"Uh..."
Lin Qingge, feeling a bit guilty, cleared her throat. She then adopted her official demeanor and spoke with gravitas:
"The highest realm of bamboo lies in 'endurance,' in self-cultivation, gathering strength, and achieving a breakthrough after accumulating much.
Zhou Zeli, your great service this time can be considered a blessing in disguise.
However, with matters of the heart, one cannot force it.
Here, this official shall present you with another poem.
Breaking the earth, it soars with segmented pride,
Through the deepest chill, it leads the winter's stride.
No tearful bamboo, no sentiment it leaves behind,
But willingly becomes a tide upon the spring mountain's mind."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Zeli's eyes brightened. He then rose and bowed deeply to Lin Qingge.
"Please rest assured, Your Excellency. After this incident, I have achieved great enlightenment.
To atone for my father and brother's sins, and also to realize my own ambitions and ideals.
I have decided to learn from Senior Official Su and Prime Minister Feng, to remain unburdened by worldly romantic entanglements, and to dedicate my life to the nation and the court!"
"Well, this time not only am I not on the honor roll, but I'll also likely live out my days alone.
Your mouth, Your Excellency, must be particularly favored by the Buddha; I truly envy you!"
"If you envy it, I'll give you this mouth directly.
And Master Hua, are you very idle?
If you don't want that roster, hand it back to me. I don't mind taking on the extra burden of collecting a fee from everyone!"
Hua Jinrong, knowing when to stop, fanned himself with his fan and chuckled sheepishly,
"Your Excellency, you jest. What I meant was that you, with just a few words, have dismantled King Wucheng's years of planning. Truly a divine feat!"
"Master Hua, save your flattery for Prime Minister Feng when we return to the capital.
Moreover, it wasn't this official who defeated King Wucheng without firing a single shot, but the shrewd Old Master Yan."
Lin Qingge yawned widely and, accompanied by Leng Ningyue, retired to her guest room.
Among the ten thousand elite soldiers from Zhennan Prince's estate, only a small portion were confidantes of Qi Huanquan. The rest belonged to Yan Liang.
Coupled with the inside cooperation of the 'young master' Zhou Zeli, the situation within and without Wolong Mountain Villa was controlled almost effortlessly.
Deep in the night.
All was silent.
After ensuring his wife had fallen asleep, Old Master Yan went alone to the prison cell where King Wucheng was held.
This so-called prison cell was the forbidden area where Master Long had confined his former brother, Feng Wuying, during the serial murder case at Wolong Mountain Villa.
Perhaps due to the immense blow of betrayal by his own son, or perhaps knowing his cause was lost and his years of planning had turned to dust.
King Wucheng, no longer possessing his former spirit and pride, sat slumped on the damp, cold ground, as if his soul had departed.
Only when Old Master Yan approached and blocked the meager moonlight did King Wucheng slowly lift his eyelids.
"Yan Xiuping, are you satisfied to see me reduced to this state?"
Old Master Yan gazed down at King Wucheng from above the iron bars for a long while. His lips parted, and he softly uttered three words:
"Not satisfied."
Meeting King Wucheng's ravenous gaze, Old Master Yan slowly curved his lips.
"But my dissatisfaction is of no consequence.
Your two good sons vied to redeem themselves, requesting the Emperor to spare your life.
His Majesty has already agreed.
So you can set your mind at ease and need not be so despondent.
Honestly, I sometimes envy you.
Born with a silver spoon, even if you were to tear a hole in the sky, even twice, you could still escape unscathed.
In the history of Great Xia, and even of the previous dynasties, this is not to say unprecedented, but certainly unparalleled."
King Wucheng's face turned from pale to flushed as he angrily retorted,
"Yan Xiuping, you came here in the middle of the night, surely not just to mock me?"
"How could that be?
I merely felt that after today's farewell, I might never see you again, so I wished to tell you a few things."
King Wucheng remained silent, sitting there with a hostile expression. Old Master Yan continued,
"It was I who acted as a matchmaker for you and Wang Xiuxiu, and it was I who introduced the daughter of the wealthiest man, Qian Baiwan, Qian Wanqing, into your sight.
Even Ying'er, whom you considered your confidante, the birth mother of General Lian, was a spy deliberately placed by my side."
"This, this is impossible!"
"What's impossible about it?"
As if finding it tiring to stand, Old Master Yan crouched down.
"It was I who received Ying'er's message that day, and then informed Prince Jing's estate about your ambush assassination of the former Emperor outside the capital."
King Wucheng, having lost everything because of this, could not help but roar,
"Yan Xiuping, I have no enmity with you. Why did you scheme against me like this?"
"To receive the ruler's stipend is to be loyal to the ruler's affairs and to bear the ruler's worries.
As a subject, I must stand on the side of His Majesty and the court.
Therefore, upon discovering your inclination towards fratricide and usurpation, I naturally had to gather relevant evidence and then find ways to nip this budding tendency in the bud.
Of course, it also wouldn't be bad to annul the engagement of the person I admired, send her fiancé far away, and prevent her from marrying for life."
Upon hearing the latter part, King Wucheng, finally understanding, blurted out without thinking,
"You targeted me like this because of Nannan?"
Old Master Yan's expression immediately turned stern, his voice chilling like ice shards.
"Please mind your status, Your Highness. The County Princess is now my wife, the mother of my son.
It is rather inappropriate for you to address the County Princess by her given name as you did in childhood."
"Heh, Yan Xiuping, Yan Xiuping, I truly underestimated you.
Back then, you were just a poor scholar. How dare you even covet Nannan?"
But Old Master Yan shrugged nonchalantly.
"However, the result is that I achieved my wish, while you ended up with nothing, destined to spend your remaining life in envy and regret.
For you, Your Highness, there is no better punishment.
Therefore, it was I who personally persuaded your two nephews to agree to spare your life."
"You—"
"No need to thank me. It is I who should thank you.
If you hadn't chosen love over beauty back then, and heartlessly pushed the County Princess away, I wouldn't have my beloved wife and beautiful family today.
By the way, I forgot to mention one more thing.
It was I who used the past misdeeds of the Empress Dowager's family as leverage, compelling her to step forward and plead on your behalf.
After all, one cannot annul an engagement with a dead person, can they?"
"Yan-Xiu-Ping!!!"
King Wucheng leaped from the ground and slammed his head against the iron bars, letting out an animalistic roar of fury.
Old Master Yan, however, patted the non-existent dust from his clothes and turned away with a flourish.
After walking a distance.
Old Master Yan suddenly stopped and said, as if casually,
"You've been watching the show for so long. Aren't you planning to come out?"