Let Me Explain, Fairy
Chapter 831 - Five Hundred Twenty-One: Resignation Letter

Chapter 831: Chapter Five Hundred Twenty-One: Resignation Letter

"But, you’ve already obtained a lot of things."

Within the elegant hall, a flamboyant landscape screen stood still amidst the dark brown deep decorations, the moonlight reflected on Xu Yuan’s face through the subdued gilt lamps. After pondering for a moment, he slowly exhales these words:

"Even, more than you deserve."

"..."

Li Junqing’s expression in his eyes slightly changed.

There was surprise, but more than that, unease.

He suddenly realized the silent purpose of Xu Xiang and the Prime Minister Party in The Imperial Court over these days.

They had already reaped many benefits from this feast of division.

Through the faults of the Prime Minister’s Mansion, many key positions in The Imperial Court had been taken back under the control of the Imperial Family.

Breaking rules comes at a price; such is the logic of power dynamics.

The Prime Minister’s Mansion brought the Saint from Xi’en and put the Great Flame Imperial Capital in jeopardy, that was the fault.

Key members of the Prime Minister Party were put in prison or dismissed from their positions, that was the punishment.

Fault and punishment had offset each other, now seeking more meant it was they who bore the Li surname of the royal family that were breaking the rules.

Everything should have ended here and must end here.

But it seemed that the Emperor wanted more, confronting the Prime Minister’s Mansion high-handedly, yet when it came to strength, they of the royal lineage had no right to bully the Prime Minister’s Mansion.

"Sigh... Xu Xiang, truly a masterful move."

Exhaling deeply, Li Junqing lowered his eyes to the bronze vessel of wine:

"Making a move by staying still, playing all under Heaven with a clap of the hands, and by the time everyone realizes his goals, it’s utterly too late."

Xu Yuan shook his head, quietly saying:

"This is merely a simple information gap, and hasn’t my Prime Minister’s Mansion already paid a great price?"

Speaking of this, Xu Yuan glanced somberly through the window lattice at the pitch-black Sky Dome:

"You’ve thoroughly eliminated my Prime Minister’s Mansion’s hands from Di’an City’s defenses."

This was actually a very dangerous signal.

Countless historical lessons had taught that political upheavals often occur within the Imperial capital.

Di’an is the core of Dayan, as well as the core of the Prime Minister’s Mansion; the Prime Minister Mansion was located within Di’an City, and Xu Yinhè resides within the Prime Minister’s Mansion.

Should the royal family, without any warning, wish to make a move, the absence of people within the city defense system meant that the Prime Minister’s Mansion could not react in the first instance, much less use personnel within the city defense system to take countermeasures.

Li Junqing, however, lightly shook his head:

"Being willing to pay such a high price only shows that you’ve gotten even more."

Faced with Li Junqing’s probing words, Xu Yuan responded with a noncommittal smile and counter-asked:

"So, do you still plan to come and demand a person?"

"If I had a choice, I would say I’m not prepared, but I don’t have a choice."

Li Junqing’s voice was somewhat wistful, looking at the laid-back expression of the man opposite him, feeling no small measure of envy.

Both being top-tier second-generation officials of the Imperial dynasty, this fellow wasn’t only unconstrained in participating in top-level decision making but also held a rather large private army, while he could only be cannon fodder leading the charge.

Xu Yuan wasn’t surprised, lightly laughing as he said:

"Who asked you to never fight or compete?"

Li Junqing huffed:

"Easy for you to say, of course standing on the side without any pain."

Xu Yuan grinned, whispering:

"Li Zhaoyuan is in a much worse situation than you, but now? With your abilities, you should not be worse off than him, it’s just a pity you’re unwilling to take risks."

Li Junqing rolled his eyes, wanting to retort, but found himself speechless.

Because what this young man said was the truth.

After a moment’s pause, Li Junqing helplessly shook his head:

"Character is something you’re born with, nothing can be done."

Xu Yuan took a small sip of the Spiritual Wine, then smacked his lips.

His body could no longer absorb the spiritual energy from the wine, he could only satisfy his taste.

And at this time, Li Junqing changed the subject directly, saying:

"By the way, does our previous cooperation still count?"

"Japan?"

Xu Yuan put down his wine glass, his eyes revealing perhaps a hint of interest: "Of course it still counts, but after that night’s events, you should not really need my support anymore, right?"

Li Junqing looked up at Xu Yuan, snorting:

"Pretending to be ignorant, eh? Theoretically, that’s true. After all, the Imperial Capital was almost destroyed, even just for a face-saving project, The Imperial Court would pay enough attention to Japan, but the problem now is..."

