Be Modest,My Master of Imperial Guards

Chapter 55 Prying the Eastern Depot at Night

Southern Residence, Eastern Depot.

Leng Qingtang leaned on the bed. A brocade blanket with black orchid and rosette pattern weaved with golden strings was on his lap.

Cheng Wanli walked in and saluted.

"Master, everything is ready. We can leave tomorrow."

"What about the Eastern Palace?"

Leng Qingtang blinked his eyes. He straightened his upper body and asked as if onto something.

"Rest assured, Master. The stuff has been delivered. The maid in charge took it herself. She said if you had anything to report, you could go to the Kunning Palace anytime."

Leng Qingtang curled up his lips. He understood what that meant. He raised his chins and pointed at the chair.

Cheng Wanli pulled the chair in front of the Master's bed. He sat down and talked with the Master.

"Master, you're so clever. You persuaded the Imperial Concubine Wan to recommend someone from her family to take the position of Minister of Personnel. It indeed forced the Eastern Palace to come out..." Cheng Wanli said obsequiously.

"Lord Hu was also quite competent. He advised the Emperor to let Concubine Xu nourish the fetus in the Eastern Palace. The problem that the Imperial Noble Concubine brought us is now the Empress'."

Leng Qingtang moved his body on the bed. He smiled faintly,

"Empress Qian has rested in the imperial harem and pampered Wan for too long. Now, seeing the Wan Family getting more power in the government, she was afraid and wanted to get the power back. The disaster relief of Jiangan was just her way of giving me a favor to draw me to her side."

"Master, the Empress boosted the Eastern Depot herself. Does she want to use our power to take down the Imperial Concubine Wan?"

Leng Qingtang squinted his slanted eyes. He smiled and looked interested,

"In every dynasty, the imperial harem has always been closely tied to the government. If the government is in turmoil, the imperial harem wouldn't be peaceful."

"The Commander-in-chief of the Western Depot came from Wan Yuyao's Yongning Palace, and the Wan Family also has military powers. All of these not only threaten the Eastern Palace. The power in Lord Shen's hand also threatens our Emperor. If Empress Qian wants to take back the power of ruling the imperial harem, she has to work with me!"

Cheng Wanli thought for a while and said,

"Master, there were only two or three small barbaric countries rebelling in the north this time. Yet Wan Li, the little calf, asked for 100,000 kilograms of silver as the military expenditure. There's got to be a problem there!"

"You called him a little calf?"

Humphing coldly, the Master looked resentful. He said harshly,

"In my eyes, he is a jackal that doesn't know when and what is enough!"

"It was definitely Wan Yuyao's idea that Ming Lan self-recommended to take care of the disaster relief. No matter the disaster relief or the money asked for suppressing the rebellion, there are definitely some dark secrets behind them!"

Empress Qian risked offending Wan at this time. She must have seen the dark secrets..."

Sipping the tea, Leng Qingtang played with the teacup cover and smiled coldly,

"In my opinion, if Lord Shen lost the fight, then there would be nothing more needed to be said. If he won, it would only make Empress Qian see more clearly that compared to the Western Depot, my Eastern Depot is more important to her and the Emperor! That's what we call stepping on the Emperor's toes."

"Master, what's our next move?"

"The Empress is going to deal with Wan Yuyao, and I can balance the Western Depot. We have the same opponent. Since the Eastern Palace is being friendly, I'll form an alliance with her. The Empress could be of great use for us in the future."

Before I leave the capital tomorrow, I'll go to the Kunning Palace and see the Empress. You can go back. Get some rest. Come with me tomorrow."

"OK, Master."

Cheng Wanli stood up. He hesitated and asked tentatively,

"Are you going to inform the Mansion that you're leaving tomorrow?"

"Mansion" obviously meant the Master's Mansion. Cheng Wanli was trying to ask the Master,

"Are you going to inform Gu Yunxi that you're leaving?"

Leng Qingtang said without any expression,

"No need. Let the guard inform the Mansion after I leave."

Cheng Wanli didn't say anything more but left in disappointment.

