Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Feng Ren and his son were sitting in the carriage. The sound of the cartwheel jerking along with the hustle and bustle was heard from the inside of the carriage, but it was never able to break the strange silence between the two.

After a long time, Feng Ren sighed and asked gently, “Does your arm still hurt?”

Feng Jin had been sitting rigidly. His face was unusually pale and his thin lips were a little pallid. The doctor had already stopped the bleeding of the wound on his right arm and bandaged it up. Half of his sleeve and arm was stained with blood that had yet to dry up. The whole carriage reeked of blood. He looked quite shabby.

“It’s not that painful anymore…” Feng Jin answered, lowering his gaze. Then, he asked hesitantly, “Father, the government…”

Feng Ren interrupted him and said, “I’m afraid that the government has already made up their minds about the marriage with the three tribes of the Northern Borderline and controlled the border wars by using their affinity. Kids don’t even bother to use such naïve schemes, but the government… They’re still hopeless after all!”

Feng Jin did not miss a single word his father said. The more he listened to him, the more nervous he felt. It was as if a small drum was beating intensely in his heart.

Did his father mean… he was preparing to give up the hopeless royal family of Dongqing?

“You’re a little reckless today. If it wasn’t for Liu Zhongqing’s son’s great martial art skills, you wouldn’t have only hurt your arm.” There was both some sympathy and resentment in Feng Ren’s voice. After all, his son was hurt. A father’s heart would ache when his son was hurt.

Feng Jin narrowed his eyes and listened to Feng Ren’s admonition silently. He did not like to stand out, but that day he had a conflict with the warriors from the Northern Borderline and he was injured. He naturally had his considerations.

If he stepped up, he would be injured at most. If he let the warriors from the Northern Borderline aim their arrow accurately at the eldest prince of the Count of Beizhen, he was afraid that blood might be shed.

Everyone knew that there was a drooling, hungry wolf in Dongqing. The residence of the Count of Zhenbei was the last rampart in Dongqing’s Northern. If something happened to the eldest prince of the Count of Zhenbei, who knew what people would would make of it. How arrogant and tameless would the three tribes of the Northern Borderline become?

Perhaps it was the influence of his family tradition, but Feng Jin and Feng Ren were generally not concerned about who the emperor was.

However, Feng Jin was still young after all and full of zeal. He could not watch the incident that day become the fuse of the decline of the Count of Zhenbei. By then, there would no longer be any obstacles for the three tribes of the Northern Borderline. They would be able to conquer down towards the south with their military and drive straight in into the heart of Dongqing, plunging the people into misery and suffering.

Therefore, Feng Jin stopped the eldest prince of the Count of Zhenbei and took in the provocations of the warriors from the Northern Borderline. He was no match for them and got injured.

If it was not for his ingenuity in asking Jiang Pengji for help, he reckoned that he would have more than just one arm injured.

Feng Jin looked more gentle and warmer while thinking about Jiang Pengji.

At that moment, he somewhat understood what it meant to help a friend out of loyalty, even if there was the possibility of losing their life. It was like the martial art characters in the marketplace novels.

Feng Ren’s mood changed and he said somewhat angrily, “However, have you ever thought about what you would do if the kid isn’t good in martial arts and is implicated because of you?”

Feng Jin stayed silent. He was about to say that Jiang Pengji had impressive martial art skills, but Feng Ren did not give him a chance to speak at all.

“Whatever. We owe Liu Zhongqing this time. We’ll find a chance to pay him back in the future.”

It was suddenly quiet again in the carriage. With his eyes shut, Feng Ren could not help but start making plans for the future.

The Dongqing Royal Family was hopeless. In order to regain the power that was in the hands of the aristocratic family, the emperor pursued deranged strategies, secretly supported the foreign forces, and connived at the powers of the eunuchs in order to stir things up and acquire benefits in times of trouble.

