The Cannon Fodder and Villain's Happy Ending

Chapter 327

The emperor also took a sip of his tea, then changed the subject and continued to talk about the topic they were discussing earlier. “…The Japanese pirates and bandits in Minzhou have become a problem, these two years, the troops in Minzhou have suffered heavy casualties so have the imperial court sent more troops for reinforcements.”

As he spoke, the emperor showed a hesitant look on his face.

Gu Zezhi knew why the emperor was hesitant, he had long intended to pacify Minzhou, however, over the years, the internal and external troubles of Daqi have been constant, and the successive wars with Northern Yan have left Daqi with great damage to its strength. Not to mention the national treasury was insufficient, and the emperor was afraid that Daqi would not be able to mobilize if in any case, those other barbarians were to move.

Gu Zezhi said bluntly, “If the emperor intends to pacify the Japanese insurgency in Minzhou, I think the time is right now…”

The emperor raised his eyebrows and listened intently; and his gaze deepened.

The two cousins continued talking about the matter of Minzhou. The servant in the imperial study didn’t dare to disturb them and just held her breath and only occasionally replaced them with fresh tea.

In the imperial study, there was only the sound of the two of them talking, and occasionally the sound of the wind blowing the leaves of the tree outside the window.

After two rounds of drinking tea, Yuan Minggang and the imperial physician come back to report.

Yuan Minggang reported in detail how Yelu Luan sneaked out of the Siyi Pavillion and stabbed Gu Jing in the thigh with a dagger. He also mentioned that Qin Zhun had gone to the Second Prince’s Mansion.

Upon hearing the name “Qin Zhun”, the emperor seemed somewhat surprised. The teacup held in mid-air paused for a moment, and a hint of mockery flashed through his eyes but didn’t say anything.

At the end of his report Yuan Minggang said. “… Prince Yelu has returned to the Siyi Pavilion.”

Yuan Minggang had to admit that the Second Prince of Northern Yan was indeed a ruthless person who take his revenge. Under normal situations, normal people would have long tucked their tails between their legs and acted humanely but instead, he made such a huge fuss.

The emperor’s gaze shifted to the imperial physician and asked, “How is Gu Jing’s injury?”

“Answering to the emperor, when this imperial physician arrived at the Second Prince’s residence, the physician from Hui Chun Hall had already arrived, so neither this imperial physician nor imperial physician Wu saw the second prince. His Highness only sent a word that it was a minor injury and did not need an imperial physician, so this imperial physician returned first and left Imperial Physician Wu over there.” Imperial Physician Ling Zuo bowed his head and said, his expression inevitably shows fear as if something might happen to Gu Jing.

The emperor, on the other hand, still looked calm as he slowly sips on his tea.

Putting his teacup down, the emperor said in a low voice, “Since he doesn’t want to be seen by the imperial physician, it means his injury is not serious. You can ask Imperial Physician Wu to come back, too.”

Imperial Physician Ling Zuo accepted the order.

After the imperial physician retired, the emperor ordered Yuan Minggang again, “This is Daqi, not Northern Yan, Yelu Luan shouldn’t run wild.” As he spoke, the emperor’s eyes became deep and serene.

Gu Jing was his son, and Yelu Luan injured Da Qi’s second prince with a weapon in public, this was clearly a disrespect to Daqi!

Gu Zezhi curled his lips as he said softly, “His eating well, has no work and since he has nothing to do he is free, your majesty why don’t you let him do hard labor?”

Emperor: “…”

The emperor thought for a moment and realized that Gu Zezhi’s idea was brilliant.

Yelu Luan was the prince of Northern Yan. Daqi and Dayan have temporarily ceased the war at the moment, and have just signed a peace agreement, so for the sake of the hard-won peace between the two countries, he couldn’t just have him dead.

So, having him do hard labor was reasonable after the commotion he cause, otherwise, where would he place Daqi’s prestige!

The emperor commanded, “Yuan Minggang, you should personally go to the Siyi Pavillion and pass on my oral orders to punish Yelu Luan for thirty boards, plus one year of hard labor.”

“Your Majesty, Second Prince of Yelu still has a wedding to attend.” Gu Zezhi reminded at the right time.

The emperor thought that was right and, changed his mind, he said, “Then let Yelu Luan finish the marriage first, and then send him to do hard labor.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Yuan Minggang cupped his fists and obediently accepted the orders, before he calmly glanced at Gu Zezhi, thinking that Gu Zezhi seemed to have enmity towards the Third Princess and Princess Yingluo.

Yuan Minggang quickly withdrew, leaving only the emperor and Gu Zezhi once again in the imperial study. They continued their conversation on Minzhou, not mentioning Gu Jing, and Yelu Luan again.

“Your Majesty, Minzhou’s military strength is lacking. The main force of the Xishan Camp was to protect the safety of the capital as their top priority so it is not a long-term plan to transfer the troop from garrisoning Minzhou. After stabilizing Minzhou, farmers can be recruited locally in Minzhou and Wuzhou to form a new army…”

The emperor narrowed his eyes thoughtfully and said, “Tell me more.'”

As the two talked intently, the servants surrounding them were cautious, afraid of making extra noise when serving tea and pouring water.

Half an hour later, Gu Zezhi came out of the imperial study. After he left the palace, he went directly to the Qin mansion.

“Third Brother Gu,” Qin Zeyu who was inside the mansion happily came out to welcome him, “You’re here to see my sister, right? I’ve asked someone to call her.”

As he said this, Qin Zeyu couldn’t help but comment to himself that he must entertain his future brother-in-law well, make him feel at home, and give his sister some extra points.

Gu Zezhi also did not come empty-handed and gave Qin Zeyu a dagger.

Qin Zeyu immediately received it and couldn’t wait to draw out the dagger. The silver blade was carved with beautiful patterns and glistened with cold light. Qin Zeyu plucked a strand of hair and gently blow the hair, letting it pass through the dagger’s blade and immediately it split into half.

“Brother-in-law, this cut off a hair strand!” Qin Zeyu was so happy that he directly called Gu Zezhi brother-in-law.

Gu Zezhi was very pleased after hearing Qin Zeyu call him “brother-in-law”. He said with a smile plastered on his lips, “Do not hurt yourself.”

“Yes!” Qin Zeyu nodded his head repeatedly as he played with the dagger, unable to let go of the dagger but still remembered to lead Gu Zezhi to Jiusi Hall in the front yard to sit while waiting for Qin Jiu.

***