minions live

Chapter 757 Warm Winter
Xingji City, the Imperial City.

The heavy snow had just stopped, and the sky was clear and bright.

Creak, creak—

The sound of footsteps echoed through the snow.

Qian Liang led several subordinates from the Ministry of Revenue out with light steps, his eyes and brows brimming with undisguised joy.

As they reached the corner of the palace road, they ran into the Imperial Clan Court's Chief Clan Officer leading several elders of the Chen clan, who were making their way into the palace with one foot in the mud and the other in the water.

A glint flashed in Qian Liang's eyes, and he quickly took a few steps forward, smiling broadly as he bowed.

"This humble official greets Lord Zongling. How are the princes?"

Upon hearing this, Lao Zongling hurriedly pulled off the thick fox fur hanging from his brocade hat, squinted for a moment to make out the details, and finally managed a smile on his frozen face.

"So it was Minister Qian."

He breathed a sigh of relief, subconsciously looked up and gazed ahead, but quickly frowned again.

"Such thick snow..."

"Where have all the eunuchs gone? The snow stopped a long time ago, why haven't they come out to shovel the snow yet?"

The princes behind him, like him, were all old, and they were exhausted after walking only a few steps, complaining one after another.

"Indeed, the imperial palace is covered in so much snow that I have to take one step forward and two steps back..."

"I must speak to His Majesty about this later and make sure these wretched servants are punished properly."

Ugh.

The old prince sighed deeply.

"Brothers, I don't know why, but the weather is so cold this year, even before the coldest days of winter have arrived."

"Yes, the snow was heavier and deeper in previous years, but it doesn't seem to be this cold."

"Stop talking and hurry inside to warm up. My fingers are freezing."

"I did too. As soon as I got off the carriage, my two old leg ailments flared up. My knees felt like they were pressed into ice, and the pain was excruciating."

"In the dead of winter, I don't know why His Majesty is in such a hurry to see us?"

"Never mind that, let's go, let's go."

……

Ugh.

Old Master Chen Qide originally wanted to chat with Qian Liang and try to find out the purpose of Ren Ning's sudden summons of them to the palace.

However, urged on by his shivering older brothers behind him, he had no choice but to apologize and leave.

Watching the old princes leave, Qian Liang's eyes grew brighter. Forgetting that he was still in the Forbidden City, he couldn't help but hum a little tune.

"Waves, waves, thump, thump."

"Red apricot blossoms herald the arrival of spring, a beautiful day with lovely scenery..."

Again.

His subordinates following behind him inwardly groaned.

To be honest, Qian Liang was a good boss in every way.
He is knowledgeable, respectful to his subordinates, and can readily cite various historical allusions; he is considerate of his subordinates, knows how to appoint capable people, and treats people with kindness and gentleness...

But as a mortal, Qian Liang also has his flaws.

For example, swearing.

The insults were so vile and utterly uncivilized.

It's as if they're arguing and about to pounce on each other and fight to the death.

Fortunately, as one of the six ministers, there were very few people in the vast empire who truly deserved Qian Liang's fury and profanity.

Therefore, those who are usually scolded are other ministers from the same of the Six Ministries.

There was another person whom Qian Liang resented the most, and who was the most scathing in his insults.

That's Wei Junqian.

A general of the Starfall Legion, revered by the people of the country and feared by the neighboring small countries.

However, in Qian Liang's words, he was a despicable and treacherous person, someone he wished he could devour and suck the marrow from...

Of course, as subordinates of the Ministry of Revenue, if Qian Liang were to berate other ministers, they could righteously and sternly offer their own criticisms.

But if Qian Liang was cursing Wei Junqian, everyone could only pretend to be dead.

In addition, Qian Liang has another shortcoming.

That is, I like to hum a little tune when I'm happy.

However, as the saying goes, others can earn money by singing, but he can earn his life by humming tunes.

It is said that when the Minister hummed a tune, even his cats and dogs, including Qian Qiao, couldn't help but flee in panic.

I wonder how the Minister's wife has managed to live such a harmonious and respectful life with him all these decades...

"grown ups……"

The officials from the Ministry of Revenue who were walking behind endured it all, but finally could not bear it any longer.

