Chapter 24 "Why are you licking those boots?"

The guards knelt on one knee in a military salute, a dense mass of them bowing in unison. There was no other sound except for the resounding declaration, "We obey Your Majesty's command," which soared to the heavens and shook the mountains and rivers.

Faced with this scene, even a saint with a pure and desireless heart would find it hard not to feel a surge of emotion.

He is just a military commander. What would it be like if he were to rise to the highest position in the future, second only to the emperor and above thousands of others?

Ji Chengning was taken aback, but the thought vanished in an instant, immediately replaced by a feeling of surging excitement in his chest.

Perhaps it is true that prosperity must eventually decline, and even the heavens could not bear to see the young marquis so smug. Perhaps it was because Mei Xuewu was seriously injured, and when she was carried into the mansion, she was barely breathing, as if she only had half a life left. When Princess Rongxi saw her, she was shocked. After asking about the cause and effect, she almost gritted her teeth and broke a mouthful of silver teeth, "That little brat Ji is so vicious!"

The guard who escorted Mei Xuewu back whispered, "Your Highness, Lord Ji also said that we should wait until your son has recovered before making any further plans."

Rong Xi laughed in anger, "Very good!"

This afternoon, she went to the palace to meet the emperor, insisting on telling him the truth so that he could see clearly what kind of arrogant and domineering scoundrel this so-called obedient and virtuous favorite was.

However, before the eldest princess could even enter the palace, memorials impeaching Ji Chengnin piled up on the emperor's desk once again.

Qin Min didn't dare to breathe.

In less than ten days, he was attacked twice by the Censorate. Among them, Censor Feng went to great lengths to mediate, and the number of memorials impeaching Ji Chengning was as numerous as snowflakes in Xuanzhou in December.

He's not saying this outright, but Young Master Ji's behavior is just too, too arrogant!

Throughout history, which arrogant minister has ever managed to end well and escape unscathed?

"Smack."

The folded document was slammed heavily onto the desk.

The Third Prince Zhou Yan, sitting opposite him, was startled, and then a feeling of joy rose in his heart.

His Majesty finally lost his temper with Ji Chengnin.

Everyone serving in the Imperial Study held their breath.

"Cui Feng said that Ji Chengning is vicious and bullies others by relying on his power," the emperor said calmly, his expression revealing neither joy nor anger. "Third son, tell me, whose power does Ji Chengning rely on? Is it the legacy of the Marquis of Yongning, or the prestige of Ji Lin, or perhaps, my favor?"

Hearing that the emperor seemed about to erupt in anger, Zhou Yan carefully considered his words and said, "Your Majesty, I believe that the claim of 'abusing power to bully others' is an exaggeration. The young marquis is merely young and somewhat careless in his actions, but the Lü Guard is connected to both inside and outside the palace, and many ministers and imperial relatives are among them. The young marquis's flamboyant and aggressive nature..."

"What, please continue."

Zhou Yan swallowed hard and boldly said, "Perhaps, the Ministry of Justice or the Court of Judicial Review would be more suitable." The emperor gestured for him to continue, and Zhou Yan, encouraged, spoke more fluently afterward, "For the Chief of the Light Guard, perhaps it would be better to choose an official who is easy to get along with and adept at social maneuvering."

Before he could finish speaking, the emperor chuckled, "For example, Xu Jing'en, who is on good terms with you?"

Although he was smiling, his eyes were icy cold.

Zhou Yan was terrified, not expecting the emperor to turn against him. He knelt down with a thud, saying, "Your subject has absolutely no such intention."

The emperor sneered, "I know that ever since you lost Xu Jing'en, your right-hand man, your intelligence gathering has been greatly hampered." His gaze swept over the memorial with a sinister look, on which was written in a dignified manner: Your subject Cui Feng presents this memorial. "Cui Feng, is he one of your protégés?"

The emperor was certain, not doubtful.

Zhou Yan broke out in a cold sweat. He steeled himself and said defiantly, "Your Majesty, I have no dealings with Cui Feng."

The next second, the white memorial came crashing down on him.

Zhou Yan felt weak all over and dared not move, only kneeling with his head bowed.

