Chapter 709 Adding insult to injury
At noon, Lord Qian, who had just returned from a banquet, was drunk and dozing in his sedan chair, half asleep and half awake.

The bearers carried the sedan chair into an ancient courtyard in the north of the city. This was the core and confidential place in charge of the Song Dynasty's military, the Privy Council.

"Sir, do you want to rest in the inner courtyard or in the lobby?"

After entering the Privy Council, Bai Jin, who had been accompanying them all the way, hurried to the side of the sedan chair curtain and asked cautiously, "There is no important matter to be dealt with in the Privy Council today. Why don't you go to the inner courtyard and rest for a while?"

In response to Bai Jin's question, there was no response from the sedan chair, but the snoring that had been going on all the way stopped quietly. Bai Jin was very smart, he knew that the cessation of snoring meant that Mr. Qian had woken up. If he woke up but did not respond, it meant that he agreed to Bai Jin's suggestion.

"Sir, the woman who danced with us at the banquet just now was introduced by Xu Guangsheng, the commander-in-chief of the Quanzhou camp. Her name is Lan Qi." Bai Jin whispered, "It is said that this woman is the new most beautiful woman in Quanzhou Sushui Pavilion. She is both beautiful and talented. She is as good-looking as Bai Shuang, Lu Tingxiang's mistress..."

Having said this, seeing that there was still no response from the sedan, Bai Jin's eyes turned and he continued, "Xu Guangsheng told me that Lan Qi admires you very much and looks forward to listening to your teachings day and night. If you don't mind, I will send Lan Qi to the inner courtyard later and chat with you about music, chess, calligraphy and painting..."

"If someone is too attentive to you for no reason, he is either a traitor or a thief." Lord Qian's voice suddenly rang out, "How much have you accepted from him to do so much for him?"

"I dare not!" Bai Jin's eyes changed slightly, and his face showed fear.

"Xu Guangsheng and Lu Tingxiang from the Jiangnan Lu Mansion...are they cousins?"

"That's right!" Bai Jin said hurriedly, "Back then, the Lu family put a lot of effort into getting Xu Guangsheng promoted to the commander-in-chief of the Quanzhou camp."

"Just tell me!" Lord Qian said impatiently, "What exactly is Xu Guangsheng trying to achieve by showing off in various ways when he came to Beijing this time?"

"Hehe... Your Excellency is so insightful, I admire you!" Bai Jin said with a flattering smile, "To be honest with you, Your Excellency, the 'Palace Guard Chief' of the Palace Guard Division of the Third Yamen was seriously ill not long ago, and is now dying. He may... Therefore, the position of 'Captain Chief' will be vacant soon, Xu Guangsheng wants to..."

"He wants to fill the vacancy?" Lord Qian's tone sounded slightly disdainful. "A small local commander dares to covet the position of 'commander in chief'? In a few years, won't he take away my job or even the job of the Privy Councilor?"

"Your Excellency is worrying too much. Even if Xu Guangsheng had ten thousand guts, he wouldn't dare to act rashly in front of the Privy Councilor and Your Excellency."

"Tell him to focus on his work and stop having any crazy thoughts." Lord Qian said in a deep voice, "As for the vacancies in the various military departments, the Privy Council and the Three Yamen will appoint people based on their merits and promote them. It is not something that Xu Guangsheng can influence by sending a few boxes of gold and silver today or a few beauties tomorrow."

"I will remember this!"

"Also, have him persuade Lu Tingxiang. Since they are relatives, he should guide the Lu family onto the right path and not be complacent with himself as a gangster." Lord Qian reminded, "The Jiangnan Lu family has some reputation among the people. Lu Tingxiang's father, Lu Chongyang, was also a sensible man. His sworn brother Mo Cen once led people to sneak into the Jin Dynasty palace to assassinate Wanyan Shouxu. Lu Tingxiang should emulate such acts of loyalty to the country."

"I understand your meaning, sir. I will convey it to Xu Guangsheng without missing a word."

"As long as you are loyal to the emperor, willing to sacrifice your life for the Song Dynasty and make great achievements, the court will not bury your talents."

"I will definitely convey your expectations and teachings to him." At this point, Bai Jin paused and said hesitantly, "That Miss Lan Qi..."

