Mijing answered, “Perhaps ebony. I don’t quite remember.”
Xiao Rong smiled at Mijing. “This is enough. Thank you for your help.”
Mijing smiled back. “I hope Mister Xiao can find it soon.”
After speaking, Mijing stood and left. Dongfang Jin, full of anticipation, urged, “Mister Xiao, let’s go find them!”
Xiao Rong asked, “Find what?”
Dongfang Jin was stunned. “Find… the divine herb!”
Xiao Rong snorted lightly. “Find what? I already said it is a scam. Perhaps the herb has some effect, but it’s not as powerful as the Xianbei claim. Everyone is busy. Who has time to find such a dead thing? You go outside the city and pick a wild herb that roughly matches the Buddha’s Son description.”
Dongfang Jin: “…”
He froze, then slowly reacted, shaking his head wildly. “Impossible! Mister Xiao, absolutely impossible!”
Xiao Rong: “…”
Who allowed you to speak my lines?!
Xiao Rong stood. “Yes! The King is determined to get the Divine Herb. Do you want Murong Qi’s plot to succeed? If the King agrees, future events will be complicated. He is a Xianbei general, very high-ranking! Recruiting him is a huge problem. Do you think things will remain under the King’s control then? Killing Murong Qi now would be acceptable, but if we recruit him and then kill him, morally, the King has already lost. Who would dare surrender to the Northern Army in the future? What difference does surrender make? All of them would die anyway!”
Dongfang Jin opened his mouth, “But you cannot trick him with a fake herb—”
Dongfang Jin’s shoulders slumped. He stared at his left shoulder, where Xiao Rong’s hand rested.
Xiao Rong’s voice was calm. “Sometimes, to protect the King, a small white lie is acceptable.”
Dongfang Jin: “…”
No, he didn’t think so. Whether benevolent or malicious, lying to the King should be punished by military law!
Xiao Rong pressed harder. “We both care for the King. You don’t want the King to suffer, right?”
Dongfang Jin: “…”
Yes. He swore allegiance to the King, in life or death.
Xiao Rong nodded approvingly. “All for the king.”
Dongfang Jin said, “…All for the king.”
Just before being fully convinced, Dongfang Jin struggled back to awareness. “I still think—”
Xiao Rong withdrew his hand, looking at Dongfang Jin. “If you don’t follow my plan or reveal it to the King, I will report you. I will say that in Jinling, you disrespected me, repeatedly disobeyed my orders, and allowed Empress Dowager Sun to harass me without intervening.”
Dongfang Jin: “…”
Disobedience, yes, but the rest… and harassed by the Empress?!
He stiffened, shocked, as Xiao Rong smiled brightly at him.
Dongfang Jin swallowed hard, enduring the inner pain. “I obey, sir.”
Xiao Rong nodded. “After you return, check the Xianbei warehouse for a suitable box. Hurry. I will wait only one hour for you.”
Dongfang Jin left, looking frustrated.
*
An hour later, Xiao Rong placed the Divine Herb in front of Qu Yunmie.
Qu Yunmie was very surprised. Xiao Rong found it so quickly?
He picked it up and opened it. He couldn’t imagine that Xiao Rong would bring a fake to trick him. He only felt something was off but couldn’t say exactly what.
Qu Yunmie said, “Looking at it… it doesn’t seem like it’s been kept for a hundred years.”
Xiao Rong replied, “That’s its miraculous nature. No matter how long it’s kept, it always looks as if it were freshly picked.”
Qu Yunmie frowned. He carefully examined the Divine Herb, and after a while, he suddenly relaxed his expression. “As expected of a divine herb. Even after all this time, it still gives off a plant-like scent.”
Xiao Rong lowered his eyes and smiled—anything that wasn’t the smell of cow dung was fine.
Qu Yunmie closed the box. “Where did you find it?”
Xiao Rong spoke confidently, “Murong Qi didn’t act on a whim. He had been planning this for a long time. That’s why he could steal the Divine Herb without Murong Yi knowing, but he has been fighting the Northern Army all these days. Such an important item couldn’t be hidden through someone else, so the herb had to remain in the city, in the hands of someone he trusted. I investigated who he had been close to recently, then went one by one to check, and here it is, I already found it.”
Qu Yunmie said, “You’re really clever.”
Dongfang Jin: “…”
Or rather, you’re a good liar.
Xiao Rong looked at Qu Yunmie. Qu Yunmie held the box on his lap, unwilling to put it aside. He clearly valued the herb greatly.
Xiao Rong asked him, “Are you satisfied now, Your Majesty?”
Qu Yunmie smiled at him. “Yes, I’m relieved.”
Xiao Rong also smiled. “Good.”
After speaking, he immediately commanded Dongfang Jin, “Go kill Murong Qi, immediately!”
