“Take them all back for interrogation!”
“Understood!”
The battle had lasted less than a quarter of an hour before it was completely over!
“Meng Yi!”
Ying Qingye barked out sharply.
“My Lord!”
Meng Yi sheathed his sword and stepped up before Ying Qingye.
“Why didn’t you let me join the fight just now?”
Ying Qingye felt thoroughly disgruntled; his chance of going home had slipped away yet again.
“My Lord, this minister was only afraid that you might be injured.”
“If any harm were to befall you, this minister would have no way to answer to His Majesty.”
Meng Yi replied with a steady, unyielding tone and a completely earnest expression.
“You…”
“Sigh…”
Ying Qingye had no words left. To be fair, the man was just trying to protect him; it wasn’t his fault. He couldn’t really blame him!
Ying Qingye turned his gaze toward Feng Tong and crooked a finger at him. Feng Tong hurriedly scurried over, trembling all over.
“What was it you said your father’s name was just now?”
“My Lord, please spare my life! I know I was wrong!”
“I didn’t realize it was you, Your Highness. I was wrong, I promise I’ll never dare do it again.”
Feng Tong dropped heavily to his knees, kowtowing repeatedly while cold sweat streamed down his forehead.
“Hey! What are you doing?”
“What did you do wrong? You did wonderfully, come on, get up!”
Ying Qingye smiled and reached out to pull him to his feet.
Feng Tong was left completely bewildered by this sudden turn of events. He’s forgiving me just like that?
Is there some kind of trap hidden in this?
“Tell me, whose son are you again?”
“Speak!”
Feng Tong stared at Ying Qingye and didn’t dare utter a word; he had a nagging suspicion that Ying Qingye was playing mind games with him.
“My Lord, this is Feng Tong, the eldest son of Left Prime Minister Feng Quji.”
Meng Yi chimed in calmly from the side.
“Oh—”
“So that’s how it is. No wonder you were acting so impressively!”
“I’ll remember this!”
With that, he turned to leave, but Meng Yi called out to stop him.
“My Lord, His Majesty has issued an imperial decree summoning you to the palace!”
“Got it!”
Outside the study!
The moment Ying Qingye and Meng Yi arrived, they started walking straight inside, only to be blocked by the palace eunuch.
“My Lord, please allow this servant to announce your arrival to His Majesty first!”
Instead of waiting, Ying Qingye gave the eunuch a firm shove out of the way.
“A son visiting his father—does he really need an announcement?”
“Where on earth is there such a rule in this world?”
“Step aside!”
He made to stride right in, but Meng Yi reached out to grab his sleeve.
“My Lord, you mustn’t be so reckless.”
“You must observe proper etiquette, or people with ulterior motives will use it against you.”
“Oh good grief, who cares about that nonsense!”
“If you’re not going in, I’m heading in first!”
With that, he pushed past the guards and attendants stationed outside the doors and barged straight inside, leaving a deeply helpless Meng Yi standing there.
Ying Qingye didn’t care about any of those formalities. Ideally, he wanted to make Ying Zheng furious enough to draw a sword and chop his head off right then and there.
That way, he would finally be free!
At that moment, Ying Zheng was busy discussing the world map with Li Si and the others.
“Imperial Father, you summoned me?”
Ying Qingye strolled in with an unconcerned swagger. Ignoring everyone’s gaze, he walked right up to Ying Zheng, picked up the cup sitting on the desk, and gulped down its contents in one go.
This little stunt completely threw everyone in the room for a loop.
They stared at Ying Qingye in absolute shock.
Was Ying Qingye perhaps the very first person in history to dare act so disrespectfully right in front of Ying Zheng?
What kind of person was Ying Zheng?
He was the founding emperor who split the heavens and cleaved the earth! The peerless, thousand-year First Emperor with no predecessor and no successor!
To dare act this brazenly in his presence?
Li Si and the others couldn’t help gasping inwardly!
Though they weren’t intimately close with the Fifth Prince, they had heard a thing or two about him. In the past, he would never have dared pull something like this in front of Ying Zheng!
How on earth had he gotten so bold now?
Crash—!
“Rebellious brat, what do you think you’re doing?!”
Ying Zheng’s fury flared up instantly; this kid was getting completely out of hand and utterly devoid of filial respect.
At Ying Zheng’s burst of anger, Li Si and the rest dropped to their knees in sheer terror.
