Chapter 177: The King and Subject are like husband and wife

The temple.

Fubao stopped the dagger in the Crown Prince’s hand in death, crying and begging, “There is not a single piece of good flesh left in the little master’s five fingers, let the slave girl stab the blood instead!”

The Crown Prince frowned and snatched back the dagger, “This is a scripture for the Mother’s sacrifice, the blood is filled with a piece of heart for a son of man, how can we let a bystander do it for us.”

He turned his left hand over and over, and there was really no place to cut his fingers, so he stabbed the mouth at the root of the palm, squeezed some blood out, and held it in the ink stone. Fubo choked and bandaged his wound.

The door to the temple was pushed open and Su Yan walked in.

Zhu Hailin turned his head, his eyes lit up, and smiled, “You’re here!”

Su Yan walked closer, signaling Fubao to let him come, he will bandage it. Fubao hurriedly wiped his tears and went to the side to adjust the vermilion sand and blood ink.

Zhu Helin happily sent his injured hand to Su Yan’s palm and asked, “How is the situation outside?”

Su Yan said: “all within our expectations. Now the people of the capital everyone praised the Prince filial decision, the speech officials who submitted a petition to see the public opinion inflammation, but also not good to appear to be against the people’s will, so lay down the flag.”

Zhu Helin coldly grunted, “These people, to submit an admonition is for their own reputation, not to admonish is also for their own reputation, how is it really public loyalty to the country?”

Su Yan said, “These times the court, I do not say a word just observe, will each person’s words and demeanor are carefully pondered over, feel that the speech officials of the Academy and the six sections, the composition is complex.”

“How?”

“There are sincere for the country for the people, there are suspected accursed words to sell straight, there is a passionate and easy to be instigated, there are also sitting on the fish platform attitude ambiguous and unknown. There are also some that I suspect are being Wei family solicited and bribed, mixed in to incite people’s hearts.

“Not only is the speech officer, there are some people in the nobility, and the Wei family secretly hooked. After all, behind the Wei family is the Empress Dowager this big Buddha, even if the previous by the Emperor’s reprimand, the face of a big loss, withered for a while will also slow down the air. Those honored relatives out of their status, it is easier to form a natural alliance with the Wei family, together to hold the empress dowager’s thighs.”

Zhu Hailin remembered that his grandmother had been treating him coldly for more than ten years, he still felt sad in his heart, but because he was used to it, he didn’t show this point. He spoke for his grandmother: “The Empress Dowager is in the Harem, not involved in government, and only worships Buddha and believes in Taoism on weekdays, occasionally calling monks and Taoist priests into the palace to say things. She is tolerant of the Wei family, mainly because the Wei family has helped the late emperor in the past, as well as her sister, Mrs. Qin’s face.”

Su Yan nodded: ”At present, it seems that the empress dowager does not interfere in politics, smoked and pretended, group fights have not been less, until high school to gradually mature.

Su Yan smiled empathetically and said, “It will be slowly controlled in the future, it has to rely on cultivation. Little master look at the royal master.”

Zhu Hailin muttered, “Father is an old fox who has cultivated himself into a fine fox, I can’t compare to him nowadays.”

Fubao was startled and reminded in a thin voice, “Young Master, words that offend the Holy Spirit should not be spoken!”

“In front of Qinghe, there’s no harm in saying anything.”

Zhu Helin turned his head again and asked Su Yan, “The scriptures are almost finished, when will I return to the palace?”

“There’s no rush, so you’ll stay at the Imperial Temple and wait for the Emperor to summon you back to the palace.”

“But I inquired from the servant of the Palace of Nourishing Heart that Father had no such intention, and said that I should remain in the Imperial Temple to meditate.”

“…… Long ability ah my little master, even the holy will dare to stab.” Su Yan smiled and teased, “Half a year has not seen, the head has grown, and the heart of the heart is also more.”

“‘Your’ little master won’t be snake-bitten again sooner or later if he doesn’t grow a few more eyes.”

Fubo shouted again, “Aiya little master, you can’t say anything unlucky!”

