The Prodigal Son

Evening, at the Duke of Wei's residence.

"You, an editor in the Faculty of Arts?"

Upon learning that Qin Yu had been appointed as an editor in the Academy of Literature by the Empress, Qin Fumeng's jaw nearly dropped to the ground.

What kind of people are in the Faculty of Arts?

Many of the top scholars in the imperial examinations have served as editors in the Academy of Arts!

These people may not be exceptionally talented, but they are definitely highly knowledgeable!

Throwing him into the Faculty of Arts would be like peeing into a vat of wine.

"Don't even mention it!"

Qin Yu was extremely frustrated. "I must have had the worst luck imaginable!"

"fart!"

Qin Fumeng glared at him, then stroked his long beard thoughtfully, saying, "In my opinion, His Majesty thinks you're not cut out for leading troops in battle and wants to groom you as a civil official!"

"hehe……"

Qin Yu rolled his eyes at him.

You have no idea that I was secretly peeking at the Empress!

This is retaliation!

Ugh!

I was punished for doing a good deed; I feel really depressed.

I need to get Luo Qingyi to comfort me later.

However, Qin Fumeng completely ignored Qin Yu's frustration and instead burst into laughter: "My grandson is an editor at the Academy of Arts. Let's see which bastard dares to say that my grandson is ignorant and incompetent again, wahahaha..."

Looking at the old man grinning like a duck with his mouth wide open, Qin Yu really wanted to shove his fist into the old man's mouth.

Just as Qin Fumeng burst into laughter, a servant rushed in to report: "My lord, there is a man outside who claims to be Xiao Baoju, the Grand Minister of Beiqi, and wants to see you."

"Who?"

Qin Fumeng's laughter stopped abruptly.

"Xiao Baoju, the Senior Minister of Beiqi."

The servant answered again.

"What's this old dog doing here?"

Qin Fumeng looked suspicious.

"What else can we do?"

Qin Yu rolled his eyes at him. "They want to negotiate with you. They'll tell you how to cure my congenital meridian deficiency if you help them get the fragments of the Nine Dragons Pendant!"

"Oh right! I almost forgot about that!"

Qin Fumeng realized what was happening and immediately walked outside.

After thinking for a moment, Qin Yu followed him out.

Soon, they arrived at the door.

"Old dog Xiao, what are you doing here?"

Qin Fumeng asked the question directly, showing no intention of letting Xiao Baoju in.

Xiao Baoju wasn't angry; he just smiled calmly, "Old dog Qin, you're really going too far..."

Before Xiao Baoju could finish speaking, Qin Fumeng suddenly moved.

"Be careful, Your Excellency!"

The accompanying guards roared and immediately stood in front of Xiao Baoju, drawing their swords at the same time.

But Qin Fumeng would never give him that chance.

Qin Fumeng reached out and snatched the knife from the guard's hand, simultaneously kicking him out.

Bang!

The guard was kicked and sent flying more than ten feet away, crashing heavily to the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust.

Seeing Qin Fumeng resort to violence without a word, Xiao Baoju's face immediately turned ugly, and he shouted angrily, "Qin Fumeng, do you really think there's no one else in Beiqi?"

"You mere ant, how dare you draw your sword before this old man?"

Qin Fumeng sneered, "If it weren't for the fact that you are envoys, I would have taken his dog's life!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Qin Fu raised his hand and swung it. The knife in his hand shot out and "thudded" into the side of the guard who was spitting blood, all the way to the hilt.

Seeing this, Qin Yu couldn't help but feel secretly envious.

Who didn't dream of being a knight-errant when they were young?

So, if you want to live a carefree life, you still need to cure your congenital meridian deficiency!

Xiao Baoju clenched his fists and looked coldly at Fu Meng.

He got it!

Qin Fumeng never even considered attacking me!

He was just putting on a show, forcing his guards to draw their swords in protection.

In this way, he found an excuse to cause trouble!

"I'm not here today to fight you!"

Xiao Baoju struggled to suppress his anger. "I have a way to cure your grandson's congenital deficiency, as long as you can persuade your empress to return our dynasty's half of the Nine Dragon Pendant!"

"You should have said so earlier!"

Qin Fumeng's expression immediately changed, and he said with a smile, "Alright, then give me the method first!"

"We're not fools!"

Xiao Baoju sneered, "You'd better persuade your empress to give us half of the Nine Dragon Pendant first!"

