Chapter 7

Five years ago, Duke of Yuguo personally led an expedition to Shuobei, only to fall into Ban Bu's trap, where he was surrounded by a massive force from Beihuan.

Although Shen Nanzheng fought desperately to break the siege, Da Qian's morale was already broken, and in the end, they were forced to cede the territory of three counties north of Baishui River in exchange for peace.

Meeting Ban Bu again today, it could truly be said that sworn enemies were meeting with eyes red with hatred.

"Emperor of Da Qian, it has been five years, and your radiance surpasses the past!"

Ban Bu stood still, looking at Emperor Wen with a full smile.

Only, that smile was filled with sarcasm.

"Audacious!"

Duke of Yuguo Xiao Wanchou slammed the table and stood up, shouting angrily: "The Beihuan delegation has come to an audience, why do you not bow to the emperor of our dynasty?"

Xiao Wanchou was a renowned general of Da Qian and also the backbone of the pro-war faction in the court.

How could he not be furious at Ban Bu's such disdain?

"Bow?"

Ban Bu chuckled, saying with utter contempt: "My sons of Beihuan have always only bowed to the strong! A general of a defeated army, why should I bow?"

Hearing Ban Bu's words, everyone could not help burning with rage.

"Impudent!"

Eager to shine, Yun Li also suddenly stood up, shouting sternly: "Imperial Father was kind enough to host a banquet to welcome you all, yet you are so arrogant and rude? Do not forget, National Preceptor, this time it is Beihuan begging Da Qian for grain!"

"Begging for grain?"

Ban Bu smiled arrogantly, "This prince, you probably still do not understand the situation. We have come this time to ask Da Qian to grant us grain, not to beg!"

Ban Bu's words once again ignited the crowd's anger.

"The National Preceptor is too rude!" "Barbarians! These are just barbarians who understand no propriety!" "During the Battle of Shuobei five years ago, Da Qian did not lose!" "Your Majesty, this subject humbly requests Your Majesty to expel the Beihuan delegation and fully prepare for war..."

Many people slammed their tables and stood up, glaring fiercely at Ban Bu.

Even quite a few members of the peace faction stood up.

The peace faction were not all traitors; they simply viewed the problems from a different perspective, but when matters concerning national dignity and Emperor Wen's face were involved, they did not blur the lines.

Although Xu Shifu had the mind to play the peacemaker, he did not dare to step forward at this moment.

Emperor Wen had not yet expressed his stance, and he still needed to observe.

Shen Luoyan gently tugged Yun Zheng, signaling him to stand up and denounce the Beihuan delegation along with the others.

If he didn't seize the moment to shine now, when else would he wait for?

However, Yun Zheng remained as steady as a mountain.

After several tugs with no reaction from Yun Zheng, Shen Luoyan couldn't help cursing this worthless piece of trash in her heart.

Had her status not restricted her, she would have wanted to stand up and denounce the arrogant Beihuan delegation herself.

Emperor Wen sat quietly there, not a single ripple visible on his face, but in his heart, he was desperately suppressing his rage.

Had the Crown Prince's treason not left the court unstable, he really would have wanted to have the Beihuan delegation beaten with rods and directly expelled from the borders.

Yet, considering the consequences of doing so, he ultimately held back.

After a long while, Emperor Wen slowly stood up and said in a deep voice: "If the National Preceptor understands not even this bit of etiquette, then today's banquet shall end right here!"

With that, Emperor Wen made to leave.

Under the circumstances where he dared not expel the Beihuan delegation, this was his only way to preserve his dignity and national prestige.

"Hold on!"

Ban Bu stopped Emperor Wen, smiling with arrogant pride: "It is not that we cannot bow, but we must first see if Da Qian has the capability!"

Emperor Wen narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean by that?"

Ban Bu chuckled, fished an object from his person, and displayed it to the public.

Looking at the object in Ban Bu's hand, Yun Zheng's pupils suddenly contracted.

A Rubik's cube!

