C33

When Lu Que returned to the Mansion of the Duke of Wei, he found that his mother was not there. After dinner, he called over butler Uncle Fu to ask. It turned out that an hour before he arrived home, an order came from the palace that the late emperor's imperial concubine, the current imperial concubine, would invite his mother to the palace to listen to the play. Lu Que thought that this grand imperial concubine only had one daughter under her knee. She had married the Marquis of Martialism, Shen Zhang, more than ten years ago. Shen Zhang had always been the commander of the border and it was likely that he hadn't seen his daughter for some time.

Now that it was the new year, and the palace was lonely, the old man invited his mother to accompany him to the palace to listen to the play, in order to resolve the worries of love, it made sense. Although his mother had not been given to him by the grand imperial concubine, she had died long ago. In the past, she had treated his mother with the utmost care, making their relationship like a mother and daughter. It was his duty for his mother to accompany the old woman in the palace.

Then, Lu Que thought of the Marquis of Martialism, Shen Zhang. There were two commander-in-chiefs that were quite special in this matter. One was the Marquis of Wu An, Bai Yi, and the other was the Marquis of Wu Yi, Shen Zhang. They grew up together and entered the academy together to pacify the rebellion. They had known each other for dozens of years, and if one were to say who the emperor trusted the most in this affair, they would definitely be placed in the top three.

According to Lu Que's understanding, for the past few years, Bai Yi and Shen Zhang had been guarding the Northern and Southern Realms. After the return of his parents, the Emperor sent Bai Yi's dragonfly army to the north to preside over the war against the Chidi. And at the same time, he transferred the Coiling Stone army commander, Shen Zhang, to the southern region to assume the position of commander of the Storm army, guarding against the Heavenly Star and Red Flame in the south.

After Shen Zhang, the position of commander-in-chief had been vacant for more than half a year, but the Emperor had still not determined who the commander-in-chief would be. Instead, he had handed the position of commander-in-chief to the current Northern Frontier General, Bai Yi, to control.

Just as Lu Que was daydreaming, he heard a sound coming from the main entrance. It must be his mother. He hurriedly got up and went out to greet her.

Yu Yuqing looked at her son with a mischievous expression, "Jiu'er, after I heard that today's items were decided, how about you and that Gu family girl climb the pillar's peak to enjoy the scenery?" "How is it going?"

Lu Que helped his mother into the main hall and helped her take her snow robe. After he carefully folded the snow, he said, "Your son's return to the capital was short, and the Phoenix Cry School only went once after the big test. After the items were settled, Sister Qingcheng only brought your son to visit the Academy, it's nothing much."

"Then why didn't she bring the others with her? Why did she accompany you?" It's not that easy to climb the 3600 steps of the National Pillar Peak in this cold weather. Although Qingcheng is a few years older than you, she's still a girl. Yu Chu Qing sat down at the head of the table and took a sip of the tea offered by her son, Lu Que. Furthermore, both of you have extraordinary talent and limitless potential. You should be above your father and I in terms of cultivation level in the future, and be able to live for a thousand years.

"I understand." Lu Que smiled bitterly and nodded his head.

Yu Chuqing stared at Lu Que for a while. She knew that Lu Que did not listen to her words too well and sighed. This son was good at everything, but perhaps it was because he had grown up in the mountains and didn't know much about relationships between men and women. Most of the poems and songs he had read in the book were beautiful, but most of them were extremely passionate.

If it was as the book said, then both men and women treated each other with respect. They were stingy with their words, deeply committed to etiquette, and as calm as water, how could it be possible for them to form an alliance. However, considering that Lu Que was not yet fifteen years old, there was no hurry in this aspect. When they reached the academy, they would learn. In such an environment, many things naturally could not be learned.

"Fei'er, it's already the second fragment of the night. Are you waiting here because you're worried that there will be trouble after the matter of ordering goods gets out?" Yu Chuqing took a sip of tea and said.

"This child isn't worried at all." Lu Que shook his head, "Nothing can go wrong. Although we do not know who is hiding behind the scenes, the other party did not succeed last time. Without being completely confident, he should not have attacked again, and the more he moves, the more likely he is to be exposed.

"That's right, that's what I thought too. Your uncle even told your mother today that he would send the Three Guards to protect you in secret. However, your mother rejected his offer." Then, she looked at Lu Que's reaction.

