The Emperor, a decree?
Li Guanyi, due to his own background and his aunt's warnings, held a sense of vigilance towards the royal family of Chen Kingdom. At this moment, he felt it was worth responding, "…Alright."
Many thoughts arose in his mind.
They specifically wanted him to be present.
Did they know he was here? No, that shouldn't be the reason. If that were the case, it wouldn't be a mere eunuch from the Inspectorate who came, but at least a Night Rider Cavalry from the second realm, or even a master from the third realm, someone who could condense qi into soldiers, who could directly kill him.
Calm down, think about the situation.
It should be that Wang Tong and the others had concluded their matters in the capital, and the various forces had reached a point of settling dust. That was why, after so many days, the Emperor finally mentioned Guan Yi City.
Li Guanyi took down the weapon pouch from his shoulder and handed it to Zhao Dabing, also stuffing in the travel documents and the waist token of a Seventh-Rank Zhenwei Captain. He was then taken to change into the official attire of a Seventh-Rank officer. Li Guanyi tugged at the robe and leather belt, feeling quite displeased.
Like a green toad.
He went to the Listening Wind Pavilion, and as he entered the inner courtyard, he saw that both sides of the path were guarded by palace guards.
All were clad in armor, holding blades, their auras vigorous.
The elite soldiers of the world were of the second realm, the rank of military captains;
The palace guards were at least martial artists who had entered the realm, donned in fine armor, wielding good blades and crossbows, most of whom hailed from martial families. They might not be adept at killing, but their inherent abilities were certainly of a high caliber.
As Li Guanyi walked in, he saw Xue Daoyong with a gentle smile, accompanied by Xue Shuangtao and Xue Changqing. In front of them stood a man with a pale face and no beard, dressed in a round-collared, narrow-sleeved robe of purple, with a horizontal seam at the bottom. He held a yellow scroll in his hand and smiled, saying:
"This is the Zhenwei Captain Li Guanyi, isn't it?"
"Truly a young hero, full of vigor!"
"Everyone has gathered, please receive the decree, hahaha. The Sage says that Old Xue is the father-in-law of his wife, and today’s visit is merely a message, not an imperial decree. Everyone can sit down."
In the various kingdoms, the Emperor's decrees are classified into several types.
There are admonitions, edicts, commands, proclamations, notifications, announcements, and decrees.
Only two types require kneeling to receive: one is for the appointment and dismissal of princes and officials at the level of prime ministers.
The second is the edicts sent from the capital to the various states.
Ordinary decrees do not require kneeling; Confucianism emphasizes that "etiquette does not descend to commoners." Many complicated rituals are not required of the common people. In the past, there were emperors who met with commoners, and when the commoners were disrespectful, emperors became enraged and wanted to behead them, but the officials responsible for the law refused.
A normal imperial decree only requires standing respectfully. Today, this eunuch smiled and allowed Old Xue to sit and drink tea.
Xue Changqing, Xue Shuangtao, and Li Guanyi, as the three younger generations, although the eunuch said they could sit casually, naturally could not be so casual. The eunuch took out the imperial decree and spoke without too serious a tone, merely mentioning the matter of Guan Yi City, saying, "Yue Qianfeng's bandits are indeed a headache."
"With him acting so recklessly, even if I wanted to spare his commander, I wouldn't be able to save face."
"The prime minister and the officials are roasting me by the fire, while this bandit adds oil to the flames; I can't be a good emperor on either side."
"What a stinking bandit! If I catch him, I'll give him three hundred lashes in autumn."
"I trouble you, my father-in-law, to stop him. I heard there are assassins targeting you; I don't know how it is, but the court's grand rituals are too bothersome. However, the state and ancestors are matters of great importance; I only now have time to write you this letter."
The eunuch finished speaking the imperial decree with a smile.
It truly had the tone of a family letter, and even the Emperor referred to himself as son-in-law within the letter, maintaining a calm tone. Xue Daoyong smiled as he received the decree and handed over a heavy pouch, causing the eunuch's smile to become even more sincere.
However, within these words, there were truths and falsehoods that Li Guanyi felt he could not discern.
It wasn't that he was too busy handling affairs to have the opportunity to write a letter.
Rather, it was that the competition among various forces had reached a balance and settled dust, which was why the Emperor only wrote the letter now.
From the tone of the decree, it seemed that Wang Tong and the old man from the Bureau of Fate had the upper hand.
Li Guanyi stood quietly, calmly pondering something, when the eunuch's gaze fell upon him, smiling as he said, "Captain Li, please come forward to receive the decree."
Li Guanyi focused and stepped forward, giving a slight bow.
The eunuch said, "The Sage has heard that a young hero has emerged in Jiangzhou City, one who can kill enemies on horseback and compose poetry off it, and he has been greatly admired by Wang Tong. What our Chen Kingdom needs is such a vigorous talent, and thus I bestow upon you a rhinoceros horn belt and a set of soft armor."
"Forty-five days later, during the grand ritual of Chen Kingdom, no officials from the capital are allowed to enter."
"I specially grant Zhenwei Captain Li Guanyi to enter the palace with the Xue family to participate in the ritual."
