Empress: Your Majesty, please respect yourself, I don't want to be promoted

While pouring wine for Hu Yan, he said excitedly: "As long as this dog official dies, there will be no peace in Yongchuan! Now Mr. Hu has eliminated this great harm to Yongchuan and returned us to a peaceful world. On behalf of all the tribes in Yongchuan, I would like to express my gratitude." If Mr. Hu is of any use to me in the future, I will never refuse!"

"Hahaha!"

Hu Yan laughed loudly and looked at Wang Licheng with admiration.

"We haven't seen you for many years, but Brother Wang is still as transparent as ever in terms of human relations and sophistication."

Obviously, he was quite satisfied with Wang Licheng's ability as a person.

Wang Licheng said a few words of humility, then took out a wad of banknotes from his arms, placed them on the wine table, pressed them gently and handed them over.

Looking at the banknote in front of him, Hu Yan narrowed his eyes, but did not immediately reach out to take it. Instead, he picked up the wine glass and took a sip, and said calmly: "Brother Wang, what do you mean?"

Wang Licheng smiled and said: "I see that Mr. Hu's expression has changed a lot these days. It seems that Mr. Hu spent all his time in the government office reading files every day in order to make that dog official completely subjugate. As a result, he overworked himself and injured his foundation. , I feel really sorry to see you. If Mr. Hu, a great master like you, Qingtian, makes any mistakes, I will be guilty of a big crime. So I would like to ask Mr. Hu to take these 1 taels to buy some supplements to replenish your vitality and nourish your body. Get in good health so that in the future you can make decisions for those of us who have suffered injustice.”

Hearing this, Hu Yan smiled.

"Brother Wang is very considerate, but is it a bit too much to use these 1 taels to buy supplements? I am just doing something with a little effort. I am afraid that I will be unworthy of such a great gift."

Saying this, he did not push away the banknote, but looked at Wang Licheng meaningfully.

"It's just 1 taels. Compared with what Mr. Hu has done for Yongchuan, it's nothing!"

Wang Licheng bowed his hands to Hu Yan and said, "Master Hu doesn't know something. Ever since Xia Yan, the dog-fighting official, became the magistrate of Yongchuan County, he has tried every means to suppress the big families like us and devised various excuses to plunder us. Not only that, but he has also shown favoritism at every turn. Those restless and unruly people allowed them to bully good people like us, and even encouraged them to rob our family and property. The crimes committed by this guy in Yongchuan are countless and too numerous to list!"

"Your Excellency has helped us get rid of this harm. It is a kindness that can't be equaled by any amount of money! Not to mention a mere 1 taels, even if it is 10 taels, you can afford it, my lord!"

"Oh? Brother Wang, do you really think so?"

Hu Yan gently stroked his long beard and was very impressed by Wang Licheng's words.

But he still didn't reach out to take the banknote, as if he was waiting for Wang Licheng's next words.

"Of course, these are all my words from the bottom of my heart!"

Wang Licheng responded without thinking, and then continued in a very relaxed tone, as if mentioning a small matter inadvertently: "To be honest with Mr. Hu, when I have some free time, I often teach Wang Yi, the dog, how to behave as a human being." You should be based on integrity and do not do such dirty things. In the future, if you can be favored by the court, join the Wanchuan Sect, or even be lucky enough to become an official, you must be like Mr. Hu when you were the magistrate of Yongchuan County. Be upright and honest, serve the public wholeheartedly, and be a good official who serves the people wholeheartedly!

"Since I teach my children this way, I will naturally set an example and never do anything that flatters or lies."

Hearing this, a flash of understanding quietly flashed in Hu Yan's eyes.

Then, he glanced at the banknotes on the table calmly, then picked up the wine glass with a smile on his face and drank the wine that Wang Licheng had just poured in one gulp.

"Brother Wang has a good family tradition, and I admire him."

"Thank you for your compliment, my lord."

Wang Licheng looked delighted and stood up to pour wine for Hu Yan.

