I Am Truly Not a Treacherous Minister Your Majesty

Chapter 37: Painting

The empire needed stability, and Qin Ji was well aware of this. For the empire, handling internal affairs could not rely solely on the emperor and himself.

A team that could completely obey, and only obey, himself and Xia Yuxiao was needed, and their professional skills had to be absolutely superior. Only in this way could absolute control over internal affairs be ensured.

Qin Ji was not a villain who liked to eliminate dissidents, nor did he disdain eliminating dissidents. Many people, although they had some negative views of him, ultimately still considered the country’s interests. He hoped for more such people.

However, those who colluded with foreign countries or conspired to disrupt the Great Xia’s situation were exceptions.

Qin Ji wanted to do many things in the Xia Kingdom, things that people from another world should do in this world. Therefore, he did not want the Xia Kingdom he managed to be a chaotic and weak Xia Kingdom. At least for now, he needed the Xia Kingdom to remain stable.

Qin Ji entrusted the training of these people to Ling Yan. According to Qin Ji’s requirements, Ling Yan did not need to train them to any specific level, but only needed to make them adept at infiltration and counter-infiltration, suitable for special secret investigations.

Ling Yan naturally agreed to Qin Ji’s request. She was already a professional in this field, so training these people was not a problem.

“By the way, young master, I managed to get some information from the previous assassin.”

At night, Qin Ji was enjoying a delicious roasted lamb leg in his nightgown when Ling Yan suddenly spoke.

At this moment, Ling Yan was holding a sharp knife, skillfully cutting pieces of lamb leg for Qin Ji and placing them neatly on the flatbread for him to eat. Qin Ji was happy to accept this care.

It wasn’t that he was lazy, but he really didn’t know how to cut the meat properly. The pieces he cut were either too fatty or too lean, either too greasy or stuck in his teeth. Ling Yan’s cuts were much better.

The unique aroma of the lamb wafted into his nostrils, and Qin Ji took a deep breath of the fragrant air before taking a bite of the lamb and flatbread.

“What did he say?”

“From the information he revealed, I can at least confirm that this is the same person who orchestrated the previous attack on you and the infiltration of the palace to intimidate the emperor,” Ling Yan said. “The other party is a king, and he clearly has many cards up his sleeve. According to the assassin, there are many people like him under that king, and they are very loyal to their king.”

“I see,” Qin Ji nodded. This explained the reasons behind the repeated attacks on him. “Anything else?”

“Also…” Ling Yan paused, then continued, “He admitted that their main target is not the emperor, but you, young master.”

Qin Ji raised an eyebrow.

He had suspected this. After all, the first time, they provoked the emperor and then tried to assassinate him, which was a typical attempt to frame him and sow discord between him and Xia Yuxiao (although their relationship was already bad).

The second time, which was this time, they came to assassinate Xia Yuxiao, but there weren’t many who actually targeted Xia Yuxiao. When Qin Ji carried Xia Yuxiao out, it seemed that these people didn’t really intend to harm Xia Yuxiao, but he himself got injured.

There were plenty of reasons to target him.

Qin Ji was a powerful minister, although he was reluctant to admit it. This was an undeniable fact. Nowadays, Qin Ji practically had the entire Great Xia under his control, fearing no one except Xia Yuxiao. Naturally, there were countless people who wanted to kill him.

He didn’t believe that the king wanted to assassinate him for Xia Yuxiao’s sake. If it were really for Xia Yuxiao’s sake, he thought the other party wouldn’t involve Xia Yuxiao in such danger—after all, someone like him, if pushed too far, would really do something like holding the emperor hostage to command the vassals. But now, Qin Ji was benevolent and wouldn’t do such a despicable thing.

Since it wasn’t for Xia Yuxiao’s sake, then what was it for?

There was only one reason left—to weaken Xia Yuxiao.

Simply put, if they couldn’t confront the emperor directly, they could at least contend with him, the powerful minister, by sending waves of assassins to kill him, trying to sow discord and make the emperor suspicious and distant from him. In essence, they hoped he would leave Xia Yuxiao’s side.

