The territories ceded were recovered; anyone who wasn't a traitor should be happy.
Halfway through the banquet, many people came to toast Yun Zheng, especially the war faction.
No matter how useless Yun Zheng had seemed in the past, today he was truly the hero of Da Qian!
After the banquet, Yun Zheng had expected Emperor Wen to summon him. Who could have known that Emperor Wen would be so overjoyed he accidentally got drunk, and had been escorted back to the palace to rest early on?
Yun Zheng was quite glad not to be summoned. Without lingering to chat with the crowd, he quickly took Shen Luoyan and left.
Walking out of the palace, Yun Zheng took the initiative to offer to escort Shen Luoyan home.
Of course, his main purpose was to go find her second sister-in-law, Ye Zi.
Watching Yun Zheng's carriage drive away, Yun Li's face grew dark with gloom.
Having been scammed out of more than ten thousand liang in silver notes by Yun Zheng, and forced to watch Yun Zheng steal the spotlight so brilliantly, his face was a mask of envy, jealousy, and hatred.
This good-for-nothing—how had he suddenly turned into a wizard after just a few days apart?
In the blink of an eye, he had transformed into a meritorious hero who recovered lost territory!
You didn't even need to use your brain to guess that this good-for-nothing would receive a very generous reward this time.
Recovering lost territory!
This was an achievement that could be written into the history books!
And what's more, without losing a single soldier!
How could there not be lavish rewards?
If it had been him, it definitely would have secured him the position of Crown Prince!
"To let this good-for-nothing steal the spotlight—hateful! Truly hateful!"
On the way back, Yun Li grumbled bitterly to Xu Shifu.
"The more he steals the spotlight, the faster he dies!"
Xu Shifu gave a slight shake of his head, saying with a sinister smile, "I was originally planning to scheme and make him offend the Beihuan delegation, but now I don't even need to bother! I reckon Ban Bu probably hates that good-for-nothing to the bone by now!"
Yun Li's face was frosty, murderous intent flashing as he said, "That's not enough! We must think of a way right away; we have to nip this good-for-nothing in the bud! We must never let him gain momentum!"
"Don't worry, I already have an idea."
Xu Shifu smiled sinisterly. "I've already set a trap for this waste! As long as the Beihuan people cooperate just a little bit, this waste will step into a situation of eternal damnation!"
"Oh?"
Joy flickered across Yun Li's face, and he hurriedly asked, "What kind of trap?"
Cold light flashed in Xu Shifu's eyes as he said coldly, "A death trap!"
...
It was already very late when Yun Zheng escorted Shen Luoyan back to the Shen Residence.
Seeing Shen Luoyan return safe and sound, Madam Shen and the others finally set their minds at ease.
What they had feared most was that Shen Luoyan would follow him and end up being bullied.
However, upon seeing Yun Zheng, Madam Shen's mood soured instantly.
"Greetings, Prince."
Madam Shen gave a perfunctory bow, then said with a cold face to her two daughters-in-law, "Alright, it's getting late, all of you get to rest early!"
With that, Madam Shen strode toward the inner rooms.
"Mother, wait!"
Shen Luoyan called out to stop Madam Shen. "Don't you want to know what happened in the palace?"
"I don't want to know, and I'm not in the mood to know!"
Madam Shen replied without even turning her head, walking straight back to her room.
Left speechless, Shen Luoyan immediately said to her two sisters-in-law, "You two go talk to him for a moment; I'm going to go talk to Mother about something!"
With that, Shen Luoyan hurriedly gave chase.
She was dying to tell her mother all about how Yun Zheng had stolen the show in the palace.
Of course, the most important thing was that Da Qian had recovered its lost territory!
Arriving in Madam Shen's room, Shen Luoyan vividly recounted the events of the palace to her mother.
"He has this kind of skill?"
Madam Shen was astonished. "Could it be a blind cat running into a dead mouse?"
"I knew you'd say that." Shen Luoyan smiled with pursed lips. "Later on, he even solved another puzzle, closing his eyes to solve it directly—it was simply magical!"