He grew up with the Master and was older than him, so he knew Leng Qingtang's temper better than others.

He just had a fight with Gu Yunxi. Even though he looked calm, his heart was full of sorrow and worries.

No one would believe the decisive and terrifying Master of the Eastern Depot would lose his head in an argument with a teenage girl!

Some days ago Cheng Wanli worried about the Master spending too much time with Gu Yunxi. Now that they were giving each other the cold shoulder, he was less worried.

But seeing the Master putting all this attention on the Eastern Depot, trying to avoid his feelings, Cheng Wanli felt sorry for him.

Cheng Wanli thought that young girls were just fickle, ever-changing their preference. How would they know what real love was?

Cheng Wanli also thought about how he disliked this kind of girl. But If he had been interested in any and she had been reluctant to obey, he would just have slapped her a couple and tossed her onto the bed. The problems would be solved.

After Cheng Wanli left, Leng Qingtang was not sleepy, so he grabbed a book, leaned on the bed, and started reading.

In an hour, he only read one page. The wind blew outside the window and the lights in the room danced, making a cracking noise.

Closing his eyes, Leng Qingtang rubbed in between his eyebrows with his pale finger and tossed the book aside.

When he was alone, he thought about Gu Yunxi.

It was the second day after the New Year. He wondered how Yunxi was in the Master's Mansion and what she was doing. Was she sleeping? Was she tucked up? He hoped she wouldn't kick the quilt off at night and catch a cold.

He suddenly realized, when he closed or opened his eyes, he could always see her wink and smile. She had deeply rooted in his heart.

No matter what, even though she hurt him in the end, making him feel like being cut in his heart, suffering from the pain yet couldn't let it out, he still thought about her and the scenes of them being together every day in his life.

Yesterday he went back to the Eastern Depot angrily. Afterward, when he thought about it, he knew it wasn't all her fault.

Since he knew any better, he carried this great secret for two decades.

All of the blood feuds, the hatred of the former Emperor, the wrong of Zheng Family, made him unable to breathe. He didn't feel free until she came. He finally experienced the feeling of living and how free it was to live for himself.

Maybe she really grew up and learned how to choose and how to accept or reject.

Or maybe, she rejected him because she understood the love between men and women was not just about treating each other well or the little care between them.

She was just of the perfect age and had a beautiful look. Who would want to waste her youth to accompany an emasculated eunuch?

He hadn't finished his job. He didn't know how long he needed to walk in this fiery ocean of politics and power as an eunuch. He shouldn't waste her time.

Fine, he was just being self-sentimental and got the wrong idea of that "I like you" she said when she was drunk the other day.

He felt it was fine that this was one-sided, even though he was quite serious about her. No matter in the Eastern Depot, Master's Mansion, or Jiangan, all he could think of would be her. He was satisfied just mourning this relationship alone.

He pressed on his chest with his pale hand. Even though he thought this through, he still felt like something was stuck in his chest, making it lump, yet he couldn't swallow it or cough it out.

Leng Qingtang was no longer sleepy. He threw back the quilt and got off the bed. Changing into a blue outfit, he took the sword off the wall and walked out of the room.

He stood in the hallway and stared at the sky gloomily. Heavy clouds cracked open a gap in the dark sky, letting the clear and cold moonlight shine through. The snow was sparse, slowly falling, pilling up as sorrow in the world.

He twisted his right wrist and unsheathed the sword. A pale white shadow of the sword slit through the night.

He moved around, practicing swordsmanship in the yard.

With every movement of his arm, there was a sharp light of the sword dashing through the air. The cold lights gathered around his flexible body that was constantly moving as if shining silver dragons flying around his body.

The flying snows were interfered with by the sword. They immediately went out of shape as if startled birds. Before they could come close to him, they evaporated into white steam. They gathered or separated following the movement of the sword. It formed a majestic scene under the dark night.

Suddenly, a faint sound stopped his movement. Leng Qingtang quickly turned his wrist and shook his hand.

The sword rang, ripping the dark night apart. The sword went directly to the roof of the wing-room when Leng Qingtang let go of it.

