Zong Zhengxi almost doubted his own ears. He flipped through the treasure book and the Great Seal on the table repeatedly. They were indeed the tokens of the Jinyi Guard, without a doubt.
When he ascended the throne, his father had personally handed them to him. Later, when his father retired to the "palace retreat" to recuperate, the tokens were temporarily kept by Lu Yuan under the excuse of Zong Zhengxi’s youth.
From that point on, the Jinyi Guard had beco nothing more than a tool for Lu Yuan to eliminate dissidents.
Zong Zhengxi never expected that one day Lu Yuan would willingly return the Jinyi Guard to him.
He stared blankly at Lu Yuan. "You... what sche are you plotting this ti? Are you testing ?"
Lu Yuan smiled faintly. "Did not Your Majesty summon the Pri Minister back to the court just for this day? I congratulate Your Majesty on personally taking charge of the administration and pray that Your Majesty blesses the people for generations to co."
"I..."
Zong Zhengxi was caught off guard by this abrupt shift to direct rule, so much so that even his manner of self-address changed.
A wave of unrest surged in his heart; he couldn’t tell whether it was the unease of being seen right through by Lu Yuan or the unease of losing sothing significant.
Lu Yuan rose with composure and elegance, addressing Zong Zhengxi, "I humbly take my leave, Your Majesty."
Was this his way of issuing a polite dismissal?
Zong Zhengxi’s eyes widened in disbelief.
From the mont he set foot into the Governor Mansion, every step had gone beyond his expectations.
Whether Zong Zhengxi left or not seed irrelevant, as Lu Yuan departed of his own accord after saying those words.
Watching Lu Yuan’s resolute retreating figure, utterly devoid of hesitation, Zong Zhengxi inexplicably panicked. "You... you handed over the Jinyi Guard—aren’t you worried about losing your position?"
Lu Yuan paused at the doorway. Without turning his head, he gazed into the endless twilight and said in an indifferent tone, "Is this not what Your Majesty desires? To eliminate this ’thorn in your side,’ Your Majesty has waited a long ti, hasn’t he?"
"I..."
Once again, words failed Zong Zhengxi as he choked in silence.
"Go ahead and realize your imperial ambitions, Your Majesty. From now on, whatever decisions Your Majesty makes, I will not interfere."
With those parting words, Lu Yuan walked away entirely.
Zong Zhengxi clenched his fists and roared in fury, "Better that you don’t interfere! You’re right—I’ve been waiting for this day! Do you think you’re all that impressive? If you won’t aid , the Pri Minister will! The Pri Minister is far better than you! He won’t force to do howork! I’m the Emperor—I don’t need to study those trivialities of civil examinations! I should be learning the art of governance! If you won’t teach , the Pri Minister will!"
Xiao Dazi cautiously tried to console him, "Your Majesty, anger can harm your body—please take care of your sacred health..."
"Shut up!"
Zong Zhengxi snapped.
Xiao Dazi instantly went silent.
Staring at the treasure book and Great Seal on the table, Zong Zhengxi reached out to smash them to the ground.
Xiao Dazi fell to his knees in fright with a thud.
Zong Zhengxi’s hand froze mid-air.
He rembered just after ascending to the throne, when he threw a tantrum by hurling all his inkstones and brushes off the desk, only to have Lu Yuan take a ruler and fiercely strike his palms in return.
Even his father and mother concubine had never laid a hand on him, yet Lu Yuan had relentlessly struck his palms again and again. Each ti he threw sothing, Lu Yuan would punish him.
In the end... he stopped daring to smash things.
But now, Lu Yuan didn’t care about him anymore. Why should he keep obeying him?
Zong Zhengxi hurled the objects once more, yet the mory of the palm strikes felt as though etched into his very bones.
He collapsed back into his chair in frustration, an inexplicable sense of grievance welling up within him.
