Zhang Yantong smiled faintly, stroking his long beard and said:

"What you said is true. We must not be too careless about these remnants of the former Chu Dynasty, lest they find loopholes. Nor can we be too concerned, lest we lose our composure."

"You must have other things to say besides visiting me this time."

Suddenly, he changed the subject and asked about Chen Yuan's purpose.

"Uncle is wise. Apart from visiting you, nephew has some private matters to discuss."

Chen Yuan remained calm, his eyes indifferent.

"Transfer?"

Zhang Yantong raised an eyebrow, seemingly seeing through Chen Yuan's little scheme.

"Uncle's eyes are like torches. It is indeed a matter of transfer. According to the rules of the imperial court, only Heaven-Dan Grandmasters are qualified to be transferred as Gold Envoys. This is precisely why I am working hard in my cultivation."

"Hmm?"

Zhang Yantong narrowed his eyes, looking at Chen Yuan with a smile that was not a smile.

"Isn't it good to hold a position in the capital?"

"A true man stands between heaven and earth, how can he seek stability in a remote corner? Now the imperial court's situation is unclear, with foreign enemies outside and internal troubles within. Staying in the capital is stable, but it is not what I desire."

"What is your desire?"

"To govern a region, to stabilize the situation for the imperial court, to bring peace to the world, and to allow the people to live and work in peace! We martial artists should be like this!" Chen Yuan's face gradually became solemn and firm.

He seemed to have really turned into a good official who cared for the country and the people, and his righteous and stern appearance exuded an aura of righteousness from head to toe.

"You have extraordinary talent. If you stay in the capital, you will surely be given important responsibilities."

"Being transferred out is also an important responsibility."

"This envoy understands."

Zhang Yantong returned to official business, referring to himself as "this envoy."

His fingers tapped continuously on the table, and the entire study was filled with only this soft tapping sound.

"Please help me, Uncle!"

"Where do you want to take up a post?"

Zhang Yantong's eyes flickered as he stared at Chen Yuan.

"Any state in the world is acceptable."

Zhang Yantong smiled:

"It's a pity that there are currently no vacancies in any state. If you want to go, I'm afraid you'll have to wait a while."

"That doesn't matter. Nephew is just mentioning it to Uncle. It's not too late to take up a post when there is a vacancy."

"Well, this matter should not be rushed. Uncle will keep this in mind and will think about it for you. During this period, you must also diligently cultivate and not slack off."

"The states and prefectures under heaven are different, and the differences are also different. The states and prefectures closer to Central State will be more stable, while those farther away will be more turbulent. Uncle will try his best to make your position as a Gold Envoy easier."

"Thank you, Uncle."

Chen Yuan expressed his gratitude on his face, but in reality, he hoped that the other party would not be so considerate of him. If it was too close to Central State, how could he urgently need strength?

The imperial court's control is not low; they can find out about him.

But he can't say too much now, lest Zhang Yantong think too much. After another month or so of stability, he can find a way to kill the Shu State Gold Envoy and then come to him.

"It's alright, it's alright."

Zhang Yantong nodded with a faint smile and suddenly said:

"Now that you have returned, go and take over some of the affairs of the Imperial City Division as soon as possible. Only by doing your job well can you reassure His Majesty."

A State Gold Envoy is a high-ranking official of the fourth rank, worthy of being called a regional governor. Such officials, along with titled generals and third-rank State Pastors, jointly hold the military, political, and martial affairs of a state.

It is impossible to make decisions solely based on the Sky Patrol Division.

They only have the power of recommendation. The emperor is the one who truly makes the decision.

Of course, under normal circumstances, the emperor will not say much about a Gold Envoy who is recognized by the Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow Four Divine Envoys. He will approve it.

It's just to prevent any unforeseen circumstances.

"Don't worry, Uncle. Nephew understands."

Chen Yuan cupped his hands.

After staying in Zhang's residence for a while, he bid farewell when the sky was almost dark. In short, the purpose of this trip had been achieved: to announce to Zhang Yantong that he had returned, to take over his previous position, and to express his desire to be transferred to a region.

The rest is to wait quietly...

When the time comes, he will begin to prepare!

After leaving Zhang's residence, Chen Yuan returned to the Marquis of Wuwei's mansion all the way, and then had a very comfortable sleep, waking up slowly the next morning.

