Walking by the Abyss on Thin Ice

Chapter 255 – Su Yun boasted

Year One of Yuan Shi, seventh day of the sixth month, Jin Luan Palace, morning court.

Emperor Di Ping sat on the dragon throne, with civil and military officials seated on both sides of the hall. Taiwei Xue Qingfu and Prime Minister Wen Guanshan, rewarded for their contributions in pacifying the rebellion, sat in the seats of the leaders of the officials, one representing the military and the other representing the civil.

Beside Prime Minister Wen's seat was an old dog, lying on the ground with a fierce gaze.

Under the command of Prime Minister Wen, Cao Yuan announced that due to the deaths of many high-ranking officials from aristocratic families during the recent turmoil, the prime minister had selected outstanding individuals with high moral character and reputation from these families to succeed them.

Emperor Di Ping approved.

The officials came forward to express their gratitude to the emperor and the prime minister.

Then, the chief historian under Taiwei came forward to announce the appointment of officials selected from the aristocratic families by Taiwei Xue Qingfu.

Emperor Di Ping approved, and the officials expressed their gratitude.

After this battle, most of the civil and military officials in the court had been replaced by officials from the factions of Taiwei Xue Qingfu and Prime Minister Wen Guanshan, dividing the court into two factions. The emperor's faction also had some civil and military officials who could barely compete with them.

The fourth faction was Qiu Shuijing's, but they were few in number.

"Your Majesty, Grand Secretary and Minister of Rites Qiu Shuijing is old and frail, with a short time left to live. He is also suffering from a disability and has repeatedly requested to retire."

Su Yun came forward and said, "I have heard that the scenery in Lingnan is beautiful, with many talented and virtuous people who are friendly and kind. The construction of Lingnan cannot do without Mr. Qiu. Currently, Lingnan's disaster relief factory is lacking a supervisor, so I ask Your Majesty to allow Mr. Qiu to retire there and enjoy his remaining years. I am grateful."

Emperor Di Ping looked at him deeply, hesitated, and asked, "What do Taiwei and Prime Minister think?"

Taiwei Xue Qingfu and Prime Minister Wen Guanshan looked at each other and pondered.

Su Yun sneered, raised his head, and said in a loud voice, "I regard you all as insignificant. Within five steps and a few breaths, I can slaughter all of you. Prime Minister and Taiwei, if you don't want to spare Mr. Qiu, do you want me to turn into a dragon and exterminate the court?"

"Master, please calm down."

Taiwei Xue Qingfu quickly waved his hand and asked Prime Minister Wen Guanshan, "Senior Brother, Mr. Qiu is old and has made contributions to protecting His Majesty. Why not let him retire in Lingnan?"

Prime Minister Wen Guanshan nodded and said, "Let Mr. Qiu retire in Lingnan."

Emperor Di Ping understood their meaning and said, "Minister Qiu can retire to the disaster relief factory in Lingnan with his salary."

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty."

Su Yun bowed and waved to Emperor Di Ping, Taiwei Xue Qingfu, and Prime Minister Wen Guanshan, saying, "I'm fine now. You can leave the court early." He then turned and walked away.

At that moment, the faces of Emperor Di Ping, Taiwei Xue Qingfu, and Prime Minister Wen Guanshan suddenly darkened, but no one made a move.

Yesterday, Su Yun had already proven his strength as the master of the Tongtian Tower, with the ability to reach the heavens and the earth.

Emperor Di Ping's dream of holding absolute power had become a bubble.

Most of the court's power fell into the hands of Taiwei Xue Qingfu and Prime Minister Wen Guanshan. Wen Guanshan "died and came back to life" to quell the internal turmoil of the court and his prestige soared. Xue Qingfu led a large army into the rebellion in the eastern capital to save Emperor Di Ping from danger and achieved great success.

Their power was unparalleled.

Of course, this was what happened on the surface.

Behind the scenes, there were many dirty secrets.

That night, Wen Guanshan faked his death, and Xue Qingfu was defeated by Qiu Shuijing, revealing the true identity of Han Jun. He escaped from the eastern capital and was tortured by the demon Wu Tong all the way, causing his mind to collapse several times. He finally escaped to the headquarters of the Xue family in the western capital.

