081. Trading

The next day, the sky was fine, but the Xuan Zheng Hall was dark and turbulent, just like the horizon, bright and sunny above and dark and unclear below.

When the Regent was still the Ninth Prince, the throne was set in stone. However, ever since the previous emperor fell ill and the Regent emerged as a rebel, the factional struggles in the court gradually turned into a life-and-death situation.

When the new emperor first ascended the throne, both sides were able to keep their troops in check, but until now the regent has not returned to power, and even the Dingbei Marquis who served the emperor well that day has turned against him. Since the garden banquet, Liang Shenyu and the royalist party have completely fallen out, and the peace in the court is only a facade.

But this had no effect on Marquis Dingbei.

Rong Se understood this very well. Just from the fact that Liang Shenyu had been fooling around with him for a long time last night, he could tell that he was in a very good mood.

It is precisely for this reason that the Regent is in low spirits today. He rests his elbows on the armrests of the Kirin chair, supports his forehead with his fingertips, and droops his brows listlessly. The coldness on his face has faded a lot, and he even looks a little weak.

But no one dared to look directly at the Regent, only Rong Jing glanced at him with jealous and vicious eyes from time to time.

But even Rong Jing had to admit that the Regent had a naturally beautiful face.

It was not until someone mentioned that Marquis Dingbei had stayed in the capital for too long and should return to Qiangzhou to guard the border that Rong Se, who had almost fallen asleep, suddenly woke up and subconsciously looked at the young general who was ranked first among the ministers along with Cao Lun and others.

He truly stood out among the crowd of civil servants and senior officials, standing tall and proud.

Their eyes met, Liang Shenyu gave him a gentle look, and then said calmly: "I am the Grand Commandant in the capital, appointed by His Majesty himself. When I return to Qiangzhou, I will naturally follow your orders, and it is not up to others to comment."

Liang Shenyu was a general in Jintai and commanded the Jinbei Iron Cavalry. Now he also holds an official position in Beijing. He will not let others snatch his position away from him if he wants to leave or stay. This was a trick Rong Jing used to win over Liang Shenyu and keep him, but now it has become Dingbei Marquis's bargaining chip.

After being calmly repelled by Liang Shenyu, the royalist ministers were speechless for a moment.

The matter was settled, and there was no point in any further arguments. Knowing the Regent's temper, even the censors who were trying to advise him did not dare to speak out.

After the court session, Rong Se walked slowly with Liang Shenyu around the palace. He glanced at the imperial city with its red walls and green tiles and said softly, "They can't wait any longer."

"The confidence given by the Dianzhou Army." Liang Shenyu slowed down his pace and accompanied him, sneering: "If there is no training, the elite soldiers will become a pile of loose sand. When the Jinbei Cavalry is inspected another day, Your Majesty, why don't you go and take a look? There are often competitions and exchanges in the army. Most of the vanguard generals in the Jinbei Cavalry are selected in this way. The Jinbei Iron Cavalry does not have the nobles of Jinjing. Whoever has the ability will be in power and everyone will obey. After seeing the Jinbei Cavalry, Your Majesty will not worry about Dianzhou."

When talking about the Jinbei Cavalry, Liang Shenyu's words were full of pride.

Therefore, the discipline of the Jinbei cavalry is strict. The kind of commander leads the kind of soldiers. A gentleman like Liang Shenyu, with a bright and upright character, leads soldiers as sharp and loyal as swords.

Rong Se agreed in his heart, and nodded, saying, "I am not worried now. Liu Xu Wonang has repeatedly shown goodwill to you, and it is clear that he does not want to offend either side."

"Everyone in the world is interested in profit." Liang Shenyu laughed. "As long as the profit is enough, there will be people willing to go through mountains of swords and seas of fire."

Rong Se believed it deeply, and was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked: "What about you? What do you want to ask for?"

Liang Shenyu's expression suddenly changed. He was satisfied and meaningful. He spoke softly, "The benefits I wanted were given to me by the prince last night." The Dingbei Marquis, who was originally humble and polite, showed a hint of lust in his expression. He paused for each word, "I like it very much. Nothing else is needed."

Rong Se's steps froze slightly. He glanced around hurriedly and felt relieved when he saw that there was no one around. He glanced at Liang Shenyu with red ears.

"You really don't want to suffer any loss, Marquis Dingbei."

"Your Highness, you are not wrong. If you hadn't looked at me like that last night, I would have let you go to sleep." Liang Shenyu got closer to him and whispered slowly, "No man can remain indifferent to such a look."

Such eager, moist eyes, with thousands of spring scenes drawn on the eyelashes, full of affection and temptation, make people's heart shake.

Rong Se understood Liang Shenyu's meaning from his almost burning gaze. His face turned slightly red. He was embarrassed for a long time before he said gently, "...mutually."

Why wasn't it the same for Liang Shenyu?

.

The news of the relationship between the famous chef Fusheng and the Regent King spread, but not many people believed it. After all, the Regent King had a very polarized reputation, half worshipped him as a god, and half denounced him as a flatterer. It was hard for people to believe that he was just a chef who cooked for people in a restaurant. Moreover, the Regent King was of noble status and already surpassed the Emperor. How could he be a chef?

Except for a few dandies from aristocratic families who saw it with their own eyes that day, the rest of the people almost all treated it as a joke.

This definitely does not include Xiao Mufeng.

Since he had delivered the visiting card, he went to meet the Regent Prince before he left the court. It was not until the Regent Prince and Marquis Dingbei came back together that the servant reported to Rongse that Prince Xiao was waiting for him in the mansion.

