Chapter 5 Chip Chip Chip Chip Chip Chip
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In the original storyline, Huo Caijin had a significant part to play as the elder sister of Huo Caiyu. Despite being tortured to death by Emperor Jingchang, her demise was the final blow that shattered Huo Caiyu’s will. However, in the subsequent plot, Huo Caijin’s role became even more prominent.
While Huo Caiyu was known for his skills in governance, his sister Huo Caijin was a renowned military strategist. When facing an invasion against tyrants, Huo Caiyu went against popular opinion and appointed a disfigured woman as a General. This woman did not disappoint Huo Caiyu’s expectations and won consecutive victories, which rapidly expanded Huo Caiyu’s power. It was only revealed at the end that the disfigured woman was Huo Caijin, who had survived the palace and harbored a flame of revenge.
At this point, Huo Caijin had not yet had the opportunity to showcase her military abilities, as she was likely busy helping her mother with different domestic tasks.
General Huo sacrificed himself for the country and defended the borders. According to the laws of Di Dynasty, the widow and children of the Huo family should have received a generous pension, as well as land and manors, and even a noble title for General Huo’s military merit. However, due to corruption, the Huo family did not receive a single penny. The land, manors, and noble title they were supposed to receive were never given to them and seemed like they were never even promised.
If even the safety of the families of the meritorious generals could not be guaranteed, who would be willing to risk their lives for the court?
Li Jinyu’s first reaction was to cover the mouth of the eunuch who had spoken so loudly, in case Huo Caiyu heard them!
Imagining Huo Caiyu’s calm face rushing over with a surging and overwhelming Ziwei aura, Li Jinyu’s liver trembled a bit.
“Who gave the order?”
He didn’t remember giving such an instruction!
“It was the command of Her Highness the Consort Xian.”
“…What the hell!”
The eunuch was stunned, thinking that he had accidentally angered the Emperor. He instantly lowered his head, trembling all over and touching his forehead to the ground. “Your Majesty, spare this slave!”
Li Jinyu had only cursed on impulse, but he didn’t expect the eunuch to be so scared.
He had seen similar scenes many times these days. Although he was no longer as scared as he was at first, he still felt uneasy.
How did the Emperor Jingchang behave on ordinary days to to cause such fear in these individuals?
Li Jinyu waved his hand to indicate that he was not angry, and sat back on the dragon sedan, his head aching.
How should Huo Caijin’s sister be dealt with?
Based on Li Jinyu’s own thoughts, of course, the person should be immediately and directly sent back. With so many concubines in Emperor Jingchang’s harem, each singing a lullaby once in turn at night, it was enough for him to listen to for a long time. Why call for one more person?
Although the original plot called for Huo Caijin to face a life-threatening situation in the palace, it was not yet time for that! Huo Caijin’s entry into the palace was scheduled for the Grand Selection in the fall. It was only early spring now!
And just thinking about Huo Caiyu made Li Jinyu feel a little uneasy.
“Send her back immediately!” Li Jinyu remembered something, and added, “Remember to be polite!”
So Huo Caijin toured the palace and returned to Huo’s residence in a daze, bringing back several items that Li Jinyu had secretly transferred with magic.
Li Jinyu remembered that in the novel, the Huo family was very poor in the early days— General Huo Yi was penniless, and there was almost no silver in the family. The court ignored their request for relief, and the Huo siblings were at an age where expenses were high. General Huo’s wife secretly did some washing and mending work to barely provide a normal environment for the siblings to study and practice martial arts.
He had also noticed the traces of patches on Huo Caiyu’s previous clothes, which showed how hard the life of the Huo family was.
It was one thing for him to brush Huo Caiyu’s hatred points, but secretly giving some support to the Huo family shouldn’t attract anyone’s attention, right? After all, he used his spells to fill a few cups, so if the Huo family sold them quietly, no one would know.
Just one cup in the imperial palace would be enough to support the Huo family for a year!
As for that Consort Xian… Li Jinyu pondered for a moment, feeling a headache coming on.
