Chapter 93 Imprisonment is dangerous, but not perilous.

"good."

This was the stance Chen Luan had chosen when he was compiling the "Record of Ten Thousand Officials" and recalculating land acreage with the Princess in Linxia.

Chen Luan said, “My father and Uncle Yan have both said that the people are the most important, the country is next, and the ruler is the least important. Even if the court is corrupt and power is rampant, there are still people who are there for the common people. If there are no such people, I am willing to be one of them.”

Chen Liangyu said, "But now, the 'Holy Emperor' is confined to Taihuang Temple, and the Marquis's residence also has people imprisoning him. Since things have come to this, let's eat first."

"Can you still eat?" Chen Luan said, "I can't just sit here and wait to die."

Chen Liangyu said, "Who said we should sit and wait for death? Neither you nor I can guess the Emperor's intentions. Before the enemy even moves, our army will be thrown into chaos and we will be able to exploit our weaknesses."

Chen Luan said, "We can't just sit here doing nothing."

Chen Liangyu said, "Xiqing is still in Yongdu. The Emperor is showing great respect to the grassland tribes. Xiqing wants to marry Daiqing, who serves the Princess. She is a useful person. At least she can help the Princess return to her residence from Taihuang Temple. Since An'er has already entered the palace, she can't be brought back to the residence anytime soon. Since she is in Fengyi Palace, with the Empress's protection, life will be easier. As for the residence..."

Chen Luan said, "Don't worry about things in the manor. Just guard the northern border. The Emperor won't do anything to you for the time being. Remember, if the Emperor orders you to leave Yongdu immediately, leave right away. Don't ask about anything related to Yongdu or the Princess anymore. Until everything settles down, the military power in your hands can only be used by the Emperor."

The time is not right.

With the retired emperor's lineage dwindling and the royal bloodline thin, no prince had been born in the harem in recent years. To avoid conflict, they had to wait for the right "opportunity."

“The selection of imperial concubines is imminent, and I’ve heard that the relationship between the Emperor and the Empress has improved. That’s good,” Chen Luan said, leaning on the incense burner as if trying to convince himself. “It’s good… Let’s wait until the imperial concubines give birth to an imperial heir.”

"Second Brother."

Chen Luan turned around.

Over the years, the melancholy in Chen Luan's eyes has not diminished at all when the topic of Xun Shuheng is mentioned. Chen Liangyu originally wanted to bring up Xie Wenjun's idea of ​​arranging a marriage between Chen Luan and a girl from the Heng family, and had asked for his opinion. But seeing his appearance, she was too embarrassed to bring it up.

Chen Luan waited for a while, seeing her troubled expression, and asked, "What's making you so troubled?"

Chen Liangyu swallowed back what she was about to say and instead brought up another old story: "After the birthday banquet at the East Mansion, Aheng embroidered a pair of soup dumpling shoes and made a pair of cloth boots, asking me to give them to you."

"A birthday banquet at the Eastern Mansion?"

Chen Luan did not remember seeing Xun Shuheng at the birthday banquet in the East Mansion. Before they met again at the Shenwang Mansion in Linxia, ​​wasn't the only time they met that they had seen each other? It was just a fleeting glance at Yueyang Tower.

"The cloth boots she made by hand, passed on to..." He was so incredulous that he asked with difficulty, "For me?"

Chen Liangyu nodded. "Yes, it's for you."

The bloodshot in Chen Luan's eyes became clearly visible. He asked, "Where are the boots?"

Chen Liangyu said, "It fell on Xun Shutai's feet."

“Xun Shutai. Yes, I’ve met him before.”

He had seen Xun Shutai wear those boots before. At that time, Xun Shutai was only a ninth-rank official in the Ministry of Revenue. He was wearing a pair of cloth boots and swaggering around the six ministries, saying to everyone that his younger sister had made them for him.

"I've seen it before."

Chen Luan snapped out of his daze, and suddenly, a burst of laughter came from his mouth. The laughter was dry and desolate, yet it also carried a sense of relief.

Chen Luan walked out, his faint shadows, torn apart by the surrounding candlelight, crawling at his feet. At this moment, the incense in the incense burner had burned out.

Chen Liangyu called out from behind him, "Second Brother, is that old bastard that Gu Xie asked you to keep at the manor still alive?"

Jiang Bojin has been eating and drinking for free in the mansion for so long, it's time for him to do something.

If Xie Wenjun is to return from Taihuang Temple, someone must go to see Xiqing. There are spies all around the Xuanping Marquis's residence, so neither she nor Chen Luan's people can openly go to see Xiqing. The risk of being caught if they arrange to meet secretly is also high. The flying arrows are elusive and can be used most effectively at this time.

