Durin's Diary

Chapter 918 Peach Blossom Hermitage

The old man got out of the car and, with the young man's respectful farewell, walked through the main gate.

The large corridor inside the gate was lit up, so the old man wouldn't have to walk in the dark. But seeing so many guards reminded him of when he entered this gate after killing someone... there were just as many people there.

Dulin, that kid, is actually getting things done, isn't he?

Fine, let them see the little guy's integrity. All that nonsense and rubbish, the big guys are either too afraid of losing their lives or too concerned with their reputation. In the end, when the sky falls, the little guy has to shoulder the burden. When things get tough, they still try to call a deer a horse and throw mud at a kid. What can I do? I don't believe this little old man can kill someone empty-handed in the Golden Palace.

You're so ungrateful!

Thinking of this, the old man with wide eyes saw Xiao Qi coming to pick him up.

The emperor's seventh son was still just a child. Seeing the old man's wide-eyed expression, he laughed and said, "Master, do you already know?"

"I don't know anything. I have big eyes, I was born with them." After saying that, the old man glared at the young man again.

The latter smiled broadly and, while leading the way, explained why he had come to find him.

Hearing that Dulin had killed a petty scoundrel who dared to embezzle soldiers' food and his petty uncle, the old man chuckled, stopped glaring, and squinted as he followed the young prince into the Golden Palace.

Before he reached the steps of the Golden Hall, he heard the navy men cursing, and what they said was naturally very pleasant to hear.

"This old man from the Mohist school dared to kill our navy people without permission before! Now his descendant is a high-ranking commander, and he still dares to kill innocent people without reporting it! There is no justice or law!" This sounds like someone from the navy.

It seems we're still in the age of young people hurling insults, and the bigwigs haven't even stepped in yet; everyone seems to be waiting for him to be the main course.

Damn it, they were so quick to remove me from the family register, but now that something's really happened, why are they still thinking of me? If they send me on this business trip again, I'll have to ask if they can make up for my pension.

Damn it, poverty makes people lose their ambition, the old man sighed as he thought of this.

"Good citizen my ass! Daring to embezzle soldiers' food and still calling yourself a good citizen! Are all the good citizens in your navy like this? Go back and take a piss in your own navy and look at yourselves! The army is happy to do this! How can these scoundrels not be killed?! Does your navy even care for them in their old age and send them off in death?!"

"Luo Xingcai, you fucking Air Force guy, how dare you talk like that! Who gave you the nerve!"

"You're not even from the Army, are you?! You expelled that old master from the Army back then, and you still treat it like you've kicked over a beggar's bowl decades ago. Have you Navy people lost your minds?!"

"That's right. Back then, Marshal Mo said that as long as the Marines fought hard on the ground, they would be under the command of the Army."

That sounds nice, but it sounds like something Zhang Mengping's son would say; he's in the army.

“I gave it to them, so what? The Zhang family has served in the army for fifty-one generations. Isn’t that enough of a face for me?”

This is another young man, the older brother of the previous one. He rose to the rank of general and fought outside Yumen Pass for seventeen years before retiring with a prosthetic leg.

"You Zhang family think you're so great! All you do is bully our navy! But our navy isn't without its own people!" someone stepped forward.

And so the verbal battle continued.

Xiao Qi glanced at the old man who was squinting and said, "Master, shall we go up? Grandpa's heart isn't very good..."

Just as the old man was about to listen a little longer to experience the humiliation and despair in the Golden Hall, he clicked his tongue and said, "Let's go then."

Alas, mortals age easily. As an extraordinary person who has watched this emperor grow from a helpless infant to his current decrepit state, I finally relent.

After all, if we really angered the emperor to death, everyone present would be in deep trouble, and that wouldn't do.

As he entered the golden palace, the young people, seeing the main figure arrive, stopped arguing and obediently went home to their respective mothers.

As always, the old man stood before the golden hall and bowed his head to the old man sitting on the enormous chair: "Greetings, Your Majesty." Watching him grow up was one thing, but him being Your Majesty was another; the proper etiquette could not be neglected.

