Emperor Qianyou nodded, "You may rise."
"Yes," Jiang Cihe respectfully acknowledged, getting to his feet.
As Jiang Cihe stood, Emperor Qianyou, in high spirits, praised him, "You handled this mission exceptionally well!"
Recalling that the smooth progress of the matter was largely due to Meng Shuping, Jiang Cihe smiled and humbly replied, "It wasn't solely my achievement."
Emperor Qianyou seemed to recall something and asked Jiang Cihe, "I heard you recently took on a young guard?"
Jiang Cihe expressed surprise, "How did Your Majesty know?"
Emperor Qianyou laughed heartily, "Guess how I found out?"
Jiang Cihe shook his head, honestly stating, "How could I possibly guess? Please don't keep me in suspense, Father Emperor. Just tell me directly!"
Emperor Qianyou then stopped teasing and said with a hearty laugh, "It was Lord Fan. I heard from him that if it weren't for his keen eye in recommending your young guard for the interrogation and his cooperation with the guard in acting to provoke the spy, the progress of this matter wouldn't have been so swift."
Jiang Cihe frowned, "Fan Yu told you?"
Emperor Qianyou said proudly, "Of course! Otherwise, how would I know? Who would have thought Lord Fan could be so perceptive? Your young guard does have some talent—he managed to make the spy confess just by using his words."
Then, he sighed with regret, "Alas, it's just a shame that your young guard's face is scarred. Otherwise, I might have rewarded him with an official position."
Jiang Cihe had a strange look on his face, "My young guard is disfigured?"
Noticing Jiang Cihe's strange expression, Emperor Qianyou asked curiously, "What? Is something amiss?"
Jiang Cihe replied, annoyed, "Father Emperor, I believe you've been misled by Fan Yu. The situation isn't entirely as he described."
"Oh?" Emperor Qianyou asked, puzzled, "What do you mean by that?"
Jiang Cihe then briefly explained the course of events to Emperor Qianyou. After hearing Jiang Cihe's account, Emperor Qianyou was both surprised and couldn't help but clap and laugh, "So that's how it was? Hahaha, your young guard is truly interesting. Now I really must meet him."
He turned to the Minister of Justice beside him and said with a smile, "Lord Cao, you could learn a thing or two from this. When interrogating people, be more flexible. I'm sure it will make extracting confessions easier."
Cao Jie was somewhat disdainful but, being in the emperor's presence, he suppressed his contempt and replied respectfully, "Your Majesty is right. However, I believe this successful interrogation might have been a mere coincidence. Perhaps the spy was already inclined to confess? Prince Zhao and Lord Fan might be exaggerating a bit."
Jiang Cihe was displeased by Cao Jie's attempt to casually dismiss Meng Shuping's contribution and retorted sarcastically, "Is Lord Cao feeling ashamed? Well, it's understandable. So many officials in the Ministry of Justice were outperformed by an amateur. If I were Lord Cao, I'd also feel too embarrassed to show my face."
Cao Jie was infuriated by these words and said irritably, "I'm just stating the facts. Does one successful interrogation mean he's highly capable? I think it was just a case of a blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse."
Jiang Cihe sneered, "Then why don't you give it a try, Lord Cao? See if you can 'stumble upon' a confession."
Cao Jie, angered by Jiang Cihe's attitude, immediately cupped his hands and said to Emperor Qianyou, "Your Majesty, since Prince Zhao speaks so highly of this guard, I would like to meet him. Why not summon him to the palace so that I can see for myself how capable he is?"
Jiang Cihe quickly interjected, "That might not be appropriate."
Cao Jie, assuming Jiang Cihe was feeling guilty, asked triumphantly, "What's inappropriate about it? Could it be that Your Highness has exaggerated his abilities and dare not let him come?"
Jiang Cihe immediately denied it, "That's not it. It's just that my young guard has a real attitude problem and doesn't know how to mince words. I'm worried he might behave improperly and offend Your Majesty and the other officials. That would be my fault."
Cao Jie didn't believe a word of it and said confidently, "Your Highness need not worry. I have excellent self-restraint and would not be easily provoked."
Jiang Cihe looked at him sincerely, "Lord Cao, have you misunderstood? I'm not worried about you. I'm worried that all of you might be so infuriated by him that you'd want to kill him."
Cao Jie was left speechless. After a moment, he said angrily, "Your Highness must be joking. Why would I want to arbitrarily kill him?"
