Daqian Night Emperor

Chapter 291 Zhao Qi'an's Ambition (6K)

Zhao Qi'an returned to the mansion and immediately called the mansion's deputy steward Li Yulu to his side: "Ask your master to come to the mansion, I have something important to tell you."

Hearing the word "important", Li Yulu's face suddenly became serious, and he immediately replied: "Don't worry, sir, I'll go now."

……

"One month, I have to ship those things back from the East China Sea, isn't that too tight of a timeline?"

On the outskirts of the city, Baiyun Mountain.

Gou Xiangxi stood in the pavilion on the top of the mountain, twirling his slightly curled beard with one hand, looking at the new charity hall being built on the mountainside below.

Behind him stood Xiong Shanyue, one of the eight stewards of Zhao's Trading Company.

Xiong Shanyue was tall and strong, while Gou Xiangxi was short and looked like a child standing in front of him. However, he was quite respectful when treating Gou Xiangxi.

He was somewhat helpless and asked for help: "Mr. Gou, can you talk to the boss and ask for more time?"

Gou Xiangxi glanced at him and said coldly, "The boss doesn't speak easily, but if he does, the matter will be settled, and there will be no room for bargaining."

Xiong Shanyue said with a sad face, "But what the boss wants to transport is not ordinary things. Whether it's iron or fine steel... they are all things that are strictly controlled by the court. They even want ten magic cannons. Is that something that can be brought into the inland of Daqian? Not to mention transporting it to Kyoto City."

Gou Xiangxi also understood Xiong Shanyue's difficulties. He also didn't understand why Zhao Qi'an was not anxious about the progress of the new charity hall before, but suddenly became concerned about it after just a few days.

In order to complete the new charity hall as soon as possible, even Xiaowei brought a group of people to work in Baiyun Mountain, without fear of being noticed by certain people in Kyoto City.

Such a risky move is not something that a cautious boss would do.

There must be something wrong when things are abnormal. Gou Xiangxi has vaguely sensed that his boss's mentality has changed.

But too many things have happened recently, whether it was the changes that happened in the Donghai family or what happened at the Wanshou Banquet, they might affect the Dong family's attitude.

Gou Xiangxi could only make random guesses.

He turned sideways and said to Xiong Shanyue, "If you can't do it, I will explain it to the boss and replace it with someone who can do it."

"Don't, don't, don't..."

Xiong Shanyue was startled, and said with gritted teeth: "I'll think of a way."

Just as the two were talking, a figure hurried up the mountain path leading to the pavilion.

"That seems to be your apprentice."

Xiong Shanyue noticed it and pointed at the figure on the other side of the mountain path and said.

Gou Xiangxi did not have such good eyesight as these warriors. It was not until Li Yulu entered the pavilion that he recognized who it was.

He said unhappily, "Why are you here if you don't want to work hard at home?"

Working as the deputy steward in the princess's mansion, although most of the time he only handles small matters, it is the position closest to the boss. If he can gain the boss's trust, he will have the opportunity to be entrusted with important tasks in the future, or even take over his position as steward.

This is the "bright road" that Gou Xiangxi found for his apprentice.

It was for this reason that he was naturally dissatisfied when he saw Li Yulu not doing his job in the princess's mansion in broad daylight but running to see him.

Li Yulu had been running all the way here, sweating profusely. He wiped the sweat off his forehead and panted, "Master, please go back to the mansion quickly. The boss has something important to discuss with you."

Important matter?

When Gou Xiangxi thought that Zhao Qi'an was going to see the imperial teacher today, his heart skipped a beat. He did not dare to delay and immediately went back to the princess's mansion with Li Yulu.

……

Half an hour later, in the princess's mansion.

Gou Xiangxi came to the door of the study, wiped the sweat from his jogging, calmed his breath, and then raised his hand to knock on the door.

"come in."

After receiving a response from the study, he pushed the door open, walked in with his body bowed, and was about to pay his respects to Zhao Qian'an.

But when he looked up, he was stunned for a moment: "Did the boss go to see the national teacher today? Is it not going well?"

It was rare for him to see Zhao Qi'an looking unhappy.

Zhao Qi'an shook his head: "It's a long story. Wu Wen has become the Imperial Master's disciple, but I don't know whether it is a good thing or a bad thing."

Gou Xiangxi couldn't help but wonder, wasn't it the boss's idea to arrange for the Seventh Miss to become a disciple of the Imperial Master?

If everything is going well, why would the boss say this?

However, Zhao Qi'an had no intention of explaining: "Put aside Xiao Qi's matter for now. I have something else to talk to you about. Sit down."

"Thank you, Master."

