"Was... was he the Duke of Song who brought this junior into the palace hall the day before yesterday?" Chen Qing asked, somewhat dazed.
Noble Consort Dong was amused by his silly smile. "Who else under heaven holds the title of Duke of Song?"
Chen Qing looked outside in silence. The weather was exceptionally fine today, but this news was exceptionally chilling...
Sudden death?
Tsk...
A Heavenly Stems sorcerer who could casually teleport several people, an existence already approaching the Spirit level, had suddenly died?
Chen Qing could not help taking a sip of hot tea, but he felt that no matter how hot it was, it could not warm his heart, now cold with a hint of terror.
An emperor was an emperor, after all...
Even a country bumpkin like him had heard plenty about the Duke of Song. From what Wang Ye occasionally revealed about the situation at court, the Duke of Song, Liu Yu, played an enormously important role. In terms of strength alone, he was probably among humanity's finest.
Yet someone like that had vanished just like that...
Chen Qing felt somewhat suffocated. He kept feeling as though he did not have much time left...
Noble Consort Dong watched Chen Qing. Though his complexion looked poor, he did not appear overly panicked, and she nodded slightly.
He's a lad who can keep his composure. Not bad...
"Oh, let's stop talking about such frightening things..." Noble Consort Dong looked outside. "Xue'er is here..."
"Huh?" Chen Qing froze, then hurriedly looked over. A moment later, he realized that was discourteous and quickly lowered his head to drink his tea as a cover.
The sight made Noble Consort Dong chuckle. Even if he had some hidden depths, he was still an inexperienced young fellow.
"Greetings, Mother!"
Princess Xiao Mingxue walked in an exceedingly ladylike manner, taking nearly half a quarter-hour to approach from the distance. Chen Qing felt he had finished all his tea, and asking for a refill seemed awkward, so he chewed the tea leaves to amuse himself. Upon hearing her voice, he hurriedly rose. "Greetings, Your Highness."
Xiao Mingxue stole a quick glance at Chen Qing, then hurriedly lowered her head and returned his greeting with a blush. "Presented Scholar Chen, there's no need for such courtesy."
Mother was right. He does have fair, clean-cut features. Though he doesn't compare to Cui Yan, he's still handsome...
She immediately relaxed. After receiving the news, she had made a few discreet inquiries. Fei Jun said he was a very capable young man, but that blockhead Fei Jun knew nothing about a young woman's thoughts. Being capable did not necessarily mean being good-looking.
Yuchi Peng was capable too. At seventeen, he had defeated his own father and inherited his title, but everyone agreed he was ugly.
Chen Qing also stole a quick glance at her, and his heart gave a little leap.
As a straight man, his thoughts were relatively simple. He was not thinking nearly as much as the princess...
So what should we name the child?
"Oh, the weather really is lovely today!" Noble Consort Dong rose with a smile and stroked her belly. "The imperial physician said my baby has grown too large from all the nourishment, so I need to walk more. You two chat."
"Mother?" Xiao Mingxue immediately panicked. Was her mother planning to leave her here?
Chen Qing quickly cupped his hands. "This student respectfully sees Your Ladyship off."
"It's still early. Talk a while longer..." Noble Consort Dong smiled. "Otherwise, once you leave, you won't see each other for a long time."
Chen Qing froze at her words. Oh, I forgot about that. The child will probably have to wait three years...
The news of Liu Yu's sudden death stirred towering waves in the capital. Regardless of faction, whether civil officials or military officers, no one had expected such a thing to happen!
After finishing their duties, the civil and military officials all went to the Duke of Song's residence to offer their condolences.
The Duke of Song had no sons, so the imperial family handled his funeral. It was a grand affair, with the crown prince presiding and the other princes receiving guests, a clear indication of the extraordinary honor bestowed upon him.
Yet even such extraordinary honors could not dispel the chill Liu Yu's sudden death had brought to everyone's hearts.
Outside the main hall, civil and military officials sat together without distinction. These ministers, who usually fought whenever they met, were unusually harmonious at this moment. All drank in silence, their expressions somber.
Almost all the Nine Ministers were present. These refined old men with graying beards drank cup after cup with their heads lowered, just like military officers.
No one around them dared urge them to stop. Those of lower rank did not dare, while those of equal rank understood their feelings and did not wish to.
