Tonight, Shiziye was dressed in a deep purple brocade robe, his hair bound with a crimson gold crown, a nine-lion-head leather belt cinched at his waist. His innate arrogance and noble aura, combined with a handsome yet sharp and aggressive demeanor, made him impossible to look directly at.
For a moment, none of the officials present dared to respond, all turning their eyes to Lord Zhou, who had spoken earlier.
“So kneeling is required to answer, is it?” Sheng Huaijin’s lips curled into a cold sneer. Then, radiating overwhelming pressure, he strode toward Lord Zhou and kicked over the table in front of him:
“What kind of grand rule in Lizhou is this? Explain it to Ben Shizi as well.”
Instantly, tables overturned, cups fell, wine splashed, and delicacies scattered across the floor. The surrounding lantern flames flickered in the chaos.
Yu Sheng stood amidst the disordered light and shadows, her heart trembling slightly.
The guests at the banquet collectively drew a sharp breath, rising to their feet and bowing with clasped hands: “Your humble officials pay respects to Shizi!”
“Sh-Shizi, your humble official…” Lord Zhou, terrified and pale, tried to stand and speak, but his legs gave way, and he knelt stiffly on the spot.
Tonight was Liyanghou’s banquet in honor of Zhenguo Gong Shizi, with an invitation also extended to the eldest daughter of Yujia, ostensibly to sit down together and clarify the matter of Xu Liu.
But the Lizhou officials present as companions knew perfectly well: if they could persuade Shiziye to favor kinship over reason tonight, what was Yujia worth?
Nothing more than something to kill or destroy at will.
Yet this Shiziye was an iron plate no one could budge. So, the Houfu advisors devised a plan: though it was one banquet, they would stagger the arrival times of Shiziye and the eldest daughter of Yujia.
Yu Sheng was to arrive half an hour early, allowing Liyanghou and the officials to pressure and intimidate her first. Once she retreated, they could then discuss matters properly with Shizi, resolving the issue by downplaying its significance.
Who could have imagined that Shiziye would arrive shortly after Yu Sheng?
Lord Zhou, caught red-handed using his official authority to pressure Yu Sheng, was utterly unlucky.
Sheng Huaijin looked down at Lord Zhou’s changing expressions, half-mocking, half-puzzled: “I asked you to explain the rules, so why are you kneeling?”
“R-Replying to Shizi, I-I-I…” Lord Zhou stammered for a long time without managing a coherent response.
Seeing this, the guests inwardly cursed: Shiziye! With you overturning tables the moment you arrive, who can speak properly?
“This lord earlier said one must kneel to answer, and now he’s personally demonstrating it,” Yu Sheng calmly picked up Shiziye’s words. “Truly, he values rules greatly.”
Lord Zhou, nearly collapsed on the ground, gritted his teeth in fury upon hearing Yu Sheng’s words.
Hearing this, a flicker of amusement passed through Sheng Huaijin’s eyes, and he said casually, “Since you all value rules so much—standing if you wish, kneeling if you wish—Ben Shizi won’t stop you.”
The officials were dumbfounded.
What did “standing if you wish, kneeling if you wish” mean?
They had long heard this Shiziye was notoriously arrogant and unruly, but to show up in Lizhou and immediately deny local officials any face was excessively haughty.
Lord Zhou was on the verge of tears.
Did Shiziye mean he should remain kneeling and not get up?
That wouldn’t do!
“Houye!” Having lost face before Shiziye, Lord Zhou turned to Liyanghou for help. “Houye, please plead on behalf of your humble official…”
Liyanghou Xu Chengkang shot him a look to silence him, then turned to Sheng Huaijin with a smile, saying:
“Magistrate Zhou was so eager to pay his respects upon suddenly meeting someone of the Shizi’s stature that he forgot his legs have long been weak. See? After performing such a grand bow, he couldn’t get back up.”
As Liyanghou spoke, he slowly rose to his feet. “Why are you all still standing there? Hurry and assist Magistrate Zhou!”
The attendants on either side, having received the order, rushed forward to help Magistrate Zhou but were blocked by the guards, unable to approach.
Xu Chengkang had gone to great lengths to fabricate excuses for Magistrate Zhou’s behavior, but now even he couldn’t help but stiffen. “What does the Shizi mean by this?”
“Ben Shizi asked him a question, and he has yet to answer. You are all people who value propriety—why do you instead ask what I mean?”