The sound of cracking went off. The roof was swept through by the sharp sword. The top beam suddenly broke. The tiles and snow erupted.

A person in white rolled off from the collapsing roof with broken tiles. Leng Qingtang retrieved the sword with internal strength using his right hand.

The person twisted his body agilely in the air when he was falling. He didn't make any sound when his feet landed on the ground. It showed how good his levitation was.

Leng Qingtang noticed that. He squinted his slanted eyes and carefully observed the incomer.

He wore a white outfit and tied his long hair high. Most of his face was covered by a silver mask with intricate carvings, so he wouldn't be recognized.

"Say your name!"

Across him, the long and cold sword slit through the night, pointing to its opponent like a bolt of cold lightning. The owner of the sword asked with a deep voice.

The man pried the Eastern Depot at night and wore white in the dark. He was truly arrogant and didn't know who he was.

The man didn't answer, but held up the iron knife in his hand and rushed towards Leng Qingtang with great force.

Leng Qingtang curled up his lips slightly. He waved the sword calmly. Two shadows of light and dark fought in the yard. The swordsmanship of the man in white was aggressive and ruthless while Leng Qingtang was neither conceited nor rash. All his movements were overcoming the man's with gentleness. In a short time, they exchanged a hundred blows. When passing through him, Leng Qingtang asked the man in white,

"Have you been to the Qingfeng Temple?"

The man kept silent and continued fighting.

There was noise outside the yard.

When the roof of the wing-room collapsed, it startled Sun Bing, the depot worker who stayed guard, and other guards who were resting in other residences. When Sun Bing ran out and called for help, Cheng Wanli, the first, second, and seventh captain, and a group of guards already rushed into the Southern Residence.

"Protect the Master!"

Cheng Wanli yelled loudly, holding his sword and leading the crowd.

The guards had already surrounded the Southern Residence. No one was getting in or out. Some guards held the weapons and went on the roof, setting up a defense line in the high place. Countless sharp weapons and torches tangled up. The blinking and mottled lights waved an airtight cage. It was eye-catching in the cold night.

Seeing he was at an inferior position, the man in white waved his arm and sprinkled a handful of hidden weapons. The hard metal clashed onto the weapons in the guards' hands. The sparks were everywhere, adding more tension to the scene.

Someone was hit on the roof, creating a gap in the defense line. The man in white immediately jumped on the roof. Leng Qingtang and Cheng Wanli followed him closely.

Another round of fighting went on. The swords flashed. All parties fought fiercely as if having limitless internal strength. In the fight, the powerful force of swords radiated towards all angles.

People who were fast all avoided this force. Cheng Wanli and others landed on the ground to avoid it. They stared at the two who were fighting on the roof, feeling annoyed as they couldn't help.

While Leng Qingtang was fighting with the man in white, he went over the roofs with him, chasing him from the Southern Residence to the Western Residence. Leng Qingtang always thought he was good at levitation, yet now he met his opponent. He didn't know if he had a bad instinct, but he couldn't stop thinking that this mysterious man in white was connected to the person who wrote those words in the Qingfeng Temple.

"I have to take him."

Making the decision in his heart, Leng Qingtang speeded up and stroke fiercely. The sharp sword and the iron knife clashed and fire sparked. The deafening sound of metal ringing ripped the night apart. A thick and pungent smell was spreading in the fresh and cold air of this snowy night.

Another hundreds of moves were exchanged. Leng Qingtang used his sword and forced the man in white to land outside the main hall of the Eastern Depot. The guards all followed.

Leng Qingtang waved his sword in slant. The swords rolled over with the wind. The man in white was startled. His pupils enlarged. He took the sword and tried to take the blow in haste. Leng Qingtang curled up his lips. His eyes were cold. He concentrated 40% of his internal strength on the sword.

Crack.

The sound of something breaking rang by his ear. The iron knife in the man's hand was broken into two pieces by Leng Qingtang's sword. The broken sword fell onto the ground covered by snow.

The man in white looked down. He was surprised as if he had not seen this coming. His face was covered by the mask so no one could see his look. They could only hear some unclear sounds coming out of his throat.