After exchanging glances for a moment, one of the bolder ones quickly took a few steps forward and approached. He lowered his voice.

"Your Majesty's ascension to the throne is truly a blessing from Heaven. At this time, the empire is blessed with favorable weather and abundant harvests, and the country is peaceful and prosperous. I even feel that this winter will be a mild one."

"However, the princes..."

As he spoke, he turned back and glanced thoughtfully at the few members of the Chen royal family.

Chen Qide and his companions were dressed in exquisite and luxurious clothes, but they were all fat and panting heavily.

Although it was just walking in a thin layer of snow, it felt as difficult as climbing a bottomless abyss.

Qian Liang stopped playing the tune and didn't say anything, just chuckled.

"As people get older, their bones naturally become heavier, and it's perfectly normal for them to have difficulty walking."

"Stop looking, everyone, hurry back to the government office. Looks like our 'warm winter' is going to get busy."

Old Master Ling was unaware of what happened next.

Chen Qide and his old comrades finally entered the Imperial Study, panting heavily, but soon after, the group respectfully withdrew.

In addition, each of them had several thick files in their hands.

The dossier was written on fine silk paper. Although it had some weight, it was still just paper and didn't actually weigh much.

However, these files, held in their hands, felt incredibly heavy, like a mountain pressing down on them, making it hard to breathe.

"Dear uncles and elders," Ren Ning's kind voice seemed to still echo in my ears, "You have all worked hard these past few months to uphold the clan's patriarchal laws, constantly praising virtuous children and punishing unworthy descendants."

Chen Qide quickly stepped forward.

"Your Majesty is too kind. We are all members of the royal family, of the same lineage. We share the same fate, and we share the same fate. I have only done my bit and it is nothing to mention."

Ren Ning nodded in satisfaction.

"With the end of the year approaching, it's the perfect time to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new, but there are still some things we haven't finished."

"To be honest, I like it best to be free from all trouble. Take these back and take a look. Do whatever you want with them. Once they're done, everyone can have a good New Year."

Before he finished speaking, Xiao Li had already picked up a pile of clan documents and handed them to the elders without saying a word.

"This is……"

Old Master Chen Qide looked bewildered and subconsciously looked down.

The topmost scroll reads "Pingliang Prince's Mansion".

Prince of Pingliang?

Chen Qide blinked; he recognized this junior.

A little over a month ago, his twelfth great-grandson celebrated his one-month birthday, and the Prince of Pingliang personally brought generous gifts to his home to offer his congratulations.

What impressed me most was the Prince of Pingliang's silver tongue. He praised the birthday boy so eloquently that everyone in the palace was overjoyed.

"This kid is usually very well-behaved, what exactly did he do wrong?"

It actually alarmed the one on the dragon throne...

Chen Qide felt both bewildered and anxious.

If you're going to court death, go ahead and do it, but just don't drag me into it.

Although he is old, he still wants to live a few more years.

In a daze, Chen Qide opened the archives.

After only a few glances, Lao Zongling's heart clenched into his throat.

It's the Central Army Corps again.

Despite the fact that countless wealthy families were already involved, the King of Pingliang still reached out to save his second uncle's son-in-law.

Confused, clueless, oblivious to life and death.

Chen Qide cursed, feeling both relieved and indignant.

Fortunately, this matter had nothing to do with his own palace.
What is infuriating is that the Pingliang Prince's Mansion, which has been passed down for over a hundred years, is likely to be wiped out because of the second uncle's worthless son-in-law.

"Lord Zongling, we..."

The others also looked at the documents in their hands, their brows furrowing so deeply they looked like flies were being trapped in them.

It was clear that Ren Ning had once again placed them on the fire.

If they are not dealt with according to the clan rules, Ren Ning will punish them.

Within the vast Chen imperial family, there were plenty of clansmen who wanted to squeeze into the Imperial Clan Court to replace these old fogies.

If we continue to punish them as severely as last time, we will probably offend many princes' and princesses' residences again.

In the future, our family will inevitably be secretly sabotaged by other princely mansions.

I'm really torn.

cough.

Chen Qide coughed lightly, signaling them to pay attention to their current location.

The others looked around and suddenly realized what was happening. They no longer had any mind to complain about the wind and snow outside, and quickly and unsteadily left the palace.