Chapter 98: The Emperor is Truly Not a Decent Person, Happily Receiving a Treasure Horse (Seeking Monthly Votes)

After having a meal with Wei Yue, Pei Shaoqing left his post early and headed straight to the inner residence to find Xie Qingwu.

"Why has Husband returned so early today?"

Sitting on a swing and reading a book, Xie Qingwu looked somewhat surprised when she saw Pei Shaoqing.

Pei Shaoqing waved his hand to signal Qiu Ye to leave.

Qiu Ye bowed and hurriedly exited the small courtyard.

"Wei Yue has arrived," Pei Shaoqing said then.

Upon hearing this, Xie Qingwu's pretty face turned stern, and she immediately hopped off the swing, "Is it because of the Shu Prince's rebellion? Husband, you didn't reveal any flaws, did you? Wei Yue and the Weiyuan Marquis are old acquaintances, and he is quite familiar with Pei Shaoqing."

"I don't think so," Pei Shaoqing replied after recalling the encounter, then asked, "What is his strength?"

"A Master of Transformation Energy," Xie Qingwu said concisely.

Pei Shaoqing sat down on a stone stool, "I will be spending the next few days with him, tell me about him in detail."

"Alright." Xie Qingwu walked over to pour a cup of tea for Pei Shaoqing, sat down opposite him, and parted her red lips to speak slowly: "When the Emperor was still the Qi Prince, Wei Yue's father was his personal bodyguard. Later, when the Emperor raised an army to 'rectify the monarch's side,' the late Emperor was being beaten back on the front lines and sent top experts from the Imperial Palace to assassinate the Emperor.

It almost succeeded; Wei Yue's father died blocking a fatal sword strike for the Emperor. Since then, the Emperor kept the young Wei Yue by his side. Although there was no official father-son status, he is the Emperor's foster son."

"Hiss—" Pei Shaoqing drew a sharp breath.

Even among the Jingtai Emperor's own sons, their bond with him might not be as deep as Wei Yue's.

Seeing that Pei Shaoqing hadn't drunk the tea, Xie Qingwu picked it up and took a sip herself, leaving a faint red lipstick mark on the rim of the cup, and continued: "Wei Yue is exceptionally gifted, and with the Emperor's full support and resources, he stepped into the Force Transformation realm at the age of thirty.

Before that, at the beginning of the Emperor's reign, he was already the Commander of the Jing'an Guard. Ten years ago, when the Jing'an Guard held too much power and lacked oversight, leading to public outcry, the Emperor split it up, yet he still served as the Commander of the Northern Suppressing Office."

Although a Suppressing Commissioner is only a fourth-rank official, even a second-rank high official of the current dynasty would never dare to slight him.

This position is always held by the Emperor's most trusted confidants.

"Furthermore, Wei Yue is a man of deep sentiment. After his first wife passed away from illness, he never remarried and has no children. He remains alone to this day, lives an extremely simple life, and has strong principles, but he is by no means rigid..."

Everything Xie Qingwu said was public information to the Great Zhou bureaucratic class. After listening, Pei Shaoqing's perception of Wei Yue was: the Emperor's blade.

He did not remarry, not necessarily because he was a man of deep sentiment, but because he feared implicating his family in the future, for after the Emperor dies, he will inevitably face retaliation.

At the same time, Pei Shaoqing gained a deeper understanding of the Jingtai Emperor: seemingly generous, but in reality, cold and ungrateful!

It looks like he values relationships and is very good to Wei Yue.

But if he truly cared for him, he wouldn't have kept him in the Jing'an Guard all this time; ten years ago, he should have used the opportunity of the split to transfer him to another post.

No wonder Wei Yue killed Yan Sichen like a dog, showing no hesitation or scruples even when facing the bloodline of the Imperial family.

One reason is his absolute loyalty to the Emperor.

Two is because he understands his own position.

Three is because he is a lone man.

"The Emperor is truly not a decent person," Pei Shaoqing exhaled slowly, sighing with genuine feeling.

Someone's father traded his life to save your worthless hide.

Otherwise, let alone the throne.

You might not even have a spirit tablet.

And this is how you repay him?

Fortunately, he, Pei, never wanted to be anyone's loyal subject. One must control one's own destiny; even if death is certain, he would rather draw his sword and end it himself.

Xie Qingwu remained indifferent to his treasonous words and even nodded, "Emperors throughout history have always been like this. Why do they claim to be 'the lonely one' despite possessing the world and having countless descendants? Because they never considered people to be their own kind; the Emperor just happens to look like a human."

