Minglong

Chapter 116: Night Banquet at Qian Palace (5)

Guo Ziyan really didn't expect that Daqian was so blessed with talented people and beautiful scenery that it could produce such a god out of thin air. He slapped him back.

Facing Xie Jinhuan's question, he hadn't figured out how to respond when the Northern Zhou priest next to him asked first:

"Why do you know the magical powers of my Beiming Sect?"

Xie Jinhuan raised his right hand, and several arcs of electricity appeared from his palm.
"I aspire to be proficient in all schools of thought. I've dabbled in a wide range of subjects since childhood and know a little bit of everything. Furthermore, this is a sacrificial ritual technique passed down by our ancestors. Could it be that it's exclusive to your sect, and that we, the people of Daqian, can't learn it?"

If you only know the art of sacrifice, it's the same as knowing Taoism, no one will say anything.

But the 'Calming Mantra' that Xie Jinhuan had just used was the unique magical power of the Beiming Sect, which was equivalent to using the 'Five Thunder Demon-Slaying Mantra' of Zihui Mountain with a slight modification. This was a serious act of stealing.

The Northern Zhou priest wanted to argue that this was his family's unique skill, but even if Xie Jinhuan really stole the skills, it was a great skill for him to steal the core skills from the enemy country. He couldn't keep an eye on it himself, and he jumped out to complain. Wouldn't this make other countries laugh at him?

Guo Ziyan raised his hand to tell the Northern Zhou priest to stop talking nonsense, and said with a smile:
"I didn't expect that Master Xie is so skilled in martial arts and his music is also remarkable. This has truly broadened my horizons."

"Minister Guo is too kind."

Guo Ziyan was speechless, and all the officials naturally smiled and felt proud.

Emperor Qian didn't know that the person standing in front of the hall was the living ancestor who dug the demon-suppressing tomb. He also laughed and said:
"You are young, but you are very knowledgeable and talented. I grant you a Qilin pendant. Please take your place."

"Oh..."

When the gentlemen present heard this, they all showed envy on their faces, and many talented people almost cried with envy.

The full name of the Qilin Pendant is "Qilin Holding a Book Pendant". Because Daqian values ​​martial arts and respects Qilin, this item symbolizes "being both civil and military" and is normally only awarded to officials who have made great contributions.

As for its function, this thing is an auxiliary magic tool, which can be understood as a 'portable spirit gathering array'. Ordinary people can wear it to maintain their health, while for monks, it can directly 'convert naturally aspirated air into mechanical supercharging', greatly improving the speed of Qi training. There is no similar model on the market, and the honor value is immeasurable.

Xie Jinhuan was really a little excited about this magical object. After expressing his gratitude, he returned to his seat.

Wei Lu and the others were stunned. When Xie Jinhuan came back, they raised their glasses to toast across the table:

"Brother Xie is amazing. He's both talented in literature and martial arts. What kind of music is that? I've never heard it before in the music club..."

"The Five Tiger Generals were created privately by my master and have never been passed on to anyone else."

"Oh, I appreciate your advice. I'd like to offer you a toast..."

……

All the gentlemen and ladies present were whispering to each other, their eyes lingering on Xie Jinhuan. Their desire to find a son-in-law was almost written on their faces, but since the King of Dan had made it clear that he wanted a son-in-law, no one dared to speak up.

Linghu Qingmo was sitting in front of him, and when he saw Xie Jinhuan showing off in front of others, his eyes sparkled with stars.

After Xie Jinhuan finished his socializing, he came over to help pour the wine:

"Xie Jinhuan, why are you still beating the drum? Just now I thought you were going to go up and perform a sword dance to scare the Northern Zhou envoy..."

boo~
Before she finished speaking, Linghu Qingmo noticed that the man with thick eyebrows and big eyes beside her tilted his head and kissed her on the mouth in a flash, then continued to sit upright.

"I've learned everything since I was young, but I was busy with cases these past few days and didn't have the chance to show off these little tricks."

? !
Linghu Qingmo felt the warmth on his lips and his face turned red. He carefully looked around and found that no one noticed. Then he raised his eyebrows and quietly put his hand on Xie Jinhuan's lower back and twisted it hard.

"Say, don't be angry!"

How could Xie Jinhuan possibly waste an opportunity in such a situation? Mo Mo didn't dare to really hit him anyway, so he just leaned in and asked:
"Momo, who is that gentleman with the goatee?"

Linghu Qingmo twisted it a few times, but found that Xie Jinhuan didn't react at all, and didn't say the safe word. He was helpless and responded with gritted teeth:

"Lie Annan Ye Shirong, why are you asking this?"

"Yip Sai Wing..."

Xie Jinhuan had heard of this man's name.