Zhu Hailin waved his hand in disbelief, “Step aside, don’t interrupt.” Fubao covered his mouth and retreated to the far corner of the hall.

Su Yan pumped his hand a few times, did not pull out, and worried about pulling the Prince’s wounds, so he had to let him keep holding, said: “The Emperor may not be willing to you in the Imperial Temple to suffer from the cold. Punish you to kneel in the temple, is to plug the mouth of the people, but also in order to refine your heart. If he wants to call you back to the palace, he also needs to find a suitable opportunity, someone has to pass him the ladder.”

Zhu Hailin looked at him expectantly.

Su Yan shook his head, “Don’t look at me. This ladder can’t be handed by me.”

Zhu Hailin think about it, think also right, let Su Yan to sell face for himself, ask for grace, is not to send sheep into the tiger’s mouth? The father of the emperor has a heart of disunion to him, in case of the opportunity to blackmail: I if I agree to the love of the Secretary’s request, the love of the Secretary is ready to how to repay the kindness of the king ah …… No no no, ten thousand no no!

Su Yan look at his eyes know that he thought crooked, angry laugh: “What train is running in the head? I mean, this ladder, have to six important ministers, the crown prince tai fu to hand.”

–

After leaving the Imperial Temple, Su Yan was just about to board the carriage when a young chamberlain in his teens turned out from the back of the carriage and saluted, “Lord Su, the saint has summoned you to enter the palace immediately.”

Su Yan felt that this person looked familiar, looked at him twice, suddenly remembered that he was beside Lan Xi, his name was “Duo Gui’er”. So he saluted back and said, “Thank you, Eunuch Duogui’er, for passing on the message.”

Duo Guier was adopted by Lan Xi as soon as he entered the palace, following the waiter day and night, to him as a slave, as a disciple, as a grandson, and in the future to do his filial piety, naturally hear and see a lot of things about Su Yan, know that this young official very much in the favor of the Holy Spirit, is not to be offended, and hastily self-effacement: “I dare not when I dare not when I dare to be, Su adults call me Duo Guier on good. If not, follow my god-grandfather, call me hairy cubs also okay.”

Su Yan laughed, “Eunuch Duo is joking …… line, line, I call you Duo Gui Er, stop bowing.”

Dorcas straightened up then.

Su Yan asked, “Is it convenient for the party to reveal what the Imperial Master has summoned me for?”

Duo Gui’er shook her head, “The slave girl doesn’t know.”

Su Yan thought for a moment and then asked, “How is the Imperial Master in a good mood?”

“The mood of His Holiness, the slave girl does not dare to speculate, but looking at the face, it is still quite calm.”

Su Yan said in his heart, the imperial master’s face is calm nine times out of ten, and saying it is the same as not saying it. He also did not ask more questions and directly boarded the car.

The Imperial Temple was located on the right side of the outer imperial city’s Duanmen, not too far from the inner palace. It didn’t take long for the carriage to travel outside the Noon Gate. Su Yan changed to the prepared sedan chair and followed Duo Gui Er to Yang Xin Hall.

Kunning Palace in cleaning up the ruins of the fire, the emperor suspected that the adjacent Qianqing Palace noisy, and moved back to the Palace of Yangxin to live.

Su Yan entered the inner hall, and saw Emperor Jinglong sitting on the Luohan couch, contemplating with a chess piece, and there was a Weiqi game on the kang table.

He was just about to kneel when the Emperor spoke; “Be free, come here.”

Su Yan saw the emperor focused on watching the chess game, his expression was really calm, as if the scene on the city floor on the night of the Lantern Festival almost out of control had never happened, and in his heart he could not understand what the other party meant, so he hesitated a little.

The Emperor tapped the board with his chess piece, “Sit across from me.”

Su Yan looked at the familiar dragon carvings on the armrests of the Luohan couch, then remembered the scene not long ago when he was pressed against the emperor’s chest, lying on his back and playing a game, and couldn’t help but feel his ears heat up, and dawdled over to the other side of the kang table and walked over, with half of his buttocks next to the couch surface on the other side of the kang table.

The Emperor signaled him to help pick up the son.

