Although more than half a month has passed, the scene of people lining up to drink vitality soup on the streets of Imperial Capital City is still in full swing, with no sign of abating. This scene reminds Yan Liqiang of the time when he lined up for vaccinations at school when he was a child.
There are more than 10 million people in the capital area. Even if local governments put their best efforts, it is not easy to let each of them drink a sip of vitality soup. It may take at least one or two months.
Yan Liqiang didn't know whether the vitality soup was effective or not, and he didn't drink it either. However, ever since the court began distributing the vitality soup, the two newspapers in the imperial capital began to write articles praising the court and the emperor. The small bowl of vitality soup, in the hands of ordinary people, was like a thousand-year-old Ganoderma lucidum that condensed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. This event became a rare event in hundreds of years. For the sake of the people of the world, the emperor ordered the Imperial Hospital to make vitality soup, and even emptied the pharmacy in the palace. The ministers of various ministries and the ministers in the court were selfless and generous in order to make vitality soup, and took the initiative to give up their salaries for several months...
"Your Majesty is a rare wise ruler in the world. Look at the scene on the street. Throughout history, there has never been a case where an emperor paid for soup and medicine for the people out of his own pocket..." The old eunuch, Eunuch He, was still sitting in the car with Yan Liqiang. The last time Yan Liqiang angered the emperor in the Guanglu Hall, this old eunuch had given Yan Liqiang a lot of cold looks. When Yan Liqiang was finally sent out of the imperial city, the old eunuch turned his face away all the way, as if he was escorting a prisoner, and was disgusted and blamed him, and ignored Yan Liqiang. Today, it was still the old eunuch who picked up Yan Liqiang to go to the palace again, but this old eunuch acted as if nothing had happened. When he saw Yan Liqiang again, he was so enthusiastic and familiar, even more than Eunuch Liu, and he was not embarrassed at all, and everything went naturally. This ability to change faces made Yan Liqiang admire him very much, and he sighed in his heart that the job of a eunuch is really not something that ordinary people can do.
The two men were sitting in the carriage. The old eunuch He had been praising the emperor's grace in front of Yan Liqiang for a long time. Seeing that Yan Liqiang was just listening and didn't speak, he tactfully changed the subject and said, "… But even though your majesty is so sincere and devoted, there are always some unruly people who want to harm your majesty and seize your country, just like those White Lotus bandits. Lord Yan, do you think those unruly people should be killed or not?"
"They deserve to be killed. Those people do deserve to be killed!" Yan Liqiang nodded seriously, his tone serious, "Your Majesty has had a hard time, and the ministers in the court have also worked hard. In order to make this vitality soup, I heard that many officials even donated their salaries, and some donated hundreds of taels of silver. The heavens can see their love for the people. At this time, if anyone dares to say that Your Majesty and the court are not good, they are absolutely ungrateful and should be cut into pieces!"
The old eunuch was satisfied, very satisfied. His face was smiling like a chrysanthemum, and his eyes were narrowed. "No wonder Eunuch Liu took a fancy to Lord Yan. It's great that Lord Yan has such thoughts and understandings..."
"This time, it's all thanks to Eunuch Liu who said a lot of good things to me in front of His Majesty. Otherwise, His Majesty's anger might not have subsided so easily!"
Hearing Yan Liqiang say this, the old eunuch looked at Yan Liqiang in surprise and said, "Hey, you actually knew that. You are well-informed!"
"Even if you haven't eaten pork, you've seen pigs walk. There's no need to ask about this. Given Eunuch Liu's character, he will definitely intercede for His Majesty on my behalf now that he's back in the Imperial Capital!"
Because Eunuch Liu came back to mediate, the stalemate between himself and His Majesty the Emperor was broken at once. However, His Majesty the Emperor was too embarrassed to see him again and give him a good face, so he simply let the Crown Prince come forward to indirectly express his attitude. No matter what, he also had the title of the Crown Prince's Archery Tutor, and it was normal for him to enter the palace to teach His Majesty the Crown Prince archery. With this layer of easing, His Majesty the Emperor would not feel embarrassed when he saw him again in the future, and both sides would have a way out. Eunuch Liu's intentions were good.
