54 Shrewd Monarch (2/2)
Zhou Shen - she couldn't randomly ask around about the said person when she didn't even know where to begin.
Su Li felt that not only her head and heart but even her kidney and liver also ached from all this.
Back to the present, to compound on all these troubles, there was a so-called God of War Ning Fu waiting to meet her just outside the hall.
Sighing to herself, Su Li addressed the hall, ”Let Unit Commander and the other generals come in.”
”His Majesty summons the Unit Commander Ning and generals into the hall.” A eunuch proclaimed in a loud voice.
The war heroes entered The Heavenly Hall and gave her the grand greeting of a subject to a sovereign.
A young man in his late teens was at the front of that group. He had deep charcoal black eyes which radiated a fierce, dominant aura, though he tried to curb it, some of it still leaked from the corner of his eyes.
This person was Ning Fu.
Su Li smiled pleasantly, gestured to the teenager and allowed them to get off the floor.
She really had to marvel at these ancient people. The floor was hard marble and all these people had knelt with such resounding thumps while giving her the three bows and nine kowtows.
Didn't their knees feel any pain?
Maybe, they had something similar to knee pads to protect their knees?
Wouldn't all these ancient people have arthritis in old age from all the knocking and wear and tear their knees received throughout their lives?
They knelt to their parents, the monarch and even knelt in punishment in some cases.
Su Li thanked her stars that her current identity exempted her from that horror.
Meanwhile, Ning Fu was worried.
Why was the monarch looking at his lower half of the body with such a keen gaze?
Was His Majesty planning to punish him on some trumped-up charges?
Was his punishment to be beaten by staves on his calves?
Otherwise, what reason did the emperor have to stare at his legs?
Well, if it was so decreed, he would follow through with the punishment but wouldn't place his trust in His Majesty henceforth.
Ning Fu had privately thought that since His Majesty had no doubt suffered greatly at the hands of those Northern barbarians, it would have instilled in him a sense of benevolence.
However, it seemed that he was like a thorn in His Majesty's heart. After all, his reputation preceded him and the ruler wouldn't be able to sleep peacefully with a person such as him residing in the Imperial Capital.
When his mind reached this line of thought, Ning Fu lowered his head in an even more reverent gesture. He'll wait for His Majesty's move patiently.
If he and his people weren't threatened overtly or covertly, he didn't have any problem with bowing his head and bending his knee to this exalted existence sitting on the throne.
On the other hand, if he even sensed a sliver of danger, he wouldn't mind making the city flow red with blood. He would overturn heaven and earth to protect his people.
Ning Fu was pragmatic enough to realise that in such a situation, even if he allied with some other prince, it couldn't guarantee his safety.
After all, how many people would keep a dog that had outlived its usefulness?
His best bet was the present monarch.He hoped both of them could co-exist peacefully.
Su Li felt that these military officials were living in such harsh conditions as it was - withering all kinds of weather and spilling their blood on the battlefield. Therefore, she didn't want to make things difficult for them by enacting any petty court politics with them.
These people served the country with their flesh and blood in her name. She wouldn't give them a single reason to think that she doubted their loyalty towards her.
In a feudalistic society, these military men were motivated by their loyalty towards whoever sat on the seat of power. She didn't have any right to cast her suspicious eyes at them without reason and play at being their supreme ruler.
His Majesty didn't put The Unit Commander on the spot and rewarded the war heroes generously.
The travel-worn generals knelt and gave their thanks, their eyes filled with undisguised happiness.
Meanwhile, the court officials were once again puzzled.
His Majesty had looked at Ning Fu with furrowed brows for a stretch of time and hadn't praised The Unit Commander for his victory. It clearly showed that His Majesty wasn't pleased with this sand in his eyes.
However, His Majesty had generously rewarded Ning Fu and the accompanying generals. Even the middle-ranking military officers were lavished with rewards far above their pay grade.
This showed that His Majesty was benevolent and didn't hold any grudge against Ning Fu or his subordinates.
It seems that the new monarch was either playing the long game and was a shrewd, deep person or he was truly a simple-minded person.
The court officials levelled another gaze at the monarch's smiling face and decided to believe that His Majesty was the first type - a really shrewd monarch.