Hei Ye Xiao bowed to Pang Gufang, but the latter picked up the teacup on the table, not even bothering to look at Hei Ye Xiao.

According to ancient rules, when a subordinate greets a superior, they cannot straighten up until the superior tells them they may, unless they intend to completely fall out with them. Otherwise, they can only remain standing.

In ancient times, officials naturally often used this trick to control their subordinates.

My face immediately darkened. "Hey, whatever Left Prime Minister, you seem to be in the wrong seat. That's my chair. Please stand up!"

Pang Gufang looked up at me. "Li Po, you stand properly. I'll settle accounts with you later."

Just as I was about to explode, Ye Yang suddenly appeared in front of Pang Gufang and slapped him twice across the face.

Before Pang Gufang could react, Ye Yang grabbed his collar and threw him to the ground.

Pang Gufang, who had scrambled to his feet, didn't react for a long time. "You... you dare to hit me! Hou Qing..."

Ye Yang turned around and sat in the chair. "No need to shout. Look up and see who I am."

"Prince... Prince Qijian!" When Pang Gufang saw Ye Yang's face, he immediately knelt on the ground. "Your subject Pang Gufang greets Prince Qijian!"

Ye Yang also ignored Pang Gufang. "Qin Xin, the tea is cold. Get me some fresh tea."

While Qin Xin went to make tea for Ye Yang, Pang Gufang remained kneeling on the ground, not daring to get up.

Before I could figure out what was happening, I heard Hei Ye Xiao transmit his voice to me: "Master Ye is the reincarnation of Ye Qianyang. By imperial decree, seeing the reincarnation of Ye Qianyang is like seeing the Emperor himself. Pang Gufang wouldn't dare to act rashly."

Only then did I understand what was going on!

Ye Yang took a sip of tea before speaking. "What are you doing at Liangjie Tang?"

Pang Gufang said, "To retrieve the vanguard under the Emperor's command, as well as the two palace consorts."

Ye Yang frowned. "You can go back now. Hei Ye Xiao, Ling, and Cang Tianji are now under my command. I'll explain this to my brother in person when I see him."

When Ye Yang said the word "brother," Pang Gufang's face looked particularly unpleasant. In her opinion, no one was worthy of being called a brother by the Emperor.

Ye Yang saw that Pang Gufang hadn't moved and couldn't help asking, "Why aren't you leaving?"

Pang Gufang stood up and looked directly at Ye Yang. "I will naturally respect Your Highness's wishes. However, there are some things I must say."

Ye Yang didn't want to give him a chance to speak. "Since you respect my wishes, then there's no need to say anything."

"Hahaha..." Pang Gufang laughed loudly. "Your Highness, has he reached the point of being unreasonable?"

"If Your Highness has this attitude, may I ask, are you worthy of the friendship between you and the Emperor?"

As Ye Yang's fist on the armrest of the chair clenched slightly, I said, "Let her speak, what's the harm?"

"Lest people say that our Liangjie Tang is a place where people aren't allowed to speak."

Pang Gufang said with a serious expression, "I have no objection to Your Highness wanting to keep Hou Qing. The Emperor said that Your Highness can use his troops at any time. Your Highness is the imperial tiger tally himself, no imperial decree is needed."

"The Three Palace Masters are not troops under the Emperor's command, but palace consorts designated by the Emperor."

"It wouldn't be very pleasant to the ear if Your Highness forcibly kept the Emperor's consorts, would it?"

Ye Yang's face immediately darkened. "Watch your words!"

Pang Gufang smiled. "Your Highness, calm down. I'm just saying that this matter may appear suspicious in the eyes of others."

Hearing this, Ling's face became unusually gloomy. "Lord Left Prime Minister, you need to understand that Tianji and I are only under orders to assist the Emperor, not to be his consorts."

"Moreover, our master promised back then that we were free to come and go as we pleased."

Pang Gufang's face darkened when he looked at Ling. "The Three Palaces are the Emperor's harem. Since you have inherited the Three Palaces, you are the Emperor's consorts."

"Since ancient times, there has been no rule for the Emperor's concubines to leave the palace. Even if the Emperor doesn't want you, you can only stay in the Cold Palace and cannot show your faces in public."

"Come back with me immediately, and I will discipline you on behalf of the Emperor."

I said coldly, "When could the Foreign Minister manage the harem? How ridiculous."

"If they are the Emperor's consorts, even if you were their own mother, you would have to kneel down and kowtow to them. The etiquette between ruler and subject cannot be abandoned."

"If they are not the Emperor's consorts, then you have even less right to manage them. If someone who has nothing to do with me comes out and tells me what to do, that's just asking for a beating."

"Which one are you?"

Pang Gufang sneered, "I really do have the power to manage them. The Emperor has granted me the position of Inner Minister."

I sneered. "So you're the Chief Eunuch, the head eunuch! Even if you're the head eunuch, you're still a subject. Without an imperial decree, you still have to kneel when you see the Emperor's consorts."

The term Inner Minister first appeared in the Tang Dynasty as another name for the Hanlin Academician, but the Inner Minister did not manage the harem.

In the Ming Dynasty, because the power of the eunuchs reached its peak, the court officials also respectfully called the seal-holding eunuch the Inner Minister.

However, no matter how great the power of the eunuchs was, they never reached the point where they dared to deal with the imperial concubines without the Emperor's decree.

Pang Gufang said, "I don't want to waste words with you. You can ask Hou Qing if I have the power to deal with the Three Palaces."

Hei Ye Xiao said, "This... Pang Gufang..."