I really don't want to take shortcuts anymore

Xijing, Wei'an Palace, Chengming Hall.

"General Zuo, His Majesty invites you in." Jiao Zuo turned sideways and made room for him at the door.

Shangguan Jin squinted his eyes, looked at the sun in the sky, smiled slightly, and raised his leg to step over the big red threshold.

Behind him, Jiao Zuo walked in quietly and closed the door, blocking out the scorching midday sun.

There were other people in the hall. Cui Xiaoben was standing at the foot of the steps, and Jin Xin was standing on the right below.

Shangguan Jin clasped his fists, bowed to Yu Lun who was sitting at the top, and then stood up.

Yu Yan didn't take it seriously and asked calmly, "Where is the Grand Sima?"

This question was not directed at Shangguan Jin.

Jiao Zuo replied respectfully, "Because of the impeachment of the Left General and the Prince of Xingyang, the Grand Marshal has gone to the side hall to take off his hat and wait for punishment."

"Hmm. So, General Zuo, how do you think this matter should be handled?"

"Your Majesty." Shangguan Jin said solemnly, "Huo Xuan has betrayed the trust of the late emperor and your Majesty. He is usually domineering and tyrannical, and secretly has a rebellious heart and colluded with the traitors who are harming the country. If it weren't for this coincidence, I'm afraid that soon, even your Majesty's life will fall into his hands!"

Yu Yan glanced at him calmly and said calmly, "The King of Xingyang reported that the Crown Prince is still alive and has been hiding in Gaotang. If that is the case, then Jiang Cheng, who was ordered to execute him, was suspected of deceiving the emperor. The late emperor only killed him, which was a bargain for him."

He did not show the slightest sign of anxiety, and the fact that he still remembered to hold Jiang Cheng and the Jiang family accountable at this time was somewhat beyond Shangguan Jin's expectations.

But at this time, the Jiang family was still his ally, and it was not easy to abandon them so easily.

"Your Majesty, now is not the time to pursue these matters. The most urgent task is to put Huo Xuan in prison immediately and investigate him in detail for his crimes of monopolizing power and colluding with traitors. At the same time, send troops to quell the rebellion of Yu Heng and his son. If Your Majesty approves, I am willing to volunteer to join the battle. Only 50,000 soldiers and horses are needed to quell this rebellion!"

"Oh?" Yu Yan was still unhurried, with the corners of his lips slightly raised: "General Zuo is very loyal. But there is still one thing I don't understand, I hope General Zuo can explain it to me."

"Your Majesty, please speak."

"Xingyang is in the north of Xijing, a thousand miles away from Cangzhou." Yu Yan said slowly:

"The secret report said that Yu Heng showed up yesterday morning and instigated Yu Chu and others to participate in the rebellion. Before evening, Prince Xingyang had already received the news. By the morning of today, the secret report had been delivered to the palace - it was much faster than the Imperial City Department and the Embroidered Uniform Department!"

Shangguan Jin was struck by lightning when he heard this, and realized what was wrong with the trap he and his men had carefully set.

How could he ignore the suspicion that was innate in the Yu family's blood?

This kind of suspicion is mainly directed at one's own family. Although Yu Chu had received this kind of care before, it was exactly the same for those vassal kings with the same surname!

It was all his fault that he was too impatient. He only wanted to use this plan to drag Yu Chu and Huo Xuan into the water. He never expected that the little emperor was so perceptive and could see the problem with time at once!

If he had known earlier, he would have asked the Prince of Xingyang to submit a secret report a few days later. Or, when the incident in Cangzhou became serious and the palace got the news, he would naturally produce evidence of the connection between Huo Xuan and Yu Heng. By then, he would not have to do anything, the little emperor would be furious!

As he thought about it, he quickly thought of an excuse: "Your Majesty. Gaotang Kingdom is not far from Xingyang. Perhaps the King of Xingyang has already discovered the clues, but has never found any evidence. After the traitor reveals his identity, I will report it to Your Majesty in writing as soon as possible - but these are all minor details. Now that the traitor has openly rebelled, we must strangle him before he gains momentum. As for Huo Xuan's party who colluded with the traitor, we must also settle accounts with them as soon as possible."

Before he finished speaking, Yu Yan at the top of the table suddenly laughed.

"Don't worry, General Zuo." He said, "Regardless of whether Yu Heng is still alive or not, and whether the person who showed up this time is real or fake, according to the laws of our country, can we convict the Grand Marshal of colluding with the rebels based on a letter that is hard to tell whether it is real or fake?"

