Chapter 1404 Clumsy
Yun Shang was shocked by the scene. She paused for a while and looked up at Luo Qingyan. He
didn''t show anything unusual. He just moved his hand over to hold hers.
Yun Shang knew that this was the sign of his emotional fluctuation. Just then, she saw him narrow his
eyes and asked sharply, "Where is the tavern manager?"
A middle-aged man walked up to them and said respectuflly, "I''m Jingyi Tang, the tavern manager."
Yun Shang nodded, "Since you are the manager, who are these people?"
Before the tavern manager could answer, another man kneeling next to him said in a hurry, "Your
Majesty, I''m Bingyin Wang, the governor of the county."
As soon as he finished speaking, another man quickly added, "I''m Jinyang Li, the county magistrate."
Yun Shang sneered, "Did I ask you?"
The two men froze, with cold sweat on their foreheads.
Yun Shang fixed her eyes on them and said, "His Majesty doesn''t like to attract attention when he
travels. The schedule of autumn hunting was carefully arranged half a month ago, His Majesty has
specially said that the officials along the way should avoid greeting him.
I have expected that the officials of the remote small counties may not know the imperial edict, but I
didn''t expect that such a thing would happen as soon as I left Jin City. You are openly acting against
the imperial edict. It''s disrespectful to disobey the imperial edict."
As soon as the title of disobedience against the imperial edict was pressed onto them, the two officials
became more and more frightened. They hurriedly knelt down and begged for mercy, "Your Majesty,
please forgive us. We just thought that your majesty just left Jin City, and since the trip was harsh, we
were concerned that you might require our service. Maybe Your Majesty were not used to our local
food or weather, so wee to ask if Your Majesty need anything from us."
Yun Shang raised her eyebrows and snorted carelessly. She raised her eyes and didn''t look at the two
people kneeling on the ground anymore.
Lou Qingyan spoke unhurriedly, but his voice was as cold as ice, "If I ever need anything, I will tell the
tavern manager. To disobey the imperial edict is big sin. You don''t need to justify your behaviour with so
many unnecessary reasons. Guards, dismiss these two officials. Throw them out and have them
flogged for twenty times each."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The guards quickly pulled the two men down. Seeing this, the tavern manager''s eyes were full of fear,
and his body was faintly trembling.
Luo Qingyan only nced at the trembling man indifferently and ordered, "Move the things to the
backyard first, and ask someone to prepare hot bath water for the Empress."
When the manager was about to respond, he heard several people replying ahead of him.
He froze for a moment and then realized that Luo Qingyan was not talking to him at all. His Majesty
was simply ordering his servants to arrange things for him. With cold sweat on his forehead, the
manager knelt down and didn''t dare to speak.
Holding Yun Shang''s hand, Luo Qingyan walked past him, and casually entered the tavern. They
passed through the front yard, and went straight to the backyard.
Someone had already taken a few steps forward and tidied up the room. Since this ce was close to
Jin City, the tavern wasfortable and not over prosperous. Everything that they might need were all
considerately provided.
Yun Shang and Luo Qingyan sat on the chairs together. She said, "This ce is close to Jin city. Your
Majesty has said in the carriage that even the ordinary local officials should be slightly more sensible
than the local officials in other further ces. It''s not a big deal to lose their official positions, however, if
they act carelessly, they will end up losing their lives." She tilted her head andmented, "But as far
as I''m concerned, the two officials we met just now are really clumsy. They should have acted more
sensible."
Luo Qingyan agreed, "Yes, they are narrow-minded."
After saying that, he curled up his lips and faintly smiled, "There shouldn''t be many local officials
around Jin City that act this clumsily. However, we happened to meet two on the first day we came out
of the pce. Such luck."
Yun Shang lifted her head and stared at him, "Your Majesty, do you think there is someone behind it?"
"I think so."
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Luo Qingyan just answeredzily and didn''t say anything more. Yun Shang couldn''t help but asking him
directly for an answer, "Do you think there''s something wrong with them? Just because you met two
clumsy officials the first day you are out of Jin City, you think there might be an even bigger plot behind
the whole incident?"
Luo Qingyan cast a cold nce at Yun Shang, showing no intention of exining.
Yun Shang was not annoyed at his indifference at all. She thought carefully about every word the two
men had said from beginning to end. After thinking for a while, she nodded in agreement, "It seems
really strange to me that they openly disobeyed the imperial edict, but why did they do this?"
She gazed at him profoundly, hoping to find an answer from his face.
"Well, if they are sensible and cherish their lives, they should know better than disobeying the imperial
edict."
His words stung in her ears, Yun Shang red at him and contemted on the details. Then she
suddenly remembered something and said earnestly, "It is a fact that Xia Houjing and others have
doubts regarding our autumn hunting trip. One is that they are concerned that we didn''t leave Jin city at
all. They thought that we were actually hiding in Jin City and seeking opportunities to capture them.
Secondly, they suspected that we im to be on a hunting trip, but in fact we are taking the opportunity
to investigate the Dragon Mountains."
Yun Shang smiled and continued, "After what happened today, the two seemingly clumsy officials will
report our reactions to Xia Houjing, who know us very well. He will soon realise that it is really you and
me who are staying here in the tavern, not some others who disguise as us.
In this way, Xia Houjing will be relieved. At least it proves that the two of us really left Jin city.
The two local officials greeting us today was his tentative move. I bet he will pull off simr tricks one or
two more times along the way. Once we arrive at the temporary imperial pce, he''ll send someone
over to check upon us. Instead of secretly sending people to follow us all the way, he now can know
about our whereabouts without risking alert us."
Yun Shang figured it out and sneered, "This is indeed a good n. He is indeed a bold man. These
local officials whom he used as prawns all over the country didn''t hold high official positions, so they
were of little use to him. It is smart of him to try every means to make use of them. He must have
promised them that they will be promoted and rewarded generously once he seize the throne. "
Luo Qingyan smiled, "Well, the Empress has thoroughly read Xia Houjing''s mind here."
Yun Shang squinted at Luo Qingyan and chuckled, "Since you have also figured out the scheme
yourself, it''s easy to break it."
Luo Qingyan didn''t seem to take it seriously. He just smiled gently at her and asked, "Break the
scheme? Why should we bother to break his scheme?"
Yun Shang raised her eyebrows and looked at Luo Qingyan unbelievably.
As if he could read the doubt in her heart, he simply smiled at Yun Shang. His eyes full of determination
as he calmly said, "We are heading to the temporary imperial pce anyway, why should we be afraid
of him sending people over to check upon us?"
''What he said was true, '' thought Yun Shang, as she nodded slowly.
However, she was still thinking of the possibilities of taking advantage of Xia Houjing''s exposed
scheme.
"When we arrive at the temporary imperial pce and he dares to send someone to check upon us, we
shall deliberately reveal some fake news."