Chapter 144 This is the Mark of the King
Before Xiyan finished speaking, Xiao Nanyan grabbed the back of her head tightly and kissed her with irresistible force, crushing all her struggles and objections into dust:
"Remember, unless this king despises you, you will have to serve him as your servant for the rest of your life!"
Xiyan struggled and pushed his chest. Xiao Nanyan grabbed her wrists, lifted them above her head, and pressed her down on the mattress. A cold laugh escaped from his throat:
"Still dare to resist?"
Xiyan raised her leg to kick him hard, but he lowered his waist and pinned her down, making her unable to move.
Xiao Nanyan's hot breath sprayed on her ear:
"In front of this king, your struggle is nothing but a kitten scratching its itch!"
Xiyan's ears turned red with shame, and her clothes were half open during her struggle. She tried to turn around and avoid it in panic, but her slender back was exposed to the air without reservation.
The setting sun passed over the fair skin, and a hint of green coiled on it like a vine - it was Xiao Nanyan holding the blade himself, carving the evening primrose flower, which symbolized his name and fate, into the flesh.
Xiao Nanyue's pupils suddenly contracted, and memories flooded back. The scene of her curled up on the table that night, trembling but stubbornly biting her lips and refusing to beg for mercy, had already been deeply engraved in his mind.
At this moment, the living body was so close to him, and the desire that had been gnawing at his bones for the past month made it difficult for him to control himself. His white-knuckled fingers pressed on the back of her neck, and his hot lips heavily rolled over every line of the evening jasmine flower.
"remember!"
His voice was mixed with heavy breathing: "This is the mark that belongs to me."
"My Lord, please don't embarrass me anymore..."
Her voice became smaller and smaller, and under Xiao Nanyue's suddenly tightened palm, she let out a suppressed whimper.
At this moment, Xiyan was desperate.
Xiao Nanyan's temperature was as hot as fire, and it eventually became a shackle, trapping her tightly beside him.
…
Three days passed in a hurry.
It seems calm, but in fact, huge waves are brewing.
Emperor Helian Cong was once again furious.
It was because the Tianqi Arsenal, ten miles northwest of Yandu, accidentally caught fire. In the sky-high flames, two hundred thousand sets of fine iron armor and three thousand crossbows were reduced to ashes.
When the news reached the palace, Helian Cong's teacup fell to the ground in shock.
A year ago, when the armory was expanded, the wood used was screened and strictly controlled layer by layer to ensure it would not easily ignite.
However, after he ordered the Ministry of War to conduct a thorough investigation, he was shocked to discover that the beams and pillars of the armory had all been replaced with rough, rotten wood.
Moreover, sulfur buried in the soil and not yet burned was found around the armory.
Helian Cong was puzzled. The armory was an important royal place. The three-meter-high bluestone outer wall was covered with caltrops. The crossbows in the eight corner towers were aimed in all directions. Every ten steps, there were soldiers with spears patrolling back and forth.
At night, twelve secret sentries lurk like ghosts, and even flying birds cannot escape the interception of poisoned arrows.
Even when changing shifts, soldiers had to check triple waist badges and special wax seals. Carriages transporting food and fodder had to be searched three times, and even the seams between the shafts had to be probed with silver needles.
But now, rotten wood has silently replaced the pillars, sulfur is buried under the rammed earth, and the armory has been burned.
Such a perfect layout would be impossible to succeed without someone who is familiar with every blind spot of the guard and masters all the inspection procedures.
All of this is aimed at the prime minister of the current dynasty - Su Lantian!
In a rage, Helian Cong summoned all civil and military officials to the Golden Palace. Even Xiao Nanyue, who rarely attended court, was summoned to the palace by an imperial decree.
In the Golden Palace, Helian Cong threw the wooden document with Su Lantian's private seal and the order to appoint personal guards to the ground. In his rage, he smashed the jade pen washer onto the Panlong Pillar and broke it into powder.
"Su Lantian!"
Helian Cong pointed his hand at his elder brother-in-law with bulging veins:
"Last year, when we expanded the armory, I personally appointed you as the chief inspector! You also carefully selected those guards, and half of the personal guards are from your Su family! Now the armory has been burned to the ground, shocking the whole area. If Nanzhao and Beicang start a rebellion at this time, and the border is in crisis, how will we supply the rear with weapons?"
Su Lantian knocked his head heavily on the gold brick, his face turning purple.
"Your Majesty is wise... I am innocent. There must be a treacherous person who wants to harm me..."
Before he finished speaking, another memorial was thrown fiercely in his face:
"This is the account book uploaded by the Ministry of Revenue. When the armory was first built, the Ministry of Works originally planned to purchase 3,000 hundred-year-old cypress trees. However, the Ministry of Revenue's account book shows that they allocated funds for paulownia trees as per regulations, and the unit price was 70% lower than that of cypress! Even more bizarre is that after every expenditure, there is a balance account for repair losses, and the loss rate is an astonishing 60%!"
His fingertips slid across the densely packed numbers, as if tearing off layers of disguise:
"These seemingly orderly accounts actually conceal a hidden agenda. First, they substituted cheap paulownia wood for cypress, then inflated the loss items, transferring the entire difference to their private treasury. To conceal their activities, they even arranged for their trusted aides to falsify information at both the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue. Even the wax seal on the acceptance documents was a forged Ministry of Works seal!"
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