What were the results? The fight between the aristocrats, the eunuchs, and the increasingly strong foreign forces were growing more and more intense. The emperor had high ambitions, but he did not have the imperial power. It was initially just a problem of the aristocrats holding too much power. Now, it had become the hidden danger that could engulf the whole palace and the entirety of Dongqing.

The Feng family had been around for thousands of years. What upheavals had they not seen?

Dongqing was just like a leaking, big ship and could sink anytime.

It was now the time to make a quick retreat before a crisis, lie dormant, and silently wait for the trend of events.

In just a little while, Feng Ren already had plans in his mind, but Feng Jin was still worried.

The carriage went straight towards Shangyang Palace. The towering palace was like a giant beast lying on the ground. Although it was late at night, the lights in the palace were on all night long. If one looked down from above, the brightly lit Shangyang Palace was like a magnificent, bright pearl that was embedded into the ground.

The emperor wanted to watch in safety while the others fought, then reap the spoils when both sides were exhausted. He played with the imperial maids and his consorts every day. It was very extravagant. Occasionally, when he wanted to have a new affair, he would either inquire into private affairs under the disguise of a commoner and rape the wives of the ministers, or he would forcibly seize women and lock them in the imperial palace, which was used for short stays away from the capital.

Feng Ren still had hopes for the emperor in the early years. He dared to speak out, so the emperor was of course not fond of him. He was the patriarch of the Feng family, so the emperor did not dare to do anything to him. If he was not, he would have already lost his official position and the young and old of his family would be in trouble.

“The head of the secretariat, what has gotten into you today? His Majesty has already fallen asleep…”

Feng Ren smirked. There seemed to be cold knives in his eyes. His tough attitude was completely different from his usual kind image.

Feng Ren waved his sleeves angrily. “He has fallen asleep already? Secretary Liu, you can tell this to three-year-old kids. This isn’t enough to fool me. You and I both know what the emperor is like. If I can’t see His Majesty today, I won’t leave.”

Obscene tunes had already been heard in the palace and there was a whiff of extravagance in the air. Yet, the personal secretary of the emperor told him that the emperor had already fallen asleep…

Did he really think that Feng Xiande was a three-year-old kid?

Secretary Liu had lost his penis in childhood. His voice was unusually sharp and he looked neither like a woman nor a man. However, he managed to become the imperial chief secretary in a battleground like Shangyang Palace. He became the eunuch and courtier whom the emperor trusted. His ability in observing one’s speech and behavior was naturally good.

He smiled awkwardly. “You’ve come to the palace this late at night and I should report it immediately. However, His Majesty has been working hard for the Northern Borderline affair and He gets angry easily. I’m very distressed too. Why don’t you tell me first about the matter that you wish to report? If it’s really important, I’ll report it for you, even though I might be punished by His Majesty.”

If it was a normal day, Feng Ren would have definitely waved his sleeves and left angrily if Secretary Liu made things difficult for him. He was too lazy to argue with a eunuch.

However, that day, he smiled coldly instead and replied, “I’ll resign.”

The look on Secretary Liu’s face changed dramatically and he hurriedly said, “What’s wrong? What made you so angry? Resignation is not a trivial matter. Once this is said, what’s done cannot be undone. How could you…”

With a grave face, Feng Ren said, “It looks like His Majesty has really fallen asleep. I won’t disturb His Majesty and I’ll submit a written statement tomorrow…”

Secretary Liu did not dare to stop him. He hurriedly went inside to report this to the emperor.

No matter how stupid he was, he would have had to know that the Feng Ren’s resignation was just adding fuel to the fire.

Feng Jin secretly looked at the extravagant and ethereal Shangyang Palace. Then, he glanced at the arrogant Secretary Liu. A chill was growing inside his heart.

Feng Ren put on a false smile and said coldly, “Thank you, Secretary Liu.”

Secretary Liu’s scalp felt like pins and needles were being pressed into it. Although he was a eunuch who held certain power in his hands and had tyrannically abused his power, he still could not suppress his inferiority and diffidentness when he met prim and proper aristocrats like Feng Ren––one was like the clouds in the sky and the other was like the mud on the ground.