"Lord Zhou, don't be like this." Ye Ningjie was feeling uneasy. She immediately pulled Zhou Wanwu to his feet. She was not used to letting other people kneel before her, be it old or young.
Moreover, Zhou Wanwu was an imperial noble. So his status wasn't low at all. Even she should respect him.
"Lord Zhou, please say it if you have anything to say. I will listen." Ye Ningjie said earnestly.
"Miss, we have received your ancestor's kindness. If you need anything, please say so." Zhou Wanwu said humbly.
Ye Ningjie smiled gratefully. She didn't expect the older man to act like that to her. After all, the meritorious person was her ancestor, not her.
"Lord Zhou, I want to stay here for the time being. Is that fine?" Ye Ningjie asked.
"Let forget temporarily. Even if you wish to stay forever, I will allow it." Zhou Wan Wu replied solemnly.
Last night he had already received a letter from Zhou Lin. His youngest daughter told him about the plan to help Ye Ningjie. He strongly approved and supported the plan.
"Thank you very much." Ye Ningjie said.
"Yan'er, ask the maids to prepare the best room for Miss Ning!" the old man ordered his grandson.
"Alright." Zhou Yan nodded. He nodded at Ye Ningjie before finally walking away, leaving the two of them behind.
Ye Ningjie helped Zhou Wanwu sit back down. Seeing the older man made her think of her grandfather, who had died a long time ago. If her grandfather were still alive, perhaps his appearance would not be much different from Zhou Wanwu.
"Miss—"
"Please, don't call me 'miss.' I will call you Grandfather, and you will call me Jie'er. What do you think?"
Zhou Wanwu was shocked. A moment later, he laughed. King Ye Tian's daughter had an amicable demeanor. That made him like her even more. He thought Ye Ningjie would be arrogant like most noble daughters.
"Girl, did you guys encounter any difficulties on the way? Nobody has troubled you in this town, right?"
Ye Ningjie shook her head. "Nothing. I just met some pretty troublesome princesses," She said without further mentioning.
"The princesses here are like that. I hope that doesn't affect you."
"Of course not." Ye Ningjie smiled faintly. After that, they began to chat further and get to know each other more closely.
***
Meanwhile, the trial situation in the imperial palace was currently quite heated. The young emperor sat on an oversized chair while listening to several officials speak their minds.
The matter being discussed was still not far from King Ye's rebellion. Especially about the person appointed to replace King Ye's position. There are several parts, each of which argues with the other.
"Your Imperial Majesty, during the past few years, Official Su has indeed made many contributions to the government. But Your Imperial Majesty should know, in the past, his ancestor had released a prisoner to cause considerable chaos," said an old official named Lu Liuxu.
"Your Imperial Majesty, the ancestor is the ancestor. It is in the past. Isn't the most important thing is how the descendants sincerely serve the emperor?" replied another official who proposed that Official Su be appointed to replace King Ye.
"Your Imperial Majesty, that's not true. How can his descendants be trusted if the ancestor can act like that? His ancestor dares to free the captives. Who knows what his descendants will release this time?"
Huang Feiyu frowned, hearing Your Imperial Majesty, Your Imperial Majesty, and Your Imperial Majesty's continuing echo. His head started to spin when he heard that.
"The matter regarding King Xianqi's throne, I don't want to rush things." Huang Feiyu finally said.
"But, Your Majesty—"
Huang Feiyu raised his hand, asking everyone to be quiet. Dealing with older people is annoying. If it weren't for his status, he might have thrown them all as far as possible.
"Eunuch Wei!" Huang Feiyu called out.
The eunuch who was summoned immediately came forward from behind the emperor's chair, carrying a roll of paper.
"Read the decree now!" The emperor's orders.
"Alright, Your Imperial Majesty." Eunuch Wei looked at all the officials, who looked confused. They did not know and could not predict what decree would soon be delivered.
"Official Bai." Eunuch Wei called out.