Jiang Cihe sighed, "Alas, I'm not joking, Lord Cao. I'm not exaggerating—my young guard is utterly inept at building good relationships with people, but he's more than capable of offending others to the point of no return!"
"Hahaha," Emperor Qianyou laughed, "The more you say, the more I want to meet him. Very well, I'll send someone to summon him to the palace immediately."
Jiang Cihe quickly called out, "Father Emperor, perhaps it's better to forget it. He's really a bit foolhardy. What if he offends you? I would be held responsible."
Emperor Qianyou waved it off, "Do you take me for a petty man?"
Besides, if Jiang Cihe could tolerate the guard by his side, surely he, the emperor, could be more magnanimous than Jiang Cihe?
Seeing that Emperor Qianyou was determined to meet Meng Shuping, Jiang Cihe had no choice but to say, "Then Father Emperor must promise me that no matter what my young guard says, thinks, or does, you will not hold it against him!"
Emperor Qianyou didn't catch the underlying meaning and agreed readily, "Don't worry. I said I won't blame him, so I won't!"
Soon after, a eunuch arrived at the Military Hall Department. Hearing that the emperor had sent someone, Fan Yu hurried out to greet him. Upon seeing the eunuch who had come to deliver the decree, he said warmly, "So it's Eunuch Cai! What brings you here?"
Eunuch Cai flicked his horsetail whisk and said with a smile, "His Majesty has decreed that Lord Fan and Prince Zhao's personal guard, Meng Shuping, are to be summoned to the palace. Where is Meng Shuping?"
Fan Yu was taken aback. Meng Shuping? After a moment, he realized it must be that rookie. So that was his name?
Since Jiang Cihe wasn't around, Meng Shuping was quite idle. He was sitting comfortably in his spot, listening to the latest rumors, when someone came to call him, "Young Brother Meng, Eunuch Cai from the palace is here. He says the emperor has summoned you to the palace!"
Meng Shuping was shocked, "What? Why is he summoning me?"
The messenger shook his head, "That I do not know."
Meng Shuping didn't feel like moving and tentatively asked, "Can I not go?"
The messenger quickly said, "That won't do! Young Brother Meng, it's a summons from the emperor. How can you not go? Besides, it's such an honor. You should hurry up and not keep His Majesty waiting."
Reluctantly, Meng Shuping got up and walked out. However, as soon as he reached the front, he saw Fan Yu quickly slipping something into the hand of a stranger in his twenties, who then promptly pocketed it after weighing it.
Meng Shuping's eyes lit up, "Whoa, did I just walk in on a bribery scene?"
"Lord Fan is such a suck-up!"
Fan Yu froze, the question he was about to ask Eunuch Cai stuck in his throat. He glared at Meng Shuping displeasedly, "Young Brother Meng, why did you take so long? Don't you know Eunuch Cai is waiting?"
Meng Shuping replied casually, "Oh."
"Is he getting angry out of embarrassment? Doesn't he fear I'll report him?"
Fan Yu stiffened, unable to continue. Why was this rookie so trigger-happy with reporting others? Couldn't he act more properly?
Eunuch Cai was a bit taken aback that Meng Shuping wasn't fawning over him like other officials. After a pause, he quickly regained his composure and said, "Since Young Brother Meng is here, let's head to the palace together!"
Meng Shuping nodded quickly, "Oh, okay."
The three of them left the Military Hall Department together. On the way, Fan Yu quietly asked Eunuch Cai, "Eunuch Cai, do you know why His Majesty summoned me?"
He guessed it was related to the spy incident, but he wanted to be sure to ease his mind.
Hearing the question, Meng Shuping pricked up his ears, "Yeah, yeah, I'd like to know too. Lord Fan paid for information—might as well get an earful."
Fan Yu's expression darkened. He hadn't paid for the information so this rookie could eavesdrop. Couldn't he be more discreet?
However, Eunuch Cai couldn't hear Meng Shuping's thoughts. Having accepted the silver, he was happy to oblige and revealed a bit, "I'm not sure of the details, but it's related to the Beixiang spy matter."
Hearing this, Fan Yu felt relieved. If it was about that, then summoning him must be for a reward.
He shot an annoyed glance at Meng Shuping, annoyed that this little newbie had been called along too—if only he'd been the only one called, how perfect that would be!
Since the Military Hall Department wasn't too far from the palace, the three of them soon entered the palace grounds. Eunuch Cai led Meng Shuping and Fan Yu to the front of a hall and instructed them, "Please wait here for a moment. I'll go inside and let them know you're here."
