"Young... Master, let's hurry back to the tent. It will be terrible if we are discovered!" The little servant who ran out of the tent with Qu Jingqing watched the Dexi army that had originally attacked the city gradually return to the camp. He also saw his young lady standing under a tree staring at the tent where the emperor lived. He was extremely anxious and hurriedly stepped forward to stand in front of Qu Jingqing, trying to persuade him earnestly.
'Pah!' Qu Jingqing was unexpectedly fuming at this moment. Seeing that not only had her father given up on sending her to the palace, but even this little maid had dared to block her path to success, she raised her right hand and struck the servant boy on the cheek without a second thought.
At the same time, Qu Jingqing pointed his slender, white finger at the servant's aggrieved face and growled, "Who the hell are you? You're flattering the powerful and looking down on the weak. Seeing that your young lady can't become a concubine in the palace, you look down on me too, don't you?"
The little servant covered her aching and burning cheek, her eyes drooping as tears welled up in them. She bit her red lips with her pearly teeth. She stood before Qu Jingqing with a look of grievance on her face, and fearfully whispered in her defense, "Young Master, please calm down. I dare not even think of such a thing. It's just that the Emperor just ordered all the soldiers attacking the city to return to the camp for a day's rest. Seeing the increasing number of people in the camp, if someone were to discover your true identity, it would definitely damage your reputation. Furthermore, our master was caned by the Emperor today. If something happens to you again, I'm afraid it would only anger the Emperor even more."
The little servant expressed his worries one by one and analyzed them in a clear and logical manner, which made the anger on Qu Jingqing's face gradually dissipate.
Qu Jingqing looked up again at the tent in the distance that was protected by layers of guards. A hint of unwillingness flashed in her eyes. She bit her pink lips with her snow-white teeth, but she had made up her mind in her heart.
Pulling the little servant girl in front of him, Qu Jingqing whispered something in her ear...
As night falls, the late autumn of October is gradually turning into early winter. The cool evening breeze carries a hint of chill. Even if you are in the south, you can feel the change of seasons.
At this time, a bonfire had already been lit in the military camp. The soldiers sat around the bonfire chatting and talking, and their laughter spread throughout the entire camp.
Although Bai Wuhen has not been captured yet, the soldiers are very happy to be able to enjoy this moment of peace and tranquility in the midst of war. They can't help but talk about their wives and children at home, and a deep sense of longing appears on their faces.
"Your Majesty..." Jiang Muchen had led Ning Feng and the others to the parade grounds since some time ago. Standing on a high vantage point, they watched the joyous scene below. A soldier on duty saw this and immediately knelt down to salute, "Your Majesty!"
For a moment, the loud chatter and laughter in the training grounds died down, and everyone turned to look at Jiang Muchen. Seeing that it was indeed Emperor Dexi himself, they all stood up and bowed deeply, "Your Majesty, long live the Emperor!"
Seeing that the soldiers were in good spirits and hadn't shown any signs of defeat due to their previous setbacks, Jiang Muchen's cold eyes flashed with a faint smile and admiration. He said in a deep voice, "Everyone has worked hard. Let's take a day off today and relax. Come, pass on my order. Every soldier in the army will be given a bowl of wine tonight to cheer them up!"
The generals following Jiang Muchen saw that the emperor had given the order, but Qu Yan, who was in charge of the matter, was ordered to be caned by the emperor in broad daylight. For a moment, everyone looked at each other, not knowing who should take on this task.
"Yes, I'll do it right away!" Ning Feng saw that everyone was hesitant and didn't dare to step forward to receive the order. He could only stand up and respectfully answer Jiang Muchen's imperial edict. Then Ning Feng turned around and whispered to the guards standing behind him about this matter.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your reward!" Suddenly, there was a thunderous cry of gratitude from the soldiers. The momentum was soaring into the sky and breaking through the sky. The momentum rose in an instant.
In just a cup of tea, the guards who had just been sent by Ning Feng to carry out the mission led the cooks from the kitchen and pushed more than a dozen carts to the training ground.
"Give me a bowl too." Jiang Muchen saw that the soldiers were in high spirits and that there were signs of a thaw on their usually stern and cold faces, so he ordered Ning Feng without further explanation.
