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Night fell, as dark as ink, slowly enveloping the magnificent city of Dongjing. Within the imposing Yong Prince's mansion, the tranquil study was suddenly filled with the jarring sound of shattering porcelain. Inside, the Yong Prince, his eyes wide with rage, had just smashed a teacup, cursing angrily, "That arrogant and ignorant Zhi Yong! He's only achieved a few victories in battle, yet he dares to defy my dignity? Hmph, if I were to deal with you, I'd like to see who can stop me!"

"Your Highness, please calm your anger!" The advisor hurried forward, his sleeve sweeping across the overturned teacup on the table. "If we act against him now, we might be pushing him into the Prince of Yan's camp. Once the two join forces, the situation could be difficult to salvage. In my opinion, Lord Zhiyong's actions must have a deeper meaning."

Upon hearing this, the Prince of Yong calmed down slightly and asked, "Oh? Tell me, what is the deeper meaning behind this?"

The advisor bowed slightly and said methodically, "As far as I know, although Lord Zhiyong has a history of conflict with the Prince of Yan, he may not want to get involved in this struggle. His refusal of the Duke of Qi's invitation is actually a way of showing his stance to all parties. After all, he is now a favorite of the Emperor, and if he associates too closely with princes and ministers, it will inevitably arouse the suspicion of the royal family. It must be said that Lord Zhiyong is very shrewd despite his young age. Since he has already made it clear that he has no intention of participating, we really don't need to antagonize him and create a powerful enemy for ourselves."

Prince Yong nodded slightly, acknowledging his advisor's analysis, but still somewhat unwillingly asked, "Isn't there any other way to win him over and make him work for me?"

The advisor shook his head helplessly and said, "Your Highness, this matter is likely to be difficult. Not to mention that it's difficult for us to get close to those around him, his act of refusing the invitation on behalf of the Sheng family has already shown his stance. If we try to force our way in from other angles, it's very likely to provoke his resentment. Your Highness, do you remember what happened with the Prince of Yan last time? Back then, this kid was about to find something on the Prince of Yan, but he stopped the investigation in time."

"Hmph, the Prince of Yan is always cautious in his actions, how could he leave too many clues? Perhaps his leads have run dry, forcing him to stop the investigation," the Prince of Yong said disdainfully.

The advisor shook his head again and said slowly, "Your Highness, we have only been in the capital for a short time. I have inquired about Zhi Yongjue's past deeds from various sources and know some things. When he cleared out Wuyou Cave, he actually found a large amount of military equipment in the cave."

"You mean... he deliberately put those weapons there?" Upon hearing this, the Prince of Yong immediately perked up.

The aide nodded and continued, “That’s certainly possible. Back then, when he was kidnapped, he was just a young boy who hadn’t even tied his hair up yet. In the Worry-Free Cave, he single-handedly killed many of the gang members, fighting his way out. Just when he was about to escape, he was surrounded by the people of Worry-Free Cave. Fortunately, Commander Di arrived in time and he was rescued. At that time, he took the opportunity to extort a lot of money from the leader of Worry-Free Cave. After that, he kept quiet. When it came time to wipe out Worry-Free Cave, the people of Worry-Free Cave tried to threaten the lives of the people in the cave. But he pretended to be carrying out a massacre, claiming that the people were harboring criminals.” After killing many people, he successfully turned the cave's inhabitants against their will with just a few words, completely annihilating the Worry-Free Cave in one fell swoop. That same day, he also joined forces with the Canal Gang to wipe out the other two gangs in Tokyo. This demonstrates that Lord Zhiyong is meticulous in his thinking and decisive in his actions. He wasn't incapable of thoroughly investigating the matter concerning the Prince of Yan, but he didn't want to go too far; he simply wanted to let the Prince of Yan know that he had the power to bring him down. Therefore, since then, the Prince of Yan has no longer easily provoked him. "The advisor sighed, "It's best for us to avoid such a cunning and ruthless person."

Prince Yong's pupils contracted sharply, a chill ran down his spine as he fell into deep thought.

"Yes, you are absolutely right. It seems I have been too stubborn and attached to appearances. Very well, let's not provoke him for now." Although the Prince of Yong said this, he was still somewhat unconvinced. However, he also knew in his heart that there was no need to needlessly invite such a ruthless person as an adversary.

Inside the study of the Duke of Qi's mansion, the Duke's brows were deeply furrowed, his face ashen as if covered in frost. Today, the Duke's mansion had suffered a complete loss of face, and he was utterly bewildered, unable to understand why Lord Zhiyong had returned the wedding invitation. Even if he wasn't attending the banquet, why return the invitation at all? As the Duke's mansion, how could he swallow such an insult! Princess Pingning, standing beside him, was also furious, angrily saying, "That mere Lord Zhiyong dared to disrespect the Duke's mansion! This is unprecedented in the capital! How can we ever face anyone again!"

Duke Qi sighed and waved his hand helplessly: "Enough, enough. Yuan Ruo's wedding is imminent, let's not cause any more trouble." He knew a little about Zhi Yongjue's past and knew that this man was no good and was a ruthless character who was not to be trifled with.

