Lingnan Prefecture, the Prefectural Yamen.
Ren Ye and the others followed Ba Wu and the black-robed man into the inner hall.
After a few brief pleasantries, Ba Wu took the initiative to introduce him. "Your Highness, Prince Huai, this is Chief Eunuch Wei Tingfang of the Directorate of Ceremonial, Lord Wei. He has come to convey His Majesty's verbal decree and escort you to the Capital."
"My greetings, Lord Wei." Ren Ye maintained a dignified bearing, neither servile nor overbearing, and offered only a slight bow.
"Oh, everyone says that Your Highness has received the Human Emperor Inheritance and is blessed with destiny, possessing the qualities of a dragon or phoenix among men. Now that I've met you, your bearing truly is a rare sight in this world." Lord Wei gave an exaggerated exclamation and offered a couple of nauseatingly flattering compliments.
The moment Ren Ye heard that voice, he thought, That settles it. This old bastard should be none other than Rat Lord, who had a hell of a lot of screen time in the Immortality Mountain secret realm.
Rat Lord had left a particularly deep impression on him, mainly because he had treated Wu Shuai, Ren Ye's generous financial backer, badly and ultimately driven him to his death. Still, this old bastard had met an extremely miserable end in the Immortality Mountain secret realm too. First, Big Fat Dragon had slapped him across the face countless times, then killed him.
When Ren Ye had seen him in the courtyard earlier, he had already thought he looked like Rat Lord. Only now, after hearing that very familiar voice, was he certain that the imperial envoy sent by the emperor was indeed this man.
*Was his real name Wei Tingfang? And after all these years of hard work, had he