"Hehe, Wife, your insight is profound," Pei Shaoqing smiled slightly and said: "It seems intelligence, like power, can be transmitted through sexual intercourse. Since we became husband and wife, Wife has clearly become more intelligent. You should eat more things that nourish the brain; 'like replenishes like,' and the small head is a head too."

"Husband, please have some self-respect." Xie Qingwu glared at him with a slightly flushed face. In bed, she was very wild, but out of bed, she truly could not stand these vulgar words.

As a standard official's daughter, being able to let go in bed was already the result of Pei Shaoqing's early conditioning; expecting her to be wanton out of bed was something she could not do.

But the more she was like this, the more Pei Shaoqing enjoyed teasing her in formal settings out of bed, laughing as he said: "I'll provide the first half of the couplet, Wife, please complete it."

"Husband!" Xie Qingwu was somewhat angry, biting her red lip with her willow eyebrows arched, her full chest heaving, "If you continue like this, I will truly be annoyed. Some things can be said behind closed doors between husband and wife, you can do whatever you want, but if you ignore the occasion, where is the sense of shame?"

She didn't care if Pei Shaoqing acted like this toward concubines or women outside without status, but she could not accept him showing no respect to her, his legal wife.

"Alright, alright, alright, Wife, calm your anger." Pei Shaoqing soothed her repeatedly and quickly changed the subject, "Let's talk about the Dragon Blood Treasure Horse. Wei Yue said the Emperor bestowed a Lower Grade Dragon Blood Treasure Horse upon me, it should arrive tomorrow."

"A Dragon Blood Treasure Horse!" Xie Qingwu's attention was instantly diverted. Her small mouth opened slightly, and she frowned in confusion, "The Emperor seems to favor you too much."

First a title, now a Dragon Blood Treasure Horse.

Tracing back the past, which of these could be obtained by anyone other than those who have fought through a hundred battles and performed great deeds?

Bestowing a Dragon Blood Treasure Horse after wiping out the Shu Prince Mansion would be understandable, but to bestow it now means there are further rewards to come; this merit simply does not match the reward.

And as for the title, promoting Pei Shaoqing to Vice Thousand-Man Commander for killing the Kaiyang Holy Son wouldn't be excessive, but to grant a title directly is an extraordinarily heavy reward that defies reason.

"Such generous treatment may require Husband to pay a great price in the future to repay it, perhaps even sacrificing your life," Xie Qingwu said with deep worry.

Pei Shaoqing was dismissive, "Never mind what the Emperor is thinking, as long as I have indeed benefited, that's enough."

Even if the Emperor wants to use him for something, he must first raise his status and position to a level where he can be used.

As for whether he will do it when the time comes, isn't that for him to decide? He wouldn't be so foolishly loyal as to repay the Emperor with his life just because of a great favor.

"Yes, it is useless to think about these things now." Xie Qingwu shook her head and then spoke about the Dragon Blood Treasure Horse.

The breeding stallions were left behind by the previous Great Yu dynasty, but the large-scale breeding was done by the Great Zhou Imperial Horse Bureau.

Every Dragon Blood Treasure Horse is registered in the records.

Even after more than two hundred years, there are fewer than three thousand left in the entire country. They are generally only bestowed upon high officials and those with great merit, and most of the horses are kept in long-term captivity by the Imperial Horse Bureau to be drawn upon in emergencies.

For example, when Wei Yue came to Tongzhou this time, the Imperial Palace drew over a hundred Lower Grade horses for the Jing'an Guard to use.

At the same time, whenever the palace bestows a horse, the horse keepers from the Imperial Horse Bureau are bestowed along with it, because taking care of a Dragon Blood Treasure Horse is a very complex matter.

Furthermore, the grade of the horse is not fixed; the Imperial Palace has Dragon Blood Pills, which can improve the horse's grade after consumption.

But Dragon Blood Pills are also extremely precious.

Therefore, for those who are bestowed a Dragon Blood Horse, Dragon Blood Pills can also serve as rewards for their subsequent meritorious service.

As someone who is good at riding and archery, Pei Shaoqing could not wait to see his new mount.

Although it might not necessarily feel better than riding Xie Qingwu.

But it would certainly be more stylish than riding Xie Qingwu.

Because Xie Qingwu could not be ridden out in public, after all.

Xie Qingwu felt that Pei Shaoqing's gaze was strange.

"Husband, why are you looking at me like that?"