The Xue family had many powerful experts, and Wu Tong retreated when faced with them."Han Jun put on Xue Qingfu's mask. Although his mask was destroyed by Qiu Shuijing, the Xue Qingfu mask was not.

After being treated by the Xue family, Xue Qingfu returned with a vengeance, mobilizing the forces of the North and South armies and the Jingzhao Yin, and launched a massacre against the Jinwuwei and the Imperial Guards in the Eastern Capital!

On the other side, the talented calligrapher and painter Qin Wuling subdued the real Wenguan Mountain, captured him, and brought him back to the court in glory.

The two great saints controlled the court, waiting for Su Yun to kill Emperor Ping. Once done, they could change the dynasty and split Yuan Shuo into two countries, North and South.

That would be the ultimate showdown between the two brothers.

But what they didn't expect was that Su Yun stopped at the persuasion of Qiu Shuijing and did not kill Emperor Ping. This led to the scene on June 7th where Su Yun exiled Qiu Shuijing to the coal mine for retirement.

"Wait, Lord Su!"

.

Xue Qingfu's voice came. Su Yun was about to leave the Golden Luang Hall when he turned back to see Xue Qingfu smiling. "Lord Su is still the Deputy Historian of the Supervisory Office of Yuan Shuo. When will you go overseas?"

The civil and military officials in the court were all nervous and looked at Su Yun.

Su Yun's face was indifferent and said, "I will personally escort Mr. Shuijing to Lingnan to mine, and I cannot bear to see him dig out the first batch of coal. I am not willing to let him go alone."

Xue Qingfu asked again, "What about after you arrive in Lingnan?"

Su Yun's gaze swept across the faces of the civil and military officials and Emperor Ping. He saw everyone's hopeful expressions and couldn't help but laugh out loud. Everyone in the court laughed along with him.

After a while, Su Yun's laughter stopped, and he said, "After arriving in Lingnan, I will escort the scholars to study overseas."

Xue Qingfu breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I wish Lord Su a safe journey."

Wenguan Mountain also said, "Have a good trip, Lord Su."

Emperor Ping got up from the dragon chair and said, "Goodbye. I will not send you far."

Su Yun turned and left.

Xue Qingfu said to Wenguan Mountain, "Qiu Shuijing advocated reform, and there are many enemies in the court. If someone attacks Qiu Shuijing on the way, it may anger Lord Su. If anything goes wrong on the way, Lord Su may not want to go overseas."

Wenguan Mountain understood and smiled, "Saint Xue, don't worry. I will send someone to follow Qiu Shuijing and ensure his safety."

Xue Qingfu smiled, "Me too."

The two looked at each other, laughed heartily, and walked out of the Golden Luang Hall, ignoring the civil and military officials and the emperor.

Lingnan is a mountainous area with forests, snakes, and insects everywhere. It is like the Tian Shi Yuan (Heavenly Market Enclosure), a wild and uncivilized area.

Only officials who have made serious mistakes and have been exiled will be sent to Lingnan.

As for being sent to Lingnan to mine coal, that is even more of a difficult task.

During the three months when Qiu Shuijing was in power, there were no shortage of officials in the court who were exiled to Lingnan to mine coal. These officials, in addition to mining coal, enjoyed guessing when Qiu Shuijing would fall from power and be exiled to Lingnan like them.

On this day, the coal mine in Lingnan was decorated with colorful lanterns and flags. The exiled officials hung up banners, beat drums, and celebrated.

"God bless us! His Majesty is wise and discovered that Qiu the thief had seized power, and finally exiled the old thief!"

"Qiu the old thief has also been sent here to mine coal!""I will spit three mouthfuls of thick phlegm on his face when I see him!"

...

Dao Saint and Holy Buddha were also working in the mining factory, each carrying a bamboo basket on their back, their faces blackened with coal dust, and leaning on crutches as they walked out of the mine. They inquired about the news from the officials.

Dao Saint was surprised, "Su Yun is really capable, he actually managed to save Qiu Shuijing. I thought Qiu Shuijing would die in the court."

Holy Buddha praised, "He has connections everywhere, truly worthy of being the master of the Heavenly Pavilion!"

On the morning of June 13th, the candle dragon carriage left the night and entered Lingnan City.