Chapter 15: Half a cup of tea's time is enough

Was this fucking an ancient version of a Rubik's cube?

However, it was merely a most basic three-by-three Rubik's cube.

And it was made of jade.

Looking at the item in Ban Bu's hand, everyone was filled with puzzlement.

Aside from Yun Zheng, no one else in Da Qian had ever seen such an item.

Ban Bu scanned the crowd with an arrogant expression. "I have long heard that Da Qian's literary culture is flourishing, with many erudite and talented scholars.

Today, this National Preceptor shall use this object to test you all, to see if anyone in Da Qian can solve it!"

"If Da Qian has neither martial heroes nor erudite scholars, on what grounds should this National Preceptor bow?"

Hearing Ban Bu's words, the crowd could not help being puzzled.

"This old man will do it!"

Xiao Wanchou was the first to charge out, letting out a disdainful cold huff: "Just this broken trinket, this old man can crush it to pieces with one grip!"

"..."

Yun Zheng's face twitched slightly as he speechlessly looked at this old man.

The other party wants you to solve it! Not smash it to pieces!

"Old General Xiao, you probably didn't understand my meaning."

Ban Bu mocked: "I am asking you to solve this item, not break it!"

"Solve it?" Xiao Wanchou was bewildered. "How does one solve it?"

"Simple!"

Ban Bu smiled sinisterly. "This item has six sides and six colors. You only need to get the small wooden blocks of the same color onto the same side within half an hour, without damaging the item."

"Just this?"

Xiao Wanchou looked utterly disdainful. "This three-year-old child's trick—this old man won't need half an hour; I can finish it in the blink of an eye!"

Saying this, Xiao Wanchou snatched the Rubik's cube from Ban Bu's hand with utmost contempt and began tinkering with it.

Ban Bu watched Xiao Wanchou with a teasing expression, waiting to watch a joke.

Xiao Wanchou tinkered away fiercely, but after tinkering for half a day, let alone six sides, he couldn't even get a single side right.

The more he tried to piece it together, the more anxious Xiao Wanchou became, wishing he could just break the damn thing apart and reassemble it.

Seeing this, Ban Bu sneered: "General Xiao, you are a military man; you are truly unsuited for solving this. You'd better let your court's quick-witted civil officials come instead!"

"Bullshit!"

Refusing to yield, Xiao Wanchou stiffened his neck and said: "This old man just hasn't figured this thing out yet; let me grope around and I'll get it!"

With that, Xiao Wanchou quickly started trying to piece it together again.

Yet this thing was like it was haunted; just as he got these pieces together, those pieces went skew-whiff.

Xiao Wanchou fiddled back and forth, still failing to solve even a single side.

"Duke of Yuguo, let me do it!"

Yun Li walked forward with a chuckle.

Seeing that Xiao Wanchou truly couldn't solve it, and with Yun Li stepping up, he smoothly found a way to save face and handed the Rubik's cube to Yun Li.

Holding the Rubik's cube, Yun Li studied it with a pretense of deep research, then smiled cheerfully at Ban Bu: "To solve this item requires skill, right?"

"Right!"

Ban Bu nodded.

"This Prince will show you right now whether Da Qian has erudite and talented scholars!"

Yun Li let out a cold huff and immediately began trying to solve it.

Yun Li indeed seemed somewhat more capable than Xiao Wanchou.

After a bout of tinkering, he actually managed to solve one side.

Seeing the completed side, Yun Li instantly smiled, and lifting the Rubik's cube, he displayed the completed side to Ban Bu: "How is this?"

Looking at the already solved side, the ministers were immediately overjoyed.

"Third Highness is mighty!" "As expected of Third Highness, truly profound in knowledge and talent!" "Third Highness is both wise and valorous, and should be a model for us all!" "Third Highness is brilliant indeed..."

Everyone showered Yun Li with unsparing praise.

Especially the faction of the Third Prince—they were practically ready to jump up and tell Emperor Wen that since the Third Highness was so smart, he should be immediately named Crown Prince.

Taking this in, Emperor Wen could not help nodding slightly.

