142 Hidden Words
Zhang Yueheng was in a dilemma.
However, he was, after all, the Grand Secretary. He was far more meticulous than ordinary people. After thinking for a moment, he replied in a low voice, “Your Majesty, Lin Ran was once the winner of the martial arts examination. Later, His Majesty promoted him to the commander of the imperial guards. He is far more strong-willed than ordinary people. I believe Your Majesty thinks highly of him because of that, right?”
Without waiting for the empress to speak, Zhang Yueheng continued, “Therefore, it will indeed take a lot of effort to interrogate him, but don’t worry, Your Majesty. I order the Five Elements Imperial Guards to speed up the interrogation. I believe there will be a result soon!”
Hearing that Zhang Yueheng had ordered the interrogation to be intensified, the empress’s heart tightened.
Just as the empress was about to say something, a eunuch suddenly shouted outside, “Your Majesty! Someone requests an audience!”
Hearing this, the three people in the imperial study were stunned.
Usually, if someone asked to see the emperor, the eunuch would tell him the official rank and name of the person who came. What was ‘someone’ supposed to mean?
“This useless fool! He even forgot the rules!”
Li Tianyi cursed under his breath. Then, he cupped his hands at the empress. “Your Majesty, I’ll go take a look first.”
As he spoke, Li Tianyi was about to leave when a thin young man in white walked in.
Li Tianyi was stunned for a moment. When he reacted, he immediately widened his eyes and scolded, “How dare you! Do you know what kind of crime it is to barge into the imperial study and disturb the emperor?!”
The white-robed young man glanced at Li Tianyi and did not say anything. He turned to bow to the empress. “I’m Shen Rulin, the deputy commander of the Five Elements Imperial Guards! I have an urgent report to send to Your Majesty. Please forgive me for being rude!”
When they heard that the person who came was from the Five Elements Imperial Guards, the empress and Zhang Yueheng’s expressions changed at the same time.
Zhang Yueheng was overjoyed, thinking that the Water Guards had probably found out something. In that case, as soon as Lin Ran was proven to be involved in this matter, it would be easy to get rid of him.
On the other hand, the empress looked worried because she knew what Zhang Yueheng was thinking too well!
Just as the two of them were thinking to themselves, Shen Rulin had already taken out a secret letter. It was still sealed, proving that it had not been read by anyone.
“Deputy Commander Shen, don’t worry! His Majesty is kind-hearted. Since it’s an urgent report, he naturally won’t blame you!”
Zhang Yueheng comforted him. Thinking that he would be able to vent his anger soon, he felt much better.
As he spoke, Zhang Yueheng walked forward and was about to take the secret letter when Shen Rulin retracted his hand!
Although there were only four people in the imperial study, Zhang Yueheng still felt a little embarrassed to be rejected by a deputy general in public. His expression darkened as he shouted coldly, “I’m the Grand Secretary! I have to read all the official documents first. Don’t you know, Deputy Commander Shen?”
“I do.”
Shen Rulin replied calmly, “However, this urgent report has to be reviewed by His Majesty personally.”
The empress gave Li Tianyi a look and Li Tianyi took the letter and handed it over to her.
This secret letter had clearly been written not long ago. The wax at the seal had yet to solidify.
The empress held the secret letter and her fingertips could not help but tremble. She was looking forward to knowing something, but she was also afraid of knowing something.
Amidst this dilemma, the empress slowly opened the secret letter and pulled out half an unfolded letter. There were only a few words on it. “There is an unexpected change in the plan. Let’s talk face to face.”
“Phew—”
The moment she saw the letter, the empress couldn’t help but heave a sigh of relief because she recognized it as Lin Ran’s handwriting!
“Deputy Commander Shen!”
The empress shouted and ignored Zhang Yueheng. She ordered Shen Rulin, “Bring the criminal into the palace immediately. I want to interrogate him personally!”
“Your Majesty! You can’t!”
Before Shen Rulin could speak, Zhang Yueheng hurriedly knelt on the ground and shouted, “He is vicious and evil. We can’t let him be with you.”
“I’ve made up my mind!”
The empress’s expression darkened as she said coldly, “Besides, didn’t you say that this criminal is abnormally stubborn? Then let me see how stubborn he is!”
Zhang Yueheng instantly swallowed his words. It was fine to talk back to the empress once or twice, but if he kept talking back, he would really be pushing his luck.
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
Shen Rulin stood up and left.
At the same time, Zhang Yueheng stood up and said, “I’ll take my leave.” He quickly went out and stopped Shen Rulin.
“Lord Zhang, is there anything else?”
Shen Rulin asked in confusion, but Zhang Yueheng did not answer. He pulled him far away before stopping. He asked with a smile, “Lord Shen, you must have been in the imperial guards for a long time, right?”
Shen Rulin nodded. “It’s been 17 years since I joined the imperial guards.”
“Seventeen years…”
Zhang Yueheng let out a long sigh. After a moment, he suddenly asked softly, “Lord Shen, do you have any thoughts of advancing further and becoming a general or even a deputy general?”
Shen Rulin instantly understood what Zhang Yueheng meant. He narrowed his eyes and probed, “Lord Zhang, is there anything you want me to do?”
“Lord Shen, you’ve misunderstood. I just want you to do your job.”
Zhang Yueheng smiled, but his eyes were filled with killing intent. “This criminal called Lin Ran is evil and vicious. When Lord Shen brings him into the palace, you have to be careful!”
When Shen Rulin heard this, he forced a smile and said, “Lord Zhang, you’re overthinking. As the imperial guards, we naturally have to do our job!”
“Deputy General Shen, you’ve misunderstood.”
Zhang Yueheng waved his hand and changed the way he addressed Shen Rulin to deputy general. “What I mean is that this person is quite dangerous. He doesn’t have to see His Majesty. If he escapes on the way…”
Zhang Yueheng did not finish his sentence. He just stretched out his right hand and slowly made a beheading gesture.
Shen Rulin frowned slightly. “Lord Zhang, may I ask if there’s any grudge between you and that criminal?”
Zhang Yueheng smiled and patted Shen Rulin’s shoulder. “Lord Shen, don’t ask too much about unrelated matters. You just have to know that if you do this well today, you will be the deputy general of the Five Elements Imperial Guards tomorrow!”
With that, Zhang Yueheng turned around and left with a smile.
Shen Rulin stood rooted to the ground for a long time, his sharp eyes flickering. No one knew what he was thinking.
…
Lotus Town, in a nameless house.
In the room, Lin Ran and Hong Liquan sat opposite each other.
Lin Ran had already washed up and changed his clothes. He held a cup of tea as if he was tasting it, but anyone with a discerning eye could tell that his mind was not on the tea.
After a short silence, Hong Liquan couldn’t help but ask softly, “Brother Lin, will His Majesty really see you?”
Just as Lin Ran was about to speak, the door suddenly opened and Shen Rulin walked in. He shouted coldly, “The criminal, Lin Ran! His Majesty summoned you to the palace to interrogate you personally!”