[Ding-dong. Congratulations on Host triggering an intense anger in Wen Jinming. +100 Emotional Value]
[Ding-dong. Congratulations on Host causing fear to Wei Quan. +200 Emotional Value]
[Ding-dong. Congratulations on Host causing fear to Liu Sheng. +220 Emotional Value]
Hearing the system notification in his head, Su Wen's lips curled up slightly.
Wen Jinming's anger did not matter, but Wei Quan and Liu Sheng's fear meant a lot to him.
Afraid? It's good that you're afraid!
Su Wen looked at the two of them and sneered. "What sort of dogs are you, to dare you scheme against this Daddy? Beat them up!"
The guard responded by stepping forward with the paddle.
Wei Quan and Liu Sheng looked at each other and saw the wavering resolve reflected in each of their eyes.
Wei Quan turned around and knelt on the ground with a plop. He said, "Sir, I will confess. Our gang leader, Sha Qinghe, commanded us to wreak havoc. He said that he wanted to collect protection fees, but the shop owner didn't cooperate, so we had to go create some trouble."
Liu Sheng also hurriedly knelt on the ground and said, "That's right. Lord, please show mercy. We are minions. Whatever the leader says, we must do. This matter has nothing to do with us."
Su Wen relaxed and looked at Wen Jinming. He asked calmly, "Lord Wen, do you think there is a need for a re-investigation now?"
Wen Jinming was silent. At this moment, Su Wen turned to Sun Wei and said, "Lord Sun, now, you have to bring someone to bring Sha Qinghe back for me. If you can't bring him back, the blame will be on you. You should know what kind of person I am. If you obstruct me, I will crush you to death with a rock!"
"Yes!" Sun Wei didn't dare to say anything more and turned to leave. He didn't even have any intention to delay time by asking Yan Luoying.
"Since Sir has made progress in your case, please take your time. I still have something on, so I'll take my leave first!"
Seeing that the situation wasn't good, Wen Jinming wanted to leave.
Su Wen tilted his head to look at him, before replying with a smile, "In that case, do go and handle your business, Lord Wen."
As Wen Jinming retreated, Yan Luoying frowned and said, "If this guy really has connections with those gang members, I'm afraid he'll have to deal with the aftermath."
Su Wen said, "I want him to deal with the aftermath."
At this moment, Zhao Jin said smugly, "How is it, my lord? Did I perform well today?"
Su Wen smiled and said, "Not too bad. You're quite domineering."
Yan Luoying was a little shocked. "You thought of fighting Wen Jinming before you came?"
Zhao Jin laughed, "Of course. My family's young master is quite clever. What does a mere Wen Jinming count for?"
Su Wen waved his hand, indicating that Zhao Jin should be done. Even though Su Wen was thick-skinned, he still accept so much boot licking. He instructed Zhao Jin, "Brother Jin, follow Wen Jinming. If this guy wants to clean up his mess, he will contact someone and seize the opportunity."
"Alright!" Zhao Jin left.
Su Wen looked at Yan Luoying and explained, "Ever since you and I came here, Wen Jinming has been the one to speak to us on behalf of the old factions. In the Royal court, he was also the one who wrote a memorial to impeach you. Hence, Wen Jinming is the stubborn representative of this bureau."
"With so many incidents of public security lapses in the East District, you don't even need to think about it. It must have something to do with Wen Jinming. He might have wanted to use the chaos in the East District to chase you away, but in order not to give you an excuse to punish the insiders of the patrol office, he had no choice but to bring in the people who caused trouble."
"To these hooligans, a few days in prison is nothing. After all, they had only gotten into a brawl, nothing too serious."
"However, while they might not be afraid of you, they will definitely be afraid of me!"
Su Wen smiled and said, "I came because I wanted to be domineering. I want to tell these guys that Wen Jinming cannot protect them, I will still dare to kill them!"
"His Majesty just sent Xue Meng to the northern border. Everyone will think that I'm telling the truth, especially since these people at the bottom of the hierarchy recognize that their lives are worthless."
"You can say that it's sad, but you can also say that it's the helplessness of reality. But it just so happens that they all think that in the eyes of a top-notch evil young master like me, killing them is no different than me killing a dog. That's why they're afraid and tell the truth!"
"Once such people are involved, things will be much simpler. These people don't have any backbone, and they haven't gotten any benefits yet, plus their crimes aren't serious. Sooner or later, Wen Jinming will be exposed."
Yan Luoying heaved a sigh of relief and said, "If Wen Jinming is punished, the Eastern District should be safe."
Su Wen's eyes were full of smiles as he looked at her and asked, "And then?"
"And then? And what?"
"Is this what His Majesty wants?"
Su Wen's words caused Yan Luoying to freeze.
She frowned. "What kind of result does His Majesty want?"
Su Wen said, "The Patrol Guards, it has been more than a day or two since you restrained their benefits. Now that you have cut off their benefits, you can suppress the people in the Guards for a moment. However, can you guarantee that these people will not secretly oppress the commoners to gain benefits for themselves after a long period of time has passed?
Can we ensure that they do not secretly collude with the gangs to oppress the commoners? Such chaotic cases are not difficult to handle. The difficult part is how to maintain peace."
This was the tricky part. To put it bluntly, these guards might be humble in front of Su Wen, but among the commoners, they behaved like they were their masters. While they were patrolling, they could twist the truth of sampling from your food stall into saying they were giving you face by eating your goods. Who would dare to say anything?
Yan Luoying hesitated. "Then what should I do?"
"Investigate the Patrol Guards! Blow up this entire matter!" Su Wen said firmly. "His Majesty must have already thought of a plan when he asked you to come here. What he wants is for you to create a commotion! If this whole affair snowballs, Wen Jinming will definitely not be able to bear the responsibility alone."
Yan Luoying thought for a moment and said, "It's not easy to deal with them, since none of the patrolling guards are clean. If you want to investigate deeply, it will affect everyone's lives. No matter how powerful and domineering you are, these people won't cooperate. We can't just arrest them and punish them. They will definitely impeach you!"
Su Wen said, "Actually, it's not that complicated. The breakthrough lies with Wen Jinming. What do you think of this person?"
Yan Luoying thought for a moment and said, "It's a little annoying. His entire mind only thinks about getting more benefits."
Su Wen shook his head and said, "Don't you think he's very stupid? His Majesty was the one who arranged for us to come to the patrol guards, but he tried to create trouble and wanted to push you out because his own benefits were cut off. To put it nicely, this person is blinded by greed. To put it bluntly, he has no brains and no self-awareness."
At this point, Su Wen ridiculed, "Of course, if he was smart, he wouldn't have stayed in this position for so many years. However, this person has been in the Patrol Guards for many years and is considered one of the higher-ups. He definitely knows everything in this place. Our simplest solution is to dig out the details of the Patrol Guards' benefits from him."
The two of them discussed for a while more before they saw Zhao Jin come in from outside. There were four or five people with him, including Wen Jinming.
He shouted loudly, "Why did you capture me? I was just drinking with my friends and chatting with them. Why did you bring me back like this?"
Zhao Jin walked up to Su Wen and reported in a low voice, "Young Master, after this guy left, he sent his servants to contact these people. They gathered in a bamboo forest to discuss how to give their statements, so I captured them."
Su Wen looked at this group of people. Within the group was also Du Ping, who was beaten up last time. This fellow's injuries were still not fully healed as he limped in..Su Wen looked at them and smiled. "Let me introduce myself. My name is Su Wen and my father is Prime Minister Su."
The moment they heard his words, the expressions of the people who were brought in changed drastically.
They were the leaders of the gangs in the Eastern District, but compared to Su Wen, they were like ants on the ground.
Su Wen continued, "I know that you guys have been causing a lot of trouble in the Eastern District recently, but that's ok, it's not a big deal. Why not explain everything properly to me and give me a satisfactory answer on how I should deal with this matter? If you are stubborn… hehe."
Su Wen did not say anything about the outcome of their stubbornness, but his threat was obvious.
These people were all submerged in their own thoughts, so no one said anything for a while.
After a bit, one of them smiled back in return before saying, "Young Master Su Wen, look, we really just gathered to have a chat. How about this? Let us go back and I will send you a big gift later!"
"Beat him up!" Su Wen indifferently commanded.
Immediately, a guard stepped forward and kicked the man to the ground, before swinging the paddle held in his hand!
"ARRRGHHH!"
A blood-curdling scream resounded in the room. Su Wen calmly continued as though he was simply watching a movie, "That's right, keep hitting like that, hit him until he stops breathing!"
Su Wen's indifferent attitude made it seem like he was not talking about a life.
Everyone in the room felt a chill in their hearts.
The person who was pressed to the ground was even more frightened. He hurriedly shouted, "Sir, I'll confess, I'll confess! It's Wen Jinming. He told us that the higher-ups are currently investigating strictly and won't allow them to collect any benefits, so he asked us to help collect more protection fees. If anything happens, he'll take responsibility, and in return, he'll take 50% of our fees!"
Su Wen smiled. "Why didn't you say that earlier?"
The moment the poor sod confessed, the rest of them quickly spoke up as well.
After saying that, Su Wen got the guards to write down their confessions before letting them sign it. Then, he got the guards to lock them up.
Only Su Wen, Yan Luoying, Wen Jinming, and Zhao Jin were left in the room.
Su Wen looked at Wen Jinming and smiled. "Lord Wen, what do you have to say?"
The corners of Wen Jinming's mouth curled up in a bitter smile. After a long time, he finally groaned, "Why must you do this? Lord Su, Lady Yan, I just don't understand why you would reject money that can be obtained at the stretch of a hand? Why are you making things difficult for me?"
