Chapter 209: Fate began to intertwine, the prosperous age began

Inside the Ministry of Justice prison, it was dark and damp, and a musty smell rushed into the nose.

Here, the candle flames flickered, reflecting one sorrowful face after another.

Recently, many powerful nobles arrested due to the Second Wang Wang Shizi's rebellion case and harboring remnants of the previous dynasty had been imprisoned; they were once the top-tier nobles of the Imperial Capital, but now they had fallen to such an end.

Perhaps when they chose to stand in line, they had expected such a day.

Jailers shuttled between the cells, occasionally sending out a few shouts, adding to the oppression.

Guo Guo Po Yun was dressed in casual clothes, carrying good wine and meat, and walked into the Ministry of Justice with big strides.

Even if he was the Commander-in-Chief of the three armies and a Great General, he didn't have the right to enter the Ministry of Justice prison directly; this was a different system.

The person he wanted to see was also a heavyweight, so Guo Guo Po Yun could only greet the Minister of Justice, Pang Jin, and said: "Minister Pang, I'm here to see the Wang Wang Shizi of Jing'an; can you make it convenient?"

Pang Jin saw that it was Guo Guo Po Yun who came, so he naturally put down the memorials in his hand and stood up to welcome him.

This was an old minister, a legend of the May Tian Ce Dynasty, and had just returned from a victory.

It was just that the person he wanted to see made Pang Jin frown and say: "General Guo, with your status, why do you need to wade into this muddy water? In case His Majesty finds out, I'm afraid..."

How could Pang Jin not know how serious this matter was; recently, many members of the Imperial Clan and nobles had lost their heads, and touching it meant certain death.

Guo Guo Po Yun laughed and said: "Don't worry, I have my own measure, and I will explain it to His Majesty myself when the time comes."

Seeing this, Pang Jin couldn't block him anymore, so he nodded and signaled the jailer to let him pass.

Guo Guo Po Yun walked into the Wang Wang Shizi of Jing'an's cell, only to see the Wang Wang Shizi of Jing'an, Li Longyu, sitting in the corner on a pile of straw, his face haggard.

Seeing Guo Guo Po Yun, a flash of surprise crossed his eyes, followed by a bitter smile.

"Old Guo, why are you here? Aren't you afraid of being implicated?" The Wang Wang Shizi of Jing'an asked.

Guo Guo Po Yun put the wine and meat on the table and said: "Nonsense, of course I'm afraid, but what kind of friendship do we have? Besides, the military merits I have on me didn't come for nothing, so it's not that easy to be implicated."

The two smiled at each other, as if returning to the days of fighting side by side many years ago.

They began to eat meat and drink wine, chatting about the past.

As they chatted, Guo Guo Po Yun suddenly teased: "Look at you, you wrote letters to scold me every day some time ago; if I hadn't taken your daughter to the northern battlefield, and she had made so many military contributions, she might have been locked up with you."

"It was indeed my short-sightedness; Ling'er has a great life, and with military merit, His Majesty wouldn't punish her, but I still have to sincerely thank you; I heard Ling'er has many contributions, and I, as a father, didn't have time to celebrate with her." The Wang Wang Shizi of Jing'an sighed.

Guo Guo Po Yun nodded and laughed: "Yes, this girl has a future; if it weren't for her repeated amazing performances, the progress of our Northern Army wouldn't have been so fast."

Speaking of this, Guo Guo Po Yun began to say how brave Li Ling was in the north, and how she had various ingenious ideas, which was very amazing, and she even discovered the underground passage of Holy Mountain City, which was simply a great contribution, possessing wisdom beyond her peers.

The Wang Wang Shizi of Jing'an was also surprised; didn't expect his daughter to be so promising, it was simply too unexpected.

But actually, this was all Chen Xuannan's credit; this guy didn't want any credit at all, and sent it all to Li Ling, doing a great job of hiding his merit and fame.