"Yes." Seeing Emperor Dexi's determined expression, Ning Feng quickly walked down the steps, took a large porcelain bowl, and filled it with fragrant wine for Jiang Muchen. Then he turned back to Jiang Muchen and respectfully handed the large bowl in his hand to Jiang Muchen, "Your Majesty."
Jiang Muchen nodded slightly, reached out to take the bowl, then raised the bowl high in his hand and said loudly: "I offer a toast to all the soldiers. I hope that the soldiers of Western Chu can kill the rebels and quell the civil unrest, so that the people can have a peaceful Western Chu!"
After he finished speaking, Jiang Muchen was the first to raise his head and drink up the wine in the bowl.
"Long live our emperor!" All the soldiers held the bowls in both hands, raised them above their heads and shouted "Long live the emperor!" Then they drank the wine in the bowls in unison.
For a moment, the training ground was filled with the intoxicating aroma of wine. However, after this action, the morale of Dexi's army was unprecedentedly high, and all the soldiers showed loyalty and bravery on their faces, which was really cause for celebration.
Jiang Muchen handed the bowl to the guard, left the training ground to the soldiers, and took Ning Feng back to the tent.
"Your Majesty is wise. Today's truce not only allows everyone to rest, but also inspires the soldiers' patriotism to defend their country." Looking at the playground not far away filled with conversation and laughter, Ning Feng lowered the curtain and returned to Jiang Muchen's side and whispered.
"Let all the guards outside go down and rest. I want to be alone for some time. You should go back to the tent and rest." Jiang Muchen took off his cloak and leaned back in the chair. Perhaps it was because he had just drunk a big bowl of wine, his sword-like eyebrows were slightly wrinkled, and he seemed very tired.
How could Ning Feng not see what was truly troubling the Emperor? Seeing that the Emperor seemed still troubled by the matter concerning Princess Chu, Ning Feng swallowed the words of dissuasion that were on the tip of his tongue and replied respectfully, "Yes," before quietly leaving the tent.
However, Ning Feng did not return to his tent to rest after leaving. Instead, he took advantage of this time to inspect each camp. Then he brought his guards to the guard post and looked at the Tongzhou City not far away.
The candlelight on the Tongzhou city wall was bright. Even from a long distance, one could still see overlapping figures moving around on the city wall. It seemed that Bai Wuhen had never relaxed his guard for a moment.
Jiang Muchen felt physically and mentally exhausted at this moment. After planning for so many years, he finally got his wish and drove Emperor Yugan off the throne and ascended the throne himself.
Yet, he felt no joy at all. He felt that the throne was like a shackle that held him captive, preventing him from even facing his truest feelings.
The two women who should have stood by his side upon his ascension were both absent. His mother was held captive by Yun Qianmeng, and he was powerless to rescue her. And his feelings for Yun Qianmeng, after she repeatedly rejected him, gradually blossomed into deep affection.
What ridiculous affection, actually appearing in him who is known for his coldness.
But he couldn't suppress his feelings for her. She should have been his princess and queen, but now she became the Princess of Chu known to everyone in the world. How could he not regret it?
Seeing Chu Feiyang and Yun Qianmeng being so affectionate with each other, Jiang Muchen felt as if a fire was burning in his heart. He wished he could replace Chu Feiyang and stand beside Yun Qianmeng. Such a life where one could only envy the love of mandarin ducks and not the immortals was probably more desirable than being an emperor.
The candlelight in the tent flickered wildly, making Jiang Muchen feel uneasy. He raised his arm to cover his eyes, blocking out the unsettling brightness. Jiang Muchen threw himself into the endless abyss...
At this moment, the curtain was lifted, and a chill blew in through the corner. Jiang Muchen's brows knitted tightly together again, but he didn't open his eyes. He spoke with a hint of displeasure, "Didn't I tell you to go down and rest? Why are you coming in again?"
However, it was not Ning Feng's voice that answered him. Instead, a woman's sweet fragrance filled his nose. Warm and soft arms suddenly wrapped around Jiang Muchen's neck. A woman's gentle and sweet voice of flattery came to his ears, "Your Majesty, it's your humble servant."
