Qi Shan's pupils trembled slightly.
He raised his hand to stroke Su Shang's thick fur, unaware of how trembling his hand was. In his thirty-odd years of life, such a panicked and disoriented state was rare indeed. Qi Shan's death was one thing, Huai Xu's murder was another…
His greatest wish in life was for the two of them to die peacefully in their old age without illness or pain. Su Shang seemed to want to accomplish this rare "feat" for them, but Qi Shan panicked first.
When Su Shang's front paws gripped his wrist slightly, Qi Shan jolted awake, scooped up a cat in each hand, and hurriedly put on his clothes. Outside, a servant was carrying a basin of water. Hearing the commotion inside, he was about to ask permission to enter and serve when he felt a blurry breeze brush past him—it seemed to be the head of the household?
"Parents, parents—"
Where are you going?
"We'll be going to court in about half an hour!"
Being late for work will result in a demerit and a deduction from your salary!
The servant, carrying a basin of water, was about to chase after him when the head of the household returned shortly afterward, panting, and said, "You go ahead and help him wash up."
Wash your face and rinse your mouth, comb your hair and put on your crown.
He straightened his court robes and prepared to go out to court.
Seeing Qi Shan hurriedly leave and get into the carriage, the steward assumed that the breakfast prepared by the kitchen had not suited Qi Shan's taste and asked worriedly, "Master, it's still early today, would you like to eat a few more bites before you go?"
Qi Shan said, "No need, I don't need to eat."
Ordinary people need to eat to replenish the energy they need for activities, but he is just an incarnation of literary energy. He only needs the main body to provide enough literary energy to move around normally and has no concept of hunger.
The manager paused for a moment, but the driver had already driven away.
Shen Tang took care of his trusted ministers and confidants, specially reserving for them the best-located properties closest to the palace, making it convenient for him to summon them to court. Take Qi Shan as an example; he lived nearby and only needed to get up a little over an hour early, wash, dress, eat breakfast, take a carriage to the palace, and use his spiritual power to speed up his pace, so he could basically arrive a quarter of an hour before court.
To put it simply, the company is right next door.
My commute takes at most ten minutes.
Today is no exception.
Before the court session, officials sat in the side rooms waiting for the session to begin. When Qi Shan arrived, many officials were already seated in the side rooms.
Even officials of low rank and position had to bow to him.
Those with some acquaintance exchanged a few pleasantries, while those with little acquaintance simply nodded in response. Last night, most of the officials attended Xun Ding and Gong Xilai's wedding, and they all drank too much spirit wine, suffering from a hangover all night. Now, they were all listless and dispirited.
In contrast, Qi Shan had a calm expression, delicate skin, and no signs of fatigue in her eyes, making her stand out among the officials.
Qi Shan walked to her seat and sat down.
He took out a small booklet from his sleeve and began to read it.
These are the contents of today's court session.
He had just sat down when he heard Qin Gongsu's gentle and refined voice. The voice was pleasant, but the content was unpleasant: "Prime Minister Qi is truly a busy man. Today is the first formal court assembly after the Emperor's inspection tour, and Prime Minister Qi has already sent a literary avatar over?"
Hearing the commotion, the officials silently stopped what they were doing. The wolves and tigers of the Censorate all cast hungry, green-eyed glances at Qi Wenqi Avatar Shan, as if she were some delicious fat sheep. Using a Wenqi Avatar for official business was permitted; having an extra Wenqi Avatar doubled work efficiency, but only required receiving one salary. The emperor was overjoyed and would never forbid it. However, very few people would allow a Wenqi Avatar to attend court in their place; that would be disrespectful to the ruler!
The breathing of the Censorate became heavy.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, both overt and covert, Qi Wenqi, the embodiment of goodness, said calmly, "I have already written to the king to ask for leave."
Qin Li's expression suddenly changed: "Qi Yuanliang is ill?"
Then, realizing what she had said, she regained her composure, her brows furrowing slightly: "He was perfectly fine when I saw him yesterday."
It couldn't be that drinking too much alcohol damaged his stomach, could it?
Not to mention that the spirit wine is highly nourishing and has no harmful effects, even if it were truly harmful, Qi Shan's physical condition would not allow him to collapse so easily.
How could it have gotten so serious that the Venerable One was unable to attend court?
Other officials also imagined these scenarios, wondering whether they should bring some gifts to offer their condolences and appreciation after their shift ended today.
Qi Wenqi's incarnation, Shan Rushi, said: "Su Shang is sick. It has had little appetite these past few days and has vomited several times."
Wild cats don't live long, but Su Shang is a domesticated cat, raised with the utmost care and luxury. How could its lifespan be compared to that of an ordinary cat? Although it is already considered a long-lived cat to have lived this long, Qi Shan is greedy and still wants Su Shang to stay with her for a very long time.
Among the officials, apart from Shen Tang's initial group of senior and trusted ministers, very few knew that Su Shang was actually a cat. They all thought Su Shang was a person, and a great beauty whom Prime Minister Qi kept hidden away. The Censorate was even more excited!
As is widely known, Prime Minister Qi was unmarried.
