Would You Like to Have a Drink

Chapter 26.2

Thanks to the layer of cover up of this tyrant, after raiding a few households, the entire court was full of soldiers, looking like quails. The smooth implementation of the reform made Pei Qianxue feel incredible and amazed.

Throughout the ages, most emperors only ever cared about false reputation.

It’s the first time he had seen someone as pure and unpretentious as Emperor Yuan.

Since then, Pei Qianxue was determined to work hard for Emperor Yuan.

He believed that, even if Jin Yu looked like this now, Emperor Yuan would not turn a blind eye to him. Thus he still took this risk.

He waited here for a long time yesterday, but only to be informed that he couldn’t see him.

After thinking about it for a while, Pei Qianxue understood the reason why.

Yesterday was Jin Yu’s death anniversary.

Usually, every time, when that day comes, at least he would mention it and then go to the Imperial Mausoleum to see his monument.

Only on Jin Yu’s death anniversary, would the Emperor Yuan mention about it in a mouthful. He would be furious in the morning, and ordered no one to see him after court. All the ministers would be very nervous, and would dare not provoke this angry emperor.

Since he couldn’t see him yesterday, Pei Qianxue returned and came back again today.

Unexpectedly, after waiting for a long time at the door of the Zhang Palace, the voice of summons was still not heard.

The one on duty at the door today was Yuan Jia, the Chief Eunuch.

“Prime Minister Pei, please wait a little longer. Yesterday, His Majesty’s affairs had piled up, therefore there are more people coming today. Just now General Mu went in for a while, it is estimated that he had something important to report.”

“Thank you, Chief Eunuch Yuan Jia, I’ll just wait.”

Pei Qianxue didn’t care, and still stood directly at the door.

After about it took to burn a stick of an incense, there was movement from inside.

Mu Yuanlong, who had changed into soft armor, strode out and immediately saw the person at the door, “Prime Minister Pei.”

“Lord Mu.”

Pei Qianxue and Jin Yu’s former deputy general were also counted as nodding friends. The two hurriedly greeted each other at the door and then left one after another.

(t/n Nodding friends- Chinese idiom, pinyin diǎn tóu zhī jiāo, means that the friendship is very shallow, just nodding when meeting each.)

However, Pei Qianxue glanced back at Mu Yuanlong’s retreating figure.

Years ago, the Xuan Cavalry was sent to Nanliang, but was unable to attack for a long time, and eventually, was rescued by the passing Tianji Army.

Now that the end of the year was approaching, almost all the major wars had come to a halt.

In the end, the remaining Yu and Wei countries were both not good bones to chew on, therefore it would be better to just wait for a while and wait until the new year.

Since there was no war, then why was Mu Yuanlong here?

Pei Qianxue pressed down the thoughts in his heart, raised his eyes and saw Emperor Yuan standing in front of the desk with his hands clasped behind his back. 

He made a bow with hands folded in front and saluted, “Your Majesty.”

“Prime Minister Pei, you are here.”

Emperor Yuan returned to his senses, pointed to the tabletop, and showed him the memorial that was laid flat on it.

“It just so happened that, you also saw Mu Yuanlong left just now, come, let’s see what he wrote.”

The heavy palace door closed behind him.

Pei Qianxue looked sideways and then asked in surprise, “Letter asking for resignation?”

“Correct.” 

Emperor Yuan rubbed his eyebrows. Perhaps it was because he didn’t sleep last night, there was a faint bluish black under his eye sockets, indicating that he was a little fatigued.

However, those eyes still flashed with a sharp light, not angry and self-prestige. 

(t/n Not angry and self-prestige, describing a person who is not angry, but still has a majestic temperament, generally used to describe a high-ranking and courageous aura.)

He slammed the memorial to the ground and said viciously, “This Mu Yuanlong is really inflexible!”

Although Emperor Yuan didn’t say anything else, Pei Qianxue already understood the unspoken meaning.

After Jin Yu died at Hangu Pass, Xuan Cavalry became an army without a master. This brave and skilled in battle army, which made the other six kingdoms fearful upon hearing their name, were actually personal soldiers belonging to the Third Prince.

After the commanding general died, from the court or from the opposing side, it was unknown how many generals were eyeing Xuan Cavalry, just wanting to incorporate this army into their own. Among them, the Fifth Prince was the most eager one, and even played the ridiculous banner that the Imperial brother’s soldiers should be inherited by the Imperial brother’s younger brother.

Emperor Yuan lost his temper and refused to agree with any of them.

He promoted Mu Yuanlong to be the Commanding General, and continued to make Xuan Cavalry independent from the major armies.

The more Emperor Yuan spoke, the angrier he became, “Zhen let him be the Commanding General of Xuan Cavalry, but he came to Zhen to resign. He didn’t even think about it. If he left, wouldn’t this Xuan Cavalry become a joke?!”

“This, let it pass, at least Zhen can still reject it. But he is good, he even filed a complaint with Zhen, saying that recently there was a student from the Baijia Banquet who had the Qixing Longyuan, suspected of deliberately imitating it—did he think Zhen had no idea?! 

As a suspicious emperor, Emperor Yuan had eyes and ears all over the Imperial City. No matter what happened in the Capital, the shadow guards would almost report everything in detail.

—It’s just a student who looks like him.

Emperor Yuan already knew about it from the first day he stepped into the City gate.

“What does Mu Yuanlong mean by such a trivial complaint? Does he expect Zhen to issue an order now to send that student to be beheaded?”

Emperor Yuan snorted coldly, waved his long sleeves, and paced back and forth in the huge hall.

“He doesn’t even think about it, that’s a student from the Hundred Schools of Thought! They are like rivers and lakes that intertwine with each other, same ambitions and same spirit. If Zhen offend one here, won’t Zhen be just pushing the talents to the countries of Wei and Yu?”

Pei Qianxue:”………”

Suddenly he was speechless.

Your Majesty, do you still remember your tyrant persona in the eyes of the world?

“What’s more, it’s just that they look alike, is Zhen this narrow-minded? And be ridiculed by the world?”

Pei Qianxue thought it over again, “Your Majesty, have you ever thought that…..that person might really be..…”

He couldn’t say his name.

A dragon had a reverse scale, touch it, and it would kill you. Even if Pei Qianxue had 100% certainty, when facing Emperor Yuan, it was not easy to simply speak out openly.

Many people felt that Pei Qianxue didn’t know how to adapt to changes, using blunt words to remonstrate inside the court, and oftentimes provoking Emperor Yuan’s black face. But on the contrary, Pei Qianxue knew how to be flexible too much, that when doing things he would say good things and bad things when it was needed.

There was a dead silence in the hall.

Emperor Yuan suddenly turned his head, and the beads on his crown struck together, making a crisp collision.

The deep black eyes hidden under the crown were bottomless, like a hidden dragon lying in the abyss.

The Prime Minister in green robe still stood where he was, standing tall and straight, like pine and bamboo, with a calm face, looking straight at Emperor Yuan without fear.

The silence prolonged.

When Pei Qianxue eventually thought that Emperor Yuan was about to get angry, the cold-faced emperor in black dragon robe finally spoke.

“Unlikely.” 

Emperor Yuan said in a deep voice, as if he was not only convincing Pei Qianxue, but also as if he was convincing himself.

“If he is really still alive, it is impossible for him not to come to see Zhen.”