What's wrong with me, a powerful minister, supporting a few female officials?

Chapter 219 The Empress Visits Su Mo in the Middle of the Night
Xue Yishu, who was originally shy and her heart was pounding like a deer, was completely dumbfounded when she heard Su Mo say that he needed her help.

In her view, she was worthless.

In terms of status and ability, she can't compare to Lin Moyin; in terms of money-making skills, she's not as good as Liu Siyun; and in terms of cooking skills, even if she practiced for another ten years, she still couldn't compare to this maid, Jiang Lan.

His figure is also far inferior to that of Lady Chen. Not to mention that Lady Chen has now developed excellent cooking skills, which have earned high praise from her third uncle, and her swordsmanship also seems to have improved a lot.

Xue Yishu's most prized poetry and prose were far inferior to Su Mo's and were completely useless.

It seems that the only one who can compare is Qin Bier.

But she's not as gentle and charming as others, and she's not as good at undressing people!
Xue Yishu couldn't believe that Su Mo needed her help when she was so useless.

She couldn't help but look at Su Mo with suspicion: "What do you need my help with, my lord?"

Su Mo chuckled: "Don't you like reading storybooks? You even write your own."

Xue Yishu panicked and quickly said, "I didn't."

Su Mo was both amused and exasperated: "You said you didn't have any, but Si Yun showed them to me... Hmm, they're quite well written."

Xue Yishu was filled with remorse.

I shouldn't have shown the storybook to Liu Siyun!

These days, writing vernacular novels is considered a waste of time, a sign of being greedy and disdainful of intellectuals.

Even if a writer needs to write storybooks to make a living, he will never sign his real name, but will change his name and call it a pen name!

Xue Yishu dared not speak.

Su Mo's expression turned serious, and she looked at him earnestly: "I need you to write two story novels!"

Xue Yishu's eyes widened instantly as she stared at Su Mo in disbelief: "What? My lord wants me to write a story novel?"

Su Mo nodded: "I have two stories, but only the general outline."

"I'll tell you the general plot, you write it down... um, be careful to avoid anything taboo."

In ancient times, writing a book wasn't something you could just do on a whim. After all, literary inquisitions were commonplace, and Su Mo had no idea about such things.

Most importantly, his writing skills are poor and his writing speed is too slow.

The Romance of the Three Kingdoms is over 600,000 words long. If he were to write it, it would take him at least half a year. He wouldn't be able to do anything else.

Xue Yishu blinked in bewilderment: "What kind of storybook does my lord want me to write?"

Su Mo smiled and said, "One book is called Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and the other one... let's call it The Legend of Zhenguan."

"It tells the story of two fictitious dynasties."

"Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is an add-on; the main work is "The Legend of Zhenguan," which is based on Li Er (Emperor Taizong of Tang).

Simply writing about Li Er's story could easily be attacked as an allusion to the Xuanwu Gate Incident.

Adding the Romance of the Three Kingdoms would make all the difference.

Since a great Wu dynasty cannot be created within a year, let's use the story of Li Er to tell the empress that the vast majority of the people in the world are not concerned about how the empress came to power.

What they cared about was whether this emperor could bring them a better life!

In Su Mo's view, the Empress's mental illness and Li Er's constant desire to prove himself were the same.

The blood-red shadows of the Crown Prince and his second brother appearing in my dream are nothing but the work of evil spirits, nothing more than guilt.

After reading Li Er's story, one's heart ailment may be cured without medicine!

Of course, this needs to be adapted to the actual situation, and then revised and embellished by Xue Yishu, a talented woman and a lover of vernacular stories.

At that moment, Su Mo gave Xue Yishu a brief account of the plot of Romance of the Three Kingdoms and the story of Li Er.

Xue Yishu's eyes lit up when she heard this.

After all, Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a genuine work verified by countless readers!

Just hearing the general plot of the story was enough to captivate Xue Yishu!

But in the end, Xue Yishu hesitated: "My lord, this story is very exciting, but I don't know if I can write it well..."

Su Mo laughed and said, "It's alright, just write it down. I'll take care of it for you, won't I? I'm a seasoned reader!"

"However, this needs to be done quickly, preferably within two or three months!"

