Her guards

Chapter 54 The Wei Clan's Dissatisfaction

The emperor also knew that the Wei family was not convinced.

When he quelled the rebellion, he addressed Wei Cui as a brother. After ascending the throne, he promised Wei Cui a high rank and wanted to enfeoff Wei Cui as a king of a different surname. He summoned Wei Cui to the capital.

How could Wei Cui possibly go to the capital?

The last time they went to the capital, the two brothers, Wei Erye and Wei Sanye, died tragically, and Wei Cui barely escaped back to Longxi after a near-death experience. One such lesson is enough.

However, the Wei family had missed the opportunity to declare themselves emperor. The chaos in the country had been quelled, and Deng Shan had secured his rule. If he were to raise an army again, it would inevitably be a bitter battle.

What's most infuriating is that Wei Cui will be branded as a traitor and rebel.

Therefore, the Wei family did not turn against the emperor.

Therefore, although Wei Cui refused to go to the capital, he sent his young son to the capital to show his submission.

This is common knowledge in Longxi.

It's not surprising that Wei Xu said that.

However, Master Wei sighed softly: "The General sent A-Jiao to the capital to treat his illness. He was desperate and had no other choice. Before he went to the capital this time, the General came to see me in the middle of the night and asked me to check if his condition had improved. He was worried about his son."

Wei Xu, standing to the side with a hint of jealousy, said, "The General is indeed very spoiling of him."

When he was a child, he had the opportunity to enter the main residence of the Wei family with his father. On that occasion, he saw the imposing general abandon the room full of his staff, attendants, and clansmen to run off and catch crickets for Wei Jiao.

Wei Jiao caused trouble in the clan and disrupted the peace of the household, but he was never punished.

Wei Xu had seen many spoiled brats, but few were pampered by their fathers to this extent.

"The General feels indebted to them, mother and son..." said Master Wei.

“What does this have to do with the General!” Wei Xu said indignantly. “It was that scoundrel Zhao Tan who caused the deaths of Second Master and Third Master.”

Moreover.

After Wei Jiao's mother did such a thing, upon returning to Longxi, the General personally welcomed her into his home and treated her as his mistress. It was simply...

Let's not talk about the past.

Now.

"He's Deng Shan's lackey in the capital, yet he flaunts his power by claiming my father is Wei Cui," Wei Xu said indignantly. "Many people have come to question and curse the general, ruining his reputation. Now we've been ordered to pay our respects, but instead of intervening before His Majesty, he's blocking us from seeing him. I think he's treating someone else like his father again..."

Master Wei once again shouted, "Alright, stop talking."

After Wei Jiao returned to Longxi, he addressed Zhao Tan as "father" in public. Although it was just childish talk, it was still embarrassing to mention.

“No matter who he recognizes as his father, he is still the son of the Great General,” said Master Wei Qi, waving his hand. “Deng Shan will definitely know that we’re coming to the capital. That’s enough. Anyway, meeting him won’t make Deng Shan less wary. It’s just for show.”

As I said this, I glanced at the night outside.

I'm going out tonight.

Wei Xu and his entourage nodded without asking any questions and went out one after another. "Father, get some rest," "Go to sleep, go to sleep, we'll wait for that kid tomorrow," "Let's see what other excuse he has," they said in a jumble as they went into their rooms.

The courtyard returned to silence, and the lights inside the house were turned off one by one. Master Wei came out of the house, climbed onto the roof, and moved silently on the roof. He left the old Wei family residence, avoided the patrolling guards, and came to a house by the river.

The house was still lit up, and shadows of people studying late into the night were cast on the windows.

This is a very common sight in the capital.

With peace and prosperity throughout the land, students can also strive for excellence, seek fame and success.

Amidst the calls of night birds, the student, engrossed in his studies, stretched and turned off the light.

The light came on in the windowless bedroom of the house, and Master Wei pushed the door open from the darkness and looked at the middle-aged man sitting at the table.

The man had refined features and a fair complexion, but he appeared frail. When he saw Master Wei enter, he smiled and bowed, saying, "De'an greets Master Wei."

After saying that, he unconsciously stroked his beard.

He seemed to be deliberately drawing attention to his magnificent beard. Master Wei noticed it too, and said with a hint of disdain, "Qi De'an, you can just stick on some fake beard. This will attract more attention."

De'an laughed and said, "Seventh Master doesn't understand. The less something is, the less willing one is to pretend to have it." Then he corrected him, "Seventh Master, my surname is no longer Qi, it's Wei."

Master Wei spat, "You want to be surnamed Wei? You'll have to see if you're qualified." He then sneered, "You boasted so much before, but what happened? Jiang Wangchun's whole family is dead, and they weren't forced into our hands. Instead, we almost got discovered."

De'an showed no fear whatsoever, but instead said with smugness: "This further proves that what I said is true. Seventh Master, that is Emperor Ai's own flesh and blood, the only legitimate prince of the previous dynasty, born with imperial lineage, not only heavily protected by his side, but also protected by the Mandate of Heaven."

Master Wei waved his hand impatiently: "Stop talking nonsense. What kind of destiny is this? If there really was a destiny, would the world belong to the Deng family now? Tell me quickly, where did they go?"

“They’re in the capital,” De’an said. “Although they escaped from the Jiang family