“I beg Duke Suo Lun to show mercy.” Fu Lingxi bowed once more in pleading.
Every time Suo Lun saw Fu Lingxi, he would marvel. Could time flow backwards?
This woman was actually growing younger and younger. It was not merely the youthfulness of her appearance, but also the youthfulness of her figure.
After women reach a certain age, their figures inevitably become plump and mature. Yet Fu Lingxi’s figure was truly the slender and graceful kind that only young maidens possess.
Suo Lun said, “You are referring to Count Fu’e?”
“Yes.” Fu Lingxi said.
Suo Lun sat down and said, “Lady Fu Lingxi, I have a question.”
“Please ask.” Fu Lingxi said.
Suo Lun said, “Previously, because of the matter concerning my wife Yan Nai’er, the relationship between you and me deteriorated. I can understand that. But after Zhili’s great defeat, according to your character, you should have immediately mended relations with me, lest I retaliate against the Fu family. When Lord Gao begged you to rescue my son, it should have been the best opportunity to gain my forgiveness. You had clearly already agreed, so why did you go back on your word?”
Fu Lingxi said, “Because the person who detained them was High Priest Nalu. I was powerless.”
Suo Lun said, “No, you are lying. Nalu was handling private affairs for Zhili. Detaining hostages at the Divine Dragon Temple was already illegal. Moreover, you had the backing of the Grand Inquisitor Luo Ge behind you. If you truly wanted to rescue Zhiying and her child, he could not have stopped you at all. Furthermore, the baby is your own grandson, which makes it even more justified. Zhiying told me that at the time, you had already taken the baby away, but someone came to your ear and whispered something, and you went back on your word, returning the baby to Zhiying.”
Hearing this, Fu Lingxi’s beautiful eyes trembled slightly.
Suo Lun said, “What news exactly did you hear? That made you go back on your word and actually attempt to place your own grandson in mortal danger? And at that time, your expression was actually quite exhilarated!”
Instantly, Fu Lingxi straightened her delicate body and said calmly, “Suo Lun, my father indeed has wronged you, but he is after all your maternal grandfather. If you truly kill him, it will cause tremendous damage to your reputation.”
Suo Lun said, “I do not care about reputation, but I am truly curious. With Fu’e’s cunning and treachery, how could he still accompany Zhili in his madness at the final juncture? It is truly difficult to understand. And at the final juncture, you abandoned the rescue of my son, your grandson. What reason, what secret lies behind all this?”
Fu Lingxi’s face became completely unfathomable, revealing not the slightest trace of emotional fluctuation.
Suo Lun said, “Tell me the reason, and I will spare Fu’e’s life. I will also not take action against your Fire Worship City.”
Fu Lingxi shook her head and said, “I apologise, but this concerns confidential matters. Please forgive me for being powerless.”
Then, a look of sorrow appeared in Fu Lingxi’s gaze. “But Fu’e is my father. I have no choice but to save him. The things you wish to know, I cannot tell you. So I can only do one thing.”
Then Fu Lingxi bent her legs and directly knelt before Suo Lun.
There is a saying that if a person lets their parents kneel before them, they will surely be struck by lightning from heaven.
If this were ancient China, even if Suo Lun had ascended the throne as emperor, being knelt to by his mother would immediately ruin his reputation.
But at this moment, Suo Lun simply gazed quietly at Fu Lingxi, without any mental pressure whatsoever.
This woman was attempting to use ethics to suppress Suo Lun, to carry out spiritual blackmail. She had completely misjudged her man. How could he possibly care about such things?
Instantly, Suo Lun smiled and said, “I need to go back and accompany my family for dinner. If you wish to kneel, then kneel.”
The moment these words were spoken, Fu Lingxi’s face changed, and her gaze turned cold. “Suo Lun, do you truly intend to completely and thoroughly offend the Divine Dragon Temple?”
Suo Lun narrowed his eyes and said, “Offending you is equivalent to offending the Divine Dragon Temple?”
Then, he directly departed, leaving Fu Lingxi kneeling alone in the reception hall.
A few seconds later, Fu Lingxi’s face returned to calm. Without any anger, she directly stood up, then turned and left.
…
The night had grown deep.
Fang Qingzhuo’s two younger daughters had already fallen asleep in another room.
Zhiying had finally coaxed the baby to sleep.
“The baby’s sleeping posture is truly adorable.” Fang Qingzhuo said.
The little baby was sleeping on his side, his two small hands hugging his head, his little body curled up like a tiny shrimp. It was indeed very cute.
“Sister-in-law, have you truly let go, or are you forcing a smile?” Zhiying asked.
Fang Qingzhuo said, “You are referring to the matter of Zhili? That I exposed Zhili, leading to his arrest by the Divine Dragon Temple, leaving him with no chance of survival?”
Zhiying immediately regretted her words. Seeing her sister-in-law at peace, she should have been happy. Why had she brought up this matter?
