Chapter 21: Oh! Is This Nephew of Mine Unavoidable?

This debate lasted for three full days.

On the fourth day, it wasn’t because they finally reached a conclusion but because, during those days, there were fewer state affairs, giving them the time to argue. Today, with more government matters to attend to, everyone decided to temporarily call a truce.

Quan Yingzhang finally decided to put on his official robes. “Hmph! Ji Sui, is it? Just you wait!”

Ji Sui merely flexed his wrist—after flipping through books every day for the past few days, his hand was aching terribly.

【And they still didn’t come to blows…】

A voice full of regret sounded.

Quan Yingzhang was somewhat surprised when he heard this voice.

Was it… that kid from the Xu family? But wasn’t he standing at the back?

Quan Yingzhang looked around and indeed found that Xu Yanmiao was nowhere to be seen. Just as he was puzzled, Prime Minister Dou Qing, stroking his long beard, stepped in front of him. “Mr. Quan.”

This man was already in his seventies, with graying hair yet still vigorous and energetic. At this moment, he spoke calmly and gently but with an inexplicable pride: “We welcome you to this hall.”

—Welcome to the new world.

A world that gathers the most elite talents of Daxia, where power struggles are manipulated.

A world where…

One can hear Xu Yanmiao’s innermost thoughts.

Upon hearing Xu Yanmiao’s inner thoughts—mainly after the argument ended—Ji Sui finally remembered what he had forgotten.

His good nephew was still in the Heavenly Prison!

“Your Majesty!” Ji Sui stepped forward on the spot. “I am guilty!”

The old emperor looked surprised. “What crime have you committed?”

“In August, Guixi, Yongfeng, and Xing’an suffered from a severe famine. The people were forced to dig up grass roots and tree bark to survive. Your Majesty sent me to oversee the relief efforts. When I arrived in the disaster areas, I found that local gentry and landlords were exploiting the famine by lending grain at usurious rates. If someone borrowed one dou, they had to repay one and a half; if they borrowed two dou, they had to repay three. If they couldn’t repay within a month, the interest would double, snowballing from fifty percent to one hundred percent. Many people in the disaster areas had to sell their children and daughters to repay the high interest.”

“What?!”

The old emperor was furious. “I had already decreed that private loans should not exceed three percent interest per month. These scoundrels dare harm my people!”

Ji Sui continued, “I am guilty of falsely passing an imperial edict and opening the grain stores of neighboring, unaffected counties on my own accord, using the grain to redeem the people’s children. I ask Your Majesty to punish me.”

The old emperor chuckled, clearly pleased. “What crime have you committed? If you had waited to petition me and for my approval, who knows how many families would have been displaced, scattered far and wide.”

“Well done!” The old emperor decisively judged the matter. “Not only are you not guilty, but you have also done a great service!”

—Such is the nature of imperial rule. If the emperor believes you shouldn’t die, even if you falsely pass an imperial edict, he will see you as clever and quick-witted. But if the emperor dislikes you, no matter how honest and law-abiding you are, he will consider you as stubborn and useless.

Ji Sui was well aware of this. He bowed to express his gratitude, his mind already formulating his next move.

Next, he just needed to express his sympathy for the people who, if not for the combined disasters, would have never wanted to part with their children… emphasizing “family happiness” and “parent-child bond.” This would surely remind His Majesty of his eldest son and grandson, recalling the times when his grandson played joyfully at his knee.

What hurdle could there be between a grandfather and grandson?

Then, he would seek merits for the Crown Prince. Just before his departure, the Crown Prince had voluntarily offered his own pocket money to donate to the people—though it was his sister who made the decision, and the Crown Prince wasn’t too willing. But the emperor didn’t know that.

The officials didn’t know Ji Sui’s thoughts, only feeling a slight admiration, their eyes showing signs of approval.

“Mr. Ji is truly benevolent…”

“Mr. Ji is indeed a loyal minister of the state! In the face of great matters, he does not hesitate to risk his life! A model for the world!”

“To love the ruler and care for the people, upholding benevolence as the foundation… Mr. Ji… sob sob sob… When Mr. Ji falsely passed the imperial edict, he must have been prepared to sacrifice his life!”

Confucianism has always admired this kind of steadfastness, where one is willing to sacrifice even their life for their beliefs. Ji Sui’s actions hit the mark with them.

Even Quan Yingzhang showed a sign of approval, bowing slightly toward Ji Sui from afar.

Xu Yanmiao had already begun digging into Ji Sui’s past.

【Whoa! What a classic protagonist storyline! Aloof and solitary, famous at a young age, rising rapidly, adored by scholars, favored by the emperor. By the time he was in his forties, he had become a Grand Secretary of the Wen Yuan Pavilion, drafting edicts for the emperor and discussing state affairs with him. His household only had one wife, and even though he had no sons, he never took a concubine. Except for losing a daughter during the chaotic times, his life is practically a wish-fulfillment story!】

“If you keep flattering me, I’ll still rescue my nephew!”

Ji Sui thought coldly. Then, he began to speak with emotion: “Your Majesty, this time, as I observed the hardships of the people, I was truly heartbroken.”

The old emperor slightly nodded, his expression showing signs of being moved.

“Those local gentry truly deserve to die! If it weren’t for them making profits during a national crisis…”

As Xu Yanmiao reviewed the situation at the time, he added his own narration to it: [I wouldn’t have needed to fight from the east side of the city to the west! You old bastards, I politely asked you to hand over the people and land, and you dared to refuse! Did you think I wasn’t capable of wielding a sword anymore?!]

Ji Sui choked.

