Be Modest,My Master of Imperial Guards

Chapter 24 Bring Her Some Trouble

The most sensational news in the capital of Dayi was that the entire family of Zhong Siyou, the Minister of Personnel, were exterminated.

The Minister of Personnel was ranked as the second-grade officials and was in charge of the appointments, removals, examinations, promotions, demotions, honors, and transfers of the officials of the country.

Minister Zhong served the court for thirty years, from an ordinary officer in the Ministry of Personnel to the Vice Minister of Personnel, and finally became the Minister of Personnel. Court officers and the people held that although he did not make great achievements, he was still a mediocre man. Now he was sentenced to the Royal Prison by the Eastern Depot for accepting bribes, buying, and selling official positions. His family members were also exterminated.

It was late autumn now.

At night, the gloomy sky clouded over, and then came the first drizzle in the autumn. All night long, the cold rain sprinkled all around the capital. It seemed that it tended to clean the dirt and blood here.

The rain stopped in the morning, and the temperature dropped suddenly. In the cold autumn wind, the yellow leaves fell, clinging to the wet bluestone road and emitting the smell of decadency. The cool wind and yellow leaves made it more desolate and depressed.

In the morning ritual, Leng Qingtang, the Master of the Eastern Depot, submitted to Emperor Jingxiao the documents about the cases of the corruption and dereliction of the Minister of Personnel, as well as the relevant letters, a book of expenses of people got involved in the bribes and the details of the antique collection.

When it came to Zhong Siyou, it was exaggerated to say that he had been absolutely honest and upright for those years. Just as an experienced officer for decades, he was very good at avoiding risks and doing everything carefully.

He never received gold and silver but just collected paintings and rare antiques from his subordinates and assistants in the name of hobbies.

The Eastern Depot knew well what he had done but had never found any key pieces of evidence for five years. His subordinates and assistants spread all over the court, and the relations between them were complicated. Relying on the investigation method from bottom to top and little by little was not practical since it was sure that the enemy would get alert, and the court would be in turmoil.

That's why Leng Qingtang decided to get him beheaded and solve this problem instantly by perjury. In any case, what he wanted to deal with was not the case of corruption and misconduct but an unknown case many years ago.

As the saying went, even a common officer would earn you great fortune. Moreover, he was an important rank-second officer for 30 years.

Leng Qingtang was very confident about confiscating the house of the Minister and gaining the physical evidence.

Actually, officers were suspicious about the crimes committed by Minister Zhong mentioned by the Eastern Depot. However, no one dared to question it since both the documents and physical evidence were available. Everyone knew that the Eastern Depot enjoyed great power and had special permission to kill officers before consulting the Emperor.

Not to mention the officers who were in close contact with Zhong Siyou, even those who weren't, tended to bury their heads in today's court. The Commander-in-chief in the Eastern Depot handled the case beautifully without punishing other followers of the Minister of Personnel, which was indeed mercy. Nobody would be stupid enough to stand up against the Eastern Depot at this moment since he would definitely be regarded as the accomplice of the Minister of Personnel.

When Leng Qingtang left the morning ritual, he secretly went to Yongning Palace. The palace was extravagant, and precious spices were burning in the censers, which were placed around the corner of the house. Curls of smoke were rising, decorating the luxurious vermilion palace into a fairyland.

Noble Concubine Wan lazily leaned on the warm couch, and today she looked very gorgeous. She wore a golden five-tailed dress. Gold silk magnolia was embroidered on the shawl, the end of which was covered with three layers of tassels made by gold beads. At the front of her hair bun was a golden crown with the golden wings of the phoenix. Two hair accessories were symmetrically inserted into the plump wings. There were more than ten golden lines in each hair accessories extending below Wan Yuyao's shoulders, adding nobility to her luxurious and gorgeous dress.

The material of her gold dress came from a foreign country. It was made of brocade woven by gold threads called "Line Rain" by the finest golden silkworms. Golden silkworms were rare, making "Line Rain" rarer.

Wan Yuyao wore the garment made by the precious brocade with a cat in her arms and might not concern that its four paws would damage the cloth.

She was the most favored Imperial Noble Concubine, only next to the Empress. Even the tributes that hadn't been enjoyed by the Express would be rewarded to Noble Concubine Wan first. How could she cherish such a dress?

The plump cat nestled in Wan Yuyao's chest was less than seven inches long. Its long white hair was very pure. When it curled up, it was like a round snowball. Because of its cute look, Wan Yuyao named it "Snowball".

The most distinctive feature was that, unlike the domestic cats in Central Plain, its eyes were neither golden or brown but blue.

It seemed to feel very comfortable because of the rubbing of Wan Yuyao's soft palms. At this moment, it squinted eyes and laid obediently. Leng Qingtang looked at its quite enjoyable gesture and also wanted to yawn.

"You have been busy on business recently. What bothers you to come here today?"

Wan Yuyao, with her exquisite white fingers caressing the cat, stared at Leng Qingtang, who had just finished the salute.

He stood obediently with his hands folded in the sleeves of his large blue robe. He looked down with a slight smile on his handsome face. Wan Yuyao was deeply attracted by such a beautiful man.

Asked by the Imperial Noble Concubine, Leng Qingtang smiled and bowed again,

"I rushed to the palace of Your Grace after I finished the morning ritual. On the one hand, I want to give my best regards to Your Grace. On the other hand, we recently uncovered a corruption case and captured a rare treasure. I think I'm shallow. Thus, I come here to offer it to Your Grace and hope Your Grace could appreciate it."

"Then?" Wan Yuyao caressed the cat in her arms, and casually glanced at Leng Qingtang, "Let me have a look."

She had seen too many rare treasures, and there was nothing that could easily arouse her interest. If there had been, maybe it would have been the majestic man, Leng Qingtang, who stood in front of her.

