zChapter 814 - Divine Thief of the Shadows (1/2)
Divine Thief of the Shadows
At that time, the two were seated in the yard and enjoying the winter sun. Wang Chuan and Huang Quan brought out rattan chairs. The chairs did not have legs. Instead, they used rattan strips curved in an arc. When a person sat on it, it could sway back and forth, and it was very satisfying.
The two were both quite good at martial arts, and both had internal strength. Even on a winter day, they would not feel cold if they sat outside for a long period of time. After Xuan Tian Hua finished speaking about the commoners and their “anti-eighth coalition” that had been formed, as well as the commotion currently being caused, he asked her: “Have you arranged for your own people to get mixed in to provide those people with a certain amount of guidance?”
Feng Yu Heng shook her head: “I was thinking about doing that. On the day that I had Wang Lin announce the closure of Hundred Herb Hall, I had prepared that sort of group. Unfortunately,” She spread her hands, “They didn’t get used!” As she spoke, a smile appeared on her face, and she looked quite pleased with herself.
Xuan Tian Hua looked at her smiling expression and could not help but laugh, “Just look at how pleased you are with yourself.” But this girl should indeed feel pleased! Without needing to arrange for someone to guide these people, and without her doing anything to push these people to gather, they went ahead and did it on their own and shouted those sorts of things. It could be seen just how irreplaceable Imperial Daughter Ji An had become after these two years. He was proud of her!
“Does seventh brother feel that doing things this way is improper?” After all, causing such a disturbance during the first month, if the Emperor decided to assign blame, she bore a certain amount of the blame. “Say, Father Emperor won’t blame me, right? If he really gets angry, if I go out and advise those commoners, can things be brought back?”
Xuan Tian Hua, however, shook his head, telling her: “Seventh brother is proud of you! Father Emperor will also feel proud of you! When I came over, I ran into Xu Jing Yuan. He was heading into the palace. Normally speaking, those officials should have been stripped of their position and had their homes raided, but you know that there were too many officials causing an uproar. Punishing one or two would be unfair, and if they were all punished, there would not be enough people to fill up those empty positions, and it would cause turmoil in the court.”
“Then how will Father Emperor resolve it?” Feng Yu Heng thought for a bit, “Have them forfeit their salaries?”
“Un.” Xuan Tian Hua nodded, “Forfeiture of salaries is the only way to resolve it. But this is just temporary. Father Emperor has not become senile. He is quite clear on that debt! Old eighth is his son, but those officials do not share any blood relation with him. For the time being, they will forfeit their salaries. Following that, just wait and see. One matter after another will be placed on them. I can imagine their stunned expressions when those matters come out. I can also imagine them being left with no chance to right a wrong when faced with Father Emperor’s fury. Taking care of them one at a time, he will have time to find someone suitable to make up for the vacant spot. As for the new person to come in, they will definitely not be part of old eighth’s faction.” As he spoke, he stopped the swaying rattan chair and looked toward Feng Yu heng: “It’s just that you have suffered a grievance, and you have no choice but to go to Ji An Prefecture. Only with you leaving can you avoid the turbulence of the court. Don’t worry, even after the first month, when Ming’er heads South, the large capital will still have seventh brother. The things that should be had, seventh brother will make sure to protect it for you.”
Feng Yu Heng gazed at Xuan Tian Hua. While looking at him, she suddenly felt a bit distressed. If possible, she really hoped to avoid getting someone like Xuan Tian Hua, who was a living deity, involved in something as filthy as a succession battle, spending entire days jockeying for power and focusing on the situation in the capital while speculating about the enemy’s intentions. As she saw it, Xuan Tian Hua should spend his entire life aloof and without worrying about a single thing and without thinking about a single thing. He should live the life that he wanted to live. As for the current situation, it was definitely not what he wanted.
But what could she say? He was a prince and was born in the imperial family. He could not escape this fate. Even if he did not search for trouble, trouble would look for him. Even if he escaped to the edges of the world, the things that ought to come would come. For example, the sixth prince, he hid in the Northwest, but what came of it? The things that he needed to face were faced when he returned. Although he did not compete for the throne and did not want the throne, she still remembered Feng Fen Dai having sought out the sixth prince’s birth mother, Noble Lady Li. At present, nothing had come of it; however, she did not know what sort of things would happen when she left the capital.
“There’s no need for you to worry about me.” Seemingly having guessed what she was thinking, Xuan Tian Hua faintly said: “Do what you want to do. Walk the path that you want to take. Don’t worry about the dangers and hardships. As long as you continue to advance, seventh brother will always protect you.”
Hearing Xuan Tian Hua speak like this was something that Feng Yu Heng absolutely could not endure, as she would feel choked up every time. Xuan Tian Hua was the finest and purest person that she had met since coming to this era. This sort of purity and fineness was something that even Xuan Tian Ming could not match. Unfortunately, he had chosen to protect her; however, there was nobody to protect him.
“Seventh brother.” She once again had the rattan chair begin swaying once more and decided to change the topic, “The eighth prince’s faction in the capital, what sort of people does it have? You should have nearly a full understanding, right?” Her eyes were squinted into thin lines, and they faintly gave off a hard-to-detect joy.
Xuan Tian Hua did not notice her expression and simply nodded, saying: “I do.”
“Then can you provide me with a list of names?” She had become spirited. Stopping her chair from swaying, she grabbed the chair’s armrests and pleaded with a smile: “Just write a list of names for me. Also, write down their official positions and ranks. Un, just the officials in the capital for now. Or there should still be some that are not officials. Either way, anyone that you know of that has connections to him, just tell me about all of them.”
Xuan Tian Hua was puzzled: “What are you wanting to do?”
Feng Yu Heng said: “Not much, I just want to have an understanding. I need to know who is hidden behind me. The ones that acted up during the banquet was just a portion, right? There should still be a group that has not exposed themselves. Tell me, and I will think about it.”
Xuan Tian Hua unconsciously went with it and nodded, saying: “Alright.” He then got up, “Let’s go inside. I’ll write it for you right now.”