kvmb Chapter 123 Power is a cup of poison
Chapter 123 Power is a cup of poison
After the banquet, the news of the hidden beauties in Prince Xian's mansion spread throughout Fengling City. Because of these beautiful dancers and Prince Xian's generosity, Prince Xian's mansion became crowded overnight and became a place that officials in Fengling City flocked to. Everyone would visit Prince Xian as an excuse to watch a soul-stirring dance, and if they were of great use, they could get generous rewards from Prince Xian.
Li Xu used the dancers in his mansion to indulge in wine and sex, and had fun every night, but secretly he had won over most of the officials in Fengling City. His depression and self-degradation were a show for his brother Ning Xi, who was far away in Xuan'an City, to numb his vigilance against him and relax his guard. At the same time, he was also pretending to be a show for all the civil and military officials in the court. The wise and virtuous king had fallen into depravity after being forced to raise horses. Everyone would only sympathize and pity the beloved son of the previous emperor, thus deepening their resentment and dissatisfaction with Ning Xi.
On this day, after Qian Yue had made love with a dancer in the side courtyard of Prince Xian's mansion as usual, he walked out of the room contentedly when he saw Li Xu smiling at him from afar under a tree in the courtyard. This smile that seemed to be hiding something made him feel uneasy.
"I just learned from General Zheng Nan that Lord Qian has secretly raised three thousand soldiers in the desert?" When Qian Yue stepped forward and was about to salute, Li Xu asked first, with a cold light flashing in his bright eyes.
When Qian Yue heard this, he trembled in his heart, his face turned pale in an instant, and he knelt down in front of Li Xu with his knees weak. At the same time, he could not help but curse Zheng Nan in secret, a guy who was bewitched by a woman and dared to tell such a thing so easily. Even if the current King Xian is in the same boat with them, raising troops privately is tantamount to treason. Who can guarantee that the King Xian will keep it a secret for them?
"Please stand up, Lord Qian." When Qian Yue was panicking and didn't know how to explain, King Xian smiled warmly and helped him up.
"Your Highness, I...I did not intend to hide it from Your Highness, but..." Although Qian Yue was helped up, the fear on his face did not diminish in the slightest.
"There are rampant bandits in the border areas, and they are repeatedly harassed by the Western Rong. Furthermore, to the south is the cunning Xiyue Kingdom. As the magistrate of Fengling City, Lord Qian must prepare for a rainy day. What's more, Lord Qian did not keep these 3,000 soldiers in his own house, but stationed them in the desert outside the city to add a barrier to the west of Lang Kingdom. Lord Qian is so dedicated to Lang Kingdom, which really makes Li Xu admire him deeply!" But before Qian Yue could explain, Li Xu suddenly grabbed his hand, his eyes reddened, and spoke excitedly.
Although Qian Yue's private raising of soldiers and horses was a big taboo, Li Xu was well aware that at the moment he still needed to rely on Qian Yue's power and connections in Fengling City. Moreover, if he concealed and excused Qian Yue in this matter, there would naturally be no problem in exchanging such a big favor for the three thousand soldiers and horses in the desert.
Qian Yue was dumbfounded by Li Xu's seemingly heartfelt words. He was stunned for a long time and didn't know how to react. Was the King trying to excuse himself? Did he really treat him as his own?
"King Xian is very righteous, Qian Yue is very grateful!" Qian Yue reacted and knelt in front of Li Xu again with a plop, crying and grateful. The other party gave him such a big step, Qian Yue not only had to take it quickly, but also had to repay it: "King Xian has great ambitions, Qian Yue is willing to bring all the troops in the desert to help King Xian!"
"Good! Very good! Lord Qian's loyalty and sincerity will never be let down by Li Xu. After the matter is accomplished, Lord Qian, you will be a meritorious minister of my Lang country, respected by thousands of people!" This was exactly what he wanted. Li Xu was overjoyed and hurriedly bent down to help Qian Yue up again.
Prince Xian's passionate words almost made Qian Yue fall into a deep trap, but he soon came to his senses and realized that there was no turning back after accepting the benefits from Yingmen. It was easy to offend Prince Xian, but he could not afford to offend Yingmen.
In the princess's mansion in Xuan'an City, Luoying sat on the swing in the courtyard in a depressed mood. The palace maid behind her was swinging gently on the swing. Seeing that the princess had no interest in swinging, she sighed secretly.
Ever since she heard that King Xian was indulging in wine and women in Fengling City, the princess has lost her appetite and often sits alone in a daze, silent and depressed.
When Shangguan Jiuyi arrived at the princess's mansion, he saw the delicate figure on the swing from afar and couldn't help but smile. He walked up behind her, secretly sent the palace maids away, and then swung the swing himself.
"Liuli is too high..."
The swing was swinging higher and higher and Luoying came back to her senses. She turned around and saw the young man in white smiling at her tenderly. She couldn't help but feel happy and forgot to hold on tightly with her hands. Her body flew out with the swing, but then fell into a warm embrace.
“Oh, oh, oh…” Luoying couldn’t help crying while lying in Shangguan Jiuyi’s arms, as if the emotions that had been suppressed for a long time suddenly found an outlet.
"I'm sorry Luoying... I'm sorry... I shouldn't have swung so high..." Looking at the person in his arms crying, Shangguan Jiuyi felt distressed and panicked. He hurriedly and carefully wiped her tears and apologized repeatedly.
Luoying buried her face in his chest, shook her head, and cried even harder.
"What's wrong?" Seeing Luoying so heartbroken, Shangguan Jiu suspected that she was not angry with him. He thought it was because of the matter of King Xian that had been spreading wildly in Xuan'an City recently.
"Jiuyi, why? Why did both of my royal brothers change? Why did everything change after father left? I'm so sad. If only father and mother were still alive..." After holding back her emotions for several days, when she saw Jiuyi, Luoying couldn't hold back any more and cried out all the grievances and pain in her heart.
She really couldn't understand why her eldest brother suddenly hated Brother Lixu so much. When their father was alive, they had a very good relationship. Why did things become like this after their father left? If Brother Lixu had not left Xuan'an City and had not been humiliated by her eldest brother by raising horses, he would not have been disheartened and depraved. He would still be the virtuous king who was self-respecting, respected, and noble as jade. Thinking of her beloved brother humiliating herself out of despair in the remote Fengling City, her heart was like a knife.
"Power is a cup of poison. It will make people lose themselves and gradually forget their original intentions. Once they change, everything will change and no one can stop it." Shangguan Jiuyi gently stroked the head of the person in his arms and sighed deeply. With the current situation in Langguo, he didn't know how to comfort Luoying. He couldn't bear to hit her in the pain and make her despair, nor did he want to say something against his will to coax her and let her continue to hold on to beautiful visions.
Most people felt pity and sympathy for Xian Wang Lixu's behavior, but Shangguan Jiuyi was vaguely uneasy because of this. Xian Wang was addicted to wine and sex, living a life of drunkenness and dreaming all day long. Currently, there was only word of mouth from others, and he always believed that seeing was believing.