Luan Hua Dress

Zhou Liu, who was kneeling on the ground, stopped struggling.

Wu Qi stood behind Zhou Liuhu, only able to see her back. She didn't know why Zhou Liuhu had stopped struggling; was she heartbroken or did she have another plan?

Several students from Cizige were standing in Langyue Tower, staring at Wei Si as if he were a wicked and vengeful ghost.

No one dared to act rashly, nor did anyone dare to step forward and speak out against the injustice.

Zhou Liuhu shifted her body and raised her head, indicating to Wei Si that she had something to say. Wei Si moved her fingers, and one of the men holding Zhou Liuhu down removed the white cloth from her mouth.

Suddenly finding her mouth empty, Zhou Liuhu felt somewhat disoriented. She glared at Wei Si and said, "May I ask, sir, what crime have I committed?"

Wei Si said, "The dress you're wearing today is inappropriate."

Zhou Liuhu said, "My attire is proper. May I ask, sir, is there anything wrong with my clothes?"

Wei Si took a sip of tea and said patiently, "The color is wrong."

Zhou Liu was unaware that she couldn't wear Luan Hua's clothes, especially in front of Wei Si. She glanced down at the dress she had brought from Pingwu, still unsure what was wrong with it.

Wei Si reminded him, "Since you arrived in the capital, have you ever seen anyone wearing Luanhua color?"

Zhou Liuhu turned her head and looked around, but indeed she didn't see anyone wearing Luanhua color. She frowned and said, "Which law stipulates that people in the capital cannot wear Luanhua color? I don't remember such a law."

Wei Si chuckled twice, looking at Zhou Liuhu as if he were a naive and ignorant person. He said, "There is no law that says so, but I have said it before."

"Just because you said it doesn't mean I have to listen to you?" Zhou Liuhu asked.

"More or less," Wei Si said. "If you were a commoner, and I were an official, you would have to listen to me; if you were an official, but of lower rank than me, you would still have to listen to me. As for those young men and women behind you, I already spared their lives because they didn't bow to me earlier."

Because the old man died at the hands of Wei Luanhua, Wu Qi already had the intention to kill Wei Luanhua. Now, hearing him say this, he wanted to stab Wei Luanhua to death with his sword even more.

What? Does your name "Luan Hua" have to be the only color?

Zhou Liuhu refused to admit his mistake, and Wei Si didn't urge him on, until Li Xi and Li Jian arrived in a hurry. Wei Si put down his tea and waited for Li Xi and Li Jian to finish their greetings before casually saying to Li Xi, "Lord Li is a little late."

Li Xi said, "His Majesty has decreed that everyone come with me."

To everyone's surprise, Li Xi directly informed the Emperor of this matter. Commoners naturally did not need to go, nor did the students of Cizige Middle School. The Emperor specifically requested that Wei Si, Wu Qi, and Zhou Liuhu be summoned for an audience.

Li Jian circled around Wu Yin, only breathing a sigh of relief after confirming she was unharmed. Wu Yin whispered, "How did we disturb His Majesty?"

Li Jian said, "Now, apart from His Majesty, who can do anything to Wei Si?"

Her mother was an upright woman throughout her life, but she could not bring Wei Si to justice. Previously, when the old man was found dead on the main street, her mother learned with a little inquiry that Wei Luanhua had sent people to kill him, but what could she do? Her mother reported the matter to the emperor, who only said, "General Wei is about to return to the capital."

That was the end of it, and nothing more was heard of it.

Therefore, sometimes, even the Emperor was helpless against Wei Si.

Inside the inner hall, the Emperor sat on the steps, looking at the group of people kneeling on the ground. He didn't say much, but instead ate grapes from a jade plate. He let them kneel until he finished the bunch of grapes, then picked up the jade plate containing grape seeds and said, "Get up."

Everyone rose, and the Emperor dismissed the servants.

Wu Qi mustered his courage and quietly glanced up, only to see that the Emperor was still holding the jade plate. The jade plate was nothing special, just a white jade flower-shaped rim, but a touch of vermilion on the side of the plate caught Wu Qi's attention.

That touch of vermilion seemed to have fallen unintentionally onto the jade plate, disturbing the flawlessness of the white jade.

How could a ruler of a country use such a flawed plate?

Wu Qi guessed that it was a gift from an important person; otherwise, why would the Emperor hold the flawed white jade plate as if it were some kind of priceless treasure?

"Luan Hua, you're not young anymore. Are you waiting so long to get married just to scare young girls?" the Emperor said. "Let me tell you, this girl is the third-place winner in the Dragon Gate Examination. If you scare me, you'd better find me a third-place winner!"

Upon hearing this, Wu Qi breathed a slight sigh of relief. However, Wei Si said, "The color of the dress this young lady is wearing today reminds me of my mother."

The inner hall was completely silent; only the faint sound of breathing could be heard.

Zhou Liuhu didn't know who Wei Luanhua's mother was, nor did Wu Qi and the others; they were all completely bewildered. Only the Emperor's expression changed after hearing this.

He placed the white jade plate beside him and said coldly, "Luan Hua, do you know what you're saying?"

"Your Majesty knows," Wei Si said. "My mother loved the color Luanhua, and the clothes the late Emperor gave her were all made of Luanhua. Does Your Majesty still remember this?"

The Emperor frowned and did not answer. Wei Si continued, "My mother sank to the bottom of the sea during the Battle of Sihai and was left unattended, her body rotting and stinking, and Luan Hua's clothes faded."

Even upon hearing "the Battle of the Four Seas," Wu Qi remained completely bewildered.

