Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 120 Secrecy
December of the tenth year of Tenbao.

The heavy snow fell gracefully, and the whole world was dyed white. The snow on the ground was already very thick. The strong wind blew, and the snowflakes flew around wildly, making the whole world chaotic.

Liyang has been covered by heavy snow, and the entire city is shrouded in such messy snowflakes.

Yuan Wen Yao, wearing a thick felt coat, stood inside the door, looking at the heavy snow outside.

Snowflakes kept hitting his body, Yuan Wen Yao was shivering all over, his teeth kept chattering, and the whole house was rattling due to the strong wind.

Yuan Wen Yao couldn't help but shrink his body. Even though he was wearing thick clothes, the biting cold air penetrated into every part of his body. He turned his head shivering.

Standing behind him were Shi Yao and Dugu Jie.

Yuan Wenyao forced out an awkward smile, "Mr. Shi, the fire in this room has been blown out. Why don't we close the door first and then discuss important matters?"

Shi Yao was unmoved. At this moment, he just had a stern face and one hand grasped the hilt of the sword at his waist. "Lord Yuan, you have always said that you want to enjoy the snow, and you also said that this is the new king's accession to the throne, so the auspicious snow from the sky is a great blessing from heaven. It can be regarded as a blessing. Don't worry about it."

"You said that, didn't you?"

Yuan Wenyao's lips trembled for a moment, "I said that."

"Then Mr. Yuan should continue to enjoy the auspicious snow!"

“What a beautiful snow scene!”

Yuan Wen Yao slowly looked at Dugu Jie, but Dugu Jie didn't even look at him.

Yuan Wenyao slowly looked forward, enduring the torment.

The heavy snow kept flying towards his face. Yuan Wen Yao raised his hands to cover his face. Thinking of the many experiences he had after coming to Liyang, he could no longer hold back and sobbed, his whole body trembling and crying like a pear blossom in the rain.

Shi Yao looked at the prefect standing at the door and crying, with contempt in his eyes.

He then walked forward, pulled Yuan Wen Yao into the house, and then closed the door. With the door closed, the frightening sound of the wind and snow became much quieter. Although it was still hitting the doors and windows, the house was not very warm, but it was a little more bearable as the wind and snow were blocked.

"Lord Dugu, make a fire quickly, or the governor will get frozen."

Shi Yao gave the order and Dugu Jie did not refuse.

Shi Yao looked at Yuan Wenyao in surprise, "Why is Yuan Gong still crying? Is it because the snow scene is too beautiful?"

Yuan Wenyao looked up at him. At this moment, he was no longer as solemn as before. He cried and said, "I have never offended Shi Gong. Why did Shi Gong bully me like this?"

"All government affairs in the county are decided by Lord Shi. If you want to provide relief for the winter disaster, just give the order yourself. Why do you have to ask me? Why do you have to lie to me like this?!"

Hearing Yuan Wenyao's words, Shi Yao frowned, "Mr. Yuan! The prefect is the one who makes the decision on important matters in the county. I have studied and passed the examination for the scholar. I know the laws and regulations of Da Qi. All matters in the county require the order of the prefect. I am doing things according to the system."

When Yuan Wenyao heard his words, she cried even harder.

Shi Yao's expression softened a little, and he said, "Mr. Yuan, I just want to let you know that the snow scene you often mention, the beautiful scenery, the auspicious snow, is a fatal disaster for ordinary people. You are wearing thick clothes and standing in the door, but you can't stand it. The people in the city don't have such sturdy houses, firewood in the house for the winter, and clothes like you. How do you think they can survive?"

"The sage said he wanted benevolent government, but he didn't care about the lives of the people. What kind of benevolent government is this?"

Yuan Wenyao paused, "I understand. I'll give the order right away."

Shi Yao asked him to give the order and then quickly walked out of the house. Dugu Jie was about to leave with Shi Yao but was stopped by Yuan Wen Yao.

Yuan Wenyao looked at him eagerly, and after a moment's silence, he said, "Lord Dugu, in fact, my ancestors are also Chinese, and they are descendants of the Xianbei Tufa."

Dugu Jie made an "oh" sound, and although he didn't say it explicitly, he didn't hide the disgust in his eyes at all. He quickly pulled his hand away, turned around and left.

Only after they all left did the servants dare to step forward.

The master and servant hugged each other and cried again.