As he spoke, he threw a piece of silk book from the desk, and it landed right at Shangguan Jin's feet.

The latter picked it up, looked at the handwriting on it, and asked doubtfully: "Your Majesty, do you suspect that this letter was forged?"

"The number of official documents reviewed by the Grand Marshal every day is huge, so it is not difficult to obtain his handwriting." Yu Yan said, "Besides, the Grand Marshal has always been cautious. Even if he really wanted to collude with the rebels, he would not express his rebellious intentions so obviously in his letters, as if he was afraid that others would not see it."

When Shangguan Jin heard this, he realized that things would not go as smoothly as he had previously imagined.

At least the little emperor himself was not as fearful of Huo Xuan as he had previously thought. Once he got a little evidence, he would immediately rely on himself to completely liquidate the Huo family.

Yu Yan's voice continued: "General Zuo, I remember that your duties did not include supervising all officials. Why did you take the initiative to exceed your authority and do these useless things? But because of the existence of the Grand Marshal, your way was blocked?"

He deliberately slowed down his speech for the last two sentences, and when they reached Shangguan Jin's ears, it was like a bolt from the blue, shaking him and making him tremble with anxiety.

He did not dare to hesitate any longer, and immediately knelt down and prostrated himself on the ground: "Your Majesty, I have absolutely no selfish motives! I really just happened to intercept the secret letter, and I had some doubts at first, and wanted to investigate it secretly. But I happened to hear that the report from the King of Xingyang was consistent with the contents of the secret letter, so I presented it to you in public, and I hope Your Majesty will understand!"

"That's such a coincidence." Jin Xin, who had been standing by without saying anything, spoke up:

"I'm afraid General Zuo doesn't know that just now, Xiang Hou's urgent secret report has been delivered to Your Majesty."

"Your Majesty!" Shangguan Jin raised his head abruptly: "Don't believe the traitor's delaying tactics! He must be using the opportunity of showing loyalty to Your Majesty to stabilize Your Majesty and buy time for his father!"

Yu Yan's expression remained unchanged, but he smiled without saying a word.

Jin Xin shook his head: "Even if Xiang Hou lied, what about the report from the governor of Cangzhou? He has already obtained several people who are said to be subordinates of Lord Shangguan, and they are on their way to Xijing. Oh, right..."

He looked down at Shangguan Jin's forehead, which was gradually covered with beads of cold sweat. "The Marquis Xiang himself and the thief who pretended to be Yu Heng also came back with him."

"Fake?" Shangguan Jin wiped the sweat from his forehead desperately, his face flushed with excitement, and he muttered to himself: "Whoever said it was fake is a traitor, who, together with Yu Chu, intends to bring disaster to our Great Yu Kingdom!"

"He openly admitted in front of thousands of people that he was a fake, and said that he was originally just a poor man, and that you, my lord, had specially found him and sent people to teach him carefully, so he acted like this. In addition, the ancient great sword master of Gaotang was also captured by Xiang Hou, and his other identity was revealed. He turned out to be the Left Wise King of the Xiongnu! The most surprising thing is that he also had a handwritten letter written to him by you, General Zuo!"

"How, how is it possible?" Shangguan Jin's body became weaker and weaker, and he couldn't even kneel straight. "That's the Wuxiang Sword Sect, how could they be captured by Xiang Hou? As for the letter, I know nothing about it. It's fake, all fake! It must be that the governor of Cangzhou has also rebelled, and colluded with Yu Heng and his son, intending to deceive the emperor!"

"General Zuo is probably worrying too much." Jiao Zuo interrupted with a smile, "With such a big commotion at the Cangzhou Martial Arts Conference, how could the Imperial City Bureau not have heard of it at all? Naturally, they sent people to the scene a long time ago to see it clearly. Although the news arrived later than the King of Xingyang, it was not too late."

"Although Xiang Hou was powerless, Meng Ju and the rumored female sword master showed up, and together with Pei Jianzong's first disciple Mo Shaoxia, they captured Zuo Xianwang alive and destroyed his martial arts on the spot. The man pretending to be Yu Heng saw that his backer was gone, so in order to save his life, he had to tell the truth in public. The heroes in the martial arts world were so angry that they almost cut him into pieces on the spot!"

"Impossible, impossible!" Shangguan Jin's body trembled violently: "They are all lying, lying! Oh, and there is also Cangzhou Mu!"

