Chapter 2 Beginner's Quest He was like the magnolia blossom at the very top of a tree crown…
Seeing the numbers flashing before her eyes and hearing the young woman's voice again, Ying Xi hurriedly pressed Xie Qianli's side, diverting a sliver of her attention to quickly and quietly call out to the system.
The system quickly explained: "Your Majesty, please complete the task as required. There will be a reward upon completion."
The semi-transparent panel clearly reads: Clean Xie Qianli's gun (0/1)
"What if I can't finish it?" Ying Xi thought to herself.
Sweet Leader: "There will be punishment."
"Will I die?"
"uncertain."
The countdown continued. Based on various signs, Ying Xi concluded that his resurrection might be related to the system. If he wanted to live, he had to follow the system's instructions.
Besides, dying when the countdown ends is death, and being murdered by Xie Qianli is also death. Ying Xi plans to enjoy life and doesn't want to die; he has to find a way to survive.
He glanced at Xie Qianli's gun with utter absurdity; the gun barrel gleamed with a cold metallic light.
The opponent's spear was called the Youlong'e.
On the day his kingdom fell in his previous life, he was stabbed to death by You Long'e in the fire at Weiyang Palace. Then Xie Qianli fought and slaughtered more than a hundred Xiongnu people before finally being killed by a hail of knives due to exhaustion.
The terrifying sensation of the dragon-slaying blade being plunged into his abdomen is still vividly clear.
Suppressing her fear, Ying Xi calmed Xie Qianli and said, "Please take a seat."
Yu Jing sent someone to bring chairs, and the generals of the expeditionary force sat down.
Ying Xi's arrangement was premeditated. It takes time for a person to react from sitting to standing, while his guards in Shanglin Garden could immediately draw their swords and kill the traitors. As an emperor, one must always consider many details. Ying Xi was adept at this, and he felt somewhat at ease.
But Yingxi didn't expect that Xie Qianli had a pair of cold and sharp eyes.
A general who has actually fought on the battlefield is completely different from a guard who spends his days in the deep palace, not to mention that the troops under the Duke of England are a grieving army that has just lost their commander.
Xie Qianli was young but had an imposing presence.
The guards of Shanglin Garden didn't dare to look them in the eye, which gives you an idea of what would happen if a battle broke out.
After weighing the pros and cons, Ying Xi's desire to kill Xie Qianli and seize the gun for cleaning faded. Since killing him was out of the question, she would have to appease him.
The countdown is ticking faster!
Ying Xi frowned, and Xie Qianli followed suit, his fingers tightening.
Ying Xi felt as if an invisible sword was hanging over his head, and the air seemed to tighten. He had to first comfort General Xie with kind words to ease his grief and resolve this misunderstanding that could escalate into a major conflict at any moment.
Ying Xi picked up the wine from the long table in front of her: "I am deeply saddened by the death of the Duke of Ying. I have been in unbearable pain ever since I heard the bad news, so I had the Imperial Music Bureau perform a few music and dance performances, but it could not divert my grief in the slightest."
A qualified emperor does not show his emotions.
But if Ying Xi wanted to, he could also skillfully use words and expressions to convey boundless sorrow and moving emotions.
Ying Xi truly mourned Xie Ji sincerely.
Ying Xi picked up the wine pot, filled two cups, and raised the cup: "I respectfully toast the descendants of loyal and virtuous officials. General, please."
"..." Since ascending the throne, Ying Xi has never touched alcohol. The emperor's abstinence from alcohol is a way of showing his responsibility to the country, so Ying Xi's cup of wine is an exception.
The Xie family had six generations of generals, and the Xie family also had the merit of helping the emperor to establish the country. Since ancient times, generals who commanded troops could not escape the suspicion of emperors.
If emperors need a sense of security, why don't generals also need trust?
The special favor diminished the intense fierceness between Xie Qianli's brows.
Xie Qianli lowered his eyes slightly, took the wine handed to him by Yu Jing, and drank it down in one gulp.
The sun was already setting, and the slanting rays of the setting sun bathed Xie Qianli in the twilight.
The red of the setting sun intensified Xie Qianli's blood-stained armor, making him resemble a caged beast exhausted, seemingly longing to return home wearily.
Ying Xi felt a sudden pang in her heart.
However, he was preoccupied with completing the newbie tasks assigned by the romance system, and had no time to relax, resent or sympathize, or even notice his own superfluous thoughts.
Taking advantage of the moment when the other party had calmed down, Ying Xi sent Yu Jing to fetch clean water and a soft towel.
