Martial King's Retired Life

A Beautiful Face Underneath the Light

The candles in the study, where Qian Diaojin waited for His Majesty to finish, were burning late at night. Qian Diaojin, also known as Deaddust, was a member of Emperor’s Entourage and rank ten on the Seventeen Hidden Dragons’ ranking. As his qinggong was among the greatest among the three offices, he was frequently tasked with delivering urgent information to battle zones, which was why some people called him the “Official Pigeon”. He always relayed secret information, and this time was no different.

Upon finishing the report Qian Diaojin submitted, His Majesty set aside the document and, wearing a sarcastic smile, remarked, “Still playing games in this situation. If this is how you want to play, I shall entertain you.”

While the report was brief and only conveyed the most vital bits of information, it took a while to read since it was a collection of reports from multiple sources in Suzhou. Although His Majesty predicted Cold Mountain Temple would resist, it still angered him to learn what Liaoliao was trying.

Cold Mountain Temple needed to be taken out no matter how challenging it was, and the imperial court unanimously agreed that Liaoliao’s actions provided them with the best opportunity for His Majesty to proceed. Dispatching Yi Ya for the job was His Majesty being lenient. Had he assigned one of The Ultimate Three to the job, then that was basically forcing Cold Mountain Temple to revolt or die, which would’ve only made the imperial court’s successive steps more difficult. Based on the current state, trying to dismantle Cold Mountain Temple was the equivalent of walking bare feet in Jiangnan’s martial arts community; it was extremely risky. Yi Ya was the best candidate for the job, in His Majesty’s opinion, and the order given was only to deport Liaoliao, not to attack Cold Mountain Temple.

It went without saying that it wasn’t simple to deport the representative of monks and nuns worldwide. Nevertheless, the youth of few words with an impressive track record brought along officials from the Ministry of Justice. Cold Mountain Temple couldn’t make any excuses as Yi Ya patiently abided by all policies. Hence, riots and the sort were avoided, although the process was consequently more time consuming. They were supposed to be on the road back to the capital yesterday, only for the citizens of Suzhou to somehow catch wind of Liaoliao’s deportation and spontaneously form a human wall at the front of Cold Mountain Temple the night before.

In the eyes of Suzhou’s netizens, the shackled monk sitting outside the doors of Cold Mountain Temple was a noble monk adorned in ordinary clothing donated medicine, practiced medicine, shared Buddhism’s wisdom, and did immeasurable good for the world. In order to protect the temple and the monks of the temple, he shackled himself and was willing to follow the tyrannical imperial court’s lapdog to the capital. For all they knew, the benevolent monk might’ve been executed before he was even granted an audience with His Majesty, so it was too dangerous to let him go.

By the time Yi Ya heard about it and arrived on the scene, there were already dozens of thousands of citizens gathered at the temple, and more people continued to flock there as he waited. They had been standing off for almost two days by the time the report reached His Majesty.

“Clever. I was wondering what the point of shackling himself was when he had pushed all the blame onto Xun Feng. I now know why.”

Qian Diaojin smirked. “Among Liaoliao’s remaining three disciples, Mian Hua, the next temple head, is experienced and steady. Dou Jiu is a renowned swordsman and the strongest among his siblings. Considering Ru Xing’s astuteness, this plan is most likely his brainchild.”

“Hmph, I’ll separate his brain from his skull.” His Majesty wrote something on a sheet of paper, then threw it to Qian Diaojin. “Put his name on the list. Should an opportunity present itself, end him.”

Qian Diaojin froze for a moment when the “list” was mentioned, but it didn’t stop him from putting the secret edict in his sash. “This is for Commander Yi, as well?”

“Is there a problem?”

“Please forgive your subject. He was merely mumbling to himself.”

Staring at the agent in his twenties, His Majesty asked, “You usually speak your mind. What’s the matter?”

Qin Diaojin held his hands up in salute. “Your subject apologies. It is just that your subject wonders if you are trusting the Qilin Guards too much.”

Though he was aware of the friction between Emperor’s Entourage and the Qilin Guards, His Majesty chose to just answer with a smile. “If you can’t trust someone, don’t employ them. If you’re going to employ them, trust them. I trusted Commander Yi with this job. If he is forced to kill Venerable Monk, I’ll shoulder the blame for him. Should Her Majesty Empress Dowager find fault with him, I will protect him.”

“Your subject understands.”

