Chapter 307 Is it overthinking, or is it really what they want?

Yun Qi feigned composure until everyone had dispersed, then he glared fiercely in the direction Yan Shuqin had left.

Yan Shuqin is incredibly perceptive.

He's been staring at me the whole time, could it be that he's discovered something?

He sat on the dragon throne, rhythmically tapping the handles with both hands.

Seeing his agitated state, his trusted eunuch Li whispered words of comfort.

"Your Majesty, why not assign Grand Tutor Yan to maritime trade affairs?"

He got busy, so naturally he didn't have the time or energy to think about those complicated matters.

"You don't understand Yan Shuqin. This time I took action against his beloved disciple. He's probably wondering why I did it."

Yan Shuqin is too quiet now.

The more this was the case, the more uneasy Yunqi felt.

"Has there been no news from Qi Ling yet?"

He asked again.

"We received news from the Prince of Yue recently that the assassination attempt failed, and the assassin was sent back to the Yuan residence by Yunxuan."

The King of Yue has no intention of dealing with Yun Xuan now, but is instead maintaining close ties with the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner of Jiangnan.

"The Provincial Surveillance Commissioner of Jiangnan? Ha, is he eyeing military power in the Northwest?"

His fifth brother is really bold!

"Your Majesty, there is more news. The Prince of Huainan is allowing the Qu family to bully his heir. General Yan has personally gone to Huainan."

"We brought the crown prince back to the capital, and now that we've arrived, he'll probably be entering the palace in the next couple of days."

Eunuch Li continued.

"Yan Yuze? He's here?"

Finally, some good news!

Yun Qi was a little anxious, but he could only keep quiet about it.

In the afternoon, Yan Yuze brought Mu Yangxing to request an audience with His Majesty.

Yun Qi couldn't wait to have someone summon him.

According to their original plan, they would have directly asked Yunxuan to make the decision for Muyangxing.

They were relatives, and the Yan family had always been law-abiding, so Yunqi trusted them as always.

Yan Yuze was also clever and did not mention Yun Xuan.

His words were all about asking Yunqi to make the decisions and to put him first.

This pleased Yun Qi greatly.

That night, Yunqi kept the two of them in the palace for dinner.

And so, Yan Yuze enjoyed two peaceful days in the capital.

The censors jointly impeached Marquis Ningqian for corruption and disregard for human life.

His Majesty was furious and ordered the valiant general to go to the Northwest to temporarily take command of the military forces there.

At the same time, he ordered Marquis Cheng'an, Mei Chengxu, to finish handling the disaster relief matters and then travel directly from Jiangnan to the Northwest to escort Marquis Ningqian back to the capital for trial.

When Mei Chengxu received this news, he was preparing to go to Lingnan to secretly visit the Prince of Jin.

With the imperial decree issued, he had no choice but to head to the Northwest without delay.

When Yan Shuqin learned of this, his suspicions deepened.

At this time, Luo Zicheng, the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy, invited him to Juxianglou to reminisce.

Private rooms on the second floor of Juxianglou.

"Brother Yan, it's been a long time."

"Brother Luo, I've been so busy since I returned to the capital that I haven't had a chance to catch up with you. Please don't mind!"

After exchanging pleasantries, the waiter served tea, and Yan Shuqin gave a wink to the servant.

The servants immediately stood guard outside the door.

"Brother Luo, do you have any news about the Prince of Jin?"

Yan Shuqin hurriedly asked.

Luo Zicheng took the letter out of his sleeve and handed it to him.

"Brother Yan, please take a look."

The letter was written by Yang Jingyan and sent from Jiangnan to greet his respected teacher.

The above only briefly describes the epidemic in Jiangnan and the maritime trade in Jiangnan.

Yunxuan was not mentioned at all.

But this is only the surface meaning of the letter.

There is a special way for Luo Zicheng and Yan Shuqin to exchange messages.

Yang Jingyan, as Luo Zicheng's beloved disciple, was naturally aware of this method.

A moment later, Yan Shuqin finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, I am out of danger.

It's good that I'm alive.

"Brother Yan, they were hunted down on their way to exile. What I'm wondering is, why did His Majesty have to exterminate them all?"

They are twins, and their relationship is better than that of their other siblings.

Even if there was a struggle for the throne, now that the Prince of Jin has been exiled, why go so far as to exterminate him?

