Chapter 9 The Old Emperor

  "Ugh, this meal is really bad." Rubbing his full belly, Yun Qi sat in a side room of the imperial study, leaning back in his chair.

  Zhu Zidao finished his lunch and was about to leave, thinking that earlier Zhu Zidao had gone to the toilet with a large retinue of eunuchs attending him. Cloud Seven curled up her lip in disdain, thinking to herself: these ancient emperors were really something else - they had attendants serving them at meals, when reading books, and even when sleeping there were concubines waiting on them; even when using the toilet there were people serving them, what a life! After a while, she heard footsteps outside the room and knew that the emperor had finished. Cloud Seven hastily sat up straight.

  Zhū Zǐ Dào burst into the study and exclaimed: "Ah, what a relief! It seems that eating is just for clearing one's memory afterwards, this is too ridiculous!" Zhū Zǐ Dào dismissed everyone, swaggered with an air of superiority, adjusted his golden silk waistband, sat down on the soft couch, picked up the Qingwen carved flower tea cup, flicked away the floating tea leaves on the surface of the water with the lid, took a big sip: "Ah, refreshing." He put down the tea cup and leaned against the soft couch, only then did he notice Yún Qī: "Yún Qī, where are you from?"

  "I report to Your Majesty, a humble subject's hometown is far away in the distance of ten thousand miles, named Dian Nan."

  Now whenever someone asks Yun Qi where he came from, he would say so, and now he even feels like he really is from there.

  Zhu Zidao stared at Yun Qi, his eyes exuding majesty, nodded and continued: "Yes, the Crown Prince also said so. You are not a native of the Southern Country."

  "Yes, Your Majesty, I was a humble commoner who later drifted to this place and was rescued by Lord Yang. That's why I stayed at Lord Yang's residence to make a living."

  Yun Qiurui replied, he still vaguely remembered that when he first crossed over into this world, he had fallen into the Hundred Flowers Lake and was rescued by Yang Wencheng, after which he stayed at the Yang residence. The imperial study was not large, and its interior decorations were mainly in a yellowish hue; this overall feeling made Zhu Zidao, who was born in the imperial palace, feel nothing out of the ordinary, but Yun Qiurui found it very oppressive.

  Zhu Zidao took out a cigarette from the soft couch, one that the crown prince had obtained from Yun Qi last time, lit it up and took a puff, with a satisfied smile asked: "Is this cigarette also yours?"

  "Yes, Your Majesty. This thing is abundant in my hometown, so I brought some with me when I fled. Now there are only a few left. In my small hometown, it can be seen everywhere, but here it is as rare as treasure. It's hard to get more of it."

  Yun Qi was worried that Zhu Zi Dao would ask him for more, as he himself didn't have much left. Before leaving, he had two packages remaining, one of which he hid under the bed and the other he carried with him. When Yun Qi heard the Emperor asking him about this matter, he thought it was because he wanted to ask him for more, and that saying it nicely meant wanting, while saying it roughly meant forcing you to offer tribute.

  Zhu Zidao said with a hint of a smile, "Hmph, you little scoundrel, your mind is indeed cunning. I won't bother asking you for anything else. We'll discuss these matters later when there's nothing urgent to attend to. Do you know why I summoned you to the palace this time?" As Zhu Zidao spoke, his expression grew increasingly solemn, and the smile on his face disappeared completely.

  Yun Qi saw Zhu Zi and said with a serious face, "I don't know, Your Majesty."

  Zhu Zidao got up from the soft couch, walked around the desk, and paced slowly. He said, "Some time ago, Chu State was destroyed, and Shu State's momentum was like breaking through bamboo. Before that, Shu State had a tendency to dominate the entire continent of Qiankun. Now, after eliminating Chu State, its greatest enemy, it is truly like the sun at noon. And my Southern State was originally an affiliated state of Chu State, with weak national strength. Now that Chu State has been destroyed, our country's current situation is not optimistic either." After saying this, Zhu Zidao turned around to look at Yun Qi's expression. He saw Yun Qi looking serious and attentive, but his eyes were clear and fearless. In his heart, he thought that this young man was extraordinary and not a useless fool.

