Mu Yuqing became the King of Yanyun.
Many people came to offer their congratulations.
When the people of Yanyunzhai emerge, nothing happens; but when they do, the world is sure to be in turmoil and undergo great changes.
No one can explain what this change is; the Yan Yun Zhai that people imagine has been mythologized.
Mu Yuqing said she was under a lot of pressure.
What put him under immense pressure was facing the emperor; he could sense the emperor's murderous intent, which he never concealed.
Yan Qing was an empress, a woman unlike any other. She always expressed her emotions strongly. As an empress, this combination resulted in her being capricious and ruthless.
Mu Yuqing knelt on the ground, looking at the things lying at her feet, listening to Yan Qing's scolding.
"Is this the memorial you submitted to advise me? In your eyes, only 10% of my Xianyu people are upper class, while the remaining 90% are lower class? Am I indulging in pleasure with the people's hard-earned money? In your eyes, am I a complete tyrant? Mu Yuqing, you are truly audacious. Do you really think that just because you come from Yan Yunzhai, you have an extra head compared to others?"
Yan Qing stood tall and elegant, exuding an aura of dominance over the world and commanding the nation. With such confidence and achievements, she ascended the throne in a short time, purged the remaining rebels, rectified the court, and even took the opportunity to subdue the rebellious people on the border. The Xianyu Kingdom enjoyed unprecedented smooth governance and peace throughout the land.
At a time when everyone was singing, dancing, and praising the emperor, there was this restless person who stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, you are wrong. You should not be indulging in pleasure. Your people are suffering and poor. Ninety percent of the people in the country are starving and cold. What you are enjoying now is the hard-earned money of the people. If you continue like this, you will be finished."
Faced with such a sincere person, why not kill him? Why keep him around for the New Year?
The officials in the court kept their eyes down, their minds blank, and remained silent.
Several veteran officials couldn't help but shake their heads secretly. They were too hasty.
I thought that people from Yanyunzhai would be extraordinary and worldly-wise, but I didn't expect him to be such a rash and impetuous young man. Even if what he said is right, this matter should be planned slowly and carefully. How could he say it so openly?
Doesn't the emperor have any shame?
The emperor is the person in the world who cares most about his reputation. Even if he tramples on everyone else's reputation, he still has to maintain his dignity.
Everyone felt sorry for Mu Yuqing. The people of Yanyunzhai were all very capable, but unfortunately, they were too straightforward and didn't know how to be officials.
Mu Yuqing picked up the memorial from the ground, wiped it clean with her sleeve, and knelt down on the ground, still standing upright, presenting the memorial with both hands as if it were a priceless treasure.
This display of loyalty made Yan Qing laugh in exasperation.
"You feel that I have wronged you? Fine, today I will give you a chance to debate. If you can win the debate against my Empress, I will admit that what you say makes sense."
Mu Yuqing raised his head and his gaze fell on Mi Jia on the emperor's throne. He only realized after arriving in the capital how much the emperor doted on his empress, to the point that they could share the same throne.
If the emperor is delirious, just look at what she has done, and you'll know he is definitely not delirious.
After much thought, Mu Yuqing could only conclude that Yan Qing possessed a magnanimous spirit. What others saw as the emperor's throne, she might see as nothing more than a golden and jade-carved chair.
Mi Jia slowly stood up. Ever since her last assassination attempt, Yan Qing and she had become inseparable, always going wherever they went.
Another serious consequence of the last incident was that I heard several ministers had their homes confiscated and their entire families executed, with none spared.
After that incident, Mi Jia clearly felt that the atmosphere in the palace had become heavy. The little palace maids who used to love going out of the palace with her were now afraid of her leaving the palace. If something unexpected happened to her again, they would probably lose their heads.
Mu Yuqing looked at Mi Jia respectfully and said, "Please give me your guidance, Your Majesty the Empress."
Mi Jia thought for a moment and then said, "Your Highness is very talented. There is something I don't understand and would like to ask you for your guidance."
"Your Majesty, please speak." Mu Yuqing looked at Mi Jia with calm eyes. He certainly wouldn't dare to underestimate someone who could bewitch the emperor so much!
Mi Jia calmly said, "In ancient times, there was a sorcerer who claimed to have seen many ancient gods and immortals. Yao Nu, Wu Xian, Fan Huang, and the Nine Emperors were all his guests. People in the world believed him and treated him with great respect. Based on these stories, he became a guest of honor of the king, enjoying the courtesy and the love of the people."
Then one day, the king of this country accidentally fell off his horse and broke his leg. Many doctors could not cure him. At this time, a doctor said that the king needed to drink the blood of a person who had lived for a thousand years in order to heal his broken leg.
