"Baka!" "Slap!" "Slap!" Two heavy slaps landed on Xuanji's face from both sides.
"Hai!" Xuanji stood stiffly in place, his arms clasped together as he bowed and nodded.
Matsumoto Takeyoshi was so angry that his face turned green.
"I only told you to hide by the Emperor's side. When did I tell you to act on your own accord?" Matsumoto Takeyoshi shouted.
"Milord, I was just anxious to gain merit." Xuanji lowered his head and said, "I wanted to capture Ye Yun and force them to hand over the Armament Forging Manual and offer it to Milord."
"Idiot!" Matsumoto Takeyoshi cursed. "Do you think they're that easy to deal with? Hattori Chixio, Fujiwara No Chiko, and Cuiming Hall's Chi Yao — those three experts couldn't even defeat the Ye Clan. You want to obtain the Armament Forging Manual with that little bit of skill of yours? Idiot! Not only did you expose your identity, you also alerted the enemy and made the Ye Clan take precautions. "
"This subordinate knows his mistake and deserves ten thousand deaths!" Xuanji bowed.
"Ten thousand deaths? Hmph, you Han people really know how to talk, "Matsumoto Takeyoshi sneered." Dying once is enough. What ten thousand deaths? If I wanted you to die, a single strike would be enough. Who would be in the mood to stab you ten thousand times? "
"Milord is right. Please punish me." Xuanji bowed at a ninety degree angle.
"What's the use of punishing you?" Matsumoto Takeyoshi asked. "Let me ask you, how is the Great Ming Emperor now? Is he dead or alive?"
"Milord, I've put him under house arrest. Furthermore, I've brought this back for Milord." Xuanji took out an item wrapped in yellow cloth, stepped forward, and presented it to Matsumoto Takeyoshi with both hands.
"What is this?" Matsumoto Takeyoshi glanced at it but didn't take it.
"Master, this is the Imperial Jade Seal," Xuan Ji said, looking up.
As soon as he finished speaking, the eyes of the two experts behind Matsumoto Takeyoshi lit up at the same time.
Matsumoto Takeyoshi's eyes lit up when he heard this.
"Oh? Matsumoto Takeyoshi raised his eyebrows and asked.
"Exactly." "Under my interrogation, the Emperor finally handed over this item. Today, I offer it to you as a token of my loyalty."
Matsumoto Takeyoshi reached out and untied the yellow silk on Xuanji's hand. As soon as the yellow silk was undone, a four-inch square jade seal glowing with white light immediately appeared in front of everyone. There were five dragons on top of the jade seal, and the seal was smooth and warm. On the bottom of the seal, there were eight ancient seal characters that read, "By the Mandate of Heaven, Live Forever and Prosper".
"Apart from the Emperor, who else in the Great Ming Dynasty knows about this?" Matsumoto Takeyoshi looked at the jade seal and asked.
"Apart from this subordinate and the Emperor, there is no third person who knows," Xuan Ji immediately replied.
"That's good." Matsumoto Takeyoshi covered the jade seal with the yellow silk again. "Take it back and give it to the Emperor."
The two experts behind him frowned. They didn't understand why Matsumoto Takeyoshi would do this. It must be known that the Imperial Jade Seal was no small matter. Ever since Li Si of the Qin Dynasty had been ordered by the First Emperor of the Qin Dynasty to use the Jade Annulus of He to carve this jade seal, it had been passed down from one Emperor to the next. As a token of 'Divine Imperial Power, Legitimate and Legitimate', it was worshipped like a rare treasure, an important treasure of the country. Obtaining it symbolized that the bearer of the seal had received the mandate of the Heavens, while losing it meant that the country's destiny had come to an end. Many generations of people who coveted the imperial power had died for this jade seal, and this jade seal had changed hands time and time again. Now that this jade seal was placed in front of Matsumoto Takeyoshi, he had Xuan Ji take it back to the palace and give it to the Emperor.
"Master, you mean …" Xuan Ji didn't understand Matsumoto Takeyoshi's intentions.
"The jade seal is gone, and the Emperor has not attended court for a long time. There are bound to be people in court who are suspicious," Matsumoto Takeyoshi said. "Return the jade seal to the Emperor, and let him attend court as usual."
"Attend court?" Xuan Ji asked doubtfully. "Wouldn't that mean …"
"You can poison him and force him to issue an edict that you are the head of the Assistant Ministers and give him a little antidote on a regular basis. In this way, you can hold the Emperor and order his vassals without letting anyone see any clues, "Matsumoto Takeyoshi said.
