Chapter 18 How serious is the border crisis?

“Your Majesty, Your Majesty! A disaster is imminent. It’s very bad!”

“General Qinglin, please go back. His Majesty is not present.”

“General Xiao, please tell His Majesty quickly, it’s a fraud! It was a ploy of the Yun Shuang Kingdom!”

“Please calm down first. His Majesty is currently in the Anning Pavilion, please don’t make a fuss.”

“No, I can’t wait any longer. If we attack the south, we will fall into the trap laid by the Yun Shuang Kingdom.”

The person standing outside was anxious. Even after Xiao Zipei told him that Emperor Yan was not inside, he kept whispering nonsensical phrases to himself.

Liu Yuzhen came out with the rabbit in his arms. There were three layers of golden gauze between the main hall and the back hall. He stood behind the golden gauze and asked loudly, “Xiao Pei, what’s going on?”

General Qinglin paused. He couldn’t believe what he’s witnessing. The person standing behind the curtain should be His Royal Highness Emperor Yan. Who would dare casually appear in the emperor’s chamber?!

“This is none of your business, go back.”

“Let me hear it. Maybe I can help. That bastard Emperor Yan had been unable to extricate himself from the land of warmth and tenderness for a long time. How could he care about it?”

(t/n land of warmth and tenderness-a place where a man can find solace in feminine charms)

General Qinglin seemed to have recognized the voice and shouted, “Could it be that the person inside is Prime Minister Liu?!”

Crap. When he saw General Qinglin, he thought nothing of the person on the opposite side separated by a three layered veil. Who knew he could easily recognize him just from the sound of his voice. He must have known Prime Minister Liu. If Yuzhen had known earlier, he would not have come out to seek trouble for himself.

Xiao Zipei moved very quickly, immediately drew his long sword and threatened, “This matter is not allowed to be said.”

“It was no secret that Prime Minister Liu was invited into the Yan Kingdom, but I didn’t know that he was actually imprisoned in the emperor’s…” General Qinglin finally calmed down and was invited into the back hall to take a seat. When he saw Liu Yuzhen’s appearance, he was surprised. “You are Prime Minister Liu?”

“Oh, I am.” Liu Yuzhen put down the rabbit and sat on a chair opposite him. ” Tell me, what the hell is going on?”

Everyone knows that Prime Minister Liu was handsome and his beauty unparalleled. Now that he had seen him in person, it was really true. However, it had been known that Prime Minister Liu refused to pay attention to the political affairs of the Yan Kingdom. Even if he was willing to help, the Yan Kingdom would have some reservations about him. Therefore, General Qinglin was quite embarrassed. He was invited in and saw Emperor Yan’s “secret”. Now that Prime Minister Liu said he wanted to listen to political affairs, he’s afraid it’s not a good thing.

Liu Yuzhen noticed the general’s reluctance to respond. He had a vague idea of what he was thinking and decided to pour himself a drink first. “If the general is unwilling to speak, then I think it would be better to calm down first and go to the Anning Pavilion to find His Majesty. I am just a prisoner here and had never seen Emperor Yan come back for a few days.”

“So it was like that!” General Qinglin might have looked rude and simple, but after all, he was an adult in his early thirties. Although he knew that it was not too late, he still couldn’t help but be concerned. As he tried to stabilize his emotions, he suddenly noticed some peculiarities in Liu Yuzhen’s actions.

He had heard that Prime Minister Liu was a scholar, noble and elegant, but he had never heard that Prime Minister Liu had such a demeanor! However, he really had just casually assumed such a domineering sitting posture in front of him.

Liu Yuzhen put down the teacup, spread his legs apart, crossed his hands under his chin, rested his elbows on each side of the handle of the chair, and his eyes gleaming. This was a necessary posture for him to be able to focus on at a small meeting, or even in a more serious meeting.

“Cough, cough.” Xiao Zipei signaled with a dry cough.

He had really thought that Liu Yuzhen was another person just now, although Liu Yuzhen had already denied it. Nonetheless, he still asked him who and what kind of a person Prime Minister Liu was, as well as to explain to him the rules of the court and the political situation of the kingdom, which eventually helped fill the void in Liu Yuzhen’s mind.

“I’m not sure if the Prime Minister has heard that the Yunshuang Kingdom attacked the border some time earlier. Afterwards, we managed to seize a spy sent out by Yunshang and believed that Yunshuang and the Zhao Kingdom were joining forces and wanted to attack the Yan Kingdom based on the spy’s confession, so the Emperor dispatched troops stationed at the west to the south after acquiring some funding and support. It was difficult. However, who would have known that the spy’s testimony was actually a lie! We interrogated some other captives and discovered that it was all Yunshuang’s deception.”

