The Demonic World I designed-Chapter 42 - 40 Imperial Court Situation!

42: Chapter 40: Imperial Court Situation!

42 -40: Imperial Court Situation!

Chen Qing didn’t hesitate for long before accepting the invitation from the stranger before him and took a seat nearby…

Deep down, he wanted to join Weichi Peng, even though that fellow had a severe case of body odor, which somewhat affected his appetite, but after all, Weichi Peng sincerely considered him a friend, and it was more relaxing to be around him.

However, that might seem disrespectful to Fei Jun.

Fei Jun was actually quite a nice person, and Chen Qing didn’t really want to offend him.

The most important thing was the current company; just by looking at his air and demeanor, Chen Qing could tell his status was not low.

Without knowing the details, it was better to not offend the man.

Moreover, by accepting this invitation, he provided an explanation to both Fei Jun and Weichi Peng.

“Does Lord Chen enjoy strong liquor?” the frail middle-aged man asked with a smile.

Chen Qing shook his head and quickly apologized: “This official has not yet learned to drink.”

That statement wasn’t an excuse.

His family was so poor from supporting his studies, how could they afford alcohol?

As for his past life?

As a technical otaku, he stuck to otaku drinks.

“How about learning?” the middle-aged man suggested with a laugh.

“I’d rather not…” Chen Qing said with a laugh: “This official has a carriage booked and will be heading to Lyuzhou shortly.”

“In such a rush?”

“Rent is high, and this official hasn’t received his salary yet.

I’m almost out of travel funds.”

The crowd: “…”

“Haha!” The middle-aged man laughed upon hearing this.

“You are quite an interesting person.

Other Imperial Scholars can’t wait to stay a few more days to build connections whenever they can, while you couldn’t wait to leave.”

“Without money, what can I use to build connections?”

The surrounding civil officials had dark expressions, while the middle-aged man and the nearby military officers laughed heartily.

“Lord Chen,” an elderly civil official sitting opposite scolded with a stern face, “you are about to assume your post, please be more decorous in your speech and actions!”

Chen Qing startled, glanced at the Crane-Rank Badge on the other’s chest, um…

a second-rank officer, perhaps even a Minister, he certainly didn’t dare to offend.

He quickly made a bow and said: “This official misspoke, I hope the lord would not take offense.”

“Hmph…” The elderly official gave Chen Qing a thoughtful look and then glanced at the middle-aged man before saying, “Is Lord Chen well-acquainted with Duke of Qin here?”

The action of picking up his food paused momentarily as Chen Qing turned to look at the man beside him.

Is this the guy they call the ‘Old Yin’?

“You are Duke of Qin?”

At that, the man broke into a smile: “Lord Chen’s expression…

seems to bear some grievances toward me?”

“How could that be?” Chen Qing said insincerely with a smile and a bow: “I haven’t yet thanked Lord Duke for your recommendation.

It is thanks to you that this humble official secured the Magistrate position.”

The words ‘Lord Duke’ were accentuated forcefully.

The last person he called ‘Duke’ ended up quite cold, he thought ruefully, better take care of yourself…

The surrounding military officers chuckled as they watched Chen Qing.

Few people could remain as composed as him upon learning of Old Lu’s identity; this scholar had the backbone of a military general!

“Haha, please, there is no need for thanks,” Duke of Qin laughed and said: “The various tasks you accomplished, Lord Chen, are due to your own abilities, not related to me.”

The civil officials across frowned slightly.

It seemed that the two of them didn’t know each other.

After all, with Duke of Qin’s current status, he hardly needed to put on such a show for the young man for the benefit of the crowd.

“Where, where…” Chen Qing chuckled: “Without the Duke’s recommendation, this humble official wouldn’t have had the opportunity to showcase my abilities.

For such great kindness, I am surely indebted and shall repay the favor in the future.”

Duke of Qin shook his head amusedly, but a trace of curiosity sparked in his heart.

He had seen countless people, but it was rare to find someone so indifferent when faced with him.

Although respectful in words, there was not a hint of awe in his eyes.

This was not only in his interaction with himself, but also when the young man looked at the Minister of Personnel across; that same calm, that same…

indifference?