Su Wen looked at him and said seriously, "It's not that we are making things difficult for you, but you are making things difficult for yourself. How many years have you taken from the people of the Eastern District? Have you ever thought that you're making things difficult for them?"
Wen Jinming sneered and said, "I'm afraid I won't even be able to compare to your family fortune even if I take a thousand years' worth of benefits, right?"
Su Wen flew into a rage. "Bullsh*t! My father is the one who earned all my family's assets. Only a small portion came from benefits, and furthermore, they were all obtained through gifts from various officials. What do you know?"
Wen Jinming couldn't be bothered to argue at this point. "That's right, I was the one who ordered them to do it. It was all to force Lady Yan away."
When Su Wen saw that he had confessed, he said, "Then write down all the details of the benefits that the Patrol Office has received all these years."
Wen Jinming looked up at Su Wen and said, "I'm sorry, Lord Su. What benefits? I don't know anything about it."
"You just said—"
"I didn't say anything!"
Fantastic. This guy changed his words faster than he himself changed women. He just denied whatever he had said a moment ago.
Su Wen smiled. "You don't want to admit it? Brother Jin, beat him up! I want to see how strong-willed you are!"
Zhao Jin stepped forward and kicked Wen Jinming to the ground, swinging the paddle down harshly.
"ARRRGHHH!"
Wen Jinming screamed in agony.
Zhao Jin himself was an Earth Rank martial artist, thus his control over his own strength was extremely masterful. He knew the way to inflict the most pain through the paddle, yet not serious enough that it would leave any grievous injuries.
Unexpectedly, even after Wen Jinming was knocked unconscious several times, he still refused to admit anything.
Outside the conference room, many guards could hear Wen Jinming's screams.
Everyone felt their hearts jump in tune with his screams.
They did not know if the next in line would be them….
Even after so many beatings, Wen Jinming still refused to yield, choosing not to confess.
Finally, Su Wen gestured for Zhao Jin to stop.
He fixed his gaze at Wen Jinming as he lamented, "Why do you have to do this? You can't escape your crimes with the confessions given by those people. Why do you still insist on covering it up?"
At this moment, Wen Jinming's face was pale and he was sweating profusely. He raised his head and smiled bitterly. "Whether I say it or not, I will die. Why should I say it?"
Su Wen smiled. "If you say it, I'll tell my father to protect your life, how about that?"
Wen Jinming stared at Su Wen for a long while before sighing. "Kill me, I won't say anything!"
Su Wen frowned. He did not expect Wen Jinming to be so stubborn.
He stood up and suddenly realized that blood was flowing out from the corner of Wen Jinming's mouth! He quickly leaned over to stop him, but it was too late. Wen Jinming had committed suicide!
"He bit his tongue and killed himself! That bastard!"
Yan Luoying and Su Wen's expressions darkened.
Since ancient times, corrupt officials often committed suicide after the deed was done.
The first was that any secrets they held would enter the grave with them, making things harder to investigate and pursue. The second was to protect their families.
Did Wen Jinming want to live? Of course he did, but he knew very well that after so many years, there were quite a few officials who were promoted after serving at the Patrol Office. If he didn't say anything, then there was a high chance that this matter would be put to an end with his death. Everyone would owe him a favor, often choosing to take care of his family. He would also set a precedent for others to follow if they met the same problem.
But if he confessed everything, the best outcome for him would be to be thrown into jail. His family might even become the targets for revenge.
He might also have to hand over the money he had embezzled.
Once he died, things would become fuzzy and hard to explain.
Not to mention anything else, everyone involved in this matter was guilty. Who would be willing to step forward?
"What do we do now?" Yan Luoying looked at Su Wen.
Su Wen ruminated for a moment before saying, "Wait here, I'm going out for a while."
Su Wen went out and found Sun Wei. "Gather all the commanders and officials of the Patrol Office!"
At this time, Sun Wei was also feeling nervous. No one knew what Wen Jinming would say.
Although Su Wen held the same title and rank as him, he did not dare to disobey Su Wen's words and quickly gathered everyone together.
Outside the conference room, Su Wen and Yan Luoying stood on a raised platform.
Yan Luoying calmed down a little and recalled Su Wen's instructions. She then turned to look sharply at the patrol guards gathered below.
Waving a scroll in her hand, she shouted in a deep voice, "Wen Jinming has already confessed! I never thought that the Patrol Office would be so rotten! Now that Wen Jinming has exposed all of you guys, how do you expect me to answer to His Majesty?"
The guards below immediately turned nervous.
Someone couldn't help but say, "Lady Yan, we've been wronged. We've always listened to orders. These things have nothing to do with us. They're all orders from the higher-ups."
Yan Luoying said in a low voice, "I know that all of you are subordinates. You have no choice but to listen to the orders of the Patrol Office. So, write down all the things that the Office has commanded you to do. I can't be bothered to interrogate all of you one by one.
Since Wen Jinming has already given his confession, His Majesty will definitely pursue this matter.. Your confession is also a chance for you to make a contribution! I've already told Young Master Su that he will talk to Prime Minister Su and absolve all of you of your crimes, but you must explain everything clearly!"
Su Wen was glad that he still had cards left to play.
In order to prevent a scenario where the guards would find out that Wen Jinming refused to confess, Su Wen had sent all the guards out ahead of time.
And Wen Jinming's screams in the hall undoubtedly made these people nervous.
However, these people were still unaware that Wen Jinming was already dead.
Naturally, the fake confession would not be shown to these people. Those ambiguous words were also spoken to break their wills.
Su Wen looked at the sky before solemnly speaking, "All of you better hurry up. I still have to enter the palace in a while to meet the Emperor to listen to his teachings. I will pass the confessions to my father along the way. For those who have not finished by then, I'm sorry, but time and tide waits for no man!"
Yan Luoying smiled and said, "Everyone, I'm the one who told Young Master Su to speak up for you. As you know, the Prime Minister is a high and mighty figure. Normally, we won't even have the chance to even walk in front of his residence. Now, it's all thanks to Young Master Su being the deputy commander of the Patrol Office that we can avoid being implicated."
The two of them complemented each other, causing the audience to be stunned.
To put it bluntly, no one knew what Wen Jinming had confessed.
But it was precisely because of this that they were even more uncertain.
Seeing Su Wen and Yan Luoying enter the conference room, Zhao Jin shouted from the door, "You all better hurry up. My Young Master's time is expensive, he won't waste it on you."
His attitude was still overbearing, but the more he acted like this, the more it looked believable to the guards.
After returning to the room, Yan Luoying heaved a sigh of relief. She looked at Su Wen and asked, "Will they believe me?"
Su Wen smiled and said, "They will, because they have no other choice. The moment Wen Jinming 'confessed', everyone was implicated. How much trust can these people have for Wen Jinming? Furthermore, the guards were there when the leaders of the gangs exposed Wen Jinming. Hence, they should know that Wen Jinming will definitely not be able to escape punishment. Under such circumstances, the possibility of Wen Jinming telling the truth is not small!"
When he spoke up to this point, Su Wen sighed with emotion. "Luckily, I left myself with some cards to play. I didn't expect this old brat to actually commit suicide. He really is a bit ruthless. This type of person is too much of a pity to be placed in a Patrol Office. I reckon it would be more suitable to send him to the Northern Border army."
His words rang true. Wen Jinming was the kind of person who was unyielding in dealing with problems, including trying to push Yan Luoying away to protect his own interests.
Yan Luoying smiled and looked at Su Wen with admiration in her eyes. She said, "The majority of people in the army are all crass and outspoken people, unlike Young Master Su which sets traps in your words. I have to be careful when I'm around you. Who knows when I'll get twisted up in your schemes as well?"
Yan Luoying was smart, but after coming to the capital, she realized that she was not good at scheming.
Compared to battle formations and strategies, there were even more worldly and unscrupulous methods.
But it had to be said that Yan Luoying admired this kind of man more than those brash types like Wu Lie.
The two started chatting in the meantime while waiting for the confessions.
Outside the room, Sun Wei and the others were gathered together.
"What should we do? Lord Sun, should we write the confessions or not?"
"That's right. Now that Brother Wen has already exposed us, if we don't write the confessions, It will mean that we're refusing to assist them in their investigations."
"Lord Sun, what do you think we should do?"
Everyone turned their gazes to Sun Wei.
Sun Wei pondered for a moment and said in a low voice, "In my opinion, we still have to write it. If Wen Jinming has really hung us out to dry, it won't be a good thing for us to bear the consequences.
After all, Young Master Su said just now that he will let Minister Su help us get out of our crimes. To put it bluntly, we didn't come out with the methods to obtain benefits on our own, they're all the rules of the higher-ups.
In addition, it's not like we are the ones raking in the profit of all four patrol districts in the capital. Would His Majesty kill us all for such a small crime? With Minister Su speaking for us and the inability of the law to punish everyone, it's a good opportunity for us to wash our hands off this matter.
I can also tell that with Lady Yan around, we can forget about getting benefits in the future as well. Let's take this opportunity to clean up our butts first. We can plan our moves in the future."
At this point he lowered his voice, "But we have to be unified in our confessions, and push the blame upwards. I don't have to teach you this, right?"
"If the higher-ups find out, will they…" Someone started to worry.
Sun Wei sneered, "The higher-ups? No matter how big they are, are they as big as Minister Su? Compared to the almighty Prime Minister, they are just farts.
Didn't you see Young Master Su's attitude today? He wants to use our patrolling guards as an example to increase his political achievements. These people can't even protect themselves, how can they take revenge on us?"
Compared to Wen Jinming, although Sun Wei did not have much ability, he was better at protecting himself.
Whether it was the loss of benefits or the aftermath, although he seemed to agree with Wen Jinming on the surface, he actually rarely participated.
