Volume 19: Legend of Lu Xiaofeng Chapter 520: The Golden Palace (Part 1)
In front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
The dense flames in the previous darkness have faded, but the golden glow of the Hall of Supreme Harmony seems to never fade.
The Hall of Supreme Harmony is the Golden Throne Hall where all officials hold court meetings.
There is a long and neat terrace under the Golden Throne Hall.
There are two rows of platforms on the Danchi. Although they look like just a few dozen ordinary stones, when the grand court meeting comes, the civil and military officials stand on the left and right, with their heads bowed, waiting for the emperor's call. This scene is enough to shock anyone.
The geniuses and heroes of the world rack their brains and put in all their efforts, some even risking their lives, just to stand on this stage.
Su Weiyun is standing here now, and is moving up step by step.
Bai Yujing was also beside him.
It was a serious crime for a commoner to enter the Golden Palace without permission, but no guard dared to say anything to Su Weiyun because the person standing next to him was the emperor of the dynasty.
Also Su Weiyun's friend.
The door of the Golden Palace was always wide open.
This was a new rule set by this generation's emperor after he ascended the throne; he wanted to express his welcome to the ministers, his enthusiasm for court meetings, and his encouragement for political discussions.
The emperor worked hard to govern the country and handled numerous state affairs every day. He was a rare role model among emperors since the establishment of the great dynasty. In addition, the emperor was very sympathetic to the people and ruled the country with benevolence and righteousness, which made him an even rarer wise ruler!
Therefore, many ministers firmly believed that the dynasty would usher in an unprecedented era of prosperity!
In the Golden Palace.
It was pitch black and silent all around.
No one would come to the Golden Palace in such a deep night; therefore, very few people would have seen such a dark side of the Golden Palace.
In the center of the hall, there is a large golden chair made of pure gold. It is the dragon throne that only the emperor can sit on. It represents the supreme power that is worshipped by everyone!
Bai Yujing slowly held the handle of the dragon chair, but did not sit down. Instead, he said, "Whenever the civil and military officials are arranged on the left and right, I can't help but feel emotional."
Su Weiyun asked, "What are you feeling?"
Bai Yujing pointed to one side, where the civil officials were standing, and said, "The head of the civil officials is the prime minister. Everyone in the world knows this."
Su Weiyun nodded.
Bai Yujing said: "But few people know that the position of prime minister should have been occupied by Wu Ming."
Wu Ming is the old man’s name.
He was actually the original head of civil servants and the prime minister?
Bai Yujing said with a sigh: "Maybe you will be surprised, but since I can be the emperor, why can't he be the prime minister?"
Su Weiyun remained silent.
Bai Yujing said: "But Wu Ming eventually gave up the position of Prime Minister and went overseas. If someone doesn't know the inside story, it would be hard to understand this matter."
Su Weiyun said: "Definitely."
Bai Yujing said: "The original intention of establishing the Qinglong Society was to allow the court to better control the Jianghu and the martial arts world."
"So we specifically told the two major sects, Shaolin and Wudang, to stop becoming enemies with the Azure Dragon Society."
Indeed, according to the style of the two long-established sects, Shaolin and Wudang, if such an organization of unknown origin and numerous evil deeds had appeared in the martial arts world, they would have raised their flags, signed an alliance, and worked together to "promote righteousness and eliminate evil."
But when the Qinglong Society came, Shaolin and Wudang were reluctant to take action. People in the martial arts world said that they were afraid of the Qinglong Society, but the real reason was this - Shaolin and Wudang would not be enemies of the imperial court.
Bai Yujing showed a look of reminiscence: "When I personally went to Shaolin Temple to tell the Great Compassion Zen Master about this matter, he asked me not to use my sword to kill people easily unless it was an emergency."
Su Weiyun said: "Of course you have done this very well."
Bai Yujing shook his head and said, "But I can't guarantee that all branches of the Qinglong Society can do this!"
Su Weiyun asked: "So you often go around cleaning up houses?"
Bai Yujing said: "It's hard to handle it with just my own hands."
Su Weiyun asked, "Haven't Liu Changjie and Long Wu been helping you?"
Bai Yujing smiled and said, "Long Wu can only help me to a limited extent, because he needs to pretend to be me all the time and concentrate on studying in the East Palace."
"oh?"
This time Su Weiyun was truly surprised .
"He was originally my fifth brother, but he was sent out very early to hone his martial arts and learn military tactics in preparation for future frontier wars."
Bai Yujing said: "When I was still the crown prince, I had already taken up my sword and left the capital to travel around the country, but it is not in accordance with etiquette for the crown prince to not live in the East Palace for a long time."
Su Weiyun suddenly realized, "So he pretended to be you and studied for you in the East Palace?"
Thinking of this, Bai Yujing couldn't help laughing and said, "He always looks sick. Half of the reason is because he is lovesick, and the other half is because he has to diet hard to maintain a body shape similar to mine."
Bai Yujing has broad shoulders and a thin waist, strong arms, and a slender and strong figure. It is rare for ordinary people to have such a perfect body shape as his.
"He never dared to eat too much, so of course he looked like that."
Long Wu has a thin body in order to look similar to Bai Yujing, and his pale face is probably due to wearing a human skin mask that imitates Bai Yujing's appearance and not seeing sunlight for many years.
Bai Yujing said: "Although Long Wu's martial arts skills are very high, he has a reputation in the martial arts world as a 'mysterious dragon that can only be seen from the head but not the tail'. This is because when I am not in the East Palace, he has to go back to the palace to play the role of the crown prince for me."
Su Weiyun said: "So the reason why no one in the martial arts world has ever thought that the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace is Bai Yujing is that there is always someone in the Eastern Palace, and the 'Crown Prince' has no time to leave the palace?"
Bai Yujing said: "This is a big part of the reason."
Su Weiyun asked: "Anything else?"
Bai Yujing said: "The other reason is that my attire and temperament have changed a lot. Bai Yujing is a free and unrestrained swordsman; while the prince is serious and hardworking!"
“Hahahahahahahahahahaha!”
When he said "serious", Su Weiyun and he couldn't help but burst out laughing at the same time.
The laughter echoed in the Golden Palace, the echo was loud and lingering for a long time.
Su Weiyun asked again: "What about the Prince of the Southern Kingdom? Have you never noticed before that there is someone in the world who looks so much like you?"
Bai Yujing said angrily and amusedly, "That Prince Nan is indeed a descendant of the royal family, but he is at least twenty years younger than me. When I gave you the Sword of Immortality and decided to retire from the martial arts world, he was still a child. Who could have known in advance that he would look so much like me when he grew up?!"
Speaking of which, Bai Yujing is already forty years old this year.
He has profound internal strength and excellent physique. He still looks very young, not much different from a twenty-year-old, but there are still some wrinkles at the corners of his eyes.
Su Weiyun said: "At forty, one has no doubts. You asked me to return the sword of immortality to you when you were thirty, but I was ten years late."
Bai Yujing smiled and said, "Hahaha, it's only ten years, it doesn't matter if you wait a little longer!"
Su Weiyun sighed: "The changes in the past ten years have been earth-shaking."
"Where is Long Wu now?"
Bai Yujing replied, "He is fighting against foreign tribes at the northern border, and Jin Kaijia has gone with him. If he is quick, he may be back in a year or two."
Su Weiyun asked again: "Where is 'Seventh Killer' Liu Changjie? Where is he?"
It was as if Liu Changjie had disappeared from the face of the earth. No matter how Su Weiyun tried to inquire, she never heard any news about him.
"Liu Changjie..."
Bai Yujing suddenly shut up.
