Seeing Emperor Qianyou frown, Cao Jie assumed it was due to dissatisfaction with Meng Shuping. He immediately tried to read the emperor's intentions and said, "You guard, how do you greet the Emperor in such a manner? Has no one taught you proper etiquette?"
From the moment Meng Shuping entered, Cao Jie had been observing him. When he saw Meng Shuping acting timid, too nervous to even lift his head, he felt completely reassured. *Someone like Meng Shuping couldn't possibly be the agile, bold, and reckless person Prince Zhao had described*, he thought to himself. *It must have been a case of a blind cat catching a dead mouse—Prince Zhao was surely exaggerating.*
Just as Meng Shuping was growing impatient from not being told to rise, he heard someone causing trouble. He couldn't help feeling displeased, "Who is he? The Emperor hasn't even spoken yet, and he's already speaking out. Does he not take the Emperor seriously at all?"
Cao Jie was taken aback and quickly glanced at Emperor Qianyou. He certainly didn't mean to disregard the Emperor—but where was that voice coming from?
Before he could ponder further, the voice continued, "It's not like I provoked him. Why is he targeting me as soon as I arrive? Did I dig up his family grave or something?"
Cao Jie was so angered by these words he gritted his teeth. What's more, there were others present. Meng Shuping ignoring him made him feel particularly humiliated. He said furiously, "I'm asking you a question, why aren't you answering?"
Meng Shuping glanced at him but remained silent. *I know he's just looking for trouble. Why would I engage with him if I'm not stupid?*
Jiang Cian was happily watching the show from the side. *This kid is a mute—this is going to be entertaining.*
Meng Shuping shifted his weight slightly. "Ugh, why hasn't anyone told me to rise yet? Could it be that I was summoned here just to be punished? Seriously, have I offended the Emperor? Maybe someone has been speaking ill of me in front of him?"
"But he's the Emperor. Why would he bother with a nobody like me? Doesn't he have better things to do?"
Jiang Cihe glanced at Emperor Qianyou and said, barely holding back a laugh, "Father, perhaps you should let them rise first."
"Oh, right," Emperor Qianyou said quickly. "You may rise."
Now he finally understood why Seventh—Prince Zhao—had described this young guard as improper in speech—this was the reason.
Although it was somewhat strange, having lived for so many years, he had seen it all and wasn't particularly alarmed. In fact, someone like Meng Shuping was quite reassuring—after all, he could hear every thought, making him far more transparent than those ministers full of cunning schemes.
Having been repeatedly ignored by Meng Shuping, Cao Jie was furious. He immediately turned to Emperor Qianyou and said, cupping his hands, "Your Majesty, I believe you have been deceived by Prince Zhao and Lord Fan. How could this guard be as remarkable as they claim? With his behavior, could he really extract a confession from a spy?"
Meng Shuping glanced at Jiang Cihe with sudden realization. "So I was summoned to the palace because of them? Those bastards! Is he jealous that I'm doing better than him?"
Emperor Qianyou was also somewhat disappointed. Although Meng Shuping was quite bold in his thoughts, on the surface, he seemed far too timid—nothing like the interesting person Seventh had described.
*Of course, it could also be that this was the boy's first time in the emperor's presence, so he was nervous?*
He casually asked Meng Shuping, "Why didn't you answer Beloved Minister Cao?"
Meng Shuping lifted his head slightly, not daring to meet Emperor Qianyou's eyes. He feigned confusion and said softly, "Ah? Was he speaking to me? Your Majesty, the prince told me that in Your Majesty's presence, one mustn't act as though Your Majesty doesn't exist—that would be disrespectful! I thought this official wasn't afraid of death. Isn't that right?"
Hearing this, Cao Jie was so frightened he fell to his knees with a thud. "Your Majesty, please see clearly! I didn't mean that! I merely thought he was too rude, paying respects to Your Majesty so carelessly, and couldn't help saying a few words!"
Meng Shuping thought disdainfully, *What 'for the Emperor'? Don't flatter yourself. He clearly just wanted to use the Emperor's authority to suppress me. Seriously, how many times has he thrown around his authority in front of others using the Emperor's name?*
Hearing this, Emperor Qianyou looked at Cao Jie with a dangerous glint in his eyes. *Was it really like that?*
Cao Jie broke out in a cold sweat under that gaze and quickly kowtowed repeatedly. "Your Majesty, please believe me! I would never dare disrespect you!"
Meng Shuping added inwardly, *Of course not. Even if he had such thoughts, he wouldn't say them out loud—he'd only show it through actions, like just now!*
Cao Jie kowtowed even harder. *Could this kid be any more ruthless!*
Seeing that Cao Jie's forehead was bruised from kowtowing, Emperor Qianyou said displeased, "Enough, rise!"
Cao Jie breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly expressed his gratitude. "Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Once he stood up, he wiped the cold sweat from his face, feeling as though he had survived a close call. For the moment, he didn't dare say anything else.
Seeing Cao Jie's miserable state, Meng Shuping felt disdain. "Yuck, with such poor mental fortitude, how dare he show himself before the Emperor?"
"Ugh, I knew it wasn't easy to be around the Emperor. You might not even know how you ended up dead. Someone like me, with no cunning, should just lay low. Otherwise, losing my life wouldn't be worth it!"
With that thought, Meng Shuping even softened his breathing, quietly making himself inconspicuous.
Emperor Qianyou was starting to believe that Meng Shuping had some capability. In just a few sentences, he had made Cao Jie look so pathetic—somewhat matching what Jiang Cihe had described.
Jiang Cian, who had been shocked to hear Meng Shuping speak earlier, now glared at him angrily since no one else was speaking. "So you're not mute? You were messing with me?"
Meng Shuping was so startled he took a step back, nervously fidgeting with his clothes. "N-no, I wasn't."
*When did I say I was mute? If he was stupid enough to misunderstand, that's his problem!*
Seeing Meng Shuping frightened, Jiang Cihe felt displeased. "Fifth Brother, what are you doing? Father hasn't spoken yet!"
Meng Shuping quickly agreed, "Exactly, exactly! The Emperor is still here, and yet you're all acting so arrogantly. Don't you take the Emperor seriously? Wait, could it be that he's impatient to take the throne?"
Jiang Cian flinched and quickly looked at Emperor Qianyou. "Father, forgive me! I meant no disrespect. It's just that this kid is too despicable! Earlier outside, when I tried to talk to him, he pretended to be mute!"
"Oh?" Jiang Cihe asked him, "Did he tell you he was mute?"
"How could he?" Jiang Cian said angrily. "Of course he just pretended to be mute to deceive me!"
Jiang Cihe sneered, "Then you can only blame yourself for being too foolish. What does it have to do with anyone else?"
Jiang Cian glared at him. "You!"
"Enough," Emperor Qianyou interjected as the two were about to argue. "Both of you, stop talking."
By now, Emperor Qianyou also felt that this son of his wasn't very bright. How could he be so easily fooled by someone?
Jiang Cian felt utterly aggrieved. *Clearly, this kid is too cunning—who would have thought he'd be bold enough to deceive even him?*
Emperor Qianyou looked at Meng Shuping with interest. "Did you really pretend to be mute to deceive him?"
He was increasingly convinced that Jiang Cihe was right. Although Meng Shuping seemed introverted and timid, the fact that he could anger the fifth prince so much upon arrival showed a remarkable talent for offending people.
Meng Shuping felt they were being too unfair to him. He hurriedly denied, flustered, "No, no! I didn't intentionally ignore this prince. I was just worried he might want to hit me. Your Majesty, please don't misunderstand—I didn't mean to say he looks fierce, nor that he wants to use his status to bully others."
Then, Meng Shuping added, "Of course, I was in the wrong in this matter and should apologize to this prince."
He looked apologetically at Jiang Cian. "I'm sorry for hurting your delicate sensibilities, Your Highness!"
"Pfft!" Jiang Cihe tried his best not to laugh too openly. Indeed, with Meng Shuping around, he never had to worry about not having fun.
Jiang Cian's face flushed red with anger. He raised his fist and took a swing at Meng Shuping. "You're asking for death!"
Meng Shuping immediately flinched back. Just as he thought the punch was about to land, a hand reached out from behind and caught Jiang Cian's fist.
Jiang Cihe said with a mocking smile, "Fifth Brother, he's already apologized. Why must you be so pushy?"
Seeing it was Jiang Cihe, Meng Shuping quickly hid behind him. "Exactly, exactly! Resorting to fists when you can't win an argument is the cheapest move. And he's a prince too—how can he be so rude and unreasonable? If he has the guts, he should argue with me! I can't stand you impulsive, hot-headed thugs!"
"But it's not like outside now—I have someone backing me! If he still dares to hit me, I'll immediately lie on the ground and make sure I sue him for everything he's got! This time, I have witnesses!"
Remembering his first encounter with Meng Shuping, Jiang Cihe's smile deepened. *Little moneygrubber is indeed a little moneygrubber—even now, he hasn't forgotten about money.*
Seeing his fist blocked by Jiang Cihe, Jiang Cian's face turned livid. "What's your problem, Seventh? I'm just putting a mere guard in his place. Are you going to oppose me too?"
Jiang Cihe stood firmly in front of Meng Shuping. "Fifth Brother, we are before Father. You'd actually throw a punch here? Do you still have any respect for Father?"
Jiang Cian resentfully withdrew his fist and turned to Emperor Qianyou. "Father, don't you think this boy is too rude? He has offended me like this, and you're not going to do anything about it?"
Meng Shuping couldn't help but sneer inwardly, "Oh, come on, how old is he? Still running to daddy? How immature can you get? I didn't even run to *my* daddy when he bullied me!"
"Ah, now it seems our prince is much better. Look at him—not only so dignified and generous, but also mature and completely dependable, handling everything on his own. They're brothers, so how can the gap be so big?"
"Oh, oh, I get it. It must be because their mothers are different. I mean, the man who became emperor must have good genes, right?"
Although Emperor Qianyou didn't understand what "genes" meant, he couldn't mistake the praise. In a good mood, he said, "Jiang Cian, it's not a big deal. Why are you so angry? Besides, before he came, I already said that no matter what he did in the palace, I would not punish him!"
Meng Shuping was very surprised. "Wow, the emperor is this good? It seems I misjudged him. With this statement alone, he's definitely a truly enlightened ruler!"
"You know what, you really can't deny it. The moment I saw the emperor, I thought he was majestic and formidable. And really, if he could raise our prince so well, how could he be worse than him?"
Emperor Qianyou felt thoroughly pleased by this flattery. Who said this little guard only knew how to offend people? Wasn't he quite good with words?
More importantly, the little guard was praising him in his heart—wasn't that more genuine than those who praised him aloud?
Jiang Cihe's lips curled uncontrollably. After knowing Meng Shuping for so long, he found today's words the most pleasing.
Jiang Cian was furious. He couldn't understand what was so good about this masked boy. Jiang Cihe protecting him was one thing, but why was Father also so biased? But I'm your actual son!
But no matter how angry he was, since Emperor Qianyou had spoken, he didn't dare say more. He had no choice but to choke out a frustrated, "Yes."
After dealing with Jiang Cian's issue, Emperor Qianyou finally had time to ask Meng Shuping, "I've heard Seventh briefly describe your interrogation process. Can you explain why you asked those questions?"
Hearing Emperor Qianyou bring up serious matters, Meng Shuping straightened his back immediately. Standing there obediently, he said timidly, "Your Majesty, my initial thought was that perhaps some people were forced into this path because they couldn't survive. If that were the case, approaching from that angle might get them to talk."
Emperor Qianyou nodded, looking patient. "And then?"
Meng Shuping continued, "After confirming that wasn't the case, I could be sure it was about profit. So, focusing on that aspect made it very likely to get him to talk."
Emperor Qianyou was truly surprised now. At first, he had wondered if it was a coincidence, but it turned out Meng Shuping really had a method. Once again, he felt regret—such a talented person, why was he disfigured?
But just as he thought this, he heard Meng Shuping's voice say, "It's not like I could say I was just curious, right? Ah, I didn't expect Lu Namu to confess so easily. Doesn't that make Lord Fan seem incompetent? Now I've definitely offended him for good, haven't I?"
Fan Yu couldn't help but curse Meng Shuping inwardly. Couldn't he just avoid mentioning him at a time like this? He was really afraid Meng Shuping would recklessly expose him.
Emperor Qianyou had been about to praise Meng Shuping but was stopped by these words. However, on second thought, even if it was curiosity, the fact that he could reason this way showed Meng Shuping had a good head on his shoulders.
At this moment, Jiang Cihe stepped forward and said, "Father, I believe that since Lu Namu could break down emotionally for such reasons, the same could happen to the spies we send from Great Chu. Therefore, I propose we provide more support for our spies so they can serve Great Chu wholeheartedly."
As soon as Jiang Cihe mentioned money, the Minister of Revenue immediately objected. "Your Majesty, I disagree with Prince Zhao's words. Our Great Chu spies are nothing like those from Beixiang! Our spies are most loyal and would never do anything against Great Chu. Moreover, their families are here. Even if they wanted to betray Great Chu, they wouldn't abandon their families, would they? As long as we control their families well, we can ensure their loyalty."
Jiang Cihe disagreed. "Precisely because they are loyal, we must not let them become disheartened. Just controlling their families will only breed resentment. Besides, they risk their lives to gather intelligence for us. Don't they deserve greater assurance from us?"