stand back, let me come

Chapter 1375: Central Branch (Part 1375) [Seeking monthly pass]

"I didn't know Wangchao was so loyal to the king?"

Rhythmic applause came from the corner.

Chu Yao seemed to have just realized that his master was present. He turned around in a panic and bowed deeply to Shen Tang: "Greetings, Master."

Gu Chi only knew of her existence after Shen Tang spoke to her.

When he realized that Shen Tang rarely used the self-proclaimed name "Gu", his face turned pale and he bowed guiltily: "My Lord, Hello."

Shen Tang said sternly, "Peace? I can't be at peace."

This was the first time Shen Tang was truly angry at Gu Chi after more than ten years of being together as a monarch and his subjects. His overwhelming power could make one's heart race. Gu Chi lowered his head even more, without making any excuses, but secretly biting his lips. This silence only made Shen Tang more annoyed.

"Why don't you continue talking, Wang Chao? You came to see off your colleague so early in the morning with murderous intent, and you even want to fight for his life?" Shen Tang took a step forward, his powerful aura could make it hard for anyone to breathe, and the next sentence was, "When will you be my master?"

Seeing that Shen Tang was more angry than expected, Chu Yao had no choice but to come out and smooth things over for his colleague - he was running around in this matter to ensure that years of hidden dangers could be resolved smoothly, not to increase the rift between the monarch and his subjects.

But Shen Tang had already predicted his prediction.

"Nothing is dark, I am alone in asking about the tide."

Chu Yao: "..."

Now, he became the innocent victim.

Gu Chi: "..."

If it were any other monarch or minister, when the superior asked this question, he would definitely have murderous intent. No matter how deep the trust between the monarch and his ministers is, the superior has a bottom line, that is, the ministers must not threaten their lives or interfere with their power.

But, Gu Chi’s master is Shen Tang.

A lord who is so restrained and indifferent that he doesn't seem like a ruler.

Facing her relentless pressure, Gu Chi could no longer remain silent, and softened his voice and said, "During this trip, Luan Gongyi will know the truth about Qiu Wenyan's death. Stopping him can avoid him temporarily, but not forever. The enemy will eventually use this as a breakthrough point."

Luan Gongyi is so special in every aspect.

Regardless of his status in the royal court, his own way of being a scholar, or his straightforward temperament, if Luan Xin was asked which of his two masters was stronger, Luan Xin would definitely answer without hesitation that it was the master, but that did not mean that Qiu Cheng had no status in his heart.

For warlords in troubled times, defeat does not necessarily mean death.

Wu Xian is still alive and kicking. Not only did he become the only Duke of Kang, he also made contributions in the Southwest War and gave birth to his daughter, the first Duke of Kang. Is Wu Xian able to survive because of the plastic "deep love" of Tangdi?

Qiu Cheng is not as high-ranking as a duke, nor is he as flexible as Wu Xian, but if he were alive, it would not be difficult for him to be a rich man. Luan Xin only wants his old master to be alive. In the future, will Qiu Cheng be content with mediocrity and live a mediocre life, or will he be as active as Wu Xian...

None of this has anything to do with Luan Xin.

Shen Tang deliberately forced Qiu Cheng to death, touching Luan Xin's bottom line.

Gu Chi said: "If Luan Gongyi knew the truth back then, even if he didn't avenge the first master, he would not be loyal to the master who killed him, even if he lived in seclusion in the mountains for the rest of his life. If he knows now, my lord, Gongyi will die."

Luan Xin will drive himself to death.

The best scenario is to resign from office and live in seclusion, never to be seen again by life or death.

If he could let go of this old incident, he would no longer be Luan Xin.

"Does it make any difference to me whether I lose Luan Gongyi or Gu Wangchao?" Shen Tang never expected that one day he would have to face the enduring bloody contradiction in romance novels - the dead Bai Yueguang comes back in another form.

Hearing Shen Tang claiming to have recovered, Chu Yao breathed a sigh of relief - this meant that the Lord's anger had rapidly subsided, and reason had taken over again: "Things are not yet so serious. The friendship between the Lord and the Righteous Lord and his minister for many years is not fake..."

Shen Tang looked in the direction where Luan Xin left, as if she wanted to see through the mountains and see a familiar figure. After a long while, she asked, "Are Qiu Wenyan's wives, concubines, and children still alive?"

Gu Chi: "They are all still alive. Gongyi has been taking care of them privately over the years, so they are not living too badly. Qiu Wenyan's last will was to ask his wife to remarry, but the lady refused. It was not until Qiu Wenyan's children grew up and started their own families that they lived with their eldest son in their ancestral home."

As the widow of Qiu Cheng, she could enjoy the political legacy left by Qiu Cheng, and her former subordinates would not stand by and watch her die, so she had a guaranteed living. If she remarried and went to another family, if she encountered any misfortunes, her former husband's former subordinates such as Luan Xin would not be able to help her. As for the concubines, except for those who had given birth to children for Qiu Cheng, the rest were arranged to marry by the matchmaker of the eldest lady, and their lives were still acceptable.

