106: The young are to be feared, the first traitor

Half an hour later.

The banquet ended.

Officials and generals departed one after another.

Xie Weilou and Yan Ruyi walked on a main road.

"Xie Weilou, you performed excellently this time. Princess thinks highly of you."

Yan Ruyi gave Xie Weilou a thumbs-up, her eyes filled with approval.

Why else would she say it? Copying is a skill, and didn't they win this round by relying on Xie Weilou's copied poem?

Others who wanted to copy didn't have the skill.

Xie Weilou looked at Yan Ruyi speechlessly: "Princess, don't forget our agreement."

Yan Ruyi patted her chest and guaranteed: "Don't worry! I'll take you to get that broken book you want right now. That Restriction master and I have a good relationship, so he definitely won't refuse."

Xie Weilou raised an eyebrow: "And there's still a thousand taels of silver; not a single cent less. My copying of poems this time, while seemingly a win, is actually a way of gaining fame by dishonest means, deceiving the world. I'll have to bear a bad reputation for it."

Yan Ruyi's mouth twitched: "Is that so? But I saw you copying quite happily!"

"Anyway, you must pay. Otherwise, even if you offer yourself, it won't do..."

Xie Weilou said in a deep voice.

"Hmph!"

Yan Ruyi snorted coldly and immediately pulled out a stack of silver notes from her bosom: "Here's a thousand taels, you money-grubbing fellow, take it!"

Xie Weilou took the silver notes and sighed: "Princess, don't despise my greed. You should know the situation of Zhenxi Marquis Manor. I can barely afford to eat right now. If I don't have some silver, I'll probably starve to death."

"Alright, alright, Princess understands you!"

Yan Ruyi waved her hand.

She naturally wouldn't believe Xie Weilou's nonsense. This guy had received a lot of silver from Yan Junlin before, but then he immediately ran to the gambling den and lost it all.

Given his personality, he would either gamble or visit prostitutes, so these thousand taels would probably be gone very soon.

"Young Master, please wait!"

Just then, a voice rang out.

Xie Weilou looked over and saw a middle-aged official walking quickly towards them.

Xie Weilou asked with a smile: "It's Minister Changsun of the Ministry of Works. May I ask what the matter is?"

Changsun Ming said with a smile: "Young Master, it's my father's birthday tonight. I'd like to invite you over for a drink. What do you think, Young Master?"

Upon hearing this, Xie Weilou said earnestly: "Since Minister Changsun is inviting me, how can I refuse? Rest assured, I will definitely be there tonight."

Changsun Ming bowed with a serious expression: "In that case, I await your esteemed presence!"

"You're too kind, too kind."

Xie Weilou quickly waved his hand.

"Hahaha! Then I'll rush back to get busy."

Changsun Ming said with a smile.

"Alright, alright, alright."

Xie Weilou waved his hand lightly.

Only then did Changsun Ming depart quickly.

"Hmph!"

Just then, a cold snort sounded as Xie Cangxuan walked over with several officials.

Xie Weilou looked at Xie Cangxuan and said with a smile: "Second Uncle, what did I say before?"

Xie Cangxuan couldn't help but recall Xie Weilou's previous words: even if one wanted to make connections, they should connect with marquises, generals, prime ministers, and the six ministers...

Thinking of this, his expression froze, and he stared at Xie Weilou with a face full of coldness. This little beast was truly hateful, truly deserving of death.

"The younger generation is formidable!"

A slightly aged voice rang out.

"Greetings, Prime Minister."

Everyone looked over. A white-haired old man dressed in a black robe walked over. Their hearts tightened, and they quickly bowed.

The Prime Minister's surname was Wei, and his given name was Zhongchen. His status was extraordinary; he was an old treacherous official who had committed many misdeeds, but the Xia Emperor always turned a blind eye, being extremely lenient.

The Xia Emperor had previously said that there were political problems, many tumors, and Prime Minister Wei was the biggest tumor!

However, the Xia Emperor was unwilling to remove such a tumor, because Prime Minister Wei's achievements could completely overshadow the bad things he had done.

You could say Prime Minister Wei was a treacherous official, but you could absolutely not say he was an incompetent person, because he was capable and loyal to the Emperor.

Wei Zhongchen ignored the bowing officials. He looked at Xie Weilou and said faintly: "The younger generation is formidable!"

