Chapter 698 Who Can Be Merciless
"what?"

As soon as Zhao Yuan gave the order, Qin Wei's body stiffened instantly. The hot blood that had been rushing through his internal organs instantly solidified and froze. His violently trembling eyes were filled with horror.

"I know you are no match for Liu Xunyi." Zhao Yuan said without paying attention to Qin Wei's reaction, "No matter how many people you need, I will... agree to them all."

"No!" Qin Wei couldn't believe it and shook his head repeatedly, "My Lord, Xun Yi is a meritorious official of Tianji Pavilion, a capable general cultivated by you, how could you bear to kill him? Right now, he was just impulsive, so he did some stupid things, but... his crime does not deserve the death penalty!"

"I have no choice but to do this. The Prime Minister does not want things to get out of control..."

"The Prime Minister only asked you to discipline your subordinates, not to execute them. Why did you do such an extreme thing, Lord?"

Facing Qin Wei's pleading, Zhao Yuan sighed and said helplessly: "Who is the Prime Minister? The fact that he can say such words is enough to show that the urgency of the situation is far beyond our control. Severely punish Xun Yi, do you think I am not sad and upset? He grew up under my watch, and my feelings for him are no less than yours. Once upon a time, I had high hopes for him, and even thought that he would be the most promising one among the young guards of Tianji Pavilion, and his future achievements would even be better than mine. Unfortunately, fate played tricks on him, and he was He shouldn't, absolutely shouldn't, have anything to do with Zhao Xin. If he did, it would not only ruin his future, but also his life! In fact, I had expected this day to come many years ago. To prevent this, I didn't hesitate to speak harshly to Liu Xunyi and even break up the couple, fearing that he would get deeper and deeper into the relationship and find it hard to extricate himself. But how can outsiders interfere in matters of the heart? Although I tried every possible means to stop it, the day still came, and Liu Xunyi still fell in love. It's fate that heroes can't resist the temptation of beautiful women. "

"My Lord, is there really no other way?" Qin Wei was extremely anxious and spoke rapidly, "My Lord is very wise and has a deep understanding of the past and present. I believe you can definitely find a way to save Brother Liu's life..."

Having said this, Qin Wei knelt on the ground with a plop, and kowtowed like pounding garlic, saying: "My Lord, you are kind-hearted and compassionate, and you will definitely not watch Brother Liu die in vain. I beg you to think of a way to resolve this matter and help Brother Liu once more..."

"Qin Wei, it's not that I want to kill him, but the West Mansion is using this as a threat to force the Prime Minister into a corner." Zhao Yuan said bitterly, "First, there were bandits making trouble everywhere in Lin'an City, and then there was Liu Xunyi deliberately sabotaging the marriage. These two things, one is related to the majesty of the court, and the other is related to the rise and fall of the Song Dynasty. They made the emperor furious and all the officials complained. More importantly, they are all related to Liu Xunyi, and it can even be said that they were all caused by Liu Xunyi. How do you want me to resolve them?"

"So the Marquis intends to sacrifice the pawn to save the master, and use Brother Liu's life to shut up the West Mansion?"

"I know that doing this may be unfair to Xunyi, but for the sake of the overall situation..."

"Brother Liu made a mistake, but it is definitely not a capital crime. At least... there has been no real trouble yet, and all the bad consequences are just our guesses." Qin Wei was indignant and said sadly, "If the Marquis executes Brother Liu for something that has not happened yet, then..."

Qin Wei only said half of his words, and seemed to be unable to say the remaining half.

"With what?" Zhao Yuan frowned and asked, "No need to hide, just tell us everything that's in your heart!"

"How is that different from Qin Hui's killing of Yue Fei on a 'false charge'?"

"Bastard!"

Qin Wei's bold and frank words made Zhao Yuan furious. He immediately slammed the table and stood up, pointing at the frightened and unwilling Qin Wei, and scolded: "Are you saying that the Prime Minister and I are treacherous ministers who have harmed the country and the people? Or are you saying that the current emperor is a mediocre and incompetent ruler who can't distinguish between right and wrong, loyalty and treachery?"

"I dare not!" Qin Wei was so frightened that his face turned pale. He shook his head repeatedly like a rattle. "Even if I had ten thousand lives, I would never dare to discuss state affairs. Please understand, my lord! What I mean is... Brother Liu just came back from Luoyang not long ago, and he has made great contributions to the court. Everyone knows that the emperor has rewarded and promoted him. If we execute him now... wouldn't it be a case of changing orders every day, which is extremely detrimental to the reputation of the emperor and the court."

"After Xunyi dies, I will announce to the public that he died of a sudden death." After hearing Qin Wei's explanation, Zhao Yuan's anger subsided a little. "And give him a dignified burial. In the future, please report to the emperor and confer him the title of Zhongwu Lang posthumously."

"But……"

"No need to say more!" Zhao Yuan waved his hand and said, "I just want to ask you one question, do you also want to disobey my order?"

"My subordinates dare not."

"Since you don't dare, why are you still hesitating?"

"My Lord, Qin Wei suffered a great disaster in his childhood. A plague made me an orphan. I can only survive today because of Brother Liu and I's support." Qin Wei looked lonely and murmured, "You can say that he is my last relative left in the world. Now, my Lord wants to use his life to save the face of the Prime Minister and the East Palace. Qin Wei is a nobody and has no right to question, nor dare to question..."

Zhao Yuan frowned, staring at Qin Wei, who was filled with grief and anger, and asked impatiently, "What do you want to say?"

Hearing this, Qin Wei's body trembled violently. At the same time, he held his head high and looked back at Zhao Yuan, whose face was as gloomy as water, with his eyes open without any hesitation. He said righteously: "If the Marquis must kill someone to give an explanation to the Prime Minister, then... kill me!"