Ye Shirong's origins are not clear. His rise to power and title began with the turmoil in the eighth year of Jian'an.

In the autumn of the eighth year of Jian'an, Emperor Qian and King Dan escaped from the Palace of Ten Kings under the protection of a loyal servant. Emperor Qian did not listen to the advice and escape, but instead summoned several masters as death squads to sneak into the imperial city. Ye Shirong was one of the death squads summoned at that time.

According to rumors in the market, Yip Sai Wing once helped Emperor Qian block a bullet and was seriously injured and has not recovered to this day. He was later conferred a title by Emperor Qian, but there has been no news about him since then.

The emperor's former loyal warriors...

Xie Jinhuan confirmed from the ghost wife that this person had hidden demonic roots. Discovering that his origins were so special, he couldn't help but frown secretly and glanced at the emperor sitting on the dragon throne.

Although he had some doubts about Emperor Qian, he was not sure at the moment. After a brief consideration, Xie Jinhuan decided to suppress his thoughts.
"Mr. Ye's beard looks great. What do you think of me growing a goatee?"

"?"

I'm afraid you really drank too much!
Linghu Qingmo turned his head away, rubbing the coal balls and no longer paying attention to the bad guy...
-
huh~
bang bang—

Soon after, the banquet ended. On the square outside the Linde Hall, hundreds of court artists performed dragon and lion dances and other programs. Brilliant fireworks shot up into the sky around them, and the outside of the Linde Hall was almost bright.

The seats of Emperor Qian and even the Empress had been moved above the Panlong Trail. Eunuchs were standing behind them holding peacock feather veils, Cao Fuer was standing beside them holding a whisk, and Princess Changning and others were also nearby.

After three rounds of drinks, Xie Jinhuan stood by the white stone fence with Wei Lu and others, watching the fireworks show. Beside him was his girlfriend Mo Mo, who was still pretending to be sulking and waiting for his apology.

After three rounds of drinks, the ministers' faces were full of joy. They whispered to each other and talked about Xie Jinhuan's performance in the hall just now.

Li Gongpu was the emperor's loyal dog, and his reputation and popularity were not very good. In such occasions, basically no ministers were willing to stand in front of him and cause trouble. At this time, he was standing alone near the trail with his hands behind his back, watching the fireworks by himself, waiting for the emperor to summon him at any time.

Xie Jinhuan took a quick look and saw that Li Gongpu looked slightly tipsy and could easily be possessed by evil spirits.

However, the Emperor, Cao Fuer, and Li Gongpu were too close to each other, and it would be too risky for him to go too close and cause trouble. So after a moment's deliberation, he tilted his head and asked:

"Who is Lord Hou Jiye?"

Linghu Qingmo held down the coal ball that wanted to go to the square and mess around, and looked around briefly:

"Then, the one in the scarlet official robe, what are you doing?"

"I'll go over and say hello."

After Xie Jinhuan finished speaking, he came to the side of several civil servants and bowed:
"Junior Xie Jinhuan, greetings to Lord Hou."

Hou Jiye was Fan Li's student and was appointed as the Minister of Dali Temple. He was a man of strong character and uprightness, and was a well-known iron-headed man in the court. He and the flattering minister Li Gongpu had a basically "irreconcilable" relationship.

However, facing a young man like Xie Jinhuan who was so capable and strong-willed, Hou Jiye was very friendly. He smiled and said, "Nephew Xie, there's no need to be so polite. If it weren't for what you did just now, we would have been unable to sleep for three days because of the Northern Zhou foreigners' annoyance."

The court was divided into groups. The few old officials around Hou Jiye, who were either censors or extremely angry officials, also praised him repeatedly at this time:
"Yeah, don't be fooled by Guo Ziyan's cheerful smile. He hasn't said a word since then. It's really refreshing..."

Xie Jinhuan said a few polite words, then turned to look at Li Gongpu, leaned in close and whispered:

"I came here to ask a question. I heard today that the original copy of 'Luo Jing Fu' written by Ye Sheng was lost in Minister Li's residence. Well... I have been copying the calligraphy of Ye Sheng and Mr. Fan since I was a child, and I am deeply saddened by this..."

When Hou Jiye heard this, he glanced at Li Gongpu, his eyes as if he were looking at an old dog:

"This person is extremely favored by the emperor. That calligraphy was given by the emperor..."

Several old men around, who had been thinking about how to scold Li Gongpu all day, gathered together and whispered:
"He dared to lose the gift bestowed by the Emperor. If he cannot find it, I will report him twice..."

"Nephew Xie, please do not have any contact with this person. This old man is full of evil intentions..."

Jiliwala...

In the distance, next to the Panlong Trail.

Because few people dared to come over and chat and laugh, Li Gongpu stood by the fence and watched the show. He felt quite bored since the emperor didn't call him.

