, they would slowly rot away. As for that foolish monk who went to the Buddhist kingdom to seek true scriptures, he probably never imagined that after traveling fifty thousand miles west, he would gain nothing at all in that decaying Buddhist realm, with his greatest contribution being the authorship of *The Great Tang Records on the Western Regions*.

At the debate assembly in Kannauj, he couldn't even find a single opponent. Those monks' devotion to Buddhism had long since been defeated by their pursuit of women and a luxurious lifestyle.

Three days later, Li Tai performed the ritual of sacrificing to Heaven on Longshou Mountain. Li Ji mobilized thousands of troops to maintain order. From the foot of the mountain to the summit, it was a sea of people—a true gathering of crowds. To sacrifice to Heaven and eradicate the locusts, public notices had to be posted to explain to the common people why the locusts could be eliminated.

Thus, the common people were reduced to ignorant masses, becoming the most powerful chess pieces in Cai Cong's hands. Locusts ate crops; the people didn't dare to kill them themselves, but now that someone had stepped forward to take the lead, the sin of killing them would fall on that person. As for the rumors spread by malicious individuals that locusts must not be killed—if you won't let me kill the locusts, will you compensate me for the crops my family loses to them?

Li Tai was a showman at heart. He currently felt as though his feet were walking on air; wherever he went, the common people fell to their knees, chanting blessings from the immortals. This was truly immensely entertaining.

Under the presiding of Li Chunfeng, Li Tai devoutly chanted the prayer and, under the gaze of multitudes, set fire to the sacrificial text. The flames slowly consumed the paper. A locust landed on the ceremonial table and was slapped to death by Li Tai's chubby little hand.

Everyone's heart skipped a beat along with the ceremonial table, as if in the next moment, a great demon would descend from the heavens.

There was no strong wind, no gathering of dark clouds, and certainly no thunder or lightning. Li Chunfeng closed his eyes and proclaimed in a loud voice that Heaven had accepted Li Tai's prayer and would protect the common people, and that the locust demons could now be eliminated.

The common people cheered with joy. Whose fields weren't plagued by swarms of locusts flying about, terrifying to behold? Now they could slaughter them, with no more fear of their crops being devoured entirely.

Cavalrymen bearing imperial edicts were dispatched in all directions to proclaim the decree on eradicating locusts to every county and district in Guanzhong. The Great Tang was not afraid of locust demons; we had a divine person descended to earth, and we feared no retribution.

The common people were blessed, but Li Tai suffered. His toys were confiscated, and the kitchen was locked.

Li Shimin dispatched four supreme palace martial arts masters to teach Li Tai martial arts, and on that very day issued orders to all the noble households friendly with Li Tai, forbidding anyone from privately inviting the Prince of Yue to a banquet.

The star of Wu, Wuqu Xingjun, governed martial valor and bravery, but Li Tai's current image was completely a disgrace to Wuqu Xingjun. His belly was fat enough to serve as a lifebuoy, his arms and legs flabby with loose flesh, and he would pant like a dog after walking just a few steps. Despite his profound knowledge of the *Classic of Poetry* and various odes, Li Tai's appearance was simply the epitome of a lazy, overweight otaku.

Within just two days, Li Tai came crying to Cai Cong's doorstep. He no longer wanted to be an immortal; being an immortal was far too tiring and pitiable.

Cai Cong looked at Li Tai, who was alternating between steamed buns and tears, and turned to say to Liaoran, "This brother of mine is an imperial prince. In terms of status, he is tens of thousands of times more noble than the little prince of your Buddha's kingdom. Yet for the sake of the common people, he doesn't have a single unbruised patch of flesh left on his body. Now look at what all of you disciples and descendants of Buddha have done."

Hearing Cai Cong's words, Li Tai felt an even deeper surge of sorrow, snatching up a piece of braised beef brisket and taking a fierce, massive bite. His old man had said all this flab had to go; after just two days of training, his entire body ached so terribly that he could only escape to Cai Cong's place.

"Master, someone from the Prince of Yue's estate is here, saying the time is up and they've come to take the Prince back for martial arts training," Xu Jie shouted from afar before even reaching them. Li Tai, acting as if he had gone mad, grabbed a chunk of meat and bolted, chewing as he ran—truly a picture of utter desolation.

Li Chenqian clenched his fists, feeling a piercing heartache. When had his younger brother ever suffered such hardships?

"Master, should we send people to protect the Prince of Yue?"

"No need. He's a smart man; he just wants to stuff himself before he gets dragged back so he won't be able to train. Tell the kitchen staff to keep a close eye on things and not let the Prince overeat to the point of getting sick, or you'll all be punished."

Cai Cong watched the chubby little figure scampering toward the kitchen and spoke softly, then already began walking toward Li Tai's instructors.

These four men were all imperial tributes, monsters with peerless martial prowess. More importantly, they only took orders from the Emperor, so Li Tai's status could not command any awe from them.

Before Cai Cong could even speak, the leader among them sneered sinisterly, "The Marquis of Chang'an truly holds no one in his eyes! His Majesty ordered us to teach the Prince of Yue martial arts, and this official has already issued an order that no one is to privately provide food to the Prince of Yue. Yet this order becomes a laughingstock the moment it reaches the Marquis of Chang'an's estate. The Marquis is truly majestic!"

Cai Cong's smiling face instantly darkened. He took two steps back and said coldly, "Take them!"

Dozens of elite guards lurking within the Marquis's estate swiftly surrounded them. The man opposite smiled and said to his companions, "We haven't traded blows in a long time. Shall we have a contest to see who can take down more people? The loser treats us to drinks?"

His tone completely disregarded Cai Cong's men. Liaoran, who had remained silent all this time, looked at them with a gaze full of pity. "Frog at the bottom of the well" was probably the best way to describe these people!

A quarter of an hour later, the imperial martial arts experts were sitting on the ground, bruised and battered, not a single one of their subordinates able to stand. These blockheads hadn't bothered to consider that what these guards practiced were battlefield combat formations, emphasizing coordinated assaults and flanking maneuvers, which were the most effective tactics for dealing with experts like them.

Not knowing was one thing, but to dare be arrogant and underestimate the enemy—now, not a single one of them dared to look Cai Cong in the eye. "What kind of things are you? How dare you issue orders to me? If there is a next time, this Marquis will hang you outside the gates, and even His Majesty won't find a reason to stick up for you."

Cai Cong's words were entirely justified. A mere unranked imperial tribute dared to issue orders to a titled Marquis; not wiping out their entire clans was already given out of respect for Li Shimin.