The Third one was indeed rather clever! He could be put to great use!

"Third Prince, do not celebrate too early!"

Ban Bu looked at Yun Li with utter contempt, as if looking at a monkey. "You've only solved one side; there are still five more!"

"The logic is the same!"

Yun Li smiled smugly. "If one side can be solved, the remaining sides are no different, right?"

Hearing this, the crowd nodded along.

Watching Yun Li continue to restore the Rubik's cube, Yun Zheng could not help shaking his head inwardly.

What an utter idiot! If it were so easy to solve, would others have used it to give you a psychological blow? Did you really think you were some kind of smart person? You're just a grandstanding clown!

Seeing Yun Zheng shaking his head over there, Shen Luoyan let out a low huff: "Jealous?"

"I'm jealous of him?"

Yun Zheng curled his lip. "He can't solve it!"

"You're just jealous!"

Shen Luoyan let out a slight scoff. "If you've got the ability, you go up! If not, don't stand here jealous and cursing others!"

The corners of Yun Zheng's mouth twitched slightly, and he asked in astonishment: "You don't fancy the Third Prince, do you?"

"Bah!"

Shen Luoyan spat lightly, saying with a face full of lingering resentment: "Most heartless are the imperial families! I have no desire to get involved with anyone from the royal family!"

Oh? This chick isn't stupid! She even knows that the imperial family is the most heartless? Mn! Not bad! A bit dim-witted perhaps, but at least she didn't fancy the Third Prince. That's acceptable!

While the two were whispering in stolen murmurs, Yun Li's forehead began to bead with sweat.

Solving one side was indeed not difficult. But when he tried to solve the second side, he discovered it was nothing like what he had imagined. No matter what he tried, he could not restore the second side. Even the first side he had just solved got scrambled in the process.

Seeing so many people looking at him with eager eyes, Yun Li felt even more anxious inside. Yet the more anxious he grew, the less he could solve it. Giving up now felt too shameful, so he could only bite the bullet and keep trying.

The crowd also perceived that Yun Li's expression was amiss, and they instantly grew nervous.

"Third Prince, how is it?" Ban Bu looked at Yun Li teasingly. "It looks like you have no way to solve this item!"

"Who... who says so!" Yun Li stubbornly argued, his face stiff: "Didn't they say half an hour? How long has it been? Give this Prince a little more time, and I will definitely solve it!"

Ban Bu shook his head gently and sneered: "With your capability, even if I gave you ten more days, you wouldn't solve it!"

"Bullshit!" Yun Li stiffened his neck, his face slightly flushed.

"Let me try!" At this moment, someone from the Wenhua Pavilion stepped forward.

Yun Li seized the chance to step down and handed the Rubik's cube over. Yet very soon, this person also hit a snag.

Then, the Second Prince stepped up. But shortly after, the Second Prince also realized that this item seemed completely impossible to solve.

One person after another, the crowd continuously tried. Seeing that the half-hour mark was about to pass, not a single person had even managed to restore two sides.

Ban Bu shook his head and raised his eyes to look at Emperor Wen: "It seems this National Preceptor's thoughts were correct! Dignified Da Qian has neither martial warriors nor erudite scholars! An emperor of such a Da Qian is truly unworthy of this National Preceptor bowing!"

"You..." Emperor Wen's face turned livid, trembling all over with anger. The ministers were also unusually furious, glaring angrily at Ban Bu.

"Bringing out some broken trinket just to test our learning?" "Exactly, if you have the ability, let's match wits in composing poetry!" "In my view, this item is fundamentally unsolvable; the National Preceptor is merely deliberately producing this thing to make things difficult for us!" "Right, it must be so..."

Everyone nodded in agreement, feeling that this object was completely without solution.

At this very moment, Yun Zheng slowly stood up, looking at Ban Bu with utter disdain.

"To solve such a little trinket, what need is there for half an hour? Half a cup of tea's time is enough!"

As Yun Zheng's voice rang out, the voices of the crowd abruptly cut off...

