Ye Shan thought the children had returned, so he quickly opened the door, only to find five or six people standing outside, one of whom was middle-aged and the rest were elderly.
All of them wore brocade robes and had their hair tied up with jade ornaments; they were clearly not ordinary people.
Ye Shan recognized two of them and regretted opening the door, but he could only ask loudly, "Excuse me, what brings you here?"
The middle-aged man frowned and replied, "Is the person sitting inside the room the Marquis of Xinting? Inform him immediately, we have something to say."
Before Ye Shan could speak again, the Marquis, who was only separated by a screen, had already heard it and ordered, "Ye Shan, let them in!"
Ye Shan stepped aside, and the group walked over one after another. They went around the screen and saw the Marquis holding a chubby girl and feeding her snacks.
The Marquis not only reached out to catch the crumbs of the snack, but also pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the fat girl's mouth and feed her water. His loving fatherly demeanor stunned everyone present.
After eating and drinking her fill, Jiayin hugged her godfather's neck, nestled on his shoulder, and obediently watched the play.
The old lady was a little nervous and wanted to hug Jiayin, but the Marquis shook his head.
He pulled up his cloak, wrapped Jiayin in it, and then looked at the crowd, asking without any politeness, "What do you want with me?"
There was no indication that they were invited to sit down and have tea; the guests all looked displeased. The middle-aged man immediately questioned, "Lord Ye, is this how you treat your guests?"
The Marquis raised an eyebrow: "An uninvited guest, it's already an honor that we weren't turned away, considering we're both officials in the same court."
The middle-aged man's face darkened, and he was about to speak again when the Marquis asked directly, "Marquis of Zhenbei, shouldn't you be busy on the riverbank defense line, working day and night to defend Jiangnan and Xindu? What are you doing here?"
The middle-aged man who had just spoken was none other than the Marquis of Zhenbei. Hearing this, he felt even more embarrassed and guilty, and replied dryly, "Today is the Lantern Festival. Can't I, the Marquis, come back to rest for a day?"
One of the elders finally spoke up, "Lord Marquis, you must have heard that the battle on the riverbank is getting intense, right?"
The Marquis shook his head and replied calmly, "I haven't heard of that. If the battle on the riverbank is really tense, how could the Marquis of Zhenbei have the mind to come back for the festival? Shouldn't he be on high alert, constantly guarding against the barbarians crossing the river?"
The old men were gagged, and the Marquis of Zhenbei's face was an indescribable color.
One of the elders, unable to contain himself any longer, stepped forward, bowed, and whispered, "My lord, at this critical juncture for the survival of our nation, we should not act rashly."
The Marquis nodded, as if he thought this made a lot of sense. "Yes, we really shouldn't act impulsively."
Several elders were filled with surprise and were about to continue their efforts when the Marquis spoke first.
"I know that I often act impulsively, so I plan to listen to the advice of the elders from now on. The elders have said before that the Jiangbei defense line is as solid as a rock and should not be heavily guarded, which would waste the country's resources. It is even more unnecessary to send troops to defend against the enemy outside the defense line."
"Even my injury was self-inflicted, and the fact that I haven't been punished or demoted is already a sign of the court's mercy. Therefore, I will submit a memorial tomorrow to resign my post and retire to my hometown, and will never again interfere with the defenses of Jiangbei!"
The elderly men were so embarrassed they almost cried.
They initially thought that with natural defenses and having ceded half of the country to the barbarians, Jiangnan would be safe and secure.
Marquis Xinting repeatedly reinforced the Jiangbei defense line, constantly demanding reinforcements and replacement of military equipment, and demanding that military rations and pay not be delayed even for a day.
He even led his troops to search for surviving civilians north of the river year-round, and fought many battles with the barbarians. Whenever there were casualties, he would give them a sum of money as compensation.
They couldn't think straight for a moment, so they took turns submitting memorials to the emperor to complain.
As a result, before the emperor could express his opinion, the Marquis of Xinting was injured and had to step down.
