NCCnovel Chapter 393
Chapter 393
Yan Ji's eyes flashed, and he chuckled lightly, "To be honest with you all, I truly believe that Junior Preceptor Yue possesses some divine abilities."He looked up and swept his gaze over the six people. "Otherwise, you wouldn't be suppressing the scholars and students of your own countries, forbidding them from criticizing her."
The expressions of the others changed simultaneously. Bei Ye even forced a laugh, "Brother Yan Ji is overthinking it. We are guests on someone else's turf, so naturally, we should have the self-awareness of guests, shouldn't we?"
Meanwhile, Yue Fuguang, the very person they were discussing, was currently nestled in a warm lounge chair. As she snacked on the plum blossom cakes sent from the palace, she listened to the system broadcasting the latest news to her.
"Tongtong, are you saying these are all Feng Tang's advices to the Emperor?"
This man had quite a brilliant mind. She had only murmured a few extra words in his ear, and he had managed to draw inferences, playing both open and hidden schemes to perfection.
Even though I've set my sights on your territory, I definitely need a justifiable cause. If you send your navy into my dynasty to plunder the commoners, we naturally have to lead our troops to your doorstep to demand an explanation.
As for whether these pirates were actually disguised Dongyi navy soldiers, that wasn't important.
Especially the part about the Imperial Academy students—how was that any different from the classic excuse of a missing soldier from back in the day?
[Host, I truly believe it this time. If we weren't pretending to be a deity, the two of us combined wouldn't be able to outsmart him alone.]
The system had been present for every word its host had spoken to Feng Tang. For Feng Tang to infer so much from its host's fragmented words meant he had far more cunning than its host.
As the saying goes, the supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy through strategy. Great Yan's current response was much better than the initial plan of its ruler and ministers. At the very least, it could save the lives of tens of thousands of Great Yan soldiers while leaving the other countries speechless.
Yue Fuguang smiled smugly. The gap in status could make up for their lack of intellect. Even if her actions were somewhat inappropriate, others would automatically come up with justifications for her. This was the convenience that came with status.
Having understood the plans of Great Yan's ruler and ministers, Yue Fuguang felt relieved. Dongyi was merely the first step. As for the other countries, without her special support, given Great Yan's current national strength, they would have to gnaw them down one by one.
She just didn't know if they would give them the chance to defeat them individually.
Thinking of this, she set down the plum blossom cake in her hand and asked the system, "Are those members of the diplomatic mission behaving themselves?"
[The self-harm incidents haven't happened again. You Mingmin's people are keeping a very close watch. Bei Ye and his group wanted to go out and contact the spies in Shangjing a few times, but they had to drop the idea because of the tails behind them.]
Recalling what the system had told her a few days ago, Yue Fuguang asked, "Because Du Mingqi, Song Min, and the others were suddenly imprisoned, Northern Li's avenue for purchasing high-quality seeds was blocked.
The old emperor's spies planted in Shangjing contacted Bei Ye and Bei Yue, asking them to find a way to investigate the cause and purchase the seeds. Did those two do it?
Have the spy dens planted by the old emperor in Shangjing been wiped out yet?"
The moment this was brought up, the system immediately got energized. It said happily, [Zheng Zicheng truly lives up to being Zheng Feng's father; both father and son are equally full of schemes.
After Zheng Zicheng and the Crown Prince followed that person to their den, they didn't arrest them immediately. Instead, they played the long game to catch a bigger fish.
Sure enough, a couple of days ago, they took down three dens in one swoop and arrested over a dozen people.
Host, one of these three dens was directly controlled by Gan Sheng.]
Hearing that South Yue was involved, Yue Fuguang's interest was immediately piqued. "Weren't they catching Northern Li's spies? How did South Yue get dragged into this?"
Are spies in this era all this unprofessional? Having horizontal connections between members is bad enough, but crossing borders? Do they really need to expand their business that widely?
[I went to eavesdrop on the interrogation. It seems it was because a spy from Northern Li fell ill and went to a medical clinic run by a South Yue spy for treatment.
