Emperor Chen was stunned for a moment, racking his brains for a while, but couldn't figure it out, so he asked, "Then how did the real person..."
He Shuye smiled slightly: "I observed the celestial phenomena last night and found that His Majesty's body is full of dragon energy. With just a little guidance, he will be able to attain immortality and ascend to heaven."
Emperor Chen was overjoyed, but his suspicions as an emperor remained: "Does the True Man have any requests? As long as I can do it, I will certainly fulfill all of the True Man's requests."
He Shuye said calmly, "The Southern Chen Dynasty has abundant fortune. If I were to cultivate in your palace, my cultivation would be even more profound. Therefore, all I need is Your Majesty's permission to cultivate in the palace."
Emperor Chen pondered for a moment, somewhat hesitant, after all, he didn't know if this immortal master had real skills or if he was an imposter.
He Shuye wasn't in a hurry; he simply showed off a little of his skills using some secret recipes given to him by Shang Shaoyan and Shang Yunlan.
For example, having fire on your hands.
Upon seeing this, Emperor Chen became even more excited and quickly agreed to He Shuye's request.
Inside Zhaoyang Palace, Consort Zhao heard the news but felt no emotional reaction.
Anyway, she's "out of favor," so what can she say? Besides, in a few years, the emperor's throne will be taken over by He Yang. If Emperor Chen is willing to court death, what does it have to do with her?
The current Consort Zhao has successfully regained the dashing spirit she had when fighting in Yunnan, as reported by Shang Shaoyan in his daily military briefings. Love, death, and life are no longer relevant to her.
Love? Love your mom selling fried dough twists.
Qin Ye keenly noticed the change in Consort Zhao, and was pleased inside, but did not show it on his face.
He knew that the Empress disliked him, and even thought he harbored ulterior motives, but he didn't care. He only wanted the Empress to be safe and happy. As for what the Empress wanted to do, he would just follow behind her.
"What you're saying has nothing to do with me," Consort Zhao said indifferently to Qin Ye. "I saved you back then simply because I felt comfortable with it, and I didn't want anything in return."
She paused, then looked at Qin Ye with a half-smile: "Your Excellency, what exactly do you want from me? Don't spout nonsense about being in love with me. I know my place; I'm not exactly a likable person."
Qin Ye stared blankly at Consort Zhao, kneeling on the ground—after he gained power, even Emperor Chen rarely knelt before him, but in front of Consort Zhao, his posture could be described as humble: "Your Majesty is the best person in the world."
Consort Zhao was silent for a moment, then spoke lazily: "Really? Do you know that I am a ruthless person? People outside call me a demonic consort. I have countless lives on my hands—Your Majesty, do you really think I am a good person?"
Qin Ye kowtowed, his tone respectful, trying hard to suppress the affection he carefully concealed: "Your Majesty, you are not ruthless, but rather fierce and gentle; you are not the so-called evil concubine, but the world blames everything His Majesty has done on you, saying that you have ruined the country; the lives you have taken are all deserved, and you never kill the innocent indiscriminately."
Consort Zhao stared at him blankly, and when she met the sincerity in Qin Ye's eyes, she turned her head away somewhat embarrassedly.
"Do you know that what I want is not peace and happiness?" It took Consort Zhao a long time to find her voice. "I was once dressed in fine clothes and riding a spirited horse. I also fought on the battlefield. At that time, I felt that I was truly alive, instead of being like a walking corpse, locked up in the palace walls like a prison."
"If I were to die, it would be called a beautiful flower fading away." Consort Zhao's voice was somewhat ethereal. "If I, General, were to die, it would be called being wrapped in a horse's hide... Your Majesty, do you understand the difference between these two?"
Qin Ye was silent for a moment, then smiled: "This servant once said that if Your Majesty wants to go to hell, then this servant will go to hell with Your Majesty; if Your Majesty really wants to die on the battlefield, although this servant is not good at fighting, this servant will find a place with good feng shui and live alone with Your Majesty's grave for the rest of my life."
He paused, then kowtowed again, saying, "I'll say it again: wherever Your Majesty goes, I'll go. Others may call me 'Nine Thousand Years Old,' but to Your Majesty, I'll always be that little eunuch kneeling in the snow, barely alive, who only comes back to life when I see Your Majesty."
...
Inside the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, Shang Yunlan received news that He Shuye had successfully infiltrated the palace. A slight smile appeared on her lips, and she stopped paying attention to the matter.
He is currently making plans to win over Boss Zhou.
That day, he figured out the details of the Blissful Abode and followed the trail of the Blood Flower Palace. Sure enough, he quickly made progress.
Boss Zhou's real name is Zhou Xin. Just like Boss Qian said, he was originally a scholar, even a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the imperial examinations at the county level). However, due to a sudden change in his family fortunes, he started doing business after his family fell into poverty.
He was quick-witted and, having earned the title of a scholar, he quickly expanded his business.
However, Zhou Xin was a man of high self-esteem. Although he had gone into business, he considered himself a scholar and had a sense of aloofness and arrogance. He looked down on other merchants from the bottom of his heart. Those merchants were not fools. On the contrary, business people are always more shrewd than ordinary people. How could they not see the contempt and disdain in Zhou Xin's eyes?
Gradually, Zhou Xin was ostracized, and only Boss Qian, an overly kind man, was willing to associate with him.
Zhou Xin's business suffered as a result, and the Chamber of Commerce refused to accept him, so he missed a lot of news—for example, there was a group of vicious bandits on the way from Hangzhou to Qianzhou who not only robbed people but also killed them.
Zhou Xin then encountered this group of robbers. He watched as the wealth flowed away and the broadsword was about to fall on his neck. He was filled with hatred and fear. It was at this moment that the people from the Blood Flower Palace appeared.
Su Ling dealt with the group of robbers and rescued Zhou Xin.
Zhou Xin was extremely grateful, but he was also more frightened—it was clear that Su Ling and her group were a more terrifying force than the robbers.
They must have had ulterior motives for saving me.
As expected, Su Ling asked Zhou Xin to "launder" money for Xuehua Palace, making Xuehua Palace's wealth appear legitimate through Zhou Xin's hands.
Zhou Xin was reluctant to agree, but Su Ling promised to give him one-tenth of the money.
It doesn't sound like much, but in reality, it's at least tens of thousands of taels a month, and Zhou Xin gets at least a thousand taels.
Zhou Xin was very tempted and naturally agreed.
Looking at the documents in her hand, Shang Yunlan felt that this was a good opportunity.
Xie Huayin is the master of Xuehua Palace. She took Xie Erniang's place, just to have a legitimate identity. So where is the real Xie Erniang?
The answer may lie within the laundered money.
Blood Flower Palace has legitimate businesses, or rather, the businesses they do are mostly clean, except for two things that are not clean.
They were involved in two activities: murder and intelligence trafficking.
But here's the problem: Shang Yunlan calculated that the income from these businesses was not enough to reach tens of thousands of taels of silver.
Shang Yunlan's intuition told him that the real Xie Erniang was closely related to this money.
It seems it's time to leave Shengjing.
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