"This is very important to me!"

Whether it's well-written or not doesn't matter, as long as the story is told in its entirety.

Especially with the later "Legend of Zhenguan", Su Mo could only give a general idea based on history, and never thought that Xue Yishu could write a masterpiece.

Upon hearing Su Mo say that he would finish writing it within three months, Xue Yishu's eyes widened in astonishment: "How is it possible to finish the two stories that my lord mentioned in two or three months?"

"I'm afraid I can't do it!"

She hesitated for a moment, then gritted her teeth and said, "How about... how about we invite Danying to write it together?"

Su Mo was stunned for a moment, and the image of the petite figure who had climbed over the wall flashed through her mind: "Her?"

Xue Yishu nodded: "Yes! She's amazing at writing storybooks!"

"He wrote many stories for me to read in the past, and his writing speed was much faster than mine."

Su Mo frowned: "Isn't this a bad idea?"

I couldn't always tell them stories during the day, so I planned to discuss the plot with Xue Yishu when I had time in the evening.

Xue Yishu quickly replied, "It's alright!"

“When your husband invites her to a banquet, he can tell her the story after lunch or dinner.”

She paused, then repeated herself: "She's much better at writing stories than I am!"

She was almost suffocating, and she was afraid that if she acted up again, Su Mo would send her back to Tianchang County.

Now that I finally have the opportunity to legitimately invite my best friend over to keep me company, I'm not going to give up on this idea easily.

Su Mo thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "Okay."

"It just so happens that Meng Yuankai has come to visit today."

"Tomorrow, take my invitation, prepare gifts, and visit the Meng family in return. Also, tell her about this matter."

The ancients valued reciprocity. Although Meng Yuankai came to apologize on the surface, it wasn't a deep-seated hatred. Out of courtesy, it was only right for the Su family to return the visit.

Anyway, I'm fine now.

Su Mo simply told Xue Yishu the story of Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

The opening line, "It is said that the world, after a long period of division, tends to unite; after a long period of unity, tends to divide," was so powerful and inspiring that Xue Yishu was instantly awestruck.

Taking a deep breath to calm his excitement, he immediately bent over the desk and began to write furiously!
Although she didn't know why Su Mo asked her to write storybooks, Xue Yishu finally found her value in something she loved, so she was full of enthusiasm.

This took an hour to write.

Only after Lin Moyin and Liu Siyun returned from their fiefdom, and Yin Rou had prepared dinner, did Xue Yishu reluctantly put down his pen.

Su Mo couldn't help but sigh that among all the women, Xue Yishu's literary cultivation was definitely number one.

In just one hour, he wrote three thousand words!

The speed is simply unbeatable.

If you write for four hours a day, that's 12,000 words. The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which has more than 600,000 words, can be completed in two months!

With the addition of Meng Danying, who is said to be even faster than Xue Yishu, both novels can definitely be completed within two months!

Su Mo originally had no intention of inventing things to benefit the people.

Now we have no choice but to do it.

The novel, totaling over a million words, would require as many as three thousand woodblocks to carve, which would probably take more than a year to complete.

We still need to develop paper and ink suitable for printing, plus copper movable type!
In addition, there were matters concerning the construction of fiefdoms and seagoing vessels.

Su Mo was instantly overwhelmed.

Why do I feel like I'm becoming more and more like a cow or a horse?

These are the things that absolutely cannot be left undone!

It seems that we still don't have enough people under our command.

I wonder when my third uncle will send someone over.

Besides, isn't Old Wang a fast runner? He doesn't even need to ride a horse to get from Changping County to Wu County!
I've already written to him, why hasn't he come yet?

Well, Ding Yu, this strategist, has been resting for quite a few days. We can't let him take his monthly salary for nothing; we have to keep him busy.

Su Mo took out a pen and wrote down everything she needed to do next in the booklet, so as not to forget anything.

In the palace, the Empress was looking at the dozen or so calming incense sticks placed in a yellow silk box on the table with a gloomy expression.

An Wu stood to the side, looking somewhat uneasy. After a long while, the Empress withdrew her gaze and said to An Wu expressionlessly, "Does An Wu know that this calming incense, if used long-term, can cause great damage to the heart?"

