Chapter 23: A Raise! How much do you want? We'll give you an unlimited amount. ...

Feng Huaihe hung the bow and arrows back on the wall, squatted down, and picked up the broken pieces of the vase at Zhu Qing's feet.

His posture was leisurely and his expression was calm. The colleague he shot was as if he were nothing more than a wild pheasant or rabbit.

"What did you just say about a dark room?"

Zhu Qing felt numb all over. She had seen the Shence Army kill Cao Jiao. She had long heard of the Shence Army's historical reputation, but at the time she only lamented that human life was as cheap as grass.

But Feng Huaihe? He seemed like such a refined and cultured person… Zhu Qing struggled to suppress the trembling in her throat: “Why did you kill him?”

Feng Huaihe paused as he picked up the broken porcelain shards, stopping at the hem of her skirt.

The hem of her scarlet skirt fluttered in the breeze blowing in from the window, like a floating sunset, beautiful and ethereal.

Feng Huaihe looked up, gazing at Zhu Qing from below, but his eyes held only a haughty disdain: "He trespassed into the Secretariat."

Zhu Qing frowned in confusion: "Just because of that?"

"That's it?" Feng Huaihe frowned. "My rule that I do not allow others to enter the Secretariat is already clearly established. Even if Tian Lingzi came to the shogunate, he would not enter this office. But this person ignored it. To me, this is an unforgivable crime."

Zhu Qing retorted, "Then there's no need to kill him, just kick him out, right?"

Feng Huaihe picked up the last piece of debris at her feet, straightened up, and his height, more than a head taller than hers, instantly pressed down on her like a mountain.

"No need to kill? Let's wait for the next Cao Jiao to appear, and then have the Shence Army besiege the Shogunate again. How many more innocent people will die then?"

Zhu Qing didn't understand: "Cao Jiao didn't come to the Secretariat to steal the letter, you're being too paranoid!"

"If it weren't for that, I would have died countless times already!"

"If you truly have doubts, you can arrest him and interrogate him!"

Zhu Qing didn't know where she got the courage. Her subconscious told her that she shouldn't argue with her leader like that, but her modern soul wouldn't allow her to stand idly by. She shouted, "Why not just kill him?"

"Torture?" Feng Huaihe sneered. "What time is it now? Warlords are vying for power, and countless spies are hiding among themselves. If he really has something to hide, and falls into my hands, Tian Lingzi will consider him an accomplice of Cao Jiao and will surely make him wish he were dead. His master might even kill everyone connected to him, fearing that his secret will be exposed."

"Do you think it's better for him to die, or for everyone to die together?"

Zhu Qing was stunned.

My long-held beliefs seemed to be shattered by Feng Huaihe's words.

This is not a modern society governed by law, but the dark Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, where people eat each other, there are two-legged sheep, morality has collapsed, and war is everywhere. There is nothing she cannot imagine or see.

Her understanding of benevolence and the rule of law is unworkable in this era. In fact, it's somewhat naive.

She had never been to other shogunates and didn't know if the other chief secretaries were as wary and suspicious as Feng Huaihe, always on guard.

But Zhu Qing was still unwilling: "But I thought that you, who have a broad view of the world situation, and who have worked for the prosperity of the country and the well-being of the people, have climbed up step by step from Qingxi Village. I thought that you would at least feel the suffering of the people and cherish their lives. You would definitely be able to come up with other solutions instead of making an absurd and ridiculous rule and then disregarding human life."

"Do you think I'm treating human life like dirt?"

"Yes! What's the difference between you and the Shence Army now? I've been to the Secretariat, the side rooms, and the kitchen many times. Why don't you kill me too?"

"Because you've never left my sight..."

Her every move and word in the Secretariat was never out of his sight.

Zhu Qing shuddered, her blood running cold: "What did you say?" She couldn't believe what she had heard.

She never left his sight?

So, every time he came to the head of the secretariat, he was secretly watching her?

But... what about that time in the side room? She spent the night there...

No wonder, no wonder. That night she seemed to hear Bao Bao whimpering and felt something licking her collarbone. When she woke up and turned on the light, she saw nothing.

As soon as he opened his eyes in the early morning, Feng Huaihe was standing by the screen.

Looking back now, I'm afraid he was always in the shadows, watching her from the moment she fell asleep and entered that dark room until she woke up in the morning.

Without her knowledge, he spent the entire night with her in that room!

The eyes behind the rumors...

Zhu Qing suddenly felt numbness in her limbs, a buzzing in her head, and her vision went completely black. She felt dizzy and even had difficulty breathing.

"You, you..."

Was it Bao Bao who licked her collarbone that night, or...?

At this crucial moment, Feng Huaihe brought up that night and asked, "You just said you went into a dark room. What dark room?"

Zhu Qing felt a chill run down his spine, as if his scalp was about to explode.

He's been secretly monitoring her, he knows everything, yet he's still pretending?

Zhu Qing stared in disbelief at the man before her, who wore a dark pine-smoke robe, like an empty mountain after the rain, clear and distant, or like a snow-covered pine forest, pure white and desolate. A dark black phoenix belt around his waist added to his cold and steady demeanor.

Bathed in the sunlight streaming through the window, he looked as handsome as a figure in a painting, like a celestial being.

Even his name reflects his aspirations, and his profound wisdom and profound understanding are evident in his simple yet elegant name.

How could his heart be like this? How could it be like this?

