Chapter 250: Heartache
Emperor Taicheng was neither anxious nor slow, and had everything under control. He acted skillfully, without any sign of the unfamiliarity or nervousness that comes with having just ascended the throne.
When He Xiang saw this, he knew that he had not misjudged the person.
The leader of the Black Armor Guard was promoted when Emperor Jingwen ascended the throne. Now he has reached the age and it is time for him to retire.
The commander-in-chief had always been a man of insight and interest. He knew that his career had come to an end. After realising the new emperor’s intentions, he did not argue any further and simply resigned.
Otherwise, if you are too tactless, you might lose your last bit of dignity.
Emperor Taicheng was very pleased with his tact and immediately rewarded him with many things, including naturally giving his wife and children titles.
The commander-in-chief was grateful for his kindness, and after performing the grand ceremony, he left respectfully.
As the saying goes, a new emperor appoints his own ministers. With the passing of the previous emperor, his era has also passed.Looking at the beautiful spring scenery and sunshine outside, after a while, the commander-in-chief took off the official hat of a first-rank military officer on his head, and walked out of the palace that he had guarded for decades, little by little and step by step.
The resignation of the commander-in-chief did not have much impact. As for his successor, Emperor Taicheng already had a candidate in mind.
He was a deputy general under the commander-in-chief named Li Yuheng.
Like the previous commander-in-chief, this person is also extremely smart, knows how to read people’s expressions, and is very capable. What is even more rare is that while he is smart, he also has a heart of loyalty, filial piety, benevolence and righteousness.
Emperor Taicheng remembered that when he first met him, he was just a minor official of the fifth rank, and he caught his eye because he did his job well.
Emperor Taicheng watched this man grow up and provided him with a lot of help on his way to growth, so Emperor Taicheng did not doubt his loyalty.
But the matter of guarding the imperial palace is of great importance, and we must be extremely careful.
The only thing that Emperor Taicheng cared about was that the other party’s wife used to be a personal maid to the Imperial Concubine. In this way, the other party could not be considered a complete lone minister.
Fortunately, Emperor Taicheng has now taken over the secret guards that belong only to the emperor. Although the previous wave had been buried with the late emperor, and the newly appointed batch are all newcomers, these people have not fallen behind in the training of secret guards, and their abilities are also quite strong. Naturally, it is no problem for them to investigate a mere deputy general.
Therefore, Emperor Taicheng soon found out that although Li Yuheng had married the imperial concubine’s personal maid, she had hardly had any contact with Qiuwu Palace since her marriage, and in recent years, they had completely stopped communicating.
That’s right, she’s just a maid, who would care?
Given the Imperial Concubine’s temperament over the years, I’m afraid she has forgotten about it a long time ago.
Emperor Taicheng gradually felt relieved.
But even though he knew it, Emperor Taicheng had to test the other party.
Soon, Li Yuheng was summoned into the palace.
Li Yuheng is a very smart man. Ever since he heard the news of the commander-in-chief’s retirement a day ago, he knew in his heart that a new commander would be elected soon.
And based on Emperor Taicheng’s attitude towards him in the past, this task would most likely fall on him. Thinking of this, Li Yuheng’s heartbeat began to accelerate uncontrollably.
The commander of the Black Armor Guard is a first-rank official, a high-ranking official of the current dynasty. He is considered the pinnacle of being a minister, and his name will be recorded in history as a matter of course. No matter who it is, it is impossible for anyone to remain calm in such a situation.
Similarly, Emperor Taicheng also knew that he could understand what he meant, but it was precisely because of this that he made the test today.
Soon, Li Yuheng heard these words——
“Since I summoned you here at this critical moment, I’m sure you understand what I mean. I won’t keep you in suspense and will just speak directly.”
“I have my eyes on you as the new commander of the Black Armor Guards, but you also have to understand that your family is not suitable for this position. It’s ok to be the son of a merchant, but I heard that your wife was once a personal maidservant of the Imperial Concubine?”
Now that everything is clear, the next step is to start making choices.
“Now, I will give you two choices. One, demote your wife to a concubine, or divorce her. Two…” Emperor Taicheng couldn’t help but look at a small porcelain bottle that had been prepared on the side.
“I don’t need to teach you what’s next, right?”
Almost instantly, Li Yuheng lowered his head.
Emperor Taicheng thought that he was frightened, but he didn’t know that Li Yuheng felt that this scene was too familiar. The Ninth Prince of the previous emperor had also used this trick to test him…
It was the same trick, but Li Yuheng couldn’t get nervous at all.
Compared to a person who can kill his partner for profit and official position, the emperor must want a loyal subordinate who will not be moved by profit.
