They all became female demons after being reborn.

Chapter 73 Revisiting Lin'an

The city walls of Lin'an were half a head taller than those of Luoyang. The bluish-gray bricks gleamed with a cold light under the scorching summer sun. It was unclear whether this was to highlight the grandeur of the Great Yu Dynasty or because the court's money was being used to support the emperor's Buddhist offerings, leaving no funds for repairs.

Wu Cheng reined in his horse and stopped a hundred paces outside the city gate. He looked up at the three large seal characters on the gate tower and suddenly felt a little dazed.

For sixteen years, he had been a fool in this city, yet he had no impression of Lin'an.

Who told him to stay in the palace all the time? But it's kind of funny, those sixteen years he played the fool were actually the safest sixteen years of his life.

His gaze fell upon the gates of Lin'an City.

The flags on the city gate tower had been replaced with new ones, and there were many more people queuing at the city gate than when they left Lin'an by carriage, and these people had a sense of ease that the people of Luoyang did not have.

This shows that Lin'an was indeed more stable than Luoyang, so stable that his good father, the emperor, still had the leisure to donate himself to the Garan Temple and then have the court pay for his redemption.

Turning his gaze away, Wu Cheng dismounted and, holding the reins, walked towards the city gate.

Beside him, Xue Jianren looked around, clicking his tongue in amazement. "The walls of Lin'an are even thicker than those of Hulao Pass. How many years would it have taken to build something like this?"

Wu Cheng smiled.

The walls of Hulao Pass were forged with the blood of border soldiers and the arrows of the Northern Sheng Kingdom, while the walls of Lin'an were built with taxes and donations. They may be thick and strong, but when it comes to bloodshed, they may not be as strong as Hulao Pass.

"Senior Brother Xue, do you know why Lin'an is called Lin'an?"

Xue Jianren shook his head.

"Because our Great Yu was driven from the north to the south, Lin'an means 'temporary Chang'an'."

Xue Jianren scratched his head. "Is that even possible? My father said that Hulao Pass is difficult to defend, let alone break through."

"Who knows? Let's go into the city first."

An Jingru, who was returning to Lin'an to report on his duties, went to the front to negotiate with the city gate guards.

As Wu Cheng and the others approached with their horses, the captain looked up and gazed at Wu Cheng for a moment before moving his eyes to the wooden sword at his waist, where a barely perceptible crease appeared.

But he didn't say anything, he just stepped aside to make way, and at the same time clasped his hands in a standard military salute, his voice neither humble nor arrogant, just enough for Wu Cheng to hear, "Your Highness has been summoned back to the capital, please proceed quickly."

Wu Cheng nodded his thanks, mounted his horse, and entered the barbican with the others.

As they passed through the barbican, the hollow echo of the horse's hooves on the bluestone slabs made Wu Cheng momentarily lose his senses.

He remembered the day he was sent to the Wentian Sect as a hostage after leaving the city. At that time, he was lying on Qingque's lap in the carriage, drooling and looking at the roof. Meigensheng sat opposite him, wiping his drool with a handkerchief, saying "Your Highness, don't be afraid," but his eyes were full of the look of looking at a dead man.

Now he rode a tall horse into the city through the same gate, while Megan's bones were stolen by some wild dog.

That happened only two months ago, but now it feels like a lifetime ago.

Once inside the city, the shops on both sides of Zhuque Avenue were even denser than in Luoyang. Silk shops, jewelry stores, and antique shops lined the streets, each exuding luxury. The clothes of the pedestrians were also much brighter than in Luoyang. However, no one knew that this handsome young man was the foolish fourth prince.

But everyone looked at the group with fear on their faces, and as they moved forward, the horses kept their distance.

Xue Jianren scratched his head, puzzled. "We didn't ride our horses recklessly in the street, so why are they so afraid?"

Wu Cheng was also puzzled. "I don't understand either. Maybe some spoiled brats have once ridden their horses recklessly through the streets and rammed into ordinary people, so they're a little afraid of them?"