"I am here." Official Bai, who had been just listening to the debate, was quite surprised when his name was suddenly called. He immediately came forward and saluted.
"Kneel and accept the decree."
Despite his slight confusion, Official Bai immediately knelt respectfully. After that, Eunuch Wei started to recite the decree.
"Official Bai has served the palace for a long time. Since the empire's founding, his ancestry has never caused any trouble. His loyalty is unquestionable. With this, the Great Emperor bestowed the title of Duke of Xianqi and will become vice-king of the Xianqi region."
Everyone who heard that was immediately shocked. Compared to other officials, Official Bai was a less prominent person in the court. So how could the emperor suddenly appoint him duke?
No one can say anything. The officials were furious at the emperor's sudden decision. Even so, no one dared to protest. After all, the emperor's decree was a final decision that could not be challenged.
Eunuch Wei rolled up the decree and then looked at Official Bai, who was silent. "Official Bai, don't you want to thank His Imperial Majesty?"
"Ah...." Official Bai, who had just woken up from his shock, immediately prostrated himself. His body trembled slightly. "Thank you very much, Your Imperial Majesty. I… I will look after Xianqi until a new king is appointed."
"Not only until a new king is appointed, but beyond," said Huang Feiyu.
"I will try," Official Bai replied after receiving the scroll of the decree.
"Good." Huang Feiyu smiled slightly. "Since there is nothing else, this meeting ends here." He immediately stood up and stepped away from his oversized chair.
"May Your Imperial Majesty live long ..." said the officials in unison. Then, after the emperor left, they started to leave the court hall whispering.
"See, what is this?! Instead of appointing a new king, he has instead appointed a duke!" grumbled an official who disagreed with their emperor's actions.
"And he did it without consulting first! Isn't he so rash? Who is this Officer Bai? Does he even know what the official's job is?"
"If it continues like this, I'm afraid the Baixi empire won't be able to last much longer."
"Right. Oh, God…."
While the officials were sneering at the emperor's actions, Huang Feiyu was stopped in the garden to observe the beauty of the bird in the cage.
"Looks like this bird is starving," Huang Feiyu muttered. "Eunuch Wei, you should feed it often."
"Your Imperial Majesty …."
Eunuch Wei felt like crying with his emperor attitude. His actions just now had angered the officials. However, how could Huang Feiyu still relax like this?
"I still don't understand," said Eunuch Wei.
"What doesn't understand?" Huang Feiyu asked without turning his head to the old eunuch.
"Your Imperial Majesty, isn't Officer Bai not someone who stands out in court? How… how...."
"Ah, are you questioning my decision?"
Eunuch Wei immediately shook his head in fear. He fell to his knees and hit himself in the mouth quite hard. "I don't dare. This lowly mouth has too much to say."
"Boring." Huang Feiyu waved his hand in disgust.
"I've watched over the Imperial Academy for years. Do you think I'm just there idle? Who is Bai Zhicheng and what kind of his character, I already know."
Bai Zhicheng was the figure of an intelligent person who was never exposed. In the past, he should have ranked first in the imperial examinations. However, due to the cheating of several people, he was demoted to the third rank.
Huang Feiyu found out after finding the original records left behind in the Imperial Academy. Watching the place for several years made him know a lot about the officials.
"Your Imperial Majesty is indeed wise!" praised Eunuch Wei, who immediately got a sharp glare from Huang Feiyu. Even if it was only for a moment, it made him tremble.
"You can think the same as them. I… a stupid... emperor...." Huang Feiyu said as he walked away. His voice sounded relaxed, without anger or objection.
"I don't dare!" Eunuch Wei exclaimed again. He is old, and his life can only depend on the emperor. If he made a slight mistake, he would be terrified.
"Eunuch Wei, summon General Li to Yongheng Palace! It's time to talk about those rotten rats," said Huang Feiyu coldly.
"All right, Your Imperial Majesty."