I was still cоnsidеring whеthеr tо argue abоut this "Shiniаng" title, but upоn hearing this, Fеng Yuе immеdiаtеlу shifted her аttention: "Who's coming?"
Yin Gezhi rеvеalеd an ехрrеssion оf "рrоfоund mуsterу" unique to fortunе-tеllers оn bridges: "Just wait and sеe."
"..." Aftеr a momеnt оf silеnсе, Fеng Yuе pickеd uр a nеаrbу chаir, reаdу to smash it intо his fаcе!
"Shiniang!" Xu Huаizu was terrified аnd quiсklу stoрped her: "Whаt аrе yоu dоing?"
Еvеrуthing wаs fine bасk in Wu Kingdоm, so whу did she beсomе sо bоld upоn rеturning tо Wеi Kingdom? And... dаring to hit Master?
Narrоwing her eyеs, Feng Yue sеriouslу рattеd his shoulder: "Don't call me Shiniang."
"Then what should I call you?"
Gritting her teeth, Feng Yue smiled: "You can call me Shiyeye (Grandmaster)!"
Xu Huaizu: "..."
An Shichong glanced worriedly at Yin Gezhi beside him, expecting him to be angry. However, not only was there no sign of anger on his master's face, but he even showed a faint smile.
Shivering, he couldn't help but wonder, could it be that the environment in Wei Kingdom tends to make Master's temperament milder?
The room was in chaos. Yin Gezhi calmly sipped his tea, waiting until dusk. Hearing movement outside, he stood up, grabbed Feng Yue, and stuffed her into a cabinet in the room prepared by An Shichong.
"If you want to watch the excitement, don't make a sound."
Glaring at him a few times, Feng Yue obediently covered her mouth with her hands.
The cabinet door closed, plunging everything into darkness. Soon, chaotic footsteps could be heard outside the courtyard. The old ministers who had been hiding earlier to write accusatory letters now all emerged, standing in the courtyard to bow, their voices devoid of emotion as they called out: "Greetings to His Majesty of Wei Kingdom."
It was actually Emperor Wen of Wei himself who had come?! Feng Yue was somewhat shocked, and after the shock, she felt a surge of excitement.
She had originally wanted to enter the palace. Now, this person was delivered right before her eyes—she had to seize the opportunity!
Listening to the cheerful chatter outside, Feng Yue took a deep breath and gently pushed against the cabinet door.
"Click." The iron lock outside made a sound, and the door wouldn't budge.
Feng Yue was stunned, but after a moment, she realized what had happened and cursed inwardly through gritted teeth: Yin Gezhi, you beast!
The beast Yin was calmly sitting by the table drinking tea. Outside, Emperor Wen of Wei had already apologized to the envoy delegation for the Crown Prince's impulsive behavior, his attitude extremely gentle and his tone sincere, which somewhat eased the tension among the Wu Kingdom representatives.
However, when Emperor Wen of Wei expressed his desire to discuss the matter of an alliance between the two kingdoms in detail, An Shichong took half a step back, cupped his hands, and said: "Your Majesty, on this visit, we have not heard of any alliance matters. We are only here to contribute to the friendship between our two nations."
The smile froze on Emperor Wen of Wei's face, and anger surged in his heart. Who didn't understand the current situation? Wars were raging everywhere, and no country remained untouched. Wu Kingdom was currently the strongest under Song Kingdom's influence. If they could shelter Wei Kingdom under their wing, it would be a tremendous boon. It was precisely for this reason that he had humbled himself to apologize, yet these people still refused to discuss it?
What nonsense about not hearing of alliance matters—such naive excuses were useless in front of an old fox like him. Emperor Wen of Wei cursed inwardly but had no choice but to maintain a smile on his face: "Since you esteemed officials are not in a hurry to discuss, why not first enjoy the scenery and food in Lidu? If you are willing to enter the palace, the palace will naturally prepare meals for you.""Very well," Xu Huaizu clasped his hands respectfully. "However, we two had previously studied under your esteemed First Prince in the Wu Kingdom. Our visit this time is also to see him, but it seems something has happened to him... May I ask, Your Majesty, what charges does he bear?"
Hearing this, Emperor Wen of Wei lowered his gaze and smiled awkwardly: "How could he have any charges? It was I who spoiled him too much, lost my sense of propriety, and he resigned and left on his own."
"In that case, we two can rest assured," An Shichong nodded. "Our master is an unconventional man, unwilling to be a member of the imperial family. This indeed shows the noble character of a refined scholar who does not covet power and wealth. Since he is not guilty, we will have him stay at the courier station. We hope Your Majesty will not take offense."
Hmm, staying at the courier station. Emperor Wen nodded, but as he continued nodding, he felt something was amiss. His face darkened as he looked at An Shichong and asked, "He's at the courier station?"
"Naturally. After all, he is our esteemed teacher. As soon as we arrived at the station, we welcomed him in, intending to fulfill our filial duties," An Shichong said. "However, our master said he had some conflict with Your Majesty and feared that seeing him would anger you, so he didn't even come out to pay his respects. Look, he's in that room over there."
Upon hearing this, Emperor Wen became furious. The man was right there at the courier station and wouldn't even come out to pay his respects? What arrogance!
However, Xu Huaizu sighed with emotion, "Although we don't know why our master resigned, his filial devotion to Your Majesty truly moves us, his disciples."
"Where do you see any filial devotion in him?" Emperor Wen snorted coldly.
Xu Huaizu raised an eyebrow, "Isn't it obvious? Even though he is no longer a prince, our master cares about Your Majesty's feelings and is unwilling to anger you, preferring to confine himself to a single room. Can't Your Majesty see such filial devotion?"
