Imperial Study Room.
Qi Yun’s Imperial Study Room was very elegant, with a desk made from the finest huanghuali wood, beside which there was a small winding waters of the ornantal stream. Nearby, a small red clay stove was boiling water.
The water boiled, rising gently, shrouding this corner in a misty haze, resembling a fairyland.
Perhaps having found his son who had been lost for many years, Qi Yun was in an exceptionally good mood. Nowadays, apart from his busy affairs of state, his favorite pasti was brewing tea, under the pretext of cultivating himself.
When Li Qingmu entered, this was the scene he saw.
"Your subject greets Your Majesty!"
"Co, co, accompany in a ga of chess. Ah, within this Imperial Palace, your chess skills are unrivaled, even my newly found Xiao Shiqi can’t rival you!"
Qi Yun set up the chessboard, sighing emotionally, while Li Qingmu’s handso face quivered slightly.
"Your subject... obeys the order."
He replied respectfully, sitting across from Qi Yun.
"On your recent trip, you handled things well, actually eliminating a rebel base, good, very good!"
Li Qingmu frowned: "Unfortunately, we didn’t capture anyone alive. They’re all dead. Otherwise, we could have followed the trail and investigated further."
"If you couldn’t find them, then so be it. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself, you’ve already done well enough in this matter."
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your praise."
Li Qingmu responded precisely, with no errors or emotions.
Qi Yun silently watched him, a hint of gloom flashing in his eyes.
He pushed the black chess piece towards Li Qingmu and turned to pour a cup of tea.
"Here, taste this tea from Jiangling, Lingnan. It’s said there’s a mother tree there, whose leaves, processed by local artisans, produce a rich and llow tea fragrance, and the brewed tea is as clear as amber..."
Qi Yun spoke as he handed the tea to Li Qingmu, but he hurriedly stood up and bowed: "Your subject is fearful."
Qi Yun’s smile slightly stiffened, his gaze deepening as he looked at him.
After a mont, he shook his head: "Alright, let’s play chess!"
Such an impulsive and impatient child!
Qi Yun muttered internally but thoroughly enjoyed Li Qingmu’s childlike tantrum, because being angry showed he cared!
If he were indifferent, Qi Yun would indeed worry whether he had been wrong.
"Hahaha, distracted, are we?"
With one move, Qi Yun captured six of Li Qingmu’s pieces, laughing heartily.
Li Qingmu had been a bit indignant before, but as he continued to play and ponder, he suddenly realized that the Emperor was testing him?
Instantly, Li Qingmu’s expression changed!
"Your Majesty, you..."
"Hmm?" Qi Yun squinted, looked up at him, "What? Focus on the ga, if you’re distracted again, I’ll capture all the pieces on your board!"
Li Qingmu took a deep breath and asked boldly: "Your Majesty, may I dare to ask, concerning the Seventeenth Prince, are you truly sure of his identity?"
Qi Yun squinted slightly, noticing his sowhat urgent manner, his mood suddenly improved: "Yes, confird, the evidence indeed proves he’s my Xiao Shiqi."
"Splat!"
Li Qingmu placed a piece on the board, a move that seed unusually loud.
Qi Yun smiled: "Mr. Li, do you have sothing to say?"
Li Qingmu naturally had words to say, but with the Emperor putting it like this, what more could he say? Since it’s proven, then so be it!
Li Qingmu said lightly: "Your subject has nothing to say."
"Nothing to say? Then let’s play chess, play chess, hahaha!"
"Did Your Majesty summon just to play chess?"
Li Qingmu placed a few more pieces and suddenly asked.
Qi Yun looked at him, squinting and smiling: "Yes, why? Mr. Li, you don’t seem very willing?"
"Your subject wouldn’t dare! Between ruler and subject, whatever the King desires of his ministers is right."
"Indeed!" Qi Yun sighed, "Ruler and subject, what is a ruler and subject? The ruler is the sky, the Son of Heaven, while the ministers... there are many ministers in this world! What the ruler demands, the minister must comply, that’s been the iron rule since ancient tis."
Li Qingmu was startled, looked up at him, and saw a faint smile on his face, yet it was a smile Li Qingmu could not decode.
"Your Majesty!"
Just then, Chen Zhong suddenly ran in. Upon entering, he glanced at Li Qingmu, then said to Qi Yun: "Your Majesty, Pri Minister Pei, Pri Minister Cui, and Minister Di seek an audience."
Pri Minister Pei was the Chief Minister, Cui Yuanhe was the Vice Minister, and Minister Di was the Junior Pri Minister. He mainly supervised the Ministry of War and also held so responsibilities with the Central Secretariat. Usually, he was not soone who liked to be in the lilight.
But this ti, the three Pri Ministers seeking an audience simultaneously, what does this imply?
There must be a major event afoot.
Li Qingmu’s eyes darkened, instinctively feeling that it might be related to that matter.
"Your Majesty, your subject takes his leave."
With the Pri Ministers seeking the Emperor, it was inappropriate for Li Qingmu to remain, lest he be accused of eavesdropping, so he left promptly.
Qi Yun did not stop him.
Soon, the three Pri Ministers were all in.
"Your Majesty, a massacre, a massacre!"
As the three entered, Cui Yuanhe was the first to kneel, kowtowing with a look of deep distress.
Imdiately, Pri Minister Pei Shangqing and Minister Di Jing followed suit, kneeling and bowing.
"Your Majesty, the Qingshui Village massacre, it’s a human tragedy, an unspeakable horror!"
Pei Shangqing lanted: "In Nanyi City, Jiangling County, Qingtian County’s Qingshui Village, all 671 villagers were slaughtered, corpses littering the land, rivers of blood, beyond horrific!"
"Won, children, the sick and weak, all massacred, not one spared!"
"The brutality and malice of those who committed this cri are shocking! We plead with Your Majesty for justice!"
"Bang!"
After the three Pri Ministers spoke, Qi Yun slamd his hand on the table, his face livid with anger: "Who? Who did this? Has it been investigated?"
"Your Majesty, this was reported from Qingtian County. We are all furious and have instructed subordinates to investigate. There should be news soon."
"Hmph, vile, vile, in broad daylight, how dare soone commit such cris, slaughtering hundreds? It was an entire village, how was it accomplished? Such a major case, there must be traces. Investigate, go investigate, find the criminals, punish them severely!"
"Yes, we comply!"
Because of the gravity of the case, the three Pri Ministers imdiately busied themselves after receiving the Emperor’s consent.
On any other day, they might have exchanged a few more words with the Emperor, fostering so rapport.
Li Qingmu, having left the Imperial Palace, promptly received a ssage from the Imperial Censorate, summoning him to attend court sessions from the next day.
As he was no longer a minor official, rather a Imperial Censor, essentially the third-ranking official in the Imperial Censorate.
The Imperial Censorate appointed one Chief Censor, two Imperial Censors, and four Imperial Censors.
Of course, this quota was not always filled; for instance, the Chief Censor’s position had been vacant for a long ti, and there was currently only one He Jian among the Imperial Censors. Including Li Qingmu, there were only three Imperial Censors.
Invisibly, Li Qingmu’s status had elevated considerably.
It was only natural that he was to attend morning court assembly.
But Long Yue sensed a conspiracy amid all this, feeling everything was too coincidental.
"Did the Emperor speak of anything?"
As soon as Li Qingmu got ho, Long Yue eagerly asked.
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