At this moment, he was even more unwilling to forcefully endure and burden of being labelled a criminal.
Soon, Sun Wei and the others finished writing their confessions. After signing and stamping their names, they delivered them all to Zhao Jin.
"Master Zhao, we have all written it down. Can you help us pass it in?" Sun Wei was very humble.
Zhao Jin laughed, "Alright, you're quite an efficient man. Wait here."
With that said, Zhao Jin brought in the stack of confessions.
Su Wen looked through them one by one. These patrolling guards were also the people who often came into contact with the case files.
The confessions they wrote were seamless, and they explained everything clearly.
Of course, there were also some who tried to shirk responsibility. To Su Wen, this was not important.
Su Changqing had said that Emperor Zhou wanted to attack the government officials of the Great Zhou.
After receiving their confession, Su Wen knew that this would be enough for the Emperor to kick up a fuss.
Su Wen knocked on the table and pondered for a moment before saying, "I will take these confessions with me. I will hand them over to His Majesty later, and he will decide on the outcome."
He was not lying on this matter, the Zhou Emperor had indeed kept to his word and summoned him to the palace to receive his teachings.
Yan Luoying said, "What about those people involved?"
Su Wen said, "They have been embezzling for many years. Whether they live or die is up to His Majesty to decide."
Su Wen personally did not have any compassion for these people.
As for keeping his promise, Su Wen was even more unconcerned. He was already infamous to begin with, so it was not a big deal if he kept his word or not.
…
In the Royal Palace, Emperor Zhou scanned the documents Su Wen handed to him. After reading them one by one, he nodded and said, "Not bad."
After he finished speaking, he put the document aside as if it was a trivial matter. He didn't even ask about Wen Jinming's death. He then smiled and said, "You little brat, you're arrogant and despotic, competing against others through wealth. That Xue Meng was punished and sent to the northern border. As for you, it's all thanks to this Emperor's protection.
As for the next few days, you should enter the palace on time and put on an act. When you enter the royal court and become an official in the future, you have to be more steady and not be too ostentatious."
Su Wen cupped his hands and said with a smile, "I thank Your Majesty for the kindness shown. In addition, this subject still has something to report."
"Oh? Do you have official matters to report?"
"It's nothing serious. It's just that I've seen quite a few beggars in the capital on my way back and forth these past few days. They're young, and they run around the streets, often blocking this subject's path, which is grating on my nerves.
I would like to suggest to Your Majesty to specially build a place to imprison these young beggars and force them to learn some craftsmanship. When the time comes, they can become craftsmen and stay put in one location! This way, my journey back and forth will be much quieter."
Emperor Zhou froze for a moment as he pondered, before grinning, "Kid, this is no trivial matter. Is the capital's wide road not enough for your carriage? However, the idea you mentioned isn't bad. Coincidentally, your father has given me quite a bit of money. This method can also help to alleviate the shortage of craftsmen everywhere.."In the royal palace, Emperor Zhou sat on the roof terrace as he handled the official documents.
Su Wen was arranged to sit in a corner with a small table in front of him. There was a praying mat on the floor and on the table was a book on the teachings of the sages.
Su Wen sat there in boredom. He was too lazy to read. At this moment, he noticed the old eunuch beside him.
Seeing that the Zhou Emperor wasn't paying attention to them, Su Wen craned his neck and smiled. "Sir Eunuch, how many years have you served in the palace?"
He was just bored and wanted to find someone to chat with.
The old eunuch smiled and replied, "This old servant has been in the palace for 58 years."
"That's a lot of years… What's a monthly salary like for someone of your rank?"
"Cough, cough, cough!" Just as Su Wen asked that question, Emperor Zhou coughed twice and said without even raising his eyes, "Are you too free? I asked you to read the book, not to socialize."
Su Wen smiled. "I'm not my second brother, how can I stay still and read this scripture?"
"Even if you don't want to read, you're not allowed to strike up a conversation with others. Can't you see that I'm handling some documents?"
Su Wen sighed and said, "Your Majesty, you are too benevolent. I see that my father is stewing in boredom these days after he comes home. These days, he even seems to be thinking about marrying a new concubine. You should throw this document to him so that he can contribute his strength to the Great Zhou and realize his value in life. Why would Your Majesty need to personally deal with it?"
Emperor Zhou smiled and said, "You're quite loyal. However, these documents were already handled by your father and the others previously. This Emperor only needs to review and approve them."
As he spoke, Emperor Zhou put the document aside and smiled. "You kid, you've been cultivating quite well recently as well. I haven't seen you for only a few days, and your cultivation has already risen by one grade. Since you can't read books… Fu An, come and spar with him. I also want to watch a good show!"
As soon as Emperor Zhou finished speaking, a muscular guard walked in from outside the hall.
Emperor Zhou introduced, "Fu An is the deputy commander of my Royal Palace Guards. He has a cultivation of 8th Grade Earth Rank, and is a top-notch expert in the martial arts world. With him sparring with you, it will be very beneficial for your growth."
Su Wen said with a bitter expression, "Your Majesty, please spare me. Lord Fu An is a whole nine grades higher than me. How can I be his match?"
Emperor Zhou smiled and said, "Of course I won't let him use his full strength to fight you. Fu An, you'll only use a cultivation level of 8th Grade Star Rank. If you exceed this cultivation grade, it'll be considered your loss!"
"Understood!" Fu An remained expressionless. In his opinion, even if he only used a cultivation base of 8th Grade Star Rank, Su Wen wouldn't stand a chance.
At this moment, Emperor Zhou took a book and a bottle of elixirs from the table. He smiled and said, "Su Wen, here's a Azure Cloud Soul Refining Pill as well as a Heaven Rank movement technique — Stellar Transposition. You don't have to win. As long as you can last 50 moves against Fu An, I'll reward you with these."
Su Wen looked at the two items and felt his excitement growing.
The Azure Cloud Soul Refining Pill was a secret elixir of the Azure Cloud School. This elixir was extremely beneficial to martial artists and spiritual masters of any realm, as it was said that consuming this elixir could strengthen a cultivator's soul.
Typically, martial artists cultivated only their bodies and True Qi. But this Azure Cloud Soul Refining Pill fused the soul of a fey beast into the pill. A martial artist could strengthen their own Divine Martial Soul if they consumed this elixir.
There were many advantages to having a powerful Divine Martial Soul. For example, their control over True Qi would be more precise, and their reaction speed would also increase. These were all very beneficial in combat.
Stellar Transposition was a Heaven Ranked movement technique. Moreover, it was said to stand on a level on its own even amongst Heaven Ranked techniques.
It was one of the ultimate arts of the number one sect in the world a thousand years ago, Starmoon Palace. However, after a thousand years, Starmoon Palace was destroyed and this movement technique fell into the hands of the royal family instead.
Su Wen currently only had three cultivation techniques.
The Heaven & Earth Great Solar Sutra was a bona-fide Heaven Ranked cultivation method, while the Broken Jade Fist and Layered Wave Saber were Earth Ranked cultivation methods.
However, Su Wen never had a specialized movement technique to cultivate.
How could he not be tempted when he saw the Stellar Transposition technique right in front of him?
A Heaven Ranked cultivation technique was a precious treasure that couldn't be bought with money!
If the other party used his full strength, then Su Wen could wave goodbye to this technique.
However, if the other party had the same cultivation level and Su Wen only had to withstand 50 moves, he felt that he might have a chance!
Su Wen's gaze turned sharp.
He immediately bowed, "Thank you for your reward, Your Majesty!"
As soon as these words were spoken, Fu An's expression turned unsightly. Did this brat really think that he could withstand 50 moves from me?
The Zhou Emperor laughed loudly in response, "Haha, you sure are confident! But my rooftop terrace is not a place for you guys to fight. Come, let's move over to the arena."
In the martial arts arena inside the palace, Emperor Zhou sat high up. Beside him was the old eunuch who was in charge of serving him.
Su Wen and Fu An stood opposite each other in the arena grounds, staring straight at each other.
Su Wen said with a smile, "Lord Fu, whether or not I can survive 50 moves is entirely up to you. After all, we don't have any enmity between us, so isn't it good to have more friends? My father is the Prime Minister, and he could be very helpful to you. After all, you can't remain as the commander for the Palace Royal Guards for the rest of your life, right? There will be a time when you become an official in the court."
Fu An's expression didn't change at all. He was just waiting for the order to begin.
On the spectator stand, Emperor Zhou smiled, "This little slippery fellow clearly knows that Fu An won't hold back, yet he still deliberately used words to provoke Fu An in a vain attempt to shake his mind. It's just a pity that such petty thoughts are of little use in a battle between experts."
The old eunuch added, "But this mentality is still good. Even a lion uses its full strength when hunting a rabbit, let alone a rabbit fighting a lion. If he doesn't pull out all the tricks in his book, how can he stand a chance to win?"
"Begin!"
As soon as he gave the order, the imposing aura on Fu An's body suddenly changed. If Fu An was said to be a treasured sword that was hidden within its sheath earlier, then Fu An was now akin to an unsheathed sword, which would only return after it had drawn blood!
Killing intent overflowed!
Su Wen's face was still full of smiles. "Brother Fu, we have something to discuss. Tell me how much your monthly salary is, and I'll give you a hundred times the amount. How about you give me some slack today?"
Fu An suddenly took a step forward and said, "Go and pick your weapon. I'm good at fist techniques. It would be considered as me bullying you if you remain empty-handed!"
All kinds of weapons were placed on a rack at the side of the battle stage, ready to be used at any time.
Su Wen's expression changed drastically. At the moment Fu An took a step forward, his aura had already fully locked onto him.