He knelt down towards the steps, but was stopped by Cui Xiaoben with an expressionless face.

"Your Majesty!" Shangguan Jin cried, "If what they said is true, then why was it not the governor of Cangzhou who reported this important event in person, but the governor instead?"

"Hmm?" Yu Yan said with a half-smile on his face: "General Zuo, what do you want to tell me? You said that Ji Yan was promoted by you, and that Cangzhou almost had a big mess this time, and he played an indispensable role?"

Shangguan Jin completely collapsed. The palace door opened, and Huo Xuan, who was "uncapped and waiting for punishment", walked in. His clothes and hair were neat and tidy, and meticulous.

"Your Majesty, I have prepared a list of the criminals suspected of rebellion. Please review it."

He bowed deeply towards Yu Yan, his attitude was unprecedentedly respectful.

Jiao Zuo took the silk document from his hand and presented it to Yu Yan. The latter glanced at it and nodded:

"The Grand Marshal has always been fair and just. I trust him. Shangguan Jin and the Jiang family killed the Yi people, and Xingyang was abolished. Yu Chun and his sons committed suicide. The rest were all beheaded, and their families were sent to the border as slaves."

Shangguan Jin was so angry that he spurted blood and fainted. Then he heard Huo Xuan say, "Yes."

Luo Qianhuai looked at the gentle woman sitting quietly opposite Mr. Mo and let out a long sigh.

Mr. Mo lowered his head and leaned sideways, holding her hand on the table and giving her a helpless smile in return.

Fang Xingyuan was also sitting next to the woman. He looked at Meng Ju, who was facing the porthole as if admiring the scenery outside, and curled his lips slightly.

"I have already sent a boat to pick up Meng Jianzong overnight as we agreed before, and the time is exactly right. Is that right? So you can't be vague about what we agreed before."

"Master Fang, you must have misunderstood. I have never promised you to take your sister as a concubine. To be honest, I am afraid of my wife like a tiger, so why should Master Fang be so persistent? Apart from this condition, everything else can be negotiated."

Fang Xingyuan did not insist: "Ling Zheng is such a person of character and skill, no wonder even Master Jieyou would be henpecked."

He turned to the woman sitting next to him and said, "Little sister, although Mr. Jieyou is good, he is already taken. Let's forget about the marriage. I will definitely choose a good husband for you."

The younger sister just stared at Master Mo blankly, her eyes red and gradually filled with tears.

"Since we met a few years ago, Chan'er has been unable to control her feelings. I don't ask for a title, I just want to be by your side every day, even if I can be a maid and serve you and your wife every day. I hope you will have mercy on me."

This man is really charming. Luo Qianhuai secretly rolled his eyes at Mr. Mo, and pinched his thigh hard with his hand.

Master Mo did not dare to delay any longer: "To be honest, I have no shortage of servants around me. The Third Master Qian is very talented and handsome. If he wants to recruit a son-in-law, I'm afraid there will be many applicants."

"Sir, are you worried that Madam won't agree?" Qian Xiaochan lowered her eyes, her long eyelashes wet with tears, making her look extremely pitiful: "Madam is so beautiful and gentle, she will definitely not reject Chan'er."

"Then you are wrong." Luo Qianhuai was too lazy to argue with her any further: "This wife is jealous by nature, and will never tolerate anyone else around my husband. If Qian San Dangjia continues to pester me, I am afraid that once my temper flares up, I will lose control and want to take action."

She clenched her fists in mock fashion.

After yesterday's martial arts conference, who in the world would dare to look down on her?

Qian Chan'er ran out with a pale face. Fang Xingyuan did not chase her. Instead, he smiled and talked about cooperation matters with Mr. Mo.

The other party's demands were not outrageous, just a few dozen good ships. The government condoned them and even asked him to help find ways to ship the goods.

These things were nothing to Mr. Mo, so he readily agreed, and everyone was happy.

After returning to the capital, Meng Ju followed Master Mo into the palace to meet the young emperor, and was awarded the four characters "Leader of the Martial World" written by His Majesty himself, as well as a position as a special envoy of the Zhengguansi, with a salary of 400 dan.

Mengju entered the court, representing the underworld of Dayu. From then on, it was officially under the rule of the court, and the Zhengguansi also legitimately intervened in all aspects of the so-called underworld.

He quickly won the hearts of the people by calming down disputes, helping orphans and children, and restoring order. Except for a very small number of scum who relied on their martial arts skills to do evil, no one missed the chaos and disorder of the past anymore.