The Wang Wang Shizi of Jing'an sighed with emotion: "Ling'er's ability is dozens of times better than mine."

Here Guo Guo Po Yun expressed his affirmation of Li Ling, and even indicated that in the past, when the Wang Wang Shizi of Jing'an was in the late Emperor's camp, he was a drag, and it was normal for his daughter to be stronger than him.

This left the Wang Wang Shizi of Jing'an speechless; praising his daughter was fine, but why damage him.

The two chatted about the northern war, and the Wang Wang Shizi of Jing'an praised Li Chen's grand strategies endlessly.

As they chatted, the Wang Wang Shizi of Jing'an's expression dimmed and said: "My son is already hopeless, but please take care of my little daughter; during the time I am in prison, I hope you can keep her safe."

Guo Guo Po Yun patted the Wang Wang Shizi of Jing'an's shoulder and said: "Don't worry, as long as Ling'er doesn't make a big mistake, I will definitely protect her."

At this time, Guo Guo Po Yun changed the subject and said: "The May Tian Ce Dynasty and the Sassanid Dynasty have already started a war, and I estimate I will soon go to the western war zone; at most, I can only come to see you this time."

The Wang Wang Shizi of Jing'an smiled bitterly: "How many more times do you want to see me? I just don't want you to sit next to me."

Guo Guo Po Yun laughed and said: "What kind of crow's mouth are you? I came to see you out of kindness, but you cursed me."

The two chatted for a while longer, and Guo Guo Po Yun stood up to say goodbye.

He couldn't stay here for long, making Pang Jin and the jailers feel embarrassed.

It is estimated that it won't be long before the news of him coming to see the Wang Wang Shizi of Jing'an reaches Li Chen.

He wouldn't blame Pang Jin either; this was Pang Jin's job after all.

The Minister of Justice is the Emperor's close minister, and many things he cannot hide; Guo Guo Po Yun has been an official for many years and can understand.

On the other side, when Liu Hao was fighting at the front, he received help from the Ministry of War official Wu Qi and obtained many supplies.

Wu Qi not only relied on his own connections but also relied on his own financial resources, which could be said to have helped a lot.

Liu Hao returned victorious and invited his good brother to drink at the Zui Xian Lou, thanking his good brother while also taking the opportunity to show off his northern expedition contributions.

Also coming were the promoted Ministry of Justice official Xiao Ming, and Lin Mo, who had been hanging out with Xiao Ming recently.

They were all so-called geniuses and proud sons of heaven, now all serving as officials in the court.

The four sat around a table, drinking and chatting.

After Liu Hao exchanged pleasantries, he excitedly bragged about his battle achievements in the north and even showed his wounds to his brothers.

Wu Qi sighed at Liu Hao's good life; Xiao Ming was somewhat unconvinced, but still praised him a few times; Lin Mo praised him even more, saying Liu Hao was somewhat embarrassed.

The four chatted more and more speculatively, and drank quite a bit of wine.

Just at this time, Xu Zifeng, the son of the Princess of Zhennan, walked into the Zui Xian Lou alone.

Xu Zifeng was too depressed, so he came out to drink and relax after dinner.

He originally planned to call Ma Hei, but Ma Hei was busy at this time, so he came to Zui Xian Lou to drink alone and ran into Liu Hao and the others.

Liu Hao knew him anyway, they were colleagues, so he called Xu Zifeng over to drink together.

Xu Zifeng saw this and thought that drinking alone was boring, so he agreed and walked to the table.

Liu Hao thought to himself: I just shouted casually, you really came.

Thinking was thinking, but he still enthusiastically introduced Xu Zifeng to his brothers.

Thus, the young generation of officials in the Imperial Capital gathered together for the first time.

The five people sitting here drinking were harmonious on the surface, but actually undercurrents were surging, each with their own ghosts.

It could be said that the five people had one hundred heart eyes.

Some wanted to get promoted, some wanted to rebel, and some were afraid of being discovered that they had a relationship with the remnants of the previous dynasty.

