Xie Ming

Li and Ma, like dogs fighting, were making a huge fuss in the hall.

Qiu Weizhen was old and frail, and before he could even raise his voice to stop the fighting, he began to cough and wheeze uncontrollably.

Fortunately, the infant Zhu Shaotan was frightened and cried loudly, which gave Empress Chen Wanxuan a pretext to speak and sternly shut up the two scoundrels.

The brief silence was followed by a tense standoff.

Chen Wanxuan hesitated for a long time before speaking again, talking about her concerns and thoughts.

"Shaoxing," he murmured.
"Minister Ma, Lord Ma, to tell you the truth, it's not that my sister and I are unwilling to go along with it."

"But, after all, the Crown Prince is still too young, and it is really inconvenient for him to travel long distances."

"You are all loyal subjects of our Great Ming Dynasty. You cannot disregard the safety of the Crown Prince, can you?"

"Minister Ma, I ask you, is it really true that the situation has become so serious?!"

"There's also the Royal Guard."

"You said that you still have at least ten thousand soldiers in the hands of Marquis Liu and Prince Consort Gong."

"Could it be that so many soldiers can't even protect a small city like Hangzhou?!"

The Empress's expression was somewhat aggrieved; it was more of a plea than a rebuttal.

Upon hearing this, Ma Shiying, impatient and stubborn, refused to compromise.

"Your Majesty!" He did not change his mind, and his words conveyed a posture of earnestly pleading and remonstrating.

"Please, please heed my advice."

"That Xiao Jingchuan is a wolf in sheep's clothing, and he has tens of thousands of fierce soldiers under his command."

"How can a small city like Hangzhou defend itself?"

“If the news gets out, the man will bring his troops to force the emperor to abdicate, and the city will be besieged.”

"By then, even if you wanted to leave, you probably wouldn't be able to get away!"

"Lord Liu and Prince Consort Gong are loyal, but Hangzhou's defenses are weak. How can they withstand the fierce army of the Xiao family!"

"If we take a step back and head to Shaoxing, the crisis can only be resolved once the Fujian troops arrive."

"Miss!"

After speaking, he put on an even more sincere and earnest attitude, and with a flick of his wrist, he knelt down.

"This"

Seeing his reaction, the Empress was at a loss for what to do.

His mind was in turmoil. Looking around, he glanced at Elder Qiu, but the old man was panting heavily with his eyes closed, and he was not to be relied upon, so he showed no intention of responding.

Left with no other choice, Ye turned his head to look at Li Shichun again.

Upon realizing that Vice Minister Ni was not present tonight, he quickly changed the subject and steered the conversation toward Director Li.

"Yes, Minister Li."

"Why is Vice Minister Ni Yuanlu absent from the palace council tonight?"

Empress Chen Wanxuan skillfully changed the subject, diverting the conversation.

Upon hearing this, Li Shichun bowed respectfully.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Um, to answer Your Majesty the Empress's question."

"Vice Minister Ni caught a cold yesterday and is bedridden, unable to get up, so..."

Li Shichun was right about the matter.

However, Ma Shiying, who was standing nearby, heard this and, with a disdainful look on his face, sneered and mocked, not giving him any leeway, and tried to drag the matter back to what had happened before.

"Humph!"

"Why did they have to stay home and not get sick at all, whether it was early or late?"

"If you ask me, 'catching a cold' is just a way to avoid trouble, isn't it?!" Ma Shiying stood up abruptly before anyone could understand, his sarcastic remark choking him.

Upon hearing this, Li Shichun fell into a trap and immediately found himself embroiled in another argument.

"Avoid disaster?"

"We followed the late emperor south, facing nine deaths and one life."

"If I'm not afraid of death, why should I avoid any trouble?"

"On the contrary, it is you, Ma Shiying, who cowered in the face of battle."

"With your scheming, you insist on making the two ladies flee Shaoxing. I'm afraid you, Minister Ma, will have to go with them too."

"If you're a true hero, you'll stand your ground and fight back. Why don't you dare to confront that guy surnamed Xiao?"

