Chapter 604 - The Past is Dead (3)

Chapter 604: The Past is Dead (3)
Even at this late hour of the night, within a room in Qingxi Hall, Muxiang remained wide awake.
The door and the windows of the room were firmly shut, and there weren’t any candles lit up in the room, making it pitch black.
Muxiang sat fully dressed on her bed in the darkness, like a sinister, silent spectre.
She was still in a daze. She couldn’t believe that Count Jing’an had returned earlier than expected.
This wasn’t what happened in her past life!
Ever since the count had returned, the situation she had been pushing the estate into was now ruined. It wasn’t possible to use Matriarch He and He Ying to achieve her own motives now.
She bit her lip and cursed Count Jing’an inwardly.
In this dark and seemingly boundless place, her eyes were lit up with a fearsome and poisonous glow.
She scratched at the brocade bedsheets under her, vowing to herself that she would get what she wanted, no matter how vicious she had to be.
……
The next day, Count Jing’an, He Changjue and He Changdi headed for the palace together.
Since the count had just returned to the capital, he had to attend court in the morning before going over to the Ministry of War to hand over his matters, transfer his token of authority, and so on. There was plenty to do.
He had managed to return to the estate in time yesterday because he had secretly sneaked in some free time.
Once Count Jing’an returned his token of authority, which gave him command over the troops in the south, he would be bestowed a slack position in the capital and enjoy his retirement. This was the usual way that most of the defender generals retired, so it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary.
Qinzheng Hall within the palace.
Court had been dismissed by now, Count Jing’an had been summoned into Qinzheng Hall alone.
Since Count Jing’an had just returned from Mingzhou and he was an important general who had defended the borders for decades, it wasn’t strange that the Chengping Emperor had summoned him for a private conversation.
Dressed in a military official’s court outfit, the burly and large Count Jing’an stood like a mountain before the doors of Qinzheng Hall. When Eunuch Wei came out to invite him in, the count followed behind the eunuch carefully.
A glint flashed through Count Jing’an’s eyes while his head was bowed. His determination could be seen on the set of his brows. He took in a deep breath and lifted his head, his gaze landing upon that imperial yellow figure.
Although the Emperor was approaching fifty, he remained clean shaven. The men of the Great Wu didn’t keep beards, so the Emperor had followed that rule.
The beardless Emperor looked five to six years younger than his real age, making him look in his early forties.
However, Count Jing’an was different.
Although he was younger than the Emperor by a year, his face had been weathered by hardship and there were a few strands of white in his hair, making him look much older.
The wrinkles at the corners of his mouth were prominent. Adding on to that his beard, he looked a decade older than the Emperor.
Upon hearing the footsteps of the approaching count, the Emperor looked up from the imperial reports and gazed upon Count Jing’an.
There was an unreadable look in the Emperor’s eyes. It wasn’t appreciation towards a loyal subject, nor admiration. It was far from trust and gratitude as well.
In a nutshell, it was a strange look.
“He Yanwen. It’s been years since we last met. We hope you’re doing fine,” The Chengping Emperor threw out these unexpected words with a straight face, causing his trusted attendant, Eunuch Wei, to tremble a little behind him.
Count Jing’an bowed his head and body slightly, giving the Emperor an appropriate salute, not an inch more or less.
“Defender General of the South, He Yanwen, greets Your Majesty. Long live Your Majesty!”
The Chengping Emperor’s tone cooled down all of a sudden, “Long live? He Yanwen, you had better drop all pretenses. If you truly wished for us to live a long life, then you wouldn’t have done that in the past!”
Count Jing’an had a bitter smile in his heart. As expected, despite the many years that had passed, the Emperor hadn’t forgotten that incident in the past.
However, the past is dead. There was no way to return to that time again.
Count Jing’an sighed inwardly, “This humble official will accept any punishment as Your Majesty wishes.”
The Emperor flew into a rage upon seeing the count’s unruffled appearance. The anger that he had been suppressing for years was instantly ignited, warping his mien beyond recognition.
He shoved the extremely priceless jade Jingtai teapot off his desk, roaring furiously, “He Yanwan! Don’t you assume that we don’t dare to sentence you to death! If she hadn’t pled mercy for you back then, we would have split into a thousand pieces by now!”
Count Jing’an lowered his eyes, but his burly body remained standing strong like a majestic mountain. He was a staunch and unyielding obstacle in the Emperor’s eyes.
“This humble official will accept any punishment as Your Majesty wishes.”