Q5: Fooling the Landlord's Idiotic Son

Qingxian Hall

After seven days of busy work, Master Di Xin finally sat down beside the desk, where all the memorials submitted by the feudal lords over the past seven days had been neatly arranged.

That's right—only the feudal lords' memorials.

To keep Shang Rong from disturbing his leisure, Di Xin had assigned the local Chaoge memorials to him long ago, leaving only the memorials from the eight hundred feudal lords untouched here.

The era had not yet reached centralized rule. The eight hundred feudal lords governed their own territories separately, and the memorials from Chaoge were merely a face-saving formality. Even if they were approved, none of the feudal lords would honestly carry them out—unless... it was time for the Human King to take the blame.

"I only wanted to slack off a little. I didn't expect to catch quite a few big fish."

Di Xin stretched lazily as he looked at the latest "little report" submitted by Fei Zhong. A small faction of more than a dozen feudal lords, led by the three great earls, had already begun to make their move.

"Attacking the Star-Gathering Pavilion—not on the grounds that it wastes labor and resources, but by accusing it of abusing worthy officials. They've actually taken the moral high ground. Seems there are some capable people among them after all.

"Kong Xuan actually took Wen Zhong away. Looks like he plans to use the Interception Sect as the breakthrough point. If I can bring Huo Ling Shengmu, the Interception Sect's third-generation chief disciple, into the Star-Gathering Pavilion, then the Interception Sect will once again be tied to Yin Shang. Well done! This royal position wasn't bestowed in vain!

"Su Hu's daughter, Su Daji. Is she trying to stir up public sentiment, pressure Su Hu, and force him to choose? In that case, should I give him another push? It's just that the degree will be difficult to control. Looks like Fei Zhong has more work to do."

After tossing Fei Zhong's memorial aside, Di Xin had the carriage official notify everyone that court would be held tomorrow. He then intended to return to Shouxian Palace, but before he could rise, his cheap son Yin Jiao had already arrived before the jade desk.

"Your son pays his respects to Father King."

Yin Jiao looked up, anger showing on his face. His white teeth ground together with a creak, as if he had made an enormous decision.

"Your son requests that Father King hold court tomorrow."

Di Xin's expression held a hint of amusement. He did not speak, merely looking calmly at this cheap son of his.

Under Di Xin's gaze, Yin Jiao felt uneasy, but he remembered the instructions from his Mother Queen, Empress Jiang. Clenching both hands tightly, he spoke again.

"I beg Father King to put the affairs of the state first. Please do not, do not..."

Yin Jiao clenched his teeth. The word "wretch" hovered at the tip of his tongue, yet he could not bring himself to say it.

"That's enough. You may leave."

Di Xin raised a hand and summoned the carriage official. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Convey my order to every consort in the rear palace, including the Queen. With the exception of Consort Su and Consort Huang, all of them are to go to Nuwa Palace to offer incense for one month. They are not to return before the month is over, and they are not to return if they fail to worship devoutly. They are to offer incense for the entire month according to the standards. Anyone who violates this order will be sent to the Cold Palace."

Consort Huang was Huang Feihu's younger sister. She and Madam Yin had been close friends since their maiden days. After Jin Zha and Mu Zha were taken away by Guang Chengzi, Di Xin had sent Consort Huang to accompany Madam Yin. These days, she rarely stayed in the depths of the palace.

"Yes!"

The carriage official froze for a moment, then hurriedly accepted the decree and withdrew.

"Wait!"

Yin Jiao was shocked when he heard this. He quickly rose and blocked the carriage official's path, glaring furiously at Di Xin like a young tiger.

"Father King, what are you doing? My younger brother has already been abducted, and you still want your son to lose his mother? Could it be, could it be that you really have been bewitched by that wretch Su Daji, just as those concubines said?"

Di Xin suddenly rose. In three strides, he reached Yin Jiao and bent down to look down at the young tiger he had raised.

