Chapter 155 Playing Taichi (aka Diverting Responsibility)
Huiming looked at Emperor Zhou and said in a deep voice, “Your Majesty, this old monk has a younger brother whose surname is Yao Gu. His entire family is currently locked up in prison. This old monk knows that my younger brother has committed a grave sin, but he is still a close brother after all. I beg Your Majesty to let him live. This old monk is willing to bring him back to Golden Wheel Monastery and make him a monk. He will be an eternal companion for Buddha his entire life. He also has a son which has nothing to do with the affairs of my younger brother, so please let him live.” The Zhou Emperor did not speak… but his expression was cold. Does this damned monk think that just being a Heaven Rank expert would allow him to talk to me like this?
Emperor Zhou didn’t like Huiming at all. The old eunuch stood up and shrilly exclaimed, “Ridiculous! There are laws for a country and rules in a family! How can we let him go just like that? Yao Gu violated the laws of the country and should be executed according to the laws! You are a monk, yet you came here to talk about brotherhood? What family did you come from? What Buddhist cultivation do you cultivate?!”
This was a direct scolding! Even if one was a Heaven Rank, they would be punished if they thought they could do as they liked in the Royal Palace! Not to mention that Huiming had only just reached the Heaven Rank. His Grade wasn’t that high… Huiming glanced at the old eunuch and said in a low voice, “If Your Majesty agrees, I can listen to Your Majesty’s orders once without endangering my life!” Emperor Zhou snorted. Was this old monk crazy? Only once? And not even life threatening? Did he really think he was invincible after reaching the Heaven Rank? The problem was that Emperor Zhou didn’t want to offend a Heaven Rank over Yao Gu. Should he… let him go? However, he immediately thought of someone! Su Wen!
If this brat knows that I released him… will he mock me?
Last time, he said that I was trying to smooth things over. For such a case, he’ll probably call me a coward, right? It was embarrassing to be insulted by him… Emperor Zhou thought quickly. There was a fierce look in his eyes as he pondered another solution! Why not… kill this old monk? No! Killing a Heaven Rank expert for no reason… If word got out… that guy would come looking for trouble. Finally, Emperor Zhou could only let out a wry smile, “This matter is difficult to handle… This Yao Gu tried to assassinate my nephew. If I let him go, wouldn’t I be letting him down? I have to receive Su Wen’s approval before I can proceed with such a matter! That’s why the Master needs Su Wen to speak to me about this matter before I can agree!”
Emperor Zhou still mentioned wanting to release the person, but Su Wen had to be the one that approved it. If Su Wen came over to tell him to do so, this matter naturally couldn’t be blamed on him. He couldn’t possibly turn around and mock him, right?
Huiming frowned. He already heard of the whole story earlier on when walking over. Emperor Zhou wanted Su Wen to personally agree to setting Yao Gu free? Just as he was thinking about it, Emperor Zhou added, “Also, Master, no matter what your cultivation level is, you still have to abide by the laws of Great Zhou. You can’t try to coerce Su Wen. Otherwise… Master might not be able to leave the capital.”
Emperor Zhou chuckled as he spoke. He was warning Huiming that if he really tried to harm Su Wen to get his approval, Emperor Zhou would not mind killing him in the capital. At the very least, an early Heaven Rank wasn’t a big threat to Emperor Zhou! Huiming turned around and left. The little monk Zhizhen could tell that his master wasn’t very happy, but he wasn’t afraid either. He followed Huiming and skipped away. Emperor Zhou closed his eyes and pondered for a moment before saying, “Invite Thirteenth Uncle to come out of seclusion to keep an eye on this old fellow. If he dares to make a move, kill him on the spot!”
“Yes!”
“An Heaven Rank expert… is a double-edged sword! If it listens to me, it’ll be a sharp blade! If they don’t, I can easily hurt myself! The obedient ones are still the best!”. Su Wen didn’t know that he was about to be targeted by a Heaven Rank expert! Right now, he was holding a letter in his hand. It was written by Wu Muyu and sent by Wu Lie. “Brother Su… I miss you so much… Last time I said I would make soup for you but I didn’t make it. Bad daddy won’t let me go out every day now. I’m being watched very closely.” “I heard that you’re going to marry Sister Yan. Sister Yan will definitely make soup too, right? That way, Muyu can be more at ease.” “But Sister Yan is busy with work, she can’t think about Brother every day like others…”
“Even if Big Brother got married, Muyu will still like Big Brother! But would Big Brother forget Muyu?” “If big brother forgets Muyu, Muyu will be very sad, but she will also obediently not disturb big brother…”
“Muyu will always have a brother in her heart…”
After reading it, Su Wen rubbed his glabella.