The young emperor beckoned with his finger, and it took four guards at the same time to lift the long spear that Xie Qianli had placed beside him, and with great difficulty, raise it to Ying Xi's eyes. The spear made a clear sound when it touched the table.
Under Xie Qianli's slightly bewildered gaze, Ying Xi lifted the gun barrel with her left hand and wiped it, the metallic barrel gleaming heavily.
Ying Xi always had a calm voice, with a dignified and noble tone, but his appearance was in stark contrast to his voice.
He is like a magnolia flower at the very top of a tree crown, pure white, beautiful and fragile.
The bright silver shaft lay on Ying Xi's luminous white fingertips, the silver sheen of the spear not even matching the emperor's snow-white skin.
The emperor wrapped the spearhead with a soft cloth; the spear shaft was quite large, making it almost impossible for him to grip with his fingers.
Ying Xi was meticulous in his work and cleaned up slowly. He wiped the bloodstains along the blood groove on the spearhead, and with his thumb pad through the soft cloth, he carefully rubbed the spearhead, cleaning it in circles to avoid pricking his hand with the spear tip.
The Youlong E was the very weapon that killed Ying Xi in his previous life. He still felt lingering fear about it, so his fingertips trembled slightly, and his other hand, which was holding the gun barrel, also trembled.
But to outsiders, it appears as something to be revered and cherished.
Xie Qianli involuntarily looked away.
Xie Qianli picked up a pastry from the long table next to the chair and ate it.
The system now displays: Clean Xie Qianli's gun (1/1)
Task completed.
The countdown has stopped.
Ying Xi ordered the guards to carry You Long E back to Xie Qianli.
Xie Qianli finished a piece of pastry with impeccable manners, his expression even more stern than before.
He handled the matter officially, submitting a memorial detailing the number of Qingniu Army prisoners: "The rebellion in Jiangbei was led by the Qingniu Army bandits. Now, except for a few escaped rebels, the Qingniu Army has been completely wiped out. We report back to Your Majesty."
"Thanks a lot."
Ying Xi also handled things strictly by business.
For a subject who had killed him just a few hours ago in his previous life, Ying Xi should praise himself for his exceptional imperial self-control for tolerating him until now.
"After the Duke of England's death, you will succeed him as commander of the army. I hope you will live up to my expectations and carry on the legacy of your ancestors to defend our country."
"Your subject thanks you for your grace."
"I can't take away Xie Qianli's military power for now, so I'll let him go for today," Ying Xi thought to herself.
"You are weary from your long campaign and travels. General, please step back and rest."
They loathed each other, and now that the mission was accomplished, Xie Qianli was just waiting for the emperor to say, "This humble subject takes his leave."
Xie Qianli coldly raised his spear.
His lieutenants and others rose to their feet, bowed, and took their leave.
The ruthless killer was about to leave Shanglin Garden, and everyone there was breathing a sigh of relief.
However, when Xie Qianli's hand touched the gun handle, he seemed to sense a faint warmth.
That was Yingxi's warmth.
Xie Qianli frowned and turned around.
The death of the Duke of Yingguo was related to the emperor, a matter widely rumored in the public and also the subject of much debate in the court, leaving his deceased father restless.
Even if Xie Qianli temporarily spared the tyrannical emperor, it was for the purpose of investigating the truth later. He did not want to be in the wrong, so he bowed with the Youlong E in hand and awkwardly said to Ying Xi, "Thank you for your consideration, Your Majesty."
Ying Xi just wanted him to disappear as soon as possible, so she waved her hand hastily and replied, "No need to be polite. It's not like I haven't wiped your face before."
"..."
This topic seemed to have triggered a dramatic change in Xie Qianli.
Xie Qianli's cold face turned from white to green, and then from green to a faint blush.
His brow twitched, he controlled his expression, then turned and strode away.
Even as he was leaving, he didn't notice that he had knocked over the glass goblet used to offer the wine. The goblet rolled down and shattered on the marble floor of Shanglin Garden, making a series of clear, clattering sounds.
Ying Xi didn't realize that she had just curled the corners of her mouth up for a moment.
Shanglin Garden has completely returned to peace.
***
Night falls in the sleeping quarters of Weiyang Palace.
The bronze beast incense burner was burning benzoin, and wisps of blue-purple incense smoke rose gently.
Yingxi handed over all the unimportant memorials to the Ministry of Personnel for decision-making.
In his previous life, even if the Ministry of Personnel made a decision, he would still pay attention to every detail of the follow-up. In this life, he has changed.
Ying Xi lay half-reclined, reading a book she had once longed to read but feared wasting her time: "Miscellaneous Morsels from Youyang".