After having breakfast in the mansion, he set off directly for Shuanghe Temple.

This time was similar to the previous one. After reporting, Chen Yuan was led by a Taoist nun and met Jiang He's old flame, Li Hongshuang, in the main hall.

She was still dressed in a calm Taoist robe, but even the loose robe could not hide Li Hongshuang's graceful figure. She glanced at Chen Yuan very quietly, and then ordered:

"Alright, you can go down first."

"Yes, Abbot!"

The Taoist nun who led the way gave a bow and bowed to retreat.

After she left, Chen Yuan smiled and bowed to Li Hongshuang:

"Greetings, Sister-in-law."

Li Hongshuang suppressed the strangeness in her heart and said lightly:

"Did he ask you to come?"

"Yes."

Hearing the accurate answer, Li Hongshuang pondered for a while:

"He... what did he ask you to say?"

"This is something Brother Jiang asked me to bring to Sister-in-law."

Chen Yuan took out a brocade pouch from his sleeve and placed it in front of Li Hongshuang.

The other party stared at the brocade pouch in front of her for a long time without moving, as if she didn't want to know any bad news from it, but she couldn't help but have a glimmer of hope in her heart.

Seeing this, Chen Yuan said very sensibly:

"Sister-in-law, take a look at Brother Jiang's brocade pouch first. Chen will take this opportunity to stroll around this Shuanghe Temple."

With that said, without waiting for Li Hongshuang to say anything, he turned and left.

After Chen Yuan left for a while, Li Hongshuang gradually recovered her mind, glanced in the direction where Chen Yuan left, and slowly opened the brocade pouch in her hand.

......

......

On the other side, Chen Yuan, who had left the main hall, was aimlessly wandering around. This was not his first time here, but he had never taken a good look around. Of course,

Shuanghe Temple itself is not very big, and there are almost no landscapes.

The young Taoist nun next to him knew that Chen Yuan was a distinguished guest of the abbot, so she didn't dare to neglect him at all and explained everything in the temple to Chen Yuan in detail. As they walked,

Chen Yuan suddenly saw that another palace was heavily guarded, and the guards wearing the armor of the imperial palace were guarding it. He couldn't help but be a little curious and asked without showing any signs:

"Which noble person from the palace is this?"

The little Taoist nun quickly said:

"It's Consort Yang. Recently, the Consort often comes to the temple to pray for His Majesty and the Fourth Prince."

"Oh, it's her?"

Chen Yuan's eyes flickered, and the corners of his mouth curled up in a faint smile.

In the main hall, Consort Yang was kneeling in front of the statue of Daozu praying for blessings, her expression quiet. The light gauze on her body outlined her figure beautifully. Although she was over forty years old and had given birth to the Fourth Prince Sima Ke and the Eldest Princess Pingyang, she was very well maintained. She also had some shallow cultivation, so she did not appear old.

In the eyes of outsiders, she looked only thirty years old.

And this was the time when a woman was in her prime.

She had been coming here to pray for blessings for six days, and one more trip tomorrow would be almost enough. Although she herself knew that this kind of thing was useless, she couldn't help but find some comfort in her heart.

Ever since Ke'er was reprimanded by the emperor, he had never risen again, and it was even more hopeless to become the crown prince. This was what worried her the most.

If the Second Prince Sima You gained power, it would be fine. She and the Queen had no grievances, but once the Eldest Prince Sima Qian became the crown prince and later ascended the throne, then their mother and son would really have nothing good to eat.

She and that bitch have long been irreconcilable.

Similarly, if the Fourth Prince Sima Ke gained power, she would not let go of that bitch.

Now, she only prayed that Sima Ke would be more stable in his actions. If he really had no chance to become the crown prince, he must make preparations in advance and must not let Sima Qian gain power.

But the problem was that Sima Ke had rarely come to Chunhua Palace since he asked those nonsensical questions before. Even if she summoned him, he would make all kinds of excuses, which made her feel sad but helpless.

While Consort Yang's mind was in a state of confusion, a steady and powerful hand suddenly climbed onto her shoulder. Consort Yang was startled and was about to shout,

But the surrounding area had been completely sealed off, and even if she shouted, not a single sound would be heard.

The person who came was Chen Yuan. After discovering that Consort Yang happened to be here, he thought about it and decided to explore the depths of the Consort's mind first, one was for the previous ban on free entry and exit from the palace, and the other was to ask what was going on with Sima Ke.