Li Guanyi's heart sank slightly.
His actions that day in charging into battle had been noticed, and with the identity of a guest from the Xue family, various kingdoms valued such a young man with martial prowess, especially one connected to his wife's family. This goodwill, however, contradicted Li Guanyi's intentions.
Even in Chen Kingdom, the officials handling the travel documents were eager to send him away.
They wanted to vacate his position.
Faced with the Emperor's mention of sending him to the palace as an attendant to participate in the grand ritual of Chen Kingdom, they did not dare let him leave. If he wanted to go, these people might even report his intention to leave, bringing unnecessary trouble.
Beside the eunuch, a servant held a tray with the belt and soft armor.
The soft armor could defend against the piercing of blades, while the rhinoceros horn belt represented the identity of a military officer.
Only officials of the third to sixth ranks could use materials made from rhinoceros horn.
The eunuch, with a smile, said, "Please receive the decree."
Li Guanyi suppressed his emotions, raised his hand to take the items, but the eunuch did not let go, smiling at Li Guanyi. Li Guanyi looked back at him, and the eunuch's eyes showed some astonishment and displeasure. A fragrant breeze passed by, and Xue Shuangtao stepped forward half a step, taking off a jade pendant from her waist and handing it over.
The jade pendant was of excellent quality.
The eunuch's smile softened, and he released his grip.
He praised, "Young master has talent, and Miss Xue is also clever."
After the eunuch delivered the decree and received some benefits, even the servants received silver tokens, and they all left the Xue family satisfied. Before leaving, the eunuch slowed his pace and quietly said to Li Guanyi, "Captain Li, the young hero, I have something to mention."
"Recently, when the Sage was chatting with the officials, he praised Captain Li quite a bit."
Li Guanyi's eyes moved slightly.
The pale-faced eunuch smiled and whispered, "I dare not say too much."
"However, among the various officials, many have sons and nephews. Many children from martial families only attain a Ninth-Rank Martial Officer position by the age of sixteen, yet Captain Li, at only thirteen or fourteen, has such a position, and with the Sage's praise, if the officials do not mention it, their young nobles at home will surely feel discontent."
"Young people, after all, have some temper; they are always passionate."
Li Guanyi understood.
It seemed that Wang Tong and the old man from the Bureau of Fate had succeeded, furthering the plan to rescue Marshal Yue, and the officials were feeling frustrated and discontented. Thus, the Emperor rewarded the Xue family and himself, both to suppress the officials and to provide them with a target to divert their attention?
The king's balance.
Li Guanyi looked at the pale-faced eunuch and said, "Thank you."
He thought for a moment, reached into his pocket, and rubbed the silver.
He still took the larger one.
He placed it in the eunuch's hand.
The eunuch smiled, accepted the silver, and then placed Xue Shuangtao's jade pendant into Li Guanyi's hand, saying with a smile, "The reward for your hard work, we shall accept."
"As for the young lady's item, I trouble Captain Li to return it."
This eunuch was shrewd, smiling and nodding as he left.
As he departed, he got into the carriage, and the young eunuch attending him began to massage his legs and shoulders, saying:
"Godfather, why are you so kind to that Li Guanyi?"
"Even reminding him specially?"
The supervising eunuch laughed and said, "Foolish, what do we call ourselves outside?"
"Sir."
"What do you mean by reminding?"
"What are we? Just a mouthpiece, a meat pen, as the Emperor instructed us to say."
"He said that throughout history, young talents are like eagles and fierce horses, needing to temper their temper."
"Only then can they be obedient and useful."
"He wants to use the children of noble martial families to temper this young talent's character, and also use this young talent to inspire the martial families. The younger generation's conflicts need not involve the elders; just as Wang Tong enters the court and becomes a grand scholar, the literati of the Zhu family in the wild suddenly rise to become the Doctor of the Astronomical Bureau, causing the officials to feel stifled."
"At this time, they need something to occupy them, and the Xue family is just that."
"The Xue family cannot be too powerful or too weak; the officials need support, but the military must be suppressed; although suppressed, the civil officials must not be allowed to dominate. This way, the noble families, officials, and the literati from the common folk can balance each other, while the Sage sits in the Peony Pavilion, watching it all."
"Scatter some fish food, and all the heroes of the world will come to compete for it; this is the wisdom of the Sage."
The young eunuch still did not understand and merely said, "What if this young Captain Li's character gets broken?"
The supervising eunuch lowered his eyes, thinking of the Sage who painted and was admired by the officials.
The Sage's seemingly casual words were now difficult for him to comprehend. He merely said softly:
"Then he lacks this fortune."
Casually spoken.
Unknowingly, the young eunuch suddenly felt a bone-chilling coldness and shivered.
As he watched the palace personnel leave, Li Guanyi held the imperial decree in one hand and the soft armor and rhinoceros horn belt in the other, slightly furrowing his brow.
...The Emperor, Jiangzhou.
For any noble or good family child, being praised and rewarded by the Emperor is a good thing.
However, such praise was an obstacle for Li Guanyi.
When the Emperor issues an order, even a mere mention will be strictly followed by those below.