The two picked the black and white pieces into the trousseau. The emperor asked, “Can you play chess?”

Su Yan honestly shook his head, “I don’t know how to play Go.”

“Change a chess set, you accompany me to talk a few games with my hands.” The emperor turned his head toward the temple door and called out, “Lan Xi.”

“Don’t bother Eunuch Blue, I’ll just play …… backgammon like this!”

“Backgammon?”

“Yes, a small game, the rules are simple.” Su Yan said the rules of chess moving in three words.

The Emperor nodded and said, “Begin.”

Su Yan let Blackie play first for the Emperor. The Emperor was unfamiliar with the double three, live four, and long-linked forbidden hands against Black, and Su Yan won the first game easily.

He usually win the Prince of Chess like eating beans, so the game with the Son of Heaven, but also do not care what “not only can not win, but also to lose skillfully” and other unspoken rules, a big jump two go down, directly announced: “I won.”

Lan Xi stood at the entrance of the temple with his hands hanging down, hearing the corner of his eyes twitch.

The emperor picked up the black pieces, “One more game, or I’ll play first.”

This time, almost the entire chessboard was full, Su Yan only saw an opening, “I won again.”

Lan Xi corner of the eye is a draw, hate to Su Yan carry over the ear to face – the emperor’s chess is excellent, has never been defeated, you take such an unseemly wild to take advantage of, not afraid to annoy the emperor to be condemned. We have been in the palace for so many years, we really have not seen like you Su Qinghe, give the face do not face, back to face things!

The emperor, however, smiled, “Good, one more game, or I’ll start.”

In the third game, the emperor was already well versed in the various rules and moves, and Su Yan lasted for a few dozen moments and lost.

In the fourth game, Su Yan switched to a forehand black and let the emperor play white, and lost again.

He was not convinced, black and white son turn to come, the results of seven or eight consecutive losses. The emperor became more and more skillful, and in the end, he hardly needed to think about each move, he could play it with his own hands.

Su Yan grabbed a few pieces, sprinkled on the board, surrendered: “I can’t do it, but the emperor, admit defeat.” Think and feel depressed: “The two sides are not in a weight class, completely crushed, and will not play.”

The emperor laughed, “It’s because the path of this five pieces chess is simple. No matter how you lay out and dismantle your moves, it’s no more than the eight words ‘saving for a rainy day’ and ‘secretly storing up a storehouse’.”

Su Yan felt that there was something in the other party’s words and didn’t dare to talk.

The Emperor threw a black seed into the chess trousseau with a soft, crisp sound, “Going to the Imperial Temple today, how come you’re not wearing your imperial cloak again?”

Su Yan choked while swallowing saliva, covered his face with his sleeve, and coughed hard a few times, “Today …… does not snow.”

“Didn’t you not wear it when you went to the Northern Townships a few days ago when it snowed heavily?”

Lan Xi bowed his head and smiled with wrinkles cascading from the ends of his eyes and the corners of his mouth, waved his duster at the other few serving guards and took the lead to walk out of the hall. The attendants hurriedly followed him out, closing the temple door tightly.

Whoever dares to climb the branch and steal the incense, I will break his hand.

I will not move you, only the one who moves you.

Su Yan remembered what the emperor had warned, his back almost broke out in a cold sweat as he lowered his sleeves and pretended to be calm, “I am going to talk about official business.”

The Emperor asked knowingly, “What does talking about business have to do with whether you wear a cloak or not?”

Su Yan was forced into a corner and had to say, “The imperial gift of the emperor is so precious that I would not be willing to wear it during my official duties or when meeting with unrelated people.”

“Little slicker, will only talk a good game.” The emperor kindly laughed, “I’m too lazy to dismantle you for that little fake publicity trick you’re playing. If you think it’s funny, just keep playing. But I will remind you one more time-“

He waved at Suyan.

Su Yan had no choice but to attach his ear to the past, only to hear the emperor whisper, “Remember to close the door and thank the guests. If you dare to open the poncho door and sweep the flower path again, I will lynch the intruder who is not afraid of death.”