But no matter what, everyone came to drink, and they only knew each other, without saying those inner things.

Just at this time, noisy sounds suddenly came from the side.

The five looked in the direction of the sound; it should be two groups of cultivators who were making trouble, seemingly about to fight.

One group looked like disciples of the General's Mansion, and the other group was the people of the Wang Wang Shizi of Anxi, Li Ji.

Xiao Ming, as a Ministry of Justice official, instinctively stepped forward to stop it.

But these guys didn't give face, especially the second-generation ancestors of the General's Mansion; their father had returned from a victory, and their momentum was high.

Seeing his good brother being bullied, Liu Hao and Xu Zifeng were unhappy.

They stepped forward to state their identities; they were all generals on the northern front, wanting to deter these second-generation ancestors.

One of the second-generation ancestors was drunk and wanted to provoke Liu Hao and Xu Zifeng.

But another more sober second-generation ancestor stopped him, indicating that he would give the two some face today, and they were preparing to leave.

Just at this time, the people of the Wang Wang Shizi of Anxi stopped them.

The leader said: "Just now you were disrespectful to the Wang Wang Shizi of Anxi; how can you leave like this?"

The Wang Wang Shizi of Anxi himself stood on the side, looking full of momentum.

The Wang Wang Shizi of Anxi looked very young, and actually was very young; he was Li Chen's own brother, ranked fourth.

That is, the prince whom Li Xueying called relatively honest, who went to the fief early to be a prince, did not participate in the competition for the throne, and did not even stand in line.

Actually, Li Chen was also almost at the age of being a prince; it was just that he hadn't gone yet when he became Emperor.

Xiao Ming asked about the situation and learned that these second-generation ancestors had drunk too much and accidentally bumped into the Wang Wang Shizi of Anxi, spilling wine all over the Wang Wang Shizi of Anxi.

The Wang Wang Shizi of Anxi was low-key, but that didn't mean he was easy to provoke.

As a member of the Imperial Clan, he still needed some majesty; he couldn't just let it go.

This group of second-generation ancestors had been arrogant recently, used to being rampant, and at home they belonged to the type that no one managed, so they were flying and domineering when they came out.

Therefore, both sides were bickering here.

Xiao Ming observed carefully for a while, and the Wang Wang Shizi of Anxi indeed had wine stains on him, and this group of second-generation ancestors also avoided this matter, stuttering.

Xiao Ming's temper also came up; I am a confidant of Minister Pang Jin, a mid-level cadre of the Ministry of Justice, and I can't handle a few second-generation ancestors?

Then how will I mix in the future? How will Lin Yue'e look at me when she comes back? Besides, Lin Yue'e has only left the Imperial Capital for a while, and you second-generation ancestors have no one to manage you, right?

Saying this, Xiao Ming showed the waist token given by Pang Jin.

This was Pang Jin's own waist token; getting this waist token meant Pang Jin had arrived in person.

Although it wasn't as terrifying as Li Chen's waist token, Pang Jin was the Minister of Justice, the Emperor's close minister, and had arrested many nobles during this period; there were even members of the Imperial Clan in the Ministry of Justice prison; who would dare to provoke Pang Jin for no reason.

Being targeted by Pang Jin basically meant bad luck.

Xiao Ming saw this and didn't want to spoil the fun of the northern expedition army too much, so he let these second-generation ancestors apologize.

After all, his authority was indeed not as terrifying as Lin Yue'e's.

If Lin Yue'e were here, these few people would definitely be in.

The second-generation ancestors knew they were in the wrong, and the people on the opposite side were getting more and more, and none of them were easy to provoke, so they had to apologize.

The Wang Wang Shizi of Anxi then waved his hand to let them leave.

Xiao Ming could be considered to have pretended a bit and prepared to go back to drink with his brothers.

!

