Chapter 221 Title Conferment

As if crushed by the weight of successive high expectations, Zhao Ji suddenly became extremely dejected, his back slumping.

He scanned the crowd, then waved his sleeves.

"Since all of you, my dear ministers, feel this way, then discuss it amongst yourselves and see what royal title should be bestowed upon my Imperial Sister."

The ministers, who had just been on the same front, began to argue again. Some felt they should go all the way and grant her a single-character title, which is the rank of a Prince of the Blood.

Others felt that merely destroying the Nanyue Kingdom made a direct Prince of the Blood title excessive, advocating that a Commandery Prince title would already be a supreme grace.

Seeing these people actually start arguing among themselves, Zhao Ji suddenly felt capable again; a single sentence from him had caused them to fall into conflict.

He suddenly felt that being The Emperor wasn't so bad after all; it was actually quite interesting.

Wu Guiyi actually didn't care about this situation at all. In his view, with Gao Yuan's abilities, the merit of expanding the territory was within easy reach.

Therefore, the title of Prince of the Blood was merely a matter of time; the most important thing was simply taking this first step.

Seeing his certain expression, Zhao Ji felt a surge of irritation and immediately slapped the desk to stop the noise in the hall.

"What is this clamoring? It's unseemly! I have decided: Grand Princess Pacifying the South, Zhao Xiyao, has expanded our territory and suppressed rebellion with great merit. She is hereby specially enfeoffed as the King of Nanyue. So let it be!"

After speaking, Zhao Ji flicked his sleeves, left a cold snort, and departed.

The crowd looked at each other in dismay. What on earth was this? King of Nanyue? The previous King of Nanyue had just been dragged out to be fed to the dogs. Was this a curse for Zhao Xiyao to die a miserable death?

But now that Zhao Ji had left, no one had the chance to object, and they could only helplessly adjourn the court.

Wu Guiyi also had a look as if he had eaten filth. He felt that if he returned with this result, even if Gao Yuan didn't blame him, his other colleagues would think he was incompetent.

Back at the diplomatic hostel, upon hearing this result, Wan Sanqian was also sweating with anxiety, pacing back and forth while muttering to himself.

"It's over, it's all over. If the Commandery Duke finds out about such a title, the two of us will probably end up cleaning out night soil."

"Brother Wan, Great Manager Wan, Commander Wan, please come up with an idea!"

"An idea? Where would I get an idea... wait... let's go ask Patriarch Zheng and Patriarch Song!"

"Yes, yes, yes, let's go ask them!"

Zheng Ting and Song Yehong had clearly expected Wu Guiyi and Wan Sanqian to come. The two were currently sitting together sipping tea. Seeing the pair standing there looking nervous, they gestured with their hands.

"Don't be anxious, you two. Sit down first."

Even though they were desperate, the two could only sit down first and wait quietly for the two big shots to speak.

Zheng Ting took a sip of tea before looking at the two of them.

"The two of you must be here for the matter of the title, right?"

The two nodded together.

"Patriarch Zheng is truly perceptive. This title of King of Nanyue is really... sigh..."

Song Yehong, who had been sipping tea nearby, suddenly burst out laughing.

"Hahaha! You two were so clever when you first entered the city, how did you suddenly become so foolish now?"

The two were completely confused, looking at Song Yehong with bewildered faces, not knowing what he meant.

Zheng Ting stopped being mysterious and spoke to guide them.

"Don't tell me those people spreading the Grand Princess's achievements in the streets and alleys weren't arranged by you?"

The two suddenly realized. They were both smart people; if they still needed Zheng Ting to finish his thought, then Gao Yuan would have truly entrusted this mission to the wrong people.

The two acted very quickly. In less than three days, a rumor began to spread through the streets and alleys of Lin'an:

The current The Emperor is jealous of Her Highness the Grand Princess's achievements and intends to suppress his own sister. Therefore, he assigned the state name of the recently annihilated Feng Pu to his sister. On the surface, it's a reward, but in reality, it's meant to disgust people.

