Chapter 148 The Golden Dragon Emerges from the Nest
Without exaggeration, Qin Qinian looked at the mulberry paper in his hand and felt as if the sky was about to fall. "Mother, reading four books and writing 20,000 words in half a month, I... I can't do it..."
Dai Li corrected him, "Look carefully, it means reading four books in the first half of the month and writing 20,000 words of reflections in the second half of the month, which adds up to a whole month."
Qin Qinian opened his eyes wide to look.
That's true.
However, this made little difference to him. Let alone four books, even one book would be enough to give him a headache, not to mention the 20,000-word book review that followed.
Not two hundred, not two thousand, but twenty thousand! What's the difference between that and making him stand still and fly to the heavens?
Seeing that he looked like he had eaten a basket of bitter melons, Dai Li showed her first smile since they entered the room. "Of course it's difficult. Otherwise, do you think this is just for you to sign for fun? Qinian, if you don't want to write those 20,000 words, then protect yourself well when you're suppressing the bandits."
The first half of their agreements were the same, both prohibiting them from being injured. The only difference was the latter part: one stipulated that they would never go to the front lines again, while the other stipulated that they would be forced to learn to read and write.
It must be said that each has its own "sky falling." This is why Dai Li considered it for a long time before trying to balance the two situations equally.
However, as someone who was implicated, Dai Li gave him a chance to back out: "Of course, if you feel you can't do it, you don't have to sign."
"It's impossible!" The young man was hot-blooded and could not be provoked.
Dai Li nodded in satisfaction, "Okay, since you think it's fine, then come over and sign and put your fingerprints on it."
After they finished signing and affixing their fingerprints, Dai Li was too lazy to look at them anymore and sent them away, saying, "It's almost time for dinner, you two go downstairs."
The two brothers left the room and headed towards the stairs. Halfway there, the boy belatedly scratched his head and said, "Second brother, I feel like I went to Mother's place and somehow ended up signing an agreement without really understanding what was going on."
Qin Yanzhou recalled his kneeling without hesitation last night, and his gaze softened. "That is indeed the case for you. I'm sorry, I've dragged you into this."
"Hey, why are you telling me all this? I didn't mean to criticize you." Qin Qinian reacted strongly. "Just like Mother said, since I dared to sign the agreement, I will definitely be able to eliminate the bandits unscathed."
"Crunch." The door to the side room next to them opened.
Shi Rongyue, who also wanted to go downstairs for a meal, looked at the two people outside the door. Recalling the few words she had overheard earlier, a glimmer of light appeared in her eyes. The little girl glanced towards Dai Li's room first, then said in a suppressed, joyful voice, "Brother Chong Le, has your second aunt agreed to let you go to suppress the bandits?"
Qin Yanzhou nodded. "She agreed."
Qin Qinian was surprised, "Rongrong, how did you know about this?"
Shi Rongyue smiled, revealing two small dimples. "I heard about this by chance. I wish you all the best."
Qin Yanzhou: "Thank you."
"What was the agreement you just mentioned?" Shi Rongyue asked Qin Yanzhou curiously.
"This is a long story..."
*
After putting the two agreements away, Dai Li went downstairs. The first floor of the post station was already prepared for dinner. Tonight's dinner was the first gathering between the northern people and the imperial court since the "banditry".
The atmosphere was extremely tense.
Although the two sides were not familiar with each other before, they chatted back and forth out of politeness.
Who doesn't know how to play along in officialdom?
However, tonight's meal was arranged with separate tables. Shen Tianming and Guo Nai sat together, while Qin Shaozong and the generals from the north sat side by side, with no interaction between them.
After finishing her meal, Dai Li put down her chopsticks and bowl. Seeing that Shi Rongyue across from her had also finished eating, she simply went upstairs with her. Little did Dai Li know that the atmosphere on the first floor would immediately become awkward as soon as she and Shi Rongyue left.
"Lord Qin, we can't just let what happened last night go like this, can we?" Shen Tianming said with a forced smile.
Guo Nai, who was standing to the side, did not speak, but his eyes were fierce.
Qin Shaozong said calmly, "Then, according to General Shen, should we suspend our journey to the capital and focus all our efforts on capturing the remaining bandits?"
Guo Nai's face twisted in pain. "Qin Shaozong, so you mean this matter is over? The dozen or so men we killed and my life were for nothing?"
The moment the name "Qin Shaozong" was uttered, the atmosphere became even more tense.
Instead of using courtesy names, they address each other by their full names. This is usually done by a superior addressing a subordinate; otherwise, it would be considered provocative.
