Star Trace Gate

In the carriage.

After Ren Ye finished telling this story with sweat dripping down his face, he said no more.

He thought to himself, "Brother Fat Dragon, I clearly don't want to say it, but you force me to. Now that I've said it, you better not let your guard down, or you'll look uncultured."

After a long time, the big fat dragon's eyes suddenly softened. He picked up the teapot and poured a full cup for Ren Ye, and whispered, "Drink tea, drink tea."

"How about we swear an oath?" Ren Ye suddenly looked up.

The fat dragon was slightly stunned: "Why swear?"

"Today's story is a secret between you and me. Whoever tells it to others will be struck by lightning. Whoever denies those 20 million star sources will also...will be struck by lightning. How about this?" Ren was also afraid that the other party would raise his hand and stab him, so he immediately raised three fingers to show his loyalty.

"You and I are brothers, is it necessary to do this?" The fat dragon did not swear, but asked back with a smile.

"I'm mainly afraid... our emperor said that if we want to get the 20 million star sources, we must spend 30 million to operate it." Ren Ye squinted and said, "The little prince has sold all the dojo of the emperor now. He is so poor that he can't afford to operate it anymore!"

"Hahaha!"

The fat dragon laughed loudly and raised his hand again: "Drink tea, drink tea."

Ren Ye was relieved when he saw that he himself hadn't sworn. "Also, you really have to give me the snake egg... After all, I have already drawn the plan, and I just need the egg."

"Okay, I'll try to make it work." The fat dragon replied with a wise look.

"...Okay, you do your best." Ren Ye said secretly, "Anyway, how much money do you need in total? Just tell me, and I'll ask the government to raise the interest rate on the Third Prince's loan."

"Hahaha."

The fat dragon pointed at him and said word by word: "If you want to do something big, you really need to have a thick skin like you."

"It's embarrassing."

……

A few days later, the team heading to Beijing finally arrived at the Lich City, the capital of Southern Xinjiang, after a bumpy journey.

After arriving in Beijing, Ren immediately and formally handed over Monk Peng and Han Chan to the Southern Xinjiang court to avoid any changes and unnecessary responsibilities.

In the original plan, Ren also wanted to publicly try Han Chan in Qingliang Prefecture, have the government announce his crimes in public, and then behead him. However, later on, considering that Han Chan's bloody massacre in Luori Town would cause greater harm to Southern Xinjiang, Ren decided to let the other party handle it. On the one hand, he could do a favor, and on the other hand, he would not have to worry about the rebellion in the Southern Xinjiang court.

Hand the people over to you and let them deal with it on their own. You will be able to relax a bit.

In the next two days, the Southern Xinjiang court seemed to be immersed in the joy of the great victory of the Northern Expedition, but in fact there were undercurrents.

First, the news that Monk Peng was captured alive had spread among the various factions in the court, and many people had a vague guess that this man was being escorted back to the capital by King Huai, and that he was likely to stir up a bloody storm. Because according to rumors, although he was cursed, he knew who the leader of the rebellion in the court was.

As a result, everyone in the court was in danger, and those with unclean bodies were all scared and hid at home, not daring to show up. For example, the third master of Bau, the witch leader of the Golden Wolf Clan, and the assistant minister of the court, Jin Guoting, had been staying at home on the pretext of illness since before the Northern Expedition began, and had not entered the court.

Even the Third Prince kept inviting Ren Ye to banquets, hoping to sound him out and secretly spy on what was going on in the court.

Of course, what he feared most was the fact that 3.2 million star sources would overwhelm his "Second Brother". This move was really too presumptuous and could easily lead to revenge.

He even reviewed the situation specifically and concluded that his desire in that area was too strong, which gave the naughty woman an opportunity to take advantage of him.

Therefore, he decided to change himself. That night, he stayed in his own women's quarters and used a dragon spear to connect 25 "Phoenix Shields". He turned himself into noodles. When he saw a beautiful woman, his legs became weak and he would unconsciously feel fear. In this way, he could achieve strength without desire and have no weaknesses.