"There's something else strange. A few days ago, I mentioned the former Minister of Works, Lu Yuan, in court..."

His Majesty intentionally avoided the matter; I was not in court during that time. Brother Luo, are you aware of the details of Lu Yuan's death?

Yan Shuqin asked questions.

"Lu Yuan? He had an accident during his patrol. I don't know much else."

It's a pity he left behind only an orphan daughter, and the Lu family's skills were never inherited by anyone else.

As he spoke, Luo Zicheng sighed with some regret.

Yan Shuqin paused, then looked up at him.

"Is Lu Yuan's expertise in engineering a family tradition?"

"Brother Yan, don't you know? Lu Yuan's grandfather was the founder of the art of Qimen Dunjia."

The Lian family's close disciple, Lord Yuan of the Imperial Observatory, was his grandfather's junior fellow apprentice.

"Did Lord Yuan retire to his hometown last year?"

"Saying he's retiring to his hometown is just a euphemism; he's too old to do the work of observing the stars at night."

Divination wasn't his forte, so he voluntarily let someone below him go up.

Speaking of this, Luo Zicheng felt a bit emotional.

These old guys will eventually have to admit they're getting old and let the younger generation take over.

After a long silence, Yan Shuqin suddenly asked in a deep voice, "Do you know where Lord Yuan's hometown is?"

"It seems to be Yuzhou, but I really don't know exactly where it is."

Seeing Yan Shuqin's reaction, Luo Zicheng felt that something was wrong.

"Brother Yan, has something come to mind?"

The words were on the tip of Yan Shuqin's tongue, but he suddenly couldn't say them.

No, maybe I'm overthinking it.

Lu Yuan was skilled in Qimen Dunjia (a form of divination), and he and Lord Yuan of the Imperial Observatory were from the same school.

One died unexpectedly, and the other resigned prematurely.

There seems to be no connection between them.

However, His Majesty was wary of Lu Yuan's death and refused to even mention it.

That's very strange.

Yan Shuqin knew very well that the emperor had someone monitor him, so the two didn't talk for long before taking their leave.

News of their meeting quickly reached Yun Qi's ears.

"Have someone follow Luo Zicheng and see who he's been associating with lately."

"yes."

Just as Eunuch Li was about to leave after receiving the order, Yun Qi casually picked up a memorial and opened it.

It was a memorial from Yang Jingyan.

"etc!"

He suddenly called out to Eunuch Li.

"There is some unusual activity from the southern barbarians. Summon the Minister of War to see me."

The Southern Barbarians had been quiet for a long time, but as soon as Yunxuan was exiled to Lingnan, they made their move.

We must be wary.

No sooner had Eunuch Li left than Yan Yuze came to request an audience.

Yun Qi placed Yang Jingyan's memorial at the very bottom and put on a friendly expression.

"Your subject greets Your Majesty. May Your Majesty be well."

Yan Yuze stepped forward and bowed.

He was wearing soft armor, as he was bidding farewell to the emperor before his departure.

There's no need for such formalities between us!

Yun Qi stepped forward and personally helped him up.

"The Western Frontier and my Great Zhou have a blood feud. My cousin is going to guard the Northwest this time."

I have no real concerns, but the Western Frontier has always been cunning, and I still want to remind my cousin.

Be extremely careful in everything you do, and don't be deceived by those treacherous and cunning people in the Western Frontier.

deceive?

He was a general of the Great Zhou Dynasty and also His Majesty's cousin.

Xijiang must be crazy to try to deceive him with words.

However, since this was the emperor's instruction, Yan Yuze naturally responded politely.

"Your Majesty, I have been obligated to temporarily assume command of the military power in the Northwest on your behalf."

However, I was originally a soldier in the Shu army. I left Shu because I was eager to protect Yang Xing.

He only brought his deputy with him; Marquis Ningqian had been in charge of the Northwest Army for a long time.

I am somewhat worried that I have too few trustworthy people at my disposal, which is a constraint.

"Your Majesty, I dare to ask for a servant. I wonder if Your Majesty has any trusted officials who possess some military talent?"

Just as Yunxuan thought, Yunqi was suspicious.

When he asked that question, a hint of suspicion flashed in Yun Qi's eyes.

"Does my cousin have someone in mind?"

He asked.