Chapter 147: Self-Inflicted Consequences

Everyone was stunned.

Along this journey, who had ever seen Grand Eunuch Zhou act so warmly? Even when facing the likes of Prince Lu, a true brother of the Emperor, he had never shown any pleasant expression.

But at this moment, toward this Liu Zheng, he was actually somewhat...

Unusually warm?

A sharp glint flashed in the Crown Prince's eyes, and the Third Prince also watched quietly. Chen Ping's expression, however, was somewhat unsightly. After all, this father and son of the Liu Family were both on his list for elimination; if the Emperor and this Imperial Envoy were to regard Liu Zheng with special favor, he would have no way to carry it out.

"Old Ancestor, Old Ancestor..."

A young eunuch quietly reminded Grand Eunuch Zhou.

Grand Eunuch Zhou, however, did not mind, laughing heartily: "No matter, no matter, child, this is the Emperor's will!"

At these words, Liu Zheng hurriedly looked up.

"Good, good, good!"

Only then did Grand Eunuch Zhou straighten his back: "For resisting the Xiongnu, the primary merit goes to Prefect Liu. The Langxian Army has emerged as a Transcendent force, shocking the world. My heart is greatly comforted. In the brilliant Longyan, talents emerge in succession. I hereby bestow upon Liu Zheng the title of Vice Minister of the Taichang Temple, hereby bestowed!"

The entire venue was in an uproar.

One by one, they could no longer sit still.

So this Grand Eunuch Zhou had come to Baiya in person, truly to deliver another Imperial Edict to Liu Zheng?

And what did this mean?

Back at Ruogu Pass, Liu Zheng had already been granted the title of Prefect of Kezhou, which was already a sixth-rank official position; now, another sixth-rank official position?

Does it mean he can hold both concurrently?

However, this Vice Minister of the Taichang Temple was in charge of things like sacrifices, and it was indeed just an honorary rank; it didn't matter much whether he went or not. It just gave Liu Zheng an official position within the capital.

But...

Everyone was still shocked in their hearts.

This was equivalent to giving Liu Zheng an official position that would allow him to walk on level ground in Jinghua in the future; what was the meaning of this?

For a time, people's hearts were filled with mixed feelings.

A local official and a capital official, held simultaneously—how old is this Liu Zheng?

A winner in life!

Every envious gaze was cast toward Liu Zheng.

"I thank the Emperor for his great grace!"

Liu Zheng, however, was not that happy, and he felt a bitter smile in his heart. With a capital official position, wouldn't that mean whenever the capital summoned him, he would have to trot over to report for duty?

The key was that he didn't want to!

What kind of place was Jinghua? A place where fish and dragons mixed, hidden tigers and crouching dragons, a gathering place for big shots and powerful nobles. That was a place where people were killed without blinking; if he had to go there, he might as well stay in Yinzhou—wouldn't that be more carefree and happy? The sky is high for birds to fly, the sea is wide for fish to leap, right?

Why go to Jinghua for no reason?

To seek death?

But since the Imperial Edict had already arrived, he dared not defy it and could only bite the bullet and accept it.

After Grand Eunuch Zhou finished reading the Imperial Edict, he was clearly overly warm toward Liu Zheng, laughing heartily: "This old servant congratulates Prefect Liu. In these decades, I fear you are the only one so young to receive such favor from the Emperor!"

Liu Zheng hurriedly said he dared not, he had long ago instructed Zheng Yueru to prepare heavy gifts according to the rules, used to grease the palms of this old eunuch by the Emperor's side.

"Prefect Liu, it has been a few days, how are the piglets at home?"

The Crown Prince also looked over with a cold sneer.

The Third Prince, Xie Ling, also smiled slightly.

Liu Zheng hurriedly gave a bitter smile: "Thanks to the Crown Prince's concern, just as I arrived in Baiya, a letter came from home saying the sow died of dystocia, my heart aches for it!"

He was heartbroken, beating his chest and stamping his feet.

The Crown Prince was so angry his face turned white.

Others could only suppress their laughter.

As this group entered Baiya, they naturally had a designated place to stay. The Longyan Dynasty had lasted for a thousand years; every major prefecture was supposed to have palaces of various levels set up to receive the royal family or guests of other ranks for temporary residence.

The massive procession almost circled Baiya City.

The one leading the way was naturally the Prefect of Baiya, Zhang Chengjiang.

But as they walked, the expression of Yang Ke, who was by Liu Zheng's side, turned ugly.

Liu Zheng's heart also skipped a beat.

Sure enough.