He knew Qin Fumeng's character all too well!

If they tell Qin Fumeng the method now, Qin Fumeng will definitely not help them get back that half of the Nine Dragon Pendant.

"Do you think I'm stupid?"

Qin Fumeng immediately became displeased. "What if you lie to me after I've given you the item?"

Xiao Baoju said in a deep voice, "We're all here, why would we lie to you?"

"That's hard to say!"

Qin Fumeng shook his head and said, "I have never trusted the credibility of the Northern Qi people! If you want to talk to me, you should first cure my grandson! Otherwise, we'll discuss everything in person!"

Xiao Baoju narrowed his eyes slightly. "So there's no room for negotiation?"

"Talk if you want to talk, otherwise get lost!"

Qin Fumeng waved his hand impatiently.

"good!"

Xiao Baoju gritted his teeth and said, "You'd better not regret this!"

Qin Fumeng sneered, "I have nothing to regret! I forgot to tell you, my grandson is already an editor at the Academy of Arts! Even if he can't cure your congenital meridians, his future achievements won't be inferior to yours!"

After saying that, Qin Fumeng turned around and went into the house.

Looking at the incredibly powerful Qin Fumeng, a cold glint flashed in Xiao Baoju's eyes.

"Don't waste your time!"

Qin Yu looked at Xiao Baoju with a mocking expression. "You don't really think we don't know about the Lian family, do you?"

Upon hearing Qin Yu's words, Xiao Baoju's pupils suddenly contracted.

How did he know?

Upon seeing this, Qin couldn't help but feel secretly disappointed.

He was even thinking that if Yan Li had lied to him, he could still extort some money from him before he left!

Xiao Baoju gave Qin Yu a cold glance and ordered someone to help the injured guard away.

Upon returning to the Sifang Pavilion, Xiao Baoju immediately reported his visit to the Qin family to Empress Murong.

"This Zhao Luan is indeed no ordinary person!"

A look of understanding flashed in Empress Murong's eyes. "She anticipated that we would go to Qin Fumeng, so she appointed Qin Yu as an editor in the Academy of Literature in advance, forcing him to abandon martial arts and pursue literature, thus silencing Qin Fumeng!"

"So what do we do now?"

Xiao Baoju looked worried.

If they fail to retrieve the Kowloon Pendant fragments this time, wouldn't their trip have been in vain?

"If the soft approach doesn't work, then we'll try the hard one!"

Empress Murong suddenly unleashed an aura of power, declaring, "Tomorrow you will enter the palace to see Zhao Luan and tell her directly that she has three days to consider. If Ning Kingdom refuses to return our national treasures, our dynasty will not hesitate to wage war!"

Xiao Baoju's eyelids twitched, and he quickly advised, "How can we treat war so lightly?"

In the battle a few years ago, although Ningguo suffered heavy losses, Beiqi also suffered considerable losses.

Ningguo, on the other hand, still has its foundation built up over many years by Emperor Xiaowen.

If the war breaks out again, it's hard to say who will win!

War is a matter of vital importance to the state!

This is a place of life and death, a path to survival and destruction; one must be extremely cautious!

"We're just putting pressure on Zhao Luan!"

Empress Murong shook her head and smiled, "If we can force her to offer her terms, that would be best. If she really refuses to accept the fragments of the Nine Dragons Pendant, then we can at least use this to test Ning Kingdom's resolve for war!"

"Understood!"

Xiao Baoju nodded, and once again seized the opportunity to speak: "Ning Kingdom still possesses its strengths, and it can obtain a large amount of resources from Chu and Min Kingdoms. If we start a war with Ning Kingdom now, even if we win, it will likely be a pyrrhic victory! It's not that our dynasty is incapable of fighting, but rather that we need to choose the right opportunity and not act rashly!"

Especially the State of Chu, which was rich in grain!

Five years ago, Ningguo suffered such a severe locust plague, yet there was no food shortage.

This was largely because they could purchase large quantities of grain from the State of Chu.

"I see!"

Empress Murong nodded, pondered for a moment, and then said, "We can secretly talk to the envoys of Min and Chu later! As long as they also attack Ning, they can exhaust Ning's resources in a year or two at most! We can also contact the Prince of Chengyang in Yinzhou..."

The states of Min, Chu, and the King of Chengyang may not necessarily be hostile to Da Ning.

However, this can be used to test their attitude!

If they're interested, things will be easy!

A diplomatic mission should yield some results...