Daqian Night Emperor

Chapter 202 Unlucky Ruan Yu

The next day dawned, but it was still dark.

Ruan Yu was still meditating and cultivating her Qi in the quiet room when she heard a commotion outside.

His practice was interrupted once again, and he walked out of the house with a dark face.

As soon as I arrived at the front hall, I saw the knife-wielding clerk from Jingzhao Prefecture standing in the courtyard.

The person who came today was the young clerk called "Xiao Liu". His master did not come with him.

Xiao Liu held his head high, chest puffed out, and held his sword across his chest, shouting, "Who is Ruan Yu? Come with me!"

When Ruan Yu saw him, his expression turned black, as if he had eaten a dead fly.

The fellow disciples behind him were even more furious. How could a small clerk dare to act so wildly here again and again? Wasn't this trampling on the face of their Lingying Island?

But Ruan Yu raised his hand and stopped the actions of the people behind him.

He felt a little apprehensive.

But what he was afraid of was not this small clerk with no official rank, but the "Prime Minister Wu" who was standing behind this matter.

Even though he is a celestial warrior at the level of supernatural powers, unless he never sets foot on the land of Daqian Jiuzhou in this life, it is impossible for him not to be wary of the most powerful minister since the founding of Daqian.

Originally, Xiaoliu's identity as a clerk was not taken seriously by Ruan Yu.

But the more unscrupulous Xiaoliu was and the more he acted as a reckless person, the more suspicious Ruan Yu became.

Could it be that this official received instructions personally from Prime Minister Wu?
Otherwise, why would this small clerk dare to act so recklessly in front of him?

Did Prime Minister Wu set a trap for him, allowing this official to humiliate him time and again, just waiting for him to kill this petty official?

It’s just... as a prime minister, he has his plans arranged in the market and his moves made by petty officials. Isn’t that a bit too unclassy?
This doesn't seem like something a prime minister would do.

Could it be that this killer move is still to come?
Ruan Yu couldn't figure out the reason behind this, and for a moment he didn't do anything to the clerk who was yelling at him. He patiently said, "Didn't I clear my name yesterday? I'm not the rapist you're looking for in Jingzhao Prefecture, so why am I here today?"

Xiao Liu snorted heavily, "Who said it's related to yesterday's case? Today someone sued you for not paying for meals, and the case has even reached our government gate! Hurry up, the prefect is still waiting!"

……

In the following days, Ruan Yu was summoned to Jingzhao Prefecture almost every day for different reasons.

He was extremely annoyed, but he had to go.

It seemed that the person who summoned him was just a minor clerk from Jingzhao Prefecture, but what the clerk held in his hand was a "certificate" signed by the Jingzhao Yin himself.

If Ruan Yu didn't go, I'm afraid the Jingzhao Prefecture would issue a warrant to arrest him the next day and post his portrait all over the streets.

But every time I went there, it was always some trivial matters.

No matter how good-tempered Ruan Yu was, she would lose her patience. Her face became gloomier day by day, but she couldn't vent her anger even if she wanted to.

He really couldn't figure out how he had offended the Left Prime Minister.

"Could it be... because of Master?"

Ruan Yu realized that the problem did not lie with him. He certainly had not done anything to offend Prime Minister Wu, so it could only be that Prime Minister Wu was angry with him for some reason.

He immediately thought of his master, Dingbo Hou. These days, he has been contacting Dingbo Hou's old subordinates in Kyoto City as Dingbo Hou's direct disciple, and also got to know other dignitaries in Kyoto City, especially focusing on several princes.

It's not surprising that I came into Wu Xiang's sight.

If there was a conflict between Prime Minister Wu and Marquis Dingbo, it would seem... it sounds quite normal for me to be the target of anger because of my status.

But Ruan Yu was a little confused, because his master was a veteran minister of three dynasties, having served in the court since the reign of Emperor Chengping Taizu. In terms of seniority, his master was much more experienced than the current Left Prime Minister Wu Yong.

When Marquis Dingbo was at the height of his power, Wu Yong was still toiling in the Hanlin Academy, compiling books and building up his reputation.

When Emperor Tianwu abolished the navy and Marquis Dingbo retired, Wu Yong was still out of power. The left prime minister at that time was Gong Xiangru, the leader of the Yangzhou Party.

It was not until twenty years later that the struggle between the great Confucians and the banished immortals took a turn for the better, after the current national teacher Shuiyuexian moved Mount Xumi to the imperial palace in Kyoto City.

It was also in that year that An Shoudao was dismissed from office and left the court. Emperor Tianwu has since ignored state affairs, and Wu Yong became the left prime minister. His power then expanded unprecedentedly, and he became the most powerful minister in the history of the Daqian Kingdom!

In other words, there was a gap of twenty years between the time when Marquis Dingbo retired and returned to his hometown and the time when Wu Yong came to power.

No matter how you think about it, the two of them should not have any hatred. After all, when Dingbo Hou was at the peak of his power, Wu Yong was not well-known. I am afraid that Dingbo Hou might not have known that there was such a person in the court at that time.

Then there is only one possibility left...the Zhao family!
It must be Zhao Qi'an who persuaded Wu Xiang to help him deal with him.

"It seems that the relationship between Zhao Qi'an and the Second Prince is closer than I thought. He was able to get the Left Prime Minister to help him!"

For a moment, Ruan Yu had a huge misunderstanding in his mind.

But he had no choice but to misunderstand, because who in Kyoto City didn't know the relationship between the Second Prince and Prime Minister Wu?
Zhao Qi'an and the second prince Ji Haoyu have a close relationship, which he saw with his own eyes.

Putting these things together, it was easy for him to think that Zhao Qi'an was using the Second Prince to persuade Prime Minister Wu to help him deal with him.

And to achieve this... the relationship between Zhao Qi'an and the second prince must be closer than he imagined.

In other words, in the fight for succession that would occur soon after, Zhao Qi'an placed the Zhao family's bet on the second prince?
Ruan Yu paced back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back, and finally walked out of the mansion with a gloomy face.

……

"My dear nephew, it's not that I don't want to help you, it's just that the Left Prime Minister's side... Alas."

Ruan Yu prepared gifts and revisited some old friends in Kyoto.

But the dignitaries in Kyoto City, who had been quite enthusiastic about him, now gave him the cold shoulder.

Among them, there are many students and former officials of Ding Bohou.

But it was obvious that Dingbo Hou had been away from the court for too long, and it was obviously impossible for him to return to the officialdom. Compared with the old friendship between Dingbo Hou and these former students and officials, they were more afraid of the prime minister above them, fearing that helping Ruan Yu would offend Prime Minister Wu.

Finally, a family was willing to see him. After they brought him into their house, he couldn't help but reveal some things while stammering.

Ruan Yu said, "I think there may be some misunderstandings between Prime Minister Wu and me. If you are willing to introduce me to someone, I will definitely give you a generous gift."

His lavish spending after entering the capital this time left a deep impression on the dignitaries in Kyoto City.

This is one of the reasons why he is treated as a guest of honor wherever he goes.

But this time... "generous gifts" don't work.

(End of this chapter)