The emperor smiled slightly, "Because Cheng Ning is on good terms with the Crown Prince, you can't tolerate him in anything." He tapped the memorial under his finger that he hadn't yet opened, and his voice suddenly softened, "A Yan, you are a prince, don't try to be clever in these petty matters."

Zhou Yan was sweating profusely and said in a hoarse voice, "Yes, Your Majesty, I have learned your lesson."

"Go down."

"yes."

Zhou Yan rushed out in a panic and bumped into Princess Rongxi, who was waiting outside.

"Yan...Your Highness the Third Prince."

“Aunt,” Zhou Yan immediately understood why Rong Xi had come, and said with a wry smile, “Aunt, I don’t have any good medicine for wounds. Why don’t you come with me to get some?”

Having just heard the details, Rong Xi nodded slowly upon hearing this, "Very well, thank you, Third Prince."

His Majesty is so fond of the Ji family.

They were all wrong. They thought that after the death of the Marquis of Yongning, the Ji family, which had only lasted for a few decades, would wither away like a tree without roots. However, sixteen years have passed, and the Ji family has not only produced a concubine but also a Minister of Justice. Now, are they going to extend their reach into the military again?

Inside the imperial study, the emperor seemed to be deep in thought.

Previously, the Censorate impeached Ji Chengnin for laziness and dereliction of duty. Now, it is impeaching Ji Chengnin for being too ruthless in his methods. He is impeached for not doing anything, and he is impeached for doing something. Although the Censorate is harsh, it has not been so fickle.

Of course, someone gave the order.

The emperor casually flipped through the memorial and chuckled, "Qin Min, you're quite well-informed. Do you know that Xu Jing'en is seriously injured and crippled?"

Qin Min was startled and said with a forced smile, "Your Majesty is teasing me. I am deaf and blind in the deep palace..." He noticed the emperor's gaze, "Yes, I have heard."

The emperor asked with a smile, "Who do you think did it?"

Qin Min's knees buckled. "This servant is foolish and truly does not know."

The emperor smiled and said, "I don't know either."

Xu Jing'en is already a cripple. The third prince may have been afraid that he would leak secrets, so he took action, but unfortunately he failed to kill him. Or perhaps, the emperor's eyes suddenly turned cold, and it was the Crown Prince.

His expression remained unchanged as he lowered his eyes to examine the document closely. He discovered that it was Ji Chengnin's memorial and frowned as he commented, "Fortunately, he comes from a wealthy and influential family; otherwise, his poor handwriting wouldn't even pass the imperial examination."

His tone, however, contained a hint of a smile.

Looking down, his brows gradually relaxed.

Ji Chengning first apologized to him, explaining that his actions were taken in a moment of panic and were unbecoming of an official, clearly believing that he was absolutely right to beat Mei Xuewu.

The emperor seemed to have already seen the young man arrogantly raising his chin, looking completely self-righteous, yet secretly glancing at his elders' expressions, and couldn't help but chuckle.

As he looked further back, his expression grew increasingly solemn.

The young man's memorial was still very immature in terms of grammar, but it was very organized, frank and incisive, pointing out many problems with Qing Lü Weizhong.

To be fair, reforming Qing Lüwei would be no easy task. At best, it would offend a group of powerful clansmen; at worst, it would lead to being convicted in power struggles and dying a gruesome death.

But the young man pressed on without fear and said to him, "I am willing to be the sword in the king's hand, cutting through thorns and brambles, and I would not hesitate to die ten thousand times."

The emperor's hand, which was gripping the memorial, tightened suddenly.

Just because they are parents and children, can they be so similar?

"Click".

Qin Min asked anxiously, "Your Majesty?"

A moment later, the emperor laughed loudly, "Good, good, good! This is the kind of son of the Ji family!"

"Qin Min, make a copy of this memorial and send it to Yuqing Palace," the emperor said, a hint of a smile appearing at the corner of his eyes. "The Imperial Concubine will surely be pleased to see it."

Not long after, Rong Xi returned home with a heavy heart.

Looking at her son who had just woken up, the eldest princess suppressed a sigh, stroked Mei Xuewu's forehead, and said, "I know you have been wronged, but the situation is different now, and we need to avoid their sharp edge for the time being."