Chapter 16: A Wager

The Sixth Prince? Yun Zheng? A good-for-nothing? For a moment, a series of words popped into everyone's minds. Yet every single word pointed to Yun Zheng alone.

What did he just say? Half a cup of tea's time to solve this item? Has this good-for-nothing lost his mind? With all these civil and military officials and imperial clansmen unable to solve this item, he claims he can solve it in half a cup of tea? If you want to attract attention, don't brag to such an extent!

Seeing everyone turning their gazes over, Shen Luoyan nearly vomited blood; she hurriedly tugged fiercely at Yun Zheng, signaling him to sit down. This good-for-nothing—is he sick in the head? When it was time to step up and shine, he didn't; now, when it was not time to shine, he gets all proactive? Half a cup of tea? Give him half a year and he still wouldn't be able to solve this item!

"Sixth Brother, sit down!" The Second Prince's expression plummeted abruptly as he rebuked sternly: "This is a matter of state, not a time for you to mess around without a sense of propriety!"

Xu Shifu stared sinisterly at Yun Zheng: "Sixth Highness, with so many people watching, you must not speak recklessly! Although this is not the court hall, we are in the presence of His Majesty! Speaking recklessly is a crime of deceiving the sovereign!"

"Right!" Yun Li chimed in: "If you commit the crime of deceiving the sovereign before the Beihuan delegation today, Third Brother won't be able to protect you even if he wants to!"

At this moment, Yun Li was almost bursting with joy inside. They had originally planned to scheme and trick this good-for-nothing into provoking the Beihuan delegation, taking the opportunity to have him killed without a burial site! As it turned out, before they even made a move, this good-for-nothing jumped out to court death on his own? Did he really think that because he was heading to Shuobei to die, the Imperial Father wouldn't punish him for crimes? Idiot!

"Third Brother, you are framing me again." Yun Zheng feigned an aggrieved expression as he looked at Yun Li.

"Don't talk nonsense!" Yun Li glared at Yun Zheng. "How did Third Brother frame you? The crime of deceiving the sovereign that you just committed is something everyone saw!"

Hearing Yun Li's words, the faction of the Third Prince nodded in unison.

"Deceiving the sovereign in public is an unforgivable crime!" "This is a national affair; one must not talk nonsense!" "Deceiving the sovereign in front of the Beihuan delegation makes the crime doubly severe!" "Sixth Highness, you really..."

For a moment, voices rose all around. Most of them belonged to the Third Prince's faction, alongside people from other princes.

"Old Sixth! Sit down!" Emperor Wen glared fiercely at Yun Zheng, saying with displeasure: "If you speak recklessly again, I will definitely punish you for the crime of deceiving the sovereign!"

As Emperor Wen's words fell, everyone's hearts skipped a beat. This was clearly Emperor Wen protecting the Sixth Prince! It meant that what had just happened would be let bygones be bygones—as long as he didn't spout nonsense again afterward.

Shen Luoyan's heart jumped, and she pulled Yun Zheng down once more. Yet Yun Zheng still refused to sit, saying with a stern expression: "Imperial Father, this item is nothing extraordinary; for your son to solve it is a mere breeze!"

"You..." Emperor Wen glared fiercely at him, inwardly cursing this waste for not knowing what was good for him.

Yun Li stared intently at Yun Zheng, sighing with a pretense of sorrow: "Sixth Brother, what does Third Brother have to say about you? Imperial Father didn't even want to pursue the matter, so why are you still so devoid of sense? Do you only feel content once you are convicted of deceiving the sovereign?"

"Third Brother is mistaken." Yun Zheng shook his head. "If I cannot solve it, that is indeed the crime of deceiving the sovereign; but if I solve it within half a cup of tea's time, how can that be called the crime of deceiving the sovereign?"

"..." Yun Li choked slightly, then sneered: "You think this item is as simple as you imagine?"

With so many people spending this much time without even managing to piece together two sides, he still expected to solve it within half a cup of tea? Delusional daydreaming! Utterly ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth! Still, that was fine; let him be convicted of deceiving the sovereign, and let's see how he would deal with him then!