"Get to the point, don’t drag in these irrelevant things."

"....." Li Yunqing.

"I talked privately with my Emperor brother and our father, and he promised to send reinforcements. But the one leading the troops will be the head of the Imperial Guards, while I have been relegated to supervisory duty."

Having said this, Li Yunqing looked eagerly at the dear friend sitting opposite him.

Xu Yuan’s eyes flickered slightly, but he did not speak right away.

This turn of events had taken him by surprise.

It was only natural for the Emperor to assign a military leader to accompany the troops, especially since Li Yunqing lacked military knowledge. With the increasing size of the army, logistics such as food, shelter, and transport alone were enough to overwhelm any layman, not to mention conducting warfare. However, removing Li Yunqing from his original post as Commander to make him a supervisor seemed a bit unfair.

Both by sentiment and by law, this expeditionary force ought to be led by Li Yunqing, a Prince of the Imperial Family.

Yet, after reflecting for a moment, Xu Yuan suddenly smiled at Li Yunqing and said in a low voice,

"Your father the Emperor really sees through your character completely."

The reason being, with Japan being so remote from the Emperor’s reach, once Li Yunqing secured his position there, he would likely enact the strategy of "the king is far away, and the Emperor’s commands are but distant whispers."

This was something Li Yaoxuan could not tolerate.

Previous symbolic investments could be considered a gift from father to son, but now, with the scale increased, substantial returns were necessary.

Li Yaoxuan wanted to use Li Yunqing’s capabilities to stabilize the situation in Japan, while also keeping the actual control of the island in his own hands.

Li Yunqing clicked his tongue lightly,

"Can we not speak ill of this situation? If you don’t raise the stakes, it is highly probable I won’t be able to meet your demands there."

Xu Yuan remained silent for a moment before quietly asking,

"How many more people is the royal family likely to dispatch?"

"My Emperor brother said that there would be at least two battalions of Imperial Guards."

Two battalions, a configuration of ten thousand men, and the elite status of the Imperial Guards were among the strongest forces in the Dayan Empire.

After a brief consideration, Xu Yuan nodded,

"I understand the situation now."

Li Yunqing immediately probed,

"How many... how many troops can you possibly add?"

Xu Yuan did not answer directly, but instead asked with a smile,

"Li Zhaoyuan could subdue a hundred thousand troops from the Sect Alliance without any effort, and as a Prince, you naturally have legitimate authority over the Imperial Guards. Can’t you handle ten thousand?"

"It’s not the same."

Li Yunqing’s expression stiffened, and he spoke a bit faster, "The Sect Alliance forces are put together by the various sects; there are many tactics available to influence them. But the Imperial Family’s guards are a solid block, without any basis for comparison."

"If Li Zhaoyuan were in your position, do you think he couldn’t handle it?"

"Given a choice between an easy difficulty and hell, who the hell would choose hell?"

"....."

"....."

They stared at each other for a moment.

Xu Yuan shook his head lightly.

He probably understood the intent behind Li Yunqing’s words.

Although it seemed as if he was joking, in truth, Li Yunqing was reminding him that the situation was changing rapidly, and their partnership was now close to equal standing.

If Xu Yuan didn’t raise the stakes, Li Yunqing now had other options and could choose the same path as Li Zhaoyuan, which would mean Xu Yuan would lose the chance to get involved in Japan straightforwardly.

"I’ve dispatched people to tally the specific number of troops. The army will need to pass through the Northern Frontier on its way south, and it’s still quite chaotic there, which might complicate things. But after the New Year, I should be able to give you a definitive answer."

Li Yunqing chuckled and slowly stood up from his seat,

"So, shall we talk more about the terms and details when the time comes?"

Xu Yuan frowned upon hearing this,

"Do you have other matters tonight?"

Li Yunqing shrugged helplessly,

"If I don’t have a proper excuse, I don’t dare to openly meet with you, a ’dead man,’ especially at such a critical time."

Xu Yuan fell silent for a moment, then lowered his eyes and murmured,

"It seems your father the Emperor expects you to come to my mansion tonight to ask for troops?"

Li Yunqing straightened the wrinkles on his robe, moved to the window, and faced the chill wind, speaking softly,

"Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve. Seems like this year won’t be a good one after all... heh."

...

...

...

In the forty-sixth year of Jiaying,

On the twenty-ninth night of the second month, Prince Qing visited the Prime Minister’s Mansion to demand the hand of Princess Xi’en, and the Crown Prince stopped him.

Later that night, on New Year’s Eve, the Prime Minister tendered his resignation.