Pick a weapon? That sounded nice, but if the other party were to make a move while he was getting his weapon, he would be in a disadvantageous position!
In the stands, Emperor Zhou smiled and said, "Fu An is an old fox. If Su Wen believes him, he will definitely suffer."
Fortunately, Su Wen did not move. Instead, he stood on the spot and stared at Fu An. The smile on his face gradually disappeared as he got into a fighting stance.
"If you don't want to pick up a weapon, then don't blame me!"
Fu An roared as his feet stomped on the ground.
Boom!
With a loud bang, Fu An rushed out!
"Fast!"
This was the only thought Su Wen had left in his mind. This fellow's speed was frighteningly fast!
They were both at the 8th Stage of Star Rank, but Su Wen knew that his movement speed was definitely inferior to this guy's.
Bang!
Fu An appeared in front of Su Wen and threw a punch. Before the punch arrived, an explosion could already be heard due to the pressure of the fist compressing the surrounding air.. It could be seen how powerful this punch was!
Seeing Fu An's punch, Su Wen circulated his True Qi furiously and raised his fist to meet the other party's without any fear!
Rumble!
As the two fists collided with one another, their True Qi burst forth with a loud thud.
Fu An's eyes flashed as he shouted, "Nicely done!"
One had to know that Fu An was an eighth-grade cultivator after all. His True Qi was more condensed and its quantity far surpassed Su Wen.
Even though he had lowered his cultivation to 8th Grade Star Rank, Fu An felt that he should be able to crush Su Wen in terms of True Qi quality.
However, he did not expect that Su Wen's True Qi would be so powerful and overbearing, that he could actually withstand his own punch!
In reality, Su Wen's Heaven & Earth Great Solar Sutra was a domineering cultivation technique. Coupled with the purifying of his True Qi due to the Sorcerer God's Golden Gu, the quality of his True Qi had increased by a lot, which was why it unknowingly produced such an effect.
The two sides exchanged a punch, heralding the opening of the curtains to this fight.
Fu An did not stop at all and continued to press forward.
"Jadebreak Fist — Jade Shatters Within!"
Just like when he fought with Lan Qingqing, Su Wen once again unleashed the delayed Qi explosions of the Jade Breaking Fist.
But this time, his opponent was on a completely different scale.
True Qi erupted from Fu An's body, but something Su Wen never expected happened. Fu An's face flushed red due to the internal Qi explosion, but his movements were totally unaffected.
In reality, the moment his True Qi erupted, Fu An felt a sharp pain. However, he forcefully endured the True Qi explosion and directly attacked Su Wen instead.
Both sides engaged in a fierce battle.
Su Wen's fist technique was exquisite and strange. After every punch, it would cause a delayed Qi eruption in Fu An's body. However, Fu An was not afraid at all. He only used his True Qi to protect his meridians and organs to prevent himself from being severely injured by the True Qi explosions. He then forcefully endured the explosions wrecking inside his body to throw more punches at Su Wen.
Soon, Su Wen realized that he had fallen into a disadvantage!
If one were to say that both of their punches contained 100 points of power, then Su Wen's Jade Shatters Within skill was equivalent to injecting 20 points of its original power into Fu An's body. In a direct confrontation, he would naturally be at a disadvantage.
Even though Fu An had to forcefully withstand Su Wen's internal Qi bombs, he had the upper hand when it came to their exchanges.
Peng!
Fu An's fist landed a vicious uppercut on Su Wen's chin!
Su Wen felt as if he had been hit by a train. The powerful force made him black out momentarily.
Even though Su Wen and Fu An were fighting at the same cultivation rank, their combat experience was completely different.
Fu An had experienced countless life and death battles, but Su Wen had only been cultivating on his own.
The last time he defeated Lan Qingqing, it was also because Lan Qingqing was injured. Coupled with the strange explosions of the Jade Breaking Fist, he caught Lan Qingqing off guard.
However, Su Wen was unable to gain the upper hand against the experienced and uninjured Fu An.
Emperor Zhou and the old eunuch watched the fight with interest.
The Zhou Emperor smiled as he analyzed the battle, "This kid's fist force is very strange. However, he didn't manage to grasp Fu An's weak point during the first punch. After that, Fu An was on guard, so it's hard for him to capitalize and turn the tides."
The old eunuch said, "There's nothing we can do about it. After all, Fu An is originally at the 8th Grade of Earth Rank. The strength of his body and the True Qi far surpasses that of a Star Rank cultivator. Although the power of this fist is strange, once it enters Fu An's body, the effect will not be comparable in contrast to someone at the same cultivation level. If Su Wen is also at 8th Grade Earth Rank and the two of them fight it out, then Fu An would not be able to deal with it so easily."
His analysis made sense. Although Fu An's power was restricted, it in the end was just a mere suppression of cultivation level. Every aspect of his body and skills surpassed that of an ordinary 8th Grade Star Rank. Otherwise, the Zhou Emperor would not have set a 50 move limit.
Su Wen was forced into a passive position. Fu An's body was extremely fast and he grabbed onto Su Wen's weak point, his agility and movement. He continuously shifted his body and attacked Su Wen from all directions.
Su Wen could only take the beating passively.
It looked as though his defense could not hold on for much longer.
At this moment, Su Wen suddenly abandoned his defenses.
Peng!
Fu An's fist ruthlessly sank into Su Wen's abdomen!
"Pfft!"
Su Wen spat out a mouthful of blood at Fu An.
However, the blood was blown away by the scattered True Qi around them, and did not manage touch Fu An at all.
At this moment, Su Wen's left hand latched onto Fu An's fist.
His eyes turned red. He finally opened up an opportunity!
He swung his right fist, slamming it straight towards Fu An.
The latter was also fearless, replying with a punch using his other hand.
Trading injury for injury!
The two of them seemed to have turned into two drunken men brawling. They did not care about anything else and only cared about the heads of their opponents!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The battle seemed to have turned into a clash of fists and heads.
Fu An was fearless. In his judgment, there was only one outcome for this collision. Su Wen would lose his ability to fight earlier than him.
Su Wen's face was currently covered in blood. Suddenly, a smile appeared on his face. "Hehe, Jadebreak Fist — Jade Pith Drill!"
This was another way of using the Jadebreak Fist.
He gathered the power of his fist into one point and spun it at high speed, bringing with it an extremely strong penetrating strength.
Peng!
Both sides smashed their fists on each other's heads once again!
This time, Fu An's expression drastically changed.
The increased penetrative force of the punch drilled straight through to his skull!
His layer of protective True Qi was instantly pierced through.
It should be known that even he would be severely injured if such a brutal Qi force were to enter his brain!
At the crucial moment, the zhenqi in Fu An's body circulated crazily and finally stopped the force produced by the Jade Pith Drill before it could enter his brain. However, his movements slowed down unconsciously. At this moment, Su Wen swung his fist again.
Having almost suffered a huge loss, how would Fu An still choose to fight him head-on?
He stretched out his hand and wrapped it around Su Wen's right fist. At the same time, he kicked out towards Su Wen's crotch!
Peng!
Fu An's foot came back down.
This was because, right as he was lifting his foot, Su Wen had recklessly headbutted him.
The two of their heads collided fiercely, to the point that Su Wen could even hear the sound of his own bones cracking.
'F*ck, I suffered a loss. My head is not as tough as this bastard!'
This was Su Wen's last thought.
He managed to spit out the words, "We've exchanged fifty moves."
After saying that, Su Wen fainted.
Fu An also stopped, standing there with his fists tightly clenched.
In terms of injuries, he was definitely much better off as compared to Su Wen.
At this moment, Su Wen's forehead was caved in and his face was bruised and swollen. His face was covered in blood as he lay unconscious on the ground. Although there were also a multitude of bruises on his own face, it was much better than Su Wen who was beaten up so badly that his face swelled up to resemble a pig's head.
After all, his body at Earth Rank was naturally much stronger than Su Wen's body.
But to him, not winning was as good as being defeated!
At this time, Emperor Zhou and the old eunuch also arrived at the scene.
Fu An knelt on the ground and said, "Your Majesty, this subject is guilty!"
Emperor Zhou waved his hand and said, "How do you feel?"
"The quality of this lad's True Qi is extremely high, and he is proficient in his fist techniques. The force of his fist is bizarre, and he has a certain ferocity. It's just that his combat experience is a little shallow, and his movement technique is lacking. If he were to polish it, his future will be limitless."
Even though Fu An was unhappy, he still gave an objective evaluation.
"Bring him to Shen Qiu and treat his injuries." After saying that, Emperor Zhou looked directly at Fu An, before sighing "You shouldn't have tried to kick him at the last moment."
That's right, if that final kick had landed, Su Wen would wave goodbye to celebrating Fathers' Day..
When Su Wen woke up, Fu An was standing by the side.
There was also a woman beside him. She was the person the emperor mentioned, Shen Qiu.
The depression on Su Wen's head had already been healed and the bruises on his face had mostly disappeared.
Shen Qiu looked at Su Wen before nodding, "Alright, your injuries are almost healed. Go back and recuperate for a few days. So long as you don't go around using your head to hit anything, you should be fine."
Su Wen looked at Fu An before asking, "This is?"
"Royal Physician, Shen Qiu." Without needing Fu An to speak, Shen Qiu introduced herself..
Su Wen smiled. "Thank you, Sister Shen."
Shen Qiu was not considered pretty, and she was not young anymore. She looked to be in her forties.
However, women were all similar. When they met someone who was sweet-tongued and knew how to flatter them, they would always feel happy inside.
Shen Qiu took out a small bottle and passed it to Su Wen. "When you go back, apply some ointment on your wounds every two hours. Tomorrow morning, the residual Qi inside your wounds should be gone and the swelling should go down."