However, the Wang Wang Shizi of Anxi took the initiative to walk over; he wanted to make friends with Liu Hao, Xu Zifeng, Xiao Ming, and others.

Because just now Xu Zifeng and Liu Hao revealed their identities; they were all vanguard generals who had just made military contributions.

While Xiao Ming was a mid-level official of the Ministry of Justice.

And there were two others who didn't say their identities, but the Wang Wang Shizi of Anxi felt they shouldn't be small characters either.

After all, birds of a feather flock together; being able to drink with these three, they certainly weren't small characters.

Don't look at him as the Wang Wang Shizi of Anxi, but he was just staying in one corner and didn't have much military power or real power.

Coming to the Imperial Capital this time, he was actually watching the western war zone of the May Tian Ce Dynasty start fighting and was preparing to find Li Chen to ask for a job.

We are all brothers, and we have no feud; I didn't think about being Emperor, just wanted to mix some military contributions and improve my status.

Brushing up on my presence in the May Tian Ce Dynasty, so I wouldn't be so cowardly.

Hearing that his aunt Li Xueying had returned, he also came to see her by the way.

Then Xu Zifeng and Liu Hao, these two people, the Wang Wang Shizi of Anxi really wanted to make friends with.

The Wang Wang Shizi of Anxi invited them to continue drinking, put down his status as a prince, and began to take the initiative to toast these few.

No matter what, he was a prince, and he was so polite, so Xiao Ming and the others felt somewhat flattered.

After three rounds of drinking, everyone was familiar with each other.

However, indeed no one dared to call the Wang Wang Shizi of Anxi, Li Ji, a brother; that would be a great disrespect to Li Chen.

Everyone said their addresses, and this gathering came to an end.

These people in different identities, in an accidental opportunity, the gears of fate began to collide together.

After the performance ended, Wu Qi also left Zui Xian Lou.

On the way home, he sighed that his two acquaintances had mixed so well, while he was still a bottom-level person in the Ministry of War.

Today he even met a prince, and the son of the Princess of Zhennan, which was the vanguard general of the Northern Army.

As a person in the Ministry of War, he knew something about the Wang Wang Shizi of Zhennan, so Wu Qi didn't plan to have deep contact with Xu Zifeng.

After all, if Li Chen determined that the Princess of Zhennan was rebelling, then Xu Zifeng would likely be guilty by association, and it wouldn't be good to implicate himself at that time.

As a small official with 'no background', Wu Qi had to be cautious to survive in the officialdom.

As for the Wang Wang Shizi of Anxi, Li Ji, he could move around more when he had time.

Take some time in these few days, bring some gifts to visit, and get a good relationship.

After all, he is a prince.

Thinking of this, he had already arrived at Changqing Street and returned home.

Just pushed the door open, but saw an incredible scene.

Grandfather and aunt were actually here, which could be understood, after all, they were all people of the Wu family.

But the most difficult to understand was that His Majesty Li Chen was actually here too!

This made Wu Qi feel incredible, thinking if he had drunk too much and his eyes were blurry.

Wu Qi was shocked and quickly knelt to pay respects to Li Chen.

Li Chen told him to be exempt from saluting and told him that he was just here to relax.

Li Chen had just been freed from a pile of memorials and came out to stroll with Wu Nanzhi.

Wu Nanzhi wanted to come back to see Grandfather Wu, so Li Chen followed.

The scene that made Wu Qi feel very terrifying appeared.

"Your Majesty, why did you come here, and grandfather and aunt, you are so casual beside His Majesty, what is the system!"

Wu Qi was trembling when he spoke.

But this scene made Grandfather Wu and Wu Nanzhi laugh.

In the following chat, Wu Qi was even more surprised.

It turned out that his aunt was actually an Imperial Concubine!

Grandfather had also broken through to the Sage Realm!

And had made great military contributions on the northern battlefield!

Ah? It turns out I was the only one who didn't know this?

You hid it from me so bitterly; I ate and slept in the Ministry of War all day and was almost exhausted.

