Chapter 280: How Long Would You Take? (I)
Shi hadn’t planned to have any contact with Tianji Sect so early.
However, now that Chen Mengxing’s whereabouts had been known and Tianji Sect offered help, Shi didn’t think it was right to ignore that!
So Shi decided to go to meet them. Long was worried about his empress, so he proposed to go with him.
Shi agreed after a short silence.
The two of them left the imperial city.
The reason why they went out, rather than asking someone to enter the imperial palace, was to avoid the attention of some evil people.
There was a secret passage leading to the outside and the place they chose was very close to the palace, so no one would notice them!
Long and Shi did this because they didn’t know the situation inside Tianji Sect.
Long asked the leader of Tianji Sect to go there alone. Other people weren’t allowed.
He believed Wu Ronghan was a wise man and would understand.
Of course Wu was smart, otherwise, he wouldn’t have thought of finding that poisonous insect and sending it to Shi.
When Long and Shi arrived, they saw Wu staying there alone.
“Mr. Wu, nice to meet you again,” Shi said first.
“Greetings, Your Majesties.” Wu was very respectful and knelt down to salute them.
“Mr. Wu.” Shi looked at him coldly. “Last time we saw each other… it was more than ten years ago, right?”
“Yes, you still remember that.”
“Of course I remember that.” Shi’s voice became colder.
Long smiled and tried to make the situation less awkward. “This is just fate. You can stand up, Mr. Wu.”
“Thank you, Your Majesties.” Wu stood up.
“This place is shabby. Mr. Wu, don’t be so cautious. Sit down,” Long said.
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
Wu indeed appeared very cautious.
What else could he do? His only daughter’s life was controlled by them!
Long stopped saying so much after Wu sat down.
Shi began to talk with him.
After all this, Long finally realized that his empress was actually a profiteer!
The poisonous insect? That was nothing special. Tianji Sect had a duty to give it to him.
The information? They had cooperated before. Since they’d known Chen Mengxing’s whereabouts, they naturally should tell him!
How could those things be counted as compensation?
Therefore, Shi took advantage of the opportunity and demanded much more.
Gold and silver, information, and manpower.
Moreover, when necessary, such as when two countries were at war, Tianji Sect must go to the frontline to get more information.
In the end, Wu almost agreed to all this in a cold sweat.
After Wu left, Long couldn’t help but ask, “Qingzhou, would this be too much?”
“Too much?” Shi smiled. “How can it be?”
“Well… I thought Wu Rongran would directly refuse!”
“You think too much. It’s not just about Wu Xiangyuan’s life,” Shi said calmly.
“Huh?” Long was confused.
“Tianji Sect is involved in the treason this time. Even if they were framed by others and it’s excusable, it’s a fact that they’ve really done that. Don’t forget that Wu Xiangyuan is the daughter of Tianji Sect’s leader!”
Hearing Shi’s words, Long blinked.
Shi continued, “What’s more, Tianji Sect has been ostentatious. In the past, the imperial court didn’t deal with them because you didn’t care, but it’s not the case now.”
Long took a deep breath. “So you didn’t exploit him, but gave him two choices.”
“Yes, I gave him only two choices. To perish, or to work for the imperial court!”
Long inhaled and exhaled slowly. “I heard you… mention the time limit.”
Shi nodded. “Naturally there is a time limit. The martial arts world has its rules and pride. Tianji Sect has existed for too long. This time, our nation is in danger and they have made a mistake, so we can use them. However, we can’t completely turn this organization into our possession. Otherwise, they would rather be destroyed. Therefore, I mentioned the time limit. They’ll work for us in a certain period of time. After that, Tianji Sect will still be that influential organization. By that time, both internal and external problems will be solved, so we won’t need Tianji Sect anymore.”
Shi explained the whole thing. Hearing those words, Long was impressed with Shi’s wisdom.
His empress really knew how to take advantage of those people. He knew their bottom line and those people had to agree even if they gritted their teeth!
“Qingzhou… I think I’m so lucky that you are not my enemy!”
Shi blinked. “Oh?”
Long smiled. “Don’t you think so? Qingzhou, you’re so smart. If I go against you, there won’t be a chance that I’ll win! I think I will definitely be abused badly.”
Long couldn’t help but think of the ending of the emperor in the novel.
He indeed ended up miserable. All the people betrayed him and he even lost the throne… The subordinates who were loyal to him were all killed and the unfaithful ones… went to serve others.
However, the world in that book was not as messy as it was in reality.
In that book, the biggest villains were the princes, but here, those princes were nothing at all and… almost all of them had been dead.
The First Wangyeh died a long time ago.
Another one died after that. Two months ago, the Fourth Wangyeh died.
As for the cause of death… he was killed by a bandit.
Of course, that bandit was posed by a Shadow Guardian, because the Fourth Wangyeh was also on the list! In addition, he had contact with Eastern Darkness. When he was caught, he’d been doomed to die.
It wasn’t appropriate to tell this to the public, so they used the bandit as an excuse.
In addition, they held a great funeral for him.
Of course, not all ministers were fools. They felt that the death of the Fourth Wangyeh was a bit strange.
Moreover, they all guessed who did it. Otherwise, how could they become so obedient?
“You’re thinking too much.” Shi stood up with a faint smile. “Why would I abuse you?”
“You would.” Long leaned forward and kissed Shi’s lips. “Qingzhou, you often abuse me.”
Shi rolled his eyes. “Do you have evidence?”
“You want evidence? Look, here it is.” While speaking, Long raised his arm. “Did you see it? It’s black and blue. You really abused me. I was almost pinched to death.”
There was really a bruise on Long’s arm and Shi frowned at once.
“Who did this? What’s happened?”
“Uh…” Seeing that Shi seemed to get angry, Long hurriedly said, “I hurt myself accidentally.”
Shi pursed his lips. “How did it happen? Why is it so serious?”
Long said like a poor kid, “I bumped it on the table when I took the pen.”
The corners of Shi’s mouth twitched. “You could even bump your arm on the table when taking the pen. I’m really impressed. You’re something else!”
Long blinked. “Because you weren’t with me at that time. Qingzhou, I kept thinking about you and didn’t pay attention to anything else, so I hurt myself. I think, if you were with me, I would definitely be alright.”
Shi had to admit that Long was getting much cheekier, so he laughed.
“I guess if I were there, you would say that you bumped your arm on the table because I disturbed you.”
“Well…” Long felt wronged and curled his lips. “Qingzhou, how can you say that? I’m wronged.”
Shi sneered. “You know yourself better than I do. All right, we should go back.”
“Qingzhou, you don’t love me at all.” Long pouted again.