Chapter 6

As soon as Ye Yiming returned to the Duke's Mansion, he rushed straight to his room, eager to absorb the cultivation points.

The few guards who had been protecting Ye Yiming all along dispersed at this moment. Ye Qi, upon entering the Duke's Mansion, ran alone in a certain direction. That direction was where the Martial Duke resided.

In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Ye Qi arrived at a small side courtyard in the Duke's Mansion. It was a very ordinary small courtyard, with nothing more than a small pond and a small pavilion.

At this moment, two elderly men with youthful faces were playing chess in the small pavilion. One of them was the current Martial Duke, Ye Xiangtian.

Ye Xiangtian was the founding general of the Tianyang Kingdom, who had fought alongside the founding emperor of Tianyang on the battlefield, establishing countless meritorious deeds. After the establishment of the Tianyang Kingdom, he was enfeoffed as the founding duke, with the title of Martial Duke.

Although Ye Xiangtian was already in his seventies, due to cultivation, he appeared spirited and radiant. If it weren't for his white hair, one would never guess that he was in his seventies.

The other person playing chess with Ye Xiangtian was the old steward of the Duke's Mansion, named Zhao Yongfu. He was once Ye Xiangtian's personal guard, having risked his life with Ye Xiangtian many times, and was a trusted aide. After retiring, he became the steward of the Duke's Mansion.

As soon as Ye Qi arrived at the pavilion, he knelt down on one knee and greeted, "Greetings, Your Grace, and greetings, Steward Zhao."

"Hmm." The Martial Duke nodded first, then placed a chess piece, and slowly said, "Little Seven! Has that little rascal caused trouble again?"

Ye Qi immediately replied, "Indeed, Your Grace, the young master has caused trouble again."

Ye Qi's response made the Martial Duke somewhat amused and exasperated, and he scolded, "Ha, when did you learn to flatter?"

Ye Qi raised his head and chuckled, "Your Grace, I'm just telling the truth!"

"Ha ha." Ye Qi's words made Zhao Yongfu, who was standing nearby, chuckle.

The Martial Duke knew by now that Ye Yiming must have caused quite a bit of trouble this time. He suspected that Ye Qi was trying to make Ye Yiming seem less culpable, or he wouldn't have answered in such a tone.

"Alright, stop beating around the bush. Tell me, what did that little rascal do this time? Did he beat someone up or smash someone's shop?"

The Martial Duke's words, which were either about beating people or smashing things, showed how well he understood his grandson's temper.

"Oh, nothing much, just a few words. He made the third son of Chancellor Wu, Wu Yaolin, spit blood and faint." Ye Qi said it lightly, as if Wu Yaolin, the third son of the Chancellor, was just another passerby, not a big deal.

Hearing Ye Qi's words, not only the Martial Duke but also Zhao Yongfu were speechless.

Nothing? He made the Chancellor's son spit blood and faint. Is that nothing? What would be considered something?

The Martial Duke's beard twitched, and he glared at Ye Qi, "Alright, stop stalling. Tell me what happened."

Seeing the Martial Duke's impatience, Ye Qi immediately recounted the events in detail. After hearing Ye Qi's account, the Martial Duke's white eyebrows raised, and his beard twitched. Seeing Ye Qi's hesitant expression, he said, "Is there something else? Speak up!"

"It's just that the young master was a bit different today." Ye Qi's words were still hesitant, but when he saw the Martial Duke's stern gaze, he quickly added, "Nothing much, just that the young master seemed a bit arrogant today! Yes, very arrogant, and extremely rampant."

Nonsense, making the Chancellor's third son spit blood and faint! That's not rampant? That's not arrogant?

"Hmph!" The Martial Duke grunted, looking at Ye Qi with displeasure, "You must have had something to do with it, right?"

"Hehe!" Ye Qi chuckled, scratched the back of his head, and didn't say anything, effectively admitting it.

"Alright, you can go now!" Finally, Zhao Yongfu couldn't stand it anymore and waved Ye Qi away.

Ye Qi, fearing the Martial Duke's anger, quickly left, vanishing in a flash.

After a long while, the pavilion, which had been silent, suddenly burst into laughter.

The Martial Duke laughed loudly, "Ha ha ha! What a relief! What a relief! This time, that old fox Wu Hui has been humiliated." His voice was not weak like an old man's but loud and resonant, drawing the attention of the Duke's Mansion's residents, who all wondered what could make the Duke so happy.

After laughing for a while, Zhao Yongfu slowly said, "General, what do you think of this matter?"

Although Ye Xiangtian had long been enfeoffed as the Martial Duke, officials in the court called him "Martial Duke," and even the current emperor called him "Duke." Only Zhao Yongfu still called him "General." However, the Martial Duke didn't mind this title; he even liked it. As he often said, he was a general who led armies into battle!

The Martial Duke stroked his beard and said indifferently, "Hmph, what can we do? It's just a minor squabble between the young ones. Let them sort it out themselves. Why should we meddle? Come, let's continue!" He then picked up a chess piece and placed it.

Zhao Yongfu opened his mouth to say something but, seeing the Martial Duke's focused expression, decided not to say anything more.

...

In the capital, the Wu family's Chancellor's Mansion.

Unlike the Martial Duke of the Ye family, Chancellor Wu, looking at his pale grandson lying in bed, was filled with rage.

No matter how much anger Chancellor Wu felt, his expression remained unchanged, as stern as usual. No one could tell what he was thinking, befitting his role as the Chancellor.

"Father, you must do something for Yaolin! Yaolin has never suffered, but now he's been beaten to the point of spitting blood. This is unacceptable!"

The speaker was a woman in her forties, the mother of Wu Yaolin and the Chancellor's daughter-in-law. Her eyes were red and swollen, her makeup smudged, and her voice was tinged with sobs, completely losing her usual noble demeanor.

Seeing his grandson still unconscious and his daughter-in-law's outburst, Chancellor Wu finally lost his composure.

"Hmph, crying, crying, all you know is to cry. If you hadn't spoiled Yaolin, he wouldn't be in this state."

Seeing her father-in-law finally show some anger, the woman was frightened and immediately stopped crying, lowering her head and not daring to say anything more.

Chancellor Wu's anger grew, but he didn't vent it on the woman. Instead, he thought to himself, "Hmph, you old brute Ye, using such tactics. I underestimated you."

Poor Martial Duke was being framed. It was no wonder Chancellor Wu thought this way, given Ye Yiming's reputation as a wastrel and a good-for-nothing. Chancellor Wu didn't believe that his grandson's condition was solely due to Ye Yiming.

Instead, he suspected that the Martial Duke, Ye Xiangtian, had orchestrated the whole thing.

If the Martial Duke knew this, he would probably be both amused and exasperated. But even if he did know, he wouldn't bother to explain to Chancellor Wu. Even if Chancellor Wu believed the Martial Duke was behind it, what could he do? At most, he could say a few bad words about the Martial Duke to the emperor, who would then say a few mild words in response.

Chancellor Wu, of course, understood this. After some thought, he suddenly smiled and ordered, "Bring the head of the He family and General Li to the mansion. Tell them I have important matters to discuss."

"Yes!" Two servants outside the door immediately left.

Half an hour later, the head of the He family and General Li arrived at the Chancellor's Mansion. Two hours later, they both left.

After they left, Chancellor Wu spent another half an hour in his study, writing a memorial. Once he finished, he walked out of the study, stared at the direction of the Duke's Mansion for a while, then coldly smiled and fiercely waved his sleeve before turning to leave.

The sky darkened!

Dark clouds obscured the sunlight! A gust of wind blew!

A storm was brewing!