376 Not Letting Down the Emperor’s Grace
His Majesty was silent.
After a long time, the emperor continued, “I heard that when this dagger was forged, it caused a roar that sounded in all directions, like the cry of a dragon in the sky. In an instant, black clouds pressed down on the city in the east, and thunder and lightning flashed. It rained heavily, ending the drought in the east. King Ning immediately felt that this dagger was auspicious and sent someone into the capital at full speed.”
He had just ascended the throne not long ago and had yet to make any contributions to the country, so he was not a threat to the court officials. King Ning had sent someone to send this auspicious sign. The officials offered the dragon to the emperor to show their loyalty. It also expressed that it was fate that he had ascended the throne. Once that happened, God bestowed them with a divine weapon to reduce the rain and drought.
He was a true dragon!
This matter had even become a beautiful story.
The reason why he could stabilize his position as soon as possible was because of this dagger.
As the emperor’s voice fell, the court officials thought of this past.
The emperor in the dragon throne held a dagger and said in a calm voice, “I was very happy to obtain this strange dagger. I tested its sharpness. It’s indeed a rare divine weapon, so I named it the Four Seas Dragon Dagger.”
There was another long silence in the royal court.
The emperor looked at the Four Seas Dragon Dagger in his hand, as if he had fallen into deep memories.
After a long time, he slowly unsheathed the dagger. It was so sharp that it almost hurt his eyes. “Later, Fifth Brother invited himself to Youzhou to guard it. I gave him this Four Seas Dragon Dagger and hoped that he could shake the four seas for the Great Zhou and deal with the nine states to calm the war.”
In fact, ever since he ascended the throne, he had always been very afraid of the vassal lords of various places. He had given the Four Seas Dragon Dagger to Yin Lixing, and it was also filled with a deeper meaning that intimidated the vassal lords of the four lands.
At that time, he thought that although Yin Lixing was stubborn and could not bear such a heavy responsibility, he was still a member of the royal family. There were also generals in Youzhou to assist in the war, so he would definitely be able to intimidate the vassal lords.
The Marquis of Weining was already so shocked that his face turned ashen.
He knew very well that this Four Seas Dragon Dagger was the last fire that burned away the emperor’s rationality. Once this fire burned, it was inevitable that there would be bloodshed in the entire court. The first to bear the brunt would still be the Marquis of Weining’s Residence.
The emperor’s finger gently touched the Four Seas Dragon Dagger. Unexpectedly, it was too sharp. With just a light touch, blood gushed out of his finger. He shocked the servant beside him. “Your Majesty! Someone, quickly send the imperial physician…”
In the hall, they panicked because of the emperor’s injury.
However, the court officials below stood rooted to the ground, not even daring to breathe loudly.
The emperor looked at the blood in his hand in a daze. “Fifth Brother received the Four Seas Dragon Dagger and pulled it out of its sheath in the court. He cut his palm and blood gushed out. With blood to show his sincerity, he knelt on the ground and shouted, ‘Long live your majesty. I will not let down the emperor’s grace and my brother’s trust.’”
In the next ten years, his royal brother guarded Youzhou. His reputation was illustrious, and he made the four seas submit to him. The Nine States were stable, and there was nothing to worry about in the royal court.
There were many officials who had personally experienced that scene back then. When they heard the emperor mention this past, they sweated profusely.
The imperial physician was already bandaging the emperor’s wound. As he was a little closer, he heard the emperor mutter, “It turns out that it’s so painful to cut the skin with the Four Seas Dragon Dagger. Furthermore, this promise is so solemn. In the end, I underestimated his words back then. ‘I will not let down the emperor’s grace and my brother’s trust.’”
He was determined to be loyal to his country.
As a younger brother, he would definitely not let down his brother.
Upon hearing this, the imperial physician immediately sweated profusely, but he did not dare to show any abnormality.
After finally wrapping the wound up, the imperial physician hurriedly left. The emperor turned to look at Yin Huaixi, who had his head lowered. “Back then, when your father gave you the Four Seas Dragon Dagger, did he say anything?”
“Yin Huaixi” was silent for a moment before following Young Master’s instructions. “As a loyal subject, I will definitely not let down my Imperial Uncle.”
As soon as these words were spoken, there was silence.
Indeed!
King You had handed the Four Seas Dragon Dagger to Yin Huaixi because he was the heir. In the future, he would inherit his father’s position and guard Youzhou. His sincerity was obvious.
On the other hand, after experiencing life and death, Yin Huaixi finally brought the Four Seas Dragon Dagger into the capital in the end. Wasn’t this also his loyalty to the royal court?
The emperor placed the Four Seas Dragon Dagger into the box and handed it to the eunuch. He turned to Yin Huaixi and said word by word, “Keep the Four Seas Dragon Dagger well. In this world, no one is more qualified to have this than you and your son.”
His voice was deep. After chewing each word, he spat them out with a terrifying ferocity.
When the eunuch heard this, he frantically handed the box containing the Four Seas Dragon Dagger to Yin Huaixi. He knelt on the ground and raised the box above his head.
Under the emperor’s deep gaze, Yin Huaixi finally took the box from the eunuch after a long while. “Thank you for your reward, Your Majesty.”
The emperor in the dragon throne looked at him steadily. “It’s time for you to call me Imperial Uncle.”
Yin Huaixi was flattered, but he lowered his head and said bluntly, “I feel guilty. I’ll wash away my grievances and not let down the emperor’s grace.”
In other words, he was still a criminal. He couldn’t change his words, nor should he.
The emperor did not force him. He stared at the Marquis of Weining, who was kneeling in the first row of the hall. After a while, he said, “I remember that when we rushed to the north, the Marquis of Weining was the commander-in-chief, and the Marquis of Changxing was the general of the north. He was under your command?”
The Marquis of Weining knelt down with a thud. “Your Majesty, I’m guilty. Back then, I was focused on the war in the north. I didn’t know that the Marquis of Changxing was so bold to dare to persecute King You. I’m guilty of negligence. Your Majesty, please punish me.”
The emperor stared coldly at the Marquis of Weining, his eyes dark. After a while, he said, “I’m tired, so let’s disperse the court. Yin Huaixi will temporarily stay in Fuyang Palace. Choose the best imperial physician to treat the heir.”
After four days of court assembly, it finally ended. Yu Zongshen and Yu Zongzheng returned to the residence in a daze and received news from the palace.
“Imperial Consort Lu has overstepped her position and has no respect for seniority. It’s a great disrespect. Hence, she has been stripped of her title as Imperial Consort and is demoted two ranks to second-grade Concubine Lan. She will be moved to the Lanyi Palace. Temporarily, the Empress Dowager will be in charge of the affairs of the harem. The Marquis of Weining will be stripped of his title as a first-grade marquis and reduced to the second-grade Marquis of Ningyuan. All his duties have been suspended…”
Yu Zongzheng and Yu Zongshen were not surprised to hear the news.
Imperial Consort Lu had been doted on in the harem for many years. Now that her phoenix seal had been snatched away, she had lost her status in the harem. The Marquis of Weining had been reduced from a superior first-grade marquis to the second-grade Marquis of Ningyuan. All his duties had been suspended. To put it bluntly, he had lost his military power.
As a result, Imperial Consort Lu’s lineage was also greatly damaged.
The two of them went to An Shou Hall together. Seeing that they were not in good spirits, Old Madam Yu quickly asked Nanny Liu to bring some snacks and tea over.
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