Zhu Qing began to wonder, if this happened in her time, how many years would Feng Huaihe be sentenced for stalking and surveillance?

While pondering, Feng Huaihe spoke up, "You mean the one in the side room?"

For some reason, he stopped pretending and said, "That dark room is not mine."

Zhu Qing looked up. Should she believe it?

Feng Huaihe: "That belonged to the previous secretary. If it were truly mine, would I have let you in? And let you stay in a side room?"

"..."

It seems to make some sense, but something just doesn't feel right.

Before he could say anything more, Feng Huaihe said, "Alright, the flowers are planted on the desk. Go plant them first."

He picked up the shards of porcelain he had gathered, flicked his sleeves, and stepped out the door.

Watching him walk towards the spot where the man had just collapsed, Zhu Qing guessed what he was going to do.

Zhu Qing clutched her chest and exhaled, then turned her gaze away.

Her heart was pounding uncontrollably, and she felt warm liquid sliding down her forehead. When she raised her hand to wipe it, her hand was covered in cold sweat.

She suppressed the dizziness and horror, thinking that she would never come to the secretary's office again, and walked to the table. She picked up a small paper packet that was obviously flower seeds and slowly walked out of the secretary's room.

She found a shovel and went to the place where she had previously agreed with Feng Huaihe to plant flowers.

It turned out that Feng Huaihe had dug up the dead tree in advance, turned over some new yellow soil, and covered it with a thin layer of yellow soil.

Zhu Qing dug a small hole with a shovel, threw the flower seeds in, and then covered them with soil.

After finishing planting, he stood up and saw Feng Huaihe walking towards him from the flower-lined path in the distance.

Zhu Qing automatically went into a state of alert, watching him warily.

Feng Huaihe walked closer, looked at the yellowish new soil, then at her, and asked, "Is it planted?"

"Hmm..." Zhu Qing noticed a few drops of crimson blood on his dark black pipa-shaped wide sleeves.

He was able to dispose of the man's body so calmly.

Zhu Qing smelled the blood he brought, a pungent, sweet, and nauseating odor that filled her nostrils and throat.

The image of her colleague's throat being pierced by an arrow kept flashing through her mind. She didn't want to stay a moment longer, so she lowered her head and asked weakly, "Can I leave now?"

She kept her head down, refusing to look at him.

Looking at her tied-up hair, the ribbon fluttering in the evening breeze, and the dark back of her head, Feng Huaihe desperately wanted to keep her there.

Stay and have dinner with him, help him write official documents, and spend your life with him.

She didn't need to do anything, as long as she stayed in his sight, even if it was just like Bao Bao, sleeping here and there.

But honestly, there's no other reason.

As the sun began to set, the red glow of the setting sun enveloped her entire body, her slender, white neck so close that Feng Huaihe could almost see the fine downy hairs on her fair skin.

Feng Huaihe remained silent. The evening breeze rustled the bushes beside him. After a moment, he said, "Well, you can go back now. Be prepared. Tomorrow you'll be on duty as the judge. I'll make an effort to support you, and I hope you'll cooperate cleverly."

When this matter was brought up, Zhu Qing couldn't help but raise her head.

One glance was all it took to meet his peach blossom eyes, bathed in the warm glow of the setting sun. The warm color was stunning, yet his gaze was clear and indifferent as he stared straight at her.

Their eyes met, one cold, the other panicked.

Zhu Qing quickly looked away, gazing at the yellow soil where the seeds had just been planted. "Speaking of which, I'd like to know, what are your plans? Or, approximately how long will it take?"

Feng Huaihe thought for a moment: "No more than a month."

It was so fast!

Zhu Qing did some mental calculations, wondering if resigning in ancient times would also involve a process that took a month or two.

Ideally, once the publicity is successfully generated, she should run away immediately and never have anything to do with him again.

Zhu Qing tentatively asked, "If I quit my job, will it take a long time?"

She observed Feng Huaihe's expression.

His face suddenly darkened, and he looked at me with a sinister gaze: "What do you want to do by quitting your job?"

Naturally, one should become a strategist, stand on equal footing with him, or even defeat him, and then embark on a prosperous path to survive with one's family during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. If one is lucky, one can even be recorded in history and leave a lasting mark on the annals of time!

Zhu Qing couldn't tell the truth, so after thinking for a moment, she said, "Because the world is so big, I want to go and see it?"

"..."

Feng Huaihe said impatiently, "Tell the truth."

Zhu Qing chuckled twice. To be honest, it's impossible. It's impossible in this lifetime.

At this moment, Feng Huaihe asked again, "Do you feel your salary is insufficient?"

Zhu Qing nodded quickly: "That's right! With so little money, it's difficult for me to do anything for you!"

He didn't run the shogunate; he couldn't possibly apply for a raise for Tian Lingzi just for his own benefit!

For a dispensable junior employee like her, the leader usually makes grand promises and then uses manipulative tactics on her. If she is determined to resign, the leader will squeeze every last drop of value out of her before she leaves.

Zhu Qing took a deep breath and silently cheered herself up. Come on, come on, she's had enough of the sweet talk and the manipulation, she can handle it!

“I’ll add as much as you want, how much do you want?” Feng Huaihe said.

"Ah, right, right, you're absolutely right..." Zhu Qingmeng was stunned and looked at Feng Huaihe in surprise.

Unlimited? Added? Salary?

Suddenly, I think the boss has become quite handsome!

Feng Huaihe asked, puzzled, "What kind of look is that?"