Consort Xian was also helping him to increase his hatred points, and she had the support of the Prime Minister behind her…
………
After barely passing a major hurdle, Li Jinyu relaxed a bit and sat on the dragon couch, pointing at the empty plate, “Bring Zhen another plate of peanuts.”
At lunch, a dessert that had crispy roasted peanuts in it was served, which was especially to his liking. He asked a few more questions, and a plate of specially roasted peanuts was presented to him.
While thinking about the problem at hand, he inadvertently ate a whole plate of peanuts.
Nuts were really the best food after all!
After finishing another plate of crispy peanuts, Li Jinyu wiped his mouth and asked for another plate while listening to the eunuch’s report on Huo Caiyu’s physical condition.
When he went to visit Huo Caiyu in the morning, he was so intimidated by the fierce imperial Ziwei aura that he couldn’t speak and didn’t even have a chance to see how Huo Caiyu’s butt was doing.
“Reporting to Your Majesty, the imperial physician reports that the injuries on Young Master Huo’s buttocks have shown significant improvement, which must be attributed to Your Majesty’s personal visit and the nourishment of the dragon energy,” the eunuch reported.
“…”
What kind of quack doctor was this? Didn’t he know who had a lot of dragon energy?
“In another seven or eight days, Young Master Huo will be back to normal.”
Li Jinyu asked with concern, “No flaws left?”
This was not the first time Li Jinyu had expressed concern for Young Master Huo’s buttocks, so the eunuch took it in stride and respectfully replied, “The imperial physician said that Young Master Huo has a strong physique and should have no aftereffects.”
That’s good, that’s good.
Li Jinyu breathed a sigh of relief, and happily popped another peanut into his mouth.
Once Huo Caiyu’s body had fully recovered, he would be sent back home, allowing the plot to progress as planned!
With Huo Caiyu gone from the palace, he could then enjoy the imperial life in peace.
………
On the following day, it was time to go to morning court again. Li Jinyu yawned and struggled to get out of bed, went to morning court and came down in a daze.
He had stayed up late last night without calling anyone to serve him, and he was so sleepy in the morning that he almost fell asleep on his feet. Thanks to his reputation for being lazy and disinterested in politics, he managed to walk through the crowd with his eyes half closed.
After leaving court, he returned to his chamber and indulged in various delicacies of the palace. The imperial kitchen was truly skilled in cooking, even the simplest nuts and dried fruits were flavored differently.
Li Jinyu was not particularly interested in exotic cuisine, he was content with peanuts and melon seeds. He spent the whole day in his chamber munching on these snacks.
When he felt like exercising, he would take a walk around his chamber or visit the Imperial Garden. He had learned the rules of the palace in the past few days and could order the guards to clear out any unwanted people from the gardens in advance, ensuring that he never met any strangers.
Such a life was so comfortable and peaceful, except for the fact that he had to deal with Huo Caiyu.
Li Jinyu would still ask about Huo Caiyu’s situation, but he no longer went to visit him in person. He didn’t want to become the target of the imposing Ziwei aura.
Two days later, while gnawing on peanuts, Li Jinyu was studying a small jade seal in Emperor Jingchang’s bedchamber when he heard a eunuch announce, “Your Majesty, Prime Minister Ye requests an audience.”
Li Jinyu was taken aback. “Why is he here?”
Based on the original plot, Prime Minister Ye was ambitious and wanted to monopolize power, so he deliberately indulged Emperor Jingchang’s incompetence and brutality. In short, he allowed the Emperor to eliminate dissenters using his own hands.
“The Prime Minister said he has come to discuss about Huo Caiyu.”
Huo Caiyu?
Could it be that he came to beg him to release Huo Caiyu?
Li Jinyu’s eyes lit up, he threw the jade seal on a plate beside him, and straightened his clothes. “Announce him.”
Since the Prime Minister came to plead for Huo Caiyu, Li Jinyu could use this as an opportunity to release him and even let him owe Prime Minister Ye a favor, thus correcting the plot that had been misplaced due to his own actions.
Prime Minister Ye was already passed his forties this year, but his face looked extremely young, as if he was only in his early thirties.