Gou Xiangxi bowed and sat down, waiting quietly for Zhao Qian'an's instructions.

But Zhao Qian didn't speak for a long time, tapping his fingers lightly on the desk, as if he was thinking about how to start.

"Tuk tuk..."

The gentle tapping sound of fingers against the desk seemed particularly abrupt in the quiet study.

Finally, the voices stopped, and Zhao Qi'an slowly spoke: "Mr. Gou, how many years have we known each other?"

Gou Xiangxi didn't understand why Zhao Qi'an asked this, but after thinking about it, he answered truthfully: "If you count from the first time I met Zhao Dongjia, it should be thirteen years. At that time, I was transferred by the court to serve as the governor of Hailing County in Yangzhou. Haiqing City was within the jurisdiction of Hailing County... Oh, it was not called Haiqing City at that time, but Dongtai City."

Back then, he was outspoken and offended Wu Yong. Later, during the imperial lecture, Wu Yong took advantage of a joke made by Emperor Tianwu and instigated the Wu Party to attack Gou Xiangxi in the court, eventually banishing him from the capital.

However, Gou Xiangxi was, after all, a third place winner in the imperial examination and a graduate of the Hanlin Academy. Even if he was sent out, his starting point was not low. In addition, he was extremely capable and had made many achievements in the local area.

Wu Yong was afraid that he would gain power in the local area, so he secretly arranged for his transfer several times, forcing him to serve as an official in a place for only two or three years before having to move to another place.

In such a short time, there is not enough time to familiarize oneself with the local government affairs, let alone make any achievements.

It was not until the fourth and fifth years of the Tianwu reign that Gou Xiangxi was transferred to Hailing County in Yangzhou as the prefect. In the forty-sixth year of the Tianwu reign, Zhao Qi'an returned from Donghai, and the two met.

Zhao Qi'an nodded and said, "That was during the years when Mr. Gou was in office, when Zhao's Company was just established."

Gou Xiangxi couldn't help but laugh: "When the Dong family's ships loaded with rare treasures from overseas entered Hailing County, the whole Yangzhou city was in an uproar. At that time, many Yangzhou nobles were tempted and wanted to go out to sea to trade with foreign races. Thinking about it now, it's really ridiculous."

Who would have thought that the Zhao family’s wealth came from trade?

At that time, half of the Twelve Kingdoms of the East China Sea had fallen into the hands of Zhao Qi'an, and those Yangzhou nobles who had secretly built ships and set sail really arrived at the foreign countries on the sea, only to find that they were greeted by the swords and spears of the Zhao family's Longyuan Guard. That scene... was ridiculous just to imagine.

Zhao Qi'an swaggered and displayed his huge wealth in front of everyone, clearly trying to lure the Yangzhou nobles into the trap. With just this move, all the land in Yangzhou from Jiangling County to the east was named "Zhao"!
As the prefect of Hailing County, Gou Xiangxi witnessed it all with his own eyes. It was at that time that he saw clearly what a terrifying behemoth the Donghai Zhao family had grown into, and he also saw clearly the methods of Zhao Qi'an.

He also tried to stand against the Zhao family and tried to prevent the Zhao family from dominating the East China Sea.

But the Zhao family had become so powerful at that time that it was beyond the control of a temporary county magistrate like him.

In the end, what made Gou Xiangxi make concessions was that he saw that after the Zhao family defeated all the aristocratic families east of Jiangling, the people were well fed and well clothed, everyone on the street had a smile on their face, doors were left unlocked at night and people did not pick up things on the roads, just like the "era of great governance" during the rule of the ancient sage emperor!
In the face of this prosperous scene, Gou Xiangxi, a hyena official who dared to defy even the emperor, finally chose to shut up.

Thinking about it now, he was filled with emotion. "It was during those years that the tax revenue in Hailing County skyrocketed. The tax revenue of the county was almost as much as that of half of Yangzhou. I was able to gain a great merit for nothing. If it weren't for the riot in the northern border in 1947, I could have stayed in Hailing County for another two years and my merits could have been transferred back to the capital."

At this point, Gou Xiangxi could not help cursing, "Old dog Wu Yong, you are not a human being! When the Northern Frontier was in turmoil, he transferred me to Jizhou to be the governor. If I had not been to Jizhou, I would not have touched the 'Emperor's Armory', and I would not have known that the 'Emperor's Armory' had long been empty and rats had escaped."

After scolding Wu Yong, he looked at Zhao Qian'an and said, "If it weren't for the righteous action of the Dong family, who promptly supplied the Iron Wolf Guards with military supplies and dispatched the Longyuan Guards to rush to Jizhou, I'm afraid Jizhou would have been conquered by the Hutu cavalry long ago. The Dong family's contribution will be remembered for generations to come!"