Fan Yu quickly replied, "Much obliged, sir."
A short while later, Eunuch Cai returned. "Bad timing—His Majesty and the ministers are currently discussing important matters. The two of you will have to wait a little longer."
Fan Yu hurriedly said, "Of course, state business comes first. We don't mind waiting at all!"
Meng Shuping was displeased. Fan Yu might be willing to wait, but he wasn't. Still, he couldn't just barge in and argue with the emperor, so he had no choice but to wait there reluctantly.
Just as he was growing bored, a young man dressed in fine silks approached. Unable to enter, he too had to wait outside.
Noticing Meng Shuping standing alone some distance from Fan Yu and wearing a mask, the young man grew curious about his identity. He walked up to Meng Shuping and sized him up. "Who are you? Why are you here?"
Meng Shuping didn't like one bit the way this person was checking him out. Besides, he had already retreated almost to the corner—how could this guy still come over?
He turned to face another direction, acting like he was talking to someone else. "Does he think I have to answer just because he asked? Who does he think he is?"
Jiang Cian was stunned. Had he not seen Meng Shuping's mouth move? Almost immediately, he grew irritated. What's this guy's problem? Why wasn't he answering properly?
He grabbed Meng Shuping's arm. "I'm asking you a question!"
Meng Shuping nearly stumbled from the force of Jiang Cian's pull. He quickly steadied himself by holding onto a nearby stone-carved railing, all the while thinking to himself about Jiang Cian. "I've made it perfectly clear I don't want to talk to him—why does he keep forcing his way over? Can't he take a hint? And he calls himself a prince? How barbaric!"
Fuming, Jiang Cian snapped, "Didn't you hear this prince? Are you mute?"
Meng Shuping looked at him with utter disbelief. "Oh, playing the prince card on me? Does he think I'll be scared just because he's a prince? Just watch me take him down a notch!"
He opened his mouth and said, "Blah blah, blah blah blah!"
"Pfft!" Two guards standing at the far edge couldn't hold back their laughter. Fortunately, they were used to all sorts of situations and had exceptional self-control. After that one chuckle, they immediately regained their stern expressions, though they now looked at Jiang Cian with disdain. Forcing a mute person to speak—wasn't that asking too much?
Jiang Cian was speechless for a long moment. So he really was mute? But then what was that voice he'd heard earlier? Could it have been the mute's inner thoughts?
Embarrassed and pissed, he retorted, "If you're mute, why didn't you say so earlier? If you'd made it clear from the start, would this prince have kept asking questions?"
Meng Shuping continued, "Blah blah blah, blah blah, blah blah blah!"
Hearing this string of "blah blah," Jiang Cian felt a headache coming on. He waved his hand impatiently. "Enough, enough, stop talking! This prince is annoyed just listening to you!"
A vein throbbed on Jiang Cian's forehead. "I told you to stop!"
Then, he took a deep breath. "Forget it. Just stay here."
With that, Jiang Cian turned and walked away. What was his father thinking? Why would he summon just anyone into the palace?
The two guards were red in the face from holding in their laughter. Once Jiang Cian was gone, their bodies shook with silent laughter. It was a pity they were on duty—even when laughing, they didn't dare make a sound. It was truly difficult.
Free from Jiang Cian's disturbance, Meng Shuping enjoyed the quiet. After waiting outside a while longer, Eunuch Cai came to summon them inside. Meng Shuping followed the others into the hall. As soon as he entered, he couldn't help venting his frustration inwardly. "He rushes us here in a panic, only to make us wait. This emperor really knows how to mess people around."
"But why did he summon me anyway? Just to satisfy his curiosity? He must have too much time on his hands!"
Emperor Qianyou was taken aback. Jiang Cihe had only mentioned that this guard had an attitude—he hadn't expected it to be this bold. How dare he say such things even in the emperor's presence?
But when he looked more closely, he noticed no one among those who had entered had spoken. His brow furrowed in confusion. What was going on?
Before he could ponder further, he heard the same voice again. "Honestly, the last person I want to see right now is the emperor. As the saying goes, 'Accompanying a ruler is like accompanying a tiger.' What if he's moody and petty? Wouldn't I easily lose my life?"
Meng Shuping continued grumbling inwardly as he followed the others in paying respects. To his surprise, after finishing the formalities, no one instructed them to rise. He found it strange. "Why isn't he telling us to rise? Did he summon me here just to mess with me? What did I do to deserve this?"