He wasn’t quite sure why this term came to mind, but it seemed to fit—this young man’s gaze towards everyone carried a hint of indifference, reminiscent of someone from the past…

perhaps… freewёbnoνel.com

And so, conversation at the table occasionally touched on various subjects, very much like everyday small talk, such as how old are you this year?

How many people in your family?

Which teacher did you study under before the Imperial Scholar exam?

If it weren’t for the Emperor already announcing his intentions to appoint the Consort Prince, he might have doubted if the man intended to propose a matrimonial match for him.

Time passed quickly, and before long, it was time to depart in the evening.

Chen Qing certainly wasn’t staying for the night; he said his farewells to several senior officials who appeared to have high rank, chatted with Weichi Peng and Fei Jun for a moment, and then prepared to leave.

He didn’t want to spend another moment in the Capital City.

Just as he was saying his goodbyes and about to leave the Duke’s residence, he was called by a familiar voice.

It was someone he had expected, but Chen Qing didn’t foresee the person arriving so late to find him.

“Where have you been just now?” Chen Qing asked.

The person was Wang Ye.

As Wang Ye saw Chen Qing begin to speak, he fell silent for a moment.

He felt that Chen Qing’s way of addressing him had become increasingly casual.

Had their relationship progressed to such a good state?

“My master has something for you,” Wang Ye said.

“Huh?”

—————————————————————-

“How do you regard this young man?”

After the banquet, the civil and military officials all clustered into groups of three or five, chatting casually about household matters.

Now that those paper figures responsible for recording speech and actions were gone, the atmosphere seemed much more relaxed.

At this point, there were quite a few people discussing Chen Qing, including Minister Chen of the Ministry of Rites, who was chatting idly with the Duke of Qin.

“I find it quite interesting…” The Duke of Qin said with a smile, looking in the direction where Chen Qing had left: “The young man broke the encirclement of the Thousand-Faced Fox, and yet he turns out to be a mere mortal; truly fascinating…”

The Minister of Rites also smiled slightly, and the Crown Prince, who was far away and heard the two talking about Chen Qing, revealed a thoughtful expression on his face.

At present, there are three major factions within the Imperial Court: at its core are Liu Yu, the nine high-ranking magicians, commanding the support of eighty percent of the literary officials, which is the main force of the civilian official group; led by the Duke of Qin, a lineage of noble blood, the faction is extremely powerful, holding seventy percent of the Great Jin’s noble families’ power, and nearly half of the border military forces!

Followed by the loyally royalist noble families, such as the Weichi Clan and the Hong Family, these are high-ranking noble bloodline families that followed the Siao Family even before the establishment of the Great Jin Dynasty, occupying the remaining thirty percent of noble family power!

In the past, the Emperor dispatched the royalist noble families loyal to him to guard the strategic border towns, holding a massive amount of military authority.

Inside the Capital City, the magician group was used to balance the influence of the noble families supporting the Duke of Qin.

Honestly speaking, the balance was barely in favor.

Although the noble families supporting the Duke of Qin were numerous, most were controlled within the Capital City, and the authority over the border military forces was being gradually eroded by the Emperor over the years.

Originally, if the situation had continued in this way, by the time he would ascend the throne smoothly, the military power of the Royal Family would have recovered at least eighty percent, and with the absolute support of Liu Yu and others, they could then begin to deal with the Duke of Qin’s lineage.

But for some reason, the Emperor had lost his mind and made a move on Liu Yu!

More than half of the great magicians at the rank of the nine high-ranking officials were recommended by Liu Yu back in the day.

With Liu Yu’s removal, if the civil officials began to waver, the situation in the Capital City would no longer be stable.

Seeing the Minister of Rites chatting idly with the Duke of Qin, the Crown Prince naturally had to take notice.

Among the nine high-ranking officials, the Minister of Personnel has the greatest actual power as the Heavenly Official, but in terms of seniority and experience, it is Minister Chen of the Ministry of Rites who is the highest-ranked.

As the presiding official of the imperial examinations for six terms, Lord Chen has disciples spread all over the world.

What’s more important is that the Academic Commissioners across the land are essentially all trained by him!

“Does Minister Chen also have an interest in Chen Qing?” After listening for a while, the Crown Prince finally couldn’t help but walk over and join the conversation.