It was because he had witnessed Zhao Qi'an's methods and the capabilities of the Zhao family in Hailing County that he chose to seek help from Zhao Qi'an when he was desperate in Jizhou.

Zhao Qi'an shook his head and did not take the credit for himself: "No need to thank me, I just did not do anything without benefits. In my opinion, cooperating with Marquis Weiwu is profitable, so I did it."

The reason why he was able to get to know Weiwu Hou was because Gou Xiangxi acted as a matchmaker, and the two of them had a cooperative relationship that lasted for more than ten years.

Gou Xiangxi flattered him without revealing his feelings: "A gentleman is judged by deeds rather than by heart. The boss is already a very kind gentleman."

Zhao Qi'an shook his head and said seriously, "You are a gentleman."

His words came from the heart.

Originally, after the war in the northern border was settled, Gou Xiangxi would have made great contributions again and should have had a bright future. However, he chose to take the initiative to uncover the "Emperor's Arsenal" case, blaming the emperor, and eventually ended up being deposed. If Zhao Qi'an had not appreciated his talents and taken him in, he would probably have died at the hands of his political enemies without his official position.

If you are not a gentleman, how can you do such a thing?

Gou Xiangxi said modestly: "Master, thank you for your praise. I am just a hyena officer who bites whoever I catch."

He lived up to the title of "hyena official" as he even took a bite from the emperor.

"The boss asked me to come here today, is it just to reminisce about the past?"

After the joke, Gou Xiangxi still asked about the serious matter.

Zhao Qi'an summoned him in such a hurry that it was impossible for him to just reminisce about the past.

Zhao Qi'an sighed and said, "Do you know Wu Wen's background?"

Gou Xiangxi thought for a moment and asked cautiously, "If I remember correctly, it was the year when the host came to Jizhou to help that Marquis Weiwu handed her over to you. Didn't you say that Miss Seven was the orphan of Marquis Weiwu's personal guards, and you took her away because you saw her qualifications?"

He didn't know much about martial arts training, and he didn't know how the boss could tell whether a toddler who couldn't even speak had the qualifications.

But he knew that Zhao Qi'an was somewhat extraordinary. The people under Zhao Qi'an discussed privately that their master was born with a pair of "wise eyes" and was able to recognize people. Otherwise, how could the boss have so many talented people around him?

Zhao Qi'an said seriously: "She is the descendant of the late crown prince. Handing her over to me is one of the conditions for me to rush to Jizhou for assistance!" Descendants of the late crown prince?
Gou Xiangxi was stunned for a moment, then he quickly figured out what Zhao Qi'an was thinking back then, and couldn't help but let out a light sigh.

During the "Xuanmen Incident", Emperor Tianwu killed his brother and usurped the throne. After he came to power, although he had achievements in his early years, he was seen as a warmongerer in the eyes of the people. In his later years, he was a typical tyrant. It can be said that throughout the history of Daqian, there has never been such an emperor who was so unpopular.

It is for this reason that there is a group of people who, grateful for the achievements of the late crown prince, believe that Emperor Tianwu "came to the throne illegitimately" and have been looking for the descendants of the late crown prince in an attempt to "restore order."

But the person whom they had searched all over the nine provinces of Daqian but couldn't find had always been in Zhao Qi'an's hands.

Zhao Qi'an has always been an ambitious man. He adopted Zhao Wuwen as his adopted daughter and kept her by his side. Is there any need to say what he wants to do?
Seeing Gou Xiangxi's strange look, Zhao Qi'an shook his head and said, "You don't have to look at me like that. If Daqian is stable and the people live and work in peace, then she is just the daughter of the rich Zhao family in Donghai. I will protect her for the rest of her life."

But what if the Daqian Empire is in turmoil and the empire is about to collapse?

Zhao Qi'an didn't say it, but Gou Xiangxi knew it well.

If it really comes to that, the boss having the Seventh Miss in his hands would be equivalent to "legitimacy" and would clear away a lot of trouble.

Gou Xiangxi asked cautiously: "Why did the boss change his mind?"

Zhao Qi'an smiled bitterly and said, "Because Your Majesty may live much longer than Xiao Qi."

What reason is this?
Your Majesty is eighty years old this year, and Miss Seven is not yet of age.

Gou Xiangxi didn't quite understand and his face was full of confusion.

But Zhao Qi'an did not explain in depth, and instead said, "That is why I want Xiao Qi to worship the Imperial Master as my teacher, so that one day I can restore her royal status. This is also what I promised Marquis Weiwu back then."

