The Demon Concubine of God

Chapter 421 Lord Shen Sends Out Troops

The more the young emperor thought about Lord Shen, the more dangerous he felt. He anxiously urged the young eunuch, "Didn't you tell someone to summon Lord Shen to the palace? Why hasn't he arrived yet?"

The young eunuch estimated the time and thought it wouldn't be that fast. He had no choice but to coax the little emperor, saying, "Your Majesty, please be patient. Please understand that Lord Shen is old and frail. You just sent someone to pass on the decree. It's not that fast yet."

The little emperor had no choice but to wait patiently.

After a long time, a eunuch came in to report that Lord Shen had arrived.

The little emperor sat upright on the dragon throne, looking at Lord Shen, who was already gray-haired, as he walked in with a trembling and hunched back.

Lord Shen smiled before inviting An Kaiyan to come, saying, "This old minister has finished his visit. I apologize to Your Majesty."

The little emperor was also polite. He immediately walked out from behind the imperial desk and went forward to help Lord Shen up.

The two men, a wise king and a virtuous minister, exchanged a few seemingly caring greetings.

At this time, the young emperor said, "Although you have been recuperating in the palace, my dear minister, you must have heard the messages from the people outside and know something about the current state affairs of our Great Kingdom, right?"

Lord Shen bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I understand your current predicament. I have served the Great Digging Nation faithfully and am willing to sacrifice everything for it."

The little emperor was very happy because this person did not play dumb and play against him.

The young emperor looked surprised and excited. He said, "So, my dear, you have a solution to relieve my worries."

Lord Shen said, "I am an old civil official. Although I have the ambition to serve my country and kill the enemy, my age is too advanced. However, considering the current national situation, it is acceptable for me to go to the war-torn southern or northern provinces to contribute a little. Then, Your Majesty, would you rather send me to the southern province to quell the rebellion or to the northern province to persuade the enemy to surrender?"

The young emperor's face was grave. He lowered his head in thought for a moment, then said cautiously to Lord Shen, "Are you truly planning to go to one of these two provinces on my behalf to help relieve the country's worries?"

Lord Shen said, "I will devote my life to this cause until my death."

The young emperor said, "Then I would trouble you, my dear, to go to the northern province on my behalf. I know you are wise, brave, and eloquent. How about you go to the rebels and persuade them to surrender on my behalf?"

Lord Shen knelt down and bowed slowly and properly to receive the order.

After receiving the imperial edict, Lord Shen left the palace without stopping.

The moment Lord Shen walked out of the door of the imperial study, a hint of unnoticed calculation flashed in his eyes.

It seems that the late emperor left the body of the young emperor. This makes sense. No wonder the emperor didn't make any move when the entire Shen family was killed by that beast Chu Yanqiu that day.

When Lord Shen thought about this, he couldn't hide the hatred in his eyes.

If the Blood Talisman's Soul Fire Order had not been confiscated by the late emperor, and if there had been two Blood Talismans present to protect his Shen Mansion, his descendants would not have ended up being almost all killed.

Lord Shen left the palace and boarded his own carriage. The driver, a martial artist wearing a bamboo hat, was very frugal with words and only turned around to ask, "Are you going home?"

Lord Shen said, "Go home."

The man then gently whipped the back of the carriage and drove it slowly.

This man was originally a violent and brutal man who was used to killing people on the battlefield. Now he was sent to the capital by his own general to do such rough work for him. He felt so humiliated.

I don’t know when I can go back to Old Master Shen and act tyrannically again.

At this moment, Lord Shen could be heard muttering to himself in the carriage behind him: "Second brother is right. What's the point of following a wise leader and enjoying eternal nobility and a place in the imperial temple? There is no wise leader in this world."

The man couldn't help but look back.

But I didn't hear what Lord Shen said anymore.

Just as the carriage was about to stop at the gate of the Shen Mansion, the man couldn't help but turn around and said to Lord Shen in the carriage, "Is the eldest old master planning to tie up the second old master and rebel together?"

He pricked up his ears to listen, but did not hear any response from Lord Shen for a long time.

Just as the carriage stopped at the gate of the Shen Mansion, Lord Shen said, "Rebellion? Rebellion against what? They don't know that the Jin Family Army in the Northern Province was originally the military cavalry preserved by the late emperor. Before the late emperor retired, he said that if there is any unrest in the country, these Jin Family Army soldiers in my hands will follow me to quell the rebellion."

Therefore, it was destiny that he went to the Northern Province in person this time. The 70,000 Jin family troops would march south to gather the 60,000 old troops of the various vassal kings, which would be just right. By then, there would be an army of more than 100,000, plus his second brother's 50,000 troops. Then he would definitely return to Kyoto first to seek revenge.

Lord Shen, supported by the coachman, entered the gate of the mansion.

The Marquis' Mansion is now even more desolate. There are more than a dozen courtyards, large and small, and all the courtyards except the main courtyard have become deserted. Walking on the cobblestone road, it is quiet all around, even the cries of jackdaws on the roof are shocking. Marquis Shen stopped and wiped his eyes. Endless sadness permeated his whole body, making him look even more old.

When Lord Shen was about to enter the main courtyard, a young man in plain clothes came up to him quickly. Like an extremely dependent child, he affectionately put his arm around Lord Shen's arm.

As soon as Lord Shen saw the man's beautiful face, all his previous sadness disappeared. He patted the man's jade hand that was folded in his arm.

Lord Shen sighed, "Fortunately, you, Grandson Shuyu, have been with me all the time, otherwise my old bones would really not have been able to hold on."

