Chapter 45: The Emperor and His Ministers Have Already Met with the Time (45)

Shen Minghuan was gone for three months.

He left when it was snowy, and when he came back, the road was covered with lush green.

He Zhang rode his horse and drove side by side with Shen Minghuan's carriage.

Zhuo Feichen took on the responsibility of the driver and drove Shen Minghuan himself, trying to be fast and stable. He only believed in his driving skills.

They returned with a great victory, and defeated the Kou Kingdom that Qi Dynasty hated to the core, but there was no joy on their faces, only lingering worries.

——Shen Minghuan was injured, and the injury was not light.

He was shot in the back by an arrow, and the arrow blade was poisoned. Until now, the poison has not been completely removed.

Perhaps because the remaining poison has not been cleared, Shen Minghuan's injury has not healed.

The best doctors are in Yanling, and the conditions in the north are difficult and not suitable for recuperation. If not for this, Zhuo Feichen would not agree to let him go back at this time. After all, even if he didn't feel the bumps, this long journey would be a big burden on his body.

The person involved didn't think it was a big deal. He would open the thick curtain of the carriage from time to time. There was nothing important. He just called Zhuo Feichen, and then sat down obediently and put down the curtain under Zhuo Feichen's angry roar.

The above process was repeated constantly, and Shen Minghuan never got tired of it.

"General Zhuo." Shen Minghuan started a new round of scolding.

Zhuo Feichen took a deep breath and shouted loudly: "Shen Che! Put down the curtain! The wind is strong! The wind is strong! If you have anything to say, just say it through the curtain!"

He had a headache and really didn't understand why Shen Minghuan was still so rebellious at this age?

"Okay, put it down if you want to." Shen Minghuan's attitude of admitting defeat became more and more skilled: "But I'm bored, otherwise you can call He Zhang to accompany me?"

Zhuo Feichen was overjoyed: "He Zhang, He Zhang, come here quickly, go to the carriage to accompany Minghuan."

Will Shen Minghuan be more obedient in this way? Zhuo Feichen felt the difficulty of raising a child, and was glad for the ten thousandth time that he didn't have a child.

He Zhang had been following the carriage closely. He heard Shen Minghuan talking when he was talking, and he was a little hesitant.

Although he had spent a lot more time with this man during this period, it was limited to official business. Shen Minghuan gave orders and he executed them, that's all.

When Zhuo Feichen was concerned about Shen Minghuan and talked and laughed with him, He Zhang always avoided him if he could, and kept silent to reduce his presence if he couldn't avoid him.

He didn't know why Shen Minghuan could be so calm and didn't care about his previous assassination.

Zhuo Feichen was still urging: "He Zhang, He Zhang."

Shen Minghuan was overwhelmed with joy and repeated like a parrot: "He Zhang, He Zhang."

He Zhang silently dismounted and carefully took off his armor that was emitting cold air, and then bent down to get on the carriage.

Shen Minghuan winked at him and teased: "How does it feel to let the god of war drive for you?"

He Zhang just glanced at him and didn't say anything.

Because of the injury, Shen Minghuan's face was a little pale. He was thin to begin with, and now he looked even more fragile.

He Zhang knew that his condition was not good. The wound on his back was still hideous, and the poison was tormenting him all the time, but this man still smiled brightly and wantonly.

"Do you still want to kill me?" Shen Minghuan didn't care that he didn't answer, and said to himself: "But you obviously don't have this opportunity, and you probably won't have it forever."

He Zhang couldn't help but said: "I can kill you now." With this man's current appearance, He Zhang could pinch him to death with just a flick of his finger, and Zhuo Feichen wouldn't be able to save him in time.

On the contrary, Shen Minghuan could still be alone with him in this situation. Could it be that... he trusted him?

Shen Minghuan laughed again when he heard this, leaning forward and backward, making He Zhang very worried that this man would pull the wound on his back.

Shen Minghuan finished laughing and changed the topic: "What do you think of the current emperor? How does he compare to the late emperor?"

He Zhang: "..."

"I understand, I understand." Shen Minghuan said seriously: "You want to say that Luo Xiuyuan is good in every way, and the late emperor is not worthy of being compared with him."

He Zhang: "..."

Shen Minghuan nodded, and he understood again, "It's a pity that it just lacks a favor, right? Oh, I understand."

"General He," Shen Minghuan said, "I'm curious, if the person who avenged you was Luo Xiuyuan, would you also protect him and be loyal to him at all costs? Will you always respect his will and be the sword in his hand?"

"I will." He Zhang answered quickly this time.

"Hey, don't be so confident, General He." Shen Minghuan seemed to be discussing with him seriously: "Look, if someone saves you now, or kills the enemy you can't solve, won't you run away with them again?"

He Zhang was also serious: "I'm not bad, I don't have so many enemies."

"That's right, if you have a blood feud every now and then, your life will be too miserable." Shen Minghuan looked at him with pity, as if he had already shouldered ten or eight deep hatreds.