Su Wen quickly kept it and smiled. "Thank you, Sister Shen. I will treat you to a meal when you leave the palace."
By his side, Fu An raised his eyebrows when he saw this, "Physician Shen, give me some too. My brothers will laugh at me if I return with a swollen face."
Shen Qiu glanced at him, smirking as she replied, "What kind of place do you think I am working in? A charity? His Majesty asked you to bring him here, but he didn't ask me to treat you."
Fu An was helpless. He pondered for a moment and felt that maybe there was a problem with how he addressed her.
Thus, he tried again, "Sister Shen, please be kind. It's just a matter of convenience anyway."
Shen Qiu was furious: "Who are you calling your big sister? Your old face looks like it's 60 years old, you still dare to call me big sister? Scram!"
Of course Fu An wasn't that old. Shen Qiu was just mocking him.
Su Wen and Fu An were chased out together.
Su Wen glanced at Fu An and grumbled, "You're really a piece of work. I can call her Big Sister, but you actually tried to call her Big Sister too? Are you a fool? I was thinking of getting a prescription to recuperate my stamina, but I guess it's all gone up in smoke. Alright, I'm going home now. I told you to hold back just now, but you didn't. You can dream about getting a higher position in this life." With that said, he stretched his back and mumbled, "I'm gonna have a good rest today."
Fu An hurriedly pulled him back, "His Majesty has commanded that you have to see him after you wake up. He wants you to stay in the palace for dinner."
As the sky gradually darkened, Su Wen arrived once again before the Zhou Emperor.
As the latter passed the elixir and secret manual to Su Wen, he smiled. "You brat, you played quite the game just now. Come, accompany this Emperor and Wanrou for dinner before going back."
"Wanrou? Seventh Princess?"
Emperor Zhou nodded and said, "That's right. Don't you guys know each other? That day when we were fighting in wealth, you even dared to bring my daughter to boost your reputation. You're quite bold. I haven't settled the score with you yet!"
…
On the other side, Zhao Wanrou also received a message from a eunuch.
"Your Highness, His Majesty would like you to come over for dinner tonight."
Zhao Wanrou was a little flattered. It had to be known that Emperor Zhou had never asked her to attend the dinner banquet alone.
"Only myself?" Zhao Wanrou could not help but ask.
The eunuch replied, "Lord Su Wen will also be present. His Majesty said that you should dress up well."
"I understand. You can go back now." Zhao Wanrou sent the eunuch away, full of doubts.
'Father, why do you want me to have a meal with Su Wen?' As the daughter of Emperor Zhou, she was clear on how he behaved and did things.
Emperor Zhou was a very busy person. He was so busy that he rarely had time to manage his family relationships. There was a give-and-take relationship for everything.
Suddenly, she thought of a possibility. 'Could it be that father wants me and Su Wen to…'
At the thought of this, she blushed and her eyes flashed with excitement.
If her arranged consort was going to be Su Wen, it did not sound too bad an option. He seemed to be quite nice and she got along well with him.
However, she immediately furrowed her brows and muttered to herself, "That shouldn't be the case. Father just bestowed a marriage between Su Wen and Yan Luoying. How could he allow me to form a relationship with Su Wen?"
In reality, she had quite the good impression of Su Wen.
However, she also knew that Su Wen and Yan Luoying were already betrothed by her father, so she talked to him only with the intention of befriending the other party. However, Emperor Zhou's attitude now left Zhao Wanrou confused.
At the dinner banquet, Emperor Zhou was seated at the seat of honor, with Su Wen and Zhao Wanrou on both sides.
Emperor Zhou raised his cup and said with a smile, "Young people like you still need to get closer to each other. Wanrou, your personality is too gentle. If you remain cooped up in the palace all day, it will be easy for problems to arise. You should let Su Wen bring you out of the palace to play, at the same time save this brat from causing trouble everywhere."
A smile appeared on Su Wen's face as he glanced at the Seventh Princess. He couldn't help but feel puzzled.
Why did Emperor Zhou sound like he wanted to matchmake her with the Seventh Princess?
Was the Emperor suffering from dementia? Or in general just forgetful?
He was being forced to marry Yan Luoying a few days ago!
Could it be that… this Emperor wants me to marry two at once? What a brother!
Was the Emperor doing so because Su Wen was his long-lost father? Wait a minute… then didn't this make the Seventh Princess his biological granddaughter?
Su Wen was imagining all sorts of nonsensical stuff, but outwardly, he kept a straight face. He raised his glass and smiled before downing it.
The dinner banquet, contrary to what people thought, was not at all luxurious.
There were only two vegetable dishes and two meat dishes placed in front of everyone.
To the royal family, this was considered simple fare.
Emperor Zhou sampled the dishes a little before standing up and saying, "Alright, I'm already tired. You two enjoy your meal. Wanrou, send Su Wen out of the palace later!"
"Yes!"
Zhao Wanrou bowed.
After Emperor Zhou left, there were only the two of them, along with some eunuchs and palace maids in charge of serving the food.
Zhao Wanrou instructed, "The rest of you may leave."
The palace maids and eunuchs all withdrew. Zhao Wanrou looked at Su Wen and said with a smile, "Brother Su, I didn't expect to see you again so soon. I was still thinking of looking for you to play someday."
With that, she got up and sat beside Su Wen.
Su Wen teased, "Why? Do you miss me?"
Zhao Wanrou blushed and lowered her head, not saying a word.
The atmosphere in the hall turned rather ambiguous.
"Say… why did father ask us to eat together?" Zhao Wanrou asked.
Su Wen smiled and said, "He must be worried that you're bored out of your mind. Didn't he already say that just now? Let me bring you out to play!"
Zhao Wanrou was a little angry. She whispered, "You really can't tell?"
"Tell what? I just saw that His Majesty didn't eat much!"
Seeing that Su Wen was feigning ignorance and deliberately changing the topic, Zhao Wanrou got a little angry. "Are you done eating? I'll send you out of the palace!"
Su Wen smiled and said, "I'm not full yet. I had to do a lot of moving around this afternoon and I'm still hungry!"
After saying that, he started gobbling down the food in front of him.
He was really hungry. Soon, all the food in front of him was gone. Then, he turned to Zhao Wanrou to ask, "Are you full? I didn't see you eat anything."
Due to her anger with Su Wen, Zhao Wanrou had completely lost her appetite. When she heard Su Wen's words, she thought that he was concerned about her. Her anger disappeared and she said gently, "I'm full, but you don't have to rush. Since you have nothing to do, you can stay for a while."
Only to see Su Wen get up and run over to Zhao Wanrou's table. He started to also gobble down her meal in big mouthfuls. As he ate, he mumbled, "It's good that you're full. I'm not full yet. Your father is really petty. To think that the grand and stately Emperor only treated me to four dishes."
"You!" Zhao Wanrou was speechless at how she should respond..After Su Wen finished his meal, Zhao Wanrou sent him to the entrance of the palace. She watched as Su Wen boarded the carriage and only left after the carriage disappeared.
On the carriage, Su Wen instructed, "Go to the Prime Minister's estate!"
"Alright!" Zhao Jin replied.
The carriage headed straight for the Prime Minister's estate.
By the time they reached the Prime Minister's estate, it was already rather late at night.
Su Wen got off the car and immediately starting slamming on the door.
However… Bang! Bang! Bang! He still chose to slam on the doors once again.
From inside sounded an unhappy voice.
"Who is it? Why are you knocking at the door so late at night? Don't you know this is the Prime Minister's mansion?"
"It's me! Su Wen!"
The door opened quickly, and the guard on duty said with a flattering smile, "So Third Young Master is back."
Su Wen could not be bothered with him and went straight to the inner residence.
When he reached Su Changqing's room, Su Wen heard some strange sounds.
However… Bang! Bang! Bang! He still chose to slam on the doors once again.
"Who is that!" Su Changqing's voice was filled with anger!
Su Wen said, "Father, it's me! Come out quickly, I have something urgent for you!"
The room was silent for a moment before the door opened. Su Changqing's face was as black as a thundercloud. He stared at Su Wen and asked, "What's the matter?"
Su Wen pulled Su Changqing closer to him, before asking in a low voice, "Father, tell me the truth. Are you really the father I birthed? Pui, wrong phrasing. Am I really the son you birthed?"
Su Changqing looked at Su Wen, coldly laughing as he gritted his teeth, "If you weren't my biological son, I would have stabbed you to death right now!"
Su Wen was in disbelief. "Am I really not the emperor's illegitimate son, adopted by the prime minister for some reason!"
In Su Wen's memory, there was a very good novel in his previous life that had a similar plot.
Pa!
Su Changqing smacked the back on Su Wen's head.
"What nonsense are you spouting? Of course you're my son!"
Su Wen stroked his chin and pondered. "That doesn't make sense." He then whispered, "Father, then is Zhao Wanrou His Majesty's biological daughter?"
"Are you crazy!?" Su Changqing said angrily, "You came here at night just to ask me these boring questions?"
Su Wen said helplessly, "Something's not right. There's something wrong with His Majesty!"
Then, Su Wen recounted today's happenings to Su Changqing.
Then, he took out the manual and elixir from his bosom before saying, "This doesn't make sense. Heaven Ranked secret manuals and the Azure Cloud Soul Refining Pills are all cultivation treasures. He only let that ignorant Fu An fight with me, as good as handing them to me for nothing. How can there be something so good?
He even called the Seventh Princess to come and eat dinner with me and let me interact more with her. He left after only eating a bit of the food. Isn't it obvious that he wants to create an opportunity for the two of us? But he has already set for me an engagement with Yan Luoying. You say, was he in such a hurry to give me the manuals, elixirs and woman, he's practically better than my biological father to me. Why is that so?"