"Closing his eyes?"
Madam Shen was startled, then gave a soft snort. "Nothing more than cheap parlor tricks!"
"Call it what you want!" Shen Luoyan said. "He won back our Da Qian's dignity, and the crucial part is, he recovered the land south of Baishui River!"
"Saving face, yes, but as for recovering lost territory..."
Madam Shen shook her head and let out a soft sigh. "Your father said that Beihuan is a pack of wolves! Meat that Beihuan has swallowed into its belly isn't that easy to spit back out. Let's wait until the territory is truly recovered before talking!"
With that, Madam Shen sighed softly once more.
What good was a verbal promise?
Things written in black and white didn't even work!
Only when Beihuan withdrew and Da Qian soldiers entered—that would truly be recovering lost territory!
While the mother and daughter were chatting, Yun Zheng followed Ye Zi to the back garden.
Wei Shuang had used keeping the children company as an excuse to return to her room to sleep.
"Work for me. How about it?"
Yun Zheng glanced around and cut straight to the point.
Ye Zi raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Sixth Highness, aren't you a bit too direct?"
"When talking to smart people, there's no need to beat around the bush!" Yun Zheng smiled. "Feel free to state your demands; I'll satisfy them as much as I can!"
"I really don't have any demands."
Ye Zi shook her head gently. "But I have to consider whether your boat is worth boarding!"
"To be honest, you don't have a choice!" Yun Zheng shook his head and said, "You only have two paths: work for me, or expose me to Imperial Father by claiming I'm biding my time and plotting rebellion."
Shen Luoyan had been bestowed upon him in marriage.
And Ye Zi was her second sister-in-law.
They were already in the same boat.
"I never expected you to have such an overbearing side!"
Ye Zi looked at him in surprise, then switched to a wry smile. "Then aren't you afraid I'll expose you?"
"What do you think?"
Yun Zheng looked at her with a mischievous grin.
Ye Zi gave a wry smile and sighed silently in her heart.
Of course he wasn't afraid of her exposing him!
If she went to expose him, she would undoubtedly end up with the crime of slandering an imperial prince for treason!
So, Yun Zheng was right—she truly had no choice.
Ye Zi let out a sigh and said bluntly, "Fine. What do you need me to do?"
"Straightforward!"
Yun Zheng smiled. "I need you to hide your identity and spread a rumor: say that I am a remnant of the Crown Prince's faction, and that I've been biding my time. After the Crown Prince's rebellion failed, his trusted aides gave me a secret letter instructing me to coordinate with Beihuan from the inside and outside to plot against the Da Qian empire..."
Hearing Yun Zheng's words, Ye Zi's pretty face twitched slightly.
"Sixth Highness, you are truly sinister!"
Ye Zi understood in her heart: Yun Zheng was going to use the fact that nobody believed he would rebel to frame the other princes!
Once this news spread, everyone would undoubtedly think that one of the other princes was trying to smear him!
"I'm just playing the role of the Sixth Prince."
The corners of Yun Zheng's mouth curled up, and he gave further instructions, "Later on, go carve a stone statue and bury it somewhere easy to find, and carve some words on it..."
"What should I carve?" Ye Zi asked.
"The sixth child heads to the Northern Frontier; ruler and subjects all take the hill!"
***
Chapter 20: Bestowed a Prince's Title?
Deep in the night.
Arriving at the quarters arranged by Da Qian, Ban Bu still couldn't swallow his anger.
If not for that Sixth Prince meddling today, the entire Da Qian would have been utterly disgraced, and he would have successfully achieved his goal of giving Da Qian a sobering blow.
Damn that Sixth Prince!
He had actually turned the tables and disgraced them instead, leaving them in a thoroughly passive position.
Truly hateful!
Word had it that this Sixth Prince of the Da Qian Dynasty wasn't a good-for-nothing—how did he have such skill?
Did the Da Qian Dynasty really possess ancient texts recording that... Magic Cube?
But that was clearly something he had thought of entirely by accident!
Could it be that someone in the Da Qian Dynasty had already thought of it before him?
