Su Ziji casually nodded, then walked past him.
Not far away, Bi Xin stood smiling as he spoke softly with Su Ziji. Xu Wei remained where he was, slowly clenching his fists, yet fear rose in his heart.
When Prince Dai had first been directly assigned to the Imperial Feather Guards, he had merely been a duke. There were no shortage of dukes, marquises, and earls in the capital; it was nothing particularly remarkable. Relying on his own highborn background, his position as Assistant Commander of the Imperial Feather Guards, and Prince Qi, in whom he had "invested," Xu Wei had not taken the then Duke of Dai seriously.
That was because Xu Wei had never believed the Duke of Dai had any chance of reaching the summit. The Duke of Dai had lived among the common folk, and his relationship with the Emperor was practically that of strangers, save for their blood ties.
And though the Crown Prince had died before being stripped of his title, his death was deeply connected to the Emperor. Could there truly have been no resentment or misgivings?
Even if the Duke of Dai now visited the Emperor twice a month to foster their relationship, the time had still been far too short.
The enfeoffment of Princes Qi, Shu, and Lu had all taken years of slow climbing. Even if the Duke of Dai wanted to cultivate affection, how long had it been?
Heh! Yet the result had delivered him a resounding slap across the face!
At the thought of having to kneel and kowtow before that man, Xu Wei felt stifled, mixed with an indescribable jealousy. He had once been proud of his own birth, but now that he thought about it, what status could be more exalted than that of imperial offspring?