  Turning back, Zhu Zidao continued to say: "Our country has a total of seven cities, combined into two counties, with an army of 40,000. If it's an extraordinary period, we can also gather up to 100,000. But this is still not enough to be the opponent of Shu Guo, which is about to move south. I have now ordered national conscription and searched for hidden generals in the market. In recent days, there has been a significant effect, with more than 10,000 soldiers recruited and many talented generals found. Oh, by the way, among them are people you know, last time the crown prince went to Si'nan, you also knew that he found someone named Zhong Yuan.

  Yun Qi listened and remembered that Zhong Yuan was the martial arts expert they had found in Suo Shi Village when accompanying the Crown Prince. He wielded a 2.7-meter-long spear with great skill, exuding an aura of majesty. However, Yun Qi himself felt that he and Zhong Yuan were only acquaintances, not yet friends: "I report to Your Majesty, I do recall this person, but I am not familiar with him."

  Zhu Zidao nodded and continued, "I will now hand this person over to the Crown Prince to be in charge of. The Crown Prince will take him as a subordinate official." He then looked at Yun Qi's reaction.

  Yun Qi smiled lightly and said calmly: "This is not bad, from a rural villager to the prince's staff, it's not in vain for his exquisite martial arts."

  "Oh? You're not envious? I recall that you are now just a book boy."

  Yun Qi now knew why Zhu Zi Dao mentioned Zhong Yuan's matter in front of him, thinking that he wanted to tell him that if a talented and capable person was favored by the royal family, they could instantly turn from a humble chicken into a phoenix. If Yun Qi had real talent and learning, his encounter would not be much different from Zhong Yuan's. After thinking for a moment, he said: "Your Majesty, this humble subject is not a stubborn person, but Zhong Yuan's martial arts are strong, he can become the crown prince's aide, completely relying on his solid skills. Yun Qi does not envy him."

  Not good at comparing, being a down-to-earth person, handling things calmly, and doing things smoothly. This is another impression that Yun Qi has of Zhu Zidao, and he now begins to somewhat believe what the crown prince said. He also said: "The crown prince recommended you to me."

  Yun Qi saw Zhu Zi Dao had already extended an olive branch, and smiled calmly: "Your Majesty, I want to be an ordinary person. Your Majesty also knows that I am a refugee from the war-torn land, so I yearn for peaceful days even more."

  Zhu Zi said again, "Although you are not a person from the southern country, now that you are on the territory of the southern country, you can also be considered a person from the southern country. The power of Shu is great and will soon attack our borders. You... do you want to do nothing about it?"

  Yun Qi stood up, saying calmly: "Your Majesty, it's not that I want to stay out of this matter. It's just that my abilities are limited, if Shu State really comes to attack one day, I will also do my best... to protect my family." He said the last four words with a hint of determination.

  Zhu Zi Dao did not get angry, but instead asked: "Are you referring to the Yang family?"

  Yun Qi Dao said, "Indeed, thanks to the kindness of Lord Yang for taking me in, not only did he provide me with food and shelter, but also gave me a monthly allowance. Moreover, I have been getting along very well with the Yang family, so I beg Your Majesty to excuse me from shouldering this great responsibility."

  " Humph... Yun Qi, don't think that just because I summoned you, you're some kind of treasure. There are many talents in the lands under my rule, and it's unlikely that you'll be entrusted with great responsibilities."

  Although knowing that Zhu Zi was somewhat displeased, he took advantage of his words to slip away, saying: "The humble subject also feels that the emperor's subordinates are too numerous to count. The humble subject is just a book boy, and it's really as the emperor said, please don't make things difficult for me."

  Zhu Zidao's eyes widened in anger, his tone cold and menacing as he growled: "Are you saying that I am making things difficult for you?"

  The luck hurriedly responded: "I dare not."

  "Hmph!" Zhu Zi let out a cold snort and fixed his gaze on Yun Qi for a moment before saying, "You may withdraw!"

  "Yes, Your Majesty! This humble subject takes his leave!" Yun Qi bowed respectfully and backed out of the imperial study.

  He heard Zhu Zidao's muttering to himself in the room: "Hmph, Yun Qi, you really are as stubborn and unyielding as the Crown Prince said. However, I'm becoming more and more interested in you, I believe next time you'll come looking for me on your own initiative."

  On the way back, Yun Qi found an eunuch to lead the way. It was already after noon at this time. Unexpectedly, he had left before dawn and stayed in the palace for more than half a day. From afar, he saw that Yang Ziting's carriage was still parked outside the palace gate. Yun Qi felt that Yang Ziting was really good to him, and he was so moved that he quickened his pace and ran all the way there.