"Hmm?" Su Changqing glanced at Su Wen. He suspected that Su Wen was hinting at something.
After pondering for a moment, Su Changqing frowned and said, "Your marriage with Yan Luoying is about to change!"
Su Wen raised his brows in surprise. "Really?"
Su Changqing said, "That's right. Whether it's the Seventh Princess or Yan Luoying, they both are of noble status. Since you have an engagement with Yan Luoying, it's reasonable to say that His Majesty would never let you get too close to the Seventh Princess in private. There's only one possibility for His Majesty's attitude now, and that is that he has already considered changing your marriage."
"But where is this variable?" Su Changqing frowned and said, "Normally, His Majesty wouldn't change his decision so easily. Where is this variable? What makes His Majesty think that you're not a suitable candidate to be Yan Luoying's husband?"
It had to be said that Su Changqing was quite sharp.
"Manuals, elixir! Martial arts? Sorcerer God's Golden Gu? Eastern District? The wealth competition? Martial Inspectorate? Yan Luoying, Seventh Princess…"
Su Changqing muttered to himself. Everything that had happened recently went through his mind.
Su Wen saw that he was deep in thought and didn't dare to disturb him. After a while, Su Changqing finished his analysis and smiled. "I can't think of anything concrete right now. You can go back first. As for the Seventh Princess, you can get along with her however you want. If you like her, there's no need to suppress yourself."
"Alright, I understand."
After receiving a satisfactory answer, Su Wen turned around and left.
After he left, Su Changqing's gaze gradually turned sharp. He muttered to himself in a low voice, "His Majesty originally intended to use the process of cultivating feelings to control Yan Luoying for a long time, but he now wants to change Su Wen's betrothal. In other words, Su Wen is not suitable to control Yan Luoying in the long term.
Is it because of the Sorcerer God's Golden Gu? Without the Divine Sorcerer Art, can the cultivation technique developed by the Martial Inspectorate really save my son's life?
His Majesty gave him the cultivation technique and medicinal pill, which means that my son will still be useful to him if he continues to cultivate. Thus, it's not a big problem in the short term, but how can his body last? Five years? Ten years?"
Regardless of whether it was Su Wen or Emperor Zhou, neither of them expected that Su Changqing would be able to deduce many possibilities based on what happened around Su Wen.
However, this was just speculation.
Su Changqing didn't dare to act upon his guesses. He still needed to find a way to confirm it.
After leaving the Prime Minister's Residence, Su Wen was in a good mood.
In the end, he still didn't want to marry Yan Luoying. Even though he acted like he didn't care when he comforted Yan Luoying, Yan Luoying had killed hundreds of thousands of people after all.
Su Wen looked at the elixir in his hand and sighed. "I also want to keep a low profile and hide my cards, but he doesn't allow me to do so."
After speaking, he swallowed the pill in one move.
Su Wen fell into a hallucinatory state once he swallowed the pill.
The world fell completely silent. His body entered a dazed state, as if he had drunk too much. However, his consciousness felt incomparably clear.
He felt as if he was soaking in a hot spring.
His whole body felt extremely comfortable.
Under the effect of the medicinal pill, his spirit was continuously nourished and strengthened.
Gradually, Su Wen felt his soul slowly float up.
It gradually left his body.
Through his eye, the way Su Wen perceived the world had changed. The originally dark night had become colorful.
All kinds of spiritual energy and natural energies were clearly sensed by his soul.
But soon, Su Wen felt exhausted.
His Martial Soul slowly returned to his body, and Su Wen fell into a deep sleep.
An Azure Cloud Soul Refining Pill only allowed him to feel the process of detaching his spirit from his body. It was not enough to allow him to roam around.
In reality, this was all thanks to Su Wen's spiritual sense that was already much actually stronger than ordinary people.
After transmigrating, and maturing a second time, it caused his soul power to be different from ordinary people. It was just that he had always focused on cultivating and martial arts, and had never come into contact with such power.
This elixir had allowed Su Wen to break through the barrier.
When Su Wen opened his eyes again, the sky was already bright.
However, he felt that his mind was incomparably clear and his condition was extremely good. How should he describe this feeling? Although there was no specific increase in his cultivation realm, Su Wen's control over his body, his combat sense, and his instantaneous reaction time had all improved. This would allow him to be more proficient in combat..
Having woken up, Wen looked at the system interface again.
Host: Su Wen
Emotional Value: 22,500 points
Level: 13
Cultivation: Star Rank 8th Grade
Cultivation Technique: Heaven & Earth Great Solar Sutra
Battle Techniques: Jadebreak Fist (LV6), Layered Wave Saber (LV6)
In the past few days, Su Wen had leveled up twice and obtained over twenty thousand Emotional Value points.
In recent days, the biggest incident in the capital was Su Wen and Xue Meng competing in wealth.
It was even more widely discussed amongst the commoners, even though it served as nothing more than idle gossip.
However, there were still some people who were envious and jealous of Su Wen.
Following that, after Xue Meng was exiled and Su Wen raided, and many people gloated over his misfortune.
This also earned Su Wen a lot of Emotional Value points.
However, Su Wen was not in a hurry to use it. Instead, he took out the manual for Stellar Transposition.
[Ding-dong. Heaven Rank secret manual detected. Do you want to learn it? The System can help you learn it immediately by using 5,000 Emotional Value points. No Emotional Value points deducted if Host masters it on his own.]
Although the system's help was much more expensive compared to self learning, Su Wen still made the decision immediately.
"I'll use the System assist."
Why? Cultivating secret manuals wasn't that easy, especially such profound secret manuals. Some words might even have multiple meanings. One's understanding depended on the their own cultivation realm.
The system's cultivation comprehension and learning would not have any errors. On the other hand, if one were to attempt to comprehend it by themselves, they might misunderstand the meaning of certain words and cause themselves to take a detour.
[Ding-dong. The host has learned Heaven Rank Movement Technique — Stellar Transposition. Current Level: LV1.]
In an instant, a large amount of information surged into Su Wen's mind. It took him a while to properly digest and sort of the information.
This Heaven Rank movement technique was really not that easy to cultivate, even at LV1, there were already many details involved.
As for the specialties of this movement technique, it focused on allowing the practitioner to be extremely agile. Most importantly, this movement technique was divided into the Star positions and Moon positions.
Apart from moving at a normal speed, one could construct star points and moon points in one's body, corresponding to the constellations of the stars as well as the moon cycles.
After the construction of the star point was completed, one could store true energy in the star point. Every time one activated the movement technique and stepped onto the corresponding Star point, they could trigger the resonance of said star and receive a slight buff.
The Star point buffs consisted of all kinds of strange and varied effects, thus the effect of every person who practiced this cultivation technique might be completely different.
It completely exceeded Su Wen's understanding of ordinary battle techniques!
[Ding-dong. The host's current level of Stellar Transposition is LV1. You can condense a total of five Star points. Do you want to condense them? For each Star that the System assists in condensing, 1,000 Emotional Value points are needed. The host may also choose to condense them by himself without cost.]
"Have the System assist in condensing one star first!"
Su Wen wanted to see how the Star point actually worked in reality.
In an instant, Su Wen discovered that a map full of stars had appeared in front of him, and countless stars were shimmering on it.
[Host, please choose the corresponding position to condense a Star point. For the available special effects of the Star, the Host can view and check them on the side panel.]
Su Wen tapped on one of the particularly bright stars.
It read: [Extreme Yang Star, Unparalleled Firepower.]
Su Wen pondered for a moment before tapping on another star.
[Shadow Star, Illusionary Flash.]
[Atlantis Star, brings forth the power of Yin Water.]
[Cyclone Star, multiplying without end.]
[Heavy Earth Star, brings forth the power of Deep Earth.]
The five options were varied, each representing a different power.
After ruminating over his choices for a moment, Su Wen chose the Extreme Yang Star.
[Ding-dong. The host has chosen the Extreme Yang Star, construction of Star point is proceeding. After stepping into the star position, the temperature of all fire elemental energy will increase by 10%. Duration: 3 breaths.]
[Note: If the host steps into another Extreme Yang Star point, the duration of the Extreme Yang effect will be extended to 6 breaths, and the temperature of the fire elemental energy will increase by 20%.]
Su Wen raised his eyebrows. In other words, these Star points could be repeated!
The explanation given by the System was not written in the manual.
Immediately afterward, Su Wen began to move. As he revolved the basic movement technique of Stellar Transposition, the vital energy within his body converged to form a resonance with the astral energies in the sky.
A distant star at an unknown area far away gradually lit up under Su Wen's call, transforming into a Star point which corresponded to the movement technique.
A tiny light swirl appeared in Su Wen's body.
This light swirl was the star point. Every time Su Wen stepped into the corresponding star point, the Extreme Yang Star would echo to it. The True Qi in Su Wen's body would instantly become hotter!
After constructing the first star point, Su Wen did not continue. He began to attempt to condense his own star point.
However, this time, Su Wen realized that things were not as simple as he thought. There were so many stars in the sky that he could not differentiate the different attributes of each star, as well as their effects.
He could only rely on guesswork.
Su Wen eventually selected a star and tried to build a star point from there. However, he realized that this process was even more difficult. Having this technique did not mean that one could build a star point successfully after choosing a star. Instead, one had to try to resonate with said star to proceed.
After trying it out for a while, Su Wen gave up.
However, his eyes flashed with excitement.
For others that practiced this Stellar Transposition technique, they basically had to rely on luck to form their own star points and positions. Even so, this cultivation technique could already be considered one of the top movement techniques in the Heaven Rank.
