Chapter 1322: Chapter 14 Bofeng
On the sprawling platform of the nobility, a clearing emerged.
Few wished to provoke this trouble.
"How dare you!"
Jiang Rumo took a direct step forward and stood between Tian Xili and Liu Yingqi.
Even the generally mild-mannered State Minister, seldom seen with an angry face—so much so that some mockingly called him "Dough-Faced Minister"—couldn’t help but explode with rage at this moment.
A "granny face" flushed with anger,
"What do you two think you are doing in front of The Imperial Ancestral Temple! Is it not enough to make a spectacle now? Do you also want to disgrace our ancestors?!"
Cao Jie took a step forward, his hand already on his sword. He seemed ready to execute both nobles at one command from the Emperor.
"State Minister!"
Tian Xili was taken aback, as if he had just come to his senses.
Bowing deeply towards the square platform and those Cinnabar Steps, he maintained his deepest bow: "Your Majesty, do you remember the old agreement of the Chang Ming County?"
Atop the Cinnabar Steps, silence prevailed.
Tian Xili kept his deep bow motionless.
Even with his Cultivation of Divine Arrival, cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
Thud!
At this moment, Liu Yingqi knelt down on the ground: "Your servants have roared in The Imperial Ancestral Temple and deserve death!"
The weight on Tian Xili’s shoulders visibly increased, but he dared not move.
"Peasant!" He was so furious he wished to leap up and kill Liu Yingqi on the spot, yet he could only howl in his heart.
With every moment the Emperor of Da Qi’s silence continued, the weight on his back seemed to increase by a thousand catties.
The imperial majesty was like a prison, nearly suffocating him!
After what felt like an eternity, amidst a struggle with fear that seemed to last a lifetime, Tian Xili heard the Emperor on the Dragon Throne finally speak slowly: "How would Marquis of Gaochang have Us instruct him?"
Thud!
"Your servant is frightened!"
Tian Xili also fell to his knees, his head knocking on the ground, his hands stretching over his head and laying flat on the ground.
The epitome of fear and reverence.
"What virtues or abilities do I possess that qualify me to instruct Your Majesty!"
Jiang Wang, watching this scene unfold, felt even more the authoritative might of the Great Qi Emperor.
With just a stretch of silence and a single question, he crushed the backbone of the Marquis of Gaochang, grinding his impulse to accuse and question to dust.
The Emperor of Da Qi spoke slowly: "We would indeed like to hear why the Marquis of Gaochang is so thunderously enraged today."
"Humbly beseeching Your Majesty’s discernment," Tian Xili said on his knees with a trembling voice: "Tian Anping, the undutiful offspring of the Tian family, in conflict with Liu Shentong of the Fufeng Liu Family, inadvertently took his life. Such a deed, against morality and law, deserved the ultimate penalty.
Fortunately, the Son of Heaven was benevolent, sparing Tian Anping from the death sentence, only to have him demoted to the Inner Mansion and placed within the Locked Boundary for ten years.
In Chang Ming County, the Tian family reached an agreement with the Liu Family, using all of the Tian family’s possessions to compensate for the loss of the Liu family’s celestial pride. Prime Stones by the cartload, Treasure Beads by the bushel, Secret Techniques, Dao Techniques, and armor—all were given. As a father, I, Tian Xili, failed to teach my son properly and must bear this burden, even if it means I have to bankrupt my family to do so! The Liu Family also agreed that this matter would not be brought up again!"
"However!"
He pressed his hands on the ground, lifting his head up, gazing towards the direction atop the Cinnabar Steps, his face full of grief and indignation: "Just now, I received news that Liu Xiao of the Liu of Fufeng murdered the guards and has entered Ji City!"
Everyone was in an uproar!
Only then did people realize why, on such an occasion today, the Marquis of Gaochang, given his intelligence, would make such an unwise public conflict with Liu Yingqi!
Killing guards to enter the city is tantamount to declaring war.
If Liu Xiao chose this day to enter Ji City, what other reason could there be?
It was none other than to kill Tian Anping!
Some people’s gazes towards Liu Yingqi were inevitably less frivolous.
Who would have thought that the Liu Family of Fufeng still possessed such a fiery spirit?
The Son of Heaven’s voice descended from the Cinnabar Steps above, pressing down like the entire sky: "Marquis of Gaochang, what is your explanation?"