Fang Qingzhuo said, “I have truly let go. Especially in the final moments before his arrest, Zhili’s humanity returned once more. This made me feel even more at peace. Ever since his defeat in his struggle against Suo Lun, and after being implanted with demon blood, he had completely changed into a different person, even becoming no longer human. To be able to return to humanity at the final moment, even if only for an instant, I feel quite satisfied.”
Zhiying nodded and said, “I too have long since let go. I consider him completely dead. In any case, my entire world now consists only of the baby. As long as he is healthy and safe, I care about nothing else.”
Fang Qingzhuo said, “Have you not thought about reconciling with Suo Lun?”
Zhiying shook her head and said, “It’s impossible. When he slept with me back then, it was merely to use me to save Tianshui City. That passionate burning had already exhausted all the ill-fated karma between us.”
Fang Qingzhuo said, “But the baby’s birth has allowed your fate to continue. Do you truly plan to remain single for the rest of your life?”
Zhiying said, “There is nothing wrong with that.”
“Of course there is.” Fang Qingzhuo said, “You are different from me. You are still very young. Moreover, my husband is dead, while Suo Lun is still alive.”
Zhiying’s beautiful eyes dimmed. She shook her head and said, “Between Suo Lun and me, it is impossible. In his heart, I am as light as floating clouds. And my feelings for him have not reached the point where I must cling to him. In fact, if I had not returned to the Furious Wave Kingdom, I was already about to forget him. Neither of us will take the initiative, so there is no possibility.”
Fang Qingzhuo’s face turned slightly red, and she said embarrassedly, “Then what about tonight, when he… when he touched you, did you not feel anything?”
Zhiying recalled the scene from that evening.
Because Suo Lun had played a trick, feeding the baby green vegetables with chilli, Zhiying couldn’t help but slap him. And Suo Lun had taken liberties with her, pinching her bottom.
How should she describe that feeling?
In the Yan Empire, she had forced herself to be strong. Her entire world had been filled with the child about to be born.
And after the baby was born, her heart had been completely filled with the baby. She had truly almost forgotten Suo Lun.
However, ever since Suo Lun rescued her and the baby at the critical moment, especially seeing the baby’s happy little appearance in his arms, Zhiying felt her heart gradually melting.
Tonight, when everyone was sitting together eating, the baby was in Suo Lun’s arms.
That warm feeling flooded over her like tidal waves, sweeping through her entire body.
All along, to protect the baby, she could make herself strong, wrapping a hard shell around herself.
But now Suo Lun had appeared, effortlessly taking the baby from her arms and becoming the new protector.
Instantly, Zhiying felt her body grow languid, unconsciously wanting to lean against him.
One thing she greatly minded was that when she and Suo Lun were together, the two of them were filled with barriers, as if they had nothing to say to each other. This made her doubt whether any feelings still existed between them.
But Suo Lun’s mischief with the baby, her scolding him, even hitting him.
This kind of flirtatious bickering seemed incredibly natural, completely dispelling that barrier of having nothing to say.
And that pinch Suo Lun gave her bottom!
How should she put it? Zhiying was too embarrassed to say it aloud. She just felt half her body go numb. Her body was already extremely mature. In that instant of being pinched, she even felt a certain itchiness between her thighs.
Of course, she would never speak of such things even if beaten to death.
“I felt nothing. In any case, I will not forgive him.” Zhiying burrowed into her quilt, turning her back to Fang Qingzhuo. “Alright, sister-in-law, I want to sleep.”
…
After the family had all fallen asleep, Suo Lun still worked until late into the night.
The court official system of the Furious Wave Kingdom was also inherited from the Flame Dragon Empire of the Dragon Emperor.
The Cabinet and the High Command stood side by side.
The Cabinet had one Prime Minister, two Vice Prime Ministers, and six Ministry Ministers.
Sometimes, the Vice Prime Ministers were full-time positions, while other times they were concurrently held by the six Ministry Ministers.
And the six ministries, modelled after the six ministries of ancient Chinese dynasties, were divided into the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Punishments, and the Ministry of Works.
However, the authority of the Ministry of War here was greatly suppressed. Basically, it could only manage the second-line armies of the various provinces and counties.
In this world, the level of martial power far exceeded that of ancient China. Martial artists stood above civil officials.
Moreover, the theme of the Furious Wave Kingdom for over a hundred years had been military expansion. Therefore, the High Command not only stood on equal footing with the Cabinet, but even surpassed it.
The members of the High Command basically numbered six to seven people.
The First Marshal, the four Legion Commanders, and the Commander of the Imperial Guard. That added up to six people.
And sometimes, the Crown Prince of the royal family would hold a concurrent post in the High Command, making seven people.
The Cabinet plus the High Command constituted the core ruling institutions of the entire Furious Wave Kingdom. Suo Lun’s blood replacement of the Furious Wave Kingdom’s court would begin from these two core areas.
Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun. The blood replacement of the High Command was already complete, without even notifying the Cabinet.
Suo Lun personally served as the First Marshal of the High Command. Chu Ye served as the Dragon Guard Legion Commander. His father-in-law Yan Yan served as the Northern Legion Commander. Count Tuli Wen served as the Southwest Legion Commander. And the Southeast Legion Commander was temporarily concurrently held by Suo Lun.
The blood replacement of the Cabinet had just begun.
Duke Zhiting replaced Yan Wuzhi, becoming the Cabinet Prime Minister.
Next, both Yan Wuzhi and Gui Xingfu would enter the Cabinet. Gui Xingfu would enter the Ministry of Punishments, controlling all penal affairs under heaven. This would be advantageous for the subsequent great purge of the Furious Wave Kingdom’s officialdom.
Minister Heimu of the Ministry of Personnel was considered one of their own. He would certainly cooperate.
Yan Wuzhi would enter the Cabinet as Governor of Zhidu.
Although Zhidu was not a province, apart from the royal city itself, it governed five counties and thirty-seven districts. Whether in terms of area or population, it was no less than a province.
The previous Governor of Zhidu had been personally held by Zhili. Therefore, the royal city garrison army had been firmly grasped in Zhili’s hands all along. This army was the main target of Suo Lun’s subsequent great purge and great blood replacement.
Among the Cabinet members, there was one more person Suo Lun absolutely had to replace.
That was Finance Minister Suo Fu. That’s right, he also had the surname Suo, but he had absolutely no relation to the Suo family of Tianshui City. Moreover, he was Zhili’s absolute direct confidant. This person Suo Lun absolutely had to kill.
Then who would fill the vacant post of Finance Minister?
Suo Lun truly had no candidates at hand. Not a single one.
He had two ideas. One was to let Duke Zhiting temporarily hold the concurrent post. Although somewhat irregular, it was not without precedent. For instance, if a Cabinet member suddenly died, or was arrested for embezzlement, the Cabinet Prime Minister or Vice Prime Minister would temporarily fill the vacant post of a certain ministry minister.
The other idea was to let Hai Gang take the post.
Because Hai Gang was currently writing a memorial, requesting that the Yingzhou Island Province be annexed into the Furious Wave Kingdom. This could be considered a grand gift for Princess Zhiyan’s ascension to the throne.
From then on, the Hai family of Yingzhou Island would become the nineteenth noble family of the Furious Wave Kingdom, and would replace the A Shi family, becoming the Furious Wave Kingdom’s largest noble family.
Hai Gang’s abilities in warfare were merely decent, but his abilities in making money and spending money were quite remarkable.
However, having him enter the Cabinet immediately after annexing himself into the Furious Wave Kingdom was still quite inappropriate.
If there truly was no other way, they could only let Duke Zhiting hold the concurrent post. The capable should do more work.
The Minister of Rites also needed to be replaced, but not immediately.
The Minister of Rites was very important. Not only did he oversee the kingdom’s foreign affairs, but he was also responsible for liaising with the Divine Dragon Temple. Moreover, all affairs concerning the kingdom’s nobles were also entirely managed by the Ministry of Rites. Furthermore, the Royal City Academy, as well as the provincial academies and county academies, were all under the Ministry of Rites’ jurisdiction.
Suo Lun planned to give Jian Yong a chance. He was originally the dean of the Royal City Academy. Suo Lun planned to first let him concurrently serve as Vice Minister of Rites. If he proved sensible, in the future he would be promoted one step further, becoming Minister of Rites and entering the Cabinet.
After completing the blood replacement of the Cabinet and the High Command, it would be the turn of the lower provinces and counties below!
This was a lengthy process. In order not to cause turmoil in the kingdom’s political situation, it was necessary to boil the frog in warm water as much as possible.
The entire transition of the court situation would require at least two years.
As for the southern expansion into barbarian territories, that would be at least five years away.
Governing a great kingdom is like cooking a small fish. One absolutely must not be impatient.
…
“Master!” Zhuang Zhixuan’s voice sounded from outside.
Suo Lun noticed that Zhuang Zhixuan’s voice was actually filled with trembling. This had never happened before.
“What is it?” Suo Lun asked.
“My former master has come.” Zhuang Zhixuan said.
Then, an enchanting fragrance permeated the entire princess’s residence.
The Demon Continent Princess Yuanyuan slowly entered, casting a coquettish glance at Suo Lun, and said in a delicate voice, “When scholars part for three days, one should look at them with new eyes. I never expected that the current Lord Suo Lun has actually become the ruler of a kingdom.”
Suo Lun looked at this demoness and said coldly, “What business do you have coming here?”
Demon Continent Princess Yuanyuan said, “I have come to take Zhuang Zhixuan away. Darling, come, let’s go home with me.”