Chapter 448

Although Liu Minghe was a scholar, he was no bookworm; on the contrary, he was fairly shrewd.

He knew there was no such thing as a free lunch in this world.

In this world, apart from one's parents, there is no love without a reason.

But at this point he had already reached a dead end, with no other way out.

Studying required money.

And quite a lot of it, at that.

Who knows how many people studied themselves to the bone, exhausting every last coin their families had saved.

Although Liu Minghe's family was poor, he had real talent, and studying was the only way out for a poor boy like him.

However, after being deliberately suppressed by the family of a fellow student, his first imperial examination was essentially finished, and he had reached a dead end.

Now someone was sponsoring him, helping him—even if the other party harbored no good intentions and wanted something in return.

Of course he would not refuse; he reached out and grabbed it directly.

However, what he did not know was that A Zhao, who loved him, was indeed a member of the Bai Lianjiao.

710　With silver supplied and the secret scheming help of people from the Bai Lianjiao, Liu Minghe rose to prominence very quickly.

Almost in a single bound, he left the rest behind and made the imperial list.

And just as he was riding high on success, the people who had been secretly sponsoring him found him.

He had long been prepared, expecting that the other side would surely come to demand repayment.

He had already decided: as long as it was not too difficult, he would agree to it.

After all, back then he had truly been at his limit, relying entirely on the other party's help.

That kindness was far too great!

But then?

When the people sponsoring him revealed their identity as members of the Bai Lianjiao, he was truly dumbfounded.

Without realizing it, he had boarded a pirate ship!

He could not even bring himself to refuse if he wanted to.

Being entangled with rebels of the Bai Lianjiao—no matter how eloquently he explained himself, if he were exposed he was finished.

The glory he had just obtained would vanish in the blink of an eye!

He was torn.

Or rather, his entire being was caught in a struggle.

On one side was his own ideal: to become a good official who would speak out for the people and manage the great affairs of the state.

On the other side was cooperating with a demonic organization.

In the end, he still could not escape the Bai Lianjiao's scheming, and boarded the Bai Lianjiao's pirate ship!

Who could blame him for being unable to let go, unwilling to be trampled back into the mud!

Fortunately, once inside the Bai Lianjiao, he was not needed for the time being; he only had to keep climbing higher.

302, secrecy!

Liu Minghe had a real talent for being an official, and with the Bai Lianjiao people secretly helping him,

his official career was essentially smooth sailing.

Even the small clan back in his old hometown—the one that had suppressed him—was easily brought down by him.

The higher his position in officialdom, the higher his standing within the core of the Bai Lianjiao.

Until he was appointed Prefect of Fuzhou Prefecture, a Fourth Rank, Senior Grade official of the court.

He also became one of the High-level officials of the ministry, controlling all Bai Lianjiao members in Fujian.

Previously, the two assassination attempts Su Qiao encountered when heading south from Suzhou had both been organized by him behind the scenes.

Even when the four great clans moved against Su Qiao, his shadow was there in the background.

He simply did not expect that not a single attempt succeeded; several schemes all failed.

……

Afterwards, Liu Minghe told Su Qiao the names of the other Bai Lianjiao members—the ones he knew.

"Lord Su, I know a great secret. I beg you, my lord, to show mercy—my wife, children, and elders at home have taken no part in Bai Lianjiao affairs. I beg you to show leniency!"

Liu Minghe suddenly dropped to his knees and began kowtowing to Su Qiao.

Su Qiao picked up the teacup from the table and calmly took a sip of clear tea.

Only then did he lower his gaze to meet Liu Minghe's eyes and say: "You should be clear on the consequences of being entangled with the Bai Lianjiao! Treason—across thousands of years, few have succeeded and many have failed, and every single one carries the crime of confiscating the family and exterminating nine clans!"

"Liu Minghe, you said earlier you would hold nothing back, that you would tell everything. Now you wish to trade some great secret for the lives of your family. Do you think I should agree to that?"

Su Qiao's words left Liu Minghe silent and torn.

He truly wanted to save the lives of his family.

By now he had completely given up struggling for himself.

Suddenly, Su Qiao spoke again: "I will give you one chance. Tell me the secret, and let us see whether it is worth anything. If it truly is important information, I can speak on your behalf before Your Majesty—execute only the chief culprits, and spare the lives of your family!"

"Really? Thank you, my lord, thank you, my lord!"

"Don't thank me just yet—speak first!"

"Yes, sir! I'll speak, I'll speak right now!"

Liu Minghe quickly steadied his agitated heart a little, then organized his words and said: "The secret this humble one speaks of reaches back a thousand years to the Sui Dynasty!"

"The Sui Dynasty?"

Su Qiao narrowed his eyes; a faint, dark light glimmered within them.

His thoughts had wandered off course—at first he had assumed it would be some palace intrigue, or perhaps some important matter of the present court.

GLOSSARY:

【Su Qiao, Bai Lianjiao, Prefect, Your Majesty, my lord, Fourth Rank Senior Grade, High-level officials of the ministry】

Now it doesn't look that way at all!

Liu Minghe nodded, afraid Su Qiao wouldn't believe him, and hurriedly said, "My lord Su, the previous dynasty's Emperor Wen of Sui, Yang Jian, had five imperial princes in total. These five imperial princes were, respectively, the eldest prince, the Prince of Fangling, Yang Yong; the second prince, the famous Emperor Yang of Sui, Yang Guang; and the remaining ones, Qin Wang Yang Jun, the Prince of Shu Yang Xiu, and the Prince of Han Yang Liang!"