Dongfang Jin turned and left without consulting Qu Yunmie. Qu Yunmie was stunned, but he neither stood nor stopped him. He just didn’t understand. “Why the rush? I still have some things to ask him.”
Xiao Rong thought, Of course I’m anxious. If he persuades you again, all my effort would be wasted.
Xiao Rong said casually, “Regarding military matters, so many Xianbei generals are still alive. As for Shengle City, the nobles know better than Murong Qi. The only useful part about him is how he knew you needed the Divine Herb, but I guess, Your Majesty, you can explain that to me.”
After all, even Jian Qiao and the others didn’t know. Qu Yunmie had raised the confidentiality level to the highest. Finding a traitor among so few people wasn’t difficult.
Qu Yunmie said nothing. He pressed his lips and said, “I will handle it.”
Xiao Rong shook his head helplessly. “Since I came to the Northern Army, there has never been a shortage of traitors. Perhaps Your Majesty should consider adjusting the army structure. Nearly 300,000 troops, and the number will only grow. Such a large force cannot all be led by you. Some will always develop ambitions. Once they are separated, won’t they declare themselves kings? You cannot allow them to remain so scattered.”
Qu Yunmie said, “Understood.”
*
After Dongfang Jin left, he struck, and Murong Qi died.
The death of the general shocked the Xianbei, and the Northern Army was somewhat pleased, though not overly so.
Xiao Rong remained indifferent. Murong Qi’s surrender only made him dizzy. It proved he wasn’t a remarkable figure. The historical records he had read also treated the two Murong Emperors extensively but mentioned the general very little. Historically, he had died simply, mentioned in a few words. This time, Qu Yunmie had given him a chance, which he tried to exploit with the Divine Herb.
Ultimately, he failed. Success or failure hinged on the Divine Herb. As a Xianbei, his fate had already been determined the day Qu Yunmie rose.
Xiao Rong trusted the system, so naturally he thought Murong Qi was mediocre. As Qu Yunmie had said, even if he had been recruited, he wouldn’t have posed a future threat. If disobedient, then they simply kill him.
At that time, Xiao Rong didn’t realize it wasn’t that Murong Qi was weak—it was that Qu Yunmie had grown stronger. That would soon become clear.
…
Murong Qi was dead, but Murong Yi still lived. Next, they had to decide Murong Yi’s fate.
Some insisted on killing him, to prevent the Xianbei from rebelling again and to console the fallen soldiers.
Others suggested placing him under house arrest as a transitional ruler, since they still had to govern the Xianbei rather than treating them as slaves.
The former was Yu Shaoxie, who sneered at the latter, the Buddha Son’s idea. “I’ve never seen the Xianbei treat our Central Plains people like this.”
The Buddha’s Son responded politely but firmly, “An eye for an eye never ends.”
Yu Shaoxie and Mijing exchanged looks, neither yielding. Suddenly, they both turned to Xiao Rong, who was nearly zoning out.
Xiao Rong: “…”
He slouched in his chair, sitting awkwardly. Seeing them, he straightened and said, “Whether or not we kill him… we’ll decide later. At least today we cannot. I need to find out who set that poison plan. After returning to Chenliu, clearing the Qingfeng Sect will be my top priority. No exceptions: anyone can go to jail, anyone can be killed, no one escapes.”
Mijing said, “Then why ask who did it, you’ve already planned the response.”
Yu Shaoxie said, “It’s not about the plan. Master Rong, you just want to know who your enemy is, right?”
Xiao Rong answered, “I want to know who the enemy leader is.”
Yu Shaoxie shrugged, implying, what difference does it make? The enemy leader is also your enemy.
Mijing remained silent, then changed the topic. “The Qingfeng Sect is huge. They aren’t easy to eliminate.”
Xiao Rong said, “That’s no excuse to avoid it. Even if it cannot be completely eradicated, the leaders and elders must be dealt with at least once. At the very least, in these two years, they cannot trouble the Northern Army.”
After two years, Qu Yunmie would have already become Emperor. The situation was complex. Currently, it seems unstable, ever-changing, but if it stabilized, no one could shake it easily.
Yu Shaoxie supported Xiao Rong but had one question. “Rong, you have no official position now. After returning to Chenliu, will you still serve as the Chenliu magistrate?”
Xiao Rong shook his head. “I want to be Minister of Education.”
Yu Shaoxie: “…”
Buddha Son: “…”
The two exchanged glances, unsure how to respond to Xiao Rong’s casual attitude toward official posts.
Yu Shaoxie hinted subtly, “Minister of Education. That’s a good post, but did you mention it to Chancellor Gao?”
More importantly, have you mentioned it to the King?