Clearly, in a true sense, the position of a high-ranking eunuch was not as high as that of a first-class marquis.
Mo Yanyun immediately flew into a rage and retorted with the same name, "Guo Nai, you are extremely rude! Wasn't the Marquis asking you what you wanted to do? He was clearly seeking your opinion. Which word did he say about 'giving up'?"
Bai Jianping followed up, "Exactly, you're the one who keeps thinking about giving up, right? I bet you're the one who wants to give up."
"Tsk tsk, someone's crying 'stop thief' while being the thief themselves!" Feng Feng exclaimed.
The veins on Guo Nai's forehead throbbed with fury. "You are utterly lawless! When we return to the capital..."
Shen Tianming suddenly pressed down on his shoulder, intending to calm him down. He paused, took a deep breath, and then fiercely looked away.
Shen Tianming then said to Qin Shaozong, "In your opinion, how should we deal with this gang of bandits who assassinated an official of the imperial court?"
This is clearly a way of passing the buck back to Qin Shaozong.
Qin Shaozong: "Naturally, we should notify the local officials to arrest the person."
Guo Nai exhaled two deep breaths, "That's it?!"
"Otherwise, what does Attendant Guo think we should do? Stop and focus on finding the bandits with the local officials? Or should we send a letter back to the capital, asking His Majesty to send someone from afar to wipe out the remaining dozens of bandits?" Qin Shaozong asked rhetorically.
Guo Nai just stared at the person, without saying a word for a long time.
*
Upstairs, a quarter of an hour after Dai Li returned to her room, Qin Shaozong also came back. As soon as he entered, he said to Dai Li, "Madam, I'm afraid we'll have to stay in this small county for a few more days."
Dai Li pondered, "Is it that Attendant Guo who wants to recuperate here?"
“Exactly. This person still believes that everything that happened last night was a trap set by me in the north. Now, why would he be willing to treat Ding Congjian? He has gone to find a good doctor in the city himself.” Qin Shaozong sneered. “Very well, it’s good to stop for a while, so that we can have more time to prepare in Chang’an.”
Dai Li heard that he had everything planned out, so she didn't say anything more.
He suddenly changed the subject, "During the meal just now, I noticed that Qin Er had a big appetite, eating an extra bowl of rice compared to usual. Did Madam grant his request?"
As dusk approached, the setting sun outside the window faded into a barely visible layer. Inside, lamps were lit, casting a warm, gentle glow.
The man's angular face was enveloped in warm light, shedding his usual imposing and heavy demeanor. Although there were some faint traces of time at the corners of his eyes, they did not diminish his mature aura in the slightest.
Dai Li could tell at a glance that he was in a good mood, so she deliberately said, "He did agree, but Zhouzhou isn't the only one who signed the agreement."
His eyebrows twitched slightly. "Oh? Who else?"
Dai Li only replied with two words: "Guess."
"Since Madam is unwilling to tell me, I will have no choice but to take matters into my own hands." Qin Shaozong walked to the table and began to look for the answer.
The item wasn't hard to find; the couple had two small boxes where they kept important letters, and Qin Shaozong saw it as soon as he opened the first one.
He took out the mulberry paper and unfolded it. Dai Li didn't know which one he looked at first, but she saw him raise his long eyebrows in surprise, and then he smiled, a relaxed smile, "What a good thing Madam has done, it should be like this."
Dai Li guessed that he might have seen Qin Qinian's copy first. "I told them that you wouldn't get involved in this matter, and no matter what happens, it would be useless to look for you."
"nature."
*
Chang'an.
As the capital of a country, even if other places were filled with starving people or the city was full of broken tiles and ruins, Chang'an would still maintain the scene of bustling vendors and a constant stream of fine carriages and horses.
On this day, the young ladies from various prominent families in the city went on a spring outing. Spring had arrived, and all the flowers were in full bloom, making it the perfect time for a spring outing.
As the convoy drove through the bustling city and was about to head towards the east gate, a deafening roar suddenly came from the other side. The sound was so loud, it was as if a giant dragon was churning in displeasure beneath, and the earth seemed to tremble for a moment.
"The earth dragon has turned over! Get out of the house!" someone shouted first.
The bustling city was thrown into chaos as the horses pulling the carriage were startled and began neighing and pulling the carriage forward.
"What's going on? Quick, get the horses under control!"
"Has the earth dragon turned over?"
"Huh, it only made one sound and then nothing. It doesn't look like an earthworm turning over; it looks more like a house collapsing."
"That direction seems to be the Chiang residence, let's go take a look."