After counting and counting, in the entire kingdom, only that sorcerer claimed to have seen ancient immortals and was a person who had lived for thousands of years. So, the king killed the sorcerer and drank his blood. Unexpectedly, the sorcerer said that he was lying and had never seen ancient immortals. However, the sorcerer was still killed because the king believed that the sorcerer lied in order to save his own life.
Although I have read this story many times, I do not quite understand its deeper meaning. Prince Yanyun is very talented, please enlighten me. What is the moral of this story?
The story was over, and the entire hall was silent.
The court officials remained silent, frowning as they pondered why the Empress Dowager had told this story.
Now everyone's opinion of Mija has completely changed. This story has profound implications and is not simple at all.
As soon as Mi Jia began telling the story, Mu Yuqing's expression gradually became more serious.
Is the Empress reminding me?
Mu Yuqing had no choice but to think this way.
If we replace the sorcerer with Yan Yunzhai, the story becomes much easier to understand.
Yan Yunzhai is equivalent to a Taoist priest. His ancestors had the merit of following the emperor, which is equivalent to seeing a deity. When Mu Yuqing suddenly came from the mountains to see the emperor and asked the emperor to make him a king, it was equivalent to the Taoist priest meeting a king.
Everyone thought Yan Yunzhai was very capable, but he was just a special person. He could be killed at any time if the emperor needed him. Whether he was capable or not was not very important.
On a superficial level, this story suggests that lying is a private matter.
Looking deeper, it means learning to shut up when you should, instead of just showing off and risking your life.
Having figured this out, Mu Yuqing's face turned red and white, and she felt extremely lost for a moment.
He came out of the deep mountains with a mission, but now it seems that fulfilling his mission will be extremely difficult.
His ancestors had foreseen that this dynasty was destined for an empress to rule, but they hadn't foreseen that the empress would have a princess by her side who would live happily ever after with her.
My grand ambitions will likely come to nothing.
Mu Yuqing took a deep breath, knelt on the ground, and said, "Thank you for your reminder, Your Majesty. I was too talkative. Your Majesty, I know I was wrong. Please punish me!"
A hint of amusement flashed in her romantic eyes, but behind that amusement lay genuine regret.
She was seething with anger, but didn't know who to vent it on.
She snorted coldly, ignoring Mu Yuqing, but turned her eyes to the censor.
The imperial censor, startled, stepped forward and said, "I have a memorial to present. I have something to say about the Grand Master of the Left, Sima Yao..."
After the censor finished reading out Sima Yao's crimes one by one, Sima Yao collapsed to the ground, completely bewildered as to why the flames of war had suddenly shifted from Mu Yuqing to him.
Yan Qing sneered, "Stop the official duties, investigate!"
Sima Yao was completely deflated and was led away by the guards.
Everyone understood that His Majesty was taking his anger out on others.
Why take out your anger on others?
Perhaps it was because Princess Mijia gave Mu Yuqing a few pointers?
But honestly, what does this have to do with them? Why did the person directly involved get away with it, while these unrelated people suffered the consequences?
Having dealt with a corrupt official, Yan Qing finally felt much better. She ignored Mu Yuqing, who was sitting on the ground, and instead pulled Mi Jia toward the inner palace.
Her steps were steady and graceful, each step seemingly treading on Mi Jia's heart.
Mi Jia followed closely behind her.
Yan Qing stopped beside a lotus pond. "Why?"
Mika lowered her head and thought for a moment, "There's no reason why. I just remembered that story, so I told it."
"You're afraid I'll kill him? That's why the hints are so obvious—in your heart, do you believe I will definitely kill him?"
Mika pondered.
It's unclear when it started, but deaths in the imperial court have become commonplace. If no one had died today, people would have been grateful to have survived.
Yan Qingbi has started to resemble an emperor more and more.
Yan Qing clenched her fists. She seemed capable of killing anyone who displeased her, but she had no way to deal with Mi Jia.
"I will keep him alive until he is no longer of any use, at which point his death will be inevitable. Empty talk ruins a country. Xianyu only needs people who get things done. If someone cannot get things done, even if he has truly met ancient emperors, witches, and immortals, I will still kill him."
Mi Jia bowed deeply. "Long live Your Majesty!"
Yan Qing clenched her fists even tighter.
Mika's submissive and obedient demeanor provoked her. Was she really that terrifying?
Was it because of Mu Yuqing, an unrelated person, that the peace between her and Mi Jia was disrupted, or was she feeling insecure and uncertain?
Yan Qing herself couldn't explain it clearly.