Yuan Wenyao said: "Who would have thought that there are such traitors in Sizhou? This place is not far from Yecheng, but I am held hostage by the thieves. I can't do anything on my own, and I am being humiliated like this. What can I do?!"

Several servants were also wiping their tears at this moment.

"The head of the family has been humiliated, and we should have died, but the traitors are so powerful that we really don't want to leave you alone."

Several people burst into tears again.

Yuan Wenyao sobbed, "Is there any other way for me to get out of this?"

A servant said, "Master, it is winter now. Although Yecheng is nearby, there won't be any exchanges. As long as we can hold out until the beginning of next spring, and someone from the court or the state comes to inform us about the spring planting, you can tell them about the situation here, and these rebels will surrender!"

"Okay, okay, this is the only thing we can do now."

Shi Yao was moving forward with difficulty against the heavy snow. The heavy snow severely impaired his vision and he could hardly see what was ahead. The snow on the ground was extremely thick, leaving a big footprint with every step.

It seemed that Liyang had not seen such heavy snow for many years. Shi Yao groped his way to the gate of the county government office with difficulty. Surrounded by county officials, he finally arrived at the residence of the county magistrate.

Shi Yao walked into the house. There was a fire burning inside, which made it much warmer than outside.

Liu Taozi, Tian Zili, Yao Xiong, Kou Liu, Chu Jiande and others were sitting together, chatting about something.

Shi Yao walked in and sat next to them naturally. He raised his head and said viciously: "That guy dared to pretend and be sarcastic. He told me that it was auspicious snow. Don't pay attention to it."

"I asked him to stand at the door for half an hour so that he could enjoy the auspicious snow."

"He cried like a baby. Is such a person qualified to be a governor?"

Tian Zili was stunned for a moment, "Mr. Shi, although Yuan Wenyao is tall, he is not a strong man. You should be more careful when doing things, don't kill him."

"Kill him if you want!"

"These bastards are just a waste of money when they are alive. It's better if they die!"

After hearing Shi Yao's words, several minions looked at each other in surprise.

Since Yuan Wenyao arrived, Shi Yao seemed to have become a different person. Where was the shadow of the weak scholar in the past? He wanted to kill people at every turn, which was almost the same as Brother Taozi!

Liu Taozi asked, "What is the disaster situation?"

"Fortunately, it was not as serious as we expected. We were well prepared in advance, otherwise we really don't know how many people would have been killed or injured."

"It's just that many livestock in the village have been frozen to death. I have sent people to register them. I plan to report to the government after the heavy snow passes and ask them to fill the vacancies."

The door was pushed open again, and the wind and snow rushed in. Dugu Jie hurriedly closed the door, shook off the snow on his body, blew air into his hands, and then sat down among the crowd.

He raised his head and looked at Liu Taozi, "You are right. This guy is still ruthless. Just now when I wanted to leave, he stopped me and said that he was also a Xianbei. He just wanted to win me over."

He frowned. "If the state or the government sends someone here, he will definitely talk nonsense."

A hint of ferocity flashed in his eyes, "Mr. Liu, why don't we kill him and just say he froze to death."

Chu Jiande chuckled, "That won't work. His father is Yang Xiang's uncle. If we kill him, how can Yang Xiang let us go?"

Hearing this, Tian Zili was stunned for a moment, and he asked, "Uncle?"

He looked at Dugu Jie again, "He said he was a Xianbei?"

"Isn't Yang Xiang also a Xianbei?"

Shi Yao said, "Their ancestors were Xianbei. Even now, I'm afraid they don't even know how to speak a word of Xianbei."

Kou Liu slowly lowered his head.

A few people were still discussing this matter, but Liu Taozi interrupted them, "Okay. Don't think about these things anymore, let's provide relief to the victims first."

"As for Yuan Wenyao, don't pay attention to her."

"After the spring, I'm afraid the government won't have the energy to care about local affairs."

Several people hurriedly stood up and saluted Liu Taozi.

"only!!"

Everyone put on thick clothes and left, but Shi Yao did not leave.

After everyone left, he asked, "Mr. Liu, is Prime Minister Yang going to be defeated?"

"how you said that?"

"Just look at Yuan Wenyao and you'll know."

"This has nothing to do with us, and just do your part."

"only."

Yecheng, the prime minister's residence.

Yang Yin sat in the upper seat, and several important officials sat on his left and right.

