At some point, the Guanglu Hall became empty. The Emperor had left, and the warrior on duty who had rushed into the hall had also left. In the entire hall, only Yan Liqiang was kneeling in the silent and deserted hall, like a petrified statue, not moving for a long time.
Yan Liqiang lowered his head, looking at his face reflected on the mirror-clear black stone floor of the hall. He twitched his lips and smiled, feeling like a pitiful clown.
“Master Yan, how can you… how can you be so ignorant? His Majesty was quite happy today, and you’ve made him angry… Let’s go…” The voice of the eunuch who brought him here came from behind, a little exasperated, with a strong sense of blame and disgust.
Yan Liqiang slowly stood up, glanced at the old eunuch, and then like a defeated gladiator in the arena, he was "escorted" by the old eunuch and left the Guanglu Hall and the Imperial Palace. Along the way, the old eunuch who had been polite to Yan Liqiang before, kept a cold face, as if Yan Liqiang owed him tens of thousands of taels of silver.
Just after walking out of the palace and before Yan Liqiang crossed the Jinshui River outside the imperial city, the old eunuch left without saying a word. The carriage that was supposed to pick Yan Liqiang up was nowhere to be seen, leaving Yan Liqiang alone standing outside the palace.
The palace was brightly lit, like a giant beast crawling in the darkness, but outside the palace, it was already late at night. It didn't snow today, but the temperature was still very cold. There were few people on the street outside the palace. Yan Liqiang turned around and looked at the palace with complicated eyes, then quietly left the palace under the gaze of the guards at the palace gate and walked towards the street in the distance...
A person was walking quietly on the snow-covered street. After a few minutes, the sound of wheels came from behind. A four-wheeled carriage from the manufacturing bureau drove up from behind and stopped beside Yan Liqiang. The glazed window of the carriage was half opened, revealing Sun Bingchen's half-calm face, "Come on up!"
Yan Liqiang thought about it, opened the door and got into the carriage, and the carriage continued to move forward.
Compared to the coldness outside, the carriage with a small copper stove burning was as warm as spring.
Sun Bingchen looked at Yan Liqiang and said calmly, "As soon as the news of the heavenly calamity came out, many officials in the court and local governments privately discussed that such a heavenly calamity was caused by Your Majesty's unworthiness and that Your Majesty was under great pressure. At this time, if you force local officials and wealthy families to donate grain, arouse resentment among local officials and wealthy families, and cause local unrest, if the heavenly calamity really comes, do you know what the consequences will be? The court has not yet completely eliminated the remnants of Lin Qingtian in the local area. At this time, your method will only put Your Majesty in a dilemma..."
Yan Liqiang didn't say anything. He had already said everything he needed to say. They were all smart people, but their final choices and preferences were different.
Sun Bingchen stopped talking. The carriage silently shuttled through the streets of the Imperial Capital. When the carriage arrived at Sun Bingchen's residence, before getting off the carriage, Sun Bingchen said one more word to Yan Liqiang, "You should stay in Luyuan these days. Don't wander around. Many White Lotus bandits have now gathered in the capital. The court is also strictly investigating the White Lotus bandits. You must not get involved in these disputes!"
"Thank you for the reminder, sir. I will pay attention to it!" Yan Liqiang replied hoarsely. This time, going to the palace to meet the emperor made Yan Liqiang completely give up!
Sun Bingchen glanced at Yan Liqiang, nodded, got out of the car, and then told the driver to take Yan Liqiang to Luyuan...
Yan Liqiang returned to Luyuan. It was already late at night. He walked back to his yard alone, returned to his house, went upstairs, and went to the bedroom. He did not turn on the lights, but sat alone in the dark, thinking, and completely forgetting the time.
What else can he do at this moment? Yan Liqiang didn't know that personal power was sometimes insignificant in the face of such a situation. Yan Liqiang had done everything he could, flapping his little wings vigorously, hoping that the future would be different from what he had seen before, but in the end, he found that what was about to happen was not much different.
Such a reality can indeed make people feel desperate and depressed.
What else can I do? Yan Liqiang pondered this question...
After an unknown amount of time, Yan Liqiang's brows twitched slightly. He turned around and saw that there was another person in the room. Her white clothes were whiter than snow and her face was as delicate as an immortal - it was Hua Ruxue.
Hua Ruxue gently closed the window, walked calmly in front of Yan Liqiang, and sat down calmly and gracefully less than three feet away from Yan Liqiang.
There was no light in the room, but the white light from the snow outside the window was enough for the two people to see each other's faces clearly. With the arrival of Hua Ruxue, the room was filled with a faint fragrance.
"Thank you for your help in Huizhou City a few days ago!" Hua Ruxue stared at Yan Liqiang for more than ten seconds before she spoke softly. Her voice was as clear and elegant as an oriole singing in a valley.
