Feng Jianping invited Yan Sikong to have dinner at his house. Yan Sikong didn't want to stay long, but he couldn't refuse.

During the meal, they continued to talk about the situation in the court.

Suddenly, Feng Jianping seemed to remember something: "After I returned to Beijing, I heard that you two had a rift because of Xier's marriage. Is this true?"

Feng Ye glanced at Yan Sikong, obviously he hadn't figured out how to explain. In Feng Jianping's eyes, he was still a child, and before he could stand on his own, he was not sure whether he should confess his affair with Yan Sikong to his father, at least not now when the situation was so dangerous.

"What's wrong? Is it true?"

"father……"

"Why?" Feng Jianping asked in confusion, "You don't really care about the door, do you?"

"no."

"Could it be..." Feng Jianping raised his eyebrows, "You like Xier?"

"Of course not." Feng Ye blurted out, "Dad, what are you thinking about?"

"Why is that?" Feng Jianping glanced at Feng Ye.

Yan Sikong put down his chopsticks: "Your Highness, there are two reasons for this."

"Oh? Tell me about it."

"First, the prince and I are too close, a civil official and a military commander. It's inevitable that we will give others an advantage, especially because of your relationship with him. People are watching him everywhere. Second..." Yan Sikong glanced at Feng Ye, "I once swore that I would never get married until I got my revenge. I have a blood feud and I am walking on thin ice. I can't even protect myself. I am afraid that I will let Princess Wanyang down."

"Yes, Sikong has sworn an oath." Feng Ye said, "Besides, the party struggle is so fierce, I don't want Xier to be involved."

Feng Jianping smiled and said, "Men should get married when they are old enough, and women should get married when they are old enough. Since the marriage between you and Xi'er is arranged by His Majesty, you don't need to worry too much. Lang'er, from now on, you and Sikong will be even closer, which is also a good thing."

Yan Sikong smiled dryly, feeling helpless as he watched Feng Ye's face turn pale and blue.

Feng Jianping added: "However, Sikong's statement that you two shouldn't get too close does make sense. At least before we eliminate the eunuchs' party, you should avoid suspicion."

Feng Ye grumbled, "Since then, I have avoided being seen by others when I went to see him, and I was also very careful when I met with Mr. Yan Ge."

"I will go to the palace to see Concubine Xian someday." Feng Jianping said with emotion, "I used to love this sister the most. When I left Beijing, she was still a little girl. Thirty years have passed in a flash."

"Dad, has the capital changed a lot?"

Feng Jianping shook his head: "It's just that the person has changed."

After dinner, Feng Ye personally escorted Yan Sikong out of the house.

The two of them walked side by side under the moonlight. Although they were both tall and had long legs, they walked very slowly on purpose. It was such a quiet time, and they seemed to walk for as long as they wanted without feeling tired.

Yan Sikong secretly held Feng Ye's hand and whispered, "Don't be depressed. The most important thing right now is to eliminate the eunuchs and establish the crown prince. When the teacher and His Highness take control of the court, it won't be too late to talk about marriage."

Feng Ye said reluctantly, "Anyway, the Queen Mother has just passed away, and you can't get married within three years."

"His Majesty will not call your father back to the capital just to attend a funeral. After the funeral, I'm afraid he will launch an attack. You must be prepared."

"Well...if it's just about reducing the military, my Feng family will accept it, but I'm afraid Xie Zhongren will flatter the emperor and alienate His Majesty and my father."

"He has already done what you are worried about, otherwise His Majesty would not have summoned your father back to the capital. Next..." Yan Sikong narrowed his eyes, "When the enemy comes, we will stop him with our generals, and when the flood comes, we will block it with earth."

"After my father came home, he had a long talk with me. He understood my concerns, but he also made it clear in the letter that he would never be a traitor." Feng Ye held Yan Sikong's hand tightly. "Of course, he is not without consideration. The two thousand people he brought back are all elite soldiers among the elite. They only obey the orders of the Feng family, so maybe they can keep my father safe."

Yan Sikong was worried. No matter how elite the soldiers were, they were only two thousand strong and were far away from the thirty miles. However, he did not say it out loud. He comforted him, "I feel much more relieved. Your Highness, when you return to the court, you will join hands with my teacher and we will surely be able to root out the traitors and eliminate the evil and clean up the court and the country."

"Then." Feng Ye lowered his head and gently kissed Yan Sikong's hair, "There will be no barrier between you and me. I want to be with you forever."

Yan Sikong joked: "Aren't you afraid that His Highness will break your legs?"

Feng Ye snorted softly, "I, Feng Ye, have never been afraid of anything."

Yan Sikong chuckled: "You are obviously very afraid of your father."

Feng Ye curled his lips and whispered: "I'm not afraid of him, I just respect him."

Yan Sikong burst into laughter.

Feng Ye dragged him to the shadow of the eaves and kissed him hard: "If you laugh again, I won't let you go."

Yan Sikong stroked his cheek and said with a smile: "I'm leaving. Sooner or later, there will be a day when we don't have to hide like this and can walk freely under the moonlight."

"Of course." Feng Ye showed a determined smile.

——

Before the funeral, everything was calm.

According to the will of Emperor Zhaowu, a new imperial tomb was selected for the empress dowager according to the standards of a national funeral, and the funeral rites were re-performed in order to appease the wrath of heaven.

The funeral cost 500,000 taels of silver, which caused great losses to the people and aroused many complaints from the people. There were also voices of dissatisfaction in the government and the public, but they dared not speak out.

The funeral was even more grand than the previous ones, with sacrifices to heaven and recitation of scriptures. The princes and ministers froze on the mountains in the northern suburbs for a whole day in winter, and the elderly were probably frozen to death.

After all this trouble, the funeral was finally completed. If nothing went wrong, I'm afraid everyone in the Ministry of Rites will have to go home and burn incense to mourn.

After the funeral ceremony, preparations for the grand banquet began, but before the banquet, actions had already begun in the court.

At the morning court session, an official made a suggestion in front of Feng Jianping and Feng Ye, saying that since Feng Jianping had returned to the court, he should still be evaluated according to the standards of the imperial examination.

At first, Feng Jianping refused to return to the court because he still had military duties in Datong and could not leave. Emperor Zhaowu came down the steps and allowed him not to be evaluated for the time being.

The two factions argued about whether His Majesty had originally agreed to postpone the assessment or not, but the dispute did not last long. Emperor Zhaowu summoned the historian and took out the records of that day. Sure enough, it clearly stated that the assessment was postponed.

Emperor Zhaowu was probably just speaking casually that day. Who could have imagined that Feng Jianping would really return to the capital not long after this? Now it has only been two or three months since the capital inspection. It is reasonable to restart the capital inspection for him. It is not convenient for Feng Jianping to refuse.

Thus, the matter was settled, and the Governor of Datong was evaluated according to the standards of a first-rank official.

This seemingly insignificant incident made everyone realize that the flames of war had been ignited.