"Gone." Lord Qian interrupted, "No merit, no reward. I don't want to owe Xu Guangsheng a favor, so I asked him to send the person back as soon as possible. Lin'an is not like Quanzhou. There are many people here. A general who came to Beijing to take orders has a woman following him all day... It's not a good look."

"As you command! Your Excellency, take a good rest. I will go find Xu Guangsheng right away."

After saying this, Bai Jin urged the sedan bearers to take Lord Qian into the inner courtyard, and he quickly walked out of the Privy Council.

In the inner courtyard room, Lord Qian ordered someone to bring a bowl of ginseng tea, then he dismissed his attendants and sat alone to take a nap.

"Click..."

Suddenly, an almost inaudible sound came from the roof, interrupting Mr. Qian's meditation. His old eyes suddenly opened, emitting two sharp cold rays of light.

"I hate sneaky people the most. If you want to see me, show yourself and don't step on the tiles on the roof."

"call!"

Before Lord Qian finished his words, a black shadow suddenly flew in through the window and landed in front of Lord Qian.

"Qin Wei?" Seeing who it was, Lord Qian was stunned, and then showed displeasure, "Why are you sneaking here in broad daylight?"

"It is precisely because it is broad daylight that I dare not come to visit you openly." Qin Wei bowed and bowed, and apologized quickly, "Please calm down, sir. If it were not an emergency, I would never dare to come and disturb you..."

"That's enough!" Lord Qian waved his hand nonchalantly, muttering, "It seems that the guards of the Privy Council should be replaced. If someone sneaked in without them noticing, how can they protect the Privy Councilor and the others?"

"The guards would never have thought that someone would dare to sneak into the Privy Council in broad daylight, so..."

"Trash is trash, you don't have to explain for them." Lord Qian interrupted, "Let's get back to the point, what makes you so anxious?"

"To be honest, I have a favor to ask of you." Qin Wei was worried and spoke hesitantly, "This matter has nothing to do with the task that the adults have assigned to me. It's just a private matter, so..." "Are you here for Liu Xunyi?"

Lord Qian revealed Qin Wei's thoughts in one sentence, which stunned Qin Wei and he was unable to respond for a long time.

"Did I guess wrong?"

"No...no!" Qin Wei replied quickly, "Your Excellency is wise, I am here for Liu Xunyi."

"Liu Xunyi and Zhao Xin conspired to elope. When the emperor found out, he was furious and ordered Liu Xunyi to be thrown into prison." Lord Qian took a sip of ginseng tea and said slowly, "Yesterday at dusk, the emperor pointed at the prime minister's nose and got furious. I was standing by at the time and witnessed the prime minister's face turn from red to blue, and then from blue to white. It was very interesting. Haha..."

As if sensing Qin Wei's embarrassment, Lord Qian raised his eyebrows and asked curiously, "You came to me to..."

"I hope you can say a few good words for Liu Xunyi in front of the emperor and save him from death." At this point, Qin Wei knew he couldn't hide it, so he spoke straight to the point and cast a look of nervousness and expectation at Lord Qian.

"You want me to plead for Liu Xunyi in front of the emperor?" Lord Qian looked suspicious and incredulous.

"Yes."

"Qin Wei, come here." Lord Qian called Qin Wei closer, then touched Qin Wei's forehead with his hand and said in a puzzled manner, "Your head is not hot, so you should not be confused, right?"

"Sir, I..."

"Shut up!" Suddenly, Lord Qian's face darkened and he scolded, "Qin Wei, you are so bold that you dare to make such an absurd request to me. Are you crazy?"

"grown ups……"

"This is a godsend opportunity to overthrow the Prime Minister and the East Palace. You want me to plead for Liu Xunyi?" Lord Qian spoke harshly, not giving Qin Wei a chance to explain. "Do you think the Prime Minister has not been against the Privy Councilor long enough? The open and secret struggles between the East Palace and the West Palace are not fierce enough? So you want to prolong the life of the East Palace and keep the Prime Minister's position so that he can continue to be our enemy?"

"No! I would never dare to have such an idea." Qin Wei's face suddenly changed, and he kowtowed repeatedly, "I just want to save Liu Xunyi, and I don't have any sinister intentions as you guessed. You once said that Liu Xunyi is a rare talent, so I..."