Hu Yan did not pick up the wine glass again this time, but pretended to reminisce. After a while, he said: "Your Majesty, Wang Yi, I was quite impressed. I remember that when I resigned from the post of county magistrate and left Yongchuan, he was still a young man. A handsome young man with a lot of talent!"

Wang Licheng said modestly: "Your Excellency, you are ridiculous. The dog's appearance is not worth mentioning. I have always followed your Excellency as an example. I have always been studious and tireless. Now I am quite proficient in Confucian classics..."

Hu Yan caressed his long beard.

"So, it's a good seedling."

As he spoke, he finally reached out, picked up the banknotes on the wine table, and put them in his pocket.

The movements were extremely natural, and it was obvious that he was already familiar with this kind of thing.

Afterwards, the two of them drank and chatted happily, and never mentioned the matter just now.

As if it was just a casual drunken chat between them and it didn't matter at all.

However, they were chatting happily and did not notice that on their roof, there was an imperceptible gap in the tiles, and a pair of cold eyes quietly watched everything happening below.

Especially when Hu Yan put away the banknotes with a natural look on his face, his eyes suddenly revealed a cold murderous intent.

The night is getting darker.

The bright moonlight shines through the dark clouds and onto the earth, adding a bit of silence to the cold night.

A gust of cold winter wind blew in through the gap in the window sill, and the two people who were becoming more and more speculative suddenly shivered.

"Master Hu, it's getting late today, so I won't disturb your rest, sir. Let's meet up another day."

Hu Yan politely tried to persuade him to stay, but after Wang Licheng insisted on going back, he nodded.

"That's fine, Brother Wang, you can rest early when you go back."

"I'll save it next time."

Wang Licheng cupped his hands and said with a smile: "Tomorrow I have to go to the execution ground to see with my own eyes that dog officer's head. You must have a good rest tonight, so as not to miss tomorrow's show."

Hu Yan smiled and was noncommittal.

Wang Licheng added: "Master Hu, please go to bed early. It's been really hard on you during this time."

Hu Yan nodded slightly.

After a few polite words, Wang Licheng stood up and left the mansion under the guidance of the housekeeper of the Hu Mansion.

And just as he was leaving, a black shadow suddenly flashed across the roof, and he left the mansion in one leap, then quickly flew towards Ziji City.

Chapter 45 The Last Softness (please read on!)

Under the thick darkness of night, the huge Luojing was silent.

In Ziji City.

All the public buildings in the government offices were now dark, but the lights in Zichen Hall were still brightly lit.

The empress in dragon robe leaned against the back of the dragon chair, gazing at the scene projected in the shadow stone in front of her with bright eyes.

In the image, two middle-aged men were drinking and chatting, it was Hu Yan and Wang Licheng who had just dispersed.

After an unknown amount of time, as Wang Licheng said goodbye and left, the image in the photo stone suddenly stopped.

"A jar of several hundred taels of silver worth of jade liquor was drunk as much as water. My ministers are indeed so heroic and magnanimous."

The moment the image disappeared, the empress's red lips opened slightly, but her voice was filled with chills.

"1 taels of silver, one county's land and one season's tax revenue, you can give it as you say. My people are so rich now, it really opens my eyes."

"Furthermore, if I remember correctly, the favor has always been reserved for the descendants of people who have made contributions to the country. The Ministry of Rites is fully responsible for it. Why can Hu Yanyi, a minister of the Ministry of Punishment, get involved?"

Questions from the soul echoed in the Zichen Palace.

However, no one could answer her question at this time.

Saint King Cangming is not in Ziji City now. In the huge Zichen Palace, apart from the empress, there is only one masked man wearing black night clothes, who is the Xuanji Guard who has been monitoring Hu Yan just now.

From the uneven body shape, it can be judged that she is a woman.

At this time, she was half-kneeling on the ground, motionless and silent, with a hint of capable temperament all over her body.

Her breathing was extremely steady, so steady that it would hardly cause fluctuations in the aura that was everywhere around her, making her presence completely invisible.

This is a special breathing method that can only be mastered by first-class warriors. It is also a basic method for monitoring advanced monks.

The emperor generally would not do such things as spying on courtiers.