Of course, for Li Jinyu, he can’t really distinguish most human faces.
Prime Minister Ye first kowtowed to the Emperor, chatted for a while, and even flattered him, praising Li Jinyu for his hard work and dedication to the country and the people. Li Jinyu couldn’t help but feel embarrassed.
How could these praises be attributed to him? Prime Minister Ye really dared to say such rubbish…
After rambling on for a long time, Prime Minister Ye finally got to the point, “This minister heard that Your Majesty released General Huo’s young son from the inner prison?”
Li Jinyu, who was drowsy, perked up and nodded in response, “Yes.” At the same time, he was thinking about how he should react when the Prime Minister requested him to release Huo Caiyu. Should he readily agree or be reserved and show some dignity?
Before he could decide, Prime Minister Ye spoke sternly, “Your Majesty, although Huo Caiyu is a descendant of a meritorious general, he disrespects the court and the imperial authority, and harbors evil intentions. It cannot be tolerated. This minister hopes that Your Majesty will impose severe punishment on him as a warning to others!”
“…Huh?”
The plot was not going according to plan?
Wasn’t the Prime Minister Ye of the novel extremely appreciative of Huo Caiyu, believing him to be the pillar of the country?
Although Prime Minister Ye himself was greedy for power and authoritarian in the original plot, he was also clear that the prerequisite for wielding power was the basis of power. Therefore, while encouraging Emperor Jingchang to execute some ministers, he would also bring some truly talented officials under his wing to support important positions.
Huo Caiyu was one of the talents he valued the most, which was why he spoke out to dissuade Emperor Jingchang from killing him when he was ordered to, leaving Huo Caiyu owing him a favor.
It was precisely because of this favor that after Huo Caiyu succeeded to the throne, he did not kill this power-hungry politician, but only seized his power and released him.
Now Prime Minister Ye was asking him to execute Huo Caiyu as soon as possible?!
What went wrong?
Li Jinyu was stunned for a long time before he could speak again, “This… is not a good idea. He didn’t do anything excessive.”
As soon as these words came out, Prime Minister Ye’s eyes twitched slightly.
Li Jinyu could read Prime Minister Ye’s inner thoughts from his face: who was it that had Huo Caiyu flogged and imprisoned because of his remarks on the pros and cons of the court’s policies?
If it weren’t for Huo Caiyu’s martial arts skills since childhood, an ordinary person would have dropped death on the spot! But of course, the Emperor wouldn’t suffer from any digestive issues. It seemed that Prime Minister Ye didn’t expect the Emperor, who was so angry and wanted to kill Huo Caiyu a few days ago, to suddenly change his stance. He then advised, “Disrespecting Your Majesty and speaking recklessly about court affairs are both major crimes.”
Li Jinyu glanced at him and didn’t answer.
Huo Caiyu was indeed a powerless character at the moment, but his remarks on political affairs were not nonsense. In the novel, it was only after listening to those words that Ye Huaixiang recognized Huo Caiyu’s talent. Later, when Huo Caiyu ascended to the throne, he implemented a new policy, and some people privately lamented, “If the previous dynasty had followed His Majesty’s proposals and implemented them, the situation today would not have come to this.”
Li Jinyu regarded the Prime Minister’s resolute face, and wondered. Why did Prime Minister Ye’s attitude change dramatically in just a few days?
Could it be that he was responsible for this again, due to the butterfly effect?
He couldn’t figure out the reason, but it was easy to dismiss Prime Minister Ye. Li Jinyu didn’t need to argue, so he just acted wilfully, “Zhen thinks he’s pretty good, so he will be spared.”
He was a tyrant, so of course, he could act as he pleased!
Prime Minister Ye thought he would receive a light and easy response from Emperor Jingchang, but he was taken aback by the Emperor’s words. In the past, His Majesty treated human life as worthless. It was easy to persuade him to release or kill someone. Why did he behave differently today?
Could it be that the rumors from the palace that “His Majesty favors Young Master Huo and wishes to take him as a consort” were true?
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