I Am Truly Not a Treacherous Minister Your Majesty - Chapter 60



Chapter 60: Master and Servant Practice

After sending off the displeased Emperor, Qin Ji lay on his bed, reflecting on the events of the past few days.

Ling Yan walked up to him:

“Young Master, aren’t you going to take action now?”

“There’s no rush for now,” Qin Ji leisurely looked at the ceiling, “Ling Yan, sometimes, don’t be too hasty. The Fifth Prince initiated the practice with me, why should I act first? Waiting for him to come to me is the right way. He won’t run away.”

Earlier, when welcoming General Bai, Qin Ji had someone send a reply to the Fifth Prince, hoping that the prince would come to his An Guo Gong Mansion to talk with him.

Faced with such an invitation, the Fifth Prince would not refuse. Although this guy has a peculiar way of thinking in some areas, he would not miss the opportunity to either make friends with or gather information from Qin Ji. Qin Ji was counting on this mentality.

That’s why Ling Yan asked if he would take action. After all, if the Fifth Prince really came to Qin Ji’s house, it would be like a lamb entering a tiger’s den, and he could easily kill the prince.

But Qin Ji wouldn’t do that.

The Fifth Prince is, after all, a member of the royal family. Even though Qin Ji is a Zongzheng, he is an outsider. Just by relying on the title of Zongzheng to try to kill a prince with private punishment, he would face extremely fierce condemnation.

It would also be inconvenient for his future governance and administration in Daxia.

This time, Qin Ji just wanted to understand what kind of person the Fifth Prince was. The fact that the other party was willing to reconnect with him after targeting him before, in a sense, made him an interesting person.

“What do you need me to do?” Ling Yan asked.

“You? You are responsible for protecting me.”

Qin Ji assigned Ling Yan the same old task.

He didn’t plan to kill the Fifth Prince immediately, but that didn’t mean the Fifth Prince wouldn’t take the opportunity to kill him. Therefore, Qin Ji needed Ling Yan to be on standby at all times. Especially in such situations where everyone hides a dagger behind a smile, Ling Yan was his last line of defense.

“Then, what if you suddenly decide to take action?”

Ling Yan continued to ask.

“If I really decide to kill the Fifth Prince… then I will signal by smashing the cup.”

At this point, Qin Ji stood up and circulated the spiritual energy in his body. His current state was still not very good. The alcohol had too much of an effect on him.

“Let’s go to the training ground.”

“For what?”

“To practice martial arts with me,” Qin Ji spread his arms, allowing every joint in his body to move, “I’ve been too busy these past few days, I haven’t even had time to practice. And… I noticed you’ve been slacking off on your training lately.”

“Young master, I was training while you were reviewing documents.”

“Really?” Qin Ji smiled, “Well then, you can help me correct my mistakes.”

Sometimes, when you think too much, your mind gets cluttered. At times like this, you need physical exertion to release it.

…

Naturally, there was no place in the Zongzheng Mansion for the two of them to practice. The training ground Qin Ji mentioned was a place inside the palace specifically for the imperial guards and the forbidden army to practice.

The two of them walked straight to the training ground. It wasn’t rest time yet, so most of the imperial guards were still around the emperor, and they wouldn’t come here for the time being.

“Oh, by the way,” Qin Ji took off his outer official robe and looked at Ling Yan, who was wearing a fitted black robe, “In a while, there should be another martial arts selection ceremony. Do you want to participate?”

“What’s the benefit?” Ling Yan tightened the belt around her waist and tied up her hair.

“Those with excellent results can become officers. The most outstanding ones, I remember, can become apprentices of the empire’s celestial masters.”

“Celestial masters…”

Ling Yan thought carefully for a moment, then shook her head, “No need, I don’t think I need that.”

“But they are the celestial masters of the Xia Kingdom, only seven in the entire kingdom. Don’t you want to study under them?”

“Not interested, young master.”

After saying that, Ling Yan took a deep breath.

Immediately, her figure suddenly shot out.

Qin Ji stood with his feet apart, the sound of the wind in his ears getting closer and closer. Then, a small fist came smashing towards his face.

He raised his arm, his arm strengthened by spiritual energy, and took the punch head-on. Then, using his waist to drive his arm, he swung his other hand towards Ling Yan.

Obviously, Ling Yan was faster than him. She almost brushed past his fist, but in that moment, Qin Ji had already taken half a step forward. His originally solid body now moved like a snake, drilling in front of her, and delivered an elbow strike to Ling Yan’s body.

Accompanied by heavy footsteps, Ling Yan was forced back several steps before she could steady herself.

“You need to learn more. If you really want to protect me, you can’t just rely on your old skills.”

Qin Ji let out a long breath.

Ling Yan’s advantage was that she was proficient in both the demonic sect’s techniques and the skills of the court’s experts. If it was a sudden, unrestricted fight, Qin Ji would easily fall into a disadvantage.

But direct confrontation was different.

The title “Duke of An” was not just for show. All of Qin Ji’s techniques and skills were learned from life-and-death battles on the battlefield. Having followed his father in battles since childhood, his ability in direct combat, though not as good as the celestial masters, was still top-notch.

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“It’s not that I don’t want to further my studies,” Ling Yan touched her chest where she had been elbowed—Qin Ji hadn’t really hit her, the last move was more of a push than an elbow strike, “My techniques, those celestial masters can’t teach me. The demonic sect’s techniques are completely different from those of the seven celestial masters of the Xia Kingdom. Learning rashly would only make me more confused.”

Just as she finished speaking, Qin Ji’s pupils suddenly contracted. His upper body leaned back slightly, and reflexively, he reached out his hand. A blunt iron spike stopped in his hand, just a few centimeters from his nose.

“Young master’s skills haven’t dulled,” Ling Yan commented.

Ling Yan was always confident in his unexpected tactics. Most people wouldn’t even notice what had happened, but Qin Ji managed to grab the iron spike.

In fact, his brain probably didn’t react in time; it was just that his muscles moved faster than his brain.

“If I hadn’t reacted in time… even without a blade, you could have given me a big hole in my head, right?” Qin Ji was a bit scared.

“Not at all,” Ling Yan tilted his head, lifted his clothes to reveal his smooth waist, where a string was hanging, “If you really couldn’t block it, I would have retracted it.”

“What if you couldn’t retract it?”

“With your physique, being hit by an unsharpened iron spike would at most leave you with an extra hole. You could still be saved.”

“……”

Damn, are you here to protect me or to kill me?

PS: I have an exam tomorrow, so please allow me to take it easy today.

Also, after reading some of your recent comments, especially those at the beginning, I realized one thing – setting, it’s important to release it in advance.

Many points were unclear because I didn’t explain the setting well. I’ve been busy recently and haven’t had time to detail the setting.

After the exam, I’ll organize it when I have time.