As a result, after a few interactions, they discovered each other's identities. Since they are in the same line of work, certain habits among peers are easily spotted.
So the two of them started contacting each other privately, sometimes even exchanging intelligence. That time, he used the excuse of seeing a doctor to visit the clinic just to gather information on Song Min, which was how the Crown Prince and his people set their sights on the South Yue clinic.]
One could only say the South Yue people were unlucky, happening to run right into Great Yan's line of fire.
"Didn't Bei Ye and Bei Yue know that You Mingmin sent people to monitor their actions? Why didn't they give a warning?"
Surely her previous instigation and intimidation couldn't have taken effect this quickly!
[Host's words must have worked. The rift between Bei Yue and the old emperor is growing larger by the day. As for Bei Ye, although he is in Great Yan, he sent a trusted aide back to Northern Li after returning from the hunting grounds. Having verified the Host's words, he is even less likely to cover up anything for the old emperor.]
The system's voice grew even more cheerful as it spoke, [If it weren't for the fear of not being able to explain things when they returned, the two of them would have loved to help the Crown Prince and the others eradicate all the spies Bei Ji planted in Great Yan.
However, even just losing these two dens has infuriated Bei Ji. A letter fiercely cursing his two unfilial sons is currently on its way to Shangjing.
In a few days, the two of them will get to enjoy this fatherly love from thousands of miles away.
As for the matter of the high-quality seeds, their several petitions to Emperor Mingxi were just a show of feigned compliance for the rest of the diplomatic mission. In reality, they haven't done a single piece of actual work, clearly just going through the motions.]
Ever since returning from the hunting grounds, it was obvious that these few people had been slacking off, yet they were unusually active in gathering all sorts of information.
Yue Fuguang and the system had just been talking about them a couple of days ago. Today, Cuizhu walked in holding several invitation cards.
Yue Fuguang casually opened one of the golden cards. Upon seeing the vigorous and beautiful handwriting on it, she could not help but raise an eyebrow and praise, "Good calligraphy!"
She picked up another pale blue card, and a faint, cold fragrance wafted over. It was the unique, delicate scent of green calyx plum blossoms.
Her fingers tapped lightly on the remaining three cards on the table. After a brief moment of thought, she instructed Qingzhu, "Prepare some tea and pastries. We have guests arriving."
Watching Qingzhu head toward the small kitchen, Yue Fuguang then told Cuizhu to invite the guests in. "Bring them to the front tearoom. I will be there in a moment."
The New Year was fast approaching. Not a single snowflake had fallen, yet the weather was colder than in previous years, and the Hongwen Pavilion had already closed for the holidays.
She had become increasingly indolent over the past two days. Having asked the Emperor for a leave of absence, she had not attended morning court for three days. Looking at her loose hair bun and casual loungewear, she called for Cuiyu to help her freshen up.
By the time a completely refreshed Yue Fuguang arrived at the tearoom, Gan Tang, Bei Yue, and the others were already there.
Seeing her enter, they all stood up to pay their respects. Yue Fuguang wore a faint smile as she returned their greetings one by one. Neither overly warm nor cold, this slightly formal attitude made the group feel even more uncertain.
After everyone took their respective seats as host and guests, it was the older Bei Yue who initiated the conversation. Smiling, he picked up a carved red sandalwood box from his side and placed it on the table.
He opened the copper clasp and took out a perfectly round, dazzling pearl the size of a peeled lychee. "Lord Junior Preceptor, this bright pearl is named the Moon Pearl. I came across it by chance."
Seeing that Yue Fuguang did not show much expression even when presented with such a beautiful pearl, he sighed inwardly. Sure enough, with Yue Fuguang's high status in Great Yan, what kind of rare treasures had she not seen? However, this was the absolute best thing he could offer at the moment.
His smile grew even more humble. "The New Year is approaching. As a guest residing in Great Yan, I have few worldly possessions. Only this pearl can be considered a rare novelty. Therefore, I took the liberty of visiting today to present this pearl to Your Excellency as a New Year's gift. I hope you will not decline."