After elaborating on the mission, His Majesty sent Qian Diaojin off to Suzhou. He returned to reading a few more documents when he recalled he had forgotten something, so he had Eunuch Wang summon the guest.

Despite how busy he was, His Majesty showed concerned for Huang Yuzao when the latter entered. “You have yet to recover Brother Yuzao. Why don’t you take a few more days off?”

Huang Yuzao smiled. “This old one wished to see you sooner. Please forgive him for the abrupt visit.”

“I personally gave the order to permit you free entry into the imperial palace. Nobody should stop you. Come take a seat, Brother Yuzao.”

For the last two decades, Huang Yuzao was both a teacher and a friend to His Majesty. Even though it was dark and His Majesty forbade any entries or exits, Huang Yuzao didn’t dare to take the privilege lightly. The only times he requested an audience at night were during emergencies, so his claim that he wanted to “see him sooner” wasn’t actually true.

While His Majesty offered Huang Yuzao a seat, Eunuch Wang had the maids serve up two cups of aromatic tea.

“You gained a lot from this special exam, Your Majesty.”

“Hahaha, I was hoping Ming Feizhen would be able to stir the pot and help uncover some true talent. I didn’t expect him to achieve his level of success. Now that he’s exposed them, they should behave from now. I wish I could uproot all of those corrupt men, but Ming Feizhen has helped me vent this time with his warning.”

As someone who sent plenty of his students to the imperial court, Huang Yuzao was privy to the corruption behind the scenes, which was why he was one of the people who pushed for Ming Feizhen’s participation. Had it not been for his recommendation, His Majesty wouldn’t have had so much faith in Ming Feizhen. Both Huang Yuzao and His Majesty were glad there was no corruption involved this time.

“Did you see Duke Ming’s paper?”

“Hahahaha, of course I did. He was on the mark with everything. As if he could’ve written that. That said, he is Ming Huayu’s disciple. He flouts customs and rules just like his teacher, but there are so many talented odd people in the martial world that it’s nothing to be surprised about, hahaha.”

Frankly, Huang Yuzao was on edge until he heard His Majesty didn’t mind Ming Feizhen’s cheating.

“It’s truly a pity He Shi was unable to make it. You must be disappointed a student you have invested so much into failed to place. I read his paper. While it isn’t poor by any means, he didn’t really stand out this time.”

Huang Yuzao smiled it off. “Everyone has their own wishes. This old one does not consider it a pity for Ying Yang does not wish to place first. There is no need for you to view it as a pity, either. Just let him take the path he deems right.”

Notwithstanding his confusion, His Majesty decided not to inquire any further since Huang Yuzao must’ve had his reasons for believing so.

“What plans do you have for Vice-captain Shen’s brother, Your Majesty?”

His Majesty set down his cup and smiled. “You have finally gotten to the main topic, Brother Yuzao. I thought you were here to discuss Shen Kuang’s matter.”

“A scion of a martial arts family has made a splash as a scholar. He has never stood out, and yet he has leapt to the top in one leap. What is your opinion, Your Majesty.”

His Majesty stopped to think, then slapped himself on the thigh and exhaled. “I’m glad Brother Shen has such a capable son. Shen Clan has hope!”

If there was anything worth celebrating for His Majesty in recent events, it was Shen Kuang’s achievement. His Majesty doted on Shen Yiren more than her brother; however, he didn’t ignore neglect Shen Kuang. He merely didn’t assist too much because he believed that a man needed to build himself with his own hands, and to avoid raising a leech, not because he was worried about criticism. When he read Shen Kuang’s paper, he had a vision of Shen Wuzheng saying the very words to him. That prompted him to immediately give Shen Kuang first place.

“There is one thing this old one is not sure if he should mention or not.”

His Majesty switched to a stern expression. “You have realised it, as well?”

Huang Yuzao nodded. “Emperor’s Entourage and the Qilin Guards have been unable to surpass each other. Although the Qilin Guards have a mighty force, they have to protect the border, so they have remained at an impasse. Neither of them is happy about the other, but there is a hole between them to act as a cushion, which has been the catalyst for the peace. Now that Shen Clan’s siblings are rising, the balance has been broken. Qian Diaojin, who just left, does not think highly of the Qilin Guards and has been butting heads with them recently. If we went back to the status quo two years ago, he would not dare to affront them. The battlefield between the three offices has already been set up; they were only missing a fire. Shen Kuang’s achievement has lifted the lid. It is very likely he will become a target now.”