Why did he want to see him, and was it persistent?

After he returned home last night, he found that someone from the Fourth Prince's Mansion had come to send a greeting card, and the words were very sincere. Although they were sent away by the people from the Marquis of Wuwei's Mansion, he vaguely felt that Sima Ke was likely to come again.

Also... had the storm of the previous incident passed?

Just as Consort Yang was panicking in her heart, a wisp of hot air blew in her ear:

"Don't be afraid, Consort. It's me."

Hearing this very familiar voice, Consort Yang widened her eyes and whispered:

"Chen Yuan?"

"Yes."

"You quickly let go of this palace, otherwise this palace will..." Consort Yang immediately warned, but before she could say anything, her body suddenly felt like it was crawling with small bugs, making her uncomfortable all over. The threatening words were not immediately spoken.

"Otherwise, what does Consort want to do?"

Chen Yuan smiled coldly with indifferent eyes.

"You... you... how dare you be so rude?"

Consort Yang felt a little weak and whispered.

"Heh..."

Chen Yuan sneered twice and took half a step back.

After the soft feeling on her body faded away, Consort Yang suddenly turned her head, staring at him with great vigilance and a hint of imperceptible strangeness and said:

"You... impudent! Do you know that if this matter is spread out, you will be guilty of exterminating your nine clans!"

"Then will Consort let this matter spread out?"

Chen Yuan put his hands behind his back, as if looking down at her.

Taking a deep breath, Consort Yang snorted coldly, changed the subject, and did not dwell on this issue too much. Instead, she asked:

"When did you come back?"

"What? Does Chen need to report his return to the capital to Consort Yang?"

"You... you dare to contradict this palace!"

"Heh... Alright, you and I are grasshoppers on the same rope. Consort Yang, don't expect Chen to be humble and flattering to you. I... am used to being straightforward."

Chen Yuan said with a calm expression.

Consort Yang was speechless for a moment.

"What do you want to do?"

"Now that Chen has come, shouldn't the Consort return my palace ban?"

Hearing this sentence, Consort Yang's face suddenly changed, and she stared at Chen Yuan and asked:

"Chen Yuan, tell this palace the truth. Was the disturbance in the palace during the ancestral sacrifice ceremony you did?"

"What is Consort saying? Chen doesn't understand."

Chen Yuan directly refused.

"Even if you don't admit it, do you think this palace can't guess?" Consort Yang stared at Chen Yuan, she had guessed before, and after Chen Yuan left, she was even more certain of this guess.

Chen Yuan may not have encountered a bottleneck, but just wanted to avoid the limelight.

But she had never told anyone about this guess, because if Chen Yuan participated in this matter, then she would not be able to escape the blame, after all, the ban was given to Chen Yuan by her.

Of course, the most important thing was that she did not have conclusive evidence, everything was just a guess, but this did not prevent her from wanting to use this to threaten Chen Yuan.

In this way, if both of them had handles in their hands, they could restrain each other, and Chen Yuan could no longer blackmail their mother and son because of the death of Consort Shu.

And now, what she had to do was to induce Chen Yuan to admit this matter.

"You wanted to take this palace's ban before, and not long after, there was a disturbance in the palace. According to the palace guards, on the day of the ancestral sacrifice ceremony,

There was indeed a stranger who entered inside with a palace ban. Who is this person... is there any need to say more?"

"This is just Consort's guess. Who would believe it if you said it?"

"Is that so? Then why did you leave the capital urgently after the ancestral sacrifice was disturbed? This matter... if linked to the above matter,

Do you think others will believe it?"

Consort Yang stared at Chen Yuan and said solemnly.

Chen Yuan's heart sank, and he lowered his head with a fierce look on his face. He didn't expect this woman to have some cleverness and associate things so accurately. Then, he walked forward step by step, suddenly grabbing her neck under Consort Yang's unbelievable gaze, and said lightly:

"So? Consort wants to use this to threaten me?"

"You... impudent! Chen Yuan, let go of this palace, otherwise, I will definitely..." Before Consort Yang could finish her threatening words, Chen Yuan slapped her face directly, looked down at her and said:

"Definitely what?"

"You... you dare to hit this palace?"