After all, in a battle, while moving extremely fast, one could also add buffs to oneself. Even if the buffs were not chosen by the cultivators themselves, they were still very powerful and difficult to figure out.
Perhaps one might be evenly matched in a battle just a second ago, but upon stepping into a star position and gaining a buff, the power they released would undergo a change. This could allow them to catch their opponent off guard.
On the other hand, Su Wen, who had the system, could selectively form and optimize his own buff to a certain extent. Looking at it this way, trading only 1,000 Emotional Value points to condense a certain type of Star point was totally worth it.
Especially since there was still the Moon point and positions in the future.
It could even be said that this cultivation technique had turned into a terrifying entity in Su Wen's hands!
Su Wen couldn't wait any longer.
He immediately forked out another 4,000 emotional points to condense the other four star points.
Amidst the joy of discovering this technique, a slightly depressing thing happened. Su Wen searched through the star map repeatedly but did not manage find even one more Extreme Yang Star.
But he also knew that this was actually very normal.
Hence, Su Wen chose the next best alternative, star points that gave a similar effect and decided on the type of star position he wanted.
[Cyclone Star. Every time you step into this star position, your True Qi regenerates by 1%. If you step into the same star once again, your True Qi regenerates by 3%.]
Su Wen chose two Cyclone Stars and unlocked the explanation for having a third star point.
"If I step on the same star position for a third time, my True Qi will recover by 10%…"
Obviously, the more similar stars there were, the better the effect.
Now that the two Cyclone Star points were placed in his footwork, Su Wen's True Qi regeneration speed would be much faster than others even though the effects did not seem to be very strong.
[Herculean Star, after stepping into this star position, the strength of the next attack will be increased by 10%. When stepping onto the same star twice, the attack power will be increased to 20%.]
[Divine Speed Star. After stepping into the star position, your movement speed will increase by 10% for three breaths. Stepping onto the same star twice increases your speed to 20%.]
(TL Note: In case anyone gets confused, it's something like having a huge map with many star points. Each star point is different in that it correlates to different types of stars, hence the possibility of having varied skills. What the system gives him is that for each star point he taps on, he can see what sort of stars the point is connected to and choose the best option for himself from there..)
After condensing five star points, Su Wen chose to level up his technique.
[Ding-dong: Does Host wish to upgrade the battle technique, Stellar Transposition, to Level 2? Emotional Value requirement: 10,000 points!]
Compared to the two Earth Rank Battle Techniques he had, the points needed to level up a Heaven Ranked technique to Level 2 had already surpassed the points needed to level up from Level 6 to Level 7 for the Earth Ranks.
However, Su Wen was not scared off by the price and chose to level it up without hesitation.
[Ding-dong. Stellar Transposition has been upgraded to LV2. Star points unlocked: 7.]
This time, Su Wen gained another seven star points.
However, he smiled bitterly as he gazed at his remaining 2,500 Emotional Value points.
He could not unlock all of them, only two more!
This little thing ate too much Emotional Value.
Su Wen unlocked another two stars. This time, his luck was pretty good as he unlocked another Extreme Yang Star option.
As for the last Star point, Su Wen chose a new attribute for his Star point.
[Lucky Star. After stepping on this star, the host's next attack would have a very small chance of triggering a critical hit. The critical hit damage will be increased by 200%. Regardless of whether the critical hit was triggered, the star will enter a cooldown period of 10 minutes]
This was an attribute that shocked Su Wen greatly. Furthermore, this star position buff was not stackable.
However, Su Wen still chose it as one of his Star positions without any hesitation.
'F**k it. This daddy here has good luck, I'll definitely be able to trigger it.'
Now that he had spent all the Emotional Value, he was only left with his two lucky draw chances.
Su Wen chose to just use all of them.
[Ding-dong. Congratulations, Host has received a luxury cosmetics package.]
Su Wen: "???"
Are you f**king messing with me? What's the use of this thing?
Su Wen adjusted his mood before continuing his draw.
[Ding-dong. Congratulations, Host has received a large bag of Cat Kibble brand snacks.]
"F**k fook fugg!!!!"
Su Wen broke down. He had never been so unlucky in his entire life after transmigrating!
"I am the chosen one! You actually gave this Daddy this sort of item? I want to draw again!"
Unfortunately, the system did not give Su Wen an answer and fell silent.
After a while, Su Wen calmed down.
"F*ck, should I not have put in that Lucky Star position?" He fell into self-doubt.
He absentmindedly took out a bag of crispy noodle snacks from the large gift bag and crushed it skillfully before pouring it into his mouth.
"Hmm… delicious! So what if one has strength? Can one get to eat something like this, flavored with the King of Flavor?"
Su Wen staggered out of the room in self delusion and denial.
In the royal court, Emperor Zhou's expression was as still as the deep waters.
Everyone could tell that he was not in a good mood.
"Look at this, all of you, take a good hard look. From top to bottom, there's no one who isn't greedy. It's just as the commoners say; Even if you cut down nine out of ten, there will still be fish that slip through the net!"
The confessions of the Patrol Office were being circulated among the ministers below.
The reaction of the Zhou Emperor was also much more animated compared to yesterday.
Only Su Changqing, who had been following the Zhou Emperor for many years, knew very well that the person seated on the dragon throne above was only acting and was not really angry.
"Su Changqing! What do you think?"
Although Su Changqing didn't know exactly what Emperor Zhou wanted to do, he still clearly knew the answer Emperor Zhou wanted. He bowed and said, "This subject believes that the governmental administration of the Great Zhou has already reached a point where it has no choice but to be reorganized!"
"That's right! We must reorganize and punish the wrongdoers!" Emperor Zhou swept his gaze across the officials before coldly remarking, "I want to reinstate the Secret Shadow Guards."
As the words of the Zhou Emperor sounded, even Su Changqing raised his head in shock. He didn't expect the Zhou Emperor to have such an idea.
Speaking of the Secret Shadow Guards, they were actually similar to the Embroidered Uniform Guards in Su Wen's history.
It was a secret department developed only after the founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
It could be said that just like the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Secret Shadow Guard was an important method for the emperor to restrict the authority of all officials.
However, it was precisely because of this that the officials viewed the Secret Shadow Guards as a thorn in their side. After experiencing countless battles in the royal court, the civil officials finally gained the upper hand and abolished the Secret Shadow Guards.
This was also one of the important reasons why corruption was prevalent in the Great Zhou officials. After all, the figurative sword of Damocles hanging over their heads was gone.
But now, the Emperor of Zhou actually wanted to restore the Secret Shadow Guards!
The most crucial point behind restoring the Secret Shadow Guards was to restrict the authority of civil and military officials.
At this moment, Su Changqing's mind was filled with countless thoughts as he thought about what he should do.
However, just because he could keep his composure didn't mean that others could.
Immediately, someone stood out and said, "Your Majesty, you can't. The Secret Shadow Guards have too much authority. Back then, it was because of this that many innocents were thrown into prison. All the officials in the court were banned from voicing their thoughts and no one dared to say anything. If the Secret Shadow Guards are reformed, it will definitely cause chaos in the court!"
Someone even knelt on the ground and cried, "Your Majesty, when our ancestors abolished the Secret Shadow Guards, it was because this department was too violent and was not applicable to be used by rule benevolently. Your Majesty has the prestige and blessing of the Heavens, and the Great Zhou Dynasty is also flourishing and full of satisfied citizens. If we were to reboot the Secret Shadow Guards, I'm afraid it would be counterproductive. Your Majesty, please reconsider!"
"Yes, Your Majesty, please reconsider."
All of a sudden, the Royal Court was filled with such voices.
No matter what, these people knew very well that once the Secret Shadow Guards were reestablished, the sword would come back hanging over their heads!
This was something that no one wanted to see.
Emperor Zhou said coldly, "The governmental administration of the Great Zhou Dynasty has collapsed to such a state. How can it be effective if we don't treat it seriously? All of you don't need to worry. The establishment of the Secret Shadow Guards, under my direct supervision, will only investigate corrupt officials."
"Your Majesty's words are incorrect. When the Secret Shadow Guards were first established, they must have thought the same way. However, in the end, the Secret Shadow Guards still went down the wrong path.
If Your Majesty wants to reorganize the governance of the government, a royal censor is enough to act on it. The Patrol Office is just a small piece of land, we cannot let the entire court collapse because of a single corruption and think that all the officials of Great Zhou are greedy!"
"That's right, Your Majesty. You must not restart the Secret Shadow Guards."
"If Your Majesty wants to reinstate the Secret Shadow Guard, you have to separate its authority to investigate, interrogate and arrest, as well as put other departments in charge of it. Otherwise, there will be no justice left."
A cold smile appeared on Emperor Zhou's face. Was he not aware that the authority given to the Secret Shadow Guards would allow them to do as they pleased?
But if he were to separate the authority of the Secret Shadow Guard, how would it be different from the Great Zhou Empire's current supervisory department?
Emperor Zhou shifted his gaze to Su Changqing, who had remained silent the entire time. He asked, "Changqing, what do you think?"
Su Changqing sighed to himself. He knew that he had to go out and be a lightning rod for the Zhou Emperor to deflect all the shots.
Su Changqing took a step forward and said in a deep voice, "This subject believes that the Secret Shadow Guards should be reestablished! Not only should the Secret Shadow Guards be established, their three divisions should also be fully restored!
The Secret Spy Division can search for intelligence for His Majesty, supervise the world, and to aid the Royal Prison Division to purge His Majesty's governing body. The Shadow Guard Division is the final barrier to protect His Majesty and is also the most elite blade of Great Zhou!"