"The Three Guards protecting him in the dark?" Lu Que was startled. He never expected that his uncle, the Emperor, would pay so much attention to him. The Three Guards only protected the direct line of descent of the imperial family. Everyone knew that, but they didn't expect their uncle to make an exception for them.

"What Mother rejected was that all countries that were passed down took gentleness as their skin and laws as their bones. As the Son of Heaven, His Majesty can transcend the law, but your son does not have this privilege. With this child's body and the great deal of bad methods, it didn't seem like anything much right now. However, when an example is opened, the future generations of kings can follow suit. If the might of the Law does not exist, domination will definitely occur. At that time, when the country is weak, the royal family of the former dynasty would perish as a result of it.

"It's good that you understand this logic." After all, your mind is calm, and you don't like worldly disputes. On the surface, today it seems like Tian Xiang and Qingcheng are pulling you to the Academy to order, but in reality, your mother told you a few days ago that she wanted you to participate in the selection, so you went there, right? "" Yes.

"How could I dare to blame Mother?" Lu Que quickly got up and saluted. Your son knew what his mother was thinking, and was willing to do his best.

"Sit down, let's talk. This is our home, so we don't need to be so polite." Seeing that Lu Que had returned to his chair, Yu Chuqing continued, "Do you know what your father and I are planning? "Tell me about it."

"Father has been out of the capital for more than a month, and he is now at White Smoke Mountain, waiting for the return of the Lord of Assassin City." Father has been out of the capital for more than a month, and he is now at White Smoke Mountain, waiting for the return of the Lord of Assassin City.

"Also." Lu Que thought about it for a moment before continuing, "Mother's intention in letting me participate in this reservation is also like this. Although I am not talented, I will definitely let the person behind the scenes know that I have reached the second rank of thirty-six Foundation Establishment since the founding of Great Gan Nation." Who was the mastermind? However, one thing is certain, he has a deep grudge with our Duke of Wei's estate. He definitely does not wish for our child to grow up safely, so he will definitely take action. "

"Anything else?" Yu Chuqing nodded with a smile in her eyes.

"There's more?" Lu Que thought about it while rubbing his shirt with his right hand. He couldn't think of anything else. Looking at his mother smilingly savoring the tea, his eyes suddenly lit up, "Also, mother will definitely be prepared in secret. I'm sure my child will be safe."

"Hehe ~" Yu Chu Qing laughed when she heard that, covered her mouth and chuckled, "Que Er is better at talking than before. Mother only has you as her only child. Although I have to borrow your hand to lure out the person behind the scenes, I will definitely not put you in danger. However, there are two things that you did not expect. "

"Two more points?" "Please enlighten me, mother."

"First of all, you don't know the Jindu. Or perhaps, you don't know Xiao Juntian. "

"Xiao Juntian? "Then who is it?" Lu Que was stunned. He had never heard of this name before.

"In the past, Emperor Taizu had established his power and used his peerless beauty to suppress the rest of the world." Yu Chuqing said with a hint of longing, "In the initial stages of the establishment of the Great Gan Empire, there was not only one empire in the entire Greenwood Continent. Did you know that?"

"This child knows." Lu Que interjected, "This child once read in the Royal Book Collection that Taizu Emperor stripped the emperors of the continent of their titles. At that time, the three empires of Beichen, Nanxing, and Shada, to the west of the sea, were bullying the establishment of a new empire, and with the support of Da Gan, separated by ten thousand li of the sea, were disdainful of Taizu's words. Emperor Taizu went to the three kingdoms by himself and slaughtered the royal families of the three kingdoms. The imperial power of the three kingdoms collapsed and he fell into a war of royal authority.

"You're right. In the past, the Qingyang Empire formed the imperial family, which is why your father trained the Skyfire Army and set out to fight in the North." As if recalling the past, Yu Chuqing's eyes lit up. A mere barbarian on a small prairie dares to claim the title of emperor?

"But mother, what does all this have to do with that man Xiao Juntian?" Lu Que asked, puzzled.

"Everything has an exception." Yu Chuqing seemed to have thought of something. She pursed her lips and said, "On this Greenwood Continent, there are many kingdoms, and I am the emperor. However, there is one person who is bestowing the title of emperor, but we are powerless to do anything about it."

"This person is Xiao Juntian?" "Where is he from?" Lu Que asked curiously. He had never heard of any other country that had the title of emperor other than the Great Gan.

