The next day, Qin Yining got up and invited Mu Jinghu to the Shuoren Study for a chat.
Mu Jinghu had already changed into a light blue cotton robe. His hair was combed neatly with a net handkerchief, and he looked like an ordinary scholar.
Qin Yining had ordered Ji Yun to send him these clothes and forced him to wear them. Even so, he could not bear to throw away the tattered clothes that he wore when he arrived. He still kept them at the bottom of his trunk.
"Young Master Mu, please take a seat." Qin Yining met him in the study on the first floor of the Shuoren Study.
Mu Jinghu sat down on a round-backed chair and curiously sized up Qin Yining with his head tilted.
Qin Yining thought that this young master was indeed as Ji Yun had said in private. He really was somewhat ignorant of the ways of the world. What kind of man would stare at a woman like that?
However, Mu Jinghu's gaze was very clean. Qin Yining could tell that he was purely curious and did not have any other intentions. This made him unable to feel any disgust towards him.
Qin Yining smiled and said, "Did Little Wang Ye send you here?"
When Mu Jinghu heard this, he was somewhat unhappy and said, "How can that fox be qualified to send me to do things?"
That fox …
Why did these words sound so full of resentment?
Thinking of Pang Xiao's cunning and changeable personality, and then looking at this somewhat foolish and somewhat naive young master in front of him, Qin Yining felt that he had already found the truth.
This young master might have been ruthlessly fooled by Pang Xiao before.
"Uh, young master, please forgive me for offending you. Then you were sent here by Pang Zhixi? "
Mu Jinghu nodded and said, "I lost a bet in the past and owed him. All these years, he has not asked me to return the debt. I thought that he had forgotten about it. A few days ago, he suddenly came looking for me and asked me to protect his future wife."
As he spoke, he looked at Qin Yining and said, "You really took things too hard. Why did you agree to marry that fox?"
Qin Yining …
Could she say that she was speechless?
She herself did not know how she had developed such a relationship with Pang Xiao step by step. In that case, it seemed that she had really accidentally fallen into Pang Xiao's trap. Now, even if she wanted to withdraw, she could not bear to do so.
Qin Yining coughed and said Mu and said somewhat awkwardly, "I am very grateful to be protected by a hero with such great martial arts skills like Young Master Mu."
"You've never seen me fight before. You were still unconscious that day. How do you know that my martial arts are strong?"
.. Qin Yining had gradually understood Mu Jinghu's character and knew that he was not being sarcastic or had any other meaning. Instead, it was because of his straightforward character that he asked whenever he had a question. Qin Yining smiled and said, "Because Ji Yun saw young master's ability. Although I do not understand these things, Ji Yun said that you subdued those three people in just a few moves."
Mu Jinghu nodded and said seriously, "My martial arts skills are indeed very good. That fox told me to protect you until he conquered your country's capital. Once he conquered Dayan, we will be even. So I'm telling you in advance, don't think that I can protect you for the rest of your life. "
How could a normal person boast in front of others? How could he directly say something like "conquer Dayan"?
It seemed that this young master was already ignorant to a certain extent. He was probably someone who was used to living alone and did not need to interact with others. He was also a straightforward and honest person.
Qin Yining liked to interact with such people. Because when he spoke to them, he did not need to consider the subtlety of his words and did not need to guess the deeper meaning of the other party's words. He only needed to listen to the literal meaning and be straightforward with him.
Qin Yining said seriously, "Yes, I understand what young master is saying. But during this period of time, may I ask young master to protect my family as well? " After thinking for a while, Qin Yining added, "My family has gone through this ordeal and there are not many left …"
Mu Jinghu looked at Qin Yining's pale face and thought that his Family Qin was the "fox's" father-in-law's family. He nodded and said, "Alright, I am friends with that fox. I will protect you while I am at it. But again, I won't stay for long. I'll return once the gates of your Capital City are breached. I still have a lot of things to do in the mountains. "
Ji Yun, who was serving at the side, could not help but frown when she heard this. If someone had said such things about the Da Zhou dynasty in front of her, she would have been angry. She would not be as good-natured as Qin Yining.
Qin Yining was not angry at all. She nodded and said, "Alright, young master is straightforward and will definitely keep his promises. Since that is the case, I will have to trouble young master for the next few days. Although young master came as promised, I would still like to thank young master solemnly."
Qin Yining stood up and bowed to Mu Jinghu.
Mu Jinghu thought to himself that the fox's wife was much more particular than the fox. He smiled and returned the bow.
%
Although Qin Yining was very weak due to excessive blood loss, she still went to the mourning hall every day to burn incense for her deceased relatives. Every time she saw such a scene, she would cry sadly. After a few days, she appeared more and more haggard. Her eyes were even bruised.
As their plan unfolded, the news that the Family Qin in the capital was almost exterminated by assassins arranged by the Emperor of the Zhou dynasty had already spread to everyone.
There was an endless stream of people who came to offer their condolences. Among them were friends of the Family Qin, colleagues in the court, and people who were not familiar with Qin Huaiyuan but admired the righteousness of the people.
Two days later, the news of the three assassins being dismembered on the day of the Qin Family's funeral was purposely exaggerated and once again spread throughout the city.
As a result, the Emperor and Cao Guo Zhang, who had been silent for many days, were finally alarmed.