"Your Majesty, I am promoted to King of Kaifeng."

"And I feel that the problem of indiscriminate issuance of titles and official posts in the past has become very serious. I am willing to give up my royal title and the privilege of establishing a government office to show the world that I should be the first one to be eliminated in the matter of redundant officials!" Yang Yin, with his big belly, looked very domineering.

The people sitting in front of him included Yan Zixian, Zhu Huntianhe, Song Qindao, Zheng Zimo, Gao Guiyan, Cui Jishu and others.

After hearing Yang Yin's words, everyone looked at each other with different expressions.

Zheng Zimo stood up, saluted towards Yang Yin, and then said: "Prime Minister Yang, Your Majesty has just awarded us the title, and you want to take it back right now. Isn't this inappropriate? I'm afraid it will undermine Your Majesty's prestige."

"Oh, we are discussing state affairs now, Mr. Zheng, please don't say too much!"

Yang Yin interrupted him directly, looking down on him. Seeing Zheng Zimo being scolded, Song Qindao couldn't help but stand up. "Prime Minister Yang summoned us to discuss important matters, but he didn't allow us to ask questions. Why did he summon us?"

Seeing that things were not going well, Yan Zixian also stood up and said, "Don't be angry, Yang Xiang is not looking down on you. What Yang Xiang means is that there are other things to discuss right now. We will discuss it later, we will discuss it later."

Zheng Zimo and Song Qindao looked at each other and then sat down unhappily.

Yan Zixian cleared his throat and said, "The most important thing right now is not the title or the position, but those two people."

"The two of them became more and more powerful. One of them had more than thirty or forty guests visiting him at home every day, and the number of guests was increasing day by day."

"The other one became more and more reckless and openly killed people in Yecheng."

"Do you have any good ideas?"

Everyone slowly lowered their heads and pondered.

Cui Jishu looked at everyone calmly. When he saw that they looked troubled, he stood up and looked at Yang Yin. "Prime Minister Yang, I have been suffering from many illnesses recently. I consulted a doctor, who said that I was seriously ill and might not be able to recover for long. He then prescribed a strong medicine for me, saying that it was very potent and would definitely be effective after I took it."

"Do you think I should take this strong medicine?"

Everyone looked at him slowly, then looked at Yang Yin.

Yang Yin looked directly at the other person, "Small medicine can no longer save him. If we delay any further, even strong medicine will not be able to save him."

"Therefore, before dying of illness, it is better to take some strong medicine. Although the strong medicine may save your life."

Cui Jishu shook his head. "I heard from another doctor that the more serious the disease, the more cautious you have to be. Before taking strong medicine, you should first adjust the body so that the patient can withstand the strong medicine, and then treat the root cause. Otherwise, it's not saving lives, it's killing people."

Yang Yin and Cui Jishu looked at each other for a moment, and the atmosphere was very depressing.

Yang Yin slowly said, "Since you are ill, you can no longer manage important matters. You can return home to recuperate first."

Cui Jishu was stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly.

"Okay, then I'll go back."

Cui Jishu turned around, shook his head and slowly left. Yang Yin waited until he left before saying to his attendants, "Before his death, the late emperor left me a will to dismiss Cui Jishu from his post! Send someone to read the order to his residence tomorrow!"

"only"

Several people present immediately became much more obedient.

Looking at the people sitting quietly, Yang Yin said, "Don't worry too much about these two people."

"I plan to send them out as provincial governors and let them govern the local areas to see the results."

Yan Zixian frowned, "These two are from the royal family. Although Yang Xiang is the prime minister, even Your Majesty respects and loves them very much. Can this be done?"

Yang Yin looked at Song Qindao and Zheng Zimo, "I will have to trouble you two to persuade His Majesty and the Queen Mother on this matter."

"only!!"

Several people stood up and left.

Yan Zixian stayed behind, and after everyone left, he stepped forward and said, "Prime Minister Yang, this is the detailed report Cui Zhan just sent. It describes the events in Liyang in great detail, leaving nothing out."

Yang Yin picked up the document. He looked a little tired. "We can talk about local affairs later. Let's deal with the important matters of the imperial court first."

He gave a few more instructions and Yan Zixian left.

After everyone left, Yang Yin's tall and majestic body immediately deflated. He bent over, changed to a more comfortable posture, and continued to sit in the same position.