"What you've said, this official is well aware of. Could the secret be related to them?"

Su Qiao had no idea what medicine Liu Minghe was selling in his gourd, so he could not help but open his mouth to ask.

Upon hearing this, Liu Minghe hurriedly nodded and said, "That's right, my lord, the matter is related to them!"

Liu Minghe continued, "Since my lord Su is aware of Emperor Wen of Sui Yang Jian's several sons, you must also roughly know their circumstances. The eldest prince Yang Yong was handsome in appearance, keen and studious, had considerable accomplishments in poetry and lyrics, and his character was gentle, sincere, and frank. He was unpretentious, governed with benevolence and loved the people, and won the unanimous approval of the civil and military officials as well as the common folk. He was likewise favored by Emperor Wen of Sui Yang Jian!"

"But then, this Yang Yong also had flaws, and the flaws were very obvious as well — he was lecherous, extravagant and debauched, took many concubines, and plundered no small number of treasures. Of course, the most famous among them was one called Yun Zhaoxun. Because of her outstanding beauty, she won Yang Yong's deep favor, and Yun Zhaoxun also bore Yang Yong three sons!"

"Her status was suddenly raised considerably, even to the point of sitting on equal footing with the principal wife. This aroused the displeasure of Yang Yong's mother, the great and famous Empress Wenxian, Dugu Qieluo!"

"The Crown Princess, Consort Yuan, never won favor from beginning to end. Yang Yong also hardly ever visited her. Wracked by melancholy, she fell ill and died not long after. Yang Yong then took the opportunity to have Yun Zhaoxun oversee the trivial affairs of the Crown Prince's Donggong."

"Empress Wenxian Dugu Qieluo, however, believed that Yang Yong and Yun Zhaoxun had conspired together to murder Consort Yuan, and she was very disgusted and angry with them. She not only punished and reprimanded Yang Yong, but also secretly dispatched people to investigate the situation."

"At that time the second prince Yang Guang, who was still the Prince of Jin, knew that his mother harbored dissatisfaction with Yang Yong, his elder brother, and was even more suspicious. So he pretended he did not love beauties, keeping only to Consort Xiao. His purpose was precisely to put on a deliberate show, contrasting his brother's coldness and ingratitude."

"Sure enough, Dugu Qieluo grew even more disgusted with Yang Yong, and instead, seeing Yang Guang's devoted nature, greatly praised his virtue! Later, Yang Su again presented slanderous words before Emperor Wen of Sui Yang Jian, slandering the Crown Prince Yang Yong. Yang Yong, who had long been suppressed and harbored considerable resentment, also let slip some words of complaint in private, which happened to come to Emperor Wen of Sui's knowledge."

"Thus Yang Yong was demoted to a commoner! The Prince of Jin Yang Guang was re-established as Crown Prince!"

If not for Su Qiao's patience being sufficient enough, or rather, for the fact that he had long been prepared in his heart.

Otherwise, he absolutely would not have let him continue speaking.

Su Qiao did not interrupt him either, but listened carefully while sipping tea.

After laying so much groundwork with all this nonsense, the main point should come next.

Sure enough, Liu Minghe's pace quickened by a fraction; he spoke until his mouth was dry and parched without stopping.

Afraid that Su Qiao had run out of patience to continue listening to his "nonsense."

"Until Emperor Wen of Sui Yang Jian fell gravely ill and lay in Renshou Palace, Yang Guang and Yang Jian's concubines were all attending at his side. Yang Guang, having just become Crown Prince and taken up residence in Donggong, could be said to be in high spirits. By chance he encountered Lady Xuanhua, and was immediately captivated by her delicate and beautiful face, unable to resist his lustful heart and wanting to step forward and do something."

"Fortunately, this matter was witnessed by someone, and only then did he come to his senses and hurriedly leave! Lady Xuanhua, however, told this matter to Emperor Wen of Sui Yang Jian. Emperor Wen of Sui at this time recalled everything, realized he had wronged Yang Yong, cursed Dugu Qieluo and Yang Guang roundly, and dispatched people to summon Yang Yong into the palace to rehabilitate him!"

"He prepared to depose Yang Guang and re-establish Yang Yong as Crown Prince. But many people in the palace had been bought by Yang Guang and become his eyes and ears. Seeing the situation deteriorating, he decisively intercepted the message. Then Emperor Wen of Sui passed away, and Yang Guang smoothly succeeded to the throne, immediately forging an edict of Emperor Wen of Sui to order Yang Yong to death. His descendants were not permitted to inherit his princely title, and the whole family was exiled to Jinan Prefecture."

"However, Yang Yong's relatives did not reach Jinan Prefecture before encountering horse bandits midway and being killed!" Cold.

303, the shadow behind Bai Lianjiao!

Upon reaching this point, Liu Minghe stopped.

And Su Qiao had someone bring him a cup of tea.

Having long been parched beyond endurance, he received it with both hands, gulped down several mouthfuls into his belly, and finally eased his dry mouth somewhat.

"The horse bandits that appeared out of nowhere should have been sent by Emperor Yang of Sui, right?"