Emperor Jing of Zhou's silence left Wang Cheng, who was watching from the side, with his heart lurching up and down.
"Wang Cheng." Emperor Jing of Zhou suddenly spoke, his voice a little strained.
"This servant is here."
"Did Jiang Yu truly say, 'Wei An is a servant, a lowborn wretch'?"
Wang Cheng froze, then hastily bowed. "Your Majesty, the testimony states it clearly. More than one student heard him."
"So he truly..." Emperor Jing of Zhou fell silent for a moment, then asked, "Destroyed another man's spirit tablet?"
"Your Majesty." Wang Cheng first cast a discreet glance at Feng Yan, then said quietly,
"The testimony says he 'trampled it underfoot.' Zhao Yuanlang and the other four all gave the same account."
Emperor Jing of Zhou asked no more questions.
Only after a long while did he look again at Feng Yan kneeling before him, then at the testimony on the desk.
"What a fine declaration of 'I have no fear.'"
"Grand Tutor Feng." Neither pleasure nor anger could be heard in Emperor Jing of Zhou's voice.
"Your subject is here."
"When Wei Nisheng wrote that 'Partridge Sky,'
"Did he ever imagine that one day he would truly have to face 'lords and princes'?"
Feng Yan was silent for a moment before replying softly, "This old subject believes that when he wrote that lyric,
"All he had in mind was 'not letting others down.'"
"Not letting others down?" Emperor Jing of Zhou turned around.
"Not letting down Wei An's kindness in raising him, Your Majesty's kindness in placing hopes upon him, or his own heart as a scholar."
Feng Yan's voice was calm. By invoking "kindness in placing hopes upon him," he directly brought up the emperor's own words: "Wait until Wei Nisheng grows up."
"As for lords and princes,