Chapter 26: This Thousand-Household Officer Position in the Jiny

Li Qing was given a "severe beating". Although it didn't cause much physical harm, it was extremely humiliating.

Under the protection of his true qi and with the mercy of the Jinyiwei, not only was he not injured, but he didn't even feel much pain. However, he was furious.

Obviously, the national policies he proposed were useful, and Old Zhu also approved of them. So why did he still beat me?

Is there any justice?

Is there any law?

I won't come up with ideas for him anymore tomorrow... Lying on the bed, Li Qing thought resentfully.

His heart had suffered great trauma, and only Lianxiang and Hongxiu could soothe him.

"I haven't been there for two days. I really miss them." Li Qing muttered to himself. "And Wanling, that little girl is also very charming. It's just that she's a bit too young. Oh, what am I thinking? It's a sin, a sin..."

He didn't sleep well last night. After lying down for a short while, Li Qing fell asleep.

He slept all the way until the afternoon. When he woke up, he got up to wash, changed into a dark ink-colored robe, and incidentally washed the flying fish uniform.

This Old Zhu is really stingy. He only issued this one set, and there's not even a spare one for changing.

Although he had been cultivating for ten years and was invulnerable to cold and heat under the circulation of his true qi in his body, he still couldn't avoid dust. Even though he didn't sweat, his clothes would still get dirty.

Li Qing went out and had a bowl of cold noodles. Then he bought a pack of snacks and went to the Zhenfu Division to train the new recruits together with Li Yu.

Of course, most of the teaching was done by Li Yu, and he was just there to assist.

At this moment, Mao Xiang walked in with a gloomy face. "Li Qing, come with me to the back hall."

Li Qing cupped his hands and agreed. After giving Li Yu a few instructions, he followed Mao Xiang into the back hall.

"Boss, this is the snowflake pastry I bought on the way. Please have a taste." Li Qing took out the snacks from his arms and pushed them in front of Mao Xiang.

Mao Xiang was so angry that he slapped the table. "You still have the mood to eat. Do you know what happened in the court this noon?"

"I don't know!"

Li Qing opened the oil paper, pinched a piece, and said, "Boss, tell me."

"The proposal you put forward was brought up in the court."

"That's a good thing!" Li Qing said with his mouth full. "This is beneficial for both the common people and the court."

"You don't know anything!"

Mao Xiang was so angry that he wanted to slap him. "The memorial was submitted by the Crown Prince, but it mentioned you. Now the six ministries, the Censorate, and the Hanlin Academy are all impeaching our Jinyiwei for interfering in government affairs."

"Do you know?

This time, you've dragged all of us in the Jinyiwei into this mess!"

Li Qing said indifferently, "Boss, you were there at that time. When I put forward the proposal, the Emperor clearly approved it. With the imperial will being so obvious, why should we be afraid of their impeachment?"

"Hehe." Mao Xiang sneered. "If the imperial will were really that obvious, they wouldn't have been given the opportunity to impeach the Jinyiwei."

Li Qing scratched his head. "That's true. Boss, what do you think the Emperor is thinking?"

"If I knew, would I be this anxious?" Mao Xiang said helplessly. "Anyway, you'd better be more careful in the future.

There are too many people who hate our Jinyiwei, and there are also too many people who want to see the Jinyiwei destroyed.

Don't think that just because the Jinyiwei has the power to arrest and interrogate imperial relatives, civil and military officials, you can act recklessly. In fact, we are just a knife in the Emperor's hand.

When the time comes that we are no longer needed, it's not impossible that..."

He lowered his voice. "It's not impossible that he will use us to appease those people and calm their anger."

When Li Qing heard this, a chill suddenly rushed up to the top of his head.

"Surely... it won't come to that, right?"

"The imperial will is unpredictable. Who can say for sure what will happen in the future?" Mao Xiang sighed. "In short, this matter can be either big or small. I'll lay it on the line for you today. If this matter really shows signs of expanding, I won't sacrifice the entire Jinyiwei for you."

"I understand."

Li Qing nodded slowly. "Boss, please have a taste of this snowflake pastry. It tastes quite good."

"..." Mao Xiang pinched a piece and tasted it. It really tasted good, so he directly wrapped it up, planning to take it home for his children to try.

Li Qing: "..."

After a moment of silence, Li Qing said, "The Emperor is the wisest. The reason why the officials reacted so strongly is essentially that their interests have been damaged.

After all, there are too many opportunities for them to manipulate those things that are not easy to preserve. They must have received a lot of benefits. The Emperor must be aware of this."

"The key is not this. The problem is why the Emperor involved you and the Jinyiwei." Mao Xiang shook his head slightly. "If the Emperor or the Crown Prince had directly proposed it, no matter how dissatisfied the officials were in their hearts, they wouldn't have dared to show the slightest bit of it."

Li Qing also fell into deep thought. After a while, he asked, "Boss, when did the Jinyiwei institution start?"

"It has existed for a long time, but the real establishment of the Jinyiwei's formal organization only began this year."

"This year?"

"Yeah." Mao Xiang nodded. Suddenly, his eyes lit up. "I understand."