A cold wind blew by, Su Yan couldn’t help but clench his buttocks and flinch backward, wanting to cry without tears, “I didn’t, I really didn’t–“

The Emperor reached out, rubbing his earlobe, “To me, there can be.”

“Your Majesty, I am not–“

“Those who serve the king with their colors, I know. So I will not force you. I have plenty of time to wait for you to slowly put down your defenses.”

The emperor withdrew his hand and knocked on the chessboard, “End away. Bring over those secret letters and maps of public opinion on the table.”

Su Yan hurriedly got up and brought the chess board and trousseau to another tabletop, and in the process fetched what the emperor wanted.

Emperor Jinglong gestured for him to sit back on the couch, opened one of the secret letters, and handed it to him, “Take a look.”

Su Yan hurriedly browsed, see is the border information, said the Wala emissaries all died in Daming, the news has been spread to the territory of Wala, Hu Kuo Li angry, intends to one side of a diatribe, denouncing the Daming bullying friends, one side of the convening of all the ministries, the troops and horses, in the next few days or will be waving an army to the south.

“Do you really want to go to war?” Su Yan frowned and opened the public opinion map to gesture, “If Warat advances southward, the river-loop area will be in chaos, not to mention that the pressure on Ningxia, Yan Sui and other military towns will increase, I’m afraid that Tartary will also take advantage of the fire and attack Datong and Xuanfu again.”

“I before that secret letter, really did not send to the hands of Hu Kuaoli, even the secret messenger to send the letter are nowhere to be found. I ordered the Qing Shui camp’s night does not collect secretly investigate, in the Wala headquarters to find the suspected secret messenger’s body, was killed as a spy, hanging to show the public.”

“Tiger Crowley ordered the kill?”

“No, I have found out that it was Shaman Heiduo who gave the order. And according to the sentry’s report, Heiduo is now Tiger Cuo Li’s most trusted subordinate, and has been appointed as the Wara’s Imperial Master, and it was he who strongly promoted the departure of the troops.”

Su Yan exhaled, his fingertips drawing a line on the public opinion map between Wala and the capital, ”The stakes that have occurred over the past half a year or so–”

“I once speculated that the people behind the curtain were playing a game of chess.

“As my young master also said, with the country as the chessboard and the powers as the pieces, this chess-player is very bold and scary.

“Now that this man – I’ll give him a codename for now, let’s call him ‘The Player’ – has played several chess moves, I can connect them all together up.”

Emperor Jinglong nodded, “You say, I will listen.”

“One is the throne. He kept assassins to assassinate the Crown Prince, and after failing to do so, he took advantage of the factional rivalries among the officials in the court to fan the flames, with the intention of shaking the country’s foundations.

“One article is the Prince. Ambush spies in the Yu King’s residence, use his ten years of captivity suffocation and resentment, disturb his sanity, want to induce the Yu King to make a move against the Royal Prince, even if it does not succeed, it can make the brothers centrifugal, for the next step of the plan.

“One article is Warrat. Collaborate with Heiduo shaman, assassinate Prince Kunle of Warrat in Qingshui camp, framing Daming. And also sent Walar dead soldiers disguised as Tartar cavalry, in the territory of looting deliberately captured by our troops, showing fake wolf head tattoos, so as to teach us to think, Tiger Crowley treachery, secretly into the offense. In this way, the two sides provoked and forced Wala to go to war with Daming.

“That’s just the most obvious. It’s hard to say whether there are other hidden chess paths.

“Let’s say Tartary, these years and my dynasty relationship is becoming more and more hostile, the court several times to appease the ineffective, there is no this ‘game player’ to push the ingredients in it?

“There are also horse thieves. When I went to Shaanxi, I saw that the horse households suffered from the people’s herding and fell into the grass as bandits, while Henan, Shanxi, Shandong because of the Yellow River flooding and other reasons, also led to horse thieves as a problem. Before I left Shaanxi, I had no intention of listening to Inspector Wei at the meeting, and the governor of Xi’an reported that the rattlesnake thieves led by Wang Wu and Wang Liu had entered Henan to the east, and were suspected of joining up with a section of Liao lunatics.

