"Squeak..."
Imperial study, the door opens.
Luo Qingzhou, dressed in a Confucian robe, walked in with his head lowered and a respectful look on his face.
The door behind him closed immediately.
Luo Qingzhou bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you, Your Majesty!"
Nangong Yang smiled and said, "Lord Luo is busy with his studies, and I shouldn't disturb you, but I have something to do today, so I summoned you to the palace."
Then he looked at Qin Lang next to him and said, "Luo Qing, don't you want to say hello to your elder brother?"
Luo Qingzhou raised his head, met Qin Lang's gaze, and immediately bowed and said, "Brother."
Qin Lang nodded slightly and said seriously: "Qingzhou, when His Majesty asks you a question today, you must tell the truth and not hide anything. Do you understand?"
Luo Qingzhou said respectfully: "Qingzhou knows."
Nangong Yang smiled and said, "It's nothing serious. I appointed your elder brother as the commander of the Jinyiwei because I wanted him to investigate a few cases and make some achievements. Then I can reward him. Recently, many major cases have occurred in Jingdu. The whole family of Zhongwu Bo's Mansion was killed. My former commander Luo Changtian was also killed, and dozens of Jinyiwei were killed. Your elder brother tracked down the murderer and found that the one named Chu Feiyang was very suspicious. I heard that you know him. Can you provide some clues for your elder brother?"
Luo Qingzhou bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, I do know Chu Feiyang, but I am not familiar with him and we have only met a few times. Big brother once went back to ask us, and we told him everything we knew. I heard that Chu Feiyang is now in the Lingxiao Sect. I think big brother should take people to the Lingxiao Sect to ask for him. After bringing him back for interrogation, we will naturally know whether he is the murderer."
Qin Lang frowned and said, "I led people there some time ago, but we didn't even get through the gate. There are formations and many masters inside, so we can't force our way in. And I heard that Chu Feiyang is a direct disciple of Lingxiao Sect, so they naturally won't let us take him away."
Luo Qingzhou looked at him and asked in surprise, "Brother, you are the commander of the Jinyiwei, you represent the emperor and the court, how dare the Lingxiao Sect not hand over the person?"
Qin Lang said solemnly: "Qingzhou, you are a scholar and don't know the affairs of the sects. The Lingxiao Sect is not an ordinary small sect. It is one of the five major sects of our Great Yan. At the beginning..."
Having said this, he looked at the emperor and stopped talking.
Nangong Yang sneered and said, "Lingxiao Sect is indeed not a small sect. Even our imperial court would be wary of it. Moreover, the five major sects signed a contract with the imperial court, and many rules cannot be broken now. However... Qin Lang, as long as you can find evidence, I will order you to arrest the person."
Qin Lang bowed his head and said, "I will continue to investigate and will never let your majesty down."
Nangong Yang's eyes sparkled, and he sighed, "These five major sects are indeed a bit tricky."
Luo Qingzhou immediately bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I believe that the whole world belongs to the king, and all the people in the world are his subjects. No matter how powerful the five major sects are, they are still our Great Yan sects, and the people in the sects are all our Great Yan people, so they are naturally under the control of Your Majesty. In my opinion, we can no longer allow such sects to act recklessly. Either find a way to recruit them into the court, or... let them collapse! We must never allow them to challenge the court and become a threat to the court!"
As soon as these words came out, Nangong Yang's eyes lit up and he murmured, "All under heaven belongs to the king, and all the people in the world are the king's subjects..."
Then he praised: "Luo Qing, well said, well said!"
Then he asked, "How do you think we can recruit them to serve us? The five major sects are closely related. If the imperial court pushes them too far, they will even unite to fight against the imperial court. By then, I am afraid that I will not be able to sit firmly on the throne."
Luo Qingzhou said respectfully: "Your Majesty, since the five major sects are so powerful, we naturally cannot use force, nor can we do this openly. We can promise them benefits in private and defeat them one by one. Your Majesty should send people to find out what the leaders of each sect need, or directly win over some of their elite disciples and let them secretly become people of the court. In this way, they can be slowly disintegrated."
When Nangong Yang heard this, he immediately stood up from his chair, hurried over to hold his wrist and said, "Luo Qing, come, sit down and talk."
Luo Qingzhou said quickly: "I dare not, I will just stand."
Nangong Yang said with a smile on his face: "Lord Luo, you don't have to be polite. You are my right-hand man and the one appointed by the Queen Mother to accompany me in reading. Come, come, sit down and talk."
Then he waved his hand and said, "Qin Lang, you should leave first. Don't provoke the Lingxiao Sect for now. I will make plans after the New Year."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Qin Lang bowed and retreated. As he walked out, he glanced with complicated eyes at the young man whose wrist was being held affectionately by His Majesty.
"Squeak..."
The door is closed.
Qin Lang left the palace and stopped under the shadow of a big tree outside, looking at the night sky, motionless.
"Lord Luo, the five major sects are powerful and have many warriors. If they can be recruited by the imperial court, our Great Yan will become even more powerful, and the surrounding neighboring countries will all submit. Lord Luo will definitely help me."
"Your Majesty, after listening to your analysis of the situation of the five major sects, I think we can start directly with the Lingxiao Sect."