This little girl… although she was still eccentric, the longing in her was clearly expressed.
He looked at Wu Lie and said, “How has Muyu been recently?”
“Great! Really good! She can eat five bowls of rice for one meal!”
Su Wen frowned. “She wants to gain weight?” “That’s not the case. After eating her fill, she’s been causing trouble in the residence every day. It’s really enjoyable to watch, the old man is about to lose it…” Wu Lie was obviously gloating. Recently, Wu Muyu and Wu Kunhu had been at total loggerheads with each other. The father-daughter pair both had the mentality that “If I’m not happy, no one should feel the same way as well”.
One was restricting one’s freedom while the other was causing trouble.
Wu Muyu had used all sorts of methods, such as singing in front of Wu Kunhu’s bedroom door in the middle of the night, practicing martial arts at home and accidentally demolishing the rooms, stealing the weapons of Wu Kunhu to poke at the firewood, playing with fire and “accidentally” lighting the stables, causing chaos in the Wu Residence in general.
On the other hand, Wu Lie was quite happy. Wu Kunhu had been tormented badly by Wu Muyu these days and didn’t have time to bother with him. During this period of time, other than occasionally finding fault with him and beating him up to vent his anger, he was basically living quite comfortably.
He had thick skin and wouldn’t take a beating seriously.
Wu Lie casually said, “The last time you said that you would bring me out to play, you stood me up instead. When will you make up for it?” Su Wen smiled. “Didn’t I get ambushed by Yao Gu? If you want to go, we’ll go in a moment! I’ll send someone to call the Second Prince and Zhao Rui.”
Wu Lie had a bitter expression on his face. “My house has a curfew. If I don’t go back, my old man will probably punish me.” Su Wen shook his head in disappointment, “Are you stupid? Isn’t your father fighting with your sister? Even if you don’t go back now, he might not know. Moreover, even if you are obedient, you will still get beaten up quite a bit. Why do you still have to listen to him?” “Look at me. I’ve been disobedient since I was young. I almost angered my father to death, but I’m still fine, right? This object called ‘Father’ is a little special, you can’t just get used to it, but have to actively anger them. Look at Wu Muyu, she made your father so angry, yet she didn’t get a beating. Turning around, you were the one getting a beating instead. So why are you still being obedient?” Wu Lie gaped! A moment later, he suddenly slapped his thigh! “Why didn’t I think of that earlier? Let’s go, we’re not going back today!” “Haha! Let’s go! Chu He, get the carriage ready!” As for Zhao Jin… Zhao Jin was currently unconscious.
He was only wearing his underwear, and her upper body was naked on a bed. The lights were bright, and the sounds of metal bones colliding could be heard from time to time. Blood was all over his body. Ni Hongxiao stood beside him, her eyes shining with excitement. She kept playing with his body. “This… should be fine, right? Absolutely no problem, I’m a genius!” “Hehe, I’ll add this. If this is suddenly activated, the enemy will be hard-pressed to defend against it.” “My calculations were indeed correct… as expected of a 6th Grade Earth Rank… vigorous blood energy, tenacious vitality, he didn’t die even after this!”
Su Wen and Wu Lie left the residence, directly boarding Su Wen’s carriage. Chu He casually flicked the whip, and the carriage slowly drove away. Huiming and Zhizhen followed from afar.
“Master, he’s Su Wen, right? Didn’t the emperor say he needs to approve? Quickly go and catch him!”
“Why are you following him instead of asking him?”
“Why aren’t you talking again? I’m always talking by myself.” “I’m so tired from walking. I want a ride too.”
Zhizhen nagged endlessly. Huiming’s expression however was cold. His original plan was simple. He would grab Su Wen and threaten him. But at some point in time, there was an additional faint aura behind him!
Very clearly, that person’s cultivation was above his!
Another Heaven Rank expert, but at a higher Grade!
Huiming knew that it was absolutely impossible for him to win! Obviously, this person was sent by Emperor Zhou who wanted to monitor his actions. Threats were not allowed.
However, Huiming could not think of a way to negotiate with Su Wen in a short period of time.
Thus he chose to just follow. He decided to take a look first at Su Wen’s actions and make a plan from there. Su Wen’s carriage stopped in front of the vermicelli stall as usual. Wu Lie was confused. “Aren’t we going to play? What are we doing here?”
