As the saying goes, a new emperor chooses his own ministers. The outcome of this trip to the capital was within Liu Xiazi's expectations. If there was any surprise, it was Emperor Yongping's edict of apology.

After the initial shock and emotion subsided, he felt guilty towards his wife and children who had died in vain. But he was ultimately just an ordinary mortal, and some sudden emotions were beyond human control. Especially since he and Emperor Yongping had fought side by side for over a decade, those years of shared suffering had long been etched in their lives, transcending and even surpassing family ties.

He would like to call it a life-long friendship!

Emperor Yongping was kind to him and they achieved mutual success, but not all good horses can meet a good master. There are many talented and wise men in the world who have not been able to meet a wise master in their entire lives. They have great talents and strategies but cannot display them. In the end, they return to dust and die in depression. There are many such people throughout history.

To this day, Blind Liu doesn't know whether he is lucky or unlucky. As soon as Emperor Yongping left, his heart suddenly felt empty. He stayed by Emperor Yongping's side these days, and the smoke and dust of the past roared in along with the dust of history.

They stayed by the campfire for countless days and nights, showing mutual understanding and respect. No matter how bad the conditions were or how critical the situation was, there was never a trace of grudge between the king and his subject.

In the final battle against the State of Yan, they encountered a powerful enemy, Feng Qingzi. Fearing that he would take risks and lose his life, Emperor Yongping would rather not be crowned emperor than not stop him from taking risks. The sincerity in Emperor Yongping's eyes at that time could not be deceived.

But in the end, he slaughtered his entire family with his own hands and imprisoned him in the Heavenly Prison with his blood as a sacrifice. These days, Blind Liu looked at the remains of Emperor Yongping, and his heart was sometimes in a trance. How did they come to this point?

Alas, people are gone, tea is cold, and the past can no longer be recalled!

If there were no one in the world that he cared about and couldn't let go of, he really wanted to find a quiet place and never return to the mortal world again.

"Take this and consider it yourself. Put the circled ones aside and let them air out for a while. Then use the ones that can be used later. As for the rest, you can decide for yourself whether to recycle them or upgrade them."

Blind Liu took out a memorial from his sleeve and handed it to the prince. It contained a list of names of people imprisoned in the prison. Most of them were generals from several major military camps in the capital, who were thrown into prison for defecting to Prince Yong. There were also several officials who were convicted and dismissed from their posts and imprisoned during the reign of the previous emperor.

"Prime Minister, the Great Yan Dynasty needs you, you can't leave!" The prince was extremely anxious and knelt down on his knees. "The court is sorry, Prime Minister. You have made great contributions to the Great Yan Dynasty, and I can't do without your help!"

"Get up!" Blind Liu had already turned aside the moment he knelt, ignoring his greeting. "I've done so much for you, and I believe you're capable of handling state affairs. Besides, I'm old and no longer able to do so. The court needs young, wise, and capable people. The Grand Banquet Court is overflowing with talent, including my disciple, Magistrate Qin of Zhuling County, and Magistrate Yang of Yancheng. As long as you know how to employ people wisely, open up channels for communication, and readily accept criticism, there's no need to worry about not having people available in the future."

He was determined to leave, and the Crown Prince knew there was no point in saying anything more, so he stood up and said, "Prime Minister, I have ordered Jincheng to find a good place to rebuild the Prime Minister's residence. This was also my father's last wish. I hope you can enjoy your old age in the Prime Minister's residence, and I can always listen to your teachings. I hope you will not refuse."

"Why waste that money? Didn't my disciple's father-in-law build him a mansion for the top scholar? When the late emperor learned of this, he changed it into a princess's mansion and gave it to him and his wife. It must not be spent anymore. Save it to enrich the national treasury. Wherever my disciple lives in the capital, I will have a place to stay."

"Leave."

Blind Liu deliberately chose to leave the palace at night without disturbing anyone. He only met Xiao Shi and gave him a few words of advice.

As for Weidong, the Grand Tutor, Prince Pingnan, etc., he did not see any of them. After leaving the palace, he did not return to Danyang. No one knew where he went.

Jian Ning got up early to practice martial arts and found a letter in the crack of the door. The letter was written by Liu Xiazi to Ding Youtian. In the letter, he wrote about his feelings about the trip to the capital. It was a long and eloquent letter, telling about his mental journey over the years. He told him not to look for him and advised him to be a good official and not to be greedy for credit and become arrogant.

After reading the letter, Ding Youtian beat his chest and cried. In Jian Ning's memory, it was still the day when he first came here and the family was separated. He saw him jumping up and down in the yard and crying and cursing his parents.

Although she was also sad, she couldn't bear to see him crying like this as he was a grown man. She simply ignored him, closed the door, and took Erniu and Sanniu to practice martial arts.

Because she ignored him and didn't comfort him, he didn't talk to her for several days. When he had to talk, it was in a nonchalant tone. It wasn't until that night that Jane Ning kicked him off the bed in anger that he stopped talking.

"I've already told you, if there's a problem, solve it. Being neither positive nor negative is the most annoying thing. If you try to play the cold war with me again, I'll beat you to death!"

Jane Ning gave him a good lecture and only let him go after getting his written self-criticism and guarantee.

It took a full month for Emperor Yongping's edict of apology to reach Zhuling County. Qin Yifan saw it in a document sent down from below and brought it to Xing'an County. Ding Youtian felt relieved after reading it. He flicked his finger at the edict of apology and said, "The late emperor was one of the greatest men of all time. I had hoped to clear my master's name one day, but he didn't give me that chance."

He shook his head and grinned.

"Why, from what you say, you're deeply regretful that your master was cleared of his grievances so early. Aren't you happy for him at all?"

Qin Yifan glanced at him teasingly.

"Otherwise, Uncle Liu would always call him a bad student." Jian Ning personally brought tea because Qin Yifan came. She smiled and asked Qin Yifan, "Have you ever seen him lie when you two were classmates..."

"Madam!" Ding Youtian interrupted her, "You have a lot of free time now, but you spend all day helping your sister-in-law take care of the children. You don't even think about practicing the skills in the booklet my master gave you. You're really not motivated to make progress!"

Qin Yifan smiled unkindly. He had heard what Jian Ning wanted to say. He had seen Ding Youtian and Xiu Gu selling vegetables at the West Street entrance before. Ding Youtian defeated several aunties alone. The way he acted like a spoiled child made him dumbfounded the first time he saw it. How could he not know this?

"I was thinking that since you happened to be here, I'd take you out to broaden your horizons, but your lewd smile makes me extremely unhappy. Forget it, there's no need to go. I can only blame you for not having the good eyesight, not anyone else."

After Ding Youtian finished speaking, he put his hands behind his back and pretended to leave.

"Stay, I won't laugh." Qin Yifan put down the teacup. "What exactly is it? You tucked it away halfway through, which aroused my curiosity. You must tell me."

After he finished speaking, he looked at Jian Ning. Jian Ning was smiling. She knew what Ding Youtian was talking about. Tong Bajin led the yamen runners to dig up the secret room, and she also taught each of them how to use guns and cannons. Now the secret room has a large number of modern weapons and ammunition stored in it. Guoguo and Baimei once again took up the post of guarding.

There are also two silver foxes, both of whom have been gloriously appointed to their posts.