Chapter 45 The twentieth time seeking death!
Chapter 45
A chubby little old man wobbled over, his hands behind his back, a pained expression on his face, his brows and eyes almost completely furrowed, looking very troubled.
Liu Duoxi...
It was none other than Liu Duoxi, the Vice Chancellor!
Ye Xiren stood there, stunned.
Yan Danqing laughed loudly, "That's because I knew Lord Liu could help me, that's why I came to you."
Upon hearing this, Liu Duoxi snorted angrily, too lazy to pay him any attention. He shifted his gaze from Yan Danqing to Ye Xiren's face and smiled, "Second Miss Ye, we meet again."
In the previous cycle, Ye Pei took her to the Liu family to gather information. Liu Duoxi was aloof and arrogant. Ye Pei had to stuff a stack of silver notes into his mouth to get the secret letter out of him, as if he didn't care about important matters of the court.
Ye Xiren was furious at the time, lamenting that if the court was full of such incompetent officials, the Great Liang was truly doomed.
This person was actually the owner of Jade Silver Pavilion, Yan Danqing's man!
So, after she asked him "yesterday," this person didn't say anything on the surface, dismissing them with the excuse of "seeing them out" and saying he was going home to sleep. But then he immediately had Yu Yinlou deliver the message to her? In such a short time, you can imagine how anxious he must have been...
For a moment, Ye Xiren's feelings were quite complicated.
Liu Duoxi also had mixed feelings.
Standing beside General Yan, the two of them looked strangely well-matched, even though they were not familiar with each other before. How could they have such a good relationship?
He was General Yan's most secret trump card, which he usually kept very well hidden and never revealed to anyone. Ma Shan and the others did not know who he was. However, Yan Danqing brought Ye Xiren to them and introduced them to him.
There were also the private orders given to her, allowing her to command the Yan family army. General Yan's high regard for her was as if she were another version of himself in the world...
Then think about Chi Zhan Lan Ce, who insisted on being married yesterday. This Miss Ye looks gentle and harmless, but with Yan Danqing on one side and Chi Zhan Lan Ce on the other, she is definitely not simple!
"Miss Ye, you can just call me Uncle Liu."
Ye Xiren subconsciously reached out her hand: "Give me back my money."
Liu Duoxi: "?"
Yan Danqing chuckled, tugged at Ye Xiren, and whispered in her ear, "He doesn't know what happened, and the money has already come back after the last cycle ended. Don't be upset. He used the money he earned to buy food and send it to the army as a covert support..."
He looked at Ye Xiren with his sharp eyes, which held an uncontrollable smile and a thousand unspoken words.
Ye Xiren was momentarily dazed.
She knew what Chunzhou meant. Although she didn't say it explicitly, Chunzhou could see that she had no confidence in the country and no expectation of saving Daliang.
He neither argued nor forced her, nor imposed his will on her. He simply held fast to his beliefs and brought Liu Duoxi to her again. Perhaps, what she saw was only the surface.
In the Great Liang Dynasty, there are not always corrupt officials and incompetent people holding positions without doing their jobs.
Her father, Lord Bai, and Lord Zheng were not among them, nor was Liu Duoxi.
Ye Xiren's gaze grew increasingly complex, still harboring doubts, but she ultimately suppressed all her thoughts and sincerely addressed the man before her as "Uncle Liu."
Liu Duoxi was completely confused and scratched his head.
What's going on?
It feels like something happened that he doesn't know about.
Yan Danqing suppressed a laugh, cleared her throat, and pulled him aside. "You know why I asked you to come here. Let me explain it to you more clearly..."
The three of them moved aside and whispered among themselves.
Liu Duoxi's expression grew increasingly strange, eventually even giving Yan Danqing a look that seemed to say, "Are you crazy?" He was utterly bewildered. If he hadn't been clinging tightly to Yan Danqing's sleeve, he would have already stormed off...
"Second Miss Ye, aren't you going to stop her?"
"I think Spring Day's idea is great."
"..."
This is insane!
-
Meanwhile, Jiang You finally woke up.
Zhang Yuanmou had been guarding him the whole time. It was he who led the search party to rescue Jiang You. Seeing that he had woken up, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief, but was also anxious and angry: "In broad daylight, who dared to lay a hand on you? Was it the pro-war faction or Yan Danqing's men?!"
Jiang You, who was getting old, rubbed his temples and said in a hoarse voice, "It was still dark then."
Zhang Yuanmou: "..."
The key question is, is it dawn yet?!
He took a deep breath and gritted his teeth: "The key question is, who was the one who made the move? Was it to prevent you from entering the palace to persuade the Emperor?"
“If that’s the case, then they won’t have let me go.” Jiang You stood up, his expression grave. “I heard some news today that Northern Yan has appointed a new crown prince…”
"What?!" Zhang Yuanmou exclaimed in surprise, "Really?"
"Whether it's true or false, we must find out the truth first. If Northern Yan has really established a new crown prince, then Chi Zhanlan Ce is not trustworthy." Jiang You frowned and turned to order people to investigate.
Zhang Yuanmou's expression was strange: "Impossible, right? Northern Yan abandons Chizhan Lance and establishes a new crown prince? Would Chizhan Lance agree to that?"