"Your Majesty, this subject believes that Qin Meng was too reckless in this matter and lost his usual steadiness. If the three assassins were dismembered, I'm afraid that Da Zhou would have a strong desire for revenge. Now that the Tiger Army is entrenched in Xi Hua City, if they were angered, their attacks would be even fiercer. "Cao Guo Zhang furrowed his brows and bowed.
The Emperor paced back and forth a few times with his hands behind his back. He angrily flung his sleeves and said, "That Qin Meng is really muddle-headed. I didn't expect him to be so reckless. It's indeed lamentable that so many people in his family were killed, but he can't completely disregard the current state of the country! We're in a hurry to contact the Tatan, but not only did he not help to stall for time, he even dared to do such a thing to anger the people of Da Zhou! He simply doesn't care about the rise and fall of the country. To think that I still thought of him as a loyal subject! "
"Your Majesty, please calm down." Cao Guo Zhang said worriedly, "At this point, only Your Majesty can persuade Qin Meng to give up on this idea."
The Emperor nodded but did not issue an edict.
He was somewhat against the idea of going to the Family Qin. After all, such a thing happened in the Family Qin. Who could be sure that there weren't assassins there? If he rashly went there and was injured by the assassins, what would he do?
Therefore, after thinking for a moment, the Emperor ordered, "Summon Qin Huaiyuan to the palace."
Cao Guo Zhang thought for a moment and understood the Emperor's concerns. He said, "This subject is willing to go there personally. This way, I can persuade Qin Meng at the appropriate time."
"That's good." The Emperor nodded and said, "Then you can go immediately."
"As you wish." Cao Guo Zhang bowed and retreated.
When there was no one else in the imperial study, the Emperor said to the person behind him, "Beloved Minister Gu."
"This subject is here." An old man with white hair and a beard walked out from the inner room and bowed to the Emperor.
This person was the Emperor's tutor, Gu Shixiong, who had been in politics for many years. Before he was in politics, he had been the Crown Prince's tutor. After he was in politics, Cao Guo Zhang became the tutor.
Because of this relationship, the Emperor had great trust in Gu Shixiong. Although the Gu family wasn't very prosperous these years, they were still one of the eight wealthiest families in the capital.
"Beloved Minister Gu, I ordered you to find some skilled craftsmen. Have you found any?"
"Replying to Your Majesty, I've found all the people and have begun work. It's just that … Your Majesty, this old subject believes that with the chaos of war, it would be better for the wealth Your Majesty has obtained in recent days to be invested in the war. "When Gu Shixiong spoke, his old body trembled slightly.
The Emperor frowned and said, "This wealth is what I have obtained in a normal manner. It is also the goodwill of the people and merchants of the world towards me. Moreover, I have already decided on how to deal with this large amount of gold and silver. Beloved Minister Gu, just do your part. Or does Beloved Minister Gu wish to go against my wishes? "
Recently, the Emperor had added a few more types of taxes and ruthlessly exploited the merchants of the world. He had also scraped off a few layers of oil from the common people. Now, he held a large amount of gold and silver in his hands.
He had given this matter to his trusted aides, so not many people knew about it.
Seeing the Emperor's insistence, Gu Shixiong cleverly bowed and said, "This subject doesn't dare. This subject was wrong just now. As the ruler of the country, Your Majesty has the right to decide where this money will go. No one else has the right to interfere. "
"Mm." The Emperor stroked his beard with satisfaction. After speaking with Gu Shixiong for a while, he ordered his trusted aide to secretly send Gu Shixiong away.
At this time, Qin Huaiyuan had also followed Cao Guozhang into the palace.
Qin Huaiyuan had always known when to advance and when to retreat. Otherwise, his outstanding talent alone wouldn't have been enough for the Emperor to trust him for so many years. Thus, when the Emperor summoned Qin Huaiyuan into the palace today, Cao Guozhang had already spoken with Qin Huaiyuan. In addition to his own prestige, he was very confident that Qin Huaiyuan would listen to his arrangements.
Who would have thought that Qin Huaiyuan would enter the Imperial Study, kneel down, kowtow, and complain tearfully, describing the miserable state of the Family Qin.
"… No matter what Your Majesty orders this subject, this subject doesn't dare to disobey. However, this group of assassins is too savage. The capital is under the Son of Heaven's feet. Under Your Majesty's eyes, the assassins from Da Zhou dared to run amok. Not only did they arrange for a large group of assassins to come, but they also robbed this subject's home! This is clearly not putting Your Majesty's prestige in their eyes! "
"Your Majesty's wealth extends far and wide, and your prestige shakes the world. Now that Da Zhou and Dayan are at war, if you let these three people off lightly, wouldn't it be telling the world that Your Majesty is afraid of Da Zhou? This subject is considering Your Majesty's prestige and has decided to execute these three people. Please, Your Majesty! "
Hearing this, the Emperor wavered.
Although he was very afraid of angering the people of Da Zhou in exchange for an even more ferocious attack, he still had to consider his own dignity. The news that the Family Qin was going to execute the assassins by a thousand cuts had already spread. If he brazenly obstructed them, he was afraid that he would be criticized behind his back.
However, if he really allowed the Family Qin to execute these three people, the Emperor was still a bit afraid.
Thinking of this, the Emperor thought of a compromise. He smiled as he helped Qin Huaiyuan up and said, "Beloved Official Qin, we know about your family's situation and can understand. However, execution by a thousand cuts is too bloody and cruel. You can capture these three people and flog them in front of their graves on the day of the funeral as a warning to others. As for execution by a thousand cuts, we think we should avoid it. "
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