Chapter 224 Recover the Land of Exile for Me
Dai Viet Royal Palace.
The main entrance of the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
A figure in black clothes was waiting at the door.
The early morning sun shines brightly, casting a shadow on the black robe, making the rich black color appear even more mysterious and noble.
After all the courtiers who had attended the morning court in the other side of the Golden Palace had dispersed, the emperor in dragon robe came slowly with his hands behind his back, accompanied by the eunuch Miao Ping.
The figure in black clothes bowed and saluted, "Your Highness, your Majesty!"
Emperor Hongde narrowed his eyes against the light and glanced at him condescendingly, "Stand up and follow me."
"yes."
After entering the main hall, Emperor Hongde sat down on the small dragon-patterned couch by the window in the inner hall and ordered Miao Ping to serve tea.
Wei Li stood in front of the small couch, silent.
The inner hall was empty, and there was a slight chill in the morning air. The pink lotus in the vase in the corner was still covered with moisture, and the lotus fragrance mixed into the air, adding a hint of coolness.
When the emperor sat on the couch and looked up, without saying a word or smiling, his imperial majesty was naturally revealed, and his whole body exuded a compelling aura.
After Miao Ping brought the tea, he smiled and said, "Captain Wei, do you know why I summoned you to the palace today?"
Wei Li lowered his head slightly and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, I don't know."
Taking the teacup from Miao Ping, Emperor Hongde skimmed the foam from the cup with the lid. "You returned to the capital last year to receive your title. I was pleased with your promising young age, so I retained you in the capital. It has been over a year now. You have performed every task assigned to you perfectly, truly worthy of my trust. This was especially true of the bandit suppression on the Yudu Ancient Road. With only forty men under your command, you wiped out all the fierce bandits from the Thirty-Three Peaks. When word of this incident reached the capital, all the court officials praised you highly."
"I do not deserve such praise!"
"Don't be so modest. I can see clearly what you are capable of. Captain Wei joined the army at the age of twelve, right? In just five years, you rose to the rank of Major General. You have earned countless merits in the barracks, and even the veterans in the barracks are very fond of you. I have heard from veterans who have returned to the capital that Captain Wei is not only brave and skilled in battle, but also thoughtful and resourceful. Now I believe them. In time, my Great Yue will gain another pillar of strength."
After taking a sip of tea, Emperor Hong De placed the teacup on the small sandalwood table on the couch. The soft clinking sound was unusually clear in the moment of silence.
Wei Li's heart shrank, and his eyes became visibly heavy.
The emperor's deep, majestic voice rose again. "Captain Wei is a man of great ability. He has been of great assistance to me and relieved many of my worries. I summoned you to the palace early this morning because I have another important matter for you to attend to. I hope that Captain Wei will behave as usual and not disappoint me."
Wei Li bowed his head and said, "I obey your orders, Your Majesty."
"Since you've been to the Yudu Ancient Road, you must have heard of the exile ground a city away. Over the years, nearly half of the criminals exiled from the court were sent there. The idea was to allow these criminals to redeem themselves for their crimes by cultivating wasteland and planting crops in the exile grounds. Over time, the barren land would eventually become a thriving splendid landscape, easing the burden on the court. Unexpectedly, some people have taken over the place and used it for their own benefit, trampling on the court's authority and acting with lawlessness and audacity!"
Emperor Hongde raised his eyes, his gaze fixed on the black-robed man, then on the silver wolf mask that covered most of his face. "What I want you to do this time is to clean up the exile area and eliminate the various evil forces entrenched there. Those forces have been entrenched for many years and have deep roots. Their leaders are all capable. If you can recruit them to submit to the court and use them for my benefit, that would be best. If not, those who dissent will be executed."
Behind the silver wolf mask, the boy's eyes suddenly shrank sharply, and he used all his strength to restrain himself from losing his composure in front of the emperor and arousing suspicion.
He lowered his head, his tone as calm and composed as ever, "Your Majesty, I have indeed heard of the exile area. I heard that the court has sent many people there over the years to try to clean up the exile area, but none of them have been successful. I dare not be too arrogant, and I am afraid it will take some time to complete this task."
"That's fine. Recovering lost territory is never a matter of a day or a night. I can give you time, and the entire Imperial Guard is at your disposal. However, I hope the time spent is as short as possible. Do you understand?"
"yes!"
"This place of exile has been giving me a headache for years, almost becoming a source of worry." The emperor lowered his eyes, shook his head, and chuckled softly, "Fortunately, I have you to use now. Go and do your work. I'll be waiting for your good news in the capital."
He gave Wei Li a handwritten order to dispatch the Imperial Guards. Before the young man could leave, he stopped him, his eyes once again fixed on the Silver Wolf mask. "Captain Wei, you've never taken it off since arriving in the capital. I just realized I've never seen your true face. Could you please remove the mask temporarily so I can take a look? What kind of injury do you have on your face that requires the mask to conceal? If it's not serious, there are many experienced doctors in the Imperial Hospital who specialize in treating external injuries who might be able to diagnose and treat you."
The young man paused, hesitated for a moment, then turned around and slowly took off the silver wolf mask in front of the emperor. "I am embarrassed by my humble appearance, I am only afraid that I have offended the emperor."
The mask fell off, the boy looked up, and his face was fully revealed.
He has long eyebrows, eyes like cold stars, a hanging nose and thin lips, and is stunningly handsome.
It was a pity that there was an ugly scar on his left face, as thick as a thumb, running from his cheek to the corner of his eye and the end of his eyebrow. The scar was bright red, and it looked like a scary centipede crawling on the boy's wheat-colored skin.
Ugly and hideous.
It completely destroyed that elegant and handsome appearance.
Emperor Hongde raised his hand, motioning the young man to put his mask back on, and sighed, "What a pity! He should have been a top-notch young man in Changjing."
After putting on the mask, Wei Li bowed and left without saying anything more.
After he left, Emperor Hongde picked up the tea that had been left on the sandalwood table for a while, and sipped it slowly and carefully. His half-closed eyes were so deep and dark that it was difficult to tell whether he was happy or angry.
"Your Majesty, isn't the scar on Captain Wei's face perfectly positioned?" Miao Ping bowed and whispered in the emperor's ear.
Emperor Hong De's voice was very calm. "How is your investigation going?"
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. The place of exile has been extremely heavily guarded these past few years. I've sent people in several times to investigate, but they were always discovered by those forces. None of those who left have ever returned... Whether the Wei family silenced all of them back then, I haven't been able to find out yet."
"The Land of Exile is like a wolf. It was once a cub, but after all these years, its fangs have become sharper, making it difficult to attack." Emperor Hongde snorted coldly, "I await good news and see the results of the Wei Duwei's battle."
As for whether Wei Li is Nangong Qingyu... Emperor Hongde looked at the brown tea liquid shaking in the teacup and chuckled.
Better not.
If so, Wei Li or Nangong Qingyu might not be as lucky this time.
After leaving the Hall of Supreme Harmony, Wei Li walked straight out of the palace with the handwritten letter and went to the first teahouse in the East Market.
He went up to the private room on the third floor and closed the door. The square jaw exposed under the mask suddenly became tense and hard.
Behind the mask, the black eyes were filled with scarlet red.
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