After listening, Liu Yuzhen was a little bit happy. The general was not as stubborn as he seemed to be. At the least, he could listen to him with assurance. He should not be planning on disclosing his whereabouts either.

Yunshuang was in the northwest, Zhao was in the south, and the military power in the east was not in the hands of the Emperor Yan. It was clearly impossible to deploy soldiers from the east. As a result, they chose to battle the fire near the water and simply withdrew the forces stationed at the west to supplement the south.

“If we really attack the Zhao Kingdom in the south, we’ll play right into Yunshuang’s hands! Not only are we confronting the Zhao Kingdom, but the Qin Kingdom will also use this as a pretext to wage war on us! However, the troops have been deployed, and the Zhao Kingdom already knows about it!” General Qinglin was undoubtedly an easily frustrated person, as he became agitated again while speaking.

After listening to him, Liu Yuzhen remarked, “The general knows that this southward movement is not only about fighting, but also about patching up the cordial relations between the two kingdoms. I heard that there had been many conflicts ever since the current Emperor of Yan was enthroned, due to the unstable political situation. Why not take use of this opportunity to resolve it? Are the citizens of this kingdom aggressive and go on expedition anywhere when their political authority is compromised? At the very least, I believe His Majesty wouldn’t.”

“…!!” General Qing Lin jumped to his feet, with understanding on his face. “Prime Minister Liu is undoubtedly very talented! Emperor Yan had truly planned to repair the relationship with Zhao Kingdom as quickly as possible, but because of his humble position, he fell into the villain trap, and the kingdom was almost jeopardized.”

“You first send a small group of people to the north and spread word that Yan and Zhao had repaired their relationship. Otherwise, it will be too late if the Zhao Kingdom plans to agree. The negotiation may or may not go through, but the Qin Kingdom will undoubtedly take advantage of it. At the same time, you can deploy troops disguised as Qin people to the Yunshuang border. Let them believe that they have become bait for Qin’s southern invasion. Yunshuang will naturally fight back.”

General Qinglin’s mouth gradually formed a “oh” shape, which was rather intriguing. He vigorously patted his head. Yuzhen was worried that he might execute what he had just said without first seeking Emperor Yan’s approval, so he quickly added. “You should go ask Emperor Yan’s opinion first.”

“No, I’m afraid things will be too late by then! Ah no, His Majesty will definitely agree with this idea! It’s really a sure-fire plan, a sure-fire plan!” He was ready to run off when he was abruptly stopped by Zipei.

Liu Yuzhen reminded him again. “Please don’t disclose my whereabouts, General.”

“Of course! Of course! You are His Majesty’s secret weapon! You are the secret weapon for Great Yan to compete for the world!”

“…” Liu Yuzhen was at a loss for words. Was the situation really bad? How important was it? Did the Yan Kingdom really aspire to compete for the world? This seems to be an unending topic from ancient times to the present.

After General Qinglin left, Liu Yuzhen suddenly felt that his hands were empty. Ah! Where did Baoer that Yuelan gave him just now disappear to?

“Xiao Pei, have you seen my goddess? Bao’er, she’s big, and white…” Liu Yuzhen gestured anxiously. This rabbit was a relic of Prime Minister Liu before his death and if Yuelan knew that he had lost the rabbit, she would doubt his identity or think he was cruel. “Quick, quick! Quickly help me find it! Move!” 

Liu Yuzhen looked around, but there was no sign of the rabbit. Instead, as he was about to leave, he heard someone talking right outside the door.

“Imperial Concubine Mingge, His Majesty is in the Anning Pavilion. Even if you stand here, it is meaningless.”

“Bengong just likes to look at this place.  It’s very similar to the one of Luoyue Kingdom, isn’t it? One day, Bengong will leave this abominable Emperor Yan’s Imperial Palace and go back to Bengong’s kingdom.” 

(t/n Bengong-This palace-self-proclaimed title of the Lord of the House in ancient times. Self-proclaimed title of queens and concubines with independent palaces)

Liu Yuzhen felt considerably more at ease as he was hiding behind the wall, after knowing that the imperial concubine would not come in. Emperor Yan was obviously so close to Young Master Ning Xiang that this Imperial Concubine was inexorably left out. How can such an emperor exist with such a distorted sexual orientation?

He took a sneak peek at the person just now and saw that the Imperial Concubine was really exquisite and beautiful, like a goddess that descended to the world. He really doesn’t understand how Emperor Yan was so interested in that sissy Ning Xiang.

Hey! He’d practiced a lot recently, and felt a little itchy. Why don’t he help vent this Imperial Concubine frustrations and teach someone a lesson?