"What do you understand?" Li Qing asked in confusion.

Mao Xiang patted him on the shoulder, his expression a little pitying. "Now, within Daming, there are local chieftains rebelling, and outside, the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty are eyeing us covetously. In addition to investigating officials, the Jinyiwei also shoulders the responsibility of spying on military intelligence. Our 'knife' is still useful to the Emperor."

Li Qing suddenly realized. "Boss, you mean... the Emperor is targeting me specifically?"

"Hehe... I didn't say that."

Mao Xiang got up with a smile, picked up the snowflake pastry, and left humming a tune, leaving Li Qing looking extremely angry.

Li Qing just couldn't figure it out. Although he couldn't say he was completely devoted to Old Zhu, he had also done a lot to solve his problems. First, he saved his wife, and then he proposed a strategy to increase the court's financial revenue.

It's bad enough that he didn't get rewarded, but he actually put me in the limelight?

Damn it, I'm not going to serve him anymore.

Li Qing slapped the table, turned around, and left the Zhenfu Division to go and have a drink.

This thousand-household officer position in the Jinyiwei, I might as well not hold it!

As dusk fell, Li Qing once again arrived at the Drunken Immortal Tower.

"Wanling Pavilion?"

Looking at the gold-plated plaque, Li Qing muttered, "The name has been changed. It seems that Wanling has also become famous because of that poem.

Can I still enjoy her company for free?"

Since he was already here, Li Qing decided to go in and take a look first.

He came relatively early. In the main hall, there were only a few guests drinking alone and talking about "Ode to Wanling" and making interpretations.

Li Qing was speechless and went directly to the second floor.

"Dang dang dang——!"

Li Qing knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" The voice of the madam came.

"It's Mr. Li."

The surprised voice of Wanling sounded. Then, the sound of "da da da" footsteps came from far away.

"Creak~"

"It's really you, Young Master." Wanling's eyes, as bright as mountain grapes, were filled with joy. "Young Master, please come in quickly."

Li Qing stepped into the private room. When the madam saw that he was safe and sound, her mouth opened wide enough to stuff an egg in.

Then, her face turned pale with fear, and she begged for mercy, saying, "Mr. Li, how dare you still come out?

Yesterday, groups of Jinyiwei came one after another. The whole capital was hunting for you. Aren't you dragging the Drunken Immortal Tower into trouble?"

She was really terrified. The Jinyiwei had a very fearsome reputation. Although it hadn't been established for a long time, it had achieved remarkable results. They had already killed several ministers and vice-ministers, and the number of ordinary officials they dealt with was countless.

How could she dare to keep someone who was being hunted by this institution?

It didn't matter even if he had powerful backers!

"Young Master, please be magnanimous..."

"I went to the Zhenfu Division yesterday." Li Qing smiled. "I'm not being hunted."

Anyway, it was Old Zhu who didn't act like a decent person first. Don't blame me for being unkind and using his name to continue enjoying Wanling's company for free... Li Qing said directly, "The Emperor wanted to see me."

"The Emperor wanted to see Mr. Li?"

Li Qing nodded with a smile. "Otherwise, why haven't any Jinyiwei come here to ask about me today?"

"That's true."

The madam nodded and immediately changed her tone, smiling obsequiously. "Look at my mouth. I was just worried about Mr. Li. I didn't mean anything else. It's a great honor for the Drunken Immortal Tower to have a distinguished guest like Mr. Li."

After a pause, she said with a为难 look, "It's just... today it should be Miss Wanling's turn..."

"Madam, I already received guests yesterday. It's not my turn again until three days later." Wanling protested.

"Wanling, your reputation has already spread. You should work a little harder these few days..."

"There's no rule without standards." Li Qing interrupted. "Madam, one should be honest."

"..." Can you, who's enjoying free services, not be so troublesome?

The madam didn't dare to offend Li Qing, so she could only say with a bitter face, "Sir, you may not know that a lot of money has been spent these two days to build up momentum for Wanling. And people come here specifically for Wanling...

How about this? Wanling will just go downstairs and dance a song, and then she'll come back to accompany you, okay?"

Li Qing felt a little guilty about enjoying free services. Since she had said so, he naturally couldn't say anything more.

Wanling pouted and said, "All right then!"

"Good. Wanling, you prepare yourself. People will arrive in two quarters of an hour. Don't be careless." The madam reminded uneasily.

"Got it!" Wanling nodded listlessly.

Only then did the madam leave with peace of mind.

"Young Master, I'll go and call the two elder sisters here. I'll come back to accompany you after I'm done downstairs." Wanling said softly.

Li Qing nodded with a smile. "I'm sorry to trouble you, Miss."

"I told you to call me Wanling." Wanling gave him a coquettish look and turned to leave.

Soon, Lianxiang and Hongxiu arrived. Seeing that Li Qing was safe and sound, they were extremely happy.

The three of them drank and chatted merrily.

The only pity was that both girls had just started their menstrual periods, so there was no hope of any romantic activities in the evening.

Just as they were chatting enthusiastically, the madam suddenly burst in, sweating profusely. "Mr. Li, something big has happened. Someone wants to redeem Wanling's freedom."