Su Yun pushed open the window of the carriage and looked at Lingnan, which was shrouded in the hazy morning mist. He then looked at Qiu Shuijing, who was lying on the sickbed. Under the care of the maid Shao Ying, Qiu Shuijing's complexion had improved a lot, but his Dao heart and mind were shattered, making him somewhat dispirited, with sunken eye sockets and a much thinner appearance.

One of Qiu Shuijing's eyes was still normal, while the other was completely black, obviously not having recovered from the demonic possession.

Su Yun didn't know what Qiu Shuijing's true thoughts were at this time.

He lifted the hem of Qiu Shuijing's robe and saw that there was nothing underneath but two baby-like legs.

"Sir, it will take three to five months for your legs to grow back completely."

Su Yun examined him and said, "But don't worry, sir, they will definitely grow back!"

Qiu Shuijing looked out of the window with a deep gaze, seeing the candle dragon carriage entering the city and slowing down. Although his Creation Technique was not as powerful as Xue Qingfu's, it was still extraordinary, containing a deep understanding of the Creation Technique within the Hong Furnace Transformation.

Su Yun was able to transform into a divine demon form partly because his memory contained a demon god and the Eight-faced Heavenly Que, and partly because he cultivated the Hong Furnace Transformation to comprehend the Creation Technique.

At this time, Su Yun's right arm had not fully grown back, only a child-like arm and hand had grown, which was much shorter than his left arm.

Qiu Shuijing had many political enemies. On their way, they encountered many dangers, but there were always powerful people protecting them, so they didn't have to take action themselves. It seemed that Xue Qingfu and Wenguan Mountain had sent people to protect them.

Finally, the candle dragon carriage entered the Lingnan City post station and came to a stop.

Maid Shao Ying was about to help Qiu Shuijing, but he raised his hand, jumped off the chair, and walked out with his short legs, his head only reaching Shao Ying's waist.

Su Yun hurriedly followed and said, "I'll take you to the mining factory."

The officials of Qiu Shuijing's faction, who had been demoted, followed them with their bags and belongings.

When they arrived at the mining factory, they saw the sound of gongs and drums, and the officials who had been demoted with Qiu Shuijing had a sickly complexion, but they were overjoyed and rushed forward to mock and ridicule him.

An old official came forward trembling and was about to spit on Qiu Shuijing.

"Even if I am demoted, I am still the factory director!"

Qiu Shuijing waved his hand and said, "Take him away and reward him with a few lashes!"

The old official was taken away by two people and hung in a corner of the mine, screaming like a pig being slaughtered. The sound of gongs and drums suddenly subsided, and someone shouted, "What are you waiting for? Start playing again to welcome Director Qiu to his new position!"

The gongs and drums resounded again.

Seeing this, Su Yun felt relieved. Qiu Shuijing was still Qiu Shuijing after all. Even if he was down on his luck, he could still thrive here without any worries.

"Mr. Shuijing, the Left Vice-Minister told me that if the Dao is not working, one should float on the sea."

Su Yun said goodbye to Qiu Shuijing, "I am ignorant, just a naive young man from the countryside, unaware of the great cause of our country. I met you by chance, and although I participated in it, I didn't understand your pursuit. I want to go overseas, travel and practice, and find my own path."

Qiu Shuijing saw him off and said, "I only regret that I didn't accept you as a disciple a day earlier."

Su Yun bowed.

Qiu Shuijing returned the salute, watching him board the candle dragon carriage, waving his hand and saying, "Although foreign lands are good, Yuan Shuo is our homeland. I hope you will return soon after completing your studies!"

Su Yun raised his left arm and waved goodbye.

The candle dragon let out a low, heavy cry, slowly moving towards the distance, its speed getting faster and faster.

Qiu Shuijing could no longer see the candle dragon carriage, but he still stood there, unable to bear leaving for a long time.

Shao Ying came forward, holding his hand, and smiled, "Shouldn't the director go back now?"

Qiu Shuijing tried to keep up with her short legs and said, "Shao Ying, I always used to refuse your advances because of my uncertain future. Now that my heart is settled, I wonder if you are still willing?"

Shao Ying stopped and looked at him affectionately.

There were already some wrinkles at the corners of the young girl's eyes.

Thirty-nine years had passed since they first met.

-Please vote for Director Qiu Shuijing and his wife Shao Ying~~