He wiped his reddened eyes and gritted his teeth, yelling, "I was here today to add insult to injury! I know Lu Yuan offended the Pri Minister, and I seized the chance to pressure him into returning the Jinyi Guard! I demanded it from him! He didn’t return it of his own will! I don’t care about him anymore! I don’t care about him anymore!"
In the small garden, ng Qianqian stood beside Lu Yuan.
Watching Zong Zhengxi storm away in sha and anger, ng Qianqian asked, "Your Majesty seed quite upset. Is it really fine?"
Lu Yuan crossed his hands behind his back and snorted coldly. "Let him rage; what does it have to do with ? If it’s harmful, he brought it on himself."
Smiling gently, ng Qianqian replied, "I was speaking of the Jinyi Guard. To so easily hand over sothing that represents years of your efforts as the Grand Commander—are you truly willing?"
In a detached tone, Lu Yuan replied, "What does willingness matter? Shangguan Ling betrayed —the Jinyi Guard has beco a hot potato. Should I keep it only to watch it burn ?"
ng Qianqian couldn’t help but let out a quick laugh.
The taphor might have been inappropriate, but it captured the situation surprisingly well.
The Jinyi Guard was a card that, no matter how it was played, inevitably resulted in the opponent’s triumph. Better to discard it entirely.
ng Qianqian said, "But now, you truly have nothing left, Grand Commander."
"Are you afraid?" Lu Yuan asked, his tone indifferent. "If you fear, you’re free to leave at any ti. You and I were rely part of a transaction to begin with; no need to sink into the swamp with ."
After a brief pause, he added, "You’ve been married to once. Consort Li might wish to draw you into her fold, but she won’t send you into the palace now."
ng Qianqian turned to face him squarely. "Do you think I’m soone who abandons friends in adversity?"
Lu Yuan avoided eting her gaze and instead fixed his eyes on Bao Shu, who was frolicking on the grass. His voice was icy: "Since when were we friends?"
ng Qianqian nodded slightly. "The situation is worse than I thought. The Grand Commander hastening to push away—are you afraid of ultimately failing?"
Lu Yuan’s gaze quivered briefly, and he said steadily, "I do not fear failure."
"Then you’re afraid of dragging others down with you, aren’t you?" ng Qianqian smiled faintly. "Grand Commander, shall we wager? This ti, you’ll win."
Lu Yuan sneered coldly, "Hmph."
ng Qianqian declared, "Though you no longer have the Jinyi Guard, you still have —Little Nine. And don’t forget, I’m one of the Twelve Guards. As long as I can reunite the Twelve, we can reignite the Chu Grand Marshal’s Black Armor Army to sweep across the land."
Lu Yuan replied evenly, "To this day, only you and Chen Long of the Twelve have appeared. No—it’s unclear whether the foster son my adoptive father just took in is even Chen Long."
ng Qianqian blinked. "Actually, my neighbor... is Ji Li, the Rooster of the Twelve."
"...No wonder Yu Zichuan couldn’t beat him," Lu Yuan muttered.
ng Qianqian continued, "What’s more, Ji Li is skilled in divination. If he cooperates, tracking down the others won’t be difficult. He vanished suddenly a few days ago; I suspect he went off to find another of the Twelve."
"Gone this long? With his abilities, he should’ve found soone by now. No ti like the present—shall we return to Fengshui Alley for a look?"
Bao Shu perked up her ears at the ntion of Fengshui Alley and scurried over, stretching her little arms toward ng Qianqian.
She wanted to go too.
ng Qianqian scooped her up. "Alright, you can co."
Watching ng Qianqian act promptly without hesitation or fear, Lu Yuan turned his face away and murmured, "Reckless and audacious, utterly oblivious to the danger."
He had approached success countless tis, only to be thrown back to square one ti and again, like a tower demolished the mont its final stone was laid.
That man wanted nothing less than to shatter his will entirely, refining him into a broken creature who would obediently kneel at his feet like a loyal dog.
This ti, could he truly win?
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