Drunk Bamboo

Fu'an Palace

"What did he say to you?" The imperial concubine knelt in front of the Buddhist shrine, her expression peaceful and her lips moving slightly.

Hua Qinming knelt beside him and said, "My father asked me if I have adapted to the Ministry of Personnel recently. He told me not to work too hard and asked me to visit my mother more often."

She opened her beautiful eyes and slowly stood up: "He didn't ask about Lou Shan?"

Hua Qinming followed behind him and sat on a wooden chair.

"Father, he asked me not to worry, the case has been closed. Mother, don't worry, Wang Qingming has taken responsibility for everything. Even if Zhang Xinghe and King Feng have doubts, they can't find evidence. Father won't believe it."

She moved the Buddhist beads with her slender hands, her eyes cold: "There are still four hidden dangers that have not been dealt with."

The four hidden dangers are Zhang Tian and three others who were captured in Loushan, and Ginkgo who was seriously injured.

Hua Qinming raised his pale face and explained, "They swore an oath to the gods. If they betray, they will not be reincarnated after death. Their families will not receive any pensions and will be driven out of the Nanjiang tribe."

Even if he didn't do anything, they would find a chance to commit suicide or be tortured to death. Their fate was death sooner or later.

But he didn't want them to die in his hands.

As for Ginkgo, he was sure he could keep it.

The Imperial Concubine glanced at him coldly: "Don't leave trouble for the future. The Emperor wants to talk to you, which means he has doubts about you."

Hua Qinming lowered his head, his tone unchanged: "They are Nanjiang's people, Yinxing is the descendant of the Saint, mother, you are also a Saint, we should not give up on her."

He seldom contradicted the Imperial Noble Consort and obeyed her in everything.

The Imperial Concubine had not expected that he would disobey her for a few outsiders.

His face was irritated and his voice was raised: "Ginkgo was injured by Feng Wang when he tried to assassinate Feng Wang. If Feng Wang finds out about Ginkgo, given the relationship between him and Zhang Xinghe, he will definitely tell Zhang Xinghe. With Zhang Xinghe's intelligence and ability, he will soon find out about us. The emperor trusts him. Do you think that after he finds out, he will still favor us as before? Then everything we have done will be in vain, and our efforts of more than 20 years will go to waste."

"Gingxing is the descendant of a saint." The imperial concubine showed a sneer of sarcasm, "Saint? Nanjiang has never lacked saints. As long as there is a need, those young and beautiful virgins are all saints, and can be given away and sacrificed. How could I be sent to this deep palace cage as an object? How could I be with him..."

His eyes were fierce and full of hatred.

"My mother saved my father in the past..." Hua Qin stopped talking.

Those fierce and hateful eyes no longer had the usual coolness and charm, and were even more terrifying.

For a moment, even Hua Qinming was frightened.

He quickly restrained his expression so that the person opposite him would not see his emotions. He lowered his eyelids and dared not speak any more.

Hua Qinming's slightly horrified look was still noticed by the Imperial Concubine.

She was in a trance.

My mind went blank and I felt a little scared.

Since she entered the palace, she no longer felt this fear.

If your heart is dead, you will not be afraid of anything.

Only unwillingness.

Only hatred.

When she spoke again, the Imperial Concubine had returned to her normal look and said coldly, "The Emperor is suspicious by nature and ungrateful. It's been so long, and you still can't see clearly? He doesn't like anyone who threatens his throne, no matter if it's the Queen, the Crown Prince, a general or a prince. The more you do, the greater your power and fame, the more dangerous you are. He favors me and you only because my mother and I don't have a strong backing. My mother's family is just a remote and poor Nanjiang tribe that still lives a primitive life."

"He is good to us, but it is just charity to satisfy the pleasure of us weaklings looking up to him and relying on him as a strong man. Because we are too weak to pose a threat to him."

"He allowed the officials in the court to secretly support you. He was just using you to contain the crown prince. One day, what you did was beyond his control, and soon, the sharp sword would pierce your chest."

The Imperial Concubine said these words more than once.

There are some words that he has been used to hearing since he was a child. It seems that they are integrated into his body and he will never forget them until his death.

It seemed as if these were what he was supposed to do in his life, to fight for those things that were high above him, out of reach, and yet right in front of him, just a step away from getting them.

If it's his, why fight for it?

If it wasn't his, why should he keep it within his reach?

Every time he was in doubt and hesitation, his mother's words would break away from the imprint on his body, linger in his ears, and remind him.

He cannot let go, cannot retreat, and cannot think too much.

Hua Qinming blinked his pale eyes and nodded mechanically to admit his mistake: "Mother, I know I was wrong."

The Imperial Concubine said with satisfaction: "I have ordered people to deal with the three people from the Ministry of Justice. I will leave the matter of Ginkgo to you."

"Yes."

The Royal Concubine softened her attitude: "Ming'er, remember, the noble status, the power in your hands, the gorgeous clothes, the people looking up to you... these are what we have achieved step by step through hard work. Anyone who threatens us must not be allowed to stay."

Her slender hand rested lightly on Hua Qinming's white fingertips: "We have no way out. We can only climb up, to the highest point where no one can reach us."

The cold fingertips felt a hint of warmth from the palm. Hua Qinming held the slender hand with his backhand and smiled brightly: "Ming'er will accompany mother."

Ministry of Justice Prison

"Not good! Not good!"

The panicked jailer was so frightened that he ran out of the prison and bumped into Zhang Xinghe who was coming towards him.

Zhang Xinghe: "Why are you so flustered?"

The jailer looked up and saw that it was Zhang Xinghe, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice. His legs trembled and he knelt on the ground, stammering, "Mr. Zhang...Mr. Zhang!"

He said sternly: "Smooth your tongue and stand up to speak."

"Yes, yes." The jailer stood up tremblingly and swallowed his saliva. "The three prisoners you brought back from Loushan are dead!"