He remains single to this day, with only one daughter, Qimiao.
Anyone who knows a little about Qi Shan knows that Qi Miao is a child that Qi Shan adopted from his mother's clan; he himself has no biological children.
Given this premise, Prime Minister Qi's personal admission of allegedly keeping a mistress raises questions about his personal morality. As a man, he should be responsible; if he likes someone, he should marry them. What kind of image does keeping a mistress outside the marriage project? Is it a matter of not wanting to or being unable to? Is there a problem with his status as a businessman?
Tsk tsk, who would have thought that Prime Minister Qi was so well hidden? The Censorate hadn't received a single word about him beforehand.
Investigate! We must investigate whether Prime Minister Qi has engaged in any immoral or unethical conduct!
These censors from the Censorate, on the surface, all looked straight ahead, sat upright, and appeared dignified and composed, as if they were always ready to attend court. In reality, however, they were calculating their own schemes and wished they could fly to the side of Qi Wenqi, the embodiment of goodness, to hear everything clearly.
Gu Chi: "..."
The Censorate is truly doomed!
It was just a cat, just a cat!
No matter how much you report based on hearsay, if the censor really uses this matter to impeach Qi Shan, the censorate will really make a huge fool of itself, the kind of thing that will make all the officials laugh for three years.
Qin Li clearly knew how important Su Shang was to Qi Shan.
"Is Su Shang sick? How serious is it?"
After becoming colleagues, although he and Qi Shan hadn't completely reconciled, the tension between them had also eased. Occasionally, when they had time off, they would get together for a chat, reminiscing about the past—though the more they talked about the past, the more likely they were to bring up old grievances, Qi Shan was indeed an important piece of the puzzle during Qin Li's spirited years. Qin Li also gradually learned about other aspects of Qi Shan that few people knew, and he also learned about a cat named Huai Xu that had accompanied Qi Shan through her loneliest and most difficult childhood. It was a cat that had been abandoned and had nowhere to go.
What happened to Huai Xu afterward?
Qi Shan lowered her eyes: "Of course they're dead. Cats are different from humans; they don't live that long. To humans, these little beasts are just a small part of a long life. But to cats, humans are an existence that runs through their entire lives."
"So, you've taken in Su Shang again?" Qin Li scratched Su Shang. Compared to Qi Shan, her benefactor, Su Shang was much closer to Qin Li, a guest who only visited occasionally. When the two were locked in a stalemate during a game of chess, Su Shang liked to climb onto Qin Li's lap and sleep peacefully.
[I raised Su Shang not because Huai Xu is gone.] For Qi Shan, both cats were very important, so important that he would, for the first time ever, allow the incarnation of Wen Qi to attend court in place of the original. [Su Shang is Su Shang; it is itself, not a substitute for Huai Xu.]
Qin Li smiled provocatively: "It prefers me, Qin."
After several rounds of fighting, Qi Shan swiftly severed Qin Li's dragon-like body with a swift stroke, then whistled at Su Shang. The cat, who had just been nestled in Qin Li's arms, displaying the allure of a seductive concubine, ran without hesitation to its benefactor's embrace: [Tsk, a honey trap.]
Qin Li: [...]
It's true that people often raise cats just like their owners.
The one who acts like a human isn't human, and the one who acts like a cat isn't like a cat.
Qi Wenqi, the incarnation of Shan, sighed and said, "Su Shang is old after all, and with its frequent reproduction in its early years, it's not surprising that it has some ailments. I have already taken it to see a physician, hoping that the physician can bring it back to life and save it."
Qin Li's face stiffened: "Looking for a physician?"
If I take Su Shang to see a doctor, won't I get beaten up?
Prayer, the embodiment of literary talent, said, "Throughout Kang Kingdom, it seems there is no physician more experienced than them."
The medical professionals at the Medical Bureau never experiment with any useful "words of power" they discover; they first test them on livestock to ensure they work. Only then do they test them on death row inmates. If there aren't enough death row inmates, they recruit volunteers from existing prisoners or exiled criminals, providing compensation to the families of those volunteers regardless of success or failure. Significant progress may even lead to a reduced sentence.
Therefore, although physicians in the medical field are not veterinarians, they have extensive experience in this area, so it is reasonable for them to bring Su Shang there for medical treatment.
"That's true." Qin Li calculated Su Shang's age, "but given Su Shang's situation, it's highly likely that his time is coming to an end."
Prayer, the embodiment of literary spirit, and benevolence: "Do your best."
The rest is up to fate.
Qin Li nodded: "Mm."
The censors and other officials, eager to gossip, silently suppressed any speculation about a mistress being kept in a gilded cage. Judging from the conversation between Prime Minister Qi and Junior Tutor Qin, this Su Shang was likely an elderly woman in Prime Minister Qi's household, frail and nearing the end of her life. Should they prepare in advance, waiting for the funeral to take place in Prime Minister Qi's household, to avoid being impolite?
Gu Chi: "..."
Haha, it seems that it's not just the Censorate that's going to be finished. Why are the officials in Kang Kingdom so gossipy?
