"Prince Feng!" Yan Sikong caught up with Feng Ye who was about to get on the horse.

Feng Ye paused without turning back. Just from his stiff shoulders, one could tell that he was suppressing his anger.

Feng Jianping lifted the curtain and glanced at the two of them.

"Your Highness, can you let me have a word with the prince?"

Feng Jianping nodded in agreement.

Feng Ye paused, turned around, his pupils were dark and his face was expressionless.

Yan Sikong pulled Feng Ye into the shadows and whispered, "Feng Ye, calm down. We still have time, and don't be impulsive."

Feng Ye clenched his fist: "I understand."

"Really?" Yan Sikong stared into Feng Ye's eyes without blinking. "Being anxious or angry will not help. You must not let His Highness see anything. We have more important things to do right now. As long as we get rid of Xie Zhongren..." He lowered his voice, "This country is under the control of your Feng family. Nothing will be a problem then."

Feng Ye secretly held Yan Sikong's hand and said in a deep voice, "Don't worry, I know the seriousness of this matter." He narrowed his eyes and said, "Yan Zilian clearly knows about the situation between you and me. Did he say those words just now on purpose for me to hear?"

"He is testing you. In the teacher's eyes, what's going on between you and me is nothing more than some harmless affairs. But if you show that you care too much, he might take advantage of you." Yan Sikong thought to himself that Yan Zilian was already taking advantage of his relationship with the Feng family, as evidenced by the Beijing inspection, but he didn't say it out loud. He didn't want to intensify the conflict between Yan Zilian and Feng Ye.

Feng Ye snorted coldly: "This man is too scheming. If Xie Zhongren wasn't there to restrain him, he would be even more authoritarian and domineering."

Yan Sikong advised: "Teacher and Xie Zhongren are different after all. Maybe his methods are slightly inappropriate, but he is not doing it for personal gain. You should not bother with him. The important thing is to focus on the important matter."

"Not for personal gain?" Feng Ye mocked. "You don't have to speak for him. The maritime tax in Jiangnan has not been collected for many years. Who is to blame? He may not have done anything for his own benefit, but he has gained a lot of benefits for the gentry. In this regard, he is actually the same as the eunuchs."

Yan Sikong sighed, "At least the teacher never framed loyal people or extorted money from the people. If the teacher had not acted for the aristocracy, no one would have joined him in fighting against the eunuch party. I understand all this, and so do you. You are just dissatisfied with him because of the marriage, but now is definitely not the time to start a quarrel."

Feng Ye said coldly: "I told you, I know the severity of the situation."

Yan Sikong nodded, and seeing that no one was around, he quickly kissed Feng Ye and said, "Go back and find a way to capture General Zhao Fuyi."

"clear."

——

Yan Sikong spent several days studying the chronology of Datong Prefecture in recent years and the official documents exchanged with the capital. He also visited Zhang Chen, the historian who had just visited Datong a few months ago, to learn about the latest situation there. Regardless of whether the emperor was satisfied with the content of the examination or not, at least he had to make the questions decent first. Otherwise, if he was really going to be punished, he would be the first to be punished.

After preparing more than a dozen topics, he went to find Liu An. Liu An was the Minister of Personnel, so naturally he had to make the decision. Liu An began to play around, thinking that this one was fine and that one was fine. Finally, he said he would discuss it with Yan Ge Lao.

Yan Sikong had expected this to happen, so he let him discuss it. After all, it was definitely not him who would decide how the questions would be listed in the end. Next, it would depend on how Yan Zilian and Feng Jianping would act.

At the end of the month, Emperor Zhaowu held a grand banquet, firstly to express his gratitude to the princes who had come from thousands of miles away to pay their respects, and secondly to see them off. Tomorrow, except for Feng Jianping, the other princes will set off to return to their places.

Of course, no one would really believe that he recalled so many princes to the capital just to hold a grand funeral for the empress dowager. In addition to Feng Jianping, other princes were also involved in the reduction of prince power. Since the death of Prince Liang in Dongting Lake, the reduction of prince power has become a major event for the country. Now that only half of it has been completed, the national treasury is already unimaginably rich, and the other half that has not been completed must have been due to various obstacles.

Emperor Zhaowu summoned the princes to return to the capital in order to establish his authority. Today he could order all the princes within a thousand miles, including Prince Jingyuan, to return to the capital. Tomorrow he could also order all the princes to come to pay homage. He would be ruthless in reducing the power of the princes, and all of this was obviously Xie Zhongren's idea.

It must be said that Xie Zhongren made great contributions in reducing the power of the princes. Of course, he also offended many princes.

Sure enough, at the banquet, Emperor Zhaowu quoted an edict to praise the princes for their dedication to the country and self-denial, saying that they were role models for the world and examples for the royal family. Yan Sikong wanted to laugh when he saw the princes forcing themselves to smile even though they were filled with hatred.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Feng Jianping took the initiative to propose that Datong Prefecture should also appropriately reduce military expenditures, temporarily suspend the war, and focus on supporting the people.

Emperor Zhaowu did not even bother to make excuses and immediately ordered the Ministry of War to handle the matter.

Halfway through the banquet, Emperor Zhaowu said happily: "I have another piece of good news to tell you, my dear ministers."

All the ministers had smiles on their faces, waiting.

"Before the Empress Dowager passed away, she left a will. Princess Wanyang is already of age. If she observes mourning for three years, she will miss her prime years. Therefore, she is exempted from the old rituals. Next spring..." Emperor Zhaowu's eyes searched for Yan Sikong in the hall, "Choose an auspicious day and marry Yan Aiqing."

Yan Sikong hunched over and left the table, then knelt down respectfully: "Thank you, my Lord, for your great grace."

Feng Ye sat beside Feng Jianping with a pale face, not saying a word.

Feng Jianping laughed and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, and the Queen Mother for your support. This is a great thing."

All the ministers clapped their hands in congratulations.

Emperor Zhaowu said with a smile: "My dear Feng, Xi'er is your only niece. This is a great joyous occasion. According to my opinion, you should stay in the capital until they are married."

Feng Jianping's eyes darkened, but his expression remained calm. He cupped his hands and said, "If you are of the same mind, I am willing to do so."

"Alas, the Wala have been beaten to pieces by you, my dear minister. What else can we do? Let's just leave it at that."

Xie Zhongren smiled but said nothing.

Yan Sikong felt a chill down his spine. Every day Feng Jianping stayed in the capital was like walking on thin ice, and now he was asked to stay until next spring? What was the emperor planning?

Yu Ji announced the decree and gave Yan Sikong a new house, servants, gold and silver treasures. He thanked them one by one, but his eyes kept looking at Feng Ye from time to time, fearing that Feng Ye would act impulsively. Fortunately, although Feng Ye looked extremely unhappy, he never said a word. However, he knew that if he still couldn't defeat Xie Zhongren before he and Wan Yang got married, Feng Ye might take risks...