He sat for a while before standing up and preparing to return to the inner room to rest. After hesitating for a moment, he picked up the letter that was placed aside.

Yang Yin returned to the inner room. Due to the injury on his back, he could only lie on his side. He opened the music list and began to read it carefully.

When he finished reading the memorial in his hand, he seemed completely unable to sleep. He sat up abruptly, walked to the desk, asked someone to bring pen and ink, and began to write immediately.

"Someone is coming!"

"Send this order to Liyang!!"

Song Qindao and Zheng Zimo walked towards the palace.

Song Qindao served as the Shizhong, and Zheng Zimo was the Sanqi Changshi. These two officials could accompany the emperor and enter and leave the palace.

Song Qindao looked at Zheng Zimo who was standing beside him, "Master Zheng, Yang has always looked down on us and thinks that we rely on flattery to get close to the emperor. This time, we must accomplish something great and show him that not all close ministers are flatterers!"

Zheng Zimo's eyes were filled with worry. "That's true, but His Majesty is kind and merciful. It may not be easy to get him to cooperate with us to deal with the Second King."

Song Qindao nodded, "That's true. However, the Queen Mother is easy to talk to. I think she will definitely be willing to help!"

They each headed towards their own goals.

Song Qindao entered the palace and then bribed the soldiers to report secretly for him. By doing so, he finally met the empress dowager, Li Zu'e.

The empress dowager was not very old, with a dignified and beautiful appearance and a very noble air. She sat in the upper seat, surrounded by several female officials. She held a string of Buddhist beads in her hand, her eyes were clear, and her face was sad.

Song Qindao hurriedly bowed to greet him.

Li Zu'e said softly, "No need to be so polite. I heard that Lord Song was anxious to see me, but what happened to my child?"

Song Qindao frowned, "I usually advise Your Majesty, but after Your Majesty ascended the throne, you looked down on me."

He suddenly looked around, then lowered his head and said nothing.

Li Zu'e ordered: "Everyone, please go out. No one is allowed to come in without my order."

Many palace maids hurried out, leaving only Li Zu'e and Song Qindao. Li Zu'e then spoke up, "Song Gong, my child has been kind-hearted since childhood and would never do anything to disrespect his elders. Please..."

Song Qindao's face was very solemn. "Empress Dowager, why do you live in the side hall and don't dare to live in the main hall?"

Li Zu'e was stunned. "I"

"The two princes are in power and have great influence. Your Majesty is young and is restrained by them. The Empress Dowager favors her son but not her grandson. You turn a blind eye to all this. Aren't you afraid that the two princes will harm Your Majesty?"

At this moment, Li Zu'e's face was full of panic, "Your Majesty has ascended the throne, the supreme ruler of the world, who dares to harm him?"

"Without power, how can one be called supreme? Doesn't the Queen Mother know about the dog-footed me?"

Looking at the terrified Queen Mother, Song Qindao said, "At present, Prime Minister Yang is assisting Your Majesty and wants to plot against the two princes, but we are afraid that Your Majesty will not follow our lead. We hope that the Queen Mother can help us and persuade Your Majesty. We intend to transfer the two princes from Yecheng to the local areas and relieve them of their power. The affairs of the world will be the responsibility of Your Majesty, and the affairs of the harem will be the responsibility of the Queen Mother!"

Song Qindao bowed again and said, "I hope the Queen Mother will grant my request!"

Li Zu'e's face turned pale. She hesitated for a long time, "Can this be accomplished?"

"If the Queen Mother helps, it will definitely work."

"it is good"

"Empress Dowager, this is a secret. Please don't tell anyone before you take action!"

"I see."

"Do not worry."

Song Qindao completed his task successfully. He finally breathed a sigh of relief, gave some instructions, and then left in a hurry.

Li Zu'e just stood there in a daze. The more she thought about this incident, the more scared she became. She held the Buddhist beads tightly in her hand, and her forehead was covered with sweat.

"Someone is coming!"

She shouted, and soon, several female officials came to her side, bowed their heads and saluted, "Empress Dowager."

"Prepare the frame for me. I want to go and worship Buddha."

Hearing her words, several female officials were stunned, "Empress Dowager! It's freezing cold, how can you go out to worship Buddha?"

"What do you know! This is for a big event! Get ready quickly!"

"Queen, the snow outside is too strong."

(End of this chapter)