An Wu's expression changed slightly, and he hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, this old servant does not know."

The Empress said calmly, "Find a death row inmate with a heart and lung ailment, and have him use incense day and night!"

"Also, replace the calming incense with regular incense, making sure it's exactly the same as the calming incense, and light it as usual!"

An Wu secretly breathed a sigh of relief and quickly and respectfully took the brocade box and left!

He knew that the Empress used calming incense to help her sleep.

Although he did not offer the calming incense, he was unaware of its great hidden dangers. For someone responsible for the Empress's safety, this was a capital offense!

However, the Empress still ordered him around, so it seemed she hadn't really punished him!

After leaving the Ziwei Palace, An Wu glanced at Lu Su waiting outside the palace, then quickly left without saying a word.

Lu Su's heart skipped a beat.

Then a palace maid came out and summoned him to see His Majesty.

The commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, who struck fear into the hearts of countless court officials, once again composed himself and solemnly entered the Ziwei Hall.

In the main hall, Empress Fengyi sat majestically on the dragon throne!

"I pay my respects to Your Majesty!"

Lu Su immediately knelt down.

Lu Su, who was fierce and imposing in front of all the officials, was as humble as a dog in front of the Empress.

Of course, Lu Su was very clear about his position.

There's nothing wrong with being the Empress's dog.

Especially the fiercest and most ruthless one.

"Rise!" The Empress looked at Lu Su expressionlessly. "The Immortal Martial Arts Tournament is about to begin. Has there been any unusual activity in the capital?"

Lu Su quickly replied, "Your Majesty, there is no unusual activity in the capital."

"I have ordered the Embroidered Uniform Guard to conduct thorough inspections throughout the capital to ensure that no mishaps occur during the Immortal Martial Arts Tournament!"

The Empress nodded and then asked, "Have the officials in charge of the garrison and centurions in the five counties that are to change the regulations for merchants been selected?"

Lu Su knew that the regulations governing these five counties were closely related to the Imperial Treasury, so he dared not be negligent and quickly replied, "Your Majesty, the candidates for the centurions of the five counties have been preliminarily selected!"

The Empress said calmly, "Send the list to me later!"

Lu Su was taken aback.

The appointment of a centurion is, in principle, approved by the commander himself and appointed by the Southern Garrison Command.

However, he dared not disobey the Empress's order and quickly replied, "Your subject obeys!"

The Empress pondered for a moment: "Have you investigated the matter of the pleasure boats and brothels in Qinghefang thoroughly?"

A barely perceptible glint flashed in Lu Su's eyes as he respectfully replied, "I have roughly investigated the matter. I will return and organize it, and then present it to Your Majesty along with the list of centurions."

The Empress picked up her fragrant tea, took a small sip, and then her tone suddenly turned cold and sharp: "The Fu family of Yong'an, ungrateful for the Emperor's grace, actually associates with the sorcerers of the Heavenly Mother Sect!"

"Immediately have him apprehended and escorted to the Northern Garrison Command for trial!"

Lu Su felt a chill run down his spine.

The commander surnamed Fu was killed by the demoness of the Heavenly Mother Sect, which originally gave the Fu family a protective charm.

As a result, the clansmen were blind and fawned over the fake Zou Hou, so they deserved their bad luck!

What's even more infuriating is that even he, the commander, got caught up in the mess!
The Empress forbade Fengming Division from taking down the Fu family members, but instead made him do it himself. Furthermore, she refused to hand over the Shili Slope case to the Embroidered Uniform Guard, which shows how much the Empress was trying to discipline him!
He readily accepted the order.

After assigning tasks to Lu Su, the Empress seemed somewhat tired and waved her hand, saying, "You may leave!"

Lu Su was just about to kneel down and thank them before leaving.

Then, the Empress suddenly asked casually, "Hmm... how is Prince Qi doing lately?"

Lu Su was slightly taken aback, but he immediately replied, "Your Majesty, as before, Prince Qi often summons scholars and poets to his residence to compose poems, listen to music, and enjoy music."

The Empress nodded slightly: "Go down!"