"Master is wise, I can only look up to you in the dust," Xuan Ji took the opportunity to flatter.
"Alright, you can go back now. Do all of this quietly and don't let any of the ministers notice anything amiss," Matsumoto Takeyoshi said.
"Yes, I will do it right away. But, but … "Xuan Ji stuttered.
"But what?" Matsumoto Takeyoshi frowned.
"My antidote …" Xuan Ji said.
"Give it to him," Matsumoto Takeyoshi said impatiently.
As soon as Matsumoto Takeyoshi finished speaking, someone immediately walked over and handed a small porcelain bottle to Xuan Ji. Xuan Ji hurriedly took the bottle, poured out a pill, and swallowed it.
"Report back in a month," Matsumoto Takeyoshi said.
"Yes, I will take my leave." Xuan Ji put the jade seal into his pocket, bowed, and left.
After Xuan Ji left, Matsumoto Takeyoshi slowly walked back to his seat, not saying a word.
"Why didn't Mr. Matsumoto leave the jade seal behind?" The man in blue behind Matsumoto Takeyoshi asked. "At worst, we could just make a replica and let him take it back."
"If it's the real Heirloom Seal, I'll keep it," Matsumoto Takeyoshi said calmly.
The man in blue and the man in white immediately frowned.
"Do you mean to say that the jade seal is fake?" The man in white asked.
"The jade seal he brought is no ordinary item, but," Matsumoto Takeyoshi said, "it's not the Heirloom Seal."
"Is Xuan Ji deliberately deceiving you?" The man in blue frowned.
"That's not it," Matsumoto Takeyoshi picked up the teapot on the table and poured tea into his cup. "He doesn't have the guts."
"He's been poisoned. If he doesn't take the antidote regularly, he won't be able to keep his life," the man in blue said. "He shouldn't be deceiving you."
"Speaking of the antidote," the man in blue said. "Why didn't Hattori Chixiong and Fujiwara No Chiko return? With their cultivation, even if they aren't a match for the Ye Clan, they shouldn't be unable to escape. Could it be …"
"It's not just them," Matsumoto Takeyoshi took a sip of tea and slowly said. "You don't know this, but Great God Xie Tian sent an expert to help me. However," Matsumoto Takeyoshi said with a frown, "he also failed."
"Expert? What expert? "The man in blue asked." It can't be some shrimp soldier or crab general, right? "
"Shrimp soldier or crab general? Hmph, hmph. "Matsumoto Takeyoshi sneered." This person has cultivated for over a thousand years. He's one of the ten great guards of Great God Xie Tian, the cat demon Jiuju Junichiro. Don't you think he's a shrimp soldier or crab general? "
After the man in blue heard this, he didn't say anything else.
The man in white slightly knit his brows after hearing this. "I never thought that the Ye Clan would be so hard to deal with."
"The others are still easy to deal with." Matsumoto Takeyoshi said. "With Jiuju Junichiro's help, victory was already in our grasp. I never thought that Ye Ming would appear at the most crucial moment. This person's cultivation is so high that even Great God Xie Tian has to show some respect to him. The thousand year old Jiuju Junichiro couldn't even take a single move from him before being defeated. You two can imagine just how high this person's cultivation is. "
After the man in white heard this, his brows knit even tighter. If it was anyone else, he wouldn't even put them in his eyes. However, if it was Great God Xie Tian's ten great guards, it wasn't a joke. Their cultivation was high and their battle strength was strong. It was far from what Hattori Chixiong could compare to, but he was defeated in a single move. Just how high was Ye Ming's cultivation!
After the man in blue heard this, he was also shocked. He never thought that the Ye Clan would have such a powerful expert. It seems that he had underestimated the Ye Clan's strength.
"Hattori Chixiong and Fujiwara No Chiko, they should still be alive." Matsumoto Takeyoshi said. "Hattori Chixiong has a lot of special techniques. It's not impossible for him to suppress the poison in his body. Humph." Matsumoto Takeyoshi smiled. "Perhaps he wasn't poisoned at all."
"Wasn't poisoned?" The man in blue asked. "Didn't he drink it on the spot?"
"His robes are wide, who knows if he poured the wine into his sleeves." Matsumoto Takeyoshi said. "As for Fujiwara No Chiko, she is eager for revenge and wants to gain my trust. She shouldn't betray me so quickly."
"Then why didn't they report back here on time?" The man in blue asked.
