The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 394 Hush

After Yan Song finished speaking, he looked at Zhu Zai and said nothing more.

Zhu Zai raised his teacup and took a sip, but his heart was in turmoil.

"He's trying to... force me to abdicate!"

"This man is His Majesty's confidant, and he has always followed His Majesty's lead. If he didn't know something, he would never dare to do such a thing! Therefore, he has already colluded with the Eastern Depot!"

"So that's why so many officials were willing to use their own reputation to endorse the Eastern Depot's ability to mobilize the Right Guard of the Vanguard and the Flag Guard in Nanjing. It turns out that the one leading them was the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet!"

"Does he merely want to interrupt His Majesty's progress in restoring his martial arts skills, or does he intend to use this opportunity, under the watchful eyes of the public, to conspire with the Eastern Depot to do something?"

In a flash, Zhu Zai smiled, stood up, walked quickly to Yan Song, and grasped his hands.

"Lord Yan, what you have said today is exactly what I have been thinking!"

"Is Commander Zhu serious? Would you be willing to join me in submitting this memorial tomorrow?"

"It's my wish, but I don't dare to ask for my ear!"

"Ahahahaha——"

The two smiled at each other and walked hand in hand to the door.

Yan Song bowed to Zhu Zaiyi.

"In that case, see you at Donghua Gate tomorrow!"

"sure!"

The door closed slowly, in that instant when their sight was cut off.

Zhu Zai's face was devoid of any smile; instead, it was filled with a deep killing intent.

"This person cannot be allowed to live any longer! Whatever he wants to do tomorrow, we must not let him succeed!"

"Now is not the time to worry about the stability of the court. Tonight, send Li Da to take this man's head! Make sure it's a swift and decisive blow!"

Outside the door, Yan Song went downstairs with a normal expression and entered the inner room.

After a moment, Zhu Zai went downstairs and walked towards the Qianqing Palace. Behind him, a clerk glanced at his back, turned around, and quickly walked into the inner room. He went to Yan Song's side and whispered something.

"Lord Yan, he's gone."

"Ah."

Yan Song waved his hand, and the clerk turned and left.

He made a mark on the memorial in front of him, put it aside, and then, seemingly intentionally or unintentionally, raised his gaze and glanced in the direction of the Qianqing Palace.

Just a glance.

He lowered his head again and picked up another memorial to review.

--------

That night.

Outside Donghua Gate, there is Xiaoshi Yongfang.

Yan Mansion.

If we were to ask which family in the capital was the easiest to find, it would undoubtedly be the family of Yan Song, the current Grand Secretary.

The vermilion gate tower is over three zhang high, with copper bells hanging from the eaves, tinkling like jade pendants in the wind. Inside, the bluestone-paved path is flanked by Taihu stones, and there are five courtyards. In the main hall, the nanmu beams and pillars are all painted with gold, the floor is covered with Persian velvet carpets, and twelve rosewood screens are arranged side by side.

The back garden draws water from the Jade Spring to form a winding pool, and a nine-curved covered bridge adorns a glazed pavilion. Four whale-fat lamps hang from the passageways, walls, and pillars, their yellowish-white light filtering through the branches and leaves, leaving trails of shadow.

Footsteps approached from afar, and two lanterns illuminated two tall, wiry figures, one carrying a long knife and the other a long sword, walking slowly along the porch.

Although they were dressed as ordinary guards, anyone who had spent a few years in the martial arts world could tell that these two were experts.

Those who can make a name for themselves in a single prefecture are second-rate masters.

The man with the sword was named "Snow Frost".

The man carrying the sword was named "Tie Qiuyi".

Both men were well-known figures in the martial arts world, but in the middle of last year, they attended a banquet hosted by Yan Xiaosheng, the head of the underworld in the capital known as "Iron Palm Maitreya," and were inexplicably arrested by the Imperial Guards who came to arrest them.

Fortunately, although the two were not exactly good people, they were generally law-abiding citizens. After spending several months in the Jinyiwei prison, they managed to escape with their lives.