Chen Luan steadied himself against the doorframe and said, "I understand. I will have Mr. Jiang go to see Xi Qing." He stepped unsteadily across the threshold of the ancestral hall, leaving only Chen Liangyu standing there in the vast and empty hall.

Chen Liangyu said, "You rest, I'll go and invite them."

Chen Luan seemed to answer with a "okay," but as he walked away and his voice grew weaker, she couldn't hear him clearly.

Chen Liangyu understood that even if she told Chen Luan about this past event, he could only keep it to himself and slowly unravel it. Could a single encounter truly make someone so unforgettable?

Perhaps it's possible when feelings run deep.

In the past, she would never have understood this, but things are different now. She also has someone she loves deeply in her heart.

The ancestral hall of the Marquis of Xuanping's mansion overlooks an inner lake. From the pavilion on the water, there is a gate that is usually locked, separating the stables in the backyard from the granaries where hay is stored. The granaries are a row of low tiled houses connected together, and Jiang Bojin lived in the last one.

He personally selected this place after careful consideration.

The lake near the ancestral hall and the dry land of the stable have a huge temperature difference. The wind often blows, both day and night, and carries the smell of horse manure.

When Chen Liangyu found Jiang Bojin in the stable, he was not in his room, but in the barn where hay and feed for the horses were stored, with a handful of alfalfa in his mouth.

"..."

"..."

Chen Liangyu said, "Doesn't my second brother feed you? You're hiding here stealing the horse's fodder."

Jiang Bojin chewed the grass and spat it out of his mouth, saying, "A rare guest indeed!"

Chen Liangyu never expected that she would become a guest in her own home.

"Guests are welcome. Is the Chen family so poor that they're making their guests stay in the storeroom and eat hay? Aren't you ashamed if word gets out? Don't you care about the reputation of the Marquis's mansion?"

Jiang Bojin lay down on the haystack, crossed his legs, and said, "I just love the smell of horse manure and horse feed."

Chen Liangyu couldn't understand his strange habit and said irritably, "Then eat more, I'll make sure you're full."

Jiang Bojin snorted twice, then turned his head and picked up two blades of grass, took a breath and said, "Smelling this, I feel like I'm still on the battlefield, full of vigor and ambition, not like the incompetent, useless, and universally hated old cripple you see before me now."

"You're universally hated, is it because of your physical disability?"

"Stop it." Jiang Bojin knew that she had always looked down on the Hundred Ghosts Path and never gave him a friendly look. "Are you going to say again that the Hundred Ghosts Path is full of underhanded tricks that harm others without benefiting themselves, and that I deserved to end up like this because I practiced this path?"

As he spoke, he swung his two severed arms against the dry grass, saying, "Don't forget, the Hundred Deceptions Path, the Horizontal and Vertical Path, the Yin-Yang Path, and the Central Righteousness Path were all created by your maternal grandfather. If practicing the Hundred Deceptions Path leads to this fate, then the creator of the Hundred Deceptions Path and the execution of his entire family are also deserved, right?"

Chen Liangyu said, "You are a master of sophistry. When my maternal grandfather taught you the Hundred Tricks, did he ever instruct you to use it to massacre a city?"

Massacre of the city.

Another massacre.

Jiang Bojin opened his mouth several times, then closed it again, as if he wanted to explain himself, but then decided against it. This mudslinging had been smeared on him for decades, and all his former friends and subordinates who knew the truth had returned to the countryside; there was no one left who could clear his name.

The land has changed hands, and he is the one who lost and was disappointed in that struggle for the throne.

Jiang Bojin said, "I won't discuss this with you, but I'll tell you that Yan Baizhang's Zhongzheng Technique and the Hundred Deceptions Path are essentially the same thing."

Chen Liangyu said, "Nonsense!"

Jiang Bojin said, “The arts of strategizing, Yin and Yang, the art of central righteousness, and the art of the hundred tricks are taught separately. The teacher taught Yan Baizhang to prioritize the great principles and to be loyal to the emperor and love the people, but he led me to pursue fame and fortune and to eat meat and rotten meat. The same course only cultivates different temperaments in students, and their paths are completely different.”

Even though he was greedy for fame and fortune, he never thought of slaughtering civilians to pave the way for his own success.

Chen Liangyu asked, "Since the classes are taught separately, how did you know that the Zhongzheng Technique and the Hundred Ghosts Path are the same?"

Jiang Bojin's lips curled into a bitter smile as he said, "I told you before, I am the student with the highest comprehension in the teacher's eyes." Perhaps this was why He Niangong chose him to teach the Hundred Deceptions Path between him and Yan Yong.

Humans have animalistic instincts and fangs.