Mei Xuewu exclaimed in disbelief, "Mother, you are His Majesty's own sister!"

Rongxi paused for a moment. "Never mind, you should focus on recovering. I'll come to see you again tomorrow."

...

If the people had some doubts about Ji Chengnin's promises before, the young marquis's month-long uninterrupted training and patrols with them completely dispelled their doubts.

Ji Chengning was handsome and strict in disciplining his troops. When he led his men on patrol, the people not only did not hide, but some bold young women even threw soft handkerchiefs from upstairs. After each patrol, Li Bi jokingly said, "There are so many that they could open a silk shop."

Ji Chengning's response was to kick him.

He hadn't paid much attention to the matter, and even told Cui Yao about it as a joke when he got back home.

Cousin Cui stared at him for a moment with her almost transparent eyes, and after a long while, she finally managed a slight smile.

Ji Chengnin asked in confusion, "Isn't it interesting?"

Cui Yao smiled, "This is so interesting."

The next day, Ji Chengning got up and went to the government office, where he ran into the magistrate directing four servants to carry a heavy wooden box that was half a zhang long, half a zhang wide, and half a zhang high. The young marquis was shocked and asked, "You killed someone and brought the body back?"

With a pained expression, Chi Zheng said, "Your Highness, this is a gift from Miss Cui."

"He killed someone and sent him to me?" Ji Chengnin was even more shocked.

He took two steps forward at a time, mustered all his strength to lift the lid of the box, and was so dizzy from the shock that his eyes went blank.

The chest was filled with silks and satins, including brocade, satin, tapestry, and pomegranate silk, and all of them were handkerchiefs.

Ji Chengnin: "..."

He lay down in the box, where the handkerchiefs could bury him completely.

"Someone, go and tell the young lady that I thank him." Then, feeling that his words were too perfunctory, he added, "The young lady's gift is extremely kind. These handkerchiefs are not only enough for me, but even if I become the future princess consort and have three sons and two daughters, they will be enough for me to use until the next life."

After the young marquis went to work, Chi Zheng relayed the words to Cui Yao verbatim.

"The Crown Prince's Consort? Three sons and two daughters?" Cui Yao smiled slightly.

Miss Cui was delighted to receive such praise.

After Chizheng left, he looked down and found that the white jade hairpin in his hand had broken into two pieces at some point.

Since the young marquis became an official, he has been leaving early and returning late every day, so the two of them can only see each other for an hour during dinner.

He prefers quiet, so this is perfect.

Cui Yao calmly thought that thanks to Miss Cui's miraculous healing, that unfortunate hairpin had been broken into three pieces.

At this moment, at the Qinglu Guard's office.

Ji Chengning drew the bowstring, his arm taut, the smooth muscle lines of his forearm bulging. He squinted and released his grip.

The arrow flew out through the wind.

"Whoosh—"

In the blink of an eye, what hit was not the target, but a black cloth tied to a tall pole.

When everyone looked over, they saw that the spot where the red heart had been drawn had become a hole.

The black cloth was small and fluttered in the wind, making it extremely difficult to hit; to hit the bullseye was even more difficult.

"good!"

A burst of enthusiastic cheers erupted in the training ground.

Sweat dripped down his thick hair, and Ji Chengnin wiped it away with a handkerchief.

Li Bi wondered to himself what this young marquis ate to grow up like this. He had been exposed to the sun for half a month, yet he hadn't gotten tanned at all. In fact, his skin became even more radiant when it was moistened.

What am I thinking?

Li Bi was startled and slammed his fist on his head.

Ji Chengnin weighed the bow and arrow in his hand and pondered, "If only I could add a scope..."

Li Bi approached with a grin, "Young Marquis, a light bow is best, why add a sight?"

Ji Chengnin snapped out of his daze and replied, "Yes."

A scope could be mounted on the musket. Ji Chengning's eyes lit up. If he could build an army fully equipped with firearms and train them properly, they would surely sweep across the world and all nations would submit!

However, a single firearm is already quite expensive. Add to that armor, military pay, provisions, horses, and equipping the entire army, and even if you sold it, you could probably only equip half a battalion.