If the two of them previously still possessed some of the temperament common to people from the martial arts world, and looked down on power, after their experience with the Embroidered Uniform Guard, they had come to understand the underlying rules of the Great Shuo Dynasty—the imperial court was the biggest fist; power was the sharpest weapon.

So the two of them took advantage of the Yan family's recruitment of guards and used their excellent martial arts skills to sneak in, hoping to use Yan Song's power to get an official position.

As they talked, they arrived at their current location. Having gone through thick and thin together, and now walking the same path, their relationship naturally became incredibly close. With no one around, they chatted about things they couldn't say during the day.

"Does Grand Secretary Yan have something important to discuss today?"

"How to say?"

“Normally, he would turn off the lights and go to sleep after dinner around 7 p.m., but now it’s already 1 p.m., and the lights were still on when we passed by his door just now.”

"Hey, your hearing isn't very good, but I heard it very clearly—Grand Secretary Yan is entertaining guests."

Tie Qiuyi stopped in her tracks.

"To entertain guests? It's already past midnight, and we still have official business to attend to tomorrow. What kind of guests are we entertaining?"

Snowflakes spread their hands.

"How would I know? They might be high-ranking officials, or old friends. Even if I could hear what they were saying, I wouldn't dare to listen, would I?"

"Too."

The two continued walking forward.

"By the way, haven't you been feeling a bit... creepy lately?"

"……How to say?"

“I can’t really say for sure. As you know, I enjoy drinking, and sometimes I’ll take money and exchange it with the cook in the kitchen for some of Yan Gelao’s good wine. But when I went to exchange the wine yesterday… she acted as if she knew nothing about it.”

As Tie Qiuyi spoke, she shivered.

"You have no idea, she just glanced at me, just one glance, and I felt a chill run down my spine. That look in her eyes was probably only comparable to that vicious person we encountered last year!"

"So fierce!"

Even the snow and frost remained silent.

He knew who Tie Qiuyi was comparing him to.

He was the commander of the Imperial Guards back then, and is now the commander of the Northern Garrison, a peerless demon known in the martial arts world as the "Dead Garrison Commander"!

To be honest, the fact that the two of them managed to escape with their lives from him was incredibly lucky! If they weren't afraid of him coming after them, the story of "fighting with the Death Town Governor and surviving" alone would have been enough for them to make a name for themselves in the martial arts world!
Thinking of this, the two sighed in unison and continued their previous conversation.

"Speaking of which, I feel the same way."

"Snowflakes said in a low voice."

“A few days ago, I was patrolling the courtyard with another person when we ran into a maid who was delivering wine to Grand Secretary Yan… As you know, I’m a bit of a flirt, and since I happened to recognize her, I went up to her to make a few jokes.”

"But she glanced at me, and I didn't dare to go forward."

Upon hearing this, Tie Qiuyi asked in a low voice.

"Did you also find his gaze cold and distant?"

Snowflakes shook their heads.

"It's not that, it's just that I feel like I can't go forward... just like when I faced that person last year, my internal energy was condensed and not flowing smoothly, making my whole body stiff."

"Ugh……"

The two of them sighed in unison again.

"Why do we keep bringing up that person today?"

"Which person?"

"Who else could it be? The Corpse-Tearing Commander, the Death-Slaying Suppressor, Li Miao."

Xue Shangshuang turned her head and looked at Tie Qiuyi strangely. It was clearly the other party who mentioned that person first, so why is she asking about it now?
Upon closer inspection, they were stunned.

A chill ran from the soles of my feet straight up to the top of my head.

Tie Qiuyi stood frozen in place, his face deathly pale, trembling uncontrollably. A hand wearing a black gold glove rested on his shoulder, and above that, a face with a playful smile.

A familiar face, a face that has appeared countless times in their nightmares.

Li Miao raised his hand and placed it on Xue Shangshuang's shoulder, channeling his inner energy into his meridians and suppressing the scream that was about to escape his lips.

He smiled and held up an index finger in front of his lips.

"Shhh."

"You two look familiar?"

(End of this chapter)