He couldn’t remember the words he had prepared and could only think of one thing—

You’re the rude one! Your whole family is rude!

Ji Sui took a deep breath and continued to organize his words: “Why would the people need to sell their children if they could enjoy the happiness of family life…?”

The old emperor’s expression grew even more emotional.

The happiness of family life…

His eldest grandson had been imprisoned for a full month. From childhood to now, when had he ever suffered the hardships of prison life?

—He had joined the rebel army back then just to have a meal to eat, hoping that in his old age, he could have his children and grandchildren around him, enjoying a peaceful life. After all, his grandson was just too sentimental…

[Waaah… The people are really suffering.]

[It’s a good thing the Crown Prince has such an uncle. While the Crown Prince’s character isn’t great, his uncle is truly a good person.]

The ministers: “…”

They wanted to keep serious expressions, but Xu Yanmiao’s inner monologue was too distracting.

Ji Sui took another deep breath.

Forget it, let’s just try to earn some merit for his nephew first.

Trying to bring the conversation back on track, Ji Sui said, “Before I left on this mission, the Crown Prince took money from his private funds and asked me to buy grain along the way to distribute to the people in the disaster areas. The people in these areas, upon hearing this, were deeply grateful for the kindness of Your Majesty and the Crown Prince…”

[Huh? That didn’t happen, did it? The people were all grateful to the local officials for quickly reporting the disaster and distributing grain, and they thanked Ji Sui for persuading the wealthy families to donate food. What difference did the Crown Prince’s tiny contribution make? His mother told him to donate three thousand taels, and he secretly kept five hundred taels for himself.]

Ji Sui: “???”

He genuinely didn’t know about this. He really thought his nephew had scraped together two thousand five hundred taels by selling off his belongings!

Why would the royal family, of all people, need to skimp and save like that, even pocketing five hundred taels?

The ministers: “Ah, this…”

They had initially intended to back up Ji Sui’s claims—after all, it was clear that the emperor wanted to release the Crown Prince from prison, and they needed to show some understanding, praising the Crown Prince collectively and asking the emperor to forgive his youthful indiscretions. The emperor could then follow this cue and grant the release.

But now…

They glanced at the emperor’s expression, feeling quite conflicted.

Are we supposed to continue laying the groundwork for this?

Only Ji Sui was still trying to struggle on behalf of his nephew.

—If he couldn’t earn merit for his nephew, he could at least use his own achievements to ask the emperor to release him, right?

“This mission to oversee the relief efforts was part of my duty. I am fortunate to have been recognized by Your Majesty, and I am deeply grateful for your favor, as well as the love of the people…”

[Hiss—]

Xu Yanmiao picked up his “Keyboard Politics” once more, energetically analyzing the situation.

—Anyway, I’m just making wild guesses!

[As expected of the protagonist’s storyline! I knew it! How could a high-ranking, powerful protagonist not seek to advance further, to the point of bypassing court rituals, being acknowledged by name, and wielding a sword in the imperial palace?!]

[This is his way of telling the emperor: the people’s support is with me! If you recognize my merit, that’s great. If you don’t, I still have the people backing me!]

Stop talking nonsense!

Ji Sui’s fingers were trembling slightly.

“Naturally, the people know that their survival is thanks to Your Majesty. If it weren’t for Your Majesty’s concern for the world, ordering the Ministry of Revenue to quickly send disaster relief grain and exempting local taxes, when I arrived in Guixi, Yongfeng, and Xing’an, the streets would have been littered with corpses…”

Xu Yanmiao nodded seriously.

[Scared now? If you don’t give me the treatment I deserve, I, the imperial envoy in charge of disaster relief, will ensure your lands are strewn with corpses! Old man! You wouldn’t want something like that to happen, would you?!]

The old emperor’s mouth twitched, wanting to tell Xu Yanmiao to stop talking. If he continued, Ji Sui might just fall to his knees and beg for mercy.

Ji Sui just wanted to save his good-for-nothing nephew!

Ji Sui didn’t deserve this fate!

—Of course, the old emperor didn’t believe Xu Yanmiao’s nonsense; he was clearly entertaining himself with too many storybooks.

Ji Sui tried once more: “Although the Crown Prince donated three thousand taels and kept five hundred for himself, he is still young, just a child…”

The ministers looked sympathetic.

Ji Sui was so thrown off by Xu Yanmiao’s chaotic commentary that he had lost his usual composure. Normally, Ji Sui would never say something as laughable as “he’s still a child.”

In his mind, Xu Yanmiao dryly added, [He’s still a child! So he must not be let off!]

You, shut, up!

Ji Sui’s fists clenched tightly.

“Your Majesty! I believe that although the Crown Prince is young, he already understands the need to share the burden of the state. Though his actions are sometimes foolish, his intentions are good. He is simply too young to fully grasp the severity of certain matters and now more than ever needs a strict mentor to guide him onto the right path! I beg Your Majesty to find a renowned teacher to sternly educate him, rather than merely punish him…”

Enough…

Ji Sui closed his eyes in pain.

What on earth am I even saying?!

Ji Sui at this moment resembled someone writing an essay, going completely off-topic in the middle and then desperately trying to tie everything together in the conclusion… a complete mess.

Quan Yingzhang, watching his once quick-witted adversary—who had debated with him for three days straight—now reduced to this state by Xu Yanmiao’s antics, couldn’t help but recall Prime Minister Dou’s earlier words…

“Welcome to this hall.”

—Welcome to the new world.

“Do I really have to enter this new world?”

At the same moment, Ji Sui was thinking…

“Do I really have to save this nephew of mine?”

—