Wu Qi only had a feeling of having just gotten internet access.

Just because of his low status, he was planning to go and please everyone at the banquet, but now he was also a relative of the Emperor!

Even the Emperor was in his own home, so the gold content of this relative of the Emperor could be imagined.

Don't know if it was because he drank too much or felt everything was too surprising, Wu Qi always felt his head was a bit dizzy.

Because the family was rising, Wu Qi's official position would certainly rise.

Li Chen told him to go to the Ministry of War tomorrow to serve as a Yuanwailang, which was a mid-level cadre!

Wu Qi kowtowed to thank him, his heart full of excitement and gratitude.

He only understood at this time how strong his background was.

He wished he could go and pull Liu Hao and Xiao Ming back to show off his sense of superiority.

Wu Qi also didn't expect that when he was drinking with Li Chen, he just mentioned it casually, saying his aunt was beautiful, didn't expect his aunt to really become an Imperial Concubine.

Since Wu Qi already knew, the rewards would come down, which meant that in a few days, Wu Qi would become Liu Hao's neighbor.

Wu Nanzhi was very favored, and the rewards Li Chen gave wouldn't be low.

Wu Qi could be considered to have risen, but some were happy and some were sad, and Li Ling was undoubtedly the one who had won a victory but couldn't be happy at all.

She paced anxiously in Guo Guo Po Yun's solemn mansion, her hands tightly clenched, her eyes full of anxiety.

Guo Guo Po Yun's son, Guo Zhenwei, stood beside her and comforted her softly: "Li Ling, don't worry, my father will be back in a while, why don't you eat something first?"

"Thank you for the kindness of the Young General." Li Ling turned to look at Guo Zhenwei, a flash of gratitude in her eyes.

Guo Zhenwei looked at Li Ling and also had mixed feelings.

Actually, Guo Zhenwei once liked Li Ling, but unfortunately he didn't obtain any military merit, and Li Ling already had a husband, so he could only bury this feeling.

He also knew that Li Ling was waiting in the mansion to make more military contributions and help her father get out of prison early.

After dinner ended, Guo Guo Po Yun walked into the hall with big strides; he was in casual clothes, with majesty mixed with some fatigue.

Li Ling quickly stepped forward, knelt and saluted: "Your humble servant Li Ling, pays respects to General Guo."

When she was in the Northern Army, Li Ling was at least a soldier under Guo Guo Po Yun, so she could indeed be addressed this way.

Guo Guo Po Yun supported Li Ling, his gaze full of appreciation and sympathy, and said: "Li Ling, I also know about your father's matter; His Majesty is a person who rewards and punishes clearly, and will certainly not blame you."

This was just polite talk; Li Ling immediately thanked Guo Guo Po Yun for his cultivation, and then expressed her desire to participate in the May Tian Ce Dynasty's Western Expedition, which was also her main purpose in coming here.

Finally, Li Ling earnestly said: "Great General, for my father, for the May Tian Ce Dynasty, I am willing to go through fire and water; please take me to the western battlefield and let me make new contributions for the Dynasty."

This statement was still relatively official, thinking mainly of making contributions for the May Tian Ce Dynasty.

Guo Guo Po Yun was silent for a moment and slowly said: "I am an old friend of your father, and I will do my best to fight for an opportunity for you, but having just returned from the northern battlefield, the Commander-in-Chief of the western battlefield has not yet been determined; after the morning court tomorrow, I will be able to give you an answer."

Li Ling heard this, and although there was disappointment in her heart, she didn't have any way; the May Tian Ce Dynasty was decided by Li Chen, and she couldn't make things too difficult for Guo Guo Po Yun.

Seeing this former subordinate, the daughter of an old friend, now somewhat lonely, Guo Guo Po Yun hinted again: "By the way, your aunt has returned to the Imperial Capital; you should go to visit her, and it's best to bring some gifts."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 210 =====