Meanwhile, inside the Shou'an Hall of the Sheng Mansion, everyone was discussing the matter. Old Madam Sheng, her expression grave, repeatedly instructed, "Hong'er, just push the matter of the Duke of Qi's mansion onto that child. Since he has already expressed his willingness to take responsibility, you need not worry. This matter concerns the crucial struggle for the throne; you and your father must not get involved. If you are not careful, even that child might not be able to protect you. His sending Changbai to Dengzhou was probably for this very reason. Hong'er, in the court, you must always remain vigilant."

Sheng Hong shook his head with lingering fear: "I will remember. At first, when Madam told me about this, I was displeased, thinking it was just an ordinary wedding banquet. Now, thinking about it carefully, I am truly terrified. Prince Yong clearly wanted to use the wedding banquet to win people's hearts. If he couldn't win them over, he would at least create the illusion of being on good terms with everyone. The scheming behind this is truly chilling!"

Changbai also looked worried and sighed, "I'm afraid that once my brother-in-law sets this precedent, those with quick minds will notice the clues and follow suit. At that time, the Prince of Yong will definitely shift all the blame onto my brother-in-law."

"There's no need to worry about him. Since he dared to refuse openly, he must have the confidence to bear the consequences. However, after this incident, we need to carefully consider the invitations for Bai'er's wedding," said Old Madam Sheng.

Changbai, however, remained calm: "Grandmother, it's alright. I've never liked crowds; the number of guests is just a formality." At this moment, he was focused on figuring out how to carry out his work in Dengzhou, and he really didn't care much about these formalities.

Meanwhile, in the Yu family mansion in Dongjing City, the Yu family was hesitant about the matter of the Duke of Qi's mansion. They had begun preparing gifts after receiving the wedding invitation, but then news came that Lord Zhiyong had returned it. Now that Yanran was about to marry into the Jin family, wouldn't attending the banquet be a slap in the face to their son-in-law? Madam Yu Fang anxiously asked, "Father, Mother, should we go or not? Please make a decision!"

Grand Secretary Yu turned his gaze to Yu Jia's eldest son: "Eldest son, what do you think?"

"I'm thinking, is there a way to have the best of both worlds?" Yu's eldest son said thoughtfully.

Grandma Yu shook her head and said, "Don't dream about it. Zhi Yongjue returned the wedding invitations early this morning. Madam Jin didn't arrive until almost noon, so she must have gone to the Sheng family first to inform them of this matter. Zhi Yongjue took the initiative for the Sheng family and returned the wedding invitations as well, clearly taking all the responsibility upon himself."

After pondering for a moment, Grand Secretary Yu finally decided, "Tomorrow, send someone to return the wedding invitations and say that we are preparing for Yanran's marriage into the Jin family. There is no need to say anything else."

Madam Yu then asked, "Should we prepare some congratulatory gifts to send along?"

"Preparing a congratulatory gift won't win you any favors, so why bother?" Old Mrs. Yu said irritably.

Yu Jia Dalang looked puzzled: "Father, I really don't understand. It's just a wedding banquet. If you don't want to, you can just find an excuse. Why is Xi Ge'er so disrespectful to the Duke of Qi and insists on returning the wedding invitation?"

Grand Secretary Yu sighed with disappointment, "You! No wonder you're always being schemed against. You can't even see that. You've wasted your time in the Three Departments' prison!"

Seeing her son's aggrieved expression, Grandma Yu quickly tried to smooth things over: "Alright, if you don't teach him, how will he understand?"

Grand Secretary Yu stroked his beard and slowly explained, “This wedding banquet may seem ordinary, but it is actually a power struggle among various factions. Prince Yong wanted to use this opportunity to build connections, while Lord Zhiyong, being a member of the Emperor's faction, naturally could not attend to avoid arousing the Emperor's suspicion. He angrily rejected the wedding invitations on the grounds of Qi Heng's past with the illegitimate daughter of the Sheng family, ostensibly to vent his anger for the Sheng family, but in reality to avoid being misunderstood. Haven't you ever wondered why the events of this morning were known throughout the entire capital city by evening?”

Yu Jiadalang gasped: "Someone is deliberately spreading this news to ruin this wedding banquet!"

"You're only half right. The spread of this news is most likely orchestrated by the Prince of Yan. With Lord Zhiyong setting a precedent, many powerful families who don't want to get involved in the struggle will surely follow suit tomorrow. In that case, the Prince of Yong's plan will fail," Grand Secretary Yu analyzed.

"I never imagined that the Prince of Yan was involved in this!" Yu Jia Dalang exclaimed in surprise.

"The news has reached us, and we still don't understand that someone did this on purpose?" After saying this, Grand Secretary Yu muttered to himself, "I just don't understand why Lord Zhiyong didn't stop the news from spreading. I really can't figure out what he's planning."

If Jin Shuai were present at this moment, he would probably scoff disdainfully: "I don't take them seriously at all. Why should I stop the news from spreading? It's not me who's embarrassed!"