Chapter 21: Chess

Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

Su Wen could tell that something was amiss. He asked curiously, “Could it be that His Majesty also knows about the benefits received by the guards?”

Su Changqing said indifferently, “Of course. It’s not a secret.”

“Does His Majesty not care?” Su Wen frowned.

“It’s difficult!” Su Changqing sighed and said, “Even if I take action, I can give you some short term benefits. If you really want to solve the problem in the Patrol Guards, this is no ordinary difficulty.”

Seeing Su Wen’s puzzled expression, Su Changqing explained, “The patrolling office does not have a high position and has little authority on the national level. However, it is closely related to the lives of the commoners. To put it simply, now that the patrolling office is receiving benefits, it ensures that most businesses can operate in peace. As for the patrolling office, they will not blindly speculate and raid for no reason.”

“However, now that Yan Luoying has banned their source of profits, do you think the patrolling guards can’t do anything about it? The simplest solution would be to collect protection fees from the gang members, extracting benefits from the gangs instead! This way, the merchants won’t be able to rest in peace.”

Speaking up to this point, Su Changqing helplessly said, “So, Yan Luoying seems to have stopped the flow of benefits, but as time passes, the guards will definitely think of ways to bypass Yan Luoying and get benefits. Once this situation is formed, the behavior of getting benefits will become even more uncontrollable.”

“This is also why for a long time, the patrol guards of the four districts have hidden rules, but no one has pointed it out. It’s not that we don’t know about it, but rather that it requires long term supervision and control.”

Su Wen frowned and said, “Since His Majesty knows so much, why did he let Yan Luoying break the current situation?”

Su Changqing said in a low voice, “I’m afraid His Majesty is about to attack the government officials of the Great Zhou!”

In the imperial palace, the Zhou Emperor was lying on his side. A man was kneeling on the ground in front of him, reporting the situation.

After the man finished speaking, a smile appeared on his face. He repeated, “Yan Luoying forbids the people on patrol to receive benefits from the merchants? Good! Good! Good!”

He said ‘good’ three times in a row. Clearly, he was very satisfied with Yan Luoying’s behavior.

“What about Su Wen?”

“He took leave to go to the Spiritual Masters Residence and had the masters there work on creating a strange item for him. It seems like he wants to use it to compete against Xue Meng in wealth!”

The man handed over a blueprint. It was Su Wen’s supercar.

The Zhou Emperor glanced at it and frowned. “What is this?”

“I don’t know. It’s said to be a sports car! It’s Su Wen’s original idea.”

The emperor touched his chin and said with interest, “I also want to see what this thing looks like.”

“Alright, you may leave!”

Obviously, whether it was Yan Luoying or Su Wen, their actions were all monitored by the Zhou Emperor.

As the messenger left, the Zhou Emperor fell into deep thought. After a long while, he spoke out, “This Yan Luoying really didn’t disappoint me. She was able to kill 400,000 citizens of the Country of Yan for the sake of the Great Zhou Dynasty and carry a terrible reputation. How could she not dare to offend those subordinates and officials for the sake of the Great Zhou Dynasty? However, I wonder if she can withstand the pressure.”

The old eunuch added, “Your Majesty, do you think she cares about what others think?”

“Hehe, that’s true!”

…

In the Su Residence’s study room, Su Wen had a puzzled expression. “Attacking the government officials?”

Su Changqing nodded his head and replied, “That’s right. The government of the Great Zhou can’t be considered clean. From the ground to the royal court itself, the majority of officials have a way to gain benefits for themselves.”

“As the saying goes, ten years of business is not as good as being an official for a term. The Patrol Guard Office is a classic example of this. A mere garrison can already generate more than ten thousand taels a month, let alone the other officials.”

“His Majesty wants to use this as a guide to purge the Great Zhou’s government. As for what to do, I’m afraid His Majesty has already made plans. You and Yan Luoying are His Majesty’s chess pieces!”

Su Wen sighed helplessly. It turned out that he had unwittingly become someone else’s chess piece.

“Haha, my son, don’t worry. Within this entire Great Zhou, who isn’t His Majesty’s pawn?” Su Changqing laughed.

…

It was Su Wen’s first time visiting the Crown Prince’s residence.

The moment Su Wen got off the carriage, he realized that the Crown Prince was already waiting at the entrance with his men. The latter welcomed him with a smile.

Grabbing Su Wen’s hand, he laughed, “Brother Wen, now that you’ve become a deputy garrison commander of the capital, you can be considered to have entered the royal court. Congratulations, congratulations!”

If one did not know better, they would think that he was Su Wen’s biological brother.

Actually, even Su Wen’s biological brother was not as passionate towards himself as the Crown Prince was.

He did not seem to have any intention of settling the scores with the Su family.

However, Su Wen felt disgusted by his grip.

After all, it was a little strange to be held so tightly by another man. Su Wen smiled and said, “I am indebted to Your Highness for your kindness. It’s just that I didn’t wash my hands after going to the toilet just now. Your Highness, I hope you don’t mind.”

Su Wen could clearly feel the crown prince’s body stiffen the moment he finished his sentence.

“We are brothers, why do you say that? Oh, He Sui has just arrived. Brother, please wait for a moment. I will go and greet the other guests.”

Just then, another carriage arrived, and the Crown Prince hurriedly walked over.

Su Wen placed his hands behind his back and rubbed his hand hard against his clothes. He suddenly felt much more comfortable.

However, Su Wen smiled happily when he saw that the Crown Prince was still feeling uncomfortable.

The Crown Prince went over to make some small talk before leading a man over. He said with a smile, “This is the overseer of the Profound Language Pavilion, He Sui. He was ranked second during the Royal Examinations in the 34th Year of An Ping, an extremely talented man.”

After saying that, the latter introduced him to He Sui. “This is Su Wen, the son of Prime Minister Su Changqing. I’m sure the world knows about the Su Family, the family of three talents. Now that Su Wen has been made the deputy commander of the capital’s Patrol Guards, he has a bright future ahead of him. The two of you can interact more.”

’34th Year of An Ping? Isn’t that the same year where Second Brother took the Royal Examinations?’

Su Wen narrowed his eyes. This guest of the Crown Prince was quite the interesting person.

As expected, when He Sui heard Su Wen’s name, his face turned pale.

His eyes were filled with indignation.

All along, scholars tended to scorn each other. The more talented one was, the more arrogant they would naturally be.

Back then, it was an honor for others to be the second placed in the ranks, but in his heart, he considered it a failure.

It could be said to be a hidden thorn in his heart.

He looked at Su Wen coldly and did not bother to greet him.

He was clearly waiting for Su Wen to take the initiative to speak.

Unexpectedly, Su Wen smiled and looked at the Crown Prince. He completely ignored He Sui and instead asked with a smile, “Your Highness, may I know if you have pork shoulder today? I’m a little hungry. If there’s no pork shoulder, I won’t be full!”

The Crown Prince stalled for a moment, before immediately replying, “Don’t worry, Brother Wen. I’ll get someone to check right away. If there’s no pork shoulder, I’ll make sure they get some for Brother Wen!”

“Then I’ll take my seat first!”

Su Wen turned around and walked into the Crown Prince’s residence. He casually called a servant to lead the way as if he was at home.

He completely ignored He Sui who was standing there.

This caused the latter to grit his teeth in anger.

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