Rong Se changed out of his court robes and before he even entered the house, he heard Lan Ying and Xiao Mufeng chatting, mainly Lan Ying doing the talking.

"Of course it's true!" Lan Ying raised her voice.

Rong Se and Liang Shenyu followed in. Hearing this, Rong Se saw Xiao Mufeng's expression of trying hard to hold back his laughter. He thought to himself that something was wrong. He waved his hand, exempting Xiao Mufeng from the greeting, and turned to look at Lan Ying, "What are you talking about? What's true?"

"It's about the son of the governor of Dianzhou." Lan Ying said confidently, "Liu Chi has been staying in the brothel all day long since the day before yesterday, and he doesn't even leave the room during the day. People say he has no self-control. It's only been two days, and he has met all the prostitutes in the brothel one by one!"

Rong Se took a deep breath, rubbed his polluted ears, and couldn't help asking, "Why are you asking about this?"

If she doesn't want to embroider, then don't embroider. If she wants to play, then play. But this little girl is too wild, and the Regent Prince is deeply distressed by this.

"Where did you get the information? This is all reported by the people below." Lan Ying pursed her lips, not very happy. "Besides, I've seen everything. This is nothing."

Rong Se suddenly understood that Lan Ying had countless connections in the martial arts world, and naturally she also had spies in brothels, which she had accumulated over the years of wandering around the world.

But she is still just an eighteen-year-old girl.

After a moment of silence, Rong Se tapped Lan Ying's forehead with his fingers, narrowed his eyes and said, "You are also a little girl, let Yun Chu and the others do these things, and don't listen to these dirty things in the future."

Lan Ying was chased out by the Regent with her hands covering her forehead.

Turning around, Rong Se saw Liang Shenyu sitting calmly and drinking tea, and Prince Xiao with a slightly deflated look on his face.

"The young lady in the mansion is ignorant and made a fool of herself." Rong Se smiled and stretched out his hand to make a "please" gesture, "Prince, sit down and talk?"

Xiao Mufeng seemed to be thinking about something, then smiled and said, "Miss Lan Ying has a straightforward and generous personality, there is nothing wrong with that."

What really surprised him was not the girl's shocking words, but her confident and even offensive attitude towards the Regent. He did not forget that the girl had just said with her own mouth, "The prince is the master."

...Is this how a master and servant should behave?

More like, brother and sister.

Thinking of this, the Yun brothers' strange attitude towards the Regent King suddenly made sense. It didn't seem like they were being loyal to their master, but rather like they were protecting something.

Protecting...

Xiao Mufeng looked at Rong Se with some inquiry in his eyes.

Is it him?

Liang Shenyu noticed Xiao Mufeng's gaze before Rong Se did, and deliberately made a noise when he put the teacup back on the table.

Xiao Mufeng suddenly came back to his senses and quickly calmed down.

Rong Se also said at the right time: "Prince Xiao has come all the way to Jinjing, I think it is not just for this meal of mine, why don't you be frank and tell me what you want."

Xiao Mufeng was startled. He didn't expect the Regent to be so straightforward. He skipped a lot of small talk. After a pause, he nodded and said two words: "Cao family."

"Just for this?" Rong Se asked back.

Xiao Mufeng smiled politely, "Of course not. My family is in decline. I came to the capital this time to achieve success and bring honor to my family. The military power of Yuanzhou was taken away from my county mansion, so I want to take it back. If the prince is willing to help, the 50,000 soldiers of Yuanzhou will be at your disposal in the future."

Rong Se fell silent and glanced at Liang Shenyu.

Dingbei Hou immediately understood and said gently: "When the Yuanzhou troops were still in the hands of the old Duke, they were indeed a famous and powerful army. I heard that when the old Duke was suppressing the bandits, he raised his arm and called for thousands of troops to follow his call. The momentum was like thunder and lightning, and the desperate criminals who had been rampant in the area for several years were frightened out of the village and surrendered. But-"

He changed the subject, his eyes sharp, "Now all Yuanzhou's troops are in the hands of the Yuanzhou governor. The old soldiers of the past have long been buried in the ground. The times are different now. Moreover, Prince Xiao's words are not reliable. If he really holds military power in the future, how can he remember what he said today?"

He was talking about the old Duke, not the County Duke. That was Xiao Mufeng's grandfather, a powerful general of the Jin Dynasty during the Yuanguang period.

As soon as he opened his mouth, Xiao Mufeng immediately felt the pressure. After a moment of silence, he slowly shook his head, "If you are disabled, you can still train again. Although these 50,000 soldiers and horses are well-fed, they are equipped with chariots and sharp swords. In addition, Yuanzhou has porcelain kilns all over the place. It was originally a rich place. If Cao hadn't deliberately made things difficult for us, the official kilns of my Xiao family would be priceless treasures." He took out a rolled up piece of paper, stood up and presented it to Rong Se, "This is the contract of the official kiln. My sincerity should be seen by the prince and the marquis."

Rong Se opened it and took a look, then nodded slightly to Liang Shenyu.

Xiao Mufeng's move was extremely bold. He gambled his family fortune and military power and joined the Regent's camp to create a future for the Anjun Mansion.

With the Cao family around, the Prince Regent's Mansion is his only choice. Otherwise, the fate of the Yan family who exchanged Xiangzhou for the Duke's Mansion will be the future of the Duke's Mansion.

Liang Shenyu nodded slightly to Rong Se.

Rong Se held the deed and smiled at Xiao Mufeng.

"Prince Xiao, it's a deal."

Xiao Mufeng breathed a sigh of relief, took a step back, and bowed to Rong Se to show his loyalty.

"My Lord, Thousand Years Old."