Most of the current Nine Ministers had been renowned sorcerers under the previous dynasty. Back then, the emperor had visited them one by one, won them over with his personal charisma, and invited them out of seclusion. In truth, however, everyone knew Liu Yu had made all those connections.
The Great Jin had established its new capital in just one year. Though its scale was less magnificent than the Heavenly Capital's, the structure and strength of its spell formations were in no way inferior to those of that thousand-year-old city.
Such a vast undertaking had proceeded so smoothly because Liu Yu had persuaded large numbers of sorcerers to serve the imperial family. It was also through Liu Yu's methods that the Xiao Household had used a civil-official faction built around the sorcerers to counterbalance the utterly overbearing bloodline aristocratic clans.
Yet a figure whose contributions reached the heavens had simply died like this?
Cup after cup of wine went down, its burning heat rising into their chests, yet it still could not dispel the chill within.
The military officers were silent as well.
Most aristocratic clans and hereditary nobles had extremely complicated feelings toward Liu Yu. On the one hand, as the only duke from the ranks of scholars, Liu Yu could essentially be considered the spiritual leader of the sorcerers, whom the emperor used to counterbalance their bloodline aristocratic clans. On the other hand, during the conquest of the realm, this frail sorcerer had served on the front lines, devising strategies and helping countless military officers win one difficult battle after another. They shared the bond of comrades-in-arms!
Because of this, even the most unruly military officers could not act arrogantly before Liu Yu. Everyone who had dealt with him knew his abilities, and not one lacked some measure of admiration for him.
Those who wanted to incite the Duke of Qin to rebel had all considered Liu Yu their greatest obstacle. Yet now that he had suddenly died like this, those same people felt hollow inside.
The emperor... truly was ruthless...
"Wang Ye, Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, has arrived!"
The attendant receiving guests at the entrance announced his name, and everyone looked over.
In terms of his relationship to Liu Yu, Wang Ye had the strongest claim to handling his funeral arrangements. Yet the imperial family did not seem to have included him among those presiding. His closest disciple had come to offer condolences as a guest, which certainly felt rather strange.
"Vice Minister Wang, you're here?" Dressed in mourning clothes, the crown prince personally greeted him. Judging by his complexion, the crown prince had apparently still not recovered and looked very weak. Yet he had been overseeing Liu Yu's funeral arrangements since the midnight hour the previous night without any rest. Everyone had seen it, and none could find fault.
"Greetings, Your Highness." Wang Ye bowed, his face showing neither joy nor sorrow, truly looking like an ordinary guest who had casually come to offer condolences.
"You came straight after finishing your duties, didn't you?" The crown prince helped Wang Ye up. "Come, offer some incense."
Wang Ye nodded. After exchanging greetings with the other lords, he slowly approached the mourning hall to burn incense and pay his respects.
Wang Ye's indifferent expression prompted much whispered discussion among the officials. As the Duke of Song's sole direct disciple, his coldness was as different as heaven and earth from the crown prince's wholehearted dedication. The Duke of Song really had misjudged him.
The high officials who knew a little of the inside story, however, looked at Wang Ye with rather complicated expressions.
Liu Yu had clearly become involved in something that aroused the emperor's wariness, bringing him to this end. But what about Wang Ye? If the emperor could strike at Liu Yu, why would he leave his disciple alive?
"Chen Qing, Prefect of Liuzhou, has arrived!"
Oh?
Another name that drew everyone's attention. In an instant, many shifted their focus from Wang Ye to the newcomer.
Out in the provinces, a prefect was already close to the level of a high provincial official, but in the capital, he really was an insignificant minor official.
In theory, without any friendship with the Duke of Song, this young fellow named Chen Qing would not even have qualified to come offer incense.
But those who knew the inside story understood that this recent storm seemed to have begun with this young man...
"Lord Chen, you're here too?"
The crown prince remained warm, making a full display of honoring the worthy and humbling himself before scholars. Whether facing the minister of a department or a minor Subordinate Fourth Rank official like Chen Qing, he treated them alike, displaying the bearing of an heir apparent.
"Speaking of which, weren't you meeting my imperial sister in the palace, Lord Chen?" The crown prince leaned closer and asked quietly, a suggestive smile on his face.