"Whoosh!"
Just as Ban Bu was feeling deeply depressed, a sudden strange sound came from outside.
An assassin?
Ban Bu's expression shifted, and he immediately opened the door and stepped out.
The guards stationed outside hurried over to his doorway the moment he opened it.
"National Teacher, someone just shot an arrow over, and there is a letter attached to it!"
The guard said, immediately presenting the feathered arrow and the letter together.
"Where is the person?"
Ban Bu asked.
"Didn't see them."
The guard shook his head gently.
"Understood, dismissed!"
Ban Bu waved his hand lightly, took the arrow and the letter, and returned to his room.
By the light of the room's lamp, Ban Bu opened the letter in his hand.
"Heh..."
As he read the letter, Ban Bu let out a laugh filled with contempt. "These people of Da Qian—when it comes to marching, fighting, and governing the country, they are completely useless! But when it comes to infighting, each one is more vicious than the last!"
He had only just entertained the thought of getting rid of the Sixth Prince, and someone from the Da Qian court was already stepping up to offer him strategies.
Furthermore, they had laid out the entire plan in crystal-clear detail.
They even analyzed the pros and cons for him, stating that the Sixth Prince wanted to go to Shuobei with a suicidal determination to boost Da Qian's morale; if the Sixth Prince were to reach Shuobei, whether he lived or died, it would yield no benefit whatsoever to Beihuan.
The analysis was logical and well-grounded!
Yet all their cleverness was spent on dealing with their own people!
With the court full of such treacherous villains, how could Da Qian not fall?
"Oh well!"
Ban Bu chuckled to himself and shook his head. "Since we share a common enemy, this old man will lend you a hand!"
Ban Bu raised his hand, intending to burn the letter in his hand.
However, after a brief moment of thought, Ban Bu stopped.
This letter was leverage!
Keeping it in his hands would still be useful!
Right, it couldn't be burned!
Thinking thus, Ban Bu immediately put the letter away for safekeeping.
At the same time, the person who delivered the letter had returned to the Third Prince's Mansion.
"Is it done?"
Yun Li asked with a gloomy face.
"Done,"
the man in black replied respectfully.
"Did anyone see you?"
Yun Li asked again.
"No!"
The man shook his head.
"Are you sure no one saw you?"
Yun Li was deeply uneasy about this.
"Certain!"
The man in black asserted with conviction, "This subordinate dares to stake his head on it!"
"Good!"
The Third Prince nodded in satisfaction and tossed a large gold ingot to the man in black. "Dismissed!"
"Thank you for the Prince's reward!"
Clutching the gold ingot, the man in black expressed his thanks happily and backed out of the room with a bow.
The very second he stepped out of the room, a flash of cold light swept across his neck.
Before the man in black could even react, his head had already rolled to the floor.
Yun Li looked indifferently at the still-spurting corpse and gave a flat order: "Dispose of the body and clean up the floor!"
With that, Yun Li stepped over the corpse and left the room.
Under no circumstances could he leave anyone with leverage against him!
In this world, only dead people kept secrets!
...
The next day, someone from the palace came to summon Yun Zheng to attend the court session as an exception.
At this moment, the sky wasn't even fully bright!
Looking at the pitch-black sky outside the carriage, Yun Zheng felt a wave of speechlessness in his heart.
Court session my foot!
If there's any reward, just hand it over directly.
You're ruining my sleep!
Thank goodness it wasn't winter yet.
In the dead of winter, he really didn't want to get out of bed.
When he arrived outside the grand hall for the court session, many officials waiting for the assembly had already gathered.
"Sixth Highness, receiving a reward today, you'll have to treat this old man to a cup of wine!"
"Indeed, indeed! This old man didn't get to drink to his heart's content with the Sixth Highness last night!"
"Sixth Highness's feat of recovering lost territory surely comes with no shortage of rewards!"
"Sixth Highness's achievement is enough to go down in history..."
This time, many court officials took the initiative to greet him.