Jiang Muchen suddenly opened his eyes, only to see Qu Jingqing leaning naked in his arms, her nail-painted hands trying to undo his armor...
Furious, Jiang Muchen stood up instantly and pushed Qu Jingqing away mercilessly, angrily asking, "Who let you in? How could a woman enter or leave the military camp? How did you get in?"
Before he finished speaking, Jiang Muchen had already drawn the sword from his waist, and the cold tip of the sword pointed directly at Qu Jingqing, whose face suddenly turned pale.
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty... I have come all the way from the capital to visit Your Majesty because I love Your Majesty... I also heard that Your Majesty was injured in a conspiracy some time ago... Your Majesty was extremely worried, so I sneaked in when no one was outside... Your Majesty, please have mercy on me, Your Majesty..." Qu Jingqing never expected that Jiang Muchen could remain calm in the face of such a beautiful woman. She had never encountered such a situation since she was a child, and she was already frightened by the cold sword that was about to pierce her body. She hurriedly picked up the cloak on the ground to wrap her naked body, and knelt in front of Jiang Muchen, trembling, and begging for mercy.
"What a scoundrel Qu Yan! I didn't punish him severely today because of his loyalty, but I didn't expect that he would go even further and secretly bring his daughter into the military camp in an attempt to seduce me. What is his intention? Could it be that in your hearts I am a licentious and incompetent monarch?" As he spoke, the long sword was already on Qu Jingqing's neck.
The tiredness between his brows had long been replaced by a cold murderous aura. Jiang Muchen's posture was as straight as a pine tree, and his whole body was shrouded in lingering anger. The gaze he glared at Qu Jingqing was even colder and sharper, with ruthless cruelty.
Qu Jingqing was already in tears. She had thought her presence would earn the emperor's favor, but Jiang Muchen was so cold and ruthless. Not only did he rebuke her, he even drew his sword against her. But, wasn't everything she did for him?
She was a young lady from the capital, a daughter of an aristocratic family. She was usually kept in high palaces and served by servants. When had she ever suffered such hardship? But now, for Jiang Muchen, she endured everything. She traveled thousands of miles from the capital to the flood-stricken south of the Yangtze River, staying in the tent all day, feeling wronged, just to make Jiang Muchen accept her.
But the current situation made Qu Jingqing feel sad. She had no place to vent her grievances. She could only crawl to Jiang Muchen's feet with tears in her eyes, hugged Jiang Muchen's right leg tightly and cried loudly: "Your Majesty, please spare my life. I only wanted to serve Your Majesty and had no other thoughts... All of this is my own doing and has nothing to do with my father. Please don't blame my father. Your Majesty, I am sincere to you, why can't you see it? Yun Qianmeng has already married into the Prince of Chu's mansion. If Your Majesty captures the Prince of Chu alive in the future, the Chu family will be labeled as traitors and will be executed. How can Yun Qianmeng escape death? Your Majesty, please look at me. You will find that I am a thousand times better than Yun Qianmeng, Your Majesty..."
"Get lost!" Little did he know that it would have been fine if Qu Jingqing hadn't mentioned Yun Qianmeng, but he had mentioned her, which made Jiang Muchen furious. He raised his left foot and kicked Qu Jingqing hard on the shoulder. Without hesitation, he swung the long sword in his hand towards Qu Jingqing's neck...
After inspecting the military camp, Ning Feng returned to the tent, but suddenly heard Emperor De Xi's roar coming from inside the tent, accompanied by a woman's crying and begging for mercy.
Ning Feng's heart tightened, and he hurriedly left the guards to guard outside the tent and rushed in, but saw that the long sword in Emperor De Xi's hand was about to hit Qu Jingqing.
At this time, Qu Jingqing was in a dishevel, with a pale face and tears on her cheeks. She stared blankly at the long sword that was chopping down at her. It was obvious that she was frightened by the scene in front of her.
"Your Majesty, please calm down!" Ning Feng saw that the situation was serious. He didn't care about the etiquette between the emperor and his subjects. He could only step forward and hug Jiang Muchen's waist. Jiang Muchen pulled Qu Jingqing's body around him, then knelt on his knees and apologized. "Your Majesty, please calm down. It's all because of me not taking good care of my subordinates and letting Qu Jingqing sneak in. Please punish me."