But more importantly, as the "mascot" who can restrain "Lin Qingtian", my role becomes increasingly important before the emperor's southern tour. By keeping me by his side, His Majesty will feel more at ease. In addition to this, the ability and strength that I have gradually revealed also makes His Majesty favor me more and more, and he will not easily break up with me completely!
Yan Liqiang did not say anything about what happened during this visit to the palace, but his heart was like a mirror, and he saw everything clearly.
"Not bad, not bad, no wonder Eunuch Liu praised you, Lord Yan's thoughts are really clear, this time when you enter the palace and meet someone, don't speak without restraint and make His Majesty angry!"
"Don't worry, father-in-law. I will never embarrass you again!"
"That's good, that's good..."
"By the way, eunuch, this is also the first time I meet the Crown Prince. I wonder what His Royal Highness the Crown Prince likes and what I should pay attention to in front of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?" Yan Liqiang said as he took out a silver note worth two thousand taels and stuffed it into the old eunuch's hand.
The old eunuch looked down at the banknote in his hand, and the smile on his face became even more intense. He stuffed the banknote into his sleeve, secretly praised Yan Liqiang for being sensible, and then said to Yan Liqiang in a soft voice, "Your Highness the Crown Prince has been taught by Your Majesty since he was a child. He is very similar to Your Majesty in many ways. He is very disciplined in doing things and is very diligent in learning martial arts. However, he also has the lively temperament of a teenager..."
The old eunuch was telling Yan Liqiang about the Crown Prince's preferences and temper in the carriage, and he kept talking until they reached the outside of the palace, when the carriage stopped. When the carriage arrived at the palace, it was almost noon.
The carriage stopped, and just like last time, the old eunuch led Yan Liqiang directly to the imperial city. Just after crossing the Jinshui Bridge, the Suzaku Gate of the imperial city in front opened wide, and a large group of civil and military officials from the court came out of the Suzaku Gate in a mighty procession, chatting. The old eunuch quickly pulled Yan Liqiang over and stood beside the road, waiting for the officials in the court to pass by. He also explained to Yan Liqiang, "Today is the fifteenth day of the first month, and the court will hold a grand meeting. This will take a long time. You see, it is almost four quarters past noon now, and the officials in the court have just left the court. I guess your majesty is also tired after a whole morning..."
Looking at the large number of court ministers walking out of the Suzaku Gate, Yan Liqiang's expression at the moment was a little dull, and his eyelids were twitching, because just now, when the Suzaku Gate was opened and a large number of civil and military officials walked out of the gate, a pendant hanging on his chest suddenly began to heat up and vibrate slightly. The feeling of the vibration was directly transmitted to Yan Liqiang's sea of consciousness, like an alarm.
The thing that was heating up and vibrating was the "Demon-Detecting Stone" of the Yu Luo Palace. Ever since he got this thing, Yan Liqiang made it into a pendant and carried it with him at all times.
—This is the Demon-Detecting Stone. On the first and fifteenth day of every month, as long as an evil demon appears within a hundred meters of you, you will feel it if you carry this Demon-Detecting Stone with you. The stone will heat up and you will feel it. This stone is also a token of your status as a disciple of the Yu Luo Palace. Remember to keep it well!
Cui Lichen's words seemed to still echo in his ears. Feeling the hot and vibrating Demon Detector Stone and looking at the mighty civil and military officials coming, Yan Liqiang's head felt numb at this moment...
The inhuman evil demon was hiding among the civil and military officials who had just walked out of the Suzaku Gate. In addition to Lin Qingtian, there was another evil demon hidden in the court...
Today happened to be the fifteenth day of the lunar month. Just outside the imperial palace, in the most unexpected place, at the most unexpected time, among the most unexpected group of people, Yan Liqiang discovered traces of the evil demon.
If possible, Yan Liqiang hoped that this was a joke from God, but the heat of the demon-detecting stone in his chest and the unmistakable spiritual vibrations coming from his sea of consciousness told Yan Liqiang that this was no joke. An evil demon was hiding among the civil and military officials in the court and had walked out of the palace...
Yan Liqiang stared at the large group of ministers who were walking over, trying to discern something from their faces, but all he saw were faces that were either majestic or solemn. The robes of civil and military officials that made people look up to them were swaying in front of him, without the slightest flaw...
(End of this chapter)