20demayo Chapter 345 Xu Tianran's Last Patience
Chapter 345 Xu Tianran's Last Patience
Chapter 345 Xu Tianran's Last Patience
"Dead monkey?" Ye Nanxiao thought for a moment and realized that Feng Jinghuai, who was showing off with a stick, did indeed look a bit like a monkey.
"We know each other, we've fought once," Ye Nanxiao said.
The young man gave Ye Nanxiao a deep look, put his hands behind his back, turned around and went back into the shadows. "You were talking about you, you dead monkey. Well then, you can stay here in peace."
"What do you mean by that?" Ye Nanxiao was completely confused. Did smart people always like to say things in half-truths?
"Why did that dead monkey go to the arena before, and why did you come in? It seems that you've also been targeted by Xu Tianran. Unless you work for him, you'll just have to stay here like us forever," the young man said.
"Alas, young friend, your voice sounds quite young. It's a pity you're spending your days here with us, waiting to die," the aged voice said.
Ye Nanxiao showed no sign of frustration. Instead, he asked, "He recruited you?"
Everyone in the cell knew who this "he" referred to.
"Hmph, that so-called crown prince actually wants me to serve him for the rest of my life, and even my son and my son's son have to serve him! Isn't that handing me and my descendants over to him? Besides, I was beaten and I'm not even allowed to fight back? Bah! Officials colluding and harming the people!" the rough voice said excitedly.
"Oh my, I'm in a similar situation, but he came too late. My entire sect was wiped out. There's no point in living if I don't take revenge, and there's no point in living even after I've taken revenge. I might as well just wait to die here," the herb-gathering woman said indifferently.
After talking for a while, Ye Nanxiao organized the information obtained from the conversation.
In this prison cell, my area is the eastern prison area. Every day, the guards bring me two meals. Each meal consists of only a bowl of rice and a few vegetable leaves. The food is mixed with Soul Disruption Powder to prevent the prisoners from gathering their soul power.
The young man in the cell opposite his was called Qisheng. He liked playing chess, but also disliked it. He knew Feng Jinghuai and must have been his friend.
The herb-gathering woman to the right is extremely skilled in using poison. She has a face that could be considered a femme fatale. Many of the jailers guarding this place have had designs on her, but they have all been silently poisoned to death by the herb-gathering woman. To this day, no one has figured out the herb-gathering woman's poisoning method. She is a person who hates the Sun and Moon royal family very much.
In the two adjacent cells were a burly man who called himself Iron Ox and Old Man Zhang, a former official of the Sun Moon Empire.
Old Zhang was usually quite talkative. Everyone in the cell and the guards called him Old Man. According to him, he was the first prisoner in this dungeon.
Footsteps approached, accompanied by the aroma of food wafting into the cell.
The jailer who had previously taken two jugs of wine from Ye Nanxiao walked in carrying a large food box.
"Sir, I've brought you your meal! I've brought you all the best dishes for today!" the jailer said, opening the food box and taking out a roast chicken, a plate of pork chops, and a bowl of rice. He placed them on the shelf at the bottom of the bars and then pushed them into the cell.
The aroma of roast chicken made Tie Niu swallow hard, pound his fist on the railing, and roar, "Hey you, why don't I have any roast chicken?!"
Tie Niu slammed his fist on the railing with a deafening roar, startling the jailer.
"What spoon do you want? Huh? You scoundrel, let me tell you, if you cause any more trouble, you can forget about eating any vegetables today!" the jailer said irritably.
"Pah! You lackey!" Tie Niu cursed angrily.
Ye Nanxiao glanced at the roast chicken on the plate, then took out a string of gold soul coins from his storage ring and tossed them to the jailer.
"Sir, are we the only ones in this cell? Are there any other empty cells? That guy over there is disturbing my rest," Ye Nanxiao said, pointing to Qisheng's cell.
The sound of the pebbles hitting the ground stopped abruptly.
"Changing cells, sir? There are only five cells here. The one that's empty is because the original prisoner was disobedient and was dragged into the water dungeon for re-education. He'll probably be back in a week or two. Changing cells is probably not an option. How about I get you a black cloth to cover up this stinky chess player's cell?" the jailer said, rubbing the gold soul coins in his hands.
"Hmph, you think you're worthy of understanding my chess?" Chess Master scoffed.
"With your skills? You'll lose every single game, and you still think you're so great? I think you're just a terrible chess player!" the jailer said disdainfully.
"Alright, no need for the cloth, I'll just face the wall," Ye Nanxiao said, waving his hand.
"Alright, I'm off now!" The jailer happily stuffed a string of gold soul coins into his pocket and ran off in a flash.
Ye Nanxiao picked up the roast chicken and asked, "Big Tie Niu, want some?"
"I want to eat it! What's wrong with you bringing it to me?" Tie Niu swallowed hard, his stomach rumbling like a drum, as he smelled the aroma of the roast chicken.
"Oh dear, little brother, I must warn you, there's some soul-disrupting powder in your food. If you eat it, your soul power will become stagnant." The herb-gathering girl warned.
"However, why do you still have a storage soul tool?"
The herb-gathering woman's question diverted Tie Niu's attention from the roast chicken.
"Yeah, brother, why is your storage soul tool still here? Weren't you locked up here?" Tie Niu asked.
The chess player placed a pebble down and said, "He's just here to reflect on his mistakes; he'll probably just get a minor punishment."
Ye Nanxiao broke off a chicken leg, took two bites, and frosted the bottom of the roast chicken plate. He then flew with the plate to Tie Niu's cell.
"It's quite salty, and the meat isn't tender either," Ye Nanxiao said, spitting out a bone.
