The old Qin Master sat calmly on the large rock and then smiled. The smile of an old man always appeared calm and warm. It was as if he had long shed all of his intense emotions. There was only the calmness of understanding the affairs of the world.
He wore a quilt and an overcoat. He appeared a bit bloated. However, the old man's body was unusually tall and sturdy, so he did not appear cumbersome.
"Don't worry too much."
The old man held his hands behind his back and stood in front of the snow-soaked vegetable patch. He raised his head slightly and used his already murky eyes to look at the winter moon that occasionally pierced through the night clouds. A glimmer of a dominance that had not been seen in a long time rose on his old face.
Qin Heng had only learned of the arrangements in the valley last night. Other than being filled with shock, he did not know why his father would suddenly attack Fan Xian. As the successor of this generation of the Qin family, logically speaking, he could not accept it no matter what. The family had suddenly provoked such a difficult enemy as Fan Xian for no reason. However, he did not object.
He believed that his father must have had his reasons for making such arrangements. Furthermore, he was a son, the son of a military family. He was used to receiving his father's orders with a military attitude. In the Qin family, the old man was the marshal. Everyone else was a general below him.
As for orders, they could only accept them. There was no need to explain.
Qin Heng was also a clever man. He knew why his father was not worried after the defeat in the valley. Fan Xian had too many enemies in court. It seemed that no matter which side, they could all try to kill him before Fan Xian returned to the capital. Of all the powers, the Qin family was the least likely to act.
Even Qin Heng himself did not understand why his father wanted to kill Fan Xian, much less the people in court responsible for investigating.
Furthermore, his family was the Qin family. Even if the Emperor suspected something in the end, without a shred of evidence, he could not punish him.
…
…
"Of the five stops of the Qin family's army, the Qin family took one stop, and the Ye family took another," the old man slowly said. "If you were an Emperor, would you allow such a phenomenon?"
Qin Heng was silent and lowered his head to look at the muddy ground in front of his feet.
"But His Majesty will allow it because His Majesty has great ambitions. He has quietly waited for more than a decade just to wait for the baldie in the north and the idiot in the east to die … or grow old. So he allows our Qin and Ye families to temporarily preserve it. Because in the future, when we conquer the world, we need soldiers to charge and kill."
The old man smiled and said, "Your father was also known as a famous general in the past, but I'm already old now. The famous generals of the present day are led by Northern Qi's Shang Shanhu. The Qing Kingdom still has the Great Prince and Xiaoyi. Although Ye Zhong is much younger than me, he has been in charge of the Jingdou garrison for many years, and has long lost the fierceness of the past. But no one thought that … the most powerful general in the world was not anyone else, but His Majesty. "
Qin Heng remained silent, but in his heart, he was very certain of this. He was also a soldier. Just like all the soldiers in the Qing Kingdom, he had a respect and admiration for the Emperor, who had always lived deep in the inner palace. Although the Emperor had not led troops for more than a decade, history had long proven that the three Northern expeditions had broken the Wei Kingdom, which stretched across the land, into pieces. Although he had never unified the world, the words "using troops like a god" could indeed be used on the Emperor.
"For the Ye family to be able to survive until today …" The old man slowly closed his eyes. "It is because of Ye Liuyun, that old thing. Although the Qin family does not have Ye Liuyun, we are still able to survive until today. Why is that?"
Qin Heng lowered his head and said, "Because father is here."
This was a very sincere compliment. The old Qin Master was silent for a moment and did not refute this. His students and old friends were all over the court and the military. If Ye Liuyun was using his exceptional martial skills to preserve a path of survival for the Ye family, then the Qin family was living happily in the Qing Kingdom under his protection.
All of this originated from him, so he had to live. Although he was so old and often sick, he still had to live.
"I am loyal to the Emperor … loyal to the Qing Kingdom," the old Qin Master slowly said. Old Master Qin slowly said, "I've never done anything to let Your Majesty down, so Your Majesty will never let me down."
Qin Heng's heart thumped. He thought to himself, Killing the imperial envoy in the valley today … That was the Emperor's illegitimate child. Was this not wrong to the Emperor? It was just that he didn't dare to ask this question.
The old Qin Master's eyes looked straight ahead. A domineering aura that he had cultivated from 50 years in the military sprang up. "You don't understand why I would choose to act at this time. I also don't want to tell you everything that happened in the past. I just want to teach you what is the right time to act."
…
…
"When no one expects you to act, act." The old Qin Master turned his head and glanced at his son. "When everyone can act, you act."
