On the way back, Qin Mu sat in the carriage with his eyes closed and rested. Xu Dechang pinched Qin Mu's shoulders and observed his expression secretly. You should tell the emperor."
Qin Mu didn't open his eyes, but asked lightly, "Tell me, what's the matter?"
Xu Dechang thought about it and said: "This time, the old slave was able to successfully bring the words to General Chen, thanks to one person."
"Um?"
"After the old slave entered the capital, he discovered that there were slaves in the portraits posted on the wall. The old slave was afraid that his identity would be exposed and would hurt the emperor, so he kept hiding and did not dare to act rashly. Just at this time, the adopted son of the old slave also escaped. After leaving the palace, the old servant handed him the emperor's jade ring finger, and asked him to relay the words to General Chen." Xu Dechang hid the details and only picked out the main points.
After hearing this, Qin Mu slowly opened his eyes and wondered, "Why didn't I know that you had adopted a new son?"
Xu Dechang laughed twice, and said: "Not long ago, I just recognized him. The servant saw him as a well-behaved and careful man, so he recognized him as his son. From now on, the servant is too old to walk. At least he has someone to help."
"Um."
Qin Mu nodded slightly, it was understandable for Xu Dechang to do so, and he had no objection, but since Xu Dechang's adoptive son helped him indirectly, he would naturally reward him for his merits.
After thinking about it, Qin Mu casually said, "Then where is he now?"
"If you go back to the emperor, he is now in the team."
Among the many soldiers accompanying him, only those who reached a certain rank were eligible to ride horses, and the rest of them walked on their legs.
Opening the curtain and looking at the endless crowd behind him, it was the time when the sun was scorching hot. Faced with such a scorching climate, many soldiers' faces were steamed red, and sweat kept sliding down their foreheads.
Qin Mu had a sudden thought and said, "Let him come and rest in the carriage for a while." He didn't do it out of consideration for the people, but it was true that he had too few cronies around him. happy to do.
Xu Dechang originally just wanted to ask for a reward for his adopted son, but he never thought that Qin Mu would let his adopted son ride in the same carriage. This is a supreme honor. He was surprised and delighted at the same time, secretly thought, his vision is really good , that kid is indeed a blessed person.
"The old slave thanked the emperor for him."
After Xu Dechang kowtowed, he greeted the generals outside, and after a short while, a thin and disheveled figure slipped to Qin Mu's side.
Xu Dechang said from the side: "It is your great blessing that the emperor personally summoned you, why don't you thank Long En soon?"
The little eunuch knelt on the ground with a common sound, and gave Qin Mu a heavy knock on the head, "I thank the emperor for his kindness, long live the emperor, long live, long live, long live."
Qin Mu: "Pingshen."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." The little eunuch quickly got up from the ground and stood next to Xu Dechang with his head down.
Qin Mu said: "Raise your head and let me see."
The little eunuch raised his head slowly. Under the slightly messy hair, his face became whiter and clearer, as if covered with a layer of powder, especially the beautifully shaped and moderately thick lips, which were as tender as rouge. Run.
People can't help but want to rub it with their fingers to see if they can wipe off the residual red.
As soon as Qin Mu retracted his fingers, he suddenly felt that this scene seemed familiar. He frowned and asked, "How old are you?"
The little eunuch lowered his eyebrows and replied softly, "If you go back to the emperor, the slaves are ten and seven."
Even this conversation is inexplicably familiar.
Qin Mu changed the question, "What's your name?"
"Slaves don't have names. When they were sold into the palace when they were young, they happened to be ranked seventeenth, so everyone called them seventeen."
"Seventeen, what's the name?" Qin Mu frowned. The child looked clean and soft, like a piece of white paper. He thought about it, and said, "Then how about I choose a name for you?"
If his nature is really as pure and harmless as his appearance, Qin Mu doesn't mind cultivating him to be his own person.
The little eunuch was stunned, and Xu Dechang who was beside him arched Shiqi's waist, "Hurry up and thank the emperor."
"Slave, thank the emperor for giving me the name."
The little eunuch knelt down again with a plop.
Qin Mu smiled, "Get up."
"promise."
The little eunuch got up.
Qin Mu bowed his head and pondered for a moment, then said: "Since you are Xu Dechang's adoptive son, you should follow his surname. Your surname is Xu, your first name is Jinyan, and your style name is Qiongzhi. I hope you will be cautious in your words and deeds in the future, and be humble and respectful."
After finishing speaking, Qin Mu looked at Shi Qi, "Do you like this name?"
"This is the name given by the emperor for the slave, and the slave naturally likes it." Xu Jinyan replied humbly.
Qin Mu nodded and asked: "You have made great contributions this time, what reward do you want?"
Xu Jinyan replied: "I don't want any rewards, I just want to be by my foster father's side."
Xu Dechang was stunned when he heard this, he was both moved and angry at the same time. The reason why he recognized Xu Jinyan as his adopted son at the beginning was because Xu Jinyan was left alone by the emperor when he carried Concubine Li Gui to his bed. He felt that Xu Jinyan was lucky.