Duke of Yuguo Xiao Wanchou even gave Yun Zheng a hearty pat on the shoulder. "Sixth Highness, if anyone dares to say you're useless in the future, this old man will rip their mouth apart!"
Recovering lost territory was the lifelong wish of these veteran generals.
By their advanced age, they had thought they would never live to see the day lost territory was recovered. Never did they expect that land to be won back by Yun Zheng in such a manner.
"Many thanks, Duke of Yuguo, many thanks everyone..."
Yun Zheng gave a dry laugh, wanting to knock this old fellow out with a single slap.
Old fellow, are you afraid I won't die fast enough?
At this moment, Yun Zheng just wanted to hang a sign around his neck: Everyone leave me alone!
Watching Yun Zheng being surrounded, the other princes were consumed with jealousy.
A murderous glint flashed in the eyes of Xu Shifu and Yun Li simultaneously, while their hearts sneered incessantly.
Go ahead and cozy up!
The more people who cozied up to Yun Zheng, the faster he would die!
Just you wait!
The good show was only just beginning!
After a brief chat among the crowd, Emperor Wen summoned everyone into the hall.
After paying homage to Emperor Wen, the officials took their places.
"Where is Lao Liu?"
Emperor Wen asked, scanning the hall.
"Your son is here."
Yun Zheng stepped out from the very back corner.
"..."
Emperor Wen's face twitched slightly, half-exasperated and half-amused. "Today is about rewarding you, not reprimanding you. What are you hiding back there for?"
"Your son... wasn't hiding."
Yun Zheng gave a dry laugh, too embarrassed to say: "Your son didn't know where he was supposed to stand, so..."
Hearing Yun Zheng's words, the officials couldn't help bursting into laughter, and even Emperor Wen chuckled along.
True enough!
This was basically Lao Liu's first time attending a formal court session; it was normal that he couldn't find his spot.
"Alright, just stand there and listen to the imperial decree!"
Not making things difficult for him, Emperor Wen waved a hand for him to take his place, then announced to the officials: "The Sixth Highness restored my dignity and the dignity of Da Qian yesterday, and also helped Da Qian recover lost territory without spilling blood. I intend to bestow upon Lao Liu the title of Prince of Zhenbei. What do all of you think?"
Boom!
As Emperor Wen's words fell, the entire court was shocked.
Let alone these officials, even Yun Zheng never expected that Emperor Wen would actually entertain the thought of making him a prince.
You must know that the Da Qian Dynasty was different from the ancient dynasties he knew.
Only the emperor's brothers could be made princes!
Furthermore, such titles were usually bestowed only after the previous emperor passed away and the new emperor ascended the throne, serving to showcase the new emperor's benevolence toward his brothers and as a form of appeasement for the princes who didn't get the throne.
Besides, not every prince had the chance to be made a prince.
The weight and significance of a prince's title in the Da Qian Dynasty was quite substantial!
"Your Majesty, this must not be!"
"Indeed! This violates ancestral precedent, and we implore Your Majesty to think twice!"
"Although the Sixth Highness has rendered great service, bestowing a princely title is going much too far..."
"Your Majesty, think twice..."
For a moment, the officials all stepped forward to voice their opposition.
Even many of those who had eagerly greeted Yun Zheng outside the hall earlier stood up to object.
Bestowing a princely title was indeed going too far.
Even Yun Zheng himself felt it was going too far.
Emperor Wen furrowed his brow and swept his gaze over the officials. "Are the merits of recovering lost territory and safeguarding the integrity of the nation not enough to warrant a princely title? If any of you possess such capability, I will gladly break precedent and make you a prince as well!"
***
Chapter 21: Don't Force Me to Unleash My Ultimate Move
Silence fell over the crowd, temporarily at a loss for words.
"Your Majesty, the Sixth Highness has indeed rendered great service!"
Xu Shifu stepped forward. "However, this minister believes that Beihuan has only verbally agreed to return the lost territory; this matter is not yet settled! Even if Your Majesty wishes to break precedent and make the Sixth Highness a prince, it can wait until this matter is finally settled!"