They were completely satisfied, and military pay, supplies, and provisions began to be reduced. As a result, the barbarians, as if they knew the inside story, began to attack the defense line like madmen before the new year.
The docks are about to give way, and that fool, Marquis Zhenbei, who talks a lot of big talk, is too scared to even go into battle when actually facing the barbarians!
Otherwise, they wouldn't have had the nerve to admit their mistakes and beg for leniency.
Jiayin noticed the impatience in her godfather's expression and started making a scene.
"Look at the lanterns! Fu Niu wants to see the lanterns!"
Sure enough, the Marquis immediately stood up and coaxed her gently, "Alright, Niu Niu, be good, I'll take you there now."
As he was talking, he went to help the old lady up.
Marquis Zhenbei had been holding back his anger for a long time. Seeing that Jiayin and the old lady were dressed in the same clothes, he immediately scolded them, "Whose child is this? How can you be so unruly? We are talking about important matters of state. How dare you interrupt us!"
What does Jiayin, a two- or three-year-old child, know about national affairs and rules?
This is clearly an insinuation that the Marquis doesn't distinguish between public and private matters and doesn't care about national affairs.
But before the Marquis could speak, the old lady erupted in fury, "Who are you? Who gave you the right to scold my child! Whether my child is well-behaved or not is none of your business! Spring hasn't even arrived yet, the grass hasn't even turned green, where did you come from, you talkative donkey!"
"How dare you!" The Marquis of Zhenbei was furious that an ordinary old woman could point her finger at him and curse him. "I am the Marquis of Zhenbei, a high-ranking official of the imperial court. How dare you insult me!"
The old woman, neck stiff and fearless, retorted, "So what if you're the Marquis of Zhenbei? Our family isn't your servants, nor do we live off your rice. Why should we listen to you insult our child? Besides, if you're so powerful, why don't you go and show your strength to the barbarians? What kind of ability is it to target a two-year-old child?!"
"If you dare bully my granddaughter, I'll carry your coffin to the Emperor's palace tomorrow to file a complaint! I'd rather die crashing my head against the palace gates than let you, Marquis Zhenbei, become famous throughout Tianwu. Then all of Tianwu will see that Marquis Zhenbei acts like a grandson to barbarians, but is a king to the people of Tianwu!"
"A model of bullying the weak and fearing the strong!"
The old lady was really going all out. She rattled off a string of words, making the Marquis of Zhenbei turn purple with anger, and the other elders were dumbfounded.
No one expected this old lady to be so formidable in combat!
Marquis Zhenbei was so angered by the insults that he wanted to retaliate, but after glancing at Marquis Xinting, he didn't dare. He could only say defiantly, "I won't stoop to the level of a shrew like you!"
After saying that, he flicked his sleeves, turned around, and left, as if he had somehow regained the face he had lost.
The elderly men looked at each other helplessly, quickly bowed, and slunk away.
The door closed, and finally, the previous tranquility returned.
Jiayin's big eyes lit up as she clapped her little hands and cheered loudly for her grandma, "Grandma is so great! Grandma is amazing!"
The Marquis also laughed and said, "Auntie's scolding was excellent!"
The old lady's legs went weak, and she plopped down on a stool. Her hands trembled as she tugged at the Marquis's collar, saying with lingering fear, "My lord, did I cause you any trouble? Will the family be implicated? He's the Marquis, after all. I was just too angry and couldn't hold back..."
The Marquis found it amusing and quickly reassured the old lady, "Auntie, have you forgotten? I am also a Marquis, and the Emperor is my cousin! That Marquis of Zhenbei is just a figurehead; he can't compare to anyone in terms of power and cunning. You can rest assured!"
The old lady breathed a sigh of relief, but she was too tired to go down and play anymore, so she said, "You take Fu Niu down to play, I'll just sit here and enjoy the scenery."
"No, Fu Niu will stay with Grandma." Jia Yin hugged the old lady and acted coquettishly, her heart filled with sweet joy.
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