He had barely finished speaking when he saw a scholar not far away roll his eyes and collapse to the ground, convulsing. At the same time, the scholar pointed at the tall horses beneath the group and screamed, "I'm terrified! Terrified! How could someone be riding a tiger in the city?!"

His shout caused the already frightened passersby to scream and scatter in all directions, and in the blink of an eye, the surroundings became much quieter.

Wu Cheng and Xue Jianren: "..."

Xue Jianren scratched the back of his head. "Your Highness, if I heard correctly, he said we were riding tigers?"

An Jingru leaned over and explained with a smile, "Your Highness, Lin'an has been at peace for a long time, with no war for more than twenty years. Many people have never seen such a tall horse before, and even those who have seen it have only seen low-slung, brittle horses. That's why they think it's a tiger rather than a horse."

Wu Cheng smirked, "I think the name Lin'an can never be removed from it."

He suddenly felt a little embarrassed.

No wonder she kept smiling when she said in Luoyang that she would be Li Anchan's enemy in the future. It turns out she wasn't just full of confidence, but also mocking herself for not seeing the situation clearly...

This guy is so scared of even a horse, what will he do when he sees the fierce cavalry of the North?

The group remained silent. The An siblings parted ways with Wu Cheng and the others at the entrance of the Demon Suppression Guard. Before parting, he lowered his voice and said to Wu Cheng, "Your Highness, the Demon Suppression Guard does not take sides, but the brothers of the Demon Suppression Guard know the weight of what you did in Xin'an County."

He paused, then added, "Your Highness will keep an eye on Commander Sima's situation."

After saying this, he bowed to Anxin Zizai and then walked into the Demon Suppression Guard's office.

Wu Cheng thought to himself that An Jingru was indeed no ordinary person to have risen to the position of a minor leader in the Demon Suppression Guard. Then he turned around and said, "Senior Sister, Senior Brother Xue, Brother Sun, you should go to the inn to rest first. I will come to find you after I have met with Father."

Seeing that Sun Kewang still wanted to say something, Wu Cheng said, "Brother Sun, don't worry, I will definitely find your sister's whereabouts for you."

Sun Kewang nodded gratefully, "Then I'll leave it to Your Highness!"

Bai Suying nodded without saying anything more.

After Wu Cheng left with Qingque, Bai Suying narrowed her eyes and turned to Xue Jianren and Sun Kewang, saying, "You two go to the inn first, I still have things to do."

Xue Jianren asked, puzzled, "Junior Sister Bai, do you perhaps know someone in Lin'an?"

Bai Suyi smiled and said, "No, I'm just going to do some things that I did too late before."

She wouldn't just sit idly by. Those who had participated in the siege of her junior brother in her past life... she would quietly go to their door and kill them all one by one!

On the other side, Wu Cheng and Qing Que rode their horses toward the Ministry of Rites.

According to the rules of the Great Yu Dynasty, the first thing a prince does upon returning to the capital by imperial decree is to report to the Ministry of Rites.

But before he could dismount at the entrance of the Ministry of Rites, a small blue sedan chair was carried out from the side gate.

The sedan curtain was lifted, revealing the round face of Wang Ju, the Vice Minister of Rites.

Upon seeing Wu Cheng's horse, he was startled and dared not approach. He simply dismounted from the sedan chair, bowed from a distance, and then pulled out a roll of yellow silk from his sleeve. He read in a drawn-out voice, "His Majesty's decree: Fourth Prince Wu Cheng is hereby ordered to enter the palace for an audience immediately, without delay."

Wu Cheng dismounted to receive the imperial decree, and then, watching Wang Ju's sedan chair hurriedly depart, he understood perfectly.

This means they don't want to be associated with themselves.

It seems the events in Luoyang and Xin'an County have caused a greater upheaval than he anticipated.

Taking a deep breath, Wu Cheng looked towards the majestic imperial city to the north.

It seems I need to go and meet my "benevolent" father, who is a devout Buddhist.