Just then, Qu Yunmie entered, taking off his armor as he walked in. Xiao Rong called out, “Your Majesty, after returning to Chenliu, I wish to serve as Minister of Education.”
Qu Yunmie said, “Oh, no need to return to Chenliu. You can serve here.”
He hung the armor on the rack and stayed inside.
Xiao Rong turned to the two. “Alright, when I write to Chancellor Gao, I will mention it.”
The two stared silently.
Other issues remained. Shengle needed officials to govern it. They couldn’t stay forever. The palace itself was a problem. Normally, the previous regime’s palace would be burned to the ground, but Xiao Rong didn’t want to waste it. Yu Shaoxie and Mijing agreed.
Even so, the palace couldn’t be preserved indefinitely. There could only be one, and it had to be in Chenliu.
Neither had a solution.
Xiao Rong suggested, “Keep it and later convert it into a temporary palace?”
Mijing said, “It’s too costly. This palace is bigger than Changle Palace. Maintaining it as a temporary palace would require constant care, costing over ten thousand gold annually.”
Xiao Rong: “…”
He had only recently become wealthy, and a palace already consumed so much money?!
Yu Shaoxie said, “It’s better to demolish it all. Let the garrison use it as their station.”
Mijing said, “If in the city center, Shengle will not develop. Isn’t Yanmen Commandery like this now?”
Too many military personnel squeeze out civilians. Shengle would become a military stronghold, not the transport hub Xiao Rong desired.
They fell silent. Mijing said, “I agree with Yu’s idea. Better demolish the palace. If it cannot be maintained, it shouldn’t cause more trouble.”
Xiao Rong sighed and agreed. Jinling’s palace had some value—beautiful scenery, close to Chenliu. If Qu Yunmie grew tired of it, transferring wasn’t hard, but Shengle was too far. Once Qu Yunmie became Emperor, one visit would require a huge army movement. Xiao Rong didn’t want to leave the Xianbei palace standing, and avoid giving Qu Yunmie any chance of corruption.
…
They continued discussing other matters. Qu Yunmie had already fallen fast asleep. In such a large palace complex, he could sleep anywhere. He arrived without notice, but as he was a good sleeper, Xiao Rong didn’t mind.
Before the atmosphere calmed, Dongfang Jin burst in with military reports.
“Your Majesty! An urgent report from Chenliu!”
Qu Yunmie immediately opened his eyes and strode toward him, while Dongfang Jin was surrounded.
Xiao Rong said, “An urgent report?! What happened?!”
Yu Shaoxie said, “Did Nanyong attack Chenliu?”
Mijing said, “It shouldn’t be. Sun Renluan wouldn’t do that. Could something have happened to him?”
He remembered Xiao Rong had said Sun Renluan would die next year.
…
Dongfang Jin handed the report to Qu Yunmie as he approached. Xiao Rong read beside him.
He read faster than Qu Yunmie and reacted more strongly.
He widened his eyes in shock. Qu Yunmie only frowned. “Seven days ago, when I attacked the Xianbei, Nanyong also sent Shen Yangrui to attack Yizhou. They captured two major cities in a day. Yizhou has now fallen. Ningzhou is under attack.”
Yu Shaoxie exclaimed, “How daring!”
Mijing frowned. “Yizhou and Ningzhou are near Nanyong, shielded by the Qinling and Bashan Mountains. Recapturing them will be difficult. They came well-prepared. If my guess is correct, they only want these two prefectures.”
Qu Yunmie sneered. “Dream on! Dare to seize my lands? They clearly want to die!”
Already annoyed from being awakened, he now learned of Nanyong’s meddling. Irritated, he grabbed the report and left. He couldn’t intervene immediately but planned to send Wang Xinyong first, then the garrison at Anding City. Even if they couldn’t reclaim Yizhou and Ningzhou, they had to delay Nanyong’s troops until he could personally lead his army.
Qu Yunmie stormed out, while Yu Shaoxie and Mijing looked at Xiao Rong, dumbfounded as to why he didn’t follow.
Yu Shaoxie waved at him. “Young Master Rong? It’s Yizhou that’s in trouble, not Chenliu.”
Xiao Rong responded vaguely. “I know.”
Because he knew, he had no immediate reaction.
One prefecture lost, another nearly lost… yet his body remained fine.
Truly fine. For the past seven days, he had been on high alert. Aside from when Qu Yunmie spared Murong Qi, he had experienced no illness or discomfort.
This meant losing a city didn’t affect Qu Yunmie’s fortune. Nanyong’s actions couldn’t shake him in the slightest.
…
Unknowingly, Qu Yunmie had grown so powerful. Xiao Rong had thought Nanyong would be the biggest obstacle on Qu Yunmie’s path to the throne, but now he realized they weren’t even on the same level.
Heaven help him.
Edited by: Antiope
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