Sheng Huaijin turned and walked to the seat at the head of the table, sweeping his robe aside as he took his place.
The guards stood with blades drawn among the seats, while the Houfu servants and officials dared not make any rash moves.
The night banquet lost all traces of revelry and indulgence, leaving only a scene where an attempt to assert authority had been thwarted and turned back on itself, with everyone harboring their own thoughts.
Liyanghou’s expression shifted, realizing that this Zhenguo Gong Shizi truly intended to leave no one with any dignity tonight.
He personally walked over to help Magistrate Zhou up, theatrically brushing the dust from his robes. “If you bow so deeply upon meeting the Shizi, what will you do when you meet a prince or the Emperor—prostrate yourself completely?”
These words were clearly a reminder to Sheng Huaijin that no matter how noble his birth, he was still merely a Shizi, a subject like all others, and should not overstep his bounds.
Sheng Huaijin ignored him, simply picking up a cup of wine from the table and toying with it in his hand.
The guards, understanding his intent, retreated to either side, leaving the center of the pavilion empty once more.
Yet the atmosphere at the banquet remained tense.
Shiziye, however, paid it no mind and called out to her, “Yu Sheng, why are you still standing there? Come and sit.”
Yu Sheng originally had her own seat at the far end, but since Shiziye had spoken, she brought Yu Xiuzhu and A-Mo forward to sit.
Since all pretense had been stripped away, there was no need to endure any more humiliation.
Seeing this, Xu Chengkang said to the officials, “Don’t just stand there either. If you can’t speak, then offer a toast to the Shizi.”
As Liyanghou spoke, he walked back to his seat, picking up a cup of wine as if setting an example for the others. Though filled with rage, he forced a smile on his face:
“When the Shizi arrived in Lizhou Cheng, Ben Hou should have hosted a banquet to welcome you much earlier. However, affairs have been exceedingly busy until today, when I finally found the time…”
Sheng Huaijin didn’t wait for him to finish before raising his cup and pouring the wine onto the ground, interrupting, “Spare me the pleasantries. Get straight to the point.”
For a moment, the forced smile on Xu Chengkang’s face froze.
The other officials didn’t even dare to breathe.
How many years had it been since anyone dared to speak to Liyanghou like this?
Yu Sheng couldn’t help but glance at Shiziye a few more times: Was this fellow really so arrogant?
Silence fell over the surroundings.
The quiet lingered for a while.
Then, from the northwest direction of Lizhou Cheng, thick smoke billowed and flames shot into the sky, lighting up a large swath of the night.
“That’s…” Yu Xiuzhu looked in that direction and exclaimed in alarm, “The courier station! The courier station is on fire!”
Yu Sheng suddenly thought of something and sharply turned her gaze to Liyanghou.
Xu Chengkang, however, suddenly regained his confidence and snorted angrily, smashing his wine cup:
“Sheng Huaijin, you arrogant brat! Do you truly think that just because you’ve detained my son, Ben Hou has no way to deal with you?”
Tonight, he had invited Sheng Huaijin to this banquet with two plans in mind.
If both sides could be persuaded to reach a mutually agreeable outcome, that would naturally be ideal. But if persuasion failed, it wouldn’t matter either way—after all, he had already arranged for people to intercept and rescue his son from the courier station.
Moreover, he had instructed those men to set the station on fire once they succeeded, completely erasing any traces.
Now, with the courier station ablaze and flames leaping toward the sky, it was clear that those men had successfully rescued Xu Liu.
With this, he no longer needed to fear Sheng Huaijin in the slightest.
He could now properly assume the role of an elder and teach this outrageously arrogant junior a lesson.
Sheng Huaijin, however, showed no surprise at all—as if he had anticipated this very turn of events and had been waiting for it.
Unhurriedly, he tapped the wine pot lightly with an empty cup, tilting his head to listen to the clear, jade-like chime of the white porcelain wine set.
Yu Sheng, caught in this perilous situation, turned the matter over in his mind several times. Yet seeing Sheng Huaijin in such a moment still indulging in such refined leisure, he had no choice but to calm himself and maintain his composure.
Beside him, Yu Xiuzhu felt his heart nearly leap into his throat.
But Sheng Huaijin suddenly laughed softly, his voice low and deliberate: “Those who flee to escape punishment may be executed on the spot.”
“Liyanghou, you truly seem determined to cut your son’s life short!”