It is worth mentioning that after many years of worshipping Buddha, this lady has changed her hypocritical attitude and is now truly kind and compassionate like a Bodhisattva.

So far, life is pretty good.

Shen Tang closed his eyes and thought, and after a moment he came up with a plan.

"Send someone to bring her over."

Being passive and negative when faced with problems is not her style.

She had almost forgotten why she had to kill Qiu Wenyan. She probably didn't expect that Luan Gongyi, who was pulled from Qiu Cheng's hands, would become a piece of meat that she couldn't cut off after so many years. If she had known this would happen, it wouldn't be impossible to let Qiu Cheng live for Gongyi's sake: "The person who tied the bell must be the one to untie it."

For now, let’s defeat magic with magic.

Gu Chi roughly guessed what the master wanted to do: "Gongyi didn't have much contact with his former master's widow, and that lady was not a reasonable person in her early years. If she knew the truth about her late husband's death, it would be good that she didn't instigate Luan Gongyi. Why would she talk about peace?"

Shen Tang said calmly, "Because money makes the world go round. A living Qiu Wenyan can bring her benefits, I can afford to pay double. There is a folk saying that goes, 'Get promoted, get rich, but your wife dies', and it is the same for women. Qiu Wenyan has been dead for more than ten years and can still bring her an inexhaustible inheritance, why should she be against me? Even if she turns against me, I can't bring Qiu Wenyan back to life, but she obeys me, and her family can rise to heaven!"

This is the truth, but Gu Chi is not optimistic.

How could Qiu Wenyan's widow and Qiu Wenyan himself have the same weight? Unless Qiu Wenyan told Luan Xin in person that he was willing to accept the loss and that his life or death could not be blamed on others, Gu Chi could not imagine how Luan Xin, with his straightforward temper, could let him go.

This is a dead end!

Gu Chi gave up on himself and thought: [Instead of thinking of these methods, it is better to find a real shaman to summon the soul. If summoning the soul fails, then pretend to be a ghost and pretend to be Qiu Wenyan, maybe I can trick Luan Gongyi... Unfortunately, Qi Yuanliang's disguise can't fool Luan Gongyi... Who should I find to pretend to be a ghost? ]

Just when he was distracted, his palm felt light.

He caught a glimpse of bright white light from the corner of his eye, and belatedly realized that it was the master who had pulled out his sword, and then he turned his wrist and pretended to commit suicide. Gu Chi was so frightened that his legs went weak and he almost fell to the ground, his heart almost stopped, and he shouted at the top of his lungs: "Master—"

Two flowers bloom, one branch each.

Qiu Cheng’s widow’s original surname was Miao.

Yes, they are from the same branch as Miao Ne and Miao Shu.

Due to well-known reasons, the Miao family was wiped out by Shen Tang, leaving only orphans and widows alive. Her husband Qiu Cheng was also defeated by Shen Tang, leaving her with no one to rely on. This was one of the main reasons why she refused to remarry, because she had no way out!

By staying with Qiu Cheng, the children can be protected and live a worry-free life.

In the first two years after Qiu Cheng's death, she cried every day, but time is so magical that a stable life will continue to corrode her memory. As time goes by, even the strongest feelings are diluted, and the focus of her life is gradually attracted to other things. Her children have grown up and started their own families, but she is still in her prime. A woman in her forties has a look comparable to that of a woman in her early thirties.

Appearance, family background, status!

Any two of them would attract men, but she has all three! Whether they were her own children or those of other women, they all remembered her efforts over the years and sent handsome actors to her house from time to time to entertain her, which was very useful to Miao. In recent years, the atmosphere has become more and more open, but it still has some influence. In order to prevent her daughter-in-law from being gossiped by neighbors, she took the initiative to move to another courtyard, and the young couple came to see her during the holidays. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law are far away from each other, so there is no conflict between the generations. The daughter-in-law is happy and filial, and she is also at ease. She even began to break the ice with the first wife.

When Qiu Cheng was alive, the first and second wives were at loggerheads.

Times have changed, and she can now chat with her sister-in-law about daily life.

"Mother, there is a distinguished guest in the mansion."

"Dignified guest?"

She thought it was Qiu Cheng's old subordinate.

It is interesting to say that Qiu Cheng's character is not very good. He is too obsessed with face and suffers in life. He is hypocritical in his bones, but the talents he recruits are all loyal and righteous. Even Miao Shu had a backbone. After so many years, even if Qiu Cheng saved their lives and should have repaid the favor, there are still old subordinates who come to visit, fearing that the widow and children of the former lord are not living well. Some of these old subordinates are still active in the court, and some have returned to peace and are content to be rich men.

The person who came was not a familiar face to her.