This rumor quickly reached Zhao Ji's ears through various channels. Even in the imperial court, some people brought it up, hoping Zhao Ji would realize his error and turn back.

This situation caused Zhao Ji to lose his composure. He returned to the inner palace and started smashing things.

"Bastards, bastards! Do they want me to go back on my word? Where is my dignity? Where is the dignity of the Imperial Court?"

To be honest, he really did have the intention of disgusting someone at first, but it wasn't to disgust Zhao Xiyao, but rather to disgust Gao Yuan.

However, in the current situation, if he insisted on enfeoffing Zhao Xiyao as the King of Nanyue, he would likely become that jealous and talent-suppressing figure from the rumors. This was something he could not accept.

But if he were to change the title, that would be going back on his word, which would be slapping his own face.

Zhao Ji originally thought he could take a small revenge on Gao Yuan and Zhao Xiyao, but he ended up shooting himself in the foot.

After venting, Zhao Ji slumped onto the carpet without any decorum, panting and flushed. He glanced at Wu Tongue, who was standing motionless like a wooden post nearby.

"Wu Tongue, how do you think my late father would have handled this situation?"

"Your father wouldn't have let himself get into this situation in the first place, okay!"

Wu Tongue complained secretly in his heart, his mind racing quickly.

"Your Majesty, this servant believes the Imperial Court is not wrong, and Your Majesty is not wrong. If there is a mistake, it must be someone else's fault."

Zhao Ji felt as if he had been enlightened, his mind suddenly clearing, and he burst out laughing.

"Hahaha, exactly. How could I be wrong? It's clearly they who misunderstood."

The next day, the long-delayed imperial edict was finally issued, leaving everyone wide-eyed with surprise:

Grand Princess Pacifying the South, Zhao Xiyao, was enfeoffed as the King of Nanyue. That's right, it was Southern Yue, which is Mount Heng.

As everyone savored the meaning, they couldn't help but give a thumbs-up toward the palace. This maneuver was truly slick.

The Grand Princess's title was Pacifying the South, the princess who guards the south. Now her royal title was Nanyue, Mount Heng, which is the southern peak among the Five Great Mountains and also carries the meaning of guarding the south. They actually complemented each other perfectly.

This was the first time in history that a royal title was bestowed using the name of one of the Five Great Mountains. One must know that because of Mount Tai, the status of the Five Mountains had always been transcendent.

So, by a stroke of luck, Zhao Xiyao's title seemingly surpassed all Commandery Kings and was second only to a single-character Prince of the Blood.

After overcoming their initial shock, Wu Guiyi and Wan Sanqian were so excited they almost jumped. Their positions were safe; they didn't need to go clean out night soil.

The two sent out all their remaining funds in one go, making the officials of all ranks in Lin'an city extremely happy.

As for the The Emperor, the two did not forget him either. They submitted a memorial thanking His Majesty and promised to send a batch of rare timber to Lin'an as soon as possible after returning, for the The Emperor's use in expanding the palace.

The attitude of the two made Zhao Ji very satisfied, and his resentment toward Gao Yuan lessened considerably. With a wave of his hand, he issued an imperial edict:

Allowing Zhao Xiyao to open an office and establish a government to appoint officials for her kingdom, while also allowing the Nanyue Kingdom to open shops in Lin'an to sell sugar, rare timber, animal hides, fruit, and other supplies.

In fact, the Hidden Guards' merchant firms had already been dealing in these things, but now it was considered having official permits.

Less than a month after the two returned to Panyu, over a dozen large ships arrived at Lin'an. A large quantity of good things favored by the high-ranking and wealthy were placed on the shop counters.

Tangerines from South of the Ranges, rare timber from Southern Yunnan, mountain delicacies, animal hides, and delicious sugar flooded into the upper-class circles in large quantities.

The Hidden Guards used the money they earned to bribe officials extensively, purchasing large amounts of regulated materials like oxhide and ox tendon, as well as transporting people and craftsmen back to South of the Ranges.

For a time, the prices of servants and maidservants rose significantly throughout the entire Jiangnan region.