Chapter 1042: Take a Gamble, the Bicycle Turns into a Motorcycle

Chen Guanlou looked left and right, asking Xie Gechen with his eyes: Are you sure you want to talk about Pure Yang Zhenren in front of Monk Jueneng?

Xie Gechen raised his eyebrows and smiled. "Master Jueneng is not an outsider; Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen need not have any concerns."

Chen Guanlou looked enlightened. "I actually didn't know that Master Jueneng has only been back in the capital for a few months, yet the two of you have already become such close friends, with such a familiar relationship!"

"Amitabha!" Jueneng chanted a Buddhist name. "This poor monk deeply admires Pure Yang Zhenren and has always wanted to find an opportunity to ask for advice. But ever since the scripture debate, Pure Yang Zhenren has been in seclusion and does not see outsiders. I feel very regretful!"

"You won the scripture debate, so what are you looking for the Zhenren for? To continue stimulating him and let him suffer a second qi deviation?" Chen Guanlou asked very bluntly.

"Not so!" Monk Jueneng's expression was calm, and he did not get angry. "Winning the scripture debate was just luck. Compared to cultivation, I am far behind the Zhenren! This poor monk is sincerely asking for advice, with absolutely no ulterior motives. Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen, please do not misunderstand."

Chen Guanlou raised his eyebrows and smiled. "Whether I misunderstand is not important! But in the eyes of the world, you, a person who won the scripture debate, are still thinking about the Zhenren—that is clearly having ill intentions. Lord Xie, if you have any purpose, you might as well say it directly. You setting up this situation today makes my heart feel terrified. Even the monk, the more I look at him, the less pleasing he is to my eyes!"

Upon hearing this, Jueneng's brows moved slightly, but he still did not get angry. He seemed to have very good self-restraint.

Xie Gechen, on the other hand, had a face of being unable to laugh or cry. "Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen is still the same, not leaving any room for human feelings when speaking."

"You are being sneaky; could it be that you still want me to cooperate? Acting all mysterious, you don't look like good people! You definitely aren't holding back any good farts! Xie Gechen, we have at least dealt with each other for a year; I dare not say anything else, but at least I dare to be certain that you definitely don't have good intentions. Speak, you invited me here, and it was so circuitous—what exactly do you want to do?"

Chen Guanlou laid his cards on the table, too lazy to play their mysterious games.

They only did things that were empty and flashy; couldn't they just talk about the main business directly? The official atmosphere was not good! None of them knew how to speak properly.

Xie Gechen gave a bitter smile. "Sigh! This official knew that to talk to you about things, one has to be more direct. The matter of Yuquan Palace refining pills and offering them to the imperial palace, Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen must be clear about."

Chen Guanlou nodded. "I know about this. Is there a problem? As far as I know, during the late Emperor's time, it was also people from Yuquan Palace who refined pills and offered them to the palace. If there was a problem with the pills, there would have been a problem during the late Emperor's time; there's no need to wait until now."

"I didn't say there was a problem with Yuquan Palace's pills. On the contrary, the effect of Yuquan Palace's pills is becoming more and more intense, better and better! It's already so good that His Majesty can serve three women at night without feeling fatigued, and the next day he can still get up early to review memorials and handle state affairs!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the quiet room fell silent.

Chen Guanlou dug at his ears; was this something he could listen to?

This kind of thing should be considered an imperial palace secret and must be kept confidential. Whoever dared to leak it would have their head chopped off.

Xie Gechen just said it so blatantly; was that appropriate?

He looked toward Monk Jueneng.

Jueneng was silently reciting Buddhist scriptures, looking like an enlightened high monk.

He looked toward Xie Gechen again. "Why are you telling me this? Even if you tell me imperial secrets, I am not a grasshopper on the same rope as you."

Xie Gechen wanted to laugh but couldn't. He coughed lightly to cover up his inner emotions. "Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen misunderstands; I am not trying to be a grasshopper on the same rope as you." He was not that vulgar.