If he wanted to leave, he would have to wait until the grand ritual of Chen Kingdom was over, but the royal family of Chen...
Li Guanyi thought of the three major possibilities regarding his background and felt that going to the palace was not a good thing. It was like a vortex, and with the Emperor seemingly treating him as a target, entering the capital would likely attract the attention of passionate noble families seeking trouble.
Xue Shuangtao lightly bumped into Li Guanyi, saying, "When these palace people come out to work, everyone will prepare some gifts for them."
"It's a reward for their hard work."
"You must remember this next time."
"This time, I covered the jade pendant for you, but next time you must prepare it yourself."
Li Guanyi smiled and raised his eyes, extending his hand, saying, "Is that so?"
"Miss, what do you think this is?"
Xue Shuangtao's eyes widened as she saw Li Guanyi's hand loosen, his fingers pinching the red cord.
The jade pendant fell, swaying slightly.
Xue Shuangtao's eyes widened: "You, you, you got it back?!"
"You want to take back the reward for the palace people?"
There was astonishment in her eyes.
It seemed to say, how could this be possible!
"Truly worthy of you!"
Li Guanyi heard the teasing in her words and replied irritably, "It was redeemed!"
"Redeemed!"
Xue Shuangtao burst into laughter, extending her fair hand, standing there playfully, asking:
"How much did it cost?"
Li Guanyi placed the jade pendant in the girl's palm, declaring confidently:
"A full fifteen taels of silver."
Xue Shuangtao laughed so hard she couldn't straighten up.
She tossed the jade pendant into Li Guanyi's embrace.
Li Guanyi did not reveal the worries in his heart.
It was indeed a good thing to receive the soft armor; he returned and changed out of that green toad-like official attire, replacing it with a deep blue regular outfit, securing his hair with a wooden hairpin, and wrapping the rhinoceros horn belt around his waist. His brow slightly raised, he appeared much more martial than before.
On the rhinoceros horn belt, he carried the seven weapons of a military officer.
A saber, a dagger, a whetstone, a letter-engraving needle, a rope-cutting tool, a needle tube, and a fire stone pouch.
The letter-engraving needle was something from the thirty-six countries of the Western Regions, used for engraving characters.
The rope-cutting tool was used to untie dead knots.
Li Guanyi wore an inner garment, over which he donned a layer of soft armor, topped with a deep blue round-collared robe. With the military officer's rhinoceros horn belt, he appeared more martial than before, and even Xue Daoyong couldn't help but praise him.
He remarked that if he were a few years older, riding a horse down the main road of Jiangzhou, the daughters of officials would throw fruits from the second-floor pavilions into his arms.
But now, that was not possible.
"Still a bit too young."
"Although some noble girls like this age, a boy under fifteen who secretly forms attachments, especially involving the new noble military officials in court, would be in danger of being targeted by the Tiyi."
Knock, knock, knock!
Open the door, fetch the night fragrance!
Xue Shuangtao was amused by the elder's teasing, looking at Li Guanyi, and for some reason, she retorted:
"How could those girls be so rude as to throw fruits in the street?"
"Although, hmm, the guest official is quite good, it hasn't reached that level yet?!"
"Besides."
The girl looked at Li Guanyi, her eyes sparkling with laughter: "This frivolous boy, fruits wouldn't affect him; it would take thousands of gold and hundreds of pounds of white jade."
Li Guanyi felt that the young lady had misunderstood him.
Xue Shuangtao recalled the earlier incident of tossing the jade pendant and felt a bit embarrassed.
In the end, Li Guanyi pressed the travel documents under his pillow.
One day, he would be able to use them, he thought, but for now, he needed to raise his strength more quickly. Even though he knew his identity had not been exposed.
However, having to go to the capital still gave him a sense of urgency.
The capital was a place where all martial artists gathered.
The Night Rider Cavalry that had pursued him back then were all at the level of the second realm.
He was still too weak; not entering the second realm made him feel uneasy about entering the capital.
He cultivated his techniques, while in the sky, the light of the White Tiger's Seven Stars grew more intense day by day. As the Emperor of Chen Kingdom easily used imperial strategies to balance the external relatives, nobles, officials, and civil and military matters, overlooking the Jiangnan and southwestern regions.
The Golden-Winged Great Peng arrived at the border.
The second son of the Duke of Ying Kingdom saw through Li Guanyi's strategy.
The girl's eyes suddenly lit up, but in the end, she looked at the place where it said "This strategy..." and then broke off, feeling frustrated. She lightly punched the table, laughing and scolding: "Such a strategy, tantalizing people, yet it ends abruptly here. How infuriating!"
"This person is in Chen Kingdom..."
"Chen Kingdom!"
The girl paced back and forth, suddenly smiling, speaking to herself:
"Such a strategy, isn't it inviting me to meet him?"
"Being able to see such a strategy, isn't that a destined fate?"
"I say it is destiny, then it is destiny!"
"Good, two months later, during the grand ritual of Chen Kingdom, I will replace my brother and go as this envoy."
"I must see what this young prodigy looks like!"
(End of this chapter)