After saying that, Qin Wei drew out the dagger from his waist. The sharp blade flashed with a faint cold light, which was breathtaking and frightening.

Under Zhao Yuan's shocked and suspicious gaze, Qin Wei held up the dagger with both hands, presented it to Zhao Yuan respectfully, and said word by word: "More than ten years ago, on the streets of Qianzhou, the Marquis took a fancy to Brother Liu and was willing to take him back to Tianji Pavilion, leaving me alone on the streets in the cold winter to fend for myself. At that time, Brother Liu would rather freeze to death or starve to death with me than abandon me. This is a life-saving grace and a friendship in need. Qin Wei has always kept it in mind and dare not forget it! Today, the Marquis wants to take Brother Liu's life and let me continue to live. How can I leave him alone and abandon him?"

"Qin Wei, you..."

"Today, I will take responsibility for Liu Xunyi's crime! I will repay Liu Xunyi's debt! I am willing to exchange his life for his, please show mercy, sir! Please be magnanimous and grant me your forgiveness!" After saying that, Qin Wei knocked his head heavily on the ground, raised the dagger in both hands and moved forward a few more times.

Seeing this, Zhao Yuan frowned, but did not say a word. He just stared at the motionless Qin Wei silently, with a hint of scrutiny in the depths of his eyes.

"I originally thought that only Liu Xunyi was a righteous man who would risk his life for his friends, but I never expected that you, Qin Wei... are also a man of character who is willing to sacrifice your life for his friends."

Zhao Yuan walked to Qin Wei, took the icy dagger from his hand, and then helped him up.

"Master Hou..."

"Qin Wei, your actions tonight have impressed me!"

"Your Majesty, thank you for your praise. I dare not say that." At this moment, Qin Wei was sweating profusely, and his clothes were soaked through countless times.

Under Qin Wei's anxious gaze, Zhao Yuan sheathed the dagger and nodded slowly: "Okay! Based on your friendship with Liu Xunyi, I promise to spare his life."

"Really?" Qin Wei was overjoyed, with a hint of relief in his tone.

"Once a word is spoken, it cannot be taken back!" Zhao Yuan said with a smile, "If I am unsympathetic and insist on executing Liu Xunyi, I will lose not only a brave and resourceful helper, but also a talented and loyal person!"

For many years, Qin Wei has been longing to be appreciated by Zhao Yuan, and today his wish finally came true.

It's a pity that Qin Wei already had his own ideas at this time. Let alone Zhao Yuan praising him, even if Zhao Yuan regarded him as a treasure, I'm afraid Qin Wei would not feel too much.

After all, Qin Wei had long been certain that the future of East Palace and Tianji Pavilion was fading. Only West Palace was the blessed place for him to realize his ambitions and soar to the sky.

Just now, the reason why Qin Wei stepped forward and risked his life to rescue Liu Xunyi was actually for two reasons.

First, Qin Wei really has deep feelings for Liu Xunyi, so he is willing to go through fire and water for him, even at the cost of his life.

Secondly, Qin Wei knew Zhao Yuan's character very well. He knew that he was always strong on the outside but weak on the inside. In addition, the Tianji Pavilion had suffered heavy casualties in Luoyang and was in urgent need of manpower. So he secretly guessed that Zhao Yuan's intention to kill Liu Xunyi was just lip service and he had not made up his mind.

Because of this, Qin Wei took a gamble in front of Zhao Yuan with a 50% hope of life and a 50% hope of death. Of course, the final result did not disappoint him.

Although you are 50% sure, it is still a risk to your life. If you make the slightest mistake, you will die.

From this we can see that although Qin Wei's feelings for Liu Xunyi are somewhat selfish, they are far from as unbearable as Liu Xunyi imagined.

"My Lord, if you let Brother Liu go, I wonder how the Prime Minister will explain this..." Qin Wei's joy turned into worry, and he looked embarrassed.

"The prime minister is a family member, so he won't be too harsh on him. The emperor is very clear about the righteousness of the cause and has already weighed the pros and cons, so he won't delve into it." Zhao Yuan pondered, "The only trouble is the group of villains in the West Palace who are making trouble out of nothing and sowing discord. They rely on their merits in negotiating peace with the Mongols, so they repeatedly make things difficult for the prime minister and the East Palace in the court. The emperor has always let them do what they want because of the marriage plan, so that the West Palace has become more and more arrogant. The prime minister's countermeasure is to be tolerant temporarily and turn a blind eye to the West Palace's aggressiveness. As long as they don't get any handle, no matter how they clamor, they can't shake the foundation of the East Palace. It's a pity that what you fear will come true. Liu Xunyi's impulse was finally caught by the West Palace, and they made a big fuss about it, and even had the tendency to impeach the prime minister and force the East Palace to change its owner... Alas!"

"What should I do?" Qin Wei was secretly delighted, but pretended to be panicked on the surface.

"In fact, when the Prime Minister ordered me to discipline Liu Xunyi, he hinted at two possible decisions for me." Zhao Yuan said quietly, "The best strategy is to sacrifice the pawns to save the chariot, which is what I just said, to execute Liu Xunyi. Although this method is cruel, it is the fastest and safest way to resolve the current crisis in the East Palace. In addition, there is a risky inferior strategy..."

"What is it?"

"Hardness and softness confront each other, and yin and yang complement each other." Zhao Yuan's spirit was refreshed, and his eyes became more complicated. He said in a tangled way, "Since the best strategy is to kill, then the worst strategy... is naturally to appease."

"What the Marquis means is..."

"Go! Find Xunyi here. I want to have a few words with him."

……

(End of this chapter)