Jiapingguan Chronicle

Chapter 2752 Still Vigorous in Old Age 136.0
"A golden sword?" Xia Chen stroked his chin, looked at Xiao Fengqi, and smiled. "This should mean the same thing as the imperial sword we were talking about?"

“Yes, it can also be considered a way to save one’s life.” Xiao Fengqi sighed. “Those two little princes were quite arrogant at first, but they didn’t expect the Regent to make such an appearance. Especially when they saw the golden sword in his hand, they were stunned for a moment.”

"Were you frightened?"

"It's unclear whether they were frightened or not, but it took them a while to come to their senses. However, by the time they did, the Rong family members and Rong family private soldiers they brought were already kneeling on the ground."

"Because of the golden sword, right?"

"Yes." Xiao Fengqi nodded. "The scene was quite intimidating. Logically, the two little princes should have knelt down along with them, but they..."

"You won't kneel?"

"Yes, not only did they refuse to kneel, but they also did something incredibly stupid. It was because of this incident that the Regent and the late King concluded that they and the Rong family were plotting a rebellion."

"What's the matter?" Xia Chen frowned slightly. "They wouldn't be so foolish as to question whether the golden sword is fake, would they?"

“Hey, Seventh Master was right, that’s exactly what they questioned.” Xiao Fengqi nodded to Xia Chen. “Not only did they question it, they even tried to snatch it. My great-aunt said that, according to the people who were there at the time, their idea was to go with the flow and destroy the golden sword so that they could break the seal and then act without any scruples.”

"They're really stupid. If Consort Rong and the Rong family knew what they were thinking, they wouldn't wait for the Prince of Liao to make a move; they would have taken action themselves to get rid of these two menaces!"

“General, that’s not necessarily true. Who says such a bad idea couldn’t have come from Consort Rong or a member of the Rong family? The Rong family might not have come up with it, but Consort Rong might.” Xiao Fengqi took a sip of tea. “My great-aunt commented on Consort Rong: she seems to have a lot of brains, but not much.”

“I once heard a saying that was a very subtle way of saying someone is brainless, which means that their brain is more valuable because it is brand new.” Xia Chen raised an eyebrow slightly. “According to my great-aunt, Consort Rong’s brain is probably worth a hundred or eighty taels of silver, while ours is probably only worth one or two taels.”

"How mean!" Song Yaojia slapped Xia Chen. "Where did you hear that kind of talk?"

"When you're bored at sea, just find some people to chat with," Xia Chen chuckled. "Don't worry about whether it's sarcastic or not, just tell me, isn't this description accurate?"

"That's absolutely right."

Xiao Fengqi gave Xia Chen a thumbs up, and Chu Han did the same. "I'll remember that and tell my brother when I get back," Chu Han said, raising an eyebrow. "My brother always complains that I'm too direct and not tactful when I scold people. Now I can be tactful." He gestured with his chin towards Xiao Fengqi. "They didn't actually go and rob us, did they?"

"Yes, they did make a move, but the Regent alone struck them with his sword, knocking them to the ground." Xiao Fengqi spread his hands. "The Rong family members and their private soldiers kneeling on the ground were terrified. They never expected these two to be so audacious. The entire Linhuang Prefecture, and even the entire Liao Kingdom, knows that the Regent possesses a golden sword. This golden sword was personally presented to the Regent by the late King during his coronation, signifying that he was entrusted with overseeing the entire court and the King himself. If any troublemakers were to harm the interests of the Liao Kingdom, they could be executed without prior notification." He looked at the others. "That's the gist of it, but I'm not entirely sure of the specifics. Besides that, there's another point: when the ministers see the golden sword, it's as if they see the King himself. They are not allowed to question it, and if anyone behaves improperly, they can be killed on the spot."

"Excellent 'no questioning allowed,' excellent 'direct execution,' this gives the Regent plenty of confidence." Shen Cha nodded. "Then, the question is, do the two young princes know about these things? Has anyone told them?"

"Of course, before the young men of each family enter the court and serve the emperor, their elders will definitely tell them this, it's necessary. When the two young princes started to get involved in court affairs and began attending court, the Rong family elders had already given them detailed instructions, reminding them not to provoke the Regent, not to do anything underhanded, and not to let the Regent catch them, otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable. At first, they seemed to listen and were quite respectful to the Regent, but as time went on, when they found that the Regent seemed to be a soft person who could be easily manipulated, they began to be presumptuous, completely disregarding the Regent, and not even paying basic respects when they met him."

"The Regent doesn't care?"

"I don't know, but he didn't seem to care much."

"Do you really not care? Maybe not!"

Hearing Shen Cha's words, Xiao Fengqi helplessly shrugged and continued, "But thinking about it now, the Regent deliberately left them with this impression, then silently drew a circle, waiting for them to jump into it." He looked at everyone, "Does anyone else think so?"

“Playing dumb to fool others!” Jin Miaomiao nodded in agreement. “That’s what I was just thinking. The Regent is definitely not a simple person. He’s not as gentle and kind as he appears, which can easily mislead people. When he appeared in full armor, holding a golden sword, in front of the two young princes, the Rong family members and their private soldiers, as well as the spying spies outside the palace, it meant that he was just playing along before, and now his true colors were revealed.” She sighed, “A truly formidable person.”

"And then?" Shen Cha looked at Xiao Fengqi. "Given the two princes' usual arrogance, they'll probably make a huge fuss after the Regent took the picture, right?"

“The General is right. They are indeed relentless, saying that they are noble princes and the Regent is nothing more than a lackey of their father.” Xiao Fengqi looked at the group and frowned, then gave a bitter smile. “No one in the entire Linhuang Prefecture dares to say such things or think such things. So, as soon as they said these words, the people kneeling on the ground trembled, afraid of being implicated by these two brainless people. They really don’t want this day next year to be their death anniversary.”

"From what I know of the Regent, he is not the kind of person who would implicate the innocent."

"That's natural. The late king gave him this power because he knew he wouldn't abuse it."

"So what did he do?"

“He used the golden sword to drive the Rong family and their private soldiers out of the Regent’s Palace. He sent men to grab the two young princes by the collars, throw them outside the palace, tie their hands and feet with hemp rope, gag them, and press them to the ground. He personally struck them thirty times with his sword.”