Su Wen smiled and said, “I’ve already sent someone to inform the second prince and Zhao Rui. They’ll be here soon. Besides, it’s still early now, so there’s no hurry. Let’s have a bowl of vermicelli first. Didn’t your sister tell you that the vermicelli here is super delicious?”
The three of them found a seat and Su Wen ordered three bowls of noodles. Zhizhen looked at Huiming. “Master… I want to eat too….”
Hui Ming led Zhizhen to the table beside Su Wen and sat down. Wu Lie asked curiously, “What are you two watching?” “Round!”
“Round?”
“That’s right. It’s round in the heart and in the eyes. If you don’t believe me, look…”
Wu Lie stretched his head over and looked carefully!
“It’s indeed round!” The young monk was also very curious. He craned his neck to take a look. “What’s round?”
Pa!
Huiming aimed his chopsticks to smack his head at lightning speed! The young monk felt aggrieved. “I’m just looking at some round things. Why did you hit me?” “Recite the scriptures!”
“No, I want to eat vermicelli!”
“The noodles are not here yet, read it quickly!” “No, in a while, you will be chasing after this Benefactor Su Wen again and I won’t have time to eat the vermicelli…” The moment the little monk finished speaking, Su Wen and the other two turned around to look at Huiming… Su Wen narrowed his eyes. What was this monk doing? Chasing after him?
Just as Su Wen was about to go forward to ask, someone walked over to the owner of the fried vermicelli stall.
A young master and two servants stood in front of the pot! “Ma’am, cheer this young master up…” Upon hearing this line, Su Wen almost fainted. It was too classic. The stall owner forced a smile and said, “Sir, if you want to eat vermicelli, you can wait inside. If you don’t want to eat, you have to stay far away. Otherwise, the things in the pot might accidentally spill out and dirty your clothes.” Street hawkers like her could not afford to offend anyone. However, the man still refused to give up. “No! Your smile is ugly! Smile again for me!” At this moment, Su Wen had already walked over.
He reached out and slapped the back of that person’s head!
“Ouch! Who dares hit this daddy!” That person turned around and saw Su Wen. Su Wen grinned and scolded, “Have you not seen anyone f*cking smile before! Let me give you a smile, is it good?” That person was furious and scolded, “Good your f*cking mother, guards, f** k him up!”
Bang! Bang!
Just as his guards were about to step forward, they were beaten down by Chu He. Su Wen grabbed the neck of this person and moved closer to him. He whispered with a smile, “My name is Su Wen, my father is Su Changqing.” As soon as he said that, fear appeared in the other party’s eyes. But Su Wen continued to whisper, “I don’t want to ask for your name or your family background now. Do you understand me?” The meaning behind Su Wen’s words was clear. If he were to ask for the guy’s name and family background, then his methods of revenge would be extraordinary. That person quickly nodded. “Understood, understood, understood!” Su Wen straightened his body and smiled at him. “But I want to f*cking see you smile now!” The man cracked a smile that was uglier than crying.
Su Wen slapped him straightaway! “Pui! What sort of smile is that! Smile again for this daddy!” That person was slapped so hard, his mouth was full of blood! “Ha… ha… ha ha!” “Smile again! Louder!” “Hahaha!” “Again, don’t stop until I say so!” Su Wen turned around and smiled at the lady boss. “Please hurry up with my portion. I’m hungry.” After saying that, Su Wen walked back and everyone saw a strange scene. The lady boss was stir-frying the vermicelli, while a well-dressed young master was beside the powder stall, his mouth full of blood, facing the sky and laughing. The young monk, Zhizhen, sighed. “His laughter is so unpleasant. This Su Wen is so interesting.” At this moment, Su Wen sat at the monk’s table.
He gazed at Huiming and frowned as he said, “Why do you seem slightly familiar? Do we know each other?”
Huiming shook his head. “Then why are you following me?” Huiming put his hands together, “I would like to ask Benefactor for a favor.” “What is it?”
“Please let Yao Gu and his son go.”
Su Wen stared at Huiming and asked, “Then may I know your relationship with them?” “Yao Gu is my younger brother.” Huiming didn’t hide anything. Su Wen narrowed his eyes and asked, “And Master is…?” “Golden Wheel Monastery’s abbot, Huiming. Heaven Rank!” He knew very well that he needed to make Su Wen apprehensive. Thus, he pointed out his cultivation. Upon hearing about his cultivation base, Su Wen was a little terrified…
There was nothing he could do about it. Ever since Su Changqing told him that day, Su Wen had become even more wary of the Heaven Rank masters.
However, Su Wen was unwilling to let Yao Gu go just like that.
However, Su Wen would definitely not try to forcefully resist as well.