Xie Weilou bowed to Prime Minister Wei with a serious expression: "Thank you for the Prime Minister's praise. You are an insurmountable mountain in my heart."

"Uh... why?"

Wei Zhongchen was stunned for a second.

Xie Weilou said earnestly: "You are the greatest treacherous official in Tianqi. Who can surpass you?"

"Is he looking for death?"

Upon hearing this, everyone's hearts tightened. Prime Minister Wei was indeed a great treacherous official, but could such words be said so casually?

After hearing this, Wei Zhongchen was not angry; instead, he said with a face full of approval: "A straightforward young man. Prime Minister forgives your impoliteness. If you have time, visit my manor. My granddaughter has also reached the age for marriage."

"Holy cow! This works too?"

"Prime Minister Wei likes it when people call him a great treacherous official? Should I imitate him?"

"If you want to die, you can say it. Prime Minister just isn't bothering with Xie Weilou, that kid."

"Damn it! Xie Weilou, that kid, can actually manipulate people's hearts! Is he being favored by Prime Minister Wei? And he wants to marry his granddaughter to him?"

The surrounding officials muttered to themselves, unable to help but admire Xie Weilou's courage. After saying such words, he could still receive praise from Prime Minister Wei, which was very strange.

However, some also felt that a person like Prime Minister Wei would not show his thoughts on his face; perhaps he already hated Xie Weilou in his heart.

"Cough cough! I'm still young."

Xie Weilou coughed lightly.

"Hahaha! It's good to be young. Unfortunately, I'm old and can't be young anymore."

Wei Zhongchen laughed heartily, then walked away with his hands behind his back.

Seeing this, the surrounding officials quickly followed.

After everyone left.

Yan Ruyi looked at Xie Weilou in surprise: "I'm very curious, why wasn't he angry?"

Xie Weilou smiled faintly: "Do you know what the dreams of military officials and civil officials are?"

"Oh?"

Yan Ruyi was a bit puzzled.

Xie Weilou said: "The dream of military officials is to conquer territories, while the goal of civil officials is to be second only to one person and above ten thousand. Prime Minister Wei is second only to one person and above ten thousand. He is inherently a treacherous official, a well-known fact. He is not afraid of what others say; on the contrary, what he fears is that others don't consider him a treacherous official."

Yan Ruyi looked at Xie Weilou in confusion: "I don't quite understand. Who likes to be cursed at?"

Xie Weilou stared at Yan Ruyi and retorted: "Do you really not understand? You were born into the Emperor's family. How did you grow up? You should understand schemes and intrigues better than I do."

To be second only to one person and above ten thousand, any step could threaten Royal Power, making one feared by the Emperor.

But if you become a treacherous official, and your handle is in the Emperor's grasp, then the Emperor will feel at ease, because the Emperor can deal with you at any time. Thus, your threat level is not high.

At that time, if there is an unchangeable court situation and a new Emperor emerges, then the treacherous officials must be executed to bring about peace, and there won't be too much pressure, and public resentment can also be eliminated.

But if you are a great loyal official, inflexible and constantly opposing the Emperor, then you truly deserve to die.

If the Emperor wants to kill you, it might cause public resentment. If he doesn't kill you, he feels uneasy. This is the most troublesome thing.

Clearly, Prime Minister Wei is currently a treacherous official. He is not afraid of anyone cursing him, because the more people curse him, it shows that he has not truly won over a large number of people, and he is naturally safer.

Of course, not everyone can curse him!

Xie Weilou previously called the Xia Emperor the first king of all time, and now he calls Prime Minister Wei a great treacherous official, which happens to align with both their thoughts. If anyone else dared to say such things, well, just wait for death!

Yan Ruyi lowered her head, unable to see her feet, only two full 'bunnies'. She whispered: "I... I'm from the useless group. From childhood, I didn't fight or snatch, which is why I've lived until now."

Xie Weilou said with a smile: "Princess, your chest is so big, it's full of schemes and intrigues!"

Not fighting or snatching leads to a faster death. Being able to live until now definitely means she shouldn't be underestimated.

"You..."

Yan Ruyi's eyes widened, her teeth bared, wishing she could bite Xie Weilou.

"Princess, please!"

Xie Weilou extended his hand.

"Hmph!"

Yan Ruyi walked quickly ahead, not wanting to bother with Xie Weilou, but she was muttering to herself, 'Am I exposing myself so obviously?'

'Xie Weilou, that guy, can actually see through it?'