"Duke of Jing's words make sense!"
"It should be so!"
"To take a step back, at the very least we must wait until the agreement to return the territory is signed..."
"Yes, yes, making the Sixth Highness a prince by breaking precedent right now is far too premature..."
The crowd chimed in with agreement.
"Is Imperial Father still hung over..."
At that moment, a mumbled voice rang out from somewhere.
In an instant, everyone's gazes turned toward the back row.
Emperor Wen's face twitched violently as well, glaring half-angrily and half-amused at Yun Zheng in the corner. "Lao Liu, what did you just say?"
"Huh?"
Yun Zheng abruptly raised his head, feigning a blank look at Emperor Wen and the others, then put on a timid expression and stammered, "Your son... didn't... didn't say anything. Your son woke up early today, fell asleep just now, and was... talking in his sleep. Yes, talking in his sleep..."
Watching Yun Zheng put on this act, the officials could only hold back their laughter with all their might.
Emperor Wen's face twitched slightly. Deciding not to expose Yun Zheng's lie, he said with annoyance, "If you haven't finished sleeping, go back and sleep!"
"Th-Thank you, Imperial Father!"
With that, Yun Zheng stumbled away in a daze.
Watching Yun Zheng make a panicked escape, the crowd was left dumbfounded.
He was actually running back to sleep?
"Halt!"
Emperor Wen was amused to the point of anger. "I tell you to leave, and you actually leave?"
"Ah... this..."
Yun Zheng turned around, his eyes darting shiftily.
"Get back to your post!"
Emperor Wen glared at him with annoyance, cursing inwardly once again.
This good-for-nothing!
He had rendered such a massive service, yet before any reward had even been handed to him, he was actually walking away?
Yun Zheng gave a dry laugh and scurried back to his corner.
If only this stunt could dispel Emperor Wen's notion of making him a prince!
If he was going to be made a prince, they could wait until he left the Imperial City to do it!
Right now, he had no desire to become a target for everyone's arrows.
"Alright, let's put the matter of the princely title on hold for now!"
Emperor Wen waved his hand, then gestured to Mu Shun standing beside him. "Read the decree!"
"Yes!"
Mu Shun nodded and immediately began reading: "The Emperor's decree: The Sixth Highness Yun Zheng..."
Listening to Mu Shun read the decree, the assembly of officials secretly wiped away cold sweat.
Serving the emperor was like sleeping with a tiger!
Emperor Wen had already prepared the decree beforehand!
He never actually intended to make him a prince!
Bringing it up was merely a test for everyone!
Yet nobody knew why Emperor Wen would suddenly test them.
Only Yun Zheng pondered quietly in his heart: could Emperor Wen have received some wind of gossip?
Could the rumors he had Ye Zi spread already reached Emperor Wen's ears?
Wasn't that a bit too fast?
Good grief!
Just how vast was his cheap old man's intelligence network in the shadows?
"Sixth Highness, Sixth Highness..."
It wasn't until Mu Shun's voice of call rang out that Yun Zheng snapped back to reality.
Yun Zheng raised his head blankly. "What does Chief Steward Mu need of me?"
"Haha..."
Hearing Yun Zheng's words, the crowd burst into laughter.
This Sixth Highness was so dazed by receiving so many rewards for the first time that he lost his wits!
"Ahem..."
Mu Shun gave two dry coughs to remind him, "Sixth Highness, it's time to receive the decree and express gratitude."
"Ah?"
Coming to his senses, Yun Zheng hurriedly rushed out to receive the decree and express his gratitude.
Seeing Yun Zheng's antics, the crowd erupted into another round of hearty laughter.
After obediently receiving the decree and expressing his thanks, Yun Zheng shrank back into his corner and quietly opened the imperial decree to inspect it.
Having been startled by Emperor Wen just moments ago, he genuinely hadn't heard clearly what rewards he was being given.
With this look, Yun Zheng finally had his soul return to his body.
Not bad, not bad!
Ten thousand liang of gold, a pair of jade bi, a hundred bolts of cloth, ten bolts of fine silk...