As for Yu Chu himself, because of his loyalty, he captured the fake Yu Heng in the first place and crushed the conspiracy of Shangguan Jin, Jiang and others to collude with the Huns for rebellion. From then on, he was highly valued by Yu Lun, who specially granted him Fengning County outside Luancheng as his fiefdom and another 500 households as food fief.

The next year, Jin Xin personally took command and, together with the heroes recruited by the Zhengguan Division, defeated the Xiongnu and drove them back to the bitter cold land of Mobei. Yu Yan was delighted and changed the reign title to Jianchang, issuing a general amnesty.

In the following decades, Luo Qianhuai felt like he was in a dream. Time seemed to be passing faster and faster, and everything seemed unreal.

In the eighth year of Jianxing, the young emperor contracted a strange disease. In order to avoid turmoil in the court, the news was concealed. He passed away within a few days and left no offspring.

Including Huo Xuan, more than a dozen important ministers nominated candidates for succession in the court. Master Mo was among them. However, due to Huo Xuan's opposition, the one who won in the end was Yu He, who had just succeeded to the throne of King of Changzhou.

Since Huo Yu's death, the relationship between Huo Xuan and Mr. Mo has become awkward and complicated. Luo Qianhuai can't understand it at all, nor does he want to understand it.

However, when Yu He was welcomed into the Weiyang Palace with great fanfare, the first thing he did after ascending the throne was to scold Huo Xuan in public, strip him of his position as Grand Marshal and General, and send him back home. He then found an excuse to seize power from Jin Xin and Cui Xiaoben, and instead reused his old subordinates from Changzhou.

That was not all. It was said that he also coveted Empress Dowager Xin, Yu Lun's queen at the time. He openly flirted with her in front of certain officials, behaved in an ugly manner, and eventually caused public outrage.

Luo Qianhuai had no idea whether Master Mo played any role in Yu He's misdeeds. He only knew that within a month, Yu He was asked to leave the Weiyang Palace, and Master Mo was welcomed in, ascended the throne, and changed the reign title to Shenkang.

The new emperor welcomed her into the palace with the ceremony of empress, and resisted the pressure from all the officials in the court, and never selected any beauties to enter the palace in his entire life.

Luo Qianhuai had three sons and one daughter, all of whom were outstanding people. Therefore, the civil and military officials in the court often criticized him at first, but as time went on, they stopped talking about it.

The national strength of Dayu also developed rapidly at an unprecedented speed.

The promotion of paper and printing, the development of medicine, and the popularization of high-yield and drought-resistant Champa rice have significantly improved the people's living standards and cultural and educational levels.

At the same time, the extensive use of coal, the improvement of smelting technology, the substantial increase in steel production, and the advent of steam engines and steel ships contributed to the birth of the Age of Discovery.

In the eighteenth year of Shenkang, the second son of the emperor led a fleet to complete the first round-the-world trip, conquering the Americas and Africa along the way and incorporating them into the territory of Dayu. He also brought back high-yield crops such as corn and potatoes.

In the 22nd year of Shenkang, the third prince led a team to develop the Australian continent and turned it into Dayu's plantation and breeding farm.

In the 45th year of Shenkang, when Luo Qianhuai celebrated his 70th birthday, the whole country celebrated, people from all nations came to pay tribute, his descendants surrounded him, it was an indescribable prosperity, perfect and flawless.

At this point, Luo Qianhuai suddenly realized that the shortcut system that had repeatedly deceived him in the first half of his life had not appeared for more than 20 years.

It was good this way, as it allowed her to enjoy twenty years of leisure, instead of being like when she first entered the palace. Although she was the queen, she always did shocking things from time to time, causing the eunuchs and palace maids to live in fear every day, either fearing that things in the warehouse would be lost for no reason again, or afraid that they would be killed by the powerful queen to silence them.

Fortunately, everything is over now. Luo Qianhuai snuggled in the arms of Mr. Mo, whose hair and beard were all white but whose face was still handsome and refined, and slowly closed his eyes.

It was as if warm water had dripped onto her face and rolled onto her lips. It tasted a bit salty. This was her last thought.

When I opened my eyes again, it was a completely different world.

The main text ends here. There will be two chapters tomorrow, and the book will be officially finished. Thank you all for your company along the way. The new book "Ninth Class Citizens" is a science fiction book that the author has been conceiving for several years. I believe it will bring you a better reading experience. Please continue to support the author. Thank you all, love you.