In Daxia, only those who became cultivators had the opportunity to become officials. Scholars among scholars, farmers, industry and commerce refers to monks among cultivators.

Cultivators are beings who obtain extraordinary power by absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to temper themselves. They are also the collective name for monks and warriors.

In addition to hard training, if a practitioner wants to make a breakthrough, he must achieve enlightenment.

The prerequisite for enlightenment is to have one's own way, and then "general trends" and "opportunities" are the keys to enlightenment.

There are many avenues.

Whether it is the mainstream way of sages, martial arts, or the alternative way of poetry, or the way of calculation, medicine, the way of investigating things, the way of stars, the way of cooking, the way of merchants, etc., we can all build a path. Ji, embark on the long road of seeking the truth.

Each cultivator can choose his own path, and after establishing the foundation, he can also practice multiple paths in parallel.

However, although there are many avenues, each of which is different, cultivators can generally only be divided into monks and warriors based on the direction of their spiritual power.

The former emphasizes the law, while the latter emphasizes merit.

The former cultivates the spirit, while the latter refines the body.

The reason why monks are highly respected is because they can harmonize the yin and yang and the five elements with their aura, influence the spiritual energy of a place to a certain extent, and reduce the risk of spiritual energy gathering to form devastating spiritual disasters. Their existence is beneficial to all people in the world.

Moreover, although monks are proficient in magic, their physical strength is not strong. They are only slightly stronger than ordinary people with mortal bodies. Relatively speaking, they are much easier to control than warriors. Their existence itself is relatively beneficial to those in power, unlike warriors. He has a physique that is difficult for ordinary people to control, and he can dominate the world with his tyrannical martial arts.

It's just that most monks are sensitive to spiritual energy fluctuations, and the higher the level of cultivation, the more so, so monitoring them is not easy.

The monks who can serve as officials in the court are basically not too weak. If you want to monitor them, you must at least send a first-class warrior with extraordinary skills.

First-class warriors are not a big deal. Even the most elite Xuanwu Guards in the Cangming Army only have a few hundred, and some of them are sent to protect Lu Chen.

If it weren't for Lu Chen's application for a retrial of Xia Yan's case, and Hu Yan happened to be the official of the Ministry of Punishment in Jingxiang, who was responsible for organizing and reviewing the various files of the case, the empress would not have noticed this person at all, let alone used it. A precious first-class warrior monitors a fifth-grade official.

But I didn't expect that this "good official" who had always had a good reputation and had received good evaluations every time before the Queen Mother came to power, and who had been promoted from chief to now the doctor of the Ministry of Justice, would be so miserable inside.

Compared with Lu Chen, a pure minister who always behaved the same, no matter who he was in front of or behind, it was like heaven and earth.

There is absolutely no comparison!

"check!"

The empress threw the information related to Hu Yan to the ground as hard as throwing away garbage.

"Find out all the evidence of this person's past since he became an official, especially the evidence of corruption and bending the law! Also find out the relationship between this person and the Ministry of Rites or other ministries, and uproot all these worms involved in forming parties for personal gain, leaving no one behind! "

After the words fell, a trace of fluctuation finally flashed in the eyes of the Xuanji guard who had been half-kneeling on the ground.

"promise!"

After a simple response, the air around her suddenly shook strangely, and the next second, her figure suddenly disappeared out of thin air, never to be seen again.

Just like when she arrived, there was no trace.

After Xuan Jiwei left, the empress did not continue to read the memorial. Instead, she stood up, walked to the window with her hands behind her back, and looked at the bright moon hanging in the sky.

She didn't know what she thought of, but her bright eyes gradually lost focus and became increasingly hazy.

After a moment, the corners of her mouth raised inexplicably, outlining a touching smile.

Being controlled by the Queen Mother as a puppet for six full years allowed her to develop the ability to hide her emotions and understand people's hearts. After taking the throne, every time she came into contact with the courtiers below, she would always subconsciously compare them with Lu Chen.

And the more she compared them, the more she felt how valuable Lu Chen was.

She even had the feeling that even if the whole world betrayed her, Lu Chen would stand unswervingly in front of her and protect her from the wind and rain.