"Consort Yang, you have to understand one thing, you and I are not equal at all. You are wrong if you want to use this to threaten me." Chen Yuan's mouth curled up in a cold smile, and a thought moved in his mind:

"Senior, let's do it."

"Amitabha!"

Moro's faint Buddhist chant came out of Chen Yuan's body, directly enveloping Consort Yang. Her face was a little flustered, as if she had seen an unbelievable scene.

This could be regarded as one of Chen Yuan's trump cards. If Consort Yang was honest, then everything would be fine, but if she really found out something,

Then he had to use some methods on her.

Directly changing the memory was not advisable, it was easy to be detected, but Moro came from Buddhism, and one of the most outstanding methods of Buddhism was to transform people's beliefs.

Chen Yuan had asked before, and it was possible to gradually influence Consort Yang's mind, gradually making her develop a heart of surrender to Chen Yuan, and once it was solidified,

It was impossible to expel, and she herself had low cultivation and did not have the ability to expel the influence of this force.

The Buddha's light gradually dissipated, and Consort Yang also suddenly opened her eyes, staring at Chen Yuan:

"Chen Yuan... you... what did you do to this palace?"

A warm smile appeared on Chen Yuan's face, and he slowly helped Consort Yang up, and then patted the dust on her buttocks, causing her body to stiffen involuntarily, but for some reason, she did not get angry at this moment, and there was a strange comfortable feeling filling her heart.

Just staring blankly at Chen Yuan.

"What can Chen do to Consort? I just don't want you and I to become enemies. Consort, you have to understand one thing, no matter whether I have anything to do with the previous disturbance in the palace, there can be no relationship!

You... understand?"

"You and I are now standing on the same line. If I am suspected, can Consort be immune? I am afraid that the first thing His Majesty will abolish is Consort."

Chen Yuan's gentle voice sounded in Consort Yang's ear, causing her delicate body to tremble involuntarily.

"How is it, does your face still hurt?"

Chen Yuan put his hand back on her face with concern. It had to be said that although Consort Yang was a little older, her skin was still delicate. Although she was not as beautiful as a young woman, she had a strange charm.

And Chen Yuan actually didn't like green apples...

"You... let go."

Consort Yang swallowed and stared at Chen Yuan.

If it were according to her temper, she should have reprimanded him long ago, but at this moment she couldn't lift her hand, so she could only ask Chen Yuan to take his hand away.

Chen Yuan smiled, a touch of extreme indifference flashed in the depths of his eyes, and he said slowly:

"Chen has always恪守臣下之道 (Ke Shou Chen Xia Zhi Dao - Uphold the Way of a Subject) and how dare he be rude to Consort?"

"You..."

"Alright, give me the palace ban."

Chen Yuan's voice was like a spring breeze, making Consort Yang unable to resist, and put the ban back into Chen Yuan's hand from her sleeve.

"Chen also has one thing to ask Consort."

"What do you want to ask?"

"Why would Sima Ke come to see me several times? What is the secret in this?"

Chen Yuan stared at Consort Yang and asked.

"This palace... this palace also doesn't know why Ke'er would look for you."

Consort Yang said in a low voice.

Chen Yuan raised his eyebrows, this was a bit unexpected, could it be that there was something he didn't know?

"If that's the case, then there is no problem, Consort, continue to pray for blessings."

Chen Yuan turned to leave after confirming that Consort Yang was fine.

But suddenly Consort Yang's voice came from behind:

"Wait... wait."

"Does Consort have anything else?"

Chen Yuan turned his head.

Consort Yang took a deep breath and said in a deep voice:

"Help Ke'er."

"Why? Sima Ke used to regard me as an enemy, why should I help someone who is useless to me? Consort, give me a reason."

"You also said that our mother and son are now standing on the same line with you. If we lose power, you will not get any benefit. But if Ke'er becomes the crown prince, you can also get great benefits. This palace can see that you are an ambitious person, don't you want to be powerful in the court?"

Consort Yang stared at Chen Yuan and asked.

And Chen Yuan was lost in thought, if he did have the ambition to be powerful in the court before, but since he knew his identity and understood that the Sima family was not that simple, he wanted to occupy a territory.

But... if you can drop some chess pieces, it doesn't seem bad.

"As long as you can help Ke'er ascend the throne of the crown prince, this palace... this palace will agree to any conditions for you!"