The dragon bed was so large that it made the emperor's figure appear too thin.
Shedding his solemn dragon robe and letting his hair down, Ying Xi held a book in his hands, his eyebrows half-lowered, soft, disheveled hair hanging by his temples and draped over his shoulders. He had been idly reading for about half an hour, finishing the book, and it was still not yet Hai Shi (9-11 PM).
Ying Xi glanced out the window and gave a soft smile.
The chief steward, who had already begun to curry favor with Ying Xi, naturally wouldn't let go of this opportunity to gain favor with the emperor.
Yu Jing knelt before the emperor and presented him with a book. She parted her red lips slightly and said, "This servant brought a similar notebook novel from the study for Your Majesty to read."
If she had followed the way she did in her previous life, Yu Jing would have guessed the Emperor's intentions and crossed Ying Xi's bottom line, and would certainly have been punished.
But this life is different.
Whether a ruler can control his desires depends on himself, not on external temptations. Besides, even his extraordinary self-discipline in his previous life couldn't prevent the downfall of his kingdom.
Ying Xi accepted the book without any hesitation.
With her red lips and white teeth, Yu Jing knelt beside the emperor's dragon bed, her eyebrows and eyes curved in a smile.
He lowered his eyes obsequiously, his deep red lips opening and closing: "Before I entered the palace, I had many miscellaneous books at home. I loved reading the strange and unique 'In Search of the Supernatural,' the charming and romantic characters in 'A New Account of Tales of the World,' and the delightful legends in 'The Songs of Chu'..."
Ying Xi then said indifferently, "Bring me 'Tiangong Kaiwu' from the study tomorrow."
"Tiangong Kaiwu" is a work on craftsmanship, and its style is completely different from any of the books mentioned above.
This shows that the eunuch tried to curry favor with the emperor, but the emperor noticed and warned him.
Cold sweat instantly slid from Yu Jing's forehead to her cheeks.
The chief eunuch had changed the emperor's ways, but it was clear that the emperor was not indulging in pleasure; he was actually extremely clear-headed, with a touch of indifference.
Yu Jing was so frightened that her hair stood on end, and she frantically kowtowed before the dragon bed, crying, "Your Majesty, spare me! Your Majesty, spare me!"
His forehead was bruised and swollen from the impact, and the blood seeping from his jade-like skin was not as red as his lips.
Ying Xi calmly withdrew her gaze.
He might be able to change his behavior and make his short life more fulfilling, but he couldn't change his personality.
Eunuchs can serve him, but they can't control him.
Ying Xi stopped him from apologizing. In his previous life, Grand Eunuch Yu Jing was simply not close to him, not greedy, and had not done anything immoral. Moreover, this eunuch was unaware that he was seriously ill and died suddenly before the Xiongnu conquered Chang'an.
Born into hardship, Ying Xi no longer felt troubled, and as if nothing had happened, she lowered her head to continue reading the book that the jade mirror had handed her.
Yu Jing then wiped away the blood and sweat, deeply feeling the unpredictability of the Emperor's mind, which frightened him so much that his fingertips went numb and swollen: "Thank you for your forgiveness, Your Majesty."
"I would like to be by myself for a while."
"This servant takes his leave."
Yu Jing immediately left the bedchamber.
Finally, the young emperor's refined voice was heard: "Your lip color is different from that of ordinary people. The imperial physicians are on duty in Weiyang Palace year-round; they should examine you if necessary."
Yu Jing was taken aback, then bowed and clasped her hands in obeisance: "As you command."
As soon as she left the bedchamber, the sky outside was filled with stars, and the chill of the early spring night made Yu Jing pull her sleeves tighter.
The chief steward, completely bewildered, was ordered by the emperor to temporarily summon the emperor's physician.
The imperial physician on duty was surnamed Liu, but the old man had a bad temper and was stubborn, so others always secretly called him Doctor Niu.
After hearing the emperor's decree, Doctor Niu took the wrist of the chief eunuch to feel his pulse, carefully examined the eyes and eyelids of Chief Eunuch Yu, and examined the numb and painful fingertips that Yu Jing had mentioned earlier.
Finally, Doctor Niu released the jade mirror, his eyes sparkling with surprise.
The imperial physician clasped his hands in a deep bow towards the imperial bedchamber: "Your Majesty's insight is remarkable. He saved your life, and his mere glance revealed that you suffer from paralysis!"
Bi syndrome is the same as heart disease.
"this……"
Yu Jing was filled with lingering fear. The Grand Eunuch's initial feelings of trepidation towards the Emperor suddenly became even more complicated.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