Ban Bu had watched a good show for quite a while, inwardly cursing the people of Da Qian for only knowing how to engage in internal power struggles, before shaking his head in mockery: "Dignified Da Qian, filled entirely with braggarts who speak recklessly!"

Hearing Ban Bu's remarks, the crowd immediately glared daggers at Yun Zheng. It was one thing for him to make a fool of himself, but he shouldn't drag Da Qian down with him!

Shen Luoyan tugged at Yun Zheng several times with no response, so she simply threw her hands up in anger and stopped caring altogether. Go die! Die already! The sooner he died, the better! Once he died early, she wouldn't even have to marry him!

Yun Zheng raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Is the National Preceptor so certain this Prince cannot solve it?"

"Of course!" Ban Bu said with absolute confidence: "This item came from this National Preceptor's own hands, and even I cannot solve it within half a cup of tea's time!"

"Ah?" Yun Zheng was stunned, looking at Ban Bu with a somewhat dumbfounded expression. Damn! The guy who made this thing himself couldn't even restore it quickly? Then how on earth did this fellow ever think of inventing such a thing in the first place?

Watching Yun Zheng's dumbfounded look, Yun Li couldn't help laughing heartily in his heart. This good-for-nothing, is he dumbstruck now? So his bragging rights have been shattered now, huh? Him? Wanting to show off! Why doesn't he take a piss and look at his own reflection!

"Yun Zheng!" Emperor Wen's voice abruptly turned stern as he roared: "Sit down!"

"Imperial Father, trust your son!" Yun Zheng calmly glanced at Emperor Wen, then turned back to Ban Bu: "National Preceptor, since you claim that even you cannot solve this item within half a cup of tea's time, how about we make a wager?"

"A wager?" Ban Bu laughed. "How does the Sixth Highness wish to wager?"

Fearing that Yun Zheng would use national affairs as a stake in the wager, Emperor Wen immediately roared: "Guards, drag Yun Zheng away from my sight!"

"Wait!" Ban Bu raised a hand to stop Emperor Wen. "Emperor of Da Qian, there is a saying in your dynasty that a monarch's words are final! The Sixth Highness is an imperial prince; the words he speaks in public cannot be retracted so easily, can they?"

Emperor Wen choked slightly, instantly struck speechless. Right! A monarch's words are final! Words spoken publicly by an emperor's son could not be retracted lightly either! Especially in front of the Beihuan delegation!

Furious beyond measure, Emperor Wen dismissed the guards who had charged in, cast a frosty glare of warning at Yun Zheng, and forcefully turned his head away. If this good-for-nothing dared to use state affairs as a wager, he would execute him himself!

Seeing this, Yun Li and his faction secretly laughed in their hearts, eager only to watch how Yun Zheng would meet his death.

"Sixth Highness, you may state how you wish to wager!" Ban Bu smiled all over his face, looking entirely like he had Yun Zheng in the palm of his hand.

"Simple!" Yun Zheng said: "If I fail to solve this item within half a cup of tea's time, none of you need to bow to Imperial Father today!"

As Yun Zheng's words fell, Emperor Wen snapped his head back, a murderous intent surging in his eyes.

Seeing this, Yun Li laughed uncontrollably in his heart. This good-for-nothing dared to use this as a wager? He was a dead man!

"Good!" Ban Bu burst into loud laughter, adding mockingly: "Many thanks to the Sixth Highness!"

"Don't thank me just yet!" Yun Zheng shook his head. "However, if I solve it within half a cup of tea's time, not only must you bow in kowtow to Imperial Father according to our dynasty's rituals, but you must also return the territory south of the Baishui River belonging to our dynasty!"

Return the territory? A cold glint flashed sharply in Ban Bu's eyes, and he immediately shook his head: "The matter of bowing can follow the Sixth Highness's terms! But as for returning the territory, I cannot make that decision!"

"Are you not full of confidence?" Yun Zheng goaded him.