"He, he is a very capable person. He's a little older than your father. "

"A lot of people?" How could Da Gan have another surname of Emperor? Lu Que could not understand.

"Do you know where the thorns come from?"

"Your son only knows that the assassins' whereabouts are mysterious, but I don't know where they came from."

This started from the time of the previous emperor, Yu Chuqing slowly told him about what happened that year.

It turned out that a few decades ago, the Xiao family of Zhongyang was also a famous family, and they were not inferior to the current nine great families. In fact, they were even more famous than the previous Emperor Xuan Emperor. However, in the middle of the late emperor's reign, when the empress died, Emperor Xuan ignored court affairs in grief. Later on, he became addicted to women, widely accepted as his concubines.

It had been a long time since the emperor had visited the capital. Although there were two chambers of imperial government, they were still in a state of confusion. The courtiers formed their own parties and businesses. For the sake of rights and interests, they suspected each other, and the parties defied each other. That was the most chaotic period of the imperial government since the founding of the Great Gan Empire. The chaos was naturally witnessed by the then Prime Minister, Xiao Zhengshi. He repeatedly urged them to go into the palace and even risked their lives to charge into the palace, inviting Emperor Xuan to appear before the imperial court to seek justice.

Those disloyal courtiers naturally viewed this upright old prime minister as a thorn in their side. He had secretly roped in some of the Xiao Clan's unfilial disciples to commit adultery. At that time, Xiao Zheng Shi's concubine son had secretly deducted the salt tax, and then there were also members of the Xiao family involved in saving the border army's food rations. Emperor Xuan was furious. He punished all of these people to the point where he could not control their families properly. He could not control them in the name of an auxiliary king, so he forced Xiao Zhengshi out of the capital.

Xiao Zhengshi was dispirited. His name was gone without a trace. Not long after he had returned to his hometown, he had died of depression. Not long after Xiao Zheng's death, the most favored concubine of Emperor Xuan's Palace fell ill. After the imperial physician consulted, he wrote out a prescription, but the illness only grew worse and worse until she died without treatment. Only after checking did he discover that the medicinal ingredients provided were actually all fish eyes and pearls, all made from a similar plant that had moved flowers and trees together.

The furious Emperor Xuan ordered the Xiao family to be beheaded, and the hundred year old Prominent Class families were completely annihilated. Only the young Xiao Zheng, Shi Xiaosheng, who was still studying in the palace, escaped with the help of his good friends from the academy palace.

Although Emperor Xuan had awoken to the fact that he had regained control of the imperial government, reformed the imperial government, and overturned the chaos. He had dealt with those who had framed the Xiao family in order to reverse the situation, those who had died could not be revived.

A dozen years later, Xiao Wen, who had changed his name to Xiao Juntian, suddenly appeared. He founded the assassination association, called himself the Emperor of Death, and killed many officials in the dark and in the light. Although all the officials were later found to have committed wrongful acts, everyone had a way to die. But the Great Ancestor said that those who were called emperors would be executed. The imperial government had tried to encircle him several times, but was unable to capture him. Furthermore, Xiao Juntian was an expert and had yet to establish his own country. He didn't want to waste money on the people, so he had decided to leave it at that.

"This Xiao Juntian is indeed a pitiful person. Just by looking at his actions, he does not deserve the name of a hot-blooded man." After listening to his mother's story, Lu Que sighed and said.

"You think so?" Yu Chuqing glanced at Lu Que with a strange expression on her face.

"Your son thinks that since the few cases in the Xiao family back then were set up by someone, the previous Emperor did not know if they were true or false and dealt with them so ruthlessly. He has the virtue of being a deity." It is because of the Xiao Clan that we have failed. There is nothing to lose from the Xiao Clan. " Lu Que said solemnly.

Yu Chuqing's face was a little unsightly, but she knew that her son was right. How could she allow others to say that he was wrong? If it wasn't her son Lu Que, other people would have already been killed by her.

Yu Chuqing took a few deep breaths to calm herself down. She knew that her son didn't have a strong sense of belonging to Dagong, so she naturally couldn't blame him for looking at things from the perspective of the imperial family.

"But Jiu'er, the masked man who tried to assassinate you outside the academy a few days ago most likely came from Jiu Du. This means that they have violated the original goal of not killing the Pure Ming gentleman and that they have a purpose of not killing the fetus. Do you still think he is a pitiful person?"