"Then why are you saying all this?"

"It's a good thing that the pill effect is good. But it's too good, and sometimes that's not a good thing; it's trouble, huge trouble. Do you understand?"

Chen Guanlou raised his eyebrows slightly, looking enlightened.

He caught a glimpse of the truth and immediately started laughing. "You dislike that Yuquan Palace's pills have too good a therapeutic effect and the Emperor has too much energy. Hahaha... Since you dislike it, why don't you just find Yuquan Palace and say something? Why are you looking for me? I'm not a person from Yuquan Palace, and I don't refine pills."

"This official cannot say anything or do anything to the people of Yuquan Palace." Xie Gechen said solemnly.

"Avoiding suspicion! I understand! You cannot come forward yourself, and the Xie residence cannot come forward, so you can find your friends and relatives."

"They won't do! People in the officialdom and scholarly circles won't do! Only someone who has no involvement with the officialdom and scholarly circles, like you, is the most suitable. Everyone knows that you have some friendship with Pure Yang Zhenren. You act uniquely; if you go to see the Zhenren, people won't think much of it. After all, for so many years, you have already convinced people that you truly have no thoughts of promotion or getting rich."

This time, Xie Gechen did not hide anything and stated his reasons very bluntly.

Chen Guanlou raised his eyebrows and smiled, pointing at himself. "You hope I will take a trip to Yuquan Palace for you, to let Yuquan Palace weaken the pill's therapeutic effect, so the Emperor won't be so energetic."

"Yes! I won't let you run for nothing." Xie Gechen's tone was slow as he continued: "Moreover, this matter is also beneficial to the Hou Fu. Perhaps you don't know yet that the imperial court is already taking steps to let Marquis Pingjiang return to the capital. How to choose between an energetic Emperor and an Emperor with limited energy—I presume you have your own ideas."

Chen Guanlou was dumbfounded. He was very curious, so he couldn't help but lean closer to carefully examine Xie Gechen. "You are the official most trusted by the Emperor, yet you are taking the lead in plotting against him? Won't your conscience be uneasy?"

"Wrong! This official is not plotting; this official is worrying for the Emperor and thinking about the Emperor's health. No matter how good the pill's effect is, essentially it is still burning the body's essence, which is of no benefit to the Emperor's longevity."

No matter how high-sounding the words were, they couldn't change the essence of the facts; a plot was a plot!

Chen Guanlou sneered.

"If the Emperor knew you were plotting against him, guess whether he would chop off your head!"

Xie Gechen raised his eyebrows and smiled slightly. "Then, will you help this official plot?"

He was too lazy to argue and directly admitted to the so-called plot to his face.

Chen Guanlou couldn't help but ponder.

"An energetic, healthy, and long-lived Emperor seems like he would become a constraint for the Left Prime Minister, leaving you controlled everywhere. Conversely, an Emperor with limited energy—the Left Prime Minister would naturally have him in the palm of his hand, easily manipulating him! Tsk tsk... In the past, when reading books, I always saw talk of the struggle between imperial power and prime ministerial power, and I could never intuitively understand it. Now witnessing it with my own eyes, I finally understand what the struggle between imperial power and prime ministerial power is! Are they all this shameless?"

Xie Gechen smiled and did not get angry. "The balance and struggle of power exist every moment. Either the east wind suppresses the west wind, or the west wind suppresses the east wind. If there is an opportunity to suppress it, if it were you, would you give it up?"

Chen Guanlou shook his head. "If there's an opportunity, I'd definitely suppress it. Take a gamble, the bicycle turns into a motorcycle."

"What?" Xie Gechen was very confused.

"Nothing, you don't need to understand." Chen Guanlou waved his hand. "Helping you, what benefits do I get? Also, this monk sitting here listening to us talk about serious business—what is his use?" ===== CHAPTER 1043 =====