Jiang You shook his head: "It's better to believe it than not to believe it. The peace talks between the two countries are at a critical moment. The most important thing in the negotiations is information. Chi Zhanlan wants Yan Danqing's life and a strongman of Daliang. We must be sure that Beiyan is willing to negotiate. We cannot afford any mistakes."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Yuanmou fell silent.
Just as Jiang You was preparing to enter the palace, someone suddenly burst in, his face filled with horror:
"What?!" Jiang You and Zhang Yuanmou were shocked and swayed violently, almost losing their balance.
-
Everything restarts, and the scene reappears.
Yan Danqing knelt before the hall, listening to the trial of him on both sides. The pro-peace faction hated him to the core because of the murder of Chi Zhanlan Ce, their eyes like knives, wishing they could tear him to pieces.
His expression remained unchanged as he calmly took something from his sleeve and bowed respectfully.
"Your Majesty, I confess my guilt, but the assassination was carried out by me alone and has nothing to do with anyone else. I am willing to offer the military tally and a blood oath in exchange for not implicating others. I hope Your Majesty will grant my request."
The scenario was exactly the same, but with different number of iterations, resulting in different answers.
Liu Duoxi stood in the front row of officials, not conspicuous in the noisy court. He shrank his head and almost pulled out all his beard.
They're really courting death, and they won't even let me stop them. What are these two up to? No, even if they have a "plan," why would they use their own lives to calculate it? You only have one life.
This time, Yan Danqing did not plead for himself. Logically speaking, the outcome was already decided. However, the emperor at the head of the table looked at the two items and then at the inexplicably familiar Yan Chunzhou. He frowned and could not issue a decree for a long time.
In the hall, Zhang Yuanmou was furious and advised, "Your Majesty, this person who deliberately sabotaged the peace talks must be torn to pieces to appease your anger!"
“Yes, kill the traitor!” Li Renyi and the others knelt down.
The Minister of War reiterated his previous statement: "Considering his past achievements, let's give him a dignified death..."
Yan Danqing remained calm, awaiting the outcome.
There was no waterboarding; this time, the court was filled with calls to kill him. Ye Pei and his companion had been instructed beforehand not to plead for him, but they secretly exchanged glances, thinking that when the emperor wanted to kill him, they would still have to speak up for him...
Jiang You closed his eyes and spoke after a long while. His aged voice was hoarse and cracked, like a broken gong: "Killing him would be too easy for him."
He shook his head, stepped forward, his hand holding the ceremonial tablet trembling slightly, and spoke each word clearly:
"He should be imprisoned in the imperial prison first and await severe punishment!"
Everyone was taken aback.
Even Yan Danqing looked at Jiang You in surprise. Although he was "awaiting severe punishment," he was not killed. This leader of the pro-peace faction who had been clamoring to kill him did not ask to be killed immediately.
Yan Danqing recalled that in the last cycle, it seemed that Jiang You was the one who first agreed to waterboarding...
I originally thought they wanted to torture him, but now it seems that they might not want to kill him anymore after Chi Zhanlan Ce died.
Why?
"Your Majesty, Chi Zhanlan Ce is dead, and the two countries are about to go to war. It is not the right time to kill General Yan!"
“Yes, even if his crimes are unforgivable, we can spare his life first to deter Northern Yan.”
"Your Majesty, please imprison Yan Danqing and await the outcome!"
...
The number of people advocating war is small, but their voice is significant.
"He actually killed Chizhan Lanze, disobeying the imperial decree. What's the point of keeping such a traitor alive?"
"Yes, he was imprisoned in Dali Temple, yet he still managed to get out and kill the Crown Prince of Northern Yan. What if he escapes again and rebels? Northern Yan is about to launch a massive military offensive; we cannot allow this menace to remain!"
"Moreover, since Northern Yan is willing to negotiate, perhaps killing Yan Danqing and sending his body to Northern Yan could appease the King of Northern Yan's anger and make peace negotiations possible again?"
...
The overwhelming voice reached the ears of the person at the head of the table, and Liang Yue frowned deeply.
Liu Duoxi could no longer contain himself and stepped forward to echo, "I believe that what Prime Minister Jiang said is reasonable. He should be imprisoned in the imperial prison to await severe punishment."
That's clever.
That's really clever!
When he heard the plan that morning, he thought Yan Danqing was doomed, but unexpectedly, Prime Minister Jiang spoke up, giving Yan Danqing a chance to live...
Zhang Yuanmou glared fiercely at Liu Duoxi.
He glared back with his small eyes.
As Liu Duoxi stroked his beard, marveling at Yan Danqing and Ye Xiren's intelligence, Yan Danqing leaned down again behind him, a barely perceptible smile playing on his lips:
"Your Majesty, please do not make things difficult for me. I am guilty and am willing to die."
This cycle continues...
He must die.
Liu Duoxi: "???"
He turned around in disbelief, his small eyes wide, his hands gripping so tightly he almost pulled out his own beard, gritting his teeth, doubting his ears. Had he misheard?
No way, has she gone mad? She clearly had a chance to live, and she actually wants to die?!
He's old.
I can't keep up with these two young people's ideas anymore. Is it now fashionable to seek death?
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