And if Qin Ji lost power, who would fill the power vacuum?

How interesting. So, they all admitted that Xia Yuxiao was the most suitable successor and gave up the idea of vying for the throne, but in the end, they still harbored thoughts they shouldn’t have in secret.

“Ling Yan, the list of people I asked you to investigate who had contact with the southern barbarians, is it ready?”

“That? It’s been ready for a long time.”

“Bring it to me. I want to see who is causing trouble.”

After saying this, Qin Ji returned to his study.

Qin Siyue was still painting in the study, but this time, she wasn’t painting anything else; she was painting a wolf.

The painting was very vivid: a wolf crouched in the grass, with a deer drinking water in front of it.

The wolf she painted was very fierce, staring intently at its prey, its muscles taut as if ready to pounce at any moment.

“What made you think of painting this?” Qin Ji asked.

“Ah, I just thought of it and painted it.”

Qin Siyue replied.

But Qin Ji knew that his sister’s intention was not here. He walked over, sat down, and then rubbed his sister’s head: “Tell me.”

“The wolf is eyeing its meat, and before the deer in front of it notices, it won’t expose even a bit,” Qin Siyue said with a smile, “However, the deer is not completely unaware. It is always paying attention to the surroundings. Once the wolf moves, the deer will sense the danger and run away.”

“And then?”

Qin Ji asked with great interest.

“Then, the wolf will start the chase. But not every wolf can perfectly hide itself—” She pointed to one side of the painting, where the wolf’s tail was slightly exposed from the grass, “You see, when it focuses on the prey, sometimes other parts become lax.”

“Yes, I understand.”

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“I was just talking about my painting process.” Qin Siyue smiled, “Brother, you have things to do, right?”

“Yes, a lot of things.”

Qin Ji moved his neck, then went to the table and wrote a letter.

This letter was addressed to some of his followers.

Connections can indeed be useful sometimes.

Currently Available Information

The Great Xia Central Empire:

One of the largest human nations, located at the eastern end of the human world, and one of the few countries in the human world that does not worship the Holy Lord. It has a history of over a thousand years, created through dozens of generations of emperors without a single foolish ruler, with a solid foundation.

Politics: The Great Xia Central Empire’s politics is a centralized autocratic monarchy, with the emperor holding supreme power.

The current new emperor is the former second princess of Great Xia, Xia Yuxiao. Now, the great power of Great Xia is held by the emperor and Duke An Guo, Qin Ji, with a few controlled by former princes and factions of the previous emperor. The domestic political environment has been relatively turbulent since the new emperor ascended the throne (due to the emperor being female), but most potential disturbances have been suppressed by Duke An Guo.

Economy: Through the construction of dozens of generations of emperors and the new policies of the new emperor, the Great Xia Central Empire is particularly strong in vital industries such as grain, cloth, and minerals. With the extensive network of roads and canals within the country, trade with other nations is frequent, and the level of prosperity is astonishing.

Culture: Great Xia advocates “Saint Ancestors,” conferring sainthood on those who have made significant contributions to future generations and promoting them. With frequent external exchanges, it embraces all rivers, repeatedly sending delegations for exchanges. Dresses and trousers from Western countries are very popular in Great Xia, with a considerable part integrated into the design of traditional Great Xia clothing. The most famous “Wanguofang” in Great Xia gathers folk buildings, art and handicrafts, and food from all over the world, making it a must-visit place for countless people touring Great Xia.

Military: Great Xia has long faced border threats from neighboring countries. Due to the vast borderlines and the military threats and exclusion from many countries due to cultural differences, Great Xia’s military strength has always remained strong. During the previous emperor’s reign, to completely conquer the surrounding barbarians, the Great Xia army even reached a massive scale of over two million. The new emperor, Xia Yuxiao, is also focusing on strengthening the army’s combat power. Currently, Great Xia has about 300,000 elite troops under the command of Grand Marshal Qin Ji.