Facts have proved that his vision was not wrong. When he tipped off General Chen, he was almost discovered by the enemy, and it was Xu Jinyan who helped him lure the officers and soldiers away. It can be said that Xu Jinyan has saved his life.
Now this honest child, when faced with the emperor's reward, actually wants nothing but only wants to take care of him as an old eunuch, Xu Dechang really doesn't know whether he should be comforted or have a headache for this child's lack of understanding.
I don't know how this child has survived in the palace, a place where people can't spit out bones, for more than ten years.
It was the first time for Qin Mu to meet someone who didn't care about anything in return. He raised his eyebrows curiously and said, "Then how about I keep you by my side to serve me personally?"
Xu Jinyan didn't answer, but glanced at Xu Dechang. This great job that countless people dreamed of was right in front of them. If you don't seize this great opportunity, you will lose your life. Xu Dechang winked and kept winking at Xu Jinyan. He opened his lips and said: "This servant kowtows to the emperor, long live the emperor, long live, long live, long live, long live, long live, long live the emperor."
After meeting for less than an hour, Xu Jinyan bowed to him no less than three times. Qin Mu couldn't help touching his face, and said to Xu Dechang: "Is I so scary?"
Xu Dechang thought in his heart, when you ordered murder and ransacking to implicate the nine clans, it was very scary. Of course, he didn't dare to say nonsense, but just replied with a smile: "Your Majesty is the ninety-five supreme, the real dragon emperor, and his majesty makes people afraid rash."
Qin Mu was used to hearing compliments from Xu Dechang, so he was immune to it long ago, so he gave up and said to Xu Jin, "From now on, you don't have to kneel and kowtow in private."
Xu Jinyan paused, and said, "Yes, the servant remembered."
Back in the palace, the first thing Qin Mu did was to ask where Su Li was, but he was told that Su Li was injured and unconscious and was still lying in the prime minister's mansion.
Qin Mu originally suspected that Su Li was a spy, but now that he was injured at such a critical time, Qin Mu's suspicions about him deepened. He invited dozens of highly skilled imperial physicians from the Imperial Hospital to visit the Prime Minister's Mansion in person.
Arriving at Su Li's sickbed, seeing Su Li's current situation clearly, even though he was as calm as Qin Mu, he couldn't help being stunned for a moment. The young man in front of him didn't have a single inch of intact skin, criss-crossing welts covered his whole body, and there was a bloody scar left by the branding iron on his shoulder.
Zhilan Yushu's talented Su Li was tortured beyond human form in just three days, and Qin Mu was shocked and pained for a moment.
After examining Su Li's pulse, the imperial doctor shook his head and said, "Prime Minister Su was seriously injured, his left leg was broken off abruptly, and he was caught with a cold. If he can't survive tonight, his life may be in danger."
There was a knife-like pain in his chest, and Qin Mu had no choice but to stretch out his hand to caress his heart, and said word by word: "Rescue him for me, if something happens to Ziqing, I will kill you!"
After saying this, everyone knelt down in fear, "The emperor calm down, I will try my best to treat the prime minister."
Qin Mu turned his head, took a deep look at Su Li, then turned and left the room, went to find Chen Xingbang, and asked him to explain what happened in detail.
From Chen Xingbang's mouth, Qin Mu learned that after Su Li was seen through by General Xun Guo's plot, he was put in prison and tortured to torture Qin Mu's whereabouts. , Until Chen Xingbang led people to rescue Su Li, he was already on the verge of death, with only his last breath left.
"Your Majesty, when Prime Minister Su's life is dying, let the last general must tell him a word."
Qin Mu closed his eyes abruptly, with an almost imperceptible tremor hidden in his voice, "What did he say?"
"Su Chengxiang said that he was ashamed of his entrustment to the emperor. He also said that he would not be able to fulfill the three-year agreement with the emperor. He also asked the emperor to forget about him."
Qin Mu opened his eyes, grasped the armrest with his palms, barely stopped his unsteady figure, "He really said that?"
"Yes, the last general has relayed Prime Minister Su's words to the emperor without omission."
Qin Mu rested his forehead with one hand, and waved the other lightly, "I understand, the general is tired from traveling all night, let's go back and rest first."
Chen Xingbang cupped his fists and said: "The general will obey the order."
When Qin Mu was the only one left in the room, he looked at the distant sky through the open paper window, and murmured with a wry smile: "Ziqing, without you, so what if I have the world."
The heights are extremely cold, and the road to the emperor is a bit lonely after all.
…
All the imperial doctors in the imperial hospital tried their best to finally pull Su Li back from the gate of hell, but his body was too weak and he needed to rest, especially his left leg, because of the cold air and the delay of the best treatment time , I am afraid that I will be disabled for life.
In contrast, Qin Mu issued an order, "No matter what price you pay, no matter how precious medicinal materials you need, I will spare no effort to erase all the scars on Ziqing's body, including the leg disease."
Su Li's disaster was caused by him. He underestimated the enemy too much. He should not have sent Su Li to the enemy army. Su Li had no power to restrain the chicken, so how could he be their opponent.
"Ziqing, you need to get better soon, my queen position has been vacant for too long."