After a long time, Li Yuheng finally spoke: “Your Majesty, I married Su Xin with three matchmakers, six engagements and eight sedan chairs. She and I have been married for many years without any mistakes. How can I demote her to a concubine? How can this be allowed!”
As for directly poisoning someone to death, that is even more ridiculous.
Upon hearing this, Emperor Taicheng was satisfied in his heart, but frowned: “Even if you are only a deputy general for your whole life, are you willing?”
“I… I am unwilling, but Su Xin married me when she was still a nobody, and she gave birth to two sons and two daughters for me. I, I really can’t bear it…”
As if he didn’t see the struggle on Li Yuheng’s face, Emperor Taicheng said nothing, waved his hand and told him to leave.
Emperor Taicheng’s behaviour made Li Yuheng nervous.
But there is no choice, the words have already been said, so I can only take a gamble.
Fortunately, Li Yuheng won the bet.
When he received the imperial decree appointing him as the new commander, Li Yuheng breathed a sigh of relief, yet he almost collapsed.
“Thank you, Lord. Long live the emperor.”
At this point, he had completely entered the centre of power in the Great Zhou.
Who would have thought that the son of a merchant back then would be able to achieve what he has today?
Thinking back to the beginning, Li Yuheng couldn’t help but feel dazed.
Now that he has really taken this position, Li Yuheng’s feelings towards Prince Rui have become more complicated. With Prince Rui’s kindness to him, he should repay him, but whenever Prince Rui makes a request, it is really difficult for Li Yuheng to refuse.
However, to Li Yuheng’s surprise, Prince Rui seemed to have forgotten about him a long time ago, and never took the initiative to look for him…
The other side.
Early in the morning, Yao Zhi followed Ye Shuo out of the city. Others thought that the two were going to a temple outside to burn incense and eat vegetarian food, but Yao Zhi knew from the beginning that this was not the case.
The two of them came to look for the relics left by the late emperor.
Counting the days, today is exactly one month.
“Thirty miles southwest of the city… should be here, right?”
Looking around, Ye Shuo found that the surroundings were desolate. Not to mention people, there was not even a ghost. Fortunately, Yao Zhi came with him. Otherwise, he would be alone and would feel a little uneasy.
The two of them searched for a long time but couldn’t find anything special. Ye Shuo couldn’t help but feel suspicious.
“Could it be that Dad had someone dig a cave and buried all the gold, silver and treasures in his private vault?”
If this was true, Ye Shuo didn’t dare to imagine the expression on Xiao Ming’s face, who had now entered the palace.
But after a careful observation, Ye Shuo felt that it was not the case. After all, the land in front of him showed no signs of having been turned over recently.
But if it is not gold, silver and treasures, what else could it be?
While Ye Shuo was lost in thought, Yao Zhi next to him keenly noticed something unusual.
“Who is it, who is there!”
Yao Zhi shouted loudly, and at the same time, the soft sword at her waist popped out.
Even though Yao Zhi had been eating, drinking and having fun with Ye Shuo in the palace for more than a year and had become lazy as a result, her basic skills were still there and she could react in an instant.
This movement, this performance, could it be…
The moment the soft sword stabbed out, an incredible thought immediately popped up in Ye Shuo’s mind.
Under the sword shadows as dense as raindrops, the man in black was forced to show his face.
The moment the other person’s figure appeared, Ye Shuo recognized him at the first moment even though he was still wearing a mask.
Ye Shuo almost blurted out: “Master!”
If the man in black is not Wu Yi, who else could it be?
The number of secret guards is not large. The rule that secret guards must be buried with the emperor after his death was set during the reign of Emperor Gaozu. The control is extremely strict. No one can escape the layers of inspection. It is harder than ascending to heaven to hide the truth. Even if it is Emperor Jingwen, after all the twists and turns, he can only keep Wu Yi.
Fortunately, this one can be worth an entire team.
Wu Yi’s kung fu is the best among all of them, and he is also the one who has been with Emperor Jingwen the longest. He knows many secrets. He is not afraid even if the Sixth Prince really turns against him one day. With Wu Yi’s ability, it will not be a problem for him to save his youngest son’s life.
In addition to the will, Emperor Jingwen made two preparations, one overt and one covert. He only hoped that these things would never be needed.
In an instant Ye Shuo understood his father’s intention. How could he hold back his tears?
“Besides this, does Dad have any other instructions?”
“there is none left.”
Wu Yi shook his head, looked at his new master, hesitated for a moment, and said: “The emperor only asked you to take good care of yourself in the future, saying that he can no longer protect you in the future. This is… the last time.”
A month later, at this moment, Ye Shuo’s heart still aches uncontrollably.