He is a smart man and he knows that a dog will always eat shit, so he simply goes to extremes and makes himself never hungry, so that he won't make mistakes because of "food".

Ren Ye heard about this feat, and his admiration for the Third Prince reached its peak. Therefore, he decided to take all the members of Qingliang Mansion to Beijing, and personally go to Shuowang Mansion to learn, to improve himself with practical experience, and to eat and play for free for several days in a row, to learn the Third Prince's skills thoroughly, and finally to be able to use them proficiently.

Of course, he couldn't learn it himself, because his beloved concubine was also here, and her Yin Yang Sword was also Ren Ye's best teacher...

However, Xu Bangzi, Lao Liu and others all said that they should hold more advanced research classes for team learning in the future, and communicate more with people in the Third Prince's residence. Because only when masters collide can they improve together.

The group of people who went to Beijing stayed in Kyoto for a total of five days, eating, drinking, and having fun, living a carefree life. This could be considered the last relaxation before embarking on a new journey.

During this period, a small incident also occurred. Princess Jun'an of the Lich Kingdom repeatedly invited Ren Ye to a banquet, but Ren Ye declined every time. The reason was that she was extremely busy after arriving in Beijing, and she would definitely visit him in person before leaving Beijing.

Ren did not go to see this eccentric princess either, mainly because he did not want to communicate with any members of the royal family in southern Xinjiang at this time, and he did not want to reveal any details of the Jing Guifei case to others, so shirking responsibility was the wisest decision.

……

Five days later, early morning.

Taiji Hall of Wushen Palace.

The skinny Emperor Wanwu was sitting in front of the imperial desk, drinking rice porridge with his head down.

"Tap tap...!"

There was a sound of footsteps, and Lord Rat appeared beside him, bending down, and called softly, "Your Majesty...!"

"Is there any movement?" Emperor Wanwu didn't even raise his head.

"They are keeping a close eye on them. The clan elder Yu Xinzi has secretly gathered his retainers and masters and hid them in Beifeng Mountain. The Northern Pacifier of Tianlao is also from the Golden Wolf Clan and was promoted by Jin Guoting. He has met with several jailers in private in the past two days, and all of them were after late at night." Lord Rat replied truthfully.

Emperor Wanwu frowned and thought for a long time before he reached out for a pen and paper and wrote a few words on the desk.

Lord Rat watched in the light of a candle and froze in place.

"Did you see it clearly?" asked Emperor Wanwu.

"I see it clearly." Lord Rat stared at the words on the paper, his eyes slightly red as he nodded.

"Go and do it." Emperor Wanwu waved his hand.

"Yes."

Lord Rat turned to leave.

"Wait a moment, call Prince Huai and Dragon Head into the palace." Emperor Wanwu raised his head and said, "I will see Prince Huai first, in the abandoned Queen's bedroom."

"Yes." Lord Rat looked at the white-haired old man and nodded slowly.

……

At night, at the end of the Xu hour.

After Ren Ye entered the palace, he followed a eunuch in charge of internal affairs and came to a palace that had been abandoned for a long time.

He looked at the dark and bleak autumn scenery, the dilapidated palaces, and the dead leaves scattered on the bluestone ground. His feet suddenly felt cold and he thought to himself, "I've watched a lot of palace fighting dramas. Why does this place look so much like the place where the emperor executes the thorns in his side? It's not auspicious, my friend!"

"Please come in, Your Highness Prince Huai." The old eunuch said with a smile.

Ren also forced himself to calm down, and said to himself: "Old man, if you dare to mess with me today, I will definitely respond with one finger."

After thinking it over in his mind, he was ready to use Mu Mu's unique skill - Finger of Reincarnation.

Soon, the eunuch pushed open the wooden door of the palace and led him into a small room.

The room is not big, but it is very clean and filled with many children's toys, such as wooden swords and wooden horses.