But as he watched, he noticed something was wrong out of the corner of his eye!
Looking over, he saw that Xie Jinhuan, who had just been showing off in front of the people in Linde Hall, had actually run up to Hou Tietou and was whispering in a circle with several censors. While they were talking, they would glance at him from time to time.

That look, that expression, it's like he wants to skin him alive...

? !
What do you want to do, you little bastard?!

Li Gongpu was shocked and a little panicked at that time.

After all, when these well-known trolls of Daqian gathered together and whispered to each other, even if they looked at the emperor, the emperor would feel a pang in his heart and secretly think - have I done something wrong recently? Will I be trolled again tomorrow...

Although Li Gongpu will not be overthrown, Xie Jinhuan is a completely unpredictable kid. Who knows what kind of evil ideas he will give to this group of extremely powerful old immortals.

Li Gongpu wanted to pretend that he didn't see it, but he couldn't bear it any longer, so he pretended to be drunk and paced with his hands behind his back. He slowly moved closer to the few people, and asked two ministers to block his position and eavesdropped with his ears.

Hou Jiye and others were not blind either. They noticed that Li Gongpu was approaching stealthily, so they naturally started talking about other topics.

Xie Jinhuan knows a bit about everything and can actually chat with a few of the old guys. He realizes that Li Gongpu has been tricked and secretly starts praying for the succubus sister to become a demon...

……

"The Empress Dowager of Northern Zhou used an iron fist. Within three months of taking power, she practically slaughtered the entire Yanjing court..."

"Based on the current momentum, it's not impossible for her to be called the Empress in the future..."

"As expected of the Northern Zhou barbarians, it's a perfect match. If a woman becomes the emperor, shouldn't she also have a male empress..."

……

Li Gongpu stroked his beard and eavesdropped attentively. Although he didn't hear any bad words against himself, he felt relieved when he saw that several people were no longer plotting.

As time went by, the dragon dance team holding a long dragon began to circle in the square, and brilliant fireworks burst out from the dragon's body, attracting everyone's attention.

Li Gongpu was also watching, but when the autumn wind blew, he felt a little dizzy, perhaps because of the alcohol. He blinked his eyes and suddenly realized something was wrong out of the corner of his eye.

Looking over, he saw Emperor Qian, dressed in a dragon robe, coughing a few times with a handkerchief covering his mouth as usual. But after he let go, he paused. There seemed to be dark red bloodstains on the bright yellow handkerchief...

this? !

Li Gongpu was shocked and wanted to run over to check immediately, but before he turned around, he found that Emperor Qian quickly closed his handkerchief, looked around, and saw that the empress, the prince, and the attendants were not paying attention. He raised his hand to signal Cao Fuer who was approaching to stay calm and continued to watch the ceremony as usual.

But soon, Emperor Qian looked down at his handkerchief again, was silent for a moment, and then shifted his gaze to the prince who was watching the ceremony.

That look is very complicated, yet it can make people understand the deep meaning...

That was the reluctance and relief of a father before his death, seeing his son become successful...

Could it be that... His Majesty is already terminally ill and on his last legs?!
Whoosh~
bang——

Fireworks bloomed in the sky and the square was bustling with activity.

But Li Gongpu felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, as if his life had come to an end at this moment.

Li Gongpu understood better than anyone where his power came from and what his reputation was. He was not as irreplaceable as Cao Furu, Lu Wuzhen, Hou Jiye and others.

When the emperor was alive, he was a loyal dog by his side. As long as they didn't touch his reverse scale, no civil or military official in the court could do anything to him.

When the emperor passed away, the most honorable ending for him was to remain loyal to the end, voluntarily be buried with the emperor in the imperial mausoleum, and continue to serve the emperor underground.

If he is not decent, there are a hundred people in the court who can help him to be decent. Even if he wants to be decent, the court officials may not agree.

And the Queen obviously won't protect him, the Prince has no reason to protect him, and no one else can protect him!
How to do how to do……

Li Gongpu clenched his hands under his sleeves and didn't even have the mind to eavesdrop on the discussions of Hou Jiye and others. After all, no matter what these people said, they couldn't kill him.

Only the emperor can kill him, and only the emperor can protect him!

After thinking for a long time, Li Gongpu's gaze shifted to the Panlong Trail again, but this time it fell on Crown Prince Zhao Jinghuan.

He understood that Emperor Qian did not want the prince to be bewitched by his flattering minister, and that anyone who dared to overstep the line would be doomed.

But if Emperor Qian died, wouldn't he still be doomed?

And it seems that there is not much time left...

If he wants to keep the Li family prosperous for another thirty years, he has no choice now...

……
-
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(End of this chapter)