“Your Highness…” Both the Duke of Qin and Minister Chen bowed to salute.

“No need for excessive formality,” the Crown Prince said with a smile.

“I am merely curious as to why the Duke suddenly takes such an interest in Chen Qing, a newly appointed Imperial Scholar.”

The Duke of Qin gave a slight smile upon hearing this: “Perhaps…

just a bit bored, I guess.”

Bored?

The Crown Prince’s expression was half smiling, half serious.

Liu Yu had just died, and you’re already thinking about making a move, huh?

Minister Chen, who was standing by, observed all this but silently shook his head.

The Crown Prince was far from the Emperor’s equal, not just in power, but even in temperament, he was not comparable.

In fact, the one most suited to inherit the mantle of His Majesty was the Empress’s eldest son born with the Emperor.

However, it’s a pity…

he died young.

As for the current Crown Prince…

honestly speaking, he did not look favorably upon him.

Sometimes he even wondered if he should really entrust the future of the magicians’ legacy on this Crown Prince.

———————————————-

“Three factions?”

In the Duke’s mansion’s backyard, Wang Ye, familiar with the route, led Chen Qing towards the back door, and for some reason, he began to discuss the situation at the Imperial Court with Chen Qing.

“Yes…” Wang Ye nodded: “Those you know, like Weichi Peng and Hong Wu, belong to the faction loyal to the Emperor, the bloodline families most deeply bound to the Siao Family.

There are a few others you haven’t met, mostly serving in the border military.”

“I see…” Chen Qing suddenly realized.

He had thought that Great Jin’s territory was vast, more than ten times that of his former life’s Huaxia, and that there were quite a few dukes, reportedly over twenty, yet he had only ever heard of the nine great dukes of the Capital City; the rest, it seemed, had been dispatched elsewhere.

“Fei Jun is a promising new magician and a cousin of the Crown Prince, a young and vigorous magician, and a close minister of the Crown Prince.

If you had accepted his invitation just now, and since you had just saved the Crown Prince not long ago, you might have been considered part of the Crown Prince’s Faction in the eyes of many officials and generals.”

Chen Qing: “…”

“Of course, if you had accepted Weichi Peng’s invitation, you would also belong to the royalist faction, though you’d lean a bit more towards the Emperor.

You understand, right?”

Chen Qing nodded with a wry smile, well aware that the royalist faction and the Crown Prince’s Faction were two different things…

“So, what does it mean that I accepted the Duke of Qin’s invitation today?”

“The Duke is protecting you,” Wang Ye remarked, looking up at the clear sky.

“As a scholar, you are promoted within the civil official system; the Duke’s influence can’t meddle with your career.

This is something both the Emperor and the Crown Prince know, so although the Duke’s backing looks the most dangerous, it turns out that engaging with him is the least likely to invite suspicion at the moment.

His active invitation today was to help you out of a difficult situation.”

Chen Qing was taken aback; he hadn’t expected the Duke of Qin to help him and immediately frowned.

He wasn’t all that familiar with him, was he?

“It’s rare for the Duke to do such a thing,” Wang Ye also said with a laugh.

“I’m not sure why he suddenly took such an interest in you.”

“Haha…” Chen Qing laughed it off, feeling it wasn’t exactly a good sign.

“Right, you mentioned earlier that Lord Duke of Song had something for me?

What is it?”

Wang Ye paused for a moment, then took out a substantial black leather-bound book and handed it over.

Chen Qing, curious, received it, weighed it in his hand—it was quite heavy—and asked with interest, “What is it?”

“I don’t know…” Wang Ye shook his head.

“The master set a technique on it, only you can open it.”

“Oh?” Chen Qing’s curiosity was piqued further, and he opened the cover right before him.

Indeed, as he turned the pages, twisted Spatial Runes flickered on the book, clearly indicating a technique.

“You’re flipping through it right in front of me, aren’t you worried I’ll peek?” Wang Ye said with a half-smile.

“Worry about what?” Chen Qing replied with a chuckle.

“Flipping through it in front of you means I’m planning to look at it with you.

Why so serious?

If you want to see, come over and join me.”

Wang Ye was slightly startled, looked at Chen Qing for a long time, but ultimately did not object and moved closer to take a look at the book as well.

Hm?

This is…