...
By the time the busybody arrived at the scene, a large crowd had already gathered at the site of the collapsed building.
A man with a broad forehead and fair complexion stepped forward, his eyes gleaming with a shrewd light. He raised his voice and said, "This house looks quite grand. The owner is probably quite wealthy. If we rescue this person, we might be able to get a reward. Who wants to help me rescue this person?"
"Then let's dig and see."
People tend to follow the crowd, and after one or two people joined the "rescue" team, many others did so.
When the Imperial Guards of Chang'an arrived, they heard someone say from afar:
"A white fox is considered an auspicious creature, so how come there's a white fox here? And it's even lying on the ground vomiting blood?"
"There are words written in blood here. Could it be that the fox spat out its own blood to write them? Is there anyone who can read? Can someone come and see what the white fox has written?"
"Um, it seems to be 'A swallow lands in Chang'an, a golden dragon emerges from its nest.' A swallow? That must be from above..."
The leader of the Imperial Guards' expressions changed drastically, and he immediately shouted, "Stop talking nonsense!"
When the commoners saw the Imperial Guard riding up, they all hissed and dared not say a word.
But the strange occurrence of the white fox's blood letter, especially since it happened in a busy city, with perfectly good houses suddenly collapsing, seemed very bizarre.
The line "A swallow lands in Chang'an, a golden dragon emerges from its nest" quietly spread throughout Chang'an.
The official name of the current dynasty is "Yan," and the current emperor's surname is "Han." The meaning of "Han Yan" is self-evident. Furthermore, the word "Luo" that follows is a taboo for those in power.
...
With the emperor being young, the court was jointly controlled by Empress Dowager Wang and Chancellor Dong Zhou. Backed by the Wang family, the Empress Dowager and the Wang family, who controlled "half the country," were extremely powerful in Chang'an.
However, the Wang family, which is usually full of distinguished guests, has recently turned down a large number of visiting invitations and kept its doors tightly closed.
Inside the study of the Prince's Mansion.
The young emperor's uncle, Wang Tianchuan, looked grim. "Have you found out?"
The two men before him hung their heads and shrank back, looking utterly ashamed. "My lord, please forgive us, there is still no news..."
"Bang—!"
A fine piece of mutton-fat jade paperweight fell to the feet of the two men, and flying jade shards grazed one of their cheeks.
The bright red blood immediately flowed down, but the man only lowered his head further and dared not speak.
"Useless! It's not like we're sending you to reclaim the North or Jingzhou. You can't even handle this small matter. What use are you?" Wang Tianchuan slammed his hand on the table and stood up, his fat belly jiggling as he rose.
Sitting to the side, the eldest son of the Wang family advised, "Father, please calm down. Since the other party dared to act in this way, they must have made ample preparations. It's normal that we can't find the culprit for the time being. However, Chang'an is ultimately under your control, and the source will be found sooner or later. I think that in addition to finding the mastermind behind this from the root, we can also start from other aspects?"
When his most favored eldest son spoke up, Wang Tianchuan's anger subsided slightly, "My son, what are your thoughts?"
"The one who orchestrated this must be the beneficiary. 'The golden dragon emerges from its nest,' the latter half of this widely discussed saying—is it related to the beneficiary creating momentum for themselves?" he speculated.
Since the previous dynasty, the "dragon" has been given a special meaning, and people believe that it has the ability to predict the future and turn the tide.
Although it wasn't as directly linked to imperial power as it would be in later generations, there's no doubt that the "dragon" at this time represented heroes.
Wang Tianchuan's expression turned somewhat strange.
Today, black and red are the most popular colors, but for important occasions, black and red are used.
Gold, on the contrary, is used less often.
"Jin, could it be the Commander of the Imperial Guards?"
The golden dragon emerged from the edge of its nest.
If the imperial city is likened to a "nest," then the Imperial Guards patrolling the capital are indeed located near that nest.
However, before the Wang family and other prominent families could figure things out, strange rumbling sounds began to appear one after another in Chang'an, not just during the day or at night.
After each ringing, a blood-written inscription, seemingly a prophecy, was left at the scene.
-----------------------
The author says: I drank two bottles of beer at the party last night, and when I got home I wrote like crazy. I felt really inspired and wrote more than 3,000 words in one go. After I finished writing, I went to sleep.
When I woke up this morning, the sky had fallen! What kind of rubbish was this? The plot was horrific, with explicit content—it couldn't be uploaded at all, so I had to delete it. That's why I only got a little over three thousand views today. [crying emoji]
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