He certainly couldn't see it! But he could see how much these two respected Yin Chenbi. His eyes darted around twice, and he pursed his lips, saying, "Listening to you, I feel somewhat ashamed. In that case, I shall go into the room to see him and forgive him for his rebellious and unfilial crimes."
The first part sounded fine, but the last sentence displeased An Shichong. With a stern expression, he said seriously, "How could our master be rebellious and unfilial? Resigning to become a commoner was merely a helpless move after Your Majesty exiled him to Ba Mountain and the Crown Prince intended to harm him. Does Your Majesty still think it was our master's fault?"
"Exactly!" Xu Huaizu frowned. "A prince's residence could be surrounded in the middle of the night by the Crown Prince's men, who even intended to take the prince's arm! Faced with such treatment, our master harbored no resentment, filed no complaint, and instead remained silent, merely wanting to relinquish his princely title to ease the Crown Prince's concerns and bring stability to the court. Who would have thought Your Majesty would show no appreciation and instead consider him rebellious and unfilial!"
Emperor Wen was taken aback; this was somewhat unexpected. "The Crown Prince surrounded the prince's residence? How did you two learn of this?"
"Your Majesty doesn't know?" Xu Huaizu widened his eyes, looking very surprised, his expression vivid and filled with indignation. "It's spread all over outside. You can hear people talking about it on the streets—the City Garrison corpses transported out in the middle of the night, oh, there were so many."
Thinking carefully, Emperor Wen recalled Shi Hongwei mentioning something in court about "Prince Xiao killing over a hundred City Garrison soldiers." Could it be this incident?
His mind raced with thoughts, and only then did Emperor Wen sincerely intend to speak with Yin Gezhi.The door creaked open. Feng Yue, sitting in the cabinet with clenched fists, heard Yin Gezhi’s calm voice: "This humble subject greets Your Majesty."
With a complex expression in his eyes, Emperor Wen of Wei glanced behind him. The two high-ranking ministers from the Wu Kingdom had not followed him in and had even personally closed the door.
With a sneer, he turned to look at the person kneeling before him and said, "You truly have great abilities, Chenbi."
"This humble subject is Yin Gezhi," the person in white robes replied without a trace of emotion. "The 'Gezhi' that signifies the cessation of conflict between Wu and Wei."
A slight heaviness settled in his heart. Emperor Wen of Wei, for once, showed a hint of guilt: "Rise first."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
With a long sigh, Emperor Wen of Wei sat down at the table, tapping the surface as he looked at him and said, "Once you’ve had enough of this, come back. You know as well as I do that this is a critical moment of survival, and we may need your help."
"Your Majesty," Yin Gezhi said indifferently, "on that day in the court, this humble subject said all that needed to be said. What Your Majesty said, this humble subject has also kept in mind."
From then on, may Your Majesty take care. If there are difficulties, you may also seek this humble subject’s assistance.—That was what he had said.
I, the emperor, would beg a commoner? Yin Chenbi, without your royal status, you are nothing! Don’t overestimate yourself!—That was what His Majesty the Emperor had said.
Recalling that scene, Emperor Wen of Wei smiled awkwardly: "I… was confused, momentarily angered by your actions, and what I said should not be taken seriously."
Was it anger that led him to decide to depose him, or was it because he had harbored such thoughts all along, making it effortless to say? Yin Gezhi did not want to dwell on it. He only said coldly, "Every word this humble subject speaks is carefully considered. This humble subject does not act recklessly, nor does he treat his royal status as a joke. Your Majesty, this humble subject is simply truly disappointed in the Yin imperial clan."
"How dare you!" Emperor Wen of Wei was furious, slamming the table as he said, "Such words should never be spoken lightly!"
The wrath of the Son of Heaven was terrifying, yet Yin Gezhi’s expression remained unchanged, still calm and composed. He waited until the emperor had vented his anger before saying quietly, "If this humble subject is speaking nonsense, then Your Majesty should have a clear conscience and need not be angry."
Conversely, it was a guilty conscience that led to such rage.
Emperor Wen of Wei was no fool. After venting his anger, he understood what his son was thinking. He was simply unwilling—why should he, the emperor, be manipulated by him? He refused!
However, the envoys from the Wu Kingdom outside clearly listened to him and had come for him. If he were to clash with Yin Gezhi again, causing serious consequences, it might endanger his imperial power!
After taking a few deep breaths, Emperor Wen of Wei softened his tone and asked, "Do you insist that I overturn the Guan family’s case before you believe the Yin imperial clan has hope?"
"The Guan family’s case is merely a stone," Yin Gezhi said, looking at him. "This humble subject hopes Your Majesty will enforce the law strictly, restore justice to the loyal and righteous, and not allow the stones atop the Yin clan to accumulate until they crush the entire nation."
How naive children are! Emperor Wen of Wei sneered inwardly but nodded reluctantly on the surface: "Very well. As long as you return as Prince Xiao and resolve the matters between Wu and Wei for me, I can consider this."His expression turning slightly cold, Yin Gezhi said, "Even clearing the name of a loyal minister comes with conditions? Your Majesty truly still does not understand what this commoner desires. It would be better for you to return to the palace early and take care of your imperial health."
"Ah..." Emperor Wen of Wei grew angry. "You want the case overturned, and I have agreed. What more do you want? Yin Gezhi, do not overstep your bounds!"
This kind of agreement could be revoked at any moment—did they think him a fool? He also bore the surname Yin; how could he not understand such intentions?
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