...
Mu Yuqing became the Grand Tutor in the palace.
Since Yan Qing and Mi Jia are together, they naturally cannot have children.
Yan Qing didn't want the court officials to keep nagging about the lack of successors, so he selected a dozen or so children of the imperial clan who were still of age and placed them in the palace to be taught. After they finished learning from the Grand Tutor, they could go home.
Mu Yuqing comes from Yan Yunzhai, a prestigious family, so teaching these children knowledge is a piece of cake for her.
Several renowned scholars accompanied him, taking turns to arrive.
This day.
He met Mika.
Both of them were startled.
Mu Yuqing looked for the young eunuch who had guided her here, but found that he was nowhere to be found.
Mika naturally noticed it as well.
Mu Yuqing bowed, and Mi Jia said calmly, "I will have someone investigate."
This harem wasn't impenetrable; eventually, someone managed to infiltrate it.
Mu Yuqing remained silent and bowed again.
We bowed and parted, as if we were strangers.
Mu Yuqing finally couldn't suppress her question and asked, "Your Majesty, for such a trusted minister?"
Mi Jia paused, but didn't turn around. She calmly said, "There's no why. Everyone has to believe in something to live in. If you believe in the right thing, you won't suffer; if you believe in the wrong thing, it's just a matter of life and death."
Mu Yuqing's gaze deepened, her heart stirred. Knowing she shouldn't ask, she still fearlessly inquired, "Do you trust His Majesty?"
Mika stopped again, stood in the wind, and remained silent for a long time.
a long time.
He only managed to answer with, "That's not something you should be asking."
Mu Yuqing sighed deeply, "I understand! I take my leave."
That "I understand" doesn't tell us whether it means knowing the truth or simply knowing.
Mi Jia ignored him and stared blankly for a long time.
Every word Mi Jia and Mu Yuqing spoke after their meeting appeared on Yan Qing's desk.
Her gaze was fixed on the words, "Do you believe His Majesty?", and she remained speechless for a long time.
After a long silence, she flew into a rage, slamming her hand on the table. "Summon Prince Yanyun!"
...
The Prince of Yanyun was so busy that he resigned from his position as Grand Tutor and had no time to teach the children to read anymore.
He was busy reorganizing the salt tax, iron tax, and coin minting in Xianyu.
Each task required a great deal of effort. He no longer had time to appear before Mika.
On the contrary, he spent almost all his time with the emperor.
He gradually began to frequent the emperor's study, and even had late-night talks with the emperor by candlelight.
Mi Jia came several times, and each time she saw the bright lights inside and the extra figures, she stopped in her tracks.
A rumor was circulating in the palace: the reason why Prince Yanyun was visiting the emperor's study so frequently was because he had become the emperor's personal attendant.
Mika's maid was somewhat flustered.
Having been in Xianyu for so many years, she has accompanied the emperor through so many ups and downs, and has become accustomed to having the emperor's exclusive favor in the harem.
I thought that wealth and glory would be like yesterday's flowers, never to fade, but I never expected that this day would come so quickly.
Mika remained silent, continuing with her daily routine as usual.
However, she no longer liked going to the Imperial Study.
She preferred reading books, and when she ran out of books to read, she started writing her own.
She writes slowly, but her handwriting is impeccably beautiful.
This day.
She wrote it carefully.
Completely unaware that Yan Qing had been watching him from behind for quite some time.
She continued writing until she got tired and stopped.
Yan Qingcai finally spoke, "If I don't come looking for you, will you not come looking for me?"
Mika turned around and smiled. "You're here?"
Yan Qing's lips curled into a bitter smile. "You..."
“The rumors are false, I know you are innocent!” Mi Jia blew on the words slowly to dry them.
Yan Qing felt a sense of relief, but also a pang of bitterness. "Then why didn't you come to see me?"
"I don't want to see Mu Yuqing."
Yan Qing's eyes lit up with joy. "Why?"
“I’m afraid you’ll really kill him.” Mija’s voice was calm and devoid of emotion.
Yan Qing pursed her lips and clenched her fists slightly. She really should have killed Mu Yuqing.
Mi Jia continued, "He is a man of great talent for governing the world; he shouldn't be embroiled in palace intrigues. He also saved my life, and it's not wrong for me to repay his kindness."
Yan Qing stood there, feeling somewhat stifled. No matter how far she went, it seemed she would always return to Mi Jia's side. Her life was completely under Mi Jia's control.
She really wanted to ask if he liked Mu Yuqing, but she never had the courage to ask.
She was a powerful empress, but she lost her aura in front of Mika.
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