"Your child hasn't reached the crown yet, so he can't be considered a gentleman with a clear mind. He can't be considered a pregnant woman either. If these people were to move out, your son definitely wouldn't be able to survive the arrival of the Duke of An, which means that the assassins have no intention of forming mortal feuds with the Duke of Wei's household. Furthermore, that assassin might not even be the one who assassinated the capital, but it could even be one of the eight Tribes of the Dark Phoenix. The reason Father personally went to White Smoke Mountain should be because he wants to borrow the power of the Sword Capital to find the mastermind, right? "

"You're quite smart." Seeing how her son said he was assassinated as if he was an outsider and had clear thoughts, Yu Yuqing couldn't help but praise him in her heart.

"Mother just said there are two points. What's the second point?" Lu Que asked.

"Second?" Yu Chu Qing smiled, "The second thing is to thank you, my son."

"Thank me?" Lu Que was puzzled.

"With the help of your 'True Sutra of the True Primordial Birth', your father and I have already reached the pinnacle of the great tribulation and can already sense the human profound entrances. At least a year or two, at most three to five years, we will have to find a place to cultivate in order to achieve the best of our abilities. However, before that happens, we must find out who the mastermind is. Otherwise, how could I leave without worrying? "

"Congratulations, father and mother." Lu Que was also overjoyed upon hearing this. This was the realm of the most powerful people, the realm known as the pinnacle of mankind. From ancient times till now, there had been countless heroes who had perished in the great tribulation and were unable to obtain it.

"It's not time for congratulations yet. In the great tribulation's difficulty, mother is only seventy percent confident." Yu Chu Qing waved her hand and continued, "In a few years, the Rushing Thunder Army will be stationed in Xia Jing. The two Legions, Yu Feng and Hu Xiao, will be stationed in the south to guard against the two kingdoms."

"What about the Evergreen Legion?" Lu Que knew that the Evergreen Legion was known as the number one army under the personal control of the emperor. They were the only one in the Empire's 12 armies that did not have a marshal. The reason why the Evergreen Legion was called this name was because it was related to Cyan Cyan Pine Lake, which meant that the nation was eternally prosperous. The legions were all formed from elite veterans drawn from different Legions, and although they had not experienced as many battles as the Legion stationed at the border, they did not carry the name of elite.

"The Evergreen Army will be transferred back to the imperial capital. The Evergreen Army, the Phoenix Soaring Army and the Yulin Army will be stationed in the imperial capital. This is the system of ancestor." Yu Chuqing seemed to have thought of something and slightly frowned.

"Mother, the reason His Majesty is sending the Evergreen Army back to the capital right now is to follow the ancestral rules and strengthen the defenses of the imperial capital." Or did you sense something? "

"Recently, the imperial capital has been quite restless. It is time for the Evergreen Army to return." Yu Chu Qing did not answer Lu Que's question and simply brought up the topic. By the way, my son, it will be the new year soon, and you will be fifteen years old. "During the festival, the power of the Verdant Wood Sword Sect increased tremendously. It is time for you to break through to the Blood Meridian Realm. Are you ready?"

"Mother, don't worry. I will remember that blood picture in my mind." As long as the green wood shackles are removed, breaking through would not be a problem. "

"That's good then. I'll leave the matters of the new year to Uncle Fu. You just have to prepare and meditate to break through." Yu Chuqing nodded in satisfaction.

"I understand. Oh right, mother, can father rush back before the new year?" Lu Que looked expectantly at his mother. Ever since he could remember, every year, he would spend the holidays with his parents. This year was the first new year coming out of the mountains, he naturally hoped to be able to reunite with his family.

"Your father won't be able to make it back." Yu Chu Qing looked out the window at the night sky, her eyes looking towards the south. She also wanted to be able to reunite with her family and share with the heavens. However, whether it was for the safety of their son or to do everything in the world, the two of them had to find the person behind the scenes and eliminate him before they left.

Seeing his mother in a daze, Lu Que tactfully stopped speaking. For himself, this was the first time he had lost his father. But for his mother, it was the same. Even back then when he fought against the Qingyang Empire, they were still together, father and mother.

After a moment of silence, Yu Chu Qing came back to her senses and said, "It's getting late, I'm a little tired, you've also been tired for the whole day, go back to your room and rest."

"Yes, your son will take his leave."