Emperor Wanwu was wearing an ordinary satin robe, sitting on a small stool, fiddling with a wooden handmade windmill.

When Ren Ye saw him, he immediately saluted: "The young prince Huai of Qingliang Prefecture pays homage to His Majesty."

"No need to be polite." Emperor Wanwu didn't even turn his head, but just said softly: "Please sit wherever you like."

The old eunuch closed the door and left, while Ren Ye also took a small stool, put his butt on the side, and sat opposite Emperor Wanwu, his body as obedient as a kitten.

Emperor Wanwu wiped the dust off the windmill and said softly, "Prince Ren has submitted a memorial. I am aware of your many requests."

When Ren Ye heard this, he instantly realized that a transaction of fish looking for fish and shrimp looking for shrimp was probably inevitable to happen in this shabby house.

"brush!"

He called out the manuscript of Dilong Liujia without hesitation and gently placed it on the wooden table next to him: "Your Majesty, this is the manuscript of Dilong Liujia. I copied it word for word myself to ensure that no third person has seen it."

"Yeah." Emperor Wanwu smiled faintly and looked up: "No cutting of corners, right?"

Ren Ye was sweating profusely and clasped his fists, saying, "My young king will still have to rely on the care of the Southern Border Heavenly Kingdom in the future, so how dare he play tricks on such a matter. Your Majesty, please rest assured that this transcript is absolutely word for word accurate."

Emperor Wanwu wiped the wooden windmill and replied: "What are your plans for the future?!"

"When Qingliang Prefecture is able to fight, we will enter the fourth-grade secret territory. By then, we can attack or defend, and it will all be under the command of Your Majesty." Ren replied calmly.

"If one day, Daqian is destroyed, how will the country be divided?!" There was no expression on Emperor Wanwu's old face, and there was no emotion in his voice.

Ren Ye looked at him and paused for a moment: "Your Majesty, Shenzhou is so big, is there no place for Qingliang Prefecture to stand? Is the only territory of Daqian that can be conquered? Not to mention the faraway places, Dongzhou and the desert Gobi are all boundless areas that cannot be seen... Such a vast land, is it not enough for us to survive? What is the unification of the world? Is it only to kill all the foreign races?"

Emperor Wanwu was silent.

"Your Majesty, if I say that Qingliang Prefecture will not expand its territory in the future, it must be a lie, a deception." Ren Ye said, "But I think that instead of endless conquests, militarism, and trying to become the greatest emperor in history, it is better to strengthen yourself, govern with benevolence, and make all nations submit to you."

"You are really very smart."

"This is not because of intelligence, it's just that the place where Xiao Wang came from is different from the culture here." Ren Ye explained softly: "Peaceful rise is the best choice both internally and externally."

"Peaceful rise!" Emperor Wanwu pondered it carefully and said softly, "This is a very interesting and smart statement."

"Every word I say is from the bottom of my heart and I dare not lie to Your Majesty." Ren also clasped his fists.

Emperor Wanwu looked at him and felt quite satisfied.

The inner world of the person who holds power in the world is extremely complicated. If you say that you have no ambition, he will think that this ally is useless and a waste; if you say that you have ambition, he will consider whether you are a threat to himself, whether you are hypocritical, and whether you are untrustworthy.

That's why Ren Ye answered him, the world is big, and there are countless secret places. Even you and I can't see where the border is. Now we are talking about how to divide the country. Isn't this a bit too hasty?

"I am going to make you the King of the Opposite Sex. You will enjoy the same treatment as my princes in Southern Xinjiang." Emperor Wanwu lowered his head and said softly, "I will not interfere in the internal affairs of Qingliang Prefecture. You can develop on your own."

As soon as he finished speaking, he waved his hand.

"brush!"

Suddenly, a crystal clear white snake egg appeared on the table. "You can also take this white python soul. The 20 million star source loan that Prince Ren promised you will be disbursed in the near future."