“I didn’t pay attention to it at the time, but now that I think about it, it’s a bad sign. Could there be the shadow of the ‘Gamer’ behind it as well?”

“You see,” Su Yan’s fingertips in the North Desert, the capital and between the state capitals, “these chess paths are each intertwined, the blood pupil assassin who killed the crown prince, and the Fuyin, who hid the Yu King’s residence and killed the Walar emissary, belong to the Hidden Sword Sect and the Seven Killers Battalion. The Hidden Sword Sect has been in existence for over a hundred years, but now it has fallen into disrepair, and the Seven Killers Battalion has been in existence for over ten years, which means that–

“This ‘gamer’, at least more than a decade ago, started laying out his plans, slowly building up his strength in the shadows, and now that his wings are full, he’s spreading the chess game out in its entirety.”

“More than ten years ago?” Emperor Jinglong’s face was grave as he fell into a deep thought, “Such painstaking efforts are beyond the reach of anyone. Just what kind of person is it, and what are their intentions towards me, towards Da Ming?”

Su Yan thought for a moment and said, “To be able to support a person lying in wait for more than ten years, I thought that there were only two motivations, one was revenge and the other was ambition.”

Revenge …… ambition …… Jinglong Emperor slowly chewed these two words.

He suddenly asked, “Su Yan, how do you know when the Seven Slaughter Battalion was founded?”

Su Yan’s heart fluttered. This piece of information was provided by Jing Hongchou. Chase said that when he entered the Seven Kill Camp seven years ago, the oldest assassin in it had joined the camp five years earlier than him. In other words, it had been at least twelve years since the Seven Kill Camp was created.

He subconsciously didn’t say the data too accurately, but he didn’t expect the Emperor to be so keen that he still caught the doubtful part of his words.

But he can’t expose Jing Hongchou’s origin. After all, the crown prince was assassinated, the emperor under the wrath of the Hidden Sword Sect issued a purge order, no one left behind, no matter what the identity of all killed.

Even if in the future he wants to pursue an amnesty for Jing Hong, it is not suitable at this time, he has to wait for Jing Hong to pursue the merit, edge the floating sound of this line, and catch the finger behind the messenger after.

Su Yan made up his mind and once again got off the couch, bowing and arching his hand to Emperor Jinglong, “Does the Emperor believe in the minister?”

Emperor Jinglong was slightly stunned, looking at his lowered crown and hat, revealing a bitter smile: ”You even asked this question! If I don’t believe you, I will discuss with you the important matters of the imperial government? If I don’t believe you, I will discuss with you the important matters of the imperial government, and let you read the secret reports of the border? If I don’t believe you, I will discuss with you the important affairs of the court, let you read the secret reports of the border? Prince ……” Prince side by your planning? The emperor silently swallowed the last few words.

Su Yan’s heart heated up and his eyes were hazy, still maintaining the posture of saluting, “Then please Imperial Master trust me in this matter as well. When the time comes to speak, I will definitely reveal my liver and will never hide a single word.”

In other words, the time has not yet come, so there is some concealment. This is also the crime of deceiving the king, Su Yan knows, but for the sake of A chase’s life, had to do so.

As for whether the emperor can accept, is to punish him, or to soften and force him to reveal the truth. Su Yan heart seems to have some certainty, but also seems to step on thin ice, and the ice is not as hard as he thought, perhaps the next moment will be completely broken, causing him to fall into the abyss.

He closed his eyes and waited for the verdict with bated breath.

The next moment he fell into a warm embrace.

It was as if the bitter traveler had taken the moon in his arms, and had turned a hundred and a thousand verses reciting the moon into this close embrace.

The imperial fragrance on the dragon robe, along with the emperor’s low, fine words, filled over like a mist and wrapped him up, “I believe you, do you believe me too?”

Su Yan nodded his head vigorously and choked, “I can’t repay with ten thousand deaths.”

The emperor said, “I don’t want you to die ten thousand deaths, I only hope that while you use your talents to assist the country, you can also use your intelligence to inform me.”

“…… The Emperor is the king and I am the subject.”

