Li Ping'an had just finished more than a dozen bowls of noodles, but his stomach still had room.
He drank a few mouthfuls of rice wine, then swiftly polished off a large platter of silver carp.
Only then did he feel seventy percent full.
After hearing Liu Yong's account, Li Ping'an finally learned that he had effectively been demoted.
Liu Yong's immediate superior, Xiahou Shang, had become embroiled in factional strife and had even been stripped of all his official posts.
Liu Yong had, in a manner of speaking, been implicated by association.
Although he had not become involved in the factional strife, his standing in the army had risen sharply in recent years, and he was one of Xiahou Shang's most capable subordinates.
Naturally, he had been regarded as part of Xiahou Shang's faction and dragged into the affair.
Xiahou Shang had rendered outstanding service in Great Sui's war to destroy Great Yu, yet now that the birds were gone, the bow had been put away.
Liu Yong had originally been slated to lose his rank entirely too, but a secret order had transferred him here.
"Ah! Serving a ruler is like keeping company with a tiger. Heaven's might is impossible to fathom."
Liu Yong sighed with feeling.
Only after speaking did he suddenly remember that Mr. Li's relationship with the emperor was no ordinary one.
His expression shifted slightly. "I've had too much to drink. I spoke out of turn!!"
"It's fine, it's fine." Li Ping'an waved a hand, signaling that he need not be nervous.
"Let's talk about the massacre instead," Liu Yong said. "Sir, have you uncovered anything?"
Li Ping'an truthfully relayed what Changqing had told him.
Jing Yu and Changqing were not particularly reliable, after all. This matter was better left to the authorities.
Liu