Ning Feng frowned as he looked at the weeping Qu Jingqing. He was completely bewildered. This was a crucial military location, the Emperor's camp. When and how had Qu Jingqing managed to sneak in? And as Emperor Dexi's personal guard, something like this had happened during his tenure. If Qu Jingqing was an enemy assassin, the Emperor would likely be in deep danger by now.
Thinking of this, Ning Feng's usually calm face turned pale, cold sweat appeared on his forehead, and the look he shot towards Qu Jingqing was full of blame and murderous intent.
With a clang, Jiang Muchen dropped his sword. His face was filled with rage, and he stared at Qu Jingqing, who was crying and covering her face with her hands not far away. He said angrily, "I never imagined that before my rule was even stable, the people around me would already be trying to establish a relationship with me, rushing to force their daughters into my arms. Well, you are truly capable. In this time of war, you are still thinking about vying for power and gaining a foothold for your daughters in the harem. I am telling you clearly today that I will marry no one but myself. All of you should give up on this idea."
After hearing Jiang Muchen's words, Qu Jingqing's heart suddenly turned cold, and her crying stopped instantly. She suddenly raised her head and looked at Jiang Muchen, whose face was ashen. Seeing that there was no emotion in his eyes when he looked at her, she was overwhelmed with grief for a moment. Without thinking, she said, "Your Majesty... Yun Qianmeng is already married. How can you take her away..."
Before he uttered the last word, Qu Jingqing realized that he had said the wrong thing. He immediately shut his mouth, curled up in the corner and didn't dare to look at Jiang Muchen's murderous eyes.
"Come here, throw this woman into the red tent. Since you like men so much, I will grant your wish." But this time, Jiang Muchen did not attack Qu Jingqing. Instead, he called in the guards outside the tent and asked them to throw Qu Jingqing into the red tent.
When Qu Jingqing heard the word "red tent", he instantly collapsed to the ground as if all his strength had been drained away.
The Red Tent was where military prostitutes were imprisoned. The women inside included daughters of guilty ministers and female prisoners who had committed crimes. However, Emperor Dexi cruelly threw her into the Red Tent and made her the lowest-ranking military prostitute simply because she broke into the tent.
"Your Majesty, please spare my life, Your Majesty..." At this time, there was a cry of grief from outside. It was obvious that Qu Yan had received the news and rushed over.
Qu Yan, ignoring the pain in his body, crawled all the way into the tent. Seeing Jiang Muchen staring at him with a sinister look on his face, Qu Yan immediately kowtowed to Jiang Muchen and begged for mercy, "Your Majesty, this is all my fault for not raising my daughter properly. Please forgive my daughter, she's just a child, Your Majesty..."
After hearing what Qu Yan said, Jiang Muchen burst into laughter. His cold laughter was filled with murderous intent, which made everyone in the tent shut up and dared not make any more mistakes.
"Qu Yan, do you think I don't know your little thoughts? I have let you off the hook today because of your loyalty in the past. I just wanted to give you a light punishment and a stern warning so that you can put away those thoughts that you shouldn't have. But at night, something like this happened. If I don't punish Qu Jingqing severely, I'm afraid such things will happen again in the future. Now that the two kings are rebelling, I personally led the army to boost the morale of my Western Chu soldiers. I have been fighting with the army for such a long time, eating and living the same as the soldiers, just to set an example. If the soldiers knew what happened tonight, they would think that I was a hedonistic and incompetent monarch, and their hearts would be chilled. Can your Qu family bear this responsibility? Are they all dead? Hurry up and throw Qu Jingqing into the red tent. Do you want me to do it myself?" Jiang Muchen was too lazy to look at Qu Yan anymore, and shouted at the two guards who had just hurried over.
The two guards immediately stepped forward, each holding one of Qu Jingqing's body and leading her out of the tent.
But Qu Jingqing didn't know where she got the strength from at this time. She broke free from the two people's restraints and ran to Jiang Muchen to kneel down, crying in pain: "Your Majesty, I know I was wrong. I beg Your Majesty to have mercy on me. Your Majesty, I am a clean and honest daughter of a wealthy family. My father followed Your Majesty to build the country. Even if I have no merits, I have worked hard. Your Majesty, please forgive me this time. I will eat vegetarian food and chant Buddhist scriptures for the rest of my life and will never have any extravagant desires again. I will never dare to talk about those things that are worthless again. Please, Your Majesty, consider that I am a daughter of the Qu family and forgive me this time..."