As for the entire army using firearms and heavy armor, that's out of the question. Not only would His Majesty not agree to such a crazy idea, but even if His Majesty did agree, the Minister of Revenue could hang himself in front of him.

Ji Chengnin sighed deeply.

No money, no money at all!

With a quick glance around his dark eyes, the young marquis thought to himself, "I'll try pleading poverty with His Majesty another day."

We'll take as many firearms as we can!

With Ji Chengning firmly established in his position as the head of the Light Guard, some people began to have their own ideas.

The group entered the government office chatting and laughing, but their expressions suddenly changed when they stepped into the main hall.

The pear tree was covered with all sorts of things, from pearls and jade to brocade robes and golden crowns—everything imaginable from the wealthiest families in the world. The tree was adorned with jewels and sparkling jewels, swaying gently in the wind and making melodious, enchanting sounds.

These are all the things they gave to Ji Chengning before!

Not only were gifts hanging on the tree, but also hundreds of snow-white pieces of paper, making it look like someone dressed in mourning clothes from a distance.

What was written on it? Some people's pupils contracted. Could it be the name of the person who gave the gift?

One of the guards couldn't hold back any longer. Ignoring his colleagues, he rushed over, ripped off the piece of paper, and turned it over to find nothing there.

He breathed a sigh of relief, but then suddenly realized something was wrong and turned his head sharply.

His colleagues all looked at him with a mixture of condemnation, mockery, and amazement, as if to say, "We agreed to give Ji Chengnin a hard time, but you're secretly trying to curry favor with him."

The man was momentarily embarrassed and angry, his face turning bright red. He retorted angrily, "What are you looking at me for? Didn't you give me anything? Stop putting on airs. If Director Ji gave you a chance to curry favor, you'd be willing to kneel down and lick his boots!"

"Why are you licking those boots?"

Li Bi was watching the commotion when she saw Ji Chengning arrive, and subconsciously glanced at his legs.

To facilitate movement, the official robes of the Qing Lüwei were designed with two sections at the front and back, and slits on the sides. Naturally, they also wore trousers underneath.

Ji Chengning wore military boots. It was not yet wartime, so he did not wear iron boots, but leather ones, which were polished to a shine, almost reflecting a dark, dull light. The boots had spurs, and the cold, black iron light was so bright that it hurt one's eyes.

Above that, half-covered by official robes, were two long legs, straight yet not entirely thin, exuding a powerful presence.

Li Bi turned her head stiffly.

The words "lick the boots" were still echoing in my mind.

The man froze, turned around with a look of grim determination, and said awkwardly, "Director, Director."

Ji Chengnin raised an eyebrow. "Since you're so free, go brush the horse."

He hurried off, replying, "Yes."

As a result, everyone gained a deeper understanding of Ji Chengning. The young marquis did not accept gifts from his colleagues, did not use the public treasury, patrolled and trained with ordinary guards every day, and also had the emperor's favor. He was simply impeccable.

No, that's not right.

Another thing is that he is lustful.

If the gift is given to a beautiful woman, even if Ji Chengning insists on refusing it, what if he takes advantage of his drunkenness and the effects of the drug to have sex with her... wouldn't that give them leverage against him?

Ji Chengning was putting away the documents when he heard someone outside say, "Director."

"Come here." Ji Chengnin said without looking up.

Jiang Linzhou came in and closed the door.

He bowed his head and respectfully presented his visiting card. "My lord, after recuperating for the past two months, Young Master Mei has come to realize his grave mistake. He wishes to thank you for your guidance, but fears that speaking out might cause discord between our families. Therefore, I wonder if you could come here tomorrow when you have a day off for a chat?"

As he spoke, he handed over the visiting card.

Ji Chengning casually accepted it and said with interest, "It would be impolite to refuse such a kind offer from Young Master Mei."

He wanted to see how Mei Xuewu planned to retaliate against him.

A note from the author:

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The next chapter will be available for purchase. Thank you for your support, my dear wife! *kiss*

Of course, it wasn't revenge, but rather that a beautiful woman threw herself into his arms, and the young marquis (voiced), Cui Yao, took advantage of her vulnerability.

Hehehe.