"With justice and righteousness on our side, what are you afraid of?!" Li Yi refused to back down. Publicly exposing someone's shortcomings and attacking their vitals—the wicked need the wicked to be dealt with—made Ma Shiying lose his temper and become even more reckless.

"Li Erhe, you mad dog Erluzi, stop spouting nonsense."

“This brat is not worth discussing anything with!” Ma Shiying retorted.

Seeing that the two sides were about to start arguing again, Qiu Weizhen, who had just caught his breath, finally couldn't bear it any longer and raised his voice with his cane.

dong dong dong-

He pounded the bluestone floor tiles of the main hall a few times, making a crisp thud.

After the argument between Li and Ma was broken up, the two men turned their heads to look at Qiu Weizhen, who had a slanted eyebrow and a droopy eye, and did not have a good expression. He finally spoke in a hoarse voice.

"Cough, cough cough cough—" She cleared her throat to suppress her words, and all the officials in the hall and the empress on the bed listened attentively.

"Okay, okay!"

"What's all the noise about?! Huh?"

"It's all for the sake of the imperial court."

But before he could finish speaking, the Grand Secretary was panting heavily when Qing Su suddenly coughed up a mouthful of phlegm.

She barely managed to conceal it, then gave a knowing look, which the king understood. At that moment, a young eunuch from behind handed her a handkerchief to take her away.

After all that commotion, Li and Ma exchanged glances and began to argue, still gritting their teeth and shoving each other's sleeves. They stood facing each other in the hall, unable to stand side by side, and even urinated in the same pot.

"Cough, cough cough—"

"Are you two ever going to stop?" Qiu Xiang intervened, trying to smooth things over.

"Do you still have the late Emperor in your hearts and eyes?!"

“In the main hall, he openly roared and uttered rebellious words.”

"The spirit of the late emperor is still alive, and I, this old man, am not dead either. Are you all going to rebel as well?"

"You must have at least the most basic reverence for the Sage, the Empress, and the Imperial Family!"

During the conversation, he repeatedly tapped the ground with his cane, intensifying the demonstration.

"Humph!"

"In the end, what we are discussing today is nothing more than trying to use Zheng Zhilong from Fujian to balance the military power of the Duke of Jingguo in the north."

"Why have you allowed your shouting to reach such an appalling state?"

"They are all loyal and important ministers of our Great Ming Dynasty."

"When we close the door, our discussions are always for the common good."

"We are the ones serving in the court, but the country still belongs to the Zhu family, to the late emperor, and in the future it can only belong to the crown prince."

"This clause is absolutely non-negotiable."

"At present, the late emperor and the third prince were murdered by treacherous people and left in a hurry."

"He left a mess in front of us, his ministers."

"What time is it? Arguing won't do any good."

"Only by working together and persevering can we find some hope to get through this ordeal."

The preface, with its upright and righteous tone, effectively silenced all dissenting voices. It is only at this point that one truly appreciates the steadfastness and resilience of the Grand Secretary, despite his advanced age.

After finishing his sentence, the man's old eyes shone brightly, and he continued speaking without pause.

Suddenly, he slowly turned his old eyes and stared intently at Li Shichun's face, his expression quite fierce.

"Cough cough."

"Today, we have invited Minister Li, and also... Vice Minister Ni, to discuss matters, so that we can work together to come up with a practical and feasible plan."

"Erhe ya." The tone was gentle, first prompting and then reprimanding; Qiu Weizhen was well-versed in this method of pulling and hitting.

Upon hearing this, Li Shichun could not refuse and had no choice but to bow and agree.

"Uh, yes." He left with a reluctant tone.

With his squinting old eyes fixed on her, Qiu Weizhen remained calm and continued to speak.

“Er He, you... you always say you are from the Northern School, but I... well, my fellow Yao Cao (Ma Shiying, courtesy name Yao Cao) and Zi You (Gao Hongtu, courtesy name Zi You) are from the Southern School.”

"But now, the late emperor has suddenly passed away, and the infant is crying. The situation is already as bad as it could get."

"What partisan strife, what North-South debate?"

"Can't we just put it aside for now?"

(End of this chapter)