"Hattori Chixiong was probably too ashamed to see me after his defeat, so he left without saying goodbye." Matsumoto Takeyoshi said. "As for Fujiwara No Chiko, I don't know. Logically speaking, no matter the result of the battle, they should have reported back here. "
"Could it be that they were caught by the Ye Clan and died from the poison?" The man in blue asked.
"That's possible." Matsumoto Takeyoshi said.
As the three of them were talking, a ninja outside the door quickly walked to the front of the stairs. He knelt down with one hand on the ground and said, "Master, Young Master Zhou is here."
"Oh?" Matsumoto Takeyoshi immediately perked up. He quickly put down the teacup in his hand and said, "Where is he now? Let him in."
"Yes." The ninja left.
After a while, a figure appeared at the door. He was in his thirties and wore a dark green robe. He wore a jade hairpin on his head and stepped through the door. It was none other than the butler of the Ye Clan who had been exposed by Ye Kong in the Ye Residence — Zhou Quan.
"Godfather, please accept my respects." Zhou Quan immediately knelt on the ground and bowed to Matsumoto Takeyoshi as soon as he entered the house.
"Quan 'er, get up, get up." Matsumoto Takeyoshi said as he quickly walked down the stairs and helped Zhou Quan up. "How many years has it been since we last met?"
"The last time I saw you was five years ago." Zhou Quan said as he got up.
"It's been five years. My son hasn't changed, but godfather has aged." Matsumoto Takeyoshi said as he held Zhou Quan's hand and walked down the stairs. Zhou Quan nodded in greeting when he saw the two men, one in green and one in white. The two men nodded in return.
"Quan 'er, sit down." Matsumoto Takeyoshi said as he returned to his seat. "Tell godfather, what's the progress in the past few years?"
"Godfather, I've investigated the appearance of the Blood Moon twenty-three years ago," Zhou Quan said. "And there was a mysterious umbrella bearer who worshipped Ye Kong that night. Coincidentally, that night was the day Ye Kong's son, Ye Fan, was born."
"Umbrella bearer?" Matsumoto Takeyoshi said in surprise. "So that's it!"
"What's even more bizarre is that as soon as the umbrella bearer left, the Blood Moon returned to normal. And there was a sudden change in the weather that night. There was thunder and lightning," Zhou Quan said.
"Is this information reliable?" Matsumoto Takeyoshi asked.
"I spent a lot of money to get this information from a servant who worked in the Ye Residence. At the time, he had a stomachache and was squatting in the outhouse. He accidentally saw it. It's absolutely reliable," Zhou Quan said.
"Mm," Matsumoto Takeyoshi said. "This person can't be left alive. Do you understand?"
"Godfather, don't worry. I've taken care of it," Zhou Quan said.
"Lightning? Blood Moon? Umbrella bearer? "Matsumoto Takeyoshi muttered to himself." Could it really be him? No wonder, no wonder. "
"Godfather, Godfather?" Zhou Quan interrupted Matsumoto Takeyoshi's contemplation.
"Mm?" Matsumoto Takeyoshi came back to his senses.
"Who is this' him 'that Godfather is talking about?" Zhou Quan asked.
"Don't ask that first. Let me ask you," Matsumoto Takeyoshi said. "You've been lurking in the Ye Residence all these years. I'm sure you know the Ye Family like the back of your hand."
"You can say that," Zhou Quan nodded.
"Then let me ask you. How much do you know about Ye Kong's son, Ye Fan?" Matsumoto Takeyoshi asked.
"Ye Fan?" Zhou Quan said. "This child has a kind heart. He's a bit of a loner. There's nothing special about him, but …"
"But what?" Matsumoto Takeyoshi hurriedly asked.
"Before Ye Kong saw through my identity, I hadn't seen him for nearly two months," Zhou Quan said. "When Ye Kong saw through my identity, Ye Fan wanted to fight with me. Although we didn't fight in the end, I could see that his cultivation isn't low. He's full of spiritual power. For him to be able to reach this stage in two months, he must have received guidance from an expert."
"What?" Matsumoto Takeyoshi frowned. "Your identity was exposed?"
Zhou Quan nodded.
"Quan 'er, you've always done things flawlessly. You've been deeply trusted by Ye Kong for more than ten years. How could Ye Kong see through your identity?" Matsumoto Takeyoshi asked with a frown.
"This matter really isn't my fault," Zhou Quan said. "Someone leaked the news. That's why Ye Kong knew that Godfather's people were in the Ye Residence."
"Leaked the news?" Matsumoto Takeyoshi raised his eyebrows. "Who?"
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