Liu Yingqi, kneeling on the ground, only dared to slowly raise his head at this moment, revealing to everyone—
His tear-streaked face!
Kneeling there, crying bitterly before so many people, he said: "A father losing his son, a clan losing its talent, the efforts of generations ruined in an instant; the future of a hundred years severed with one slash. Your Majesty, how can I possibly explain!?"
These words were difficult for the Emperor to respond to.
Regardless of the reasons on the day at Chang Ming County, the fact was that Tian Anping killing Liu Shentong and not receiving the death sentence was indisputable.
Whether the Son of Heaven cherished talent or favored the Tian family more, the disposal was indeed unfair.
The sorrow and pain of Liu Yingqi was known to all at the time.
For a man of his hereditary noble status to weep so pitifully, it was unavoidably heart-rending.
At such a moment, naturally, the State Minister should step forward.
The extent to which a State Minister is qualified greatly depends on how well he takes blame on behalf of the Son of Heaven. This "blame" refers not to responsibility, but to scolding.
Jiang Rumo said impassively: "The matter of that year was already judged by the court, and you, Liu Yingqi, also acknowledged it. One case cannot be split into two; today, the crime in question is Liu Xiao forcing his way into Ji City!"
Liu Yingqi, supporting himself upright from his kneeling position, remained tearful as he spoke: "Liu Shentong, though my son, was raised by Liu Xiao’s side, their relationship was both that of a half-master and half-father to him. I, Liu Yingqi am incapable and failed to comfort my deceased son. Liu Xiao, with his Cultivation of Divine Arrival, tormented for nearly a decade, ultimately could not endure. That was his choice, which I cannot explain on his behalf. Your Majesty!"
With that, he knocked his head heavily against the ground once more.
Bang!
His forehead collided resoundly with the ground.
"Whether Liu Xiao lives or dies, is entirely at the mercy of Your Majesty’s divine judgement. The Liu Family dares not to interject! Liu Yingqi today has dishonored this grand ceremony and the Imperial Ancestral Temple, becoming the laughingstock of the realm, deserving death. I dare to request Your Majesty to grant me a blade for self-execution!"
Zhongxuan Sheng watched the drama unfold with narrowed eyes, thinking only two words— "Damn it!"
Who says the Liu Family isn’t ruthless?
Who mocks that weak Liu’s only belong in Fufeng?
When the Liu Family becomes ruthless, what do others have to do with it!
First came Liu Xiao, with his Godly Cultivation, dragging Tian Anping down in a mutual burial.
Then came Liu Yingqi, at this grand ceremony, intent on dragging Tian Xili to death with him.
He merely made a fuss, taking up a stance, and was accused of disrespecting the grand ceremony and the Imperial Ancestral Temple, calling for self-execution. What about Tian Xili, who was on the verge of a scuffle, who initiated the uproar?
Liu Yingqi may just be of average stature with limited ability, but he is certainly not foolish.
Even if really foolish, harboring hatred for nearly a decade should not be underestimated.
Tian Xili’s intentions to leverage the grand ceremony to turn the assault on Ji City into a significant advantage for the Tian family demonstrate competent political acumen.
But Liu Yingqi, without any room to maneuver, could not overturn the verdict of the past today, nor could he criticize the Son of Heaven for injustice.
So he chose...
To drag the other party to death with him.
A Marquis of Gaochang, whose heirship was about to be transferred, pulling a Marquis of Gaochang, in his prime of life, to death.
An aging Clan Leader of the Liu Family dragging a Clan Leader of the Tian Family, still among the top noble houses, to death.
In any calculation, it seemed no loss.
But how could matters of life and death be calculated so simply?
And how many people can face it with composure?
Liu Yingqi today, truly commands a new level of respect!
Even the Emperor Qi was momentarily silent!
The current Liu Yingqi, although anxious and frightened, appearing as if resigned to his fate, was actually fearless.
If blame were to be placed on the Liu Family, anyhow, his heirship was to be transferred, and his bloodline’s future generations would not inherit the title of Marquis of Gaochang.
If blame were to be placed on Liu Yingqi, he already volunteered for death, how else could they hold him accountable?
When one has no fear of death, how can death be used to scare them?
Bearing nothing, he actually has less to fear than Tian Xili does!