After saying that, Qu Jingqing began to kowtow repeatedly, begging for mercy, her forehead hitting the cold ground hard. Soon, her forehead became red and swollen, and blood was faintly seeping out...
Seeing this, Qu Yan also crawled to Qu Jingqing's side and kowtowed with her, "Your Majesty, I have been loyal to you since I followed you. Now that my daughter has made a mistake, I do not ask Your Majesty to forgive her, but I ask Your Majesty to consider my loyalty and not throw her into the red tent. I swear here that I will immediately send my daughter to Puguo Temple and let her spend the rest of her life there. I only ask Your Majesty to be lenient with my daughter..."
Seeing this father and daughter forcing the emperor, Ning Feng knew that Qu Jingqing was doomed this time.
Qu Yan's remarks during the day had already displeased the Emperor, but considering that Qu Yan was loyal, the Emperor did not punish him severely.
But who could have known that what happened to Qu Jingqing would happen that night? This was not only a challenge to the imperial power, but also a challenge to the emperor's patience.
Just as Ning Feng expected, Jiang Muchen's face was as red as the bottom of a pot, his eyes were cold, and he waved at the guards impatiently.
Seeing this, the two guards immediately stepped forward and forcibly dragged Qu Jingqing out of the tent.
"Jingqing...my daughter..." Qu Yan turned around immediately, but could only watch Qu Jingqing being quickly dragged out of the tent, and her whole body immediately collapsed to the ground.
"Qu Yan, this is my final warning. If you continue to be smart, I will not let you off easily. From now on, you don't have to be the Minister of Revenue anymore. You will be demoted to a lower level and return to your position as the Vice Minister of Revenue." Jiang Muchen glared at Qu Yan and said this in a cold tone, then asked Ning Feng to pull Qu Yan out.
Qu Yan lost his daughter and was demoted at the same time. His face looked grim and infinite hatred suddenly surged in his heart.
He immediately beckoned over two of his trusted aides and whispered a few words into their ears. Then, they snuck out of the Dexi camp at night...
"Your Majesty, please punish me." Ning Feng returned to the tent and knelt in front of Jiang Muchen, waiting for punishment.
If his arrangements hadn't been inadequate, how could Qu Jingqing have taken advantage of this? If it had been an enemy instead of Qu Jingqing who had entered the tent, the consequences would have been disastrous. Even thinking about this incident afterwards, Ning Feng was still frightened and broke into a cold sweat. Ultimately, he couldn't escape blame.
Jiang Muchen angrily kicked the long sword on the ground away, slammed his clenched fist on the corner of the table, his eyes were sinister, and he looked intimidating.
"Send someone to secretly follow that carriage and confirm that the Princess of Chu and the Concubine Dowager are inside. Bring them back to me immediately." Jiang Muchen suddenly spoke, his cold eyes shooting towards Ning Feng. He said gloomily, "If the Princess of Chu is harmed in the slightest, you will bring your head to me."
Ning Feng's heart tightened, but he knew that the emperor was a man of his word, and after what happened with Qu Jingqing, he was afraid that the emperor was even more determined to get the Princess of Chu. He could only nod and agree to Jiang Muchen, not daring to refute him again.
"Call together the counselors from the former palace. I have something to tell them." Seeing that Ning Feng had given up the idea of harming Yun Qianmeng, Jiang Muchen put away the hostility in his eyes, but his expression was still ugly. He turned around and sat back at the table. Jiang Muchen's eyes were full of complexity.
Hearing this, Ning Feng knew that Qu Yan, the Minister of Revenue, was probably doomed to fail. The Emperor summoned his advisors, presumably to have them take over the Ministry of Revenue.
After tonight's incident, Qu Yan must have harbored hatred for the Emperor. If such a person were to continue to be in charge of the Ministry of Revenue, something would go wrong sooner or later. It would be better to take advantage of Qu Yan's actions and remove him from the center of power before he takes action, lest he ruin the entire game.
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