When the academy head became the academy head, the emperor was not the emperor yet. Hence, he probably had a deeper understanding about the entire Great Ning than the emperor himself. After all, the academy head and served three emperors. When he was most heavily involved in the imperial affairs, the current emperor was still very young. Even the princes were not as involved as the academy head - because the previous emperor forbade it.
If not for the sudden death of the late emperor, Li Chengyuan, the current emperor would not get to such a level. Hence, he exceptionally valued the academy head, beyond imagination; even more than Mu Zhaotong, who had similarly served three emperors.
This was because the academy head was a lot smarter than Mu Zhaotong. He did not interfere with the imperial family’s affairs, nor did he try to give the impression that he had authority over the imperial court and civilians.
“Still too young though.”
<After the two Navy Xiongniu battleships remained in Changan city for another four days, they finally embarked on their journey home. When the nobles within the palace were selecting the goods, they made others understand what exactly meticulous and conscientious meant. Even if there was a greater variety of embroidered textiles, the Navy people felt that taking ten days to pick would be enough. However, they did not expect the nobles to follow that many standards and rules when it came to selecting the items. The late emperor died a sudden death, but the queen was still alive. After the current emperor ascended to the throne, the empress, Zun Yuancheng, became Empress Bao Su, and she resided in the west palace. The emperor was very respectful towards this sister-in-law of his. Even Empress Yang, who was not on good terms with the emperor, never disrespected Empress Bao Su. Every year, when gifts were sent to the palace, they were taken to the west palace
The Navy’s mission to escort textiles to Changan city this time could not be easier or more effortless. They even had the time to stroll along the streets of Changan city, feeling as though their knowledge about the world had increased a notch. But on the other hand, for Shen Leng, returning to the Navy’s camp did not mean that the mission had ended. He had to go through Zhuang Yong’s obstacle. Under several watchful eyes, Shen Leng pushed a small one-wheeled wooden cart to Zhuang Yong’s tent. There were seven to eight urns of the northern border’s aged wine on it. Zhuang Yong was actually not particularly fond of strong wines. He preferred rice wine as it was less harsh.The people in the northern part of Great Ning drank mostly sorghum wine. The freshly made wine were especially bitingly cold. A mouthful of it could render an ordinary person drunk. On the other hand, the people in the southern part of Great Ning preferred rice wine, which w
When Shen Leng talked about bringing a girl on campaign, he heaved a long sigh of relief. Thereafter, he wanted to see how Master Cha would respond. Master Cha responded, “Hehe, that good?...huh? What?!” After that, her face gradually sank. “The emperor wants you to bring a girl on campaign?!” Shen Leng could tell that something was amiss. He said something romantic and poetic, so shouldn’t he be receiving a hug in return as a reward? Or perhaps, shouldn’t Master Cha be smiling bashfully? Before he could finish feeling sad, he saw a black figure appearing right before him. Thereafter, he was greeted by the smell of perfume…Master Cha grabbed Shen Leng by the collar and said, “Judging from your facial expression, you seem very happy. Trying to pick up other girls on imperial orders, huh?” She looked at the tree by the door of the kitchen. Mr. Shen glared at her. “Let that tree go…silly child, why don’
Cen Zheng Sat across from Shen Leng and looked at him with a half smile. “I know that there were a lot of things you did not understand from before. Such as, why I directly killed Bai Xiu in the coastal border region. Right now, do you have a better understanding?”Shen Leng looked at the bundle next to Cen Zheng’s hand. What was inside was called ‘inside intelligence box’ - it was a top secret channel to send information to the emperor. Even the identity of the person who sent the information was hidden - at the very least, other people could not easily guess it. Cen Zheng had the inside intelligence box in his hand, hence his reason behind killing Bai Xiu was not solely because Bai Xiu wanted to kill him. The emperor would not allow Cen Zheng to get exposed over a small matter as such.“Even though the emperor wanted me to give the inside intelligence box to you, I need to see your abilities for myself.” Cen Zheng asked Shen Leng. “I killed
Shen Leng put down the spatula in his hand and was about to send Cen Zheng off. When he walked out of the kitchen, Cen Zheng was already at the door of the courtyard. He did not turn his head around and gestured in the direction of where Shen Leng was. “Continue cooking. The smell of the food is already coming out.” Shen Leng subconsciously continued, “Eat before you go.”Master Cha tugged on his clothes from behind. Hence, Shen Leng started to laugh awkwardly. Cen Zheng started laughing. Even though she did not intentionally look at her actions, he still saw it. He specialized in such things in the first place. The more minute the details were, the more observant he was. Hence, he laughed as he walked out.“Young lady, you’re very petty.”Master Cha was stunned for a moment. Thereafter, she tiptoed as she looked at Cen Zheng walk farther and farther. In a fit of pique, she said, “If you dare, finish eating before yo
After drinking three cups of wine` , Mr. Shen eased up a little. He narrowed his eyes and looked at Chu Jianlian. “When are you planning to leave?” Chu Jianlian put down his cup of wine and replied in a serious manner. “After I’m done doing what I have to do.” Mr. Shen, who had just eased up a little, had a cold look on his face again. He tapped his fingers on the table rhythmically. “Last time, you called me Prince Liu’s lackey but you still considered me a good friend. Later on you insulted me by calling me a stray dog. Yet you still considered me a good friend. Right now…you can’t do that anymore?” Chu Jianlian asked, “Did I keep telling you that I like eating dog meat?”Mr. Shen stopped tapping his fingers against the table. The joints of his fingers went slightly pale. “Actually, I have never eaten it before.”Chu Jianlian stood up and his glance swept around the courtyard. “This place is not big
When Shen Leng returned home, he saw Master Cha practicing some sword techniques. Mr. Shen and Chu Jianlian were sitting at the side, drinking tea. He could tell that Chu Jianlian really appreciated and admired his one and only disciple. As he watched her practice, he smiled from time to time. Shen Leng returned, wearing a Fifth pin’s military uniform. Mr. Shen’s eyes lit up, while Chu Jianlian’s eyes became dimmer. After all, Chu Jianlian was a Chu man. “Is this the Fifth pin general’s uniform?”Master Cha swung her arm and tossed Po Jia into the air. The long sword that was like clear limpid autumn waters left a ray of light in the air, heading directly towards Chu Jianlian. Chu Jianlian lifted up the sheath from the table and the sword returned to the sheath instantly. Shen Leng made one full turn for Master Cha to take a good look at his uniform. As a result, Master Cha herself walked around him as well, at the
The town where Shen Leng and the rest were temporarily staying at was called Weicun. There was a small village located around six miles away, named Ji Shan Zhuang. From the day before till today, Liu Yun Hui’s men had been standing guard outside of Ji Shan Zhuang for half a day and one night. They could see every single movement of Guan Tang Kou’s men within the village very clearly. Hei Yan squatted on the slope outside of the village with a pipe in his mouth, making him look slightly older than he actually was. However, when young people tried to look older, they ended up looking more adorable instead. However, the look in his eyes was not adorable at all; there was only murderous intent. He mimicked the elders, tapping the pipe against the sole of his shoe. Hei Yan stood up. “It’s time.”The man in white behind him took out a whistle and flicked it. The whistle let out a high-pitched sound and flew high up into the sky. The men in white w