“Since ancient times, it has been said that a ruler and minister are like husband and wife. A minister serves his king as a wife serves her husband.”

“But after all, kings and subjects are not husband and wife. A subject has respect and fear for the king, but does not dare to have the intimacy and ease of a husband and wife; whereas a king for a subject, grace and fortune are things that can be easily bestowed and easily withdrawn.”

“Does Qinghe feel that there is pressure when spending time with me? Or are you worried that in the future, if my color fades and my love slackens, I will fall in love with someone else?”

Su Yan was silent for a long time and shook his head, “You can’t put all the blame on His Imperial Highness. It’s true that there’s pressure when getting along with His Imperial Highness, but the more important reason lies in the minister himself –

“I’m ……” he gritted his teeth with difficulty.

I have ambitions in my career and want to fulfill them and do my best to make this country a better place.

I don’t want to leave a stigma in history as a king’s favorite.

I …… want to be a powerful minister, not a sycophant.

“Subject–“

“Well, there’s no need to say more.” The Emperor interrupted and sighed long and hard, “I intend to.”

Does Su Yan have love for him? The emperor thought that there should be. But this love is currently unable to defeat a certain belief.

He could easily destroy this belief, and with just one holy decree, he would step on everything the other party was holding onto into pieces – this was the might of the Son of Heaven. But at the same time, it was also what Su Yan was scrupulous, terrified and resisted again and again.

–Su Yan was unable to completely open himself up to accept a lover who, at the drop of a hat, could turn heaven and earth upside down and bring about the end of everything.

In the final analysis, it is still not enough to trust me! The Emperor sighed and let go of his hand, walking over to the window and turning his back to him without speaking.

Su Yan stared at the emperor’s back in a daze, mixed feelings, knowing that the emperor had once again spared him, but his heart was not good.

“Go back.” The Emperor said, “I will send an emissary with great fanfare, send a state letter to Wara, explain to Hu Cuo Li the circumstances surrounding the murder of the emissary, hand over to him the murderer captured by the Northern Zhenfu Division, and, in addition, bring along a human head.”

“…… Yan Chengxue’s head?”

“Right. This head, you get it.”

Su Yan thought for a moment and replied, “I know.”

The emperor previously agreed that he collected Yan Huo two people into the night not to collect, and now told him to take Yan Chengxue’s head, naturally, as long as a head to cope with Wala, the specifics of the meaning of the operation by him.

“A war with Wala, I am afraid it is inevitable, but at least first delay for a period of time, or to prepare food and grass soldiers and horses, not to rush to war. Yu Wang side, I will find him, you do not have to worry about him being turned.”

After Su Yan hesitated again and again, he still asked, “Has the Imperial Master thought of releasing him from the capital to return to his fiefdom?”

The emperor was silent for a moment and said, “You said to me last time that the patch on the official uniform of the seventh grade imperial historian was a mandarin duck playing in the water, in a tone of disgust, and said something about faggot purple, and refused to tell me what ‘faggot’ meant.”

Su Yan froze, remembered that it did happen, just as a joke, do not want the emperor actually remember.

“I intend to change the official uniform patch of the magistrates, regardless of rank, all replaced by Xiezhi, and the civil officials to distinguish between the patch. Xiezhi, the beast of God, can recognize right and wrong, can recognize good and evil, loyal and treacherous, is suitable for the speech officer to wear in the body, to think of self-motivation. The new uniforms are made by the Palace Clothing Supervisor, the cost of which comes out of my internal funds, so as not to drag the Ministry of Accounts, and rushed to the March before the production of a good number of issued. The royal historian below the fourth grade clothes green, four or more clothes scarlet. What do you think?”

Su Yan lowered his head to hide the touching in his heart, “I have no objection.”

The Emperor said, “Go and strike, take the time to pay a visit to First Counselor Li.”

Su Yan arched his hand and retired. Walking to the side of the temple door, he looked back again, the emperor was still standing by the window with his hands in the air, not moving.

He opened the doors of the temple and walked out onto the wide enclosed porch, thinking about his last question, to which the Emperor had not provided an answer.

Perhaps the emperor himself did not have an answer to this question in his heart.