"Announce!"
"The envoy from the State of Chu, here to have an audience with Your Majesty!"
A long ceremonial call rang out.
Fan Li was finally granted permission to enter Weiyang Palace and meet the Emperor. According to state rituals, the Han Emperor Liu Xie should have held a grand reception for Fan Li on the very day the Chu delegation arrived.
However, three days had already passed. Chu and Han were ally states, and Princess Chang Le had just recently married into Great Chu.
Such neglect of a state envoy was extremely unreasonable. But Fan Li did not mind. He knew that the Han Emperor Liu Xie was extremely close to Xiang Ning and valued the relations between Chu and Han. Liu Xie simply disliked him, just as he loathed the powerful minister Dong Zhuo.
On the imperial throne, Liu Xie sat upright with regal bearing. His dignified air could not conceal his scholarly frailty.
"Treacherous minister! Insulting my dragon-riding son-in-law, see how I vent my anger for Xiang Ning! I may not dare provoke Dong Zhuo, but can I not provoke you, Fan Li?" As expected, Liu Xie harbored such thoughts.
He looked down at Fan Li, who was merely at the Qi Refinement realm, standing before the imperial steps. How feeble he appeared, as if an ant that Liu Xie could easily crush.
Liu Xie's heart swelled with strong confidence.
"Could I have misjudged? To be overshadowed by such a weak minister, is Xiang Ning's son-in-law really unfit for great affairs? Yet his performance at the the Three Emperors Conference was indeed not inferior to mine..." Liu Xie's thoughts wandered, but he noticed Fan Li standing tall with a smiling expression, looking right at him.
The court audience had dispersed, with officials and guards withdrawn. Even Dong Zhuo was absent. Within Weiyang Palace, only Liu Xie, Fan Li, and the attending eunuchs and palace maids remained.
Liu Xie frowned deeply. "Fan Li, why don't you kneel and pay obeisance? As a high minister of the State of Chu, do I need to teach you basic etiquette?"
Fan Li was pondering how to complete the system mission "The Greatest Treacherous Minister Under Heaven" with high quality.
Having bought the Heavenly-grade Purple Sash Robe but unable to wear it himself, he felt quite vexed.
"Is Your Majesty teaching me proper conduct?" Fan Li looked up and glared at Liu Xie with furrowed brows.
"You...?! Insolent! Rude!" Liu Xie raged furiously. His shouts echoed within the palace hall. The sound was loud yet lonely.
The eunuchs, guards, and palace maids inside stood like wooden sculptures, not daring to move.
News had already spread in Chang'an that the Grand Tutor Dong and the Duke of Jin from the Chu envoy were like brothers. Fan Li was well aware of this too.
'Go ahead and shout as loud as you want.' Fan Li mocked inwardly, 'With that cheap brother Dong Zhuo, this prince can walk sideways in Chang'an without any issues.'
Impotent rage. After venting his anger, Liu Xie realized no one responded to him. Moreover, Fan Li remained completely unfazed by his imperial authority. He felt his cheeks burning with embarrassment.
"I will not engage with someone of your limited understanding. Quickly kneel and pay obeisance, then we'll discuss official matters."
However, the man below the imperial steps remained standing upright.
Fan Li lazily spoke, "May I ask if Your Majesty expects me to kneel, given my status?"
"Don't you?" Liu Xie frowned in response. "I am the Han Emperor and the father-in-law of the Chu Emperor Xiang Ning. As a Chu minister, I'm practically your ruler too. On what grounds do you refuse to kneel?"
Fan Li shook his head. "Everyone knows the Chu Emperor treats me as a 'father'. In that case, I have no lord-subject relationship with Your Majesty, but rather an in-law relationship."
"In-law...?!" Liu Xie struggled for a while but truly could not refute. 'That useless son-in-law of mine! He acknowledges a criminal as his father, causing me to lose face as well!'
After an internal struggle, Liu Xie finally waved his hand in exasperation. "Forget it, be seated!"
Fan Li smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Your Majesty."