"It would be great if I could ride my wife out as well." Pei Shaoqing could not help but tease her with his loose tongue again.

"You..." Faced with his incorrigible behavior, Xie Qingwu was both angry and helpless, but then her eyes rolled and she said with a smile: "If you have no shame, husband, you could certainly ride the Saintess of the Shaking Light out. Dare you try?"

"Forget it, I don't have such strange hobbies." Pei Shaoqing, who was just talking big, shook his head.

Of course, if there was no one else around.

Then he would not mind doing it in broad daylight.

Xie Qingwu gave a soft hum and curled her lips, then got up and walked into the house, "Husband, go to Lan'er's room tonight."

Having fought fiercely for several days, she did not dare to beg for mercy again tonight.

However, she still gave a word of instruction, "She cannot get pregnant before me; you must keep that in mind, husband."

"Rest assured."

A tiger does not eat its cubs, but a tigress is an exception.

…………………………

The next morning, the men Wei Yue brought from the Capital arrived in Tongzhou; over a hundred Jing'an Guards were all riding Dragon Blood Treasure Horses, a scene that was truly breathtaking.

Fearing they would cause a disturbance, they did not enter the city.

Meanwhile, Sun Youliang was still miserably riding a regular fine horse, rushing back under the stars and moon.

"Greetings, Lord Suppressing Commissioner!"

Over a hundred people dismounted in unison to salute.

"At ease," Wei Yue said calmly, then looked at Pei Shaoqing and said, "Yunzhi, go take a look at your horse."

"Lord Pei, your horse is here." A youth of fifteen or sixteen years old walked out leading a black horse.

Its entire body was black and shiny, its eyes bright and spirited; although its build was a size smaller than Wei Yue's horse, it was still magnificent compared to ordinary warhorses. There were no scales on its neck, only a few on its forehead.

A fine saddle had already been fitted onto its back.

Everyone looked at Pei Shaoqing with either envy or jealousy; their horses would have to be handed back to the Imperial Horse Bureau upon returning to the Capital, but Pei Shaoqing's horse would belong to him forever.

To be promoted and ennobled at such a young age, to have married the talented woman from the Anning Earl's household who was famous throughout the Capital, to be favored by the Emperor, and now to be gifted a Dragon Blood Treasure Horse that everyone coveted.

What kind of winner in life is this? Damn him!

The moment Pei Shaoqing saw the horse, he fell in love with it, feeling incredibly excited—I have a horse too!

He immediately stepped forward quickly.

The youth whispered, "My Lord, this was specially hand-picked for you by Xiao Liuzi; it is the offspring of two top-grade Dragon Blood Treasure Horses."

"This official will remember that." Pei Shaoqing nodded.

Xiao Liuzi happened to be serving in the Imperial Horse Bureau, after all.

There was no wildness or defiance; all the horses had been trained. The black horse seemed to know that Pei Shaoqing was its future master and lowered its head to nuzzle him.

The youth said, "Please bestow a name, Lord Pei."

"It's so black, let's call it Coal Ball from now on." Pei Shaoqing said softly, stroking the horse's head with a look of affection.

Everyone: "…………"

Even Wei Yue could not keep a straight face, "Pick a proper one."

"Is it not good? Then let's call it Black General." Pei Shaoqing suddenly thought of Li Jiangjun and said it offhandedly.

Black General raised its head and neighed.

It seemed quite satisfied with the name.

The youth also introduced himself, "This humble one is called Xiao Douzi, and I will be responsible for taking care of Black General from now on."

"Mm, I am very relieved to entrust Black General to you." Pei Shaoqing nodded, turned around, and pointed to a subordinate, "Take Xiao Douzi back to the manor and have the Madam fully cooperate with him to prepare everything Black General needs."

"As you command!" the subordinate replied respectfully.

Wei Yue said, "Alright, let's set off."

"Yes!" Everyone immediately mounted their horses.

Pei Shaoqing also leaped up onto Black General's back, squeezed its belly with his legs, and shouted, "Giddy-up!"

Whoosh—Black General seemed to want to show off in front of its new master and darted out like an arrow released from a bowstring.

"Holy shit!"

Pei Shaoqing was caught off guard and nearly fell off.

But after adapting to the speed, feeling the wind whistling past his ears, the comfort was indescribable.

This starting speed, this acceleration response.

It is simply the new energy vehicle of the horse world.

It only takes three portions of fodder to accelerate from zero to one hundred.

(End of chapter)