Shen Shuyu's heavily made-up face creased like chrysanthemums when he smiled. He said, "Yes, Shuyu. I want to thank you, Lord Marquis. It's a good thing you found me, Lord Marquis. Otherwise, I would have been entertaining guests in that hellish garden forever."

When Lord Shen heard him mention being taken to a brothel-like brothel, he felt even more sorry for the child. He said, "My deceased grandsons were ignorant. They secretly sold you. What bastards!"

Yes.

Just like they sold Shen Shuchan and Shen Wen before, they secretly sold Shen Shuyu as well.

Lord Shen, supported by Shen Shuyu, entered the house. He drank a sip of tea brought by the maid and then asked, "Have the Sixth Master and the Eleventh Young Master run out of their tonics? Go and ask if they still need any good medicine. Ask the doctor to see them every two days. If you need any herbs, just come to me."

The maidservant naturally knew how much Lord Shen valued his only sixth son and eleventh grandson. She immediately said, "Yes, I understand. I will go to the Sixth Master and ask him about it myself."

The maid quickly left the room.

Shen Shuyu sat on the armrest of Marquis Shen's chair, held in his arms. Marquis Shen looked at her with pity. He said, "It's hard for you to go through that wolf's den. Who told me that my secret power has been destroyed? Now that the garden has secretly become ours. With the garden that Prince Rui has finally preserved, it doesn't matter if I leave Kyoto myself. My sweetheart, I leave you in Kyoto. You must take good care of this family for me."

Shen Shuyu had a look of reluctance on her face, and she laid on Lord Shen and said coquettishly, "Lord, I can't bear to see you go."

Lord Shen stroked his back and said, "Even if you're reluctant, you have to do this. Now is our chance to turn things around. Wait a little longer, and I'll give you the respectable position you desire, allowing you to become the king of Kyoto, second only to the emperor and above everyone else."

Shen Shuyu sat up straight, looked at Lord Shen and nodded, "I believe you, Lord."

The two of them stayed in the room for a while, and then Shen Shuyu accompanied Lord Shen to sleep on the small couch in the bedroom next door.

Shen Shuyu walked out of the room and was returning to his yard when a masked man in black suddenly jumped out.

Shen Shuyu was startled by his sudden appearance. He rubbed his chest and said angrily, "You scared me, but why are you still so reckless, brother?"

That person was Shen Shuyu's elder brother. The two of them had come to the Shen family in Kyoto together before. Lord Shen's family really took advantage of the Shen family. At that time, they asked the Shen family to send one person to serve as a soldier in Narrow Slit Mountain. They used threats and inducements to force their own elder brother Shen Shufeng to go to the military camp. For so many years, he almost became a scapegoat in life and death.

The two brothers returned to their residence and had a secret conversation.

Shen Shufeng had already taken off his veil. He said angrily, "Are you going to accompany that old coffin again? From now on, you can only be perfunctory with him and not allow him to have any feelings for you."

Shen Shuyu rolled her eyes at him. He asked, "It's broad daylight. What are you doing here all of a sudden?"

Shen Shufeng said, "Let me take a look at the situation. Is Lord Shen really willing to risk his old bones and go through so much hardship to go to the Northern Province?"

Shen Shuyu said, "He will leave tomorrow."

Shen Shufeng was happy this time. He clapped his hands and said, "That's good. Second brother, you don't know that Prince Rui's madness has worsened in the past two days. We can take this opportunity to gather more power from him. Don't worry, I am Prince Rui's confidant now. Big brother can do it."

Shen Shuyu felt something was amiss. He looked up and asked his eldest brother, "You? So the reason Prince Rui suddenly turned crazy was because you secretly drugged him?"

As expected, Shen Shufeng could not hide the truth from his clever second brother. He said, "War is about to break out in the Kingdom of Daju, and I am also trying to conquer the world in the future... and to quickly gain control of Prince Rui's power and military authority." After saying this, he still felt innocent and helpless.

Shen Shuyu didn't know what to say to his elder brother.

That night, Chu Yanqiu woke from his coma. He took the medicine soup that Chihe brought him, blew on the hot steam on it, and drank it sip by sip with a spoon. He asked, "How is the court going now? Are Prince Rui and Lord Shen making any moves?"

Both families have many hidden forces watching them. Chi He said, "Today, His Majesty the Emperor summoned them both to the palace. The situation at court has become even more complicated. A few days ago, while the young master was in a coma, several express letters arrived from the Southern and Northern Provinces, suggesting that unidentified rebel forces were causing chaos there. The Second Master, after much investigation, discovered that those rebels were large-scale armies, numbering 60,000 in the Southern Province and 70,000 in the Northern Province. They were all well-armored and well-equipped regular troops. This is giving His Majesty the Emperor, who sits in the Golden Palace, a headache."

Chu Yanqiu finished the last drop of medicine from the bottom of his bowl and analyzed, "If you say so, then the rumors I heard are true. I heard from others that those princes who died suddenly and mysteriously were not peaceful people. Since they returned to their respective places and proclaimed themselves kings, they have been accumulating wealth, forging weapons and establishing armies. The number of their troops has exceeded the number stipulated by the court. So I think the rebellion is due to this."

Chi He nodded, thinking his master's analysis made sense. However, he asked doubtfully, "But don't you think this number is too large? The Second Master and the First Master have also analyzed this matter in the First Master's study. The Second Master discovered that there are traces of the Jin Family Army among these rebels."

Chu Yanqiu's expression turned serious after hearing this.