"Should I call you Fairy Sword or Saint Lady?"
"If you cut off my head and send it to the court, you will get a reward of 100,000 taels of silver, and you can also be promoted to a higher position. You saved me twice, so this is my repayment to you!" Hua Ruxue raised her snow-white neck slightly, glanced at Yan Liqiang, put her sword on the table, handed it to Yan Liqiang, then closed her eyes proudly, looking ready to be killed.
"Okay, you know I won't do anything to you. If I really wanted to do something to you, I wouldn't have let you leave the last time you came to me. As the saying goes, one night of love brings a hundred nights of grace. I'm not so heartless, otherwise I wouldn't have rescued you in Huizhou City last time!" Yan Liqiang smiled bitterly.
Hua Ruxue opened her eyes, her cheeks flushed like peach blossoms, and she looked a little embarrassed. She glared at Yan Liqiang, then pretended to be calm and said, "You are still the same as before. Can't you be more serious?"
Yan Liqiang pulled himself together, "By the way, since you are the Saint of the White Lotus Sect, why are the Ghost Kings of the White Lotus Sect chasing you?"
"This is a long story, and it involves the secrets of the White Lotus Sect, so I can't tell you!" Hua Ruxue shook her head with a complicated expression, "I came to you this time to ask you to leave the Imperial Capital as soon as possible. This is not a place to stay for long!"
"Are you talking about the calamity in the Imperial Capital? After the beginning of next spring, I will be accompanying the Emperor on a hunting tour in the south, and I won't be staying in the Imperial Capital for too long!"
"It's not a calamity!"
"Do you, the White Lotus Sect, want to start a rebellion in the capital area? This is not easy. The capital area is not like the south. The imperial court has very strict control over this area. It is not easy for you to develop followers here. Even if there are a few who are not afraid of death, they will be wiped out by the imperial court's army in the blink of an eye. This is a road to self-destruction!"
"It's not a rebellion!" Hua Ruxue shook her head again.
"Do you still want to assassinate the emperor?" Yan Liqiang frowned suddenly.
"How can the life and death of one person be worth the White Lotus Sect's full force and the start of a war?"
"what is that?"
Hua Ruxue was silent for a moment. "I don't know the details. I only know that the White Lotus Sect has a powerful weapon. Once that weapon is unleashed, the thousand-mile area of the capital will be turned into a deadly place before the catastrophe arrives. No one will be able to survive..."
Damn it! Yan Liqiang was shocked. "What is so powerful?"
"I don't know. My master is the Holy Leader of the White Lotus Sect. That's what my master told me before he died!"
"Didn't your master tell me what that thing was?"
“My master doesn’t know much about it either, because that thing has never been used by anyone. It seems to be a poison. That thing is not in the hands of my master, but in the hands of a demon in the sect. It was brought by that demon…” Speaking of the demon in the White Lotus Sect, Hua Ruxue’s eyes flashed with a complex look mixed with fear and hatred.
"Who is that demon you're talking about?"
"He was the former Left Envoy of the White Lotus Sect. That evil man took advantage of my master's trust in him and seized power in the sect. Now the entire White Lotus Sect is almost under his control. After my master passed away, he suddenly usurped the throne and became the new Holy Lord of the White Lotus Sect. Because of that evil man, the White Lotus Sect is no longer the White Lotus Sect that supported the poor people in the world. My master's life's hard work was destroyed. That evil man has already come to the capital and is hiding somewhere. He can use the poison in his hand at any time. You'd better leave as soon as possible..."
"What about you, are you leaving too?"
"Don't worry about my business, just remember what I said..." Hua Ruxue looked at Yan Liqiang with complicated eyes, then grabbed the sword on the table and wanted to leave.
Yan Liqiang grabbed Hua Ruxue's hand and said, "If I want to find you, where can I find you?"
"We are not on the same path. You don't need to ask about my whereabouts. It will not do you any good..."
"Tell me this, do you have me in your heart?" Yan Liqiang suddenly asked a question that caught Hua Ruxue off guard.
"You think too much. I came to you just to repay you a favor!" Hua Ruxue said calmly. She gritted her teeth, broke free from Yan Liqiang's hand, opened the window, and disappeared in the blink of an eye...
After Hua Ruxue left, Yan Liqiang looked at his hand with a complicated expression. There was a faint fragrance on his palm...
Even if Hua Ruxue didn't tell him some answers, Yan Liqiang already knew them because of the Nian Snake...
Hua Ruxue just told only one lie. Everything else was true. The White Lotus Sect did have a powerful weapon, but she didn't know what it was. Everything was told to her by her master before he died...
…
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(End of this chapter)