"Liu Xunyi is rare, but the opportunity to overthrow the prime minister is even harder to come by. Once you encounter it, how can you miss it in vain?" Lord Qian asked, "If you want to blame someone, you can only blame Liu Xunyi for being born at the wrong time and encountering such an opportunity. Qin Wei, if you were me, would you miss the opportunity to overthrow the prime minister in vain for a little Liu Xunyi?"

"I..." Qin Wei was speechless when being questioned by Lord Qian in person.

"I know that you and Liu Xunyi have a deep relationship, but those who want to accomplish great things must not be bound by feelings." Lord Qian taught, "You should know that if you don't overthrow the prime minister and reorganize the East Palace, you will not be able to enter the West Palace to serve openly. In other words, if the prime minister is not overthrown, you will not be able to achieve success. Therefore, why not sacrifice a friend and remove the biggest stumbling block in your life? At worst... after you soar to the sky, you can find a chance to vindicate Liu Xunyi."

"But……"

"I might as well tell you a secret. The Privy Councilor has already reported to the Emperor together with the Three Commissioners, the Censorate, and the various temple supervisors for the Prime Minister's approval." Lord Qian whispered, "Now everything is ready. Once Princess Xinde leaves Lin'an City with the Mongols, the court will surely face a great upheaval from top to bottom. After the upheaval, the West Palace will still be the West Palace, but the East Palace... will no longer be the East Palace of today."

"Hiss!" Lord Qian's words made Qin Wei tremble with fear and feel uneasy.

"After this incident, you will rise to a high position in the officialdom and everything will go smoothly." Lord Qian promised, "Therefore, don't plead for Liu Xunyi anymore. He is now a fuse, dragging Zhao Yuan, the Prime Minister, and the entire East Palace into an irretrievable situation. I want you to pretend that nothing has happened, and go back to Tianji Pavilion and Zhao Yuan obediently, pay close attention to their every move, and wait for my order until they are defeated in one fell swoop."

"This..." Although Qin Wei agreed with Lord Qian's plan and admitted that this incident was a good opportunity to overthrow the Prime Minister, he still wanted to gain a last glimmer of hope for Liu Xunyi, so he bit the bullet and spoke slowly, "Sir, does Liu Xunyi... really have to die? The people we have to deal with are the Prime Minister and those old stubborn people in the East Palace. Liu Xunyi is just a nobody. Is his life or death... really important?"

"It's not important, and he doesn't have to die." Lord Qian smiled slyly, "But he is now the hottest potato in the entire Song Dynasty. The East Palace is eager to draw a clear line with him as soon as possible, so Zhao Yuan ran to the Tianlao and beat Liu Xunyi up. He did this play to prove his innocence and the innocence of the prime minister. Unfortunately, from the moment they arranged for Liu Xunyi to meet Zhao Xin, they were destined to be in the same boat and couldn't get rid of it. As for us, we only need to do two things now. First, don't give the East Palace a chance to breathe, and report to the prime minister in one go. Second, don't touch this potato, so as not to burn it. You asked me to plead for Liu Xunyi in front of the emperor, not only to let me touch this potato, but also to put this potato from the East Palace into my arms, to relieve the prime minister's urgent need, but to burn myself, you say...will I agree?"

"I understand...

"Qin Wei, I have always believed that you are a smart person. Why did you do such a stupid thing today?"

"I……"

"Is it because of concern that I'm confused?" Lord Qian asked jokingly, "Or... just confused for a moment?"

When Lord Qian asked him the reason, Qin Wei could not help but think of Ding Chou's face. Ding Chou knew that Qin Wei was secretly communicating with the West Palace, which made him so confused that he had no intention of carefully considering the pros and cons of this matter.

As if he had noticed something was wrong with Qin Wei, Lord Qian's eyes moved and he asked cautiously, "What's wrong? Are you in trouble?"

"No...it's okay..." Qin Wei was stunned and replied hastily, "Don't worry, sir. Even if there is trouble...I will solve it myself and will never let anyone become a burden that hinders our great cause."

When Qin Wei said the last sentence, a cold and chilling murderous intent suddenly appeared in his eyes.

……

(End of this chapter)