"Roast chicken!" Tie Niu grabbed the roast chicken and put it in his mouth, enjoying it immensely.
"You can still use your soul power after eating food mixed with Soul-Disrupting Powder?" Qi Sheng walked quickly to the railing.
The herb-gathering woman and Old Man Zhang remained silent and quickly walked to the railing.
While still tearing into the roast chicken, Tie Niu, biting into a chicken leg, said, "It's just soul power, isn't it? It's not like we don't have it. What's the big deal?"
"Hey you, did that roast chicken take your brain? There was some kind of soul-dispelling drug in your food!" Old Zhang cursed.
Tie Niu suddenly stopped talking, realizing what everyone was paying attention to.
"You have the antidote? This is a medicine specially developed by the Sun and Moon Royal Family for slaves," the herb-gathering woman said.
Although she was skilled in using poison and extremely familiar with it, she couldn't identify the ingredients in this Soul-Disrupting Powder.
"My constitution is special; I'm immune to all poisons. This mere Soul-Disrupting Powder is nothing to me," Ye Nanxiao said with a smile.
"Oh? Invulnerable to all poisons? Little brother, you have quite the big mouth. It's a pity I'm trapped here, otherwise I would love to exchange some tips with you by lamplight. My deadly poison is hidden in my chest." The herb-gathering girl chuckled.
"Ahem, then we'll talk about it when my sister comes out later." Ye Nanxiao coughed twice, realizing he had been teased.
"Go out? Oh, if we can get out, then we'll talk about it." The herb-gathering woman's voice gradually faded and finally disappeared.
From the first day she entered this place, she never thought she would be able to leave again.
Three pebbles flew to Ye Nanxiao's front and were caught by him.
"That damn monkey said you're short-handed," Qisheng said.
Ye Nanxiao glanced at the pebbles in his hand; each pebble had a character engraved on it.
"Wen Ziyi," Ye Nanxiao repeated the name in his mind.
"You trust me that much? Aren't you afraid I'll sell you out?" Ye Nanxiao laughed.
Wen Ziyi turned and walked back into the cell. "For me, you should be able to give me what I need most right now."
"free!"
Ye Nanxiao put away the three pebbles, picked up the pork chop, and asked Tie Niu in the next cell, "Big guy, do you want some more pork chops?"
"want!"
Hurried footsteps approached, accompanied by the jailer's obsequious voice.
"This way, sir, this way!"
The sound of footsteps was mixed with the sound of wheels rolling.
Noticing the jailer standing in front of his cell, Ye Nanxiao opened his eyes.
"I'm sorry, Nanxiao, I've wronged you." Xu Tianran smiled gently and waved his right hand, signaling the jailer to open the bars.
Xu Tianran drove his wheelchair into the cell. He was not accompanied by his personal maid or Ju Zi.
"Regarding your attack on the Royal Guard, I have found out it was just a misunderstanding. Once the Ministry of Justice completes its procedures, you can leave." Xu Tianran's face was full of apology.
Ye Nanxiao smiled slightly and said, "Does His Majesty personally recommend someone, yet the Ministry of Justice doesn't give him any face? Or is it that His Majesty's power has no influence over the Ministry of Justice at all?"
Hearing the barbed words in Ye Nanxiao's voice, Xu Tianran shook his head slightly and said, "Although I am the emperor, I must also abide by the rules established by the late emperor. I cannot interfere with the procedures that should be followed as the emperor, otherwise it would be a desecration of the established rules. I have just ascended the throne and I am somewhat powerless in the face of the ministers who are busy with the affairs of the entire empire."
"Your Majesty should be firmer. What emperor would be controlled by his subjects?" Ye Nanxiao said, raising an eyebrow.
"I lack people around me who can help me. The higher I stand, the more lonely I feel. And I have already stood at the top of the Sun Moon Empire!" Xu Tianran pushed his wheelchair a few steps.
"This kind of loneliness can be suffocating, make you feel helpless, and expose your vulnerable side."
"Therefore, I need someone to stand with me at the pinnacle of the Sun Moon Empire, to lend me a helping hand!"
"Nanxiao, are you willing to sit in that position, second only to the emperor?"
Xu Tianran turned around, staring intently at Ye Nanxiao, and extended his right hand towards Ye Nanxiao.
This time, he used his biggest bargaining chip, not the dukedom he promised in front of the court, but the position of Grand Tutor.
If this were to happen in the imperial court, not only would Xu Taihe and other powerful figures do their utmost to dissuade him, but even Ma Yi would not agree to allow him to relinquish the position of Imperial Preceptor.
The position of Imperial Advisor carries immense power, and besides, Ye Nanxiao is not even a native of the Sun Moon Empire.
Knowing the consequences of giving up this position, Xu Tianran still extended an invitation to Ye Nanxiao once again.
He desperately wanted Ye Nanxiao; he desperately needed someone by his side.
Ye Nanxiao showed no change in expression when Xu Tianran offered him the position of Imperial Preceptor.
Following a powerful figure? He seems to appreciate beautiful women more.
"I'm sorry, Your Majesty, I have nothing of value. My only wish in life is to live well. I dare not ask for anything else. This concerns matters of national importance. Your Majesty would be better off seeking another capable person," Ye Nanxiao said, refusing.
Xu Tianran's smile dimmed slightly, and he sighed softly.
He had expected Ye Nanxiao's rejection, but he still wanted to give Ye Nanxiao a chance.
"What a pity," Xu Tianran sighed.
His regret stemmed from not being able to recruit Ye Nanxiao, and also from the regret of a genius who was about to pass away.
His patience had run out.
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(End of this chapter)