"Oh, why?"
"The leaders of Huashan Sect and Xianyun Pavilion are both shrewd and cunning, and they are far away from Kyoto, so we can ignore them for now. As for Qingyun Temple and Jinchan Temple, these two sects rarely participate in worldly affairs and pose no threat to the court, so we can deal with them last. Lingxiao Sect is very close to Kyoto, and the leader is very young. It just so happens that their direct disciple Chu Feiyang may be the murderer. We can use this incident to show our goodwill to them..."
"What if the other party doesn't appreciate it?"
"If the other party doesn't appreciate it, you can secretly win over their elite disciples and elders. The court has so many cultivation resources, and they are all warriors. Naturally, there will be some disciples and elders willing to be loyal to the court..."
In the imperial study, the emperor and his ministers were in harmony and their conversation lasted until late.
Until Zhangsun Wan'er's voice came from outside: "Your Majesty, you have to attend the court early tomorrow. The Queen Mother knows that Your Majesty has not rested yet so late, so she asked me to come and urge you."
Nangong Yang then stood up reluctantly and said, "After listening to Luo Qing's words, I suddenly feel enlightened and relaxed. It's getting late, and I have to go to court tomorrow. Luo Qing, please go back quickly."
Then he said to the outside: "Li Gui, send Luo Qing home."
At this time, the gates of the palace and the inner city were closed, and no one could enter or leave without the emperor's order.
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Li Gui's respectful voice came from outside.
Then the door opened.
Luo Qingzhou walked out and saw Changsun Wan'er, who was wearing a palace dress and was beautiful and gentle, standing outside the door.
Zhangsun Wan'er bowed her head slightly and said softly, "I'm sorry, Master Luo, I'm sorry to interrupt your conversation with His Majesty. It's just that it's too late now, and the Queen Mother is worried about His Majesty's health, so she asked Wan'er to come and urge him."
Nangong Yang smiled in the study room and said, "Sister Wan'er, thank you for your help. You should go back soon. I will go to bed soon."
Zhang Sun Wan'er suddenly said, "Your Majesty, the palace gates and the city gates are closed at this time. It would be troublesome to leave. It would be better to let Master Luo leave the palace tomorrow. I just saw Commander Qin Lang waiting outside. He might want to take Master Luo to the Jinyiwei guard post to rest."
Nangong Yang heard this and said, "Okay, Luo Qing, you should go to your elder brother's place to rest tonight. You can just talk to him."
Luo Qingzhou was about to refuse when Changsun Wan'er suddenly approached him, stroked his sleeves with her fingers a few times, and said softly, "Master Luo, let's go. Wan'er has recently written a few new poems and would like to ask for your guidance."
Luo Qingzhou's heart moved, and without saying anything else, he followed her out.
Li Gui sent him to the front door, stopped, lowered his head, and dared not say a word.
"Qingzhou!"
Under a big tree not far away, Qin Lang walked out from the shadows.
Luo Qingzhou hurriedly went up to him and said, "Brother."
Qin Lang glanced at Changsun Wan'er behind him, cupped his hands, and said, "Miss Wan'er."
Changsun Wan'er said, "Master Qin, Wan'er has a few poems that she would like to ask Master Luo for advice. Can you lend Master Luo to Wan'er for a while?"
Qin Lang was slightly startled and said, "Qingzhou, go ahead. Big brother is waiting for you here."
"Thank you, Master Qin."
Changsun Wan'er thanked him and said softly, "Master Luo, let's go to the lotus pond over there."
Luo Qingzhou nodded and followed her.
Changsun Wan'er led the way, holding a lantern, through a passage and arriving at a lotus pond.
Not far away, there are guards.
But by the lotus pond, it was quiet and there was no one else.
Zhang Sun Wan'er looked around and whispered, "Mr. Luo, when you go to the Jinyiwei station with Lord Qin later, remember to choose a room on the right side of the corridor to rest. You have to sleep alone. Remember this."
Luo Qingzhou looked at her with confusion.
Chang Sun Wan'er leaned close to him and whispered, "Someone will replace you tonight and bring you out. Her Royal Highness the Princess wants to see you."
There was a gleam in Luo Qingzhou's eyes. He looked at her deeply and nodded.
Zhang Sun Wan'er smiled and said, "Princess Meijiao was worried about you and brought news to the princess, so the princess knew that you had entered the palace."
Luo Qingzhou hesitated for a moment and asked: "Miss Wan'er, you..."
Zhang Sun Wan'er said softly, "Your Highness and I grew up together, and I have been your Highness's person since childhood."
Then she whispered, "Wan'er is willing to do anything for Your Highness."
Luo Qingzhou didn't ask any more questions. He raised his head and looked ahead.
At this time, a team of patrol soldiers came over.
Changsun Wan'er said, "Master Luo, let's go. If there is a chance in the future, Wan'er will ask you for advice on poetry again."
Then she smiled and said, "The Taikang Grand Ceremony will be held in a few days. You will definitely be invited to the palace. Wan'er will definitely not let you go when the time comes."
The two walked back while talking.
The patrol soldiers looked at them and quickly left.