"This water is already muddy enough. It doesn't matter if we add one more. No one knows what is below the muddy water, so we will be safe. "
"Although the Emperor is exceptionally wise, he is, after all, deep in the Palace. He is unable to obtain first-hand information on many things," the old Qin Master calmly said. Old Master Qin calmly said, "There are only two people in this world who can guess or know that I have something to do with the valley."
"What's amazing is that neither of them will tell His Majesty about this."
"Thus, although the operation this time failed, as long as it is not brought out into the open, it is in itself a success."
Qin Heng endured for a long time and finally couldn't resist asking in a low voice, "Why won't those two people tell the Emperor?"
"Because the old cripple has been silent from the beginning." A glimmer of mockery rose to the corners of the old Qin Master's lips. "Regardless of the reason for his silence, the attack in the valley this time had the cooperation of the Overwatch Council. If he brought this matter out now, how would he explain it in front of the Emperor?"
Qin Heng understood, but he still did not understand why Director Chen was silent. Did he also want Fan Xian to die? This was something that did not make sense. He was silent for a moment and then said, "But … if the Director pulls out the person we buried inside, can't he tell the Emperor his guess?"
"Guess," the old man said coldly. The old man said coldly, "You also know that this is just a guess. Why should His Majesty believe his guess? Furthermore, how could that person be so easy to pull out? "
"What about the other person?"
A glimmer of color appeared on the old Qin Master's old face. It was as if the struggle he had not participated in for a long time had made him younger. In a quiet and mocking voice, he said, "In the court under the Emperor's rule, the only people I am wary of are Prime Minister Lin and Director Chen. Prime Minister Lin was forced by the Emperor to resign, and Chen Pingping has other thoughts … as for the Eldest Princess."
The old man said with a glimmer of a mocking smile, "If the Eldest Princess wants to stir up trouble, the Qin family will have problems. Can Yan Xiaoyi stay out of it?"
Qin Heng raised his head in shock. He had only learned of the matter of Yan Xiaoyi's son hiding among his subordinates last night. Furthermore, from his father's expression, he understood. Yan Xiaoyi's son's night attack on Fan Xian in front of the valley and then dragging Fan Xian and his group into the valley had been single-handedly arranged by the old man.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel a trace of respect for his father. The old man hadn't done anything for many years, but once he did, he was indeed powerful.
"My Qin Clan has always stood on His Majesty's side and maintained a neutral position in the court affairs." Old Master Qin said indifferently, "Now both sides are dragging us into the water. So be it. I'll also hold them back. Let's stick together and see what we can do in the future."
The old man sighed.
Qin Heng was thinking in his heart that all of these important figures in the court and the military all had their own thoughts. If they were to band together, then … wouldn't the Emperor become a loner?
"What did you see in front of the Privy Council today?"
Although the old man already knew about the situation from his own intelligence network, he still wanted to hear it from his son. Qin Heng recounted the situation at the time, focusing on Fan Xian's expression and the bloody man who was too horrible to look at.
The bloody man was the only survivor left in the valley. Both of his arms were broken, one of his eyes was blind, and he was seriously injured. He was on the verge of death but could not die.
"Those are good men in our army. They cannot be insulted by the Overwatch Council."
The old man said coldly.
Qin Heng knew that the group of people responsible for the killing in the valley were private soldiers that his family had secretly trained at Xiao Mountain. They could not be seen on the military roster. Even if Fan Xian had beheaded those 200 people, the Qin family would not have to worry. He hesitated and said, "That general is a strong-willed person …"
What he meant was that since that person would not betray the Qin family, why risk the danger of having spies exposed to silence them?
"People in my army can only live standing and cannot live kneeling," the old man faintly said. The old man faintly said, "Letting him die a glorious death is the only compensation I can do at this time."
Qin Heng was silent. A patch of winter moon shone down with silver light. It reflected the snow in the Qin manor and shone faintly.
The old man coughed and walked toward the inner manor. He said to his son one last time, "In the future, you have to make decisions faster and be more prepared."
Qin Heng lowered his head. He knew that his father was talking about the last part of the killing in the valley. He had led the riders of the garrison into the valley but had been carefully stopped by Fan Xian's back-up arrangements. He had been unable to carry out the last risky attempt. He laughed self-deprecatingly. What could he do when he had run into someone who didn't trust anyone like Fan Xian, who was so clever and clever that he didn't trust anyone?
… …
Early the next morning, at the back door of Jing Chengzi's manor, just like every morning, a man delivering food arrived. The man respectfully carried the food in, sniffed the air in the manor, and didn't dare say anything. He carefully chatted a bit with the manor's steward, and then hurriedly withdrew.