"Master, you've finally arrived! Your great grandson has done a fine job. These two groups have been arguing in the Golden Hall for quite a while now, and my blood pressure is rising." The old man on the dragon throne finished speaking and yawned.

"May Your Majesty be in good health," the old man said auspiciously.

"It sounds ridiculous coming from you. You've lived for over five hundred years, is it really necessary for you to lie to a real old man like me?" After saying that, he laughed and chuckled: "Come, Master, you must already know about this matter."

“Grandpa, I already discussed this with the old master on the way.”

Since the grandfather and grandson's question and answer had blocked all avenues, the old man naturally cleared his throat: "This family deserves to die. For such a scoundrel to emerge from the army system, there must be someone within the system colluding with him. Your Majesty, there is an old proverb in Changtang: 'A thousand-mile dike is breached by an ant hole.' It means that even the smallest things, if accumulated, will ruin the court and cut off the livelihood of the people. At that time, all the wise men and the late king will become sinners in the eyes of the people."

At this point, the old man bowed his head and raised his hands: "Your Majesty, please issue an edict ordering the Military Intelligence Bureau to thoroughly investigate the Qian family and the Logistics Support Department, to see how many more ungrateful scoundrels are stealing the people's hard-earned money and hurting the hearts of countless descendants!"

"My dear ministers, what do you say?" The old emperor raised his eyes and looked at the crowd below the stage.

Prime Minister Luo and the son of the Mo family responded simultaneously: "Please issue a decree, Your Majesty."

"You two little brats, stop barking. You're acting like nobody knows what you're thinking." Zhang Mengping said with a smile and then stood up. "Your Majesty, I request that you issue a decree: Commander Du Lin has done nothing wrong and has merit. Whoever is involved in this matter, that Qian boy and his uncle must be shot. I won't stand for it if they don't get a single bullet spared."

"Your subject requests that the decree be issued." With Zhang Mengping, a transcendent figure from the Candle Dragon Pavilion, expressing his opinion, the others had no further objections.

So the emperor gestured to the eunuch to bring out the edict that had been prepared long ago: "Now, I need someone to deliver this edict to Yumen Pass."

“Your Majesty, please allow this old master to make another trip; he knows the way well,” Zhang Mengping suddenly said.

The old man, who was pondering where to go for a late-night snack, was stunned, then shocked—oh no, there's a damn ambush at this Golden Palace tonight!

Sure enough, the emperor's ministers readily agreed, all saying that this matter should be handled by them, and that no one else could do it as well as the master.

"Master, what do you think?"

"I was removed from the roster back then and I'm no longer a marshal. If I go, who can I command or persuade? I'm not going." The old man's eyes widened.

"Mo Fangyuanqing, as a marshal, you have served Changtang for nearly four hundred years. You have worked hard all this time, even if you have not made any great contributions. How about this, since you are leaving this time, I will use the funds from the Imperial Treasury to supplement your retirement pension. What do you think?"

After the emperor finished speaking, the old general sitting on the left below finally spoke up: "Your Majesty, how can the Imperial Household Department pay for this? The General's Mansion was also at fault when he was removed from the register. Please let the military pay for this."

"Does the navy have any objections?" The emperor looked at the navy.

Lin Xiangguo sat there and shook his head: "To be honest, I'd like to see who dares to object." After saying that, he looked at the old man: "Master, what do you think about retiring as a marshal?"

"Thank you for your kind words, my colleagues. Thank you for your great favor, Your Majesty. Shall I leave now?" The old man squinted his eyes again.

"Look how anxious you are. Go to Madam Mu's place and have a marshal's uniform made before you leave." After saying that, the old emperor smiled and closed his eyes: "If there's nothing else, everyone, please go back. I'm really tired."

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded and left.

As the old man followed the crowd, he glanced back at the Golden Hall from outside.

On that enormous dragon throne, it seemed as if a child who had lost his father at a young age was sitting.

But upon closer inspection, it turned out to be just a frail old man.

(End of this chapter)