"There are many factions in the court now. Rather than relying on a few princes, it is better to push the person I personally trained to the front!"

He had used Yu Zhen to test Emperor Tianwu in order to test whether the current emperor still had plans to regain control of the court.

But he saw that Emperor Tianwu had no such idea, so it was only a matter of time for him to abdicate and let others take over.

Wu Yong only suppressed the hidden dangers of Daqian and maintained the superficial stability. But the hidden dangers did not disappear. Suppressing them blindly would only make the problems grow bigger in the dark until the day when they exploded.

He is not the Tianwu Emperor, he is a first-class Taoist, the strongest person in the world, and his physical condition is still at its peak at the age of eighty.

He is just a mortal. He is now in his 80s. Even if he looks energetic, he cannot hide his old age and frailty.

Sooner or later, Daqian will have a new king and new prime ministers.

But Zhao Qi'an didn't understand. Emperor Tianwu had long wanted to delegate power, but why would he rather hand over power to Wu Yong than establish a new monarch?
Gou Xiangxi now understood Zhao Qian'an's inner thoughts, and some of the confusion that had lingered in his mind for years was finally resolved.

But he frowned slightly, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke tactfully: "No matter how incompetent the four princes are, they are still the bloodline of Emperor Tianwu. Miss Seven is a layer of relationship after all, not to mention that Miss Seven is a girl. There has never been a woman who became emperor in Daqian."

He had already put it very tactfully, but if the person sitting opposite him had not been Zhao Qian'an, he would have sneered at this man's wishful thinking.

Zhao Qi'an understood what Gou Xiangxi meant, but he was not angry. He had thought about these things before, of course: "If there is a choice, Wu Wen will never be the candidate for the new emperor. That is why, even if her identity is exposed, Daqian will at most have one more princess, and it will not attract too much attention."

He paused for a moment, glanced at Gou Xiangxi, and his voice became meaningful:
"But what if...there is no choice?"

Gou Xiangxi was stunned, and suddenly his face showed a look of horror.

But the next moment, Zhao Qi'an sighed softly: "But all this has changed."

"What variable?"

"It has something to do with Xiao Qi's background."

Zhao Qian'an felt helpless, as he could never have expected that Zhao Wuwen contained Ling Yuan's "divine fragments" in his body. Only practicing the ruthless way of mind could solve the problem.

Practicing this mental method would cut off the seven emotions and forget the six desires, which undoubtedly disrupted his previous overall plan.

However, although the National Master practiced the way of ruthlessness, she still had not completely cut off emotions. Zhao Qi'an guessed that she had a way to suppress the influence of her mental method. Everything was still unknown, so he did not mention this matter to Gou Xiangxi.

After thinking for a while, he said, "Do you know why Wu Wen stayed by Marquis Weiwu's side in the first place?"

Gou Xiangxi couldn't help but wonder: "If someone wants to use Miss Seven's identity to make a fuss, then he is most likely someone who wants to 'do something big'. Isn't this the reason why Marquis Weiwu wants to do this?
Zhao Qi'an shook his head and gave an answer: "He is a supporter of the late crown prince. After the Xuanmen Incident, he was the one who secretly moved the late crown prince's descendants out of Kyoto City."

"Everyone thought that Marquis Weiwu voluntarily gave up his position in the capital and volunteered to take on the difficult task of guarding the northern border because he was afraid of being punished by Emperor Tianwu. But little did they know that he did it to protect the descendants of the late crown prince."

"Wu Wen is the granddaughter of the former crown prince, the daughter of the emperor's grandson, and the youngest daughter."

Gou Xiangxi asked in confusion: "The youngest daughter? Does that mean the late crown prince has other descendants?"

Zhao Qi'an said: "After the grandson of the emperor was rescued by Marquis Weiwu and taken to Jizhou, he felt that there was no hope for revival and could only pin his hopes on his offspring. He did nothing else in his life and focused on the inheritance of his bloodline. He gave birth to eleven offspring in his lifetime."

Stallion……

These two words slowly emerged in Gou Xiangxi's mind.

But in this case, wouldn't Miss Seven's status be greatly compromised? With so many people, even if one was given to each of the forces in the Daqian Dynasty that had the intention of doing something big, there would still be enough.

For some reason, Zhao Qi'an's expression became a little strange when he said this: "But now, only Wu Wen is alive. Even the emperor's grandson was accidentally struck by lightning while out and died on the spot."

"As for Wu Wen's older brothers and sisters, they all died for various strange reasons."

Gou Xiangxi was surprised and said, "No wonder Miss Seven is so unlucky. Is this a curse that comes from her bloodline?"