The rampant growth of selfishness in human nature always overshadows virtue and morality. To suppress the downward spiral of evil and selfishness, benevolence and morality become a cage that imprisons human nature.

In the intrigues of the Five Princes' Rebellion years ago, Yan Baizhang's wisdom and methods were similar to his own, and he had already guessed a thing or two about it then. After figuring it out, he once resented his teacher for choosing the easy path for Yan Baizhang and leaving him on the narrow bridge.

He and Yan Baizhang were both test subjects of their teacher's method of combining elements.

It's just collation.

"When war breaks out, innocent people will inevitably be harmed. Since all actions bring chaos to the people, how can we talk about right and wrong? Is it noble to act for the greater good of the people? Is it despicable to scheme for one's own long-term success?"

Chen Liangyu said, "You disgraced my maternal grandfather's reputation in the first half of your life, and now you want to tarnish his name after his death?"

"What, are you going to kill me again?"

I won't kill you.

Jiang Bojin raised his head slightly to look at Chen Liangyu, then slammed his head back down onto the haystack. He said, "You don't come here unless you have a reason. We don't see eye to eye, so just tell me what you want."

"There is something I need you to do for me."

"Tsk!"

Jiang Bojin jumped up and loudly expressed his dissatisfaction: "You're giving me attitude when I ask for a favor?"

Chen Liangyu's voice drowned out Jiang Bojin's: "If you still want to stay in the mansion, then get up and do some work."

"I'm already up!"

The two men were both angry with each other, and unconsciously raised their voices, attracting the steward of the stable and several servants to wait at the door. However, seeing that one of them was the master of the house and the other was the lord's distinguished guest, they dared not disturb him rashly.

Knowing it was inappropriate to explain this matter to Jiang Bojin in the barn, Chen Liangyu turned and left.

The steward hurriedly stepped forward to await instructions. Seeing that the two men looked unwell but said nothing, the steward dismissed the servants.

Chen Liangyu walked towards the pavilion in the middle of the lake, and Jiang Bojin shook off the straw on his body and followed with his neck stiff.

After explaining the situation, Jiang Bojin spread his arms and asked, "Is that all?"

"That's all."

Jiang Bojin said, "I understand. The little emperor has used the opportunity of the princess's memorial service to place her under house arrest at Taihuang Temple. You want to use the grassland people to cause trouble in Yongdu and rescue the princess."

"good."

"I have an unnecessary question for you, which side are you from?"

Chen Liangyu glanced at him.

Jiang Bojin said, "You don't need to rush this matter at all. The entire country's agricultural and grain taxes are all under the management of Chang Gong. If we remove her now, even if we add two more Ministry of Revenue officials, it will still take a year and a half to sort out the accounts and records. The emperor will have to invite her back sooner or later."

Chen Liangyu was not ignorant, but Xie Wenjun was at Taihuang Temple. Although he had eighty Changning Guard cavalrymen by his side, there would not be enough manpower when needed. Taihuang Temple was surrounded by barren mountains. If the emperor really disregarded agriculture and grain taxes and wanted to do something to Xie Wenjun, it would be difficult to send out the order to mobilize troops.

Being completely controlled by others is extremely dangerous.

After descending the mountain, she and Xie Wenjun were completely separated, with no news of each other whatsoever.

Her mind was constantly unsettled, and Chen Liangyu had to try her best to suppress it, constantly reminding herself: I must not lose my composure.

She needs to stay calm; she can't afford to panic right now.

What reassured her was a letter from Lingjiu Academy delivered to the Xuanping Marquis's residence at the hour of Xu (7-9 PM).

There is misfortune, but no real danger. Let's wait and see.

The first four characters represent the hexagram, and the last four characters are a message.

After Chen Luan showed the letter to Chen Liangyu, he placed it on the tip of the candle and burned it. "Mr. Gu Heng has been appointed a Hanlin Academician and is often by your side. Since you say so, you must know something that neither you nor I know. You haven't said it outright, so you must not be sure yet."

Xie Yuan's sudden house arrest of Xie Wenjun must be part of a scheme.

The Hanlin Academicians were a group of six individuals who served as the emperor's private "think tank" and "penmen," responsible for discussing national policies, drafting edicts, and writing documents. Gu Heng was the head of the six.

Gu Xie and Gu Heng are siblings, so it's not surprising that Gu Xie could get some information through Gu Heng. But the real concern is that the Emperor might deliberately use this relationship to mislead people.

We still can't just sit and watch.

Even if it's confinement, it's fine to keep her at home in the palace or the Princess's residence, but Xie Wenjun cannot be left alone at the Taihuang Temple.

Author's note: Thank you for reading this far!