The time for court session arrived in the blink of an eye.
The officials entered in order.
The core topic of this court assembly was the Northern Desert.
With a ruler like Shen Tang, the officials of Kang Kingdom, both civil and military, were all imbued with martial virtue. They simply did not believe that a few years of trade with the Northern Desert would guarantee peaceful coexistence. Occasionally, an official would have a moment of madness, thinking that waging war at this time would affect the livelihood of the people.
Upon closer inspection, hey, this official's ancestral home is Kunzhou.
Even a fool could figure out why the other party objected.
If the war with the Northern Desert goes smoothly, it would be best to set up the battlefield outside the country's borders, with the Northern Desert as the main battlefield. However, if the war goes poorly and the main battlefield is pushed into Kang Kingdom's territory, Kunzhou will be engulfed in the flames of war. Although Kunzhou is one of the poorest regions in Kang Kingdom, not all places are poor.
Jinli County was both impoverished and chaotic, the stronghold of the rebels who had only been completely subdued in the third year of the Yuanhuang era! The other counties had been incorporated into Kang State at the founding of the kingdom and had been well-governed in recent years; this official's ancestral home was also among them. Naturally, he was the one least willing to see war break out, because if war broke out, his family fortune back home would be wiped out. Who wants to see that?
Unfortunately, such voices are too few.
Before Shen Tang could say anything, he was already threatened by the generals' glares. With pairs of murderous eyes staring at his neck and head, a chilling wind blew, and the oppressive aura of the martial arts masters loomed over him; anyone with a weaker constitution would be terrified.
"Know when to stop."
The sovereign, seated on his throne, pointed with his finger.
The tense court, which had just been on the verge of conflict, fell silent instantly. The previously restless energy of heaven and earth was suppressed by another force with irresistible force, and everything returned to calm.
After finishing all this, Shen Tang stood up: "The villains of the Northern Desert sent people to assassinate Zheng Yu, the Imperial Censor of our dynasty, and plotted to plunder the wealth of tens of thousands of households in Jinli County, causing immeasurable harm! If this grudge is not avenged, what will become of the face of Kang Kingdom? You gentlemen have diligently trained for decades, is it just to be subservient to foreign tribes? If someone slaps your right cheek, will you offer your left cheek in return? The Northern Desert has been defeated countless times by the northwestern kingdoms, how come in our generation, there are still those who are afraid to fight? There are still those who are timid and hesitant?"
"Where is your backbone, you esteemed officials?"
Bai Su, with his hand on the sword at his waist, stepped forward and clasped his hands in a fist salute: "This humble general is willing to lead the soldiers of Tianquan Guard to expand our territory for our lord!"
Qian Yong was about to take a step forward.
I never expected Bai Su to move so quickly.
He wanted to be the second to volunteer, but in a flash, Gong Shuwu beat him to it: "This humble general is willing to lead the soldiers of Tianxuan Guard to expand our territory for our lord. Our ancestors fought against the Northern Desert for generations, sacrificing countless lives for it. Such deep hatred makes this humble general wish to eat their flesh, drink their blood, and exterminate their clan!"
Qian Yong wanted to be the third one.
How could he miss out on such a lucrative opportunity to claim military merit? With General Chu Jie of the Tian Shu Guard absent, he was practically the leader of the Tian Shu Guard; his statement represented the Tian Shu Guard's stance. If Chu Jie found out he was slow, who knew how much he would laugh at him.
"end--"
Qian Yong was about to speak when someone beat him to it. Xianyu Jian said, "All the soldiers of Kaiyang Guard are willing to slay all the villains for our lord!"
Among the seven guards, Qian Yong was only earlier than the Tianji Guard.
Qian Yong: "..."
These beasts get all red-eyed at the mere mention of military merit!
Is it really that fast?
They didn't even leave their colleagues a drop of soup.
Of the seven guards, the Tianji Guard was the last to express its opinion.
Because the Grand General of Tianji Guard is Wei Shou, and Wei Shou comes from one of the many races in the Northern Desert, his statement cannot be made too early or too late. Wei Shou hesitated for a moment, then clasped his hands and pleaded for sympathy in court: "Although my clan is one of the various races in the Northern Desert, our ancestors were repeatedly bullied and driven to the bitter cold land to survive. It was only with this generation that we managed to leave behind a sliver of life."
Wei Shou said emotionally, "This humble general is willing to serve my lord! I only hope that one day, the children of my clan can return to the homeland of our ancestors."
Shen Tang narrowed her almond-shaped eyes slightly: "Good, very good!"
A decree was issued, ordering the mobilization of troops from various military prefectures to prepare for war in Kunzhou. These prefectural troops were to be the elite forces, and additional able-bodied men would be recruited and trained to ensure reinforcements. This time, Kangguo would face a Northern Desert far more formidable than ever before!
Only victory is allowed; defeat is not permitted!
|ω`)
My goodness, it was approved as soon as it was posted.
Do you guys know what the red highlighting means during the review process?
It was those few words about the Censorate's "silk gourd," and [Censor-in-Chief Gu Chi: "..."]
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