Shen Minghuan secretly opened the curtain on the window carefully, and He Zhang looked at his sneaky movements and was very conflicted about whether to complain.

"We are almost at Yanling." Shen Minghuan suddenly said, "General He, go back first and tell them to clean up my room. I still need to have a big meal. During this period, we have either dry food or game, and your cooking skills are not good. The food is very unpalatable."

He Zhang saw him frowning and complaining dissatisfiedly, and felt that Shen Minghuan was very strange.

In order to save time, they always took shortcuts and there were no cities on the way.

But Zhuo Feichen felt sorry for Shen Minghuan. If there were towns nearby, he would definitely grab He Zhang's horse and go shopping alone. They were called dry food, but in fact they were all exquisite snacks. Even if they were not as good as the skills of the imperial chefs in the palace, they would not be much worse.

If it was in the wilderness, Zhuo Feichen would go hunting specifically and make a pot of nourishing soup for Shen Minghuan under such inadequate conditions.

He Zhang never thought that a long journey could be so comfortable. He felt that even the emperor might not have such treatment when he went on tour.

But Shen Minghuan was still not satisfied.

This man was so delicate that he didn't say a word after being injured, and didn't even show the slightest pain.

Actually, he wasn't very delicate. He had never complained before and ate whatever was given to him. During the war, he was trapped in the mountains and forests, and he swallowed grass roots and tree barks without changing his expression.

Shen Minghuan finally finished his "requests", "That's all for now, you go."

Zhuo Feichen, who was driving, also raised his voice slightly: "He Zhang, you go back first, let those imperial doctors wait."

*

The morning court had just ended, and Luo Xiuyuan kept several newly promoted officials to discuss matters.

After finishing the official business, he started to talk about private matters. Luo Xiuyuan said a lot of good things about Shen Minghuan, trying to brainwash these officials secretly.

Luo Xiuyuan was a very gentle emperor, and the officials would occasionally joke with him.

Someone said boldly: "Your Majesty, you and the prince really deceived us."

"Not only you, I was also kept in the dark by Ming Huan at the beginning. If I hadn't discovered it myself, Ming Huan would not have told me." Luo Xiuyuan said with a smile.

Now the officials were curious, "Why?"

Luo Xiuyuan had also asked Shen Ming Huan this question, why didn't he inform him in advance, this person should have told him when he "departed" to Luo Xiuqi.

Otherwise, what if he was stupid enough to really think that this person betrayed him?

"Ming Huan said..." This is not something that can be said easily, Luo Xiuyuan's tone suddenly became a little low.

At that time, Shen Minghuan was writing something at his desk. After hearing Luo Xiuyuan's question, he casually replied: "Because if I tell you, you will definitely not agree."

"Daqi is a rotten tree. The noble families, the powerful, and even the previous emperor are all rotten roots buried deep underground. You have no shortage of loyal ministers around you, but loyal ministers can't save such a Daqi."

He had just finished writing one, blew the ink on it, and put it aside: "Nirvana rebirth must first experience the torment of fire. If Daqi wants to be reborn, someone needs to cut off all these roots, and I am willing to be the knife holder."

"I need power." Shen Minghuan stretched and took another He wrote on a piece of white paper: "I know you will believe me, but Qu Xiang and the others probably won't. If you argue, it will inevitably affect the relationship between the monarch and his subjects. I want to help you, and I can't destroy your relationship."

"You are the emperor, and it is inconvenient to do these things, but I don't have these concerns." Shen Minghuan continued to write, and said with one mind: "Sometimes, powerful ministers can play a greater role than loyal ministers, right?"

So he was the regent, and he killed everyone in Daqi and made a river of blood. He took the lives and sins, in exchange for Luo Xiuyuan's path to ascend the throne to be spotless, and for this huge mountain and river to be splendid and beautiful.

Luo Xiuyuan repeated Shen Minghuan's words word for word, and the people present held their breath and looked solemn.

They stood up at the same time and bowed deeply to the northwest, "Your Majesty is noble."

Luo Xiuyuan listened to the praises of Shen Minghuan by everyone around him, and his mood instantly became depressed when he thought of the person far away in the north.

He had another part to say.

It was dark at that time, the room was as bright as day, there was snow outside the window, and looking up, the distance was as black as ink.

Shen Minghuan put down the pen in his hand, half leaned on the chair, and closed his eyes slightly, "I wanted to never tell you... If I failed, the public was angry, and the nobles threatened the court, you could still push me out and let them deal with me to calm their anger, so that you can buy some time for Daqi."

"Why do you look like this? It's just if, am I not fine now? Besides, with the blood on my hands, it's not too much to sentence me to death by slow slicing..."

"Hey, hey, hey, you're not going to cry, are you? Your Majesty, Luo Xiuyuan, it's embarrassing to cry at such an old age... Don't cry, don't cry, isn't it okay if I was wrong?"

"That's why I don't want you to know, I know you must be sad if you know, and it might be easier for you to feel that I betrayed you. Who told you to guess and investigate..."