Initially, Wei Wen, as the eldest grandson of the eldest son, was born when the late emperor was still alive. At that time, he did not realize anything. He only knew that because of his grandfather, the entire Zhenguo Mansion was at its peak.

The Zhenguo Mansion was so proud at that time. Except for the royal family, no one in the entire Zhou Dynasty dared to challenge it.

At that time, the previous emperor was in power, but he was stupid and very licentious. The other two countries saw the opportunity and took advantage of it to cause chaos. As a result, there were constant wars on the border and the people were living in misery. At that time, it was all thanks to my grandfather who led his soldiers to resist wave after wave of attacks and saved the Great Zhou from danger under the double pressure of the two countries.

At that time, there were many first-rate military generals in the court, and nearly 70% of them were from his grandfather's line. They were all on life-and-death terms with his grandfather, so their power was extremely complicated.

Wei Wen watched the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion develop from its most glorious period to its present state.

Until the death of the previous emperor and the ascension of the crown prince, now Emperor Jingwen, to the throne, Wei Wen, who was only ten years old at the time, did not even feel anything.

Wei Wen gradually realized that something was wrong when he was twelve years old.

The current emperor quickly purged a large number of people within two years of ascending the throne, and the national treasury began to fill up at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Afterwards, the emperor severely dealt with a group of officials in the court who had been appointed by the previous emperor, those who had no real talent and had relied on flattery to get to their positions. He then promoted people like Prime Minister He who had real talent and knowledge. He also invited several famous Confucian scholars of the Zhou Dynasty, such as Grand Tutor Cen, to the palace. Along with these Confucian scholars, there were also many talented people.

With the rapid recovery of the Great Zhou and the presence of the Duke of Zhenguo, the other two countries, seeing that they could not gain any advantage, had no choice but to gradually restrain themselves.

That’s when things started to change.

First, the emperor issued an edict to allow his aunt, who was only a few years older than him, to enter the palace. Then, a few years later, when his little cousin was born, the emperor suddenly announced that the eldest prince, who was only seventeen years old, would lead troops to the border.

As Wei Wen remembered, his grandfather had a big quarrel with the emperor over this matter, and the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion began to decline from that time.

As the cronies of the Duke of Zhenguo were dealt with and replaced one after another, the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion has long lost its former glory.

My grandfather and father cannot go to the battlefield, and the friction between the three countries is still happening all the time. As time goes by, they will gradually be replaced by others.

In fact, Wei Wen was very happy that he no longer had to go to the battlefield.

Regardless of which dynasty, the casualty rate of military generals was extremely high. Even though his father and five uncles only numbered six people, they were not enough if a war really started.

It was precisely because of the emperor's decision that neither my father nor my uncle died. Although people tend to have children one after another once they have free time, it is still better than losing one after another.

Anyway, the Duke's Mansion is wealthy, so there is no need to worry about not being able to support the family.

Since he was twelve years old, Wei Wen had always worried that sooner or later the emperor would take action against their family as he had done to other ministers.

The year his little cousin was born, the emperor decided to let the eldest prince lead the troops, and Wei Wen's worries reached their peak.

At that time, Wei Wen was still naively thinking of discussing with his grandfather, father or uncles how the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion should deal with it. As a result... no one discovered the crisis hidden behind this matter, and no one realized that this was not a training for the eldest prince, but a precursor to the emperor's desire to seize power!

Wei Wen's words seemed like playing the lute to a cow. Wei Wen had no choice but to give up.

It doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter. Even if grandpa, father, and uncle are unreliable, there are still these cousins one after another. At least I can rely on them.

In this way, Wei Wen waited and waited, year after year, and finally Wei Wen was completely desperate.

Because he found that when these cousins grew up, they were exactly like their father, only growing muscles but not brains.

In such a huge Zhenguo Mansion, only grandmother, mother and several aunts are slightly smart. However, due to their status as women, they really cannot influence the developments in the court. It is really true that a good cook cannot cook without rice.

In this situation, Wei Wen was unwilling to spread his anxiety. He couldn't find a way to solve the problem, and speaking out would only cause trouble.

That is to say, for so many years, Wei Wen has been fighting alone.

It's a miracle that he wasn't driven crazy by his brothers who kept getting into trouble.

Those little bastards are really good at causing trouble!

But Wei Wen really couldn't just ignore them. Even though his father, uncle, and brothers were a little stupid and troublesome, they were really good to him and had been like this since he was a child. After so many years, how could Wei Wen give them up?

He could only accept his fate and try his best to support the family.

I just hope that His Majesty can give me a quick death when the time comes and not torture me too much.

Because of this incident, Wei Wen has not even gotten married until now. Now that his family is unstable, why should he implicate the girl?

If a child is born, it would be even more of a sin.

Although Wei Wen kept saying that he disliked his little cousin who was of the same type as his younger brothers, when the little cousin's reputation as a playboy spread, Wei Wen at home was actually relieved.