There was an indescribable familiarity between her eyebrows and eyes. She asked the maid to pour tea for the other party and said with a kind smile: "I didn't know that the distinguished guest was coming. I didn't come to greet you. Please forgive me if I was negligent."

The young man waved his hand: "Madam, there is no need to do this."

He did not introduce himself, so Miao could not guess his identity, so she could only take the initiative to test him: "Please forgive me for my old age, my memory is getting worse, I can't quite remember your name, but I think you look familiar... I wonder what your relationship is with my late husband?"

The young man said, "I don't know you, Lord."

Miao was confused: "What is the distinguished guest doing..."

She winked at her eldest son secretly.

The eldest son was not too sure, because the man was brought here by his uncle and aunt, and they did not clearly state his identity, but only said that the young man was a distinguished guest. Fortunately, the young man did not hide anything: "My name is Jimo Qiu, and when I was young, I was raised by the Qiu family."

Maybe you can find his former name in the Qiu family genealogy.

Miao understood it now.

Oh, it turned out to be an old friend of Qiu. If it was related to Qiu, why did he come to me? Qiu had long been the head of the eldest house, and she had no say in Qiu. Seeing her confusion, Jimo Qiu said in a gentle voice: "I came to see my wife today."

"Looking for me?"

Jimo Qiu said, "Well, please help me, Madam."

Miao has been pampered for many years and is only patient with Qiu Cheng's old subordinates and a few people in the first wife's house. She is also a woman living in a secluded house, living on the favors left by her late husband. How can she help him?

She said bluntly: "I am afraid I am powerless."

Jimo Qiu was not angry at being humiliated by Miao, but asked a question that made Miao and her son tremble: "This is about your son's title, do you have no power to do anything about it?"

The mother and son glanced at each other quickly.

Title?

Miao suppressed her pounding heart and quickly calmed down.

He shouted sternly, "Stop talking nonsense!"

In other countries, the title of nobility may not be as common as cabbages on the street, but it is not rare either. However, in Kangguo, it is extremely rare.

If her husband had been more motivated and lived longer, he might have been able to fight for a position as the crown prince for his son, just like Duke Lu. But Qiu Cheng died too early, and apart from his old subordinates who still took care of them, there was no movement from the royal court. At most, they provided convenience for Qiu Cheng's descendants to go to school, but nothing else.

There is no comparison between him and Wu Xian and Gu Ren.

Jimo Qiu just smiled and said nothing, watching her reaction quietly.

After a long while, Miao ignored her son's crazy look and asked calmly, "What's the name of your guest's family?"

"The owner's surname is Shen."

This surname made Miao's heart skip a beat.

The only person with the surname Shen who dared to promise a title was the one who lived in Fengluo Palace. She couldn't say she hated Shen Tang, she did in the early years, but she was more afraid that Shen Tang would settle accounts with her. After enjoying more than ten years of prosperity and wealth under his rule, hatred and fear gradually blended into other more complicated emotions, which could be regarded as a mixture of love and hate.

She had suffered with Qiu Cheng in her early years, and she knew too well what normal times in troubled times were like: "To tell you something the envoy doesn't like to hear, no one comes to see you for no reason, why did Mr. Shen suddenly think of my family?"

Not being sarcastic, just simply curious.

It can't be that the old subordinates have made great contributions and want to ask for titles for the children of the late lord?

If so, her son can just call the other party dad. You have to know that even the biological father's title may not be passed on to his biological son.

"I just said, please help me, Madam."

"Appreciate further details."

Before he could say this, Qiu Cheng's eldest son was sent out.

After a frank discussion, Miao fell silent.

Her mood swings were not great.

Luan Xin would be entangled in "the first lord committed suicide on his own initiative" and "the first lord was lured to commit suicide". He had no regrets about the former, but he was full of worries about the latter. The boundary between gratitude and resentment was clear, but from the perspective of Miao, Shen Youli was the enemy who killed her husband. Now telling her that her husband was indeed lured to commit suicide by Shen Tang's instruction is useless to her. This cognition has lasted for more than ten years.

The reason for Miao's silence was that in a sense, this title was really fought for by her late husband's old subordinates, and it would be unreasonable for her son not to worship his adoptive father. Although she was moved, she still had self-knowledge. When Qiu Cheng was alive, he also said that Luan Gongyi was upright and stubborn, and he would drive himself to death by getting stuck in a dead end.

He remembered Qiu Cheng's kindness and Shen Tang's love.

Unable to hurt anyone, he would only kill himself.

She confessed: "My words don't carry that much weight."

The young man took out a long wooden box from his sleeve, opened it and revealed something quietly lying inside: "With this thing, if you can persuade them with emotion and reason, you will succeed! Madam, please try your best!"

"This is?"

"My Lord's."

(*▼(-_-)

For Tang Mei, as long as the important officials do not fight among themselves, this game is still very stable (pointing fingers at the reckless men of Wu State)