"Do you know what you're saying?"

"Of course I do! My second brother was abducted, yet Father King said that someone had accepted him as a disciple and that it was a good thing! Fine! I treated it as a good thing. I could bury my head in bitter study and cultivation, all so that one day I could flatten that damn immortal mountain and bring my second brother back!

"But what about you? What have you done? You turned around and began taking consorts! Not only have you neglected the affairs of state, you even want to drive my Mother Queen out of the palace. Isn't the next step to depose me, the Crown Prince? Then why did you make me Crown Prince a few days ago?

"Why didn't you simply drive the three of us out of the palace back then and reduce us to slaves? At least that would have left the three of us alive!"

This was the first time Yin Jiao had revealed his true feelings before Di Xin. He had simply experienced, thought about, and lost too much over the past few days.

"You go and deliver the order first."

Di Xin waved his hand. The carriage official bowed and acknowledged the order before quickly leaving, an expression of surviving a disaster on his face. After exiting the hall, he even closed the doors behind him, leaving not the slightest gap.

Only Di Xin and Yin Jiao remained in the hall. Only then did Di Xin bend down until his gaze was level with Yin Jiao's. When their eyes met, Di Xin suddenly laughed.

"Hahaha! Jiao'er, if you hadn't said those things afterward, then your father would truly have been disappointed in you."

"F-Father King?"

Yin Jiao's whole body stiffened. The anger in his eyes turned to confusion. Di Xin reached out, took Yin Jiao's right hand, and pulled him before the jade desk.

"Look at these memorials."

"These?"

Yin Jiao raised his head blankly. Seeing the encouragement in Di Xin's eyes, he lowered his head hesitantly and slowly began flipping through the memorials.

"Huh? They're all memorials from the feudal lords. Father King, what is this?"

Di Xin smiled, but did not answer Yin Jiao's question. Instead, he steered the conversation back to what Yin Jiao had said earlier.

"You and Hong'er are both my biological sons. Even a tiger won't devour its cubs, let alone a human.

"It's just that the two of you have some great tribulations in your fates. If I hadn't acted this way, neither of you would have lived to twenty. Otherwise, why would I have been in such a rush to make you Crown Prince? Wasn't it to increase your fortune and let you survive safely?

"However, there can ultimately be only one Crown Prince. So I deliberately let Guang Chengzi take your brother and the others away. When the opportunity arrives, you will naturally reunite with Hong'er. At that time, you'll know that what I said was true."

"Father King, I..."

Yin Jiao's eyes instantly grew moist. Guilt welled up in his heart, and it felt as though something was blocking his chest. He wanted to admit his mistake, but Di Xin took the words from him.

"You don't need to say it. I know that your Mother Queen and the others encouraged you to come find me in Qingxian Hall today."

"My Mother Queen didn't. It was..."

"Listen to me calmly first. You are the Crown Prince of Yin Shang. You must have your own judgment, your own understanding of matters, and your own principles.

"Although your Mother Queen loves and dotes on you, she cannot distinguish what she should do to truly benefit you. For example, this time, she feels somewhat wronged on her own behalf, yet she doesn't realize how much this will affect you.

"Moreover, your Mother Queen is first the legitimate daughter of the Jiang clan, and only afterward the Queen of Yin Shang. At times, she thinks she is helping your maternal uncles and grandfather, without realizing that she is damaging your interests.

"She needs to calm down and first understand what she must do from now on. That way, she won't use things done 'for your own good' to harm you in the future."

"Mother Queen would never harm me!"

"Right. She believes she's helping you, but in reality, she's harming you—just like this time. Jiao'er, walk more and observe more; speak less and do less. In your position, the more you do, the more mistakes you'll make."

Di Xin raised a hand and patted Yin Jiao's shoulder before rising and walking toward Shouxian Palace.

"Remember to accompany Father King to court tomorrow."

The landlord's idiotic son was becoming harder and harder to fool...