There stood the Forbidden Land of the Jinyi Wei, whose defenses were far stricter than any that were public, his visible government office. A Ninth Tier Cultivator always guarded the place, never leaving or being dispatched elsewhere.
For all those who trespassed without authorization, regardless of who they were, the Jinyi Wei had the right to execute first and report later.
But that was just the facade.
In reality, every Commander knew that the true archives were his office table.
As long as he sat there, he would connect mentally with the table, the Magical Treasure, and whatever he wanted, it would immediately provide.
The Commander didn't actually need to visit the archives to access a lot of information.
The truly secret matters were never kept in the archives of the Jinyi Wei.
Chengyue unexpectedly discovered one time that the table was not just a Magical Treasure but also an incarnation of a Monster with spiritual wisdom.
Over the years, their relationship had indeed become more harmonious.
He had never asked for anything, but had helped the Monster with many things, and now, his lifelong kindness was finally about to be repaid.
Four-eyed Strange Face disdainfully curled his lips.
"Sit down quickly, stop pretending with me. I know you've long been indifferent to life and death and do not care about offending people.
I respect you as a man, so I'm giving you a heads up, your time in this position is almost up."
"I understand, ever since the Emperor closed off, it's been over two years, and he hasn't emerged, I knew my time was almost up."
Chengyue spoke calmly, knowing he wouldn't live much longer.
In the past, when Emperor Qian didn't preside over the court in person, he would still send an incarnation to handle some matters.
But now, no incarnations of Emperor Qian have appeared, only the Crown Prince acting as Regent, and to prevent the Crown Prince from wielding too much power, he cruelly executed some of his brothers first, executing first and reporting later.
Emperor Qian also had other Princes and several Ministers assist him.
These two years have caused people's hearts to waver, a mess of trouble and gossip, killing many.
When Emperor Qian returns, those deserving punishment will be punished, those deserving death will be killed, and someone will inevitably be made a scapegoat for many issues.
Chengyue was the most suitable candidate.
Another reason was that he had served as Commander for a notably long time.
Looking at the self-recommendation documents on his table, the presence of such items already signaled problems with his control over his subordinates.
All these were signs that his time to leave was approaching.
When he is deposed and dies tragically, those who fought fiercely behind him would definitely applaud, praising the Emperor's wise decisions, and find an excuse for everyone to step down together.
Everything would return to its original state.
Four-eyed Strange Face chuckled weirdly.
"I know you are already prepared, but I also know what people from South Qian care about most."
Chengyue suddenly opened his eyes wide, staring at Four-eyed Strange Face, his expression becoming somewhat serious.
"According to the rules, I ask what it is I care about, and you must answer me, right?"
"Correct, as you are now the Commander, as long as you ask, except for matters involving those few, I must answer everything else," Four-eyed Strange Face seriously replied.
"Good, then what do I care about?"
"Your thirteen women, twenty-six sons, and seventeen daughters."
Chengyue was silent for a moment, then asked.
"How are they? Besides you, who else knows?"
"Don't worry, I hardly care about what kind of person you are, whether or not you're pretending. If you could pretend for half your life, I've also undeservedly benefitted from you for half my life.
So I consider you to be the sincere person I think you are, and I've taken a liking to you.
I have never recorded this information, and as far as I know, apart from you and me, no third person knows about it.
But, I don't know if you left any loopholes in your earlier years.
All of your thirteen women have died.
Out of your twenty-six sons, excluding six who died young due to various reasons, among the remaining, nineteen have disappeared without a trace in recent years, and it's almost certain they are dead. The only remaining son confirmed alive is your youngest little son.
As for your seventeen daughters, I am very sure that fifteen are dead, one is alive in Dali, and another one is in Kuihou Country, I am not sure if she is dead.
And these pieces of information, they have been sorted out only recently after I realised you were almost finished.
How they died, where they disappeared, I cannot gather documents for you, because if there are documents, I must archive them.
I can only verbally relay them to you.
I owe you a lifetime of favours, now before you die, I let you die with peace of mind, thus repaying you for them."
Chengyue stood up and bowed deeply.
"Thank you, Brother Four Eyes."
He sat there, quietly listening to Four-eyed Strange Face's recounting.
For safety, he never visited them, let alone knew where some had gone off to.
His greatest obsession in life was to leave behind descendants, initially hoping for a son.
Later, he felt daughters were no different.
Eventually, after his concubines gave birth to children and remarried, he thought it was acceptable.
Latterly, whether his children knew their father was the renowned Jinyiwei Commander, or knew of Chengyue, didn't matter anymore.
His expectation lowered again and again, to the lowest point.