After Lu Su left the Ziwei Palace, he saw a dark figure in the shadows of the palace gate, and his eyes suddenly narrowed.

A woman clad in black armor and a lotus-patterned battle skirt, whose slender eyes could not conceal her cold and bloodthirsty aura, stood outside the Ziwei Palace!

Another commander of the Phoenix Cry Division!
She is even more mysterious than Nangong Sheyue; even Lu Su doesn't know her name!
Lu Su felt increasingly alarmed!

A sense of crisis arose involuntarily.

Compared to his Kaibao Dynasty, the former emperor's appointment of the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the commander of the Phoenix Cry Division, and even the commander of two Phoenix Cry Divisions was clearly more trusted by the empress!
He couldn't help but curse inwardly.

Damn the Fu family!
Furthermore, it seems we can no longer retain the profits in Qinghefang; it's best to get rid of them as soon as possible!
Also, why did Your Majesty suddenly inquire about the situation of the Prince of Qi?

Could it be?

Lu Su swallowed hard, his face turning even more bitter.

This concerns the royal family; it's not something to be taken lightly!

If the Prince of Qi commits a grave offense, the Embroidered Uniform Guard will definitely be tasked with handling it. However, whoever does it will be in trouble, and might even be thrown out by the Empress afterward to appease the anger of the imperial clan!
Paralyzed!
King Qi, please don't do anything rash and implicate this commander!
We must increase surveillance of the Prince Qi's residence!

Lu Su walked out of the inner palace with a gloomy expression, pondering the Empress's meaning.

The fact that the Empress personally reviewed the appointments of the officials in charge of the five counties' hundred-household offices was something Lu Su couldn't understand.

As Lu Su left Xuanwu Gate, a name suddenly popped into his mind!
If we were to name the most prominent figure in the Embroidered Uniform Guard system recently...

Ordinary members of the Imperial Guards might not know this.

But this absolutely does not include Lu Su, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard!

That guy dared to beat up even the Duke of Anguo's men, and what's more, he got away with it without any consequences.

Zhang Shouning, the Duke of Anguo and the emperor's brother-in-law who was known for his vindictiveness, did not retaliate!

Don't underestimate him just because he's only a minor centurion.

But the speed at which he was promoted was simply outrageous.

He was also bestowed with a flying fish robe and a tiger robe, received a lone peak mountain, and was granted a title of nobility!

Furthermore, he maintained extremely close relationships with the Right Commander of the Thousand Household and the Commander of the Phoenix Cry Division.

Even You Li and Wei Zhengguang seem to have close ties with this guy.

Lu Su could hardly believe it; when had such a guy appeared right under his nose?
It seems I need to meet Su Mo in person!

Maybe we can get some information out of him.

Although in the eyes of outsiders, Lu Su was still the Empress's most trusted and feared ferocious dog!

However, recent events have caused the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard to feel a strong sense of crisis and has no choice but to take precautions!
……

After dinner, Su Mo and Xue Yishu went to the study to continue reading Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

He wrote until midnight.

I told Xue Yishu a part of the plot, and she showed no signs of fatigue, still diligently writing away.

Su Mo couldn't help but yawn. Bored, he simply wrote down the key points of papermaking from his memory in the booklet.

Thinking about having Ding Yu find some papermakers tomorrow.

Suddenly, a soft voice reached my ears: "I have trouble sleeping tonight, would you please accompany me for a walk?"

Su Mo was immediately dumbfounded.

That voice was clearly that of Empress Leng Liuxi!

Can't sleep without using calming incense? Going for a walk by yourself in the middle of the night?
But I can sleep!
The blood snake in the dream was just a trick to deceive the Empress.

After a passionate night with Lord Chiju and others, my sleep quality was exceptionally good!

Su Mo was both amused and exasperated.

But Xue Yishu seemed not to have heard anything and was still engrossed in writing.

He turned to look at the study, but the Empress was nowhere to be seen.

He could only greet Xue Yishu and walk out of the study under her astonished gaze.

But the Empress was not seen in the courtyard.

Only after stepping out of the side door did I see a lonely figure standing under the moonlight on the empty long street amidst the light snow.

The shadows, stretched long, made the scene even more desolate.

(End of this chapter)