Chaos of Ming 1628

Sun Qing's lips slowly curved upwards, but there was no trace of a smile. This smile, in fact, was rather unsettling.

Wei Zhongxian wanted to kill him from the very beginning.

That makes sense, since from Wei Zhongxian's perspective, Sun Qing was one of the current emperor's men.

Knowing what Zhu Youjian knew, Wei Zhongxian's first reaction would be to blame Sun Qing. If Sun Qing had acted tactfully and perfectly explained his conversation with Zhu Youjian earlier, leaving no room for doubt, then today, Sun Qing would face execution.

"We thank the eunuch in advance for sparing our lives," Sun Qing said in a light, half-joking tone.

Wei Zhongxian chuckled.

Yang Qingqing lowered her eyelids, looking preoccupied, making it impossible to tell what she was thinking.

The table was laden with delicious food, yet the eaters couldn't taste it.

Wei Zhongxian broke the ice, laughing, "Young Master Sun is intelligent and skilled in divination; no one can match him in the art of foresight."

"Back then, Cui Chengxiu refused to believe the young master, and ended up committing suicide."

"Our family is willing to believe you."

Wei Zhongxian spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world, but Sun Qing was terrified.

How Cui Chengxiu died is still vivid in my mind, so how did it become suicide?

Knowing better than to speak out, Sun Qing acted as if he hadn't witnessed it himself, remaining humble and cautious: "You jest, Eunuch."

"It's just using the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams to play around with things from the book."

"That is the source of your wisdom, young master," Wei Zhongxian replied with a smile, but his demeanor was not as composed as before, showing a hint of nervousness: "You can predict things with uncanny accuracy just by glancing at them casually."

"If one were to study it thoroughly, what a formidable achievement that would be!"

The atmosphere became even more subtle.

After all, Wei Zhongxian was a man of great stature; he would never be one to fawn over others.

Sun Qing smiled and said, "Would you like me to perform another divination for the eunuch?"

Wei Zhongxian narrowed his eyes, slowly sat down on the stool, and clenched his fist slightly: "Thank you for your trouble."

Sun Qing pretended to take out five copper coins, but in his heart he was thinking:

At present, memorials impeaching Wei Zhongxian are as numerous as hairs on a cow in the imperial court. As soon as Zhu Youjian came to power, he began to gradually consolidate power.

Cui Chengxiu committed suicide, his followers scattered and disintegrated, and Zhu Youjian gradually eroded the authority of the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

These days, it's not about being irrelevant people who need to be purged; it's about knowing how to protect yourself.

It's important to know that historically, Wei Zhongxian was demoted and punished by being sent to guard the imperial tombs in Fengyang. However, Wei Zhongxian was too clever for his own good, thinking that by imitating others and displaying his greed, he could make Zhu Youjian lower his guard.

Little did he know that this action would only further enrage Zhu Youjian.

Just imagine, you're a deposed criminal, yet you dare to carry away more than a dozen cartloads of gold and silver jewelry. Who wouldn't be furious?

Even in the end, Wei Zhongxian was scared to death by his own actions.

Now, Sun Qing is eyeing not only the assets that Wei Zhongxian will eventually take away, but also those belonging to Madam Ke.

Human nature is hard to change. When Wei Zhongxian investigated and confiscated the property from Madam Ke, he was already afraid of imperial power if he could leave one-third of the confiscated property to Zhu Youjian.

Sun Qing had always been eyeing this money.

Seeing Wei Zhongxian's feigned composure, Sun Qing's expression turned somber: "Oh dear, oh dear!"

"Oh dear, this hangs!"

Sweat was already rolling down Wei Zhong's face.

Sun Qing sighed repeatedly, his tone grave: "Having defeated the most ruthless killer, power inevitably crumbles. Fengyang's path is fraught with peril, and the rest of his life hangs by a thread."

None of these four sentences can be combined into a single good word.

Wei Zhongxian's face was extremely pale. Even though he was illiterate, he could still tell good from bad.

"Young Master," Yang Qingqing asked uncertainly, her voice trembling, "could you please explain in more detail?"

Sun Qing glanced at Wei Zhongxian, nodded, and slowly said, "This divination is naturally very ominous. The Grand Eunuch once wielded immense power, just like a heavy beam pressing down on a building, which has already exhausted his fortune."

"This is a sign that the pillars are rotten, and he may even be demoted to Fengyang in the future."

"I'm afraid that by then, it will be difficult to find even one person who truly cares for us."

"Even, even..."

Wei Zhongxian was barely breathing. He leaned weakly against the back of his chair, his voice soft: "I'm afraid I'll end my life with a rope, won't I?"

"It seems the eunuch also knows a bit about divination." Sun Qing did not deny it, but instead took the opportunity to continue the conversation.

Unfortunately, to Wei Zhongxian, these words were not flattery, but a death sentence.

He cried out "Ah!" and his whole body went limp.

He said weakly to Yang Qingqing, "Qing'er, it seems our dream last night is going to come true. Someone really has a knife to our throats."

"No, Grandfather, you will be alright."

Yang Qingqing's tone was full of anxiety. After shouting, she immediately looked at Sun Qing: "Young Master Sun, since you were able to foresee the anomaly, you must have a way to break it."

"Please enlighten me, young master."

"Sigh!" Sun Qing sighed again, but just shook his head.

The more this happened, the heavier the weight felt on their hearts, making even breathing extremely difficult.

The thought of Wei Zhongxian's impending death by rope brought tears to Yang Qingqing's eyes. Her voice was hoarse: "I beg you, Young Master Sun, to help me."

To date, Sun Qing has never made a mistake in his divinations.

The current situation is not optimistic either. Zhu Youjian's intentions have long been obvious, and the officials in the court are like weather vanes, immediately changing their stance.

Everyone in Wei Zhongxian's faction was filled with dread.

"Young Master!" Sun Qingqing rose to her feet and knelt directly before Sun Qing: "This humble woman begs you, Young Master, please provide a solution."

"Get up quickly." Sun Qing rushed forward and hurriedly helped him up.

Suppressing his joy, he slowly said, "It's hardest to resist the kindness of a beautiful woman! How can I possibly accept such treatment!"

Wei Zhongxian's eyes lit up: "Since there is a way to break it, please explain it clearly."

"Don't worry, I will cooperate fully."

Sun Qing stood up, put his hands behind his back, and paced back and forth.

It took a long time before he finally stood still.

In just a short while, Yang Qingqing and Wei Zhongxian were sweating profusely, and even though it was snowing heavily outside, they were still burning up.

Sun Qing said bitterly, "This situation is really hard to break."

"The Emperor is gradually consolidating power. Cui Chengxiu's power has already been taken over by the Emperor, and I'm afraid that Lord Tian's official position will also be difficult to retain next."

"And this is only the first step. One day, when the current ruler holds real power, that will be the time for a complete purge."

"Even those who have already entered the earth will not find peace!"

Wei Zhongxian's body went limp, and he almost slipped and fell to the ground.

Yang Qingqing's voice trembled: "What are we going to do?"

Sun Qing didn't mince words and stated his purpose directly: "Find a way to transfer all the money to Jiaohe."

"Only this method can save you."

Sun Qing spoke with a straight face.

"You really dare to dream!" Yang Qingqing's tone suddenly rose, anger instantly overriding fear: "Do you know how much wealth my ancestor had?"

"You're asking for it so easily? Dream on!"