The Four Seas bordered enemy countries, and wars had been raging ever since before the appearance of the Northern Kun. These wars ranged from the imperial court sending troops to fishermen fighting amongst themselves, with countless incidents occurring every year. People were too lazy to name each battle and fight, so they simply called them the "Four Seas Wars".

Since the appearance of Bei Kun and its bombardment that drove away the enemy, the Four Seas have been peaceful without any battles or skirmishes. Now, when people talk about the "Battle of the Four Seas," they generally assume it refers to the battle in which Bei Kun appeared.

All the previous wars seemed to have vanished.

At this moment, Wu Qi was also unsure which battle Wei Si was referring to as the "Battle of the Four Seas." Wei Si, with a calm expression, said, "Father doesn't care, and His Majesty doesn't care either. Your Majesty, can you really bear to watch your own sister's remains disappear without a trace?"

After that, Wu Qi and his group finally understood who the "mother" Wei Si was referring to was.

His Majesty has only one elder sister, Princess Pingyi.

Speaking of Princess Pingyi, it is a story that brings tears to the eyes of all who hear it, and one can only sigh with regret.

Princess Pingyi was the late emperor's only daughter. She was as beautiful as a fairy and as valiant as a celestial general. She could dance and move the capital, or cut through the frost with a sword. She often slipped out of the palace to enjoy herself with the people, drinking and playing drinking games. Unfortunately, she contracted tuberculosis and eventually died.

The rumors are certainly somewhat exaggerated, but Princess Pingyi is incredibly vivid in reality.

However, everyone thought Princess Pingyi died of illness, so what happened to her drowning in the sea? If Princess Pingyi was Wei Si's mother and General Wei Mao was Wei Si's father, then Wei Si should be the heir apparent.

The only heir apparent in the current dynasty.

Could it be that Princess Pingyi did not die of illness as commonly believed, but rather, as Wei Si said, died in the Battle of Sihai and sank into the sea, leaving no trace of her remains?

The Emperor said coldly, "Luan Hua, if you are still not over it, then you shall be confined for half a month and think carefully about whether you should dwell on the past or look forward."

"The rest of you, step back."

Although Wu Qi and his group came with Li Xi, like Li Xi, they did not say a word except for bowing. Since the emperor did not pursue the matter of Wei Si at Langyue Tower, they naturally could not bring it up again.

The group walked out and, upon reaching the palace gate, saw a person standing beside a carriage.

The man was dressed in ordinary clothes, was burly, and had the look of someone who had been through many battles; he was stern and rarely smiled. Lin Kuo whispered, "That's General Wei."

Upon closer inspection, Wei Si and Wei Mao do indeed bear some resemblance.

Wei Si walked up to Wei Mao and bowed. Wei Mao nodded. The two then rode away together in a carriage.

Seeing this, Zhou Liuhu asked, "Then, am I alright now?"

Wu Qi said, "Not necessarily."

Wei Si had dared to kill the old man in public, but now he had been delaying killing Zhou Liuhu, who was dressed in Luanhua clothes. Not only that, he knew that Wu Yin had informed them and Lord Li, but he did not stop them. Instead, he quietly waited for them to arrive at Langyue Tower.

Just now, he deliberately mentioned Princess Pingyi's past in the inner palace, letting them know that he was Princess Pingyi's son and the only heir apparent in the current dynasty.

Since His Majesty has no heir, if something were to happen to him, the first person to succeed him would be Wei Luanhua, the Minister of the Interior.

After this incident, Zhou Liuhu was indeed quite frightened. She first changed out of her Luanhua dress before following Wu Qi and the others to Langyue Tower for dinner.

“I originally thought the fish at Langyue Tower was delicious and wanted to buy one for Aunt Wang’s daughter. If Aunt Wang knew, she definitely wouldn’t let me spend the money, so I came secretly,” Zhou Liuhu said. “Who knew I’d run into Wei Luanhua…”

Wu Qi smiled and comforted him, "It's a life experience, isn't it? You're probably the only one in the last five years who wore Luan Hua's dress to meet the Emperor!"

Zhou Liuhu wailed, "What kind of good thing is this?!"

Wu Qi counted on his fingers with an air of importance, saying, "Isn't this a good thing? Think about it, today you not only met Wei Si and Lord Li Xi, but you also met General Wei and His Majesty! Meeting so many people in one day is definitely a good thing!!"

"What good is it to see Wei Si?! I almost lost my life!" Zhou Liuhu slammed his fist on the table and roared, "How dare he say something like that..."

She was so angry that she recalled what Wei Si had said and mimicked his tone, saying, "If you are a commoner, then as an official, you must listen to me; if you are an official, but of lower rank than me, you must still listen to me."

"Is there no official position? The official position is the emperor, and the emperor is..."

Zhou Liuhu hesitated for a moment, and was about to say "heaven" when he saw Wu Qi smiling and pointing out the window, saying, "Is this what you meant to say?"

Everyone looked out the window, including Li Xi, who had come with them.

Night had fallen, the moon shone brightly, lanterns were lit to continue the day, and vendors began to hawk their wares. People still came and went in front of Langyue Tower. Perhaps someone was drunk, as he was hugging a pillar in front of the door and muttering something incoherently. A child was chasing his dog and happened to pass by the drunk man, running and shouting, "My dog! My dog!"

The dog turned around and saw the child chasing it, so it ran even faster and almost bumped into a woman. Fortunately, the man next to the woman reacted quickly and pulled her into his arms. When they looked again, both of them were already blushing with embarrassment.

The old man, who had witnessed everything, sang a song in a low, guttural voice.

Suddenly, everyone understood what Wu Qi meant by "Emperor".

It wasn't the few people outside the window, but the common people.

The emperor is not heaven, but the people.

The people can hold up a sky for the emperor.