Passing through the small alley to the main street, the man delivering the vegetables raised his head and glanced at the black inscribed board of Jing Chengzi's manor. He rubbed his nose and thought, Sir Yan's family is truly too low-key. Everyone in the neighborhood knew that this manor was bestowed to Sir Yan by the Emperor. Sir Yan had long been promoted to a third-rank Count. Even Sir Yan junior had a title, but this inscribed board had never been changed.
The man delivering the vegetables left. The vegetable basket still sat alone in the empty space beside the Yan manor's kitchen.
The housekeeper saw that there was no one around and very naturally stretched out his hand to lift the vegetable basket. It was as if he wanted to see how the portion was today and if the man delivering the vegetables had skimped on the weight.
The portion was sufficient. The housekeeper smiled with satisfaction. He tucked his sleeves into the opening of his jacket to prevent himself from being frozen by the cold winter wind. However, no one noticed that he had already pulled out a strip of bamboo from the top of the vegetable basket.
Arriving at the study, the retired head of the Fourth Bureau, Yan Ruohai, had already woken up as early as he had every day in the past. He had already washed up and was transcribing a calming essay.
The housekeeper respectfully offered tea. He then, intentionally or unintentionally, placed the short strip of bamboo beside the teacup.
Yan Ruohai picked up the strip of bamboo and furrowed his brows. His fingers used a little strength to snap it off and take out a small strip of white cloth. He then looked at the writing on it and sank deep into thought.
His fingers tapped the surface of the table for a long time. It was as if he was lost in thought.
After a long time, the present head of the Fourth Bureau, the future successor to the Commissioner of the Overwatch Council, Yan Bingyun pushed open the door to the study and walked in. He then turned around and gently closed the door.
He sat down opposite his father and accepted the white strip of cloth. Looking at the contents on it, his usually cold brows couldn't help but furrow.
…
…
"That survivor … the Bureau of Military Affairs does not dare to take it. The two sides have fought for half a day. Everyone knows how hot it is. No one dares to put it in their own yamen. They are terrified that if this person suddenly died, the Commissioner would go crazy," Yan Bingyun said worriedly.
Yan Bingyun said worriedly, "Even if I can think of a way to silence that person, what if Sir Fan junior finds out?"
Yan Ruohai sighed and said, "Since the old man has come to our door, this matter has to be done."
Yan Bingyun looked at his father and also sighed. "If … in the future, the Commissioner finds out about the attack outside the valley … We clearly knew about it beforehand but didn't ask, will he tear down our house and behead us, father and son?"
Yan Ruohai was stunned. He looked at his son and sighed once more. His sigh was filled with helplessness as he said, "What can I do? We can't not do what the Director has ordered. If Sir Fan junior wants to kill us … we can only suggest that he first dismantle the wheelchair. "
Yan Bingyun's usually cold face couldn't help but show a glimmer of annoyance. A moment later, he said, "When did you come to the Overwatch Council from the military?"
"About 30 years, I think." Yan Ruohai thought of the past and furrowed his brows. "Although I wasn't famous in the military, I was secretly the old Qin Master's trusted soldier. However, I was buried in the camp and never had much use."
Yan Bingyun shook his head and sighed. "No wonder the old man trusts you so much. However, father has always been able to reach this position in the Overwatch Council. Presumably, the old man is very proud of the arrangements he made in the past."
Yan Ruohai sighed for the third time and said with a not-quite-there smile on his face, "The problem is … before I entered the military, I was already a secret agent of the Overwatch Council. It can only be said that the old Qin Master's luck is not very good."
Yan Bingyun lowered his head and said, "The Director is indeed wise and has calculated everything. However, I don't understand. It was clearly something that could have been prevented, so why did he have to watch as these things happened?"
…
…
In Chen Garden on the outskirts of Jingdou, Chen Pingping sat in his wheelchair and yawned. He said to the angry Fei Jie beside him, "What are you in such a rush for? You want to kill me so early in the morning? He's your most beloved disciple, but isn't he my most beloved successor? "
The fire in Fei Jie's eyes burned. Icily, he said, "What exactly do you want to do? Fan Xian almost died! "
Chen Pingping muttered a few words and then said in his characteristic sharp voice, "Why? Of course, it's because of this fact, this established fact … Everyone says that I'm His Majesty's dog, but in fact, that old man is His Majesty's most loyal dog … Without some real blood, how could the dog owner bear to beat the dog? "
Chen Pingping clapped his hands, licked his slightly dry lips, and said, "And I've always been curious. I've driven His Majesty's dogs into the courtyard to bark. His Majesty has become a loner. What can he do?"
(To be continued, if you want to know what happened afterwards, please log on to WWW. CMFU. com. More chapters. Support the author. Support original reading!)
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