Leng Qingtang raised his hand and clapped three times.

Immediately, two young eunuchs carried something and walked in, putting it carefully on the narrow table that was the closest to Wan Yuyao.

It was a square box of three feet high, with a delicate and small ring on each side of the door.

A eunuch gently pulled the two golden rings to open the door of the small box. At once, a warm and striking red light emitted from the narrow black box.

Wan Yuyao fell into silent surprise, and she put down the cat. She was held by Leng Qingtang and walked slowly towards the box.

A eunuch steadily carried out the contents of the box.

It was a tree-shaped ornament with nine branches on the trunk. The whole body was ruddy and bright, which was made of rare blood coral.

On each branch, there were several thin branches. The lush round leaves tied with gold threads were made from small polished jade pieces. Looked closely, the veins and the tiny jagged edges of the leaves were visible.

The whole tree was decorated with nine dragon beads, each with the size of a pigeon egg. The whole tree exuded soft and hazy white light.

The tree was planted in a jade oval flowerpot, and the soil consisted of precious aquamarine and turquoise fragments.

Wan Yuyao paced back and forth for a long time around the table and concealed her surprise. She squinted at Leng Qingtang with coldness,

"Master Leng, you are the head of the Imperial Ceremony Office but told me that you didn't know this treasure. Are you kidding me?"

Leng Qingtang hurriedly lowered his eyes and deliberately covered the smile.

"I dare not! I really do not know what this thing is. Now that Your Grace said that it is a good thing, it is indeed a rare treasure. I hope Your Grace can tell me what it is."

What a good eunuch, not only handsome but also silver-tongued!

Wan Yuyao glanced at Leng Qingtang, and it was hard to hide her happiness.

"If I am right, this is called Blood Coral Tree, carved by the thousand-year-old blood coral. Blood coral is the best among all medicines. It has the functions of warming the uterus, nourishing the blood, helping women stay young and fit. If it is put in a woman's house, it will keep her healthy. There are no splices in this three-foot-tall plant, which makes it more valuable. It is said that the nine dragon beads were made of the tears of the mermaid in the Eastern Sea. It can shine at night. When close to the fire in the winter, it gets warm, and when close to the ice in the summer, it gets cold. Since nine was an auspicious number, the nine beads imply good luck and prosperity. The base is constructed by jade, which symbolizes wealth and fortune. Qingtang, this Blood Coral Tree is a rare treasure in the world."

Wan Yuyao pointed at the flaming treasure in front of her. After explaining it in one breath, her eyes seemed to cling to the flaming crown tree ornament and could hardly move anymore. Her eyes were greedy, and her face was full of joy, which was illuminated by the radiance of the Blood Coral Tree.

Her natal family was powerful in the business world of the Country of Dayi. They were successful both in the overland and maritime trade. She had heard of the gift offered by Leng Qingtang before she got married. She didn't expect that she could see it today! Leng Qingtang quietly watched Wan Yuyao and smiled slightly,

"Thanks for Your Grace's introduction."

He knew better than anyone else that once Wan Yuyao saw this gift, she could not let it go.

Standing in front of the Blood Coral Tree in silence for a moment, Wan Yuyao turned around suddenly and asked in a low voice,

"Is it confiscated from the mansion of Minister Zhong?"

"Exactly!"

"You should give it to the Emperor. Why do you bring it to me?"

Wan Yuyao asked with a smile, and her tone was sharp.

Leng Qingtang responded it calmly. While helping Wan Yuyao to walk slowly, he responded softly,

"Just as Your Grace has mentioned, this treasure is the Blood Coral Tree while the blood coral is the best among all medicines. I hope Your Grace can forgive my disrespect. If I present it to the Emperor directly, the Emperor will regard such a treasure as the perfect material of alchemy, which is a disaster. I think that this treasure is gorgeous, which well matches the beauty of Your Grace. It is better for me to dedicate it to Your Grace. If Your Grace dedicates it to the Emperor in the future, the value of this treasure can be shown. Your Grace's sincerity can also be shown."

Leng Qingtang lifted the voice when he was about to finish speaking, which was quite implicit.

Wan Yuyao smiled, and she lightly pinched his fair white fingers.

"No wonder you are an important officer and take several positions. You are capable of both talking and doing things."

"I'm flattered," Leng Qingtang nodded and smiled more happily.

It was exactly what he wanted. As long as Wan Yuyao accepted the gift, he was nearly successful in the following plans.

"Okay, I will accept it for the Emperor."

Leng Qingtang made a response and immediately waved to the eunuch on the side. The two eunuchs put the tree into the box and carried it to the rear palace.

"Then, what do you want?"

Wan Yuyao strolled, smiling at Leng Qingtang.

"I got a treasure, and can't I send it to Your Grace?"

"I know your motive!"

Wan Yuyao stopped, turning to stare at Leng Qingtang's handsome and graceful face. Her eyes flickered, and her affection for him shimmered.

"There is no big thing but just one little thing waiting for Your Grace's permission."

It was the time that the motive should be revealed.

Leng Qingtang continued to support Wan Yuyao. He bowed his head and said,

"Since Zhong Siyou was decapitated, the position of Minister of Personnel has been vacant so far. I think that Your Grace can grasp this opportunity to recommend a reliable person from Your Grace's natal family to fill in the vacancy as soon as possible."

Wan Yuyao swept away Leng Qingtang's arm when she heard the words. She became irritated and scolded,

"Leng, do you intend to bring trouble to me?"

Leng Qingtang thought, "Women are capricious!"

"Wan Yuyao is beautiful and smart. She suddenly sees through the motives of this favor."

"However, since you have used me to get rid of the enemies in the imperial harem, I will also pour dirty water on you."

"Nobody is immune to the bad ending."