He turned his head, looked at the officials of the court, and shouted, "All of you are His Majesty's subjects. Now that corruption is rampant in the Great Zhou Dynasty, it is like rotted human flesh that must be cut off with a sharp blade to regrow. The Secret Shadow Guards are the sharp blades in His Majesty's hands. For all of you to stop it, are you all rotten flesh?"
Su Changqing knew that under these circumstances, he had to maintain a united front with the Zhou Emperor. Previously, the Zhou Emperor had supported him, and now he had to support the Zhou Emperor as well. Otherwise, there would definitely be unsaid grudges left between them.
As soon as he finished speaking, one of the officials said in a low voice, "You don't care about others after wiping your butt clean."
That's right. In everyone's eyes, Su Changqing must have discussed this with Emperor Zhou.
He had just donated his family's money a few days ago. Now that the Secret Shadow Guard was going to be established, he would definitely not be investigated. Even if he was investigated, his family's money had already been given to the Emperor. Could he be punished? Of course not, but what about others?
The Embroidered Uniform Guard was the imperial secret police that served the emperors of the Ming dynasty in China..Su Wen returned to the Prime Minister's mansion once more. Although Su Changqing had built his own residence far away, it did not stop him from going back to visit.
"Third Brother, it's so cold in the mansion now that you're gone. Sister-in-law Mianmian isn't around either. There's no one to accompany me to sleep at night." Su Nuannuan pulled Su Wen and said in an aggrieved tone.
Su Wen touched her head but decided not to continue this topic.
Instead, he took out a bag of spicy strips from the gift bag of snacks and passed it to the little girl. How would someone in this age have eaten something like this before?
As expected, her attention was immediately attracted.
She opened the packaging, pulled out a stick and started eating.
"Third Brother, this is delicious. Do you have more? Give me more."
The bag of spicy strips was quickly finished by Su Nuannuan. Su Wen shook his head and said, "It's not good for children to eat too much."
How could Su Nuannuan care about this? She continued to annoy him, asking for more.
Su Wen had no choice but to pass over another bag.
At this moment, Su Changqing returned.
After knowing that Su Wen was in the Prime Minister's residence, he sent someone to call him to the study.
When father and son met, Su Changqing gave him a look before saying, "What are you doing here?"
Su Wen smiled and said, "I just wanted to ask, what should we do about the patrol office?"
Su Changqing rubbed his glabella and told Su Wen about the matters in the royal court. He said, "The opposition today is too strong. We have yet to decide whether the Secret Shadow Guards will be reestablished. However, His Majesty has already decided to establish the Secret Shadow Guards, so this is only a matter of time."
Su Wen frowned and said, "How could these officials dare oppose His Majesty's words?"
Su Changqing's gaze was distant as he said, "Ever since there was a Royal Court, there has always been a sovereign and subject power. Although the sovereign power is supreme, in the end, governing a country still requires one to rely on the subjects. So, from a certain point of view, sovereign power also requires a certain degree of concession to subject power."
"His Majesty feels that the subjects' authority is too great, so he wants to strengthen his authority. This is also the foundation of the Secret Shadow Guard's reestablishment. The Patrol Guards and the clearing of the corrupt government officials are both just a cover. Moreover, the current government of Great Zhou does need to be rectified. It can be said to be killing two birds with one stone."
Su Wen was a little puzzled. "Is this good or bad? Will it affect the patrol office?"
Su Changqing pondered for a moment and said, "It's hard to say if it's good or bad! Once a department like the Secret Shadow Guard is established, it will definitely be extremely beneficial to the purging of the government. However, the person in charge of the Secret Shadow Guard must be someone who is powerful, someone who is loyal to justice and not greedy for personal wealth. Otherwise, the Secret Shadow Guard will become the rotten meat of Great Zhou in the future."
"As for the matter of the Patrol Office, you don't have to worry. No matter how it is being dealt with, it won't implicate you. According to my understanding of His Majesty, he should be aiming to deal with heads themselves. However, those low-level officials won't have a good ending either. They can avoid death, but they can't escape punishment. They should be confiscated of their family assets and demoted to commoners or thrown into jail for hard labor. When that happens, there will be a huge change in manpower."
When he spoke up to this point, he was slightly unwilling to continue discussing this matter, so he changed the topic and said, "Your Second Brother is leaving this afternoon. After he leaves for Qian Prefecture, I don't know when is the next time we can see him once more.
Your Second Brother isn't willing to have more interactions with me, so I originally didn't want to send him off, but I'm still a little worried. If possible, go and send him off on my behalf and tell him that if there's anything he can't handle to not force himself and prioritize his safety first."
In the end, Su Changqing was unwilling to allow Su Yu to go to the Qian Prefecture.
It was just that Su Yu strongly requested it, thus Su Changqing was also helpless.
In the Profound Language Pavilion, another batch of officials were about to be released. According to the old custom, they all held a farewell banquet.
The farewell banquet's name was also called the Roc's Journey Banquet. This was taken from the original quote of 'A roc's journey covers ten thousand miles', meaning that one's future prospects were limitless.
The Roc's Journey Banquet was held in the Immortals' Abode Pavilion, the largest restaurant in the capital. At this time every year, the pavilion would halt their entire operations for the day and only make preparations to host the Roc's Journey Banquet.
As for the famous scholars in the capital's literary circle, many people would also come to send them off, creating many fables and stories to be told.
The grand banquet was the grand occasion of the Profound Language Pavilion.
After these people were sent out, they would form an interconnected network of relationships with each other in their own official areas.
Su Yu was among them.
At this moment, Su Yu was in a good mood. He was dressed in a plain robe and sat in the hall.
To him, he was finally about to leave Su Changqing's wings.
Ever since he was young, what he had heard the most was that he was the second young master of the Prime Minister.
If he became the top scholar, others would say that if his father was not the prime minister, the title of top scholar might not have been his.
No matter how hard he worked, as long as he was mentioned, Su Changqing's name would not be far away.
After today, he would leave the capital and travel thousands of miles away to the Qian Prefecture's impoverished land. He would finally be able to display what he had learned.
At this point, Su Yu's eyes were filled with excitement.
At the banquet, many children of influential families were also present.
Elder Fei Chi from the Profound Language Pavilion presided over the banquet. He raised his cup high, his face flushed as he said, "Everyone, today's Roc's Journey Banquet is another grand occasion of our Profound Language Pavilion. I hope that after everyone sets off on your journey, you will wholeheartedly serve the people, govern the area, and contribute to Great Zhou!"
Everyone raised their glasses and drank.
At this moment, Su Wen's carriage also arrived outside the restaurant. Zhao Jin looked at Su Wen and said in a low voice, "Young Master, we don't have an invitation, so I'm afraid it won't be easy to enter."
Su Wen smiled and said, "Then we'll just wait outside."
He was only here to send Su Yu off, so he did not need to insist on entering.
If Su Changqing had not told him this at the last minute, he would not have come here as well.
After he finished replying, Su Wen settled down and began to regulate his breathing in the carriage.
In fact, Su Wen was rather diligent. While the system could increase the progress of his martial arts through Emotional Value points, it could not directly increase his cultivation level. Hence, Su Wen never relaxed when it came to practicing his cultivation.
In the restaurant, the banquet began after the toasting ceremony.
Everyone talked about current affairs and topics of interest.
One of them suddenly mentioned, "Everyone, do you know that during the Court Assembly today, His Majesty proposed to reestablish the Secret Shadow Guards. All officials objected, and only Prime Minister Su agreed!"
These words immediately caused a heated discussion.
A young man said, "I really can't agree with Minister Su's actions. How ferocious is the Secret Shadow Guard? How many loyal and righteous soldiers did they persecute back then? How many seniors worked hard to abolish it, so how can it be reestablished? As subjects, how can we be so lacking in moral integrity? If His Majesty has made a mistake, then as officials, we should speak up for justice and even use our deaths to shake him to his senses. I really disdain such flattery from Minister Su!"
"Heh heh, who doesn't know Minister Su's style? He'll always agree with whatever His Majesty says. How would he dare offend His Majesty?"
"Exactly! If it wasn't for that, how could Su Changqing have been able to maintain his position for so many years?"
Discussions broke out in the surroundings. As youths, they naturally had a hot-blooded nature, and their tones was filled with disdain towards Su Changqing.
Su Yu frowned. While he didn't like others saying that he was Su Changqing's son, at the same time, it didn't mean that he liked hearing others badmouth Su Changqing.
Su Yu could not help but interject, "What are all of you talking about? Minister Su is in the end the Prime Minister of a country. There is a reason for everything he says and thinks about. His Majesty wants to re-establish the Secret Shadow Guards, so he must have his own considerations. If all of you do not know the reason, how can you just blindly criticize my father?"
As soon as Su Yu spoke, everyone instantly recalled that this was Su Changqing's second son.
Many people shut their mouths, but some didn't care.
For example, the young man who had just spoken. He was Zhuang Qingbei, son of Zhuang Yi, the Minister of Revenue. He could be considered a member of Wu Qiuhan's bloodline. He was also influenced by his father and was dissatisfied with Su Changqing.
Even after hearing Su Yu speak, he wasn't afraid at all and replied, "Oh, so you're Minister Su's son. Brother Su, you're a quite talented and outstanding member of the Profound Language Pavilion. I admire you, but I'm just stating the facts.
The matter of the Secret Shadow Guard has long been decided, and it's more harmful than beneficial for the nation. I remember that when Profound Language Pavilion was debating about this before, Brother Su also thought the same way, right? Could it be that Brother Su's stance has changed after hearing that Minister Su supports this?"
These words were not fake news, as there were often some debate competitions held in the Profound Language Pavilion to discuss the good and bad of various policies. At that time, the question Su Yu had received was whether it was a good thing that the Secret Shadow Guards were abolished. He was in the pro faction at that point in time..