On this road, they "naturally" passed by the headquarters of the Baiya Army! The Baiya Palace! Looking from afar, it was quite large and stretched on continuously.

In the horse carriage, the Crown Prince let out an "Oh": "Have we arrived? The Baiya Palace looks quite good!"

Yang Ke's expression changed again.

Zhang Chengjiang, however, said: "Your Highness the Crown Prince, this is not the palace; we still have a little distance to go..."

Once these words were out, the atmosphere suddenly became awkward.

Needless to say, these people also realized what this place was!

As the horse carriage passed by, the Crown Prince, Xie Fang, looked at the plaque hanging high above, which clearly had the three large characters "Baiya Palace" written on it. He couldn't help but grit his teeth: "Good, good, good, what a fine Baiya Palace!"

Liu Zheng and Yang Ke looked at each other, both sighing in sorrow.

This Zhang Chengjiang could clearly have taken another road, but he deliberately led them here, turning it into an attempt to make things difficult for the Baiya Army!

About fifteen minutes later.

The procession finally arrived at the palace prepared by Baiya Prefecture. But looking at this palace, compared to the Baiya Palace just now, it was extremely shabby.

"Hahahaha, good, good, good, a good place! This Baiya is truly a good place!"

Xie Fang laughed heartily.

The others all remained silent.

Everyone actually held a tacit understanding in their hearts regarding the existence of the Baiya Army. But tacit understanding is one thing; this was already blatant arrogance! It was even disregarding the Taishoufu and the imperial court!

What a disgrace!

Grand Eunuch Zhou also smiled faintly, neither confirming nor denying.

"Your Highness, please enter. This subordinate has already prepared medicinal soup for you to rest and relieve your fatigue!"

Zhang Chengjiang felt a surge of joy; his goal for today had already been achieved.

According to rank, the rooms and courtyards of this temporary palace were allocated.

As the Imperial Envoy, Grand Eunuch Zhou was to reside in the highest-ranked quarters. Just as Liu Zheng was planning to leave, he was stopped by a young eunuch of Grand Eunuch Zhou, who told him that Grand Eunuch Zhou invited him over for a chat.

Liu Zheng was slightly startled.

Yang Ke whispered from the side: "Young Master Liu, you must put in a good word for our Baiya Army before the Imperial Envoy. This, this..."

Liu Zheng did not know whether to laugh or cry.

If you had known it would come to this, why act as you did in the beginning?

When you were being extravagant and licentious, why didn't you think there would be a day like this?

To put it bluntly, the Baiya Army had become too bloated!

As for the reasons for this bloating, they were likely quite complex and multifaceted. Liu Zheng even believed that the previous weakness of the Taishoufu and Zhang Chengjiang was actually intentional.

Yes, it was a posture they had deliberately adopted!

To allow the Baiya Army to bloat!

The weaker the Taishoufu appeared, the more the Baiya Army would bloat.

This was a case of "killing with kindness"!

Behind this, there must have been arrangements made by Zhang Xiao.

From this, Liu Zheng could confirm his conjecture.

This Taishoufu was not as weak as it appeared; they must still have had a contingency plan, supported by a massive power behind the scenes.

"I will do my best!"

Liu Zheng sighed slightly.

In reality, he also understood that under such multiple pressures, it would be very difficult for the Baiya Army to survive this crisis.

Arriving at the place where Grand Eunuch Zhou was staying, Liu Zheng walked in cautiously.

Liu Zheng never dared to think he had any extraordinary qualities; it was just that his knowledge and experience from a later age allowed him to stand on the shoulders of giants—however, when it came to the political maneuvering and deceit of ancient times, the knowledge from that later age was not enough to navigate it.

Therefore, he was very low-key, and likewise, very humble.

The person before him was a bigwig representing the Eunuch Group.

How could he not tread on thin ice?

"You've come?"

Grand Eunuch Zhou, who had been resting with his eyes closed, heard the sound and slowly opened his eyes, looking at Liu Zheng with a kind and gentle expression, still enthusiastic: "Child, come quickly, come quickly, sit, sit here!"

Liu Zheng could not handle this at all and immediately gave a wry smile: "Grand Eunuch, this lowly one has done nothing to deserve such favor and dare not accept your kindness! How about..."

Grand Eunuch Zhou was slightly stunned, then immediately burst into laughter: "Oh my, oh my, look at that, I have frightened the child. Your courage is, well..."

"Alright, alright, it was I who was abrupt."

Grand Eunuch Zhou then restrained his enthusiastic smile and suddenly looked at Liu Zheng: "Kid, leave Baiya immediately!"

"What?"

Liu Zheng was shocked and turned pale.