Anyone who did not know better would have thought the two were very close.
Yet Chen Qing saw a trace of unpleasant, icy gloom in his eyes.
I'd like to get closer to your sister too, he thought, but unfortunately my flirting skills aren't up to scratch. I strained for ages without managing to squeeze out so much as a fart. After an awkward little chat, we hurriedly said goodbye.
He had originally intended to leave straightaway, but while passing North Street, he suddenly remembered that the Duke of Song's funeral should be underway, so he thought he would come offer some incense. After all, they did have a little bond forged through shared adversity.
"Lord Wang and I can be considered friends. Now that his master has passed away, as a junior, I naturally ought to come pay my respects. By the way, Your Highness, is your health all right?"
The mention of his health immediately cracked the smiling face the crown prince had maintained all day. His gaze toward Chen Qing turned very cold.
Chen Qing curled his lip slightly at the sight. That was enough to crack your mask? Your acting is nothing special...
He was not afraid of this so-called heir apparent. After all, it would be a miracle if a eunuch heir apparent could become emperor.
The emperor had promised his daughter to him, but the condition was that he raise a son for that fucking idiot...
But the child he raised would not be for this idiotic crown prince before him. Perhaps, in the old emperor's plans, this idiotic crown prince would eventually have to make way for his grandson!
He had to admit... imperial family relationships were a real mess.
Paying the crown prince no further attention, Chen Qing went straight to the mourning hall. While offering incense, he saw Liu Yu lying with his eyes closed and his face peaceful, and felt a little rueful.
What a fucking waste of a death...
If that old emperor knew he had cast aside such a right-hand man, only for the grandson he yearned for to belong to someone else, what would he think?
Chen Qing had a very favorable impression of the Duke of Song. He was an elder with a strong sense of responsibility. When he sensed something might go wrong back then, he had immediately sent Yuchi Peng and Fei Jun out.
He had actually taken good care of Chen Qing too. Thinking back now, the reason he had immediately led the way into the Yin-Yang Road probably was not that he had forgotten Chen Qing. He had likely known that entering the Yin-Yang Road meant certain death, so he had acted with such urgency that the emperor had not remembered to bring Chen Qing along.
This was evident from how Wang Ye had also been able to stabilize the Yin-Yang Road's barrier afterward. With Liu Yu's abilities, there certainly should have been no need for such haste.
Rest well on your journey, Your Grace... Chen Qing silently recited, offering incense with great solemnity and bowing three times.
After offering incense, he was about to take a seat when he noticed something amiss. Though he was a mortal, even he could sense that everyone seemed to be observing him.
So... where should I sit?
"Lord Chen..." A familiar voice rang out. Chen Qing hurriedly looked over and froze. It was actually Fei Jun, who had stood of his own accord and was beckoning to him. "Come sit over here."
Chen Qing was just about to nod when another voice called his name from nearby. Compared with Fei Jun's refined gentleness, this voice was much more boisterous. It was Yuchi Peng, seated to the north.
"Chen Qing, over here!" Yuchi Peng waved. "Have a couple of drinks with me."
"You're Chen Qing?"
Just as Chen Qing was struggling to decide where to sit, another voice rang out.
This person, however, felt very unfamiliar to Chen Qing. He had definitely never seen him before.
He was a very thin, frail-looking man, but he wore black clothes like the military officers.
"Why not come sit with me?"
The moment this man spoke, a strange silence fell over their surroundings, while Chen Qing stared blankly.
Was I... really this sought-after?
Please keep reading, please keep reading, please keep reading! Important things must be said three times, hehe.
Now, a word about the comments section. I generally don't delete comments, not even comments criticizing the work. I think it's better for the comments section to be more authentic. Everyone has different tastes; naturally, alongside praise, there will be criticism from those who dislike it. I, Mofang, don't think that's a big deal. Clicking into this book means fate brought us together. As long as everyone's happy, that's what matters.
There is one exception, though: posting advertisements for porn sites in the comments. Those have to be deleted and the posters muted, because if I don't remove them promptly, even my book could be affected. Just now, while deleting a comment posting a website, I noticed the person had even tipped one yuan, emmm...
Sorry, brother. Although you supported this book, you really can't post that stuff!!!