Both Weiwu Hou and Zhao Qian'an initially thought that it was a spell similar to a curse that was at work. There were countless capable people around Emperor Tianwu, and it was possible that no one of them had such magical powers.

It was for this reason that he thought at the beginning that handing Zhao Wuwen over to the Imperial Master would be able to solve her bad luck.

The goal was achieved, but the truth... was far from it.

Zhao Qi'an pondered for a while and said, "It's not an exaggeration to say that it's a curse, but it wasn't done by Emperor Tianwu. It was brought upon himself by the late Crown Prince."

"how do I say this?"

"The changes in Xuanmen actually have other hidden stories..."

In the following time, he told Gou Xiangxi the truth about the Xuanmen Changes that he had learned from the National Master.

However, matters related to Ling Yuan were concealed.

Emperor Tianwu and the Imperial Master are intentionally suppressing all news about Lingyuan, and even not explaining the truth about the Xuanmen changes, most likely in order to cover up the Lingyuan affairs.

As for the purpose, Zhao Qi'an didn't know, but he subconsciously chose to cover up everything related to Ling Yuan.

He simply made the process of the late crown prince devouring the spirit of the mad god into a story in which the late crown prince practiced evil techniques in order to achieve a breakthrough in martial arts, and became possessed, thus bringing disaster to future generations.

Gou Xiangxi did not understand martial arts, so he did not suspect anything. He said with emotion, "I never thought that there would be such a hidden story behind the Xuanmen Incident. No wonder the late Emperor Shengde did not punish Emperor Tianwu, but instead appointed him as the crown prince to inherit the throne."

He also had some things he didn't understand: "But why did the former crown prince insist on breaking through in martial arts instead of becoming the emperor?"

"I think he must have his reasons, but we don't know."

Zhao Qian'an spoke calmly, but what he was thinking about in his heart was that Emperor Tianwu had been obsessed with practicing in Mount Xumi over the years. To outsiders, wasn't that a case of being possessed?

Whether it is the late Crown Prince or Emperor Tianwu, they are both so obsessed with breakthroughs in their own martial arts. Perhaps... it is related to the "Well of Two Worlds" suppressed under Mount Sumeru.

The answers to all these questions can only be found after Zhao Qi'an personally enters Mount Xumi.

Zhao Qi'an suppressed his emotions and continued, "It's just that Emperor Tianwu would rather bear the infamy and suppress the truth of the Xuanmen Incident in order to protect his brother's reputation. Marquis Weiwu has been unaware of the truth for so many years, and his only thought is to 'set things right'. If he knows the truth now, I'm afraid he will lose his temper and choose to retire and return home. Once he hands over the military power of Jizhou to the court, I'm afraid I will be implicated."

Gou Xiangxi asked cautiously, "Does the boss mean to... suppress this matter and pretend that we don't know?"

Zhao Qi'an was also in a dilemma: "But now I may have to rely on the court. If I suppress this matter, and he raises the flag of rebellion one day, should I go back to Donghai to start a rebellion, or help the court to send troops to suppress him?"

Gou Xiangxi finally understood why Zhao Qi'an wanted him to come.

But this question... is difficult to answer.

If you answer wrong, there may be no recovery!

He thought carefully and asked Zhao Qi'an a question: "I want to ask the boss, why did the boss change his position?"

"Because of some things..." Zhao Qi'an hesitated for a long time, but still did not tell the truth, "There are some things that I cannot tell Mr. Gou yet. But maybe in the future, I will stand beside His Majesty."

When he learned of Ling Yuan's existence, he vaguely guessed what Emperor Tianwu and the Imperial Master had been doing over the years.

How can any egg remain intact when the nest is overturned?

Gou Xiangxi asked again: "Why is the Dong family wavering?"

"Because I have to see it with my own eyes before I can make up my mind!"

"In that case... why don't we temporarily stabilize Marquis Weiwu until the Dong family makes up their minds and then make plans?"

Since Zhao Qi'an had concealed many things, Gou Xiangxi could only give one solution - delay.

Since Marquis Weiwu has been kept in the dark for more than ten years, it seems that a few more years won’t hurt.

Zhao Qi'an took a deep breath and said, "It seems that this is the only way."

He already had the answer in his mind, but the reason he was hesitant was that he still had a month before entering Mount Sumeru.

This month is the time for the fight for succession to the throne and no one can predict what will happen.

Zhao Qi'an felt a little uneasy in his heart, but he couldn't tell where this uneasiness came from, so he could only suppress it.

I just hope... nothing unexpected happens in this month.

(End of this chapter)