Chapter 851
The Wind Rises
Pan Yun handed him an empty bowl and casually said, "Please call me Master Pan."
Prince Cheng readily agreed: "Why is Master Pan in the capital?"
Pan Yun: "I heard that my father, who is an official in the secular world, is sick, so I came to see him."
Prince Cheng was taken aback by her indifferent expression: "You, you don't have a good relationship with your father?"
Pan Yun raised an eyebrow: "What makes you say that?"
She seemed to have thought of something and laughed: "Does the Prince of Cheng think I'm too cold?"
Prince Cheng nodded.
Pan Yun said, “I am a monk and no longer live in the mortal world. Apart from cultivation and great calamities, there is nothing in this world that binds my heart. As for my father, I can only do my best to be filial. I can’t do anything more.”
The Prince of Cheng asked curiously, "What kind of calamity qualifies as a great calamity?"
Just then, Pan Jun and his companions' mutton soup and steamed buns arrived. Pan Jun casually handed one to him and even served him some soup, being very polite and considerate. However, his expression was cold, lacking the obsequious demeanor often seen in Prince Cheng.
Miraculously, Prince Cheng didn't mind at all; on the contrary, he was very happy.
He really liked Pan Yun's attitude.
Her care was not out of flattery, but out of politeness.
Pan Yun tore the steamed bun apart and soaked it in a bowl. After taking a bite, he nodded and said, "It lives up to its name. Prince Cheng, would you like to try it?"
Although the Prince of Cheng was eager to know the answer, he still lowered his head and took a bite. As soon as it entered his mouth, the rich mutton soup mixed with the bread entered his esophagus, and the salty and fragrant flavor exploded on his tongue. His eyes immediately lit up, and he exclaimed with delight, "It is indeed delicious."
The group of people happily began to eat. After they had eaten most of the food, Pan Yun finally answered his initial question: "Great calamities, such as the fall of a country and civil unrest."
Upon hearing this, Prince Cheng frowned: "Our Great Ming Dynasty is peaceful and prosperous. I'm afraid Master Pan will never see such a calamity in his lifetime."
Pan Yun looked up and stared at him intently, making the Prince of Cheng's heart pound with fear.
He shifted uncomfortably, his voice dropping three octaves: "What's wrong?"
Pan Yun: "With the nation in peril, I am prepared to face the danger. On that day, will Prince Cheng share my resolve?"
Prince Cheng stared blankly at Pan Yun: "Wh-what?"
Pan Yun lowered her head and ate her paomo (a type of flatbread soaked in mutton soup).
Prince Cheng grew anxious, forgetting to eat, and pressed, "Master Pan, what national crisis did you just mention?"
After finishing his soup, Pan Yun put down his bowl and said, "The emperor's northern expedition will fail, the northern barbarians will invade the south, and the country will be in danger of being destroyed. Isn't this a national crisis?"
Cheng Wangteng stood up abruptly, his face grim: "Master Pan, stop talking nonsense!"
“What good will it do me to spout nonsense?” Pan Jun sighed and said, “You will know the truth when the time comes. I hope Your Highness will have my determination to save the country from disaster and prevent the Ming Dynasty from suffering the same fate as the Southern Song Dynasty, and prevent the Han people from falling into the same predicament as the Northern Yuan Dynasty.”
Prince Cheng was startled, his eyes widening: "Me?"
Pan Yun nodded and affirmed, "You!"
“You are also a descendant of the founding emperor, and you must have an indomitable spirit in your bones,” Pan Yun looked up at him, her voice soft but clear enough to reach his ears: “You will be the next emperor, and you will be an emperor who will go down in history.”
Prince Cheng's lips trembled slightly, his face filled with disbelief.
Perhaps because he appeared too shocked, the guards standing not far away couldn't help but come forward.
Pan Yun put down his chopsticks at the right moment, stood up and said, "Your Highness, I am about to head north. Take care."
Miaozhen and the others put down their bowls and chopsticks, wiped their mouths, left a handful of copper coins, and got up.
Seeing them leave, and with the prince looking shocked and seemingly still in shock, the guards stepped forward to stop them. Prince Cheng instinctively stopped the guards, his voice hoarse, and said, "Let them leave."
Pan Yun nodded to him and left with Miao Zhen and the other two.
The three walked outside the city and squatted on the grass not far from the city gate.
Amidst the comings and goings of people and animals, and the dust filling their mouths, Miaohe spat twice and asked, "Junior Uncle, are we waiting for Young Master Xue here?"
Pan Jun remained silent.
Miaohe: "We didn't tell him we were leaving the city today."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Xue Shao, carrying a bundle on his back and holding a sword, walked out of the city gate, looked around, and then walked towards them.
Pan Yun stood up and casually replied to Miao He, "They've been with us for so long, if they can't even figure this out, there's no point in us traveling together."
Xue Shao walked over and nodded slightly to the group: "Let's go."
Miaozhen looked behind him: "Where's Xijin?"
“Before he left, I consulted the oracle, and it was determined that this journey north would be unfavorable for him, so I asked him to stay.”
Pan Yun smiled enigmatically: "Benefit you?"
Xue Shao shook his head: "Unfavorable."
Pan Yun also turned to look at the northern sky and said to the others, "I'll say it again, this trip north is fraught with peril, including for me. Are you sure you want to come with me?"
Miaozhen: "We are the same age. If Junior Uncle is not afraid of death, then of course we are not afraid either."
Miaohe: "Even Junior Uncle went there and faced almost certain death. Wouldn't the people in the north be in even worse shape? We've been studying medicine since we were young, and our mission is to save lives and heal the wounded. Of course we have to go."
Tao Yanbai nodded: "I have to protect you."
Although he might not be able to protect them, he still has to go.
Pan Jun led them toward the end of the official road: "Let's go, it's getting dark."
It was indeed getting dark, and the sunset made it dark very quickly.
Pan Yun and his group had only walked a short distance when no one entered or left the city gate. The city gate behind them was hidden in the twilight, unaware that a great battle was about to take place.
After walking a long way, with no one around, they tacitly walked to the woods by the roadside, released the Three Treasures Cauldron, and soon a pot-like thing rose from the ground, flew rapidly into the clouds, and disappeared in a flash.
Prince Cheng, who had wandered back to the capital in a daze, was startled when he saw the palace gates and realized, "How did I get here?"
The guard quickly replied, "Your Highness, you will be back after you have finished eating."
He observed the Prince of Cheng's expression and carefully said, "Now that you are overseeing the country, returning to the palace at night is simply a matter of being on duty, which will allow you to better handle important military and state affairs..."
Before he could finish speaking, the Prince of Cheng's expression changed drastically, and he turned to leave: "Stop talking nonsense! Matters of state and military affairs are my brother's business. I am not going to the palace!"
After saying that, he quickly left.
The streets were nearly deserted, and curfew was fast approaching. Yet, Prince Cheng seemed to have forgotten his status, hurrying towards the palace with the passersby. Soon he arrived at the palace gate and went inside without looking up.
That night, the lights in the Prince's study stayed on all night. The Prince of Cheng was conflicted and afraid, thinking that Pan Yun was talking nonsense and exaggerating, but he was also afraid that it was true.
If that's true, doesn't it mean the emperor is in danger?
As dawn broke, Prince Cheng suddenly remembered that he should report such an important matter to the cabinet.
But without real evidence, and just one person saying those things, who would believe it?
Prince Cheng scratched his head, feeling a headache coming on.
Xuanfu is located outside the Inner Great Wall, not far from the capital. Pan Yun and his group arrived in less than an hour's flight. At that time, Jingyuan was completely surrounded by the Oirat army. (End of Chapter)