"I hereby specially enfeoff Long Hui as King of Yanqi, to remain in Luoyang..."
"Your servant Hui bows in gratitude, Your Majesty!!"
After Long Hui made his decision, the emperor's formal investiture naturally followed.
As Long Hui bowed to thank the emperor, Zhong Hui, seated not far away, kept feeling rather awkward.
It was his first time seeing someone with the same given name as himself.
Still, he looked Long Hui over.
The fellow was tall, with a resolute, sharply defined face and a rather martial bearing. He had something of the look of a Famous Scholar. Knowing, too, that this man had avenged his father and destroyed a kingdom, Zhong Hui stopped taking issue with their shared name.
He just about deserved to be called Hui.
The ministers, meanwhile, were abuzz with discussion.
In truth, Pei Xiu had not been entirely deceiving Long Hui. His case had indeed provoked enormous controversy in Great Wei.
Many people believed Long Hui was innocent.
First, his father had been gravely ill, and White Mountain had sent men to humiliate him, indirectly causing his death. Long Hui had then dispatched troops to avenge his father, and after killing the other man, had come to Luoyang to confess.
What crime could anyone say he had committed?
This was vengeance in accordance with filial piety. Even if the Sage came back to life, he would have loudly praised Long Hui's actions, certainly not considered his attack on and killing of a colleague tantamount to rebellion.
Some ministers, however, believed that although Long Hui had acted out of filial piety, he had broken the law all the same. His character deserved praise, but his actions required punishment!
As it happened, Wei Shu and the others were compiling the New Code at this very time. Everyone had