He pondered for a moment and said with a smile, “Master, although I have a personal grudge with Yao Gu, he still violated the law of the country. I’m only the commander of the Secret Shadow Guard. This punishment is not under my jurisdiction! Please look for His Majesty. As long as His Majesty agrees, I have nothing else to say.” Su Wen planned to push the blame to Emperor Zhou and let him play with the old monk. Hui Ming shook his head and said, “His Majesty asked me to look for you. He said that if we want to release Yao Gu, we must obtain your approval.” ‘F*ck! I’ve been tricked by that old fogey!’ Su Wen had a smile on his face, but he was already complaining in his heart. ‘His Majesty is clearly trying to push the blame to me. Hehe, but who doesn’t know how to play taichi?’
Su Wen’s expression turned solemn as he said, “Monk Huiming, look, you ran over here just like that and said empty words to me. I can’t believe what you said either. If I go to His Majesty and His Majesty punish me for overstepping my boundaries, would I not be crying in my deathbed? Why don’t you go to His Majesty and ask for an imperial decree to prove that His Majesty said those words just now, then I’ll enter the palace to plead for leniency for Yao Gu!” Huiming was stunned by his words. Although he was proficient in martial arts, how could he understand the intrigue and ploys of the court?
After Su Wen said that, he felt that this was indeed quite true.
At this moment, the stir-fried noodles were served. Su Wen smiled as he ate. “Think about it carefully. If a subordinate like us were to listen to anyone’s words, what would His Majesty feel? This is like a Daoist priest from Taihao Palace telling your apprentice monk that he should take out his master’s secret manual and read it to everyone. If the apprentice monk really reads it, what would you think? Is this reasonable? Why didn’t you ask him for a letter or something to verify the authenticity?” At that moment, the young monk looked at Huiming and said, “Master, that seems to be the case.” At this time, their stir-fried noodles were served.
Huiming coldly snapped at him, “Eat your noodles!”
He no longer mentioned asking Su Wen to beg the emperor.
After finishing the vermicelli, Su Wen threw down a silver ingot and said with a smile, “I’ll pay for the Master’s portion as well.” After saying that, he turned to look at the little monk and said, “There’s still a lot of money left. If you’re not full, eat more. Even if you eat all the stir-fried vermicelli here today, it’s still enough!” Su Wen got in the carriage and left. At this moment, the rich young master was still laughing, but his laughter was worse than crying. Seeing that Su Wen had left, he quickly got up and ran away without looking back. The young monk said, “This patron is really a good person! He’s kind-hearted.”
Huiming nodded. “He’s chivalrous at least.” “Master, is your brother a bad person then?” “Recite the scriptures!”
“No… I want to eat more.”
“Hurry and recite…” Inside the carriage, Wu Lie asked curiously, “That guy’s a Heaven Ranked expert! Heaven Rank! Is it okay if you don’t enter the palace?” Su Wen laughed. “What do you know? His Majesty clearly doesn’t want to let him go… Otherwise, why didn’t he give the order directly and instead kicked this guy to my place? If I really entered the palace, that’s what His Majesty doesn’t want to see.”
Su Wen never expected that the Emperor only did so because he did not want to be humiliated by Su Wen…
The next day, Huiming came to the palace again to explain his purpose for coming. Emperor Zhou frowned. “You said you want my royal decree?” Huiming said in a serious tone, “That’s right, I think what Benefactor Su Wen said makes sense. How can he trust me without any evidence?”
The Zhou Emperor touched his chin. This brat actually performed taichi and diverted the responsibility back to him! He smiled and said, “Huiming, it’s not that I don’t want to issue a decree, but think about it, this is a private matter, so how can I issue a decree? What kind of example did that brat give? Taihao Palace, right? Using the same example, if Taihao Palace’s Ox nosed Daoist went to look for you and said that he wanted to borrow your Sect’s secret manual to take a look. It’s fine if you let him secretly read it in private, but if you write a notice, wouldn’t it be too ugly once this matter gets out? It’s the same for me. Once I issue a decree, where would my prestige go? You can go and discuss with Su Wen… You don’t have to be anxious and persuade him properly.” Huiming walked out of the palace in a daze. The little monk frowned and said, “Master, why do I feel that whatever they’ve said makes sense? Who should we listen to?” Huiming looked up to the sky and let out a long sigh. He didn’t know that he had also fallen into confusion! “Neither do I…” He’d thought that coming to the capital with his Heaven Rank cultivation, taking two lives back would be easy.
But why was it so difficult to do something so simple?
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