Having finally heard a polite remark, Liu Xie felt even more vexed instead. Why were the powerful ministers of Great Chu as difficult to deal with as the powerful ministers of his own Great Han?
Conducting official business first, Fan Li presented the state letters and congratulated Liu Xie on subduing the divine beast, the Black Tortoise Xuanwu.
Liu Xie reciprocated with some polite remarks but suddenly seemed to recall something, lashing out at Fan Li with bitter sarcasm.
"The astrological observers of Great Han's Qin Tian Monastery have detected the descent of divine beasts in the Three States of Han, Chu, and Ming. By now, the divine beasts of Great Han and Great Ming have been subdued, but the divine beast of Chu has yet to appear.
Could it be that treacherous ministers in Chu have disrupted the nation's destiny, preventing the divine beast from manifesting?"
After speaking, Liu Xie felt exceptionally gratified in his heart.
Wonderful!
The words he dared not say to Dong Zhuo, he could say to Fan Li today.
What if the Fan Clan held immense power in Chu?
This was Great Han!
This was his dominion!
Would Fan Li dare to bully him?
"Oh?"
"Treacherous ministers preventing the divine beast from appearing?"
Fan Li glanced at Liu Xie with a wry expression.
"Is...is there a problem?" Liu Xie felt uneasy, the terrifying, stout figure flashing across his mind.
"No problem at all." Fan Li cupped his hands. "Then allow me to congratulate Your Majesty on being surrounded by loyal and virtuous ministers in your court."
Liu Xie felt extremely awkward. His face stung, having slapped himself.
After taking a sip of tea, Fan Li continued, "Speaking of which, do you know why the Grand Tutor Dong and I have such an affinity, Your Majesty?"
"Why...why is that?"
Upon hearing "Grand Tutor Dong," Liu Xie's heart raced, only able to respond with clenched teeth.
"The other day, the Grand Tutor hosted a banquet at his residence, to which I was invited. The Grand Tutor mentioned that he had little education and did not know how the ancient sage ministers handled lord-subject relations, so he sought my advice. I replied: The greatest ancient ministers were Guan Zhong of Qi, Lü Buwei of Qin, and Fan Zeng of Chu. As a minister, one should look up to these three as role models."
Upon hearing this, Liu Xie was taken aback.
Guan Zhong, Lü Buwei, Fan Zeng?
Indeed, they were renowned ancient ministers, but he vaguely recalled something that made him feel uneasy, even uncomfortable in his heart.
"Why...those three in particular?" Liu Xie probed cautiously.
Fan Li chuckled. "Those three ancient ministers treated their rulers like their own children. Guan Zhong of Qi and Lü Buwei of Qin were both honored as 'Patriarch' by their respective rulers.
Fan Zeng of Chu was honored as 'Vice Father' by the Chu Hegemon King. The states of Qi, Qin, and Chu all reached their peaks under the guidance of these three ministers. From this, we can see that only by regarding one's ruler as one's own child can one be considered a loyal minister, a virtuous minister, a renowned minister."
Fan Li finished speaking and looked up at the Han Emperor Liu Xie, who seemed to be squirming on his throne, before adding one final jab.
"That was the insight on being a minister that I shared with the Grand Tutor. If Your Majesty does not believe me, you can send someone to inquire with the Grand Tutor."
These were all made-up fabrications, but Fan Li bet the other party did not have the audacity to do so.
As expected, Liu Xie shook his head repeatedly.
"No need! Really, no need! I believe you!"
At any time, Liu Xie was unwilling to provoke Dong Zhuo on his own initiative. Especially if it meant being forced to acknowledge him as a father figure!
He gazed at Fan Li with a pallid expression, thinking this man was too formidable and hateful! Originally, he thought neglecting him for a few days would allow him to vent his frustrations toward his precious son-in-law.
Unexpectedly, the powerful ministers of Chu and Han had found such affinity, even sharing insights on being treacherous ministers!
Heavens!
As a descendant of the great ancestor and the Son of Heaven of the Blazing Han Dynasty, how could he acknowledge a minister as his father?