In this situation, if the aunt gave birth to another smart prince, it would be a death warrant for the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion.

Fortunately, this little cousin is also a stupid one.

Just because he was so stubborn that he single-handedly delayed the death of the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion for so many years, Wei Wen was particularly grateful to this little cousin he had never met.

Now that he heard that his little cousin was coming, after experiencing the initial despair, Wei Wen, who was already very experienced in dealing with such matters, quickly adjusted his mood. He even changed into a new set of clothes and prepared to go out and wait for people.

Well, I’ve taken care of all seventeen brothers and cousins, and this one cousin is still missing?

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Ye Shuo was holding a candied haws and walking on the streets of Shangjing City. In order to prevent the last incident from happening again, he specially visited several places worth visiting in Shangjing City this time.

Even though Xiao Luzi was still being held by the guards, the guards wouldn't do anything to him, so Ye Shuo wasn't too worried.

As for avoiding the guards, it was a piece of cake for Ye Shuo now.

The sun was shining brightly and it was almost time for lunch. Seeing that the time was almost up, just when Ye Shuo was about to let himself be caught by the guards, a sudden noise broke out in the distance.

Perhaps it was because the other person's voice was so loud, Ye Shuo could hear it from such a long distance.

It must be someone had a quarrel with someone.

Ye Shuo was not one to join in all the fun, and at first he had no intention of intervening, until he heard the pancake vendor next to him shake his head and sigh, saying, "I wonder which young master of the Duke's Mansion this time."

Ye Shuo: “…”

Why does it sound like this happens from time to time?

Ye Shuo, who had just passed by, suddenly stepped back.

"Boss, give me a portion of pancakes." Ye Shuo first handed over a copper coin. While the vendor was taking the pancakes, Ye Shuo casually asked, "By the way, you just mentioned the Zhenguo Mansion. Are all the sons of the Zhenguo Mansion like this?"

"Of course."

Seeing that the other party did not refute and after confirming that it was the young master of the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion, Ye Shuo's heart sank slightly.

With Ye Shuo's top-level social skills and his knack for gossip, it didn't take long for Ye Shuo to understand what the situation was.

His cousins don't seem to have a very good reputation outside.

"Thank you." Ye Shuo took the oil paper bag handed over by the vendor and walked towards the place where the dispute occurred.

Across the crowd, Ye Shuo quickly understood what was happening.

It turned out that the young man named Zheng from the opposite side did not pay for the things he bought and bullied the vendor selling rouge and powder. Wei Zhao, who was passing by, saw it and immediately became unhappy, so the two sides started quarreling.

Wei Zhao's intentions were good, but he had not considered the plight of the hawkers at all.

Young Master Zheng was not someone a commoner like a peddler could afford to offend. It was just a box of rouge worth a few cents. Even if the other party took it, what would it matter? But the young master of the Duke of Zhenguo suddenly came and made a big deal out of it.

Therefore, the peddler was not grateful to Wei Zhao for standing up for him. Instead, he resented and hated him, thinking that he had made Master Zheng lose face in public.

What if Master Zheng gets angry and starts to hate him, a rouge and powder seller? What should he do?

He just wanted to do some small business to support his family, so how could he afford to offend these big shots?

Therefore, the peddler ignored Wei Zhao's obstruction, knelt down in front of the young master of the Zheng family, and kowtowed hard, begging the young master of the Zheng family to forgive him.

Ye Shuo stood in the crowd and watched, feeling a chill in his heart.

If his cheap cousin couldn't understand it, how could he not understand it?

This young man surnamed Zheng is dressed in gorgeous clothes, and even the pendant of the folding fan in his hand is worth at least a hundred taels. How could he be interested in rouge worth a few cents?

All this was just to lure this cousin of mine, whose rank was unknown, into the trap.

The surname Zheng is also quite interesting. If Ye Shuo remembers correctly, the Queen's surname seems to be Zheng as well?

“…Bastard!” While Ye Shuo was thinking, he caught a glimpse of the smug expression and provocative eyes of the young master of the Zheng family. How could Wei Zhao still endure it?

Wei Zhao got angry and clenched his fist to hit that hateful face.

If he had delivered a powerful punch, he would probably have really hurt that Zheng guy.

Comparing the two people's body shapes, one is as strong as a calf, and the other is as thin as a bamboo pole. There is a natural difference between them. If someone doesn't read the whole cause and effect, you can imagine who the person will favor.

Given my grandfather's current tendency to attract bad luck, tomorrow's morning court will probably be quite lively.

Ye Shuo had no choice but to stand up and said, "Stop!"

Ye Shuo glared at his unknown cousin: "What are you doing to bully him!"

Wei Zhao was stunned when he saw the child who suddenly jumped out. Then he pointed at himself and then at the hideous young master of the Zheng family.

"Me? Bullying him???"

Is this child blind?