"Your Majesty, please calm your anger!"
Lu Lu hurried over, picked up a palm-leaf fan from the side and fanned Yuan Xiu, saying, "This matter is not Wang Yuluan's nonsense, but Zhou Jinghuan's doing."
Lu Lu then recounted how Zhou Jinghuan had bullied the veterans.
Upon hearing this, Yuan Xiu's anger subsided somewhat. He put one leg on the dragon table, shook his foot, and sat there without any decorum.
"So, according to you, Wang Yuluan has actually brought me honor?"
"Judging from the public's reaction, this is indeed the case."
"The common people love and respect him?"
Lu Lu lowered his head slightly. He knew Yuan Xiu best and could sense the chill in his words.
Lu Lu did not respond immediately, but pondered for a moment before cautiously saying, "General Wei's great victory in the Northern Expedition is what the whole country desires, and it is normal for the people to love and respect him. But the people love and respect Your Majesty even more. This old servant has heard that many families in Changsui have hung Your Majesty's portrait in their homes and praised Your Majesty as the sage ruler who restored the Great Jing Dynasty!"
"Really?" Yuan Xiu immediately laughed and asked, "Is it the version drawn by Master Tu?"
"Exactly!"
"Very well! From now on, only Master Tu's portrait will be allowed to circulate. All other portraits will be brought back and burned!"
"yes……"
"However, Wang Yuluan's actions were still wrong. If it were Wang Ren, he would never have handled things so rashly!"
Yuan Xiu walked toward the gate and said, "Zhou Jinghuan is the most beloved younger brother of the Southern Zhou emperor. Sometimes his words are more effective than whispering in someone's ear. The Great Jing has just destroyed the Night Dan, and there are too many things to deal with in the north. They have no time to attend to the south. At this time, we must not have any conflict with the Southern Zhou."
"I invited him here because I thought he was important enough to negotiate. Wang Yuluan's actions have ruined him!"
Lu Lu said, "Then what should we do? Should we quickly send Wang Ren and his son to apologize in person?"
"Absolutely not!" Wei You, who was kneeling behind, suddenly interjected.
Seeing the Emperor and Eunuch Lü's gazes simultaneously fall upon her, Wei You kowtowed and said, "This servant deserves to die!"
"It doesn't matter! I said, I like it when you interrupt!"
Yuan Xiu waved his hand and said, "Speak up, that's exactly what I want – to be straightforward!"
"yes!"
Wei You then raised his head and said, "If word gets out that Wang Yuluan hit Zhou Jinghuan, people in Dajing will at most think that Dajing is arrogant and unreasonable. But if Wang Ren takes Wang Yuluan to apologize, then the prestige of Dajing's newly established Northern Expedition will be completely destroyed!"
"You, a man from Southern Zhou, are bullying my veterans on my Dajing soil. Let's fight!"
"We'll meet force with force and water with earth. As long as Wang Yuluan is innocent, our court will not admit any wrongdoing and will support him to the end!"
Wei You crawled a few steps toward Yuan Xiu and continued, "His Majesty just asked me if General Wei would be grateful for your kindness. I believe this is a good opportunity for General Wei to express his gratitude to His Majesty! Moreover, His Majesty's protection of meritorious officials will make the court even more united with His Majesty!"
Yuan Xiu walked up to Wei You, bent down, and asked, "What about Zhou Jinghuan? Are we just going to leave him alone?"
Wei You said, "Since the Emperor of Southern Zhou agreed to let Zhou Jinghuan come, then we can guess Your Majesty's intentions. They are not here to show their respect, but to discuss a deal. Since the negotiations haven't started yet, Zhou Jinghuan won't leave. At most, he will include this beating in the cost of the deal and make exorbitant demands on Your Majesty later. To quell Southern Zhou's anger, we just need to meet Zhou Jinghuan's demands at that time."
"What if he asks me for land? Should I give it to him too?"
“The Southern Zhou is not like Ye Dan. They are reasonable, or at least pretend to be reasonable. They don’t demand things like Ye Dan does.”
Yuan Xiu nodded, a strange smile appearing on his lips. He reached out and lifted Wei You's chin with his finger, saying, "Wei You, you know so much..."
Wei You immediately knelt down and shouted, "Everything I possess is only for Your Majesty's service!"
...
"Did you see it clearly?"
"I was absolutely right, Zhao Wu is a master."
Zhang Dalian stated definitively, "It was he who attacked Zhou Jinghuan from the shadows first."
Wang Ren scratched the lion head on the armrest of his chair and said, "Rumors in the court say that Zhao Cheng is different from the Right Chancellor, and some even suspect that he is not the Right Chancellor's biological son. In my opinion, this Zhao Cheng is exactly the same as the Right Chancellor; they both like to do dirty tricks!"
Returning victorious, Wang Ren was not only tanned from head to toe, but also exuded a strong aura of killing intent in his eyes.
Wang Yuluan, who was also standing nearby, said, "Even if Zhao Cheng ordered Zhao Wu to take action secretly, it was because he could no longer tolerate Zhou Jinghuan. Father, this isn't considered malicious, is it?"
Wang Ren glared at Wang Yuluan and said, "With your level of intelligence, how dare you seek revenge on Zhao Cheng time and time again? And your mother too, in my opinion... you two are lucky to have made it to Changsui alive!"
Zhang Dalian understood Wang Ren's meaning and said, "His Majesty must already know, and he might be furious. Why don't we take the initiative to go to His Majesty to apologize, and then I'll tell him what I saw?"
“No.” Wang Ren waved his hand and said, “His Majesty is very suspicious. If you tell him the truth yourself, he won’t believe you.”
"Then what should we do? Should you take the young master to apologize without mentioning Zhao Cheng?"
"I'm not going."
Wang Ren stood up from his chair, put his hands behind his back, and walked to Wang Yuluan, saying, "Although this matter was not done to His Majesty's liking, it was not a mistake. We have just returned victorious, and although we appear to be riding high, we are actually walking on thin ice. Let's leave His Majesty with the impression of being impulsive and reckless!"
"A foolish father who can't teach his son well, a stupid general who only knows how to fight but not how to govern the court... this impression is more reassuring to the emperor than someone who is good at fighting, good at being an official, and cautious."
"Understood!" Zhang Dalian broke out in a cold sweat, thinking to himself that it was really not easy to survive in the imperial court; even Wang Ren was starting to figure out people's thoughts.
Wang Ren kicked Wang Yuluan, a smile appearing on his serious face, and said, "You've got guts, kid. Good job!"
Wang Yuluan was stunned for two seconds, then her eyes suddenly turned red, and she looked like she was about to cry.
From childhood to adulthood, my father always praised my eldest brother.
They almost never praised me!
"I just praised you as a man, and you're already crying?" Wang Ren patted his son's shoulder hard and said, "You're not wrong about this. If I were twenty years younger, I would have beaten Zhou Jinghuan so badly that even his brother wouldn't recognize him!"
Upon hearing this, Wang Yuluan wiped away her tears and smiled.
Wang Ren's smile didn't last long. He said, "Tell me in detail how you ambushed Zhao Cheng this time."
"yes."
Wang Yuluan recounted the story in detail, including her later journey with Zhao Cheng, and Wang Yucen's reluctance to part with Zhao Cheng.
Wang Ren stood by the door, listening with his back to Wang Yuluan.
"Luan'er, promise your father one thing."
Wang Ren turned around, looked into Wang Yuluan's eyes, and said seriously, "Don't go and provoke Zhao Cheng on your own anymore. Your father... doesn't want to cut off the family line."
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