Chapter 683: Into The East Palace

It was a large crowd as the ministers came out together, and demons had no special features. Despite the fact that he was fully aware of a demon hidden among these ministers, Yan Liqiang could only stare at the ministers clad in violet-red robes walk past him…

Yan Liqiang also activated the Psychic Serpent and scanned the thoughts of every minister who was passing by, but…

— His Majesty is too fond of Sun Bingchen. Although he isn’t the Grand Chancellor, he pretty much holds the same power in the Grand Secretariat. I must think of a way to get closer to someone like him, but I heard that it won’t be easy to do that…

— That old man, Xiao Dingming, was really pretentious in court today. Who doesn’t know that the reported figures of the food reserves are with the Ministry of Revenue? But if the Ministry of Revenue investigates this now, how much can they find out? He wants to appear as a nice guy in front of His Majesty, yet he wants the Ministry of Revenue to be the scapegoat. What an old cunning fox he is. His clan occupied a thousand hectares of land in Xun Province and caused public resentment. Countless people are lodging complaints against his clan, yet he shamelessly masqueraded himself as an honest, upright man in court…

— That Yu Linglong from the Lingering Fragrance Court last night really lives up to her reputation, hehe. She is usually so well-dressed — who knew she’d be that good in bed? Hehe, she’s now a registered courtesan. Whether or not she gets a travel pass, it’ll depend on her performance for the next few days. Seems like I will have to send someone to restock the All Aspect Nourishment Pill at home. Otherwise, I won’t be able to tame that little fairy, hehe…

— Looks like I’ll have to think up ways to procure the ingredients of the Vitality Soup here to increase the brewing portion…

— His Majesty’s tour is coming soon. The situation in the capital region is about to change. I wonder how those officials who got left behind feel. They shouldn’t bully the civilians too much. Sigh, the world is indeed difficult. I guess I should ask someone to move the stuff at home away after His Majesty leaves the Imperial Capital. It’ll be too obvious if I do it within these two days…

— Is that youth beside Eunuch He Qiyun Protectorate General Yan Liqiang? His Majesty is really bold enough to appoint such a kid as the Qiyun Protectorate General. I wonder why His Majesty is so fascinated with this kid, hmph…

……

The ministers were all talking to the people around them, but most of them were thinking about the politics in the imperial court. Some of them looked honest, but most were scoundrels deep down. Of course, there were also some who were worried about the country and the people, but they were only thinking about how to deal with the impending Heavenly Tribulation, as well as minimizing the loss for themselves and the people around them. Some ministers even recognized Yan Liqiang and were envious, contemptuous, or curious about him…

The Demon Detection Stone calmed down after it finished its task of warning the user. Yan Liqiang watched these people walk past him; everyone looked like a demon to him but at the same time, they also did not. Some of the ministers that passed by glanced at him and the old eunuch, but none of them spoke to them. The most polite ones only gave him and the old eunuch a slight nod…

In just a flash, the ministers crossed the Golden Water Bridge and left on their carriages, leaving Yan Liqiang to drown in his own troubled feelings.

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“Ahem, ahem, Lord Yan, let’s go…” Yan Liqiang only snapped back to reality when the old eunuch beside him spoke up. He followed the old eunuch to the palace’s entrance, but he could hardly calm himself down.

The old eunuch noticed that Yan Liqiang was unable to take his eyes off the ministers earlier and thought that he felt envious, so he comforted him. “Lord Yan, there’s no need to envy them. Those people weren’t even in your current position when they were your age. When you make more achievements in the future, you will naturally be qualified to devise various strategies at the court assemblies, hohoho…” The old eunuch dropped his two cents on the matter, then chuckled complacently at his own wisdom.

Yan Liqiang renewed his spirit and put a smile on his face. “Thank you for your kind words, Eunuch He. I shall repay you if that day ever comes. By the way, when will the next court assembly be held?”

“The next time will of course be in another two weeks. That’ll be on the first day of the third lunar month. The selected auspicious date for His Majesty’s travel to the south will be on the 26th day next month, so the ministers will attend two more court assemblies before leaving the Imperial Capital with him…”

“I suppose there will be a huge scene that will cause a huge commotion…” Yan Liqiang replied casually.

“Of course, the Emperor is the ruler of the Great Empire. It wouldn’t do for him to travel without at least an entourage of a hundred thousand people. Otherwise, that would make him appear less than a general…”

“You are right, Eunuch He…”

Both of them went through the palace doors while talking, but this time, the old eunuch didn’t bring Yan Liqiang to meet the Emperor. They went through a series of heavily guarded corridors and courtyards before finally arriving at the East Palace where the Crown Prince resided instead.

Yan Liqiang didn’t know his way, so he could only follow the old eunuch. While they were walking, Yan Liqiang was occupied with the thoughts of demons. Even if he wasn’t a disciple of Jade Luo Palace, he wouldn’t turn a blind eye to such a matter. The purpose of all Jade Luo Palace’s disciples was to slay demons and protect the world. This was the oath Yan Liqiang made when he joined the Jade Luo Palace. A demon hidden in the center of the imperial court was thousands of times more harmful than a demon hidden in the pugilistic world. Unless Yan Liqiang found this demon and understood his objectives, he wouldn’t be able to sleep or eat well.

“The Crown Prince will be doing his martial training here this afternoon. Wait here for a bit, I shall inform His Highness…”

When they reached a courtyard in the East Palace, the old eunuch went in alone and left Yan Liqiang outside the courtyard after explaining everything to him.

Yan Liqiang took a look around and found that it was a very huge courtyard. ‘Zhaowu Courtyard’ was written above the courtyard entrance, which was guarded by two rows of powerful-looking men. The imperial guards all had their hand resting on the handle of their sword; they pursed their lips and narrowed their eyes at Yan Liqiang who was waiting outside the courtyard.

Yan Liqiang only took a look at the guards and could instantly sense their hostilities.

Their hostility was a head-scratcher to him. Yan Liqiang couldn’t help but secretly wonder why they were looking at him with such expression when this was their first encounter.

He understood the reason as soon as he activated the Psychic Serpent. It turned out that they were all the Crown Prince’s bodyguards. When they heard that the Emperor would send an Archery Master to teach the Crown Prince today, they wanted to show him their true colors.

— I, your father, am proficient in all kinds of martial arts. I am an armed imperial guard that has been serving the Crown Prince for more than ten years. The Crown Prince usually spars with us as training. How did such a brat become His Highness’s Archery Master out of the blue when he’s never even met him? What gives him the right…?!