When the Son of Heaven flies into a rage, a million corpses lie bleeding in his wake.
“Imperial Father, what are you getting so worked up about?”
“Didn’t I just take a sip of your tea?”
“Why are you being so petty?”
If he hadn’t spoken, it would have been fine, but his words only fueled Ying Zheng’s fury further.
Goodness gracious, is this really about a simple cup of water?!
The officials kneeling below twitched inwardly; the Fifth Prince certainly possessed nerves of steel. Did he genuinely not realize how utterly disrespectful his behavior was?
“You insolent brat, do you think I’m talking about the water?!”
“You barged unannounced straight into my study, and you refuse to even show proper respect.”
“You have completely cast aside all propriety! Just where did you learn your manners?”
Ying Zheng pointed right at Ying Qingye, scolding him furiously.
“Oh, come on! I thought it was something actually important.”
“Since when does a son visiting his father need so many rigid rules?”
“My respect for you is held in my heart, not shouted out loud with every breath.”
“Imperial Father, you are the mighty First Emperor—surely you shouldn’t sweat over such trivial details!”
Ying Zheng: “…”
Hearing this exchange, the ministers below broke out in cold sweat. My goodness! In all our years, we’ve never witnessed anyone dare speak to Ying Zheng in such a fashion.
The Fifth Prince truly possessed no fear of death whatsoever!
“My Lord, you and His Majesty share the bond of sovereignty and subject, as well as father and son—courtesy cannot be overlooked!”
“Hurry up and apologize to His Majesty!”
Meng Wu frantically tried to signal Ying Qingye with his eyes.
“General Meng, you don’t need to blink at me like that. My imperial father is the Son of Heaven, magnanimous and broad-minded; he would never lower himself to argue with someone like me.”
“It’s not like he’s actually going to have me executed, right?”
As soon as those words left his mouth, the expressions of everyone present shifted dramatically.
Oh goodness!
That is textbook emotional manipulation right against Ying Zheng!
Oh my word! You are truly something else!
Meng Wu groaned internally. Sigh, some people are simply impossible to save!
Meanwhile, Ying Zheng’s face had darkened completely. This rascal had given him a hard time just this morning, and now he was pulling the exact same stunt again! It looked like the young man was genuinely itching for a beating!
“I won’t have you executed!”
“However, I have a hundred different ways to deal with you!”
“Guards, drag him outside and give him thirty heavy floggings!”
Two guards immediately stepped forward. Seeing how the situation was turning out, Ying Qingye’s heart skipped a beat.
He certainly wanted to escape this world, but he had zero desire to suffer a painful beating and end up with a bruised backside.
“Imperial Father, I was wrong!”
“Wrong?”
“You know, I actually preferred the way you acted so arrogantly just now. Why don’t you try showing me that attitude again?”
The corners of Ying Zheng’s mouth curled upward slightly. Hah, did you really think I couldn’t put you in your place?
Li Si and the others nearly burst out laughing right then and there. And here we thought you had an unbreakable backbone! You backed down awfully fast!
“Imperial Father, I am your own flesh and blood!”
“Flesh and blood?”
“In that case, should we add a few extra strikes?”
Ying Qingye: “…”
Wait just a minute.
Is this really my charming, wise ancestor?
Shouldn’t an emperor be completely dignified and serious all the time? Why is he suddenly so mischievous?!
“Alright, alright!”
“Stop giving me that tragic look!”
“Get up!”
Seeing Ying Qingye look so defeated, Ying Zheng couldn’t bear to tease him any further.
“Hehe…”
“I knew Imperial Father still cared about me!”
“Wipe that silly grin off your face!”
Ying Qingye instantly wiped the smile right off.
“Now, take this map and refine the details for me.”
Ying Zheng tossed the world map toward Ying Qingye.
“Refine it?”
Ying Qingye looked down at the world map in his hands. So that’s why he summoned me here—it was all about this.
“Imperial Father, if I flesh out all the details, will there be a reward?”
“There will!”
“But if you fail to refine it properly, you know the consequences!”
Ying Qingye gave a helpless, resigned shrug.
“Imperial Father, this piece of cloth is far too small; we’re going to need something much larger!”
Hearing this, Ying Zheng turned his gaze toward Zhao Gao. The Chief Eunuch caught the hint immediately and turned to leave.
Before long, Zhao Gao returned accompanied by an attendant who was cradling a large bolt of pristine fabric in his arms.