Feng Zhi Wei’s mouth was quick to rattle off a bunch of meaningless words such as “serving the empire with loyalty until death” and so on. Just when she was on a roll rattling on, she suddenly saw Ning Yi across from her, slowly lifting the lid of his tea cup. His gaze slowly swept over her with a half smile on his face as his little pinkie under the cup made an upward hooking gesture.
Feng Zhi Wei was taken off guard, causing her mouth to begin to stutter, “This is your servant’s duty, I dare not…I dare not…”
With another smile, Ning Yi’s pinkie hooked upward again.
Feng Zhi Wei abruptly realized — he was doing what he did that day in the East Pool, the way he unhooked her girdle!
In an instant, she was cooked through.
This scoundrel is actually openly flirting in front of everyone, in front of the emperor!
“I would never dare…” She was stuck.
Everyone in the room looked at her strangely– Wei Zhi’s quick wit was well known by all in the Imperial Court. It has always been him who can make people stutter and never the other way around, so why is he stuttering today?
In desperation, Feng Zhi Wei could only leave her seat and bowed on the ground, “This servant does not dare to accept rewards when I have made no contributions!”
From where she was kneeling, she gave Ning Yi a fierce glare– You made me lose my composure, and now I am forced to push away the rewards I was given!
Ning Yi smiled as he drank his tea as if nothing had happened.
Tiansheng Emperor was taken aback but then immediately laughed, “Wei Zhi, I know you are being humble but you deserve this award. It is good for young people to be cautious, but there is no need to be overtly so.”
“Your Majesty.” Having calmed her heart by this point, Feng Zhi Wei decided to test the emperor’s current attitude towards her. She bowed again and said, “This servant is young and inexperienced, with little talent and virtue. Even if I have made some achievements, it was all because of the wise protection of Your Majesty and the help of my colleagues. Our empire has been established for more than a decade and has had many officials. This servant was already distressed at the fact I could be counted as the utmost rarity after being repeatedly awarded by Your Majesty. I am afraid my fortune will be damaged if I am promoted too quickly. I ask Your Majesty to revoke the title of Marquis and leave room for this servant to improve later.”
The meaning or rather, the reminder in these words was pretty clear— the biggest taboo for an emperor has always been to have his subject become so successful and endowed with fame that there are no more rewards that can be given. Feng Zhi Wei is already occupying a high position, if she then showed a greed for power, then based on the emperor’s propensity to be suspicious, he would most likely develop a grudge against her.
Take aback momentarily, a hint of hesitation flashed across the emperor’s eyes but then he immediately said with a laugh, “You are only a second-level marquis, which is not a particularly high position. I am not a stingy emperor, go ahead, reach for all the accomplishments you can, and I will reward you for them. As the great Tiansheng Empire, if we can’t find a way to reward you, an important court official who is both talented in war and civil matters, wouldn’t we become a laughing stock to all our neighboring countries? The matter is settled.”
Seeing his attitude was firm, it wasn’t fitting for Feng Zhi Wei to protest any further so she could only get up and return to her seat. Inwardly, she is wondering what the old man is up to so that he is heaping one praise after another on her.
Remembering that phrase “a laughing stock to all our neighboring countries”, she suddenly remembered a piece of information Zong Chen had told her previously and vaguely had a guess.
It can’t be…
“Wei Zhi.” Before she could finish the thought, Tiansheng Emperor was already saying “There was a matter you were called here for.” As he talked, a gold-embossed letter was handed to her.
Feng Zhi Wei took it, opened it, and saw that it was an invitation from the Regent of Xiliang to Tiansheng for the Regent’s birthday celebration.
Her pupil contracted– Back in the day, Xiliang was actually split from Tiansheng. Xiliang’s old emperor Yin Zhiliang who had already passed away was originally Tiansheng emperor’s general. For this reason, Tiansheng and Xiliang’s relationship had historically been very bad, with almost no interaction at all. However, this generation of Xiliang had just experienced great turmoil– Yin Zhiliang died, the new emperor was young and all the power was now in the hand of the regent. It looks like this particular regent is all about expanding power domestically while developing friendly relations abroad and has repeatedly extended goodwill to the neighboring countries. In the past, the great empire of Tiansheng would have treated these sorts of attempts with disdain, but the internal strifes of the last couple of years have pushed Tiansheng towards decline, not to mention the increasing tension with the vassal state of Changning. Emperor Tiansheng is probably afraid that if he rejects Xiliang, then Xiliang will turn to Changning for alliance and bring trouble upon himself so he is ready to accept Xiliang’s goodwill.
Feng Zhi Wei let out a hint of a bitter smile– the meaning of showing this invitation to her at this time is pretty obvious.
No wonder compliments and rewards were heaped upon her, it was just all a setup to get her to throw herself into danger again.
Sure enough, the next thing she heard was the emperor saying with a bright smile, “Wei Zhi, just now you had said you have not made any achievements and were unworthy of promotion. Well, here comes an opportunity. The Regent King of Xiliang has invited our country to attend his 40th birthday ceremony. You have been an envoy to the South Sea and are familiar with that place. With your keen and steady personality, I want to appoint you as the chief envoy to Xiliang. I think with your talents, you will surely be able to subdue those barbarians of Xiliang in a manner that is neither humble nor arrogant, and without damaging the reputation of Tiansheng.
So not only do I have to make friends with an enemy country, but I am also supposed to subdue the barbarians without damaging any reputation— do you think I am a god?!
Feng Zhi Wei had a belly full of complaints but it was obviously not a moment she could utter any of them. No wonder these people had been acting so mysteriously. No wonder Old Hu said “Counting on you.” It was something that had already been decided on. Tiansheng Emperor is stubborn in his dictatorial ways. If he has set his mind on sending her, then no one can change his mind.
She had no choice but to kneel down, thank the emperor, and express her loyalty. The emperor looked at her with satisfaction and said, “On the surface, you are on a diplomatic mission to Xiliang but you also have another mission. Keep a close eye on Changning. I suspect Changning and Xiliang might be colluding with each other, be careful.”
You know Changning and Xiliang have colluded, and you are still sending me deep into enemy territory with two enemies waiting eagerly? Feng Zhi Wei pinched her fingers silently while the smile on her face remained dignified and peaceful, “Your Majesty, rest assured. I will definitely keep a close eye on the southwest. If anything dares to reach in with their claws, then we’ll just have to chop them off.”
Tiansheng Emperor smiled with pleasure and said, “No need to cause too much noise. It’s good to have some restraint, I trust you will know what’s appropriate.”
Feng Zhi Wei lowered her eyes and sneered inwardly. The so-called diplomatic mission was just an afterthought. The important thing was to investigate the movement of the Changning clan, right? In this case, this diplomatic mission could be a very dangerous one. The diplomatic relations with Xiliang had yet been established, which meant they could still be considered an enemy country. Although Changning is technically a vassal state it is obviously harboring some greater ambitions. Wolf in front and tiger in the back, with the real possibility of the two already in cahoots with one another yet she is still going to deliver herself right to their doors!
Now it seemed this second-level marquis is indeed too cheap!
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Thrilled to the bones !
Intrigue and adventure upon our dear loved Fengzhi Wei …I remember this exchange in the Drama between the Emperor and Weizhi … I love the way the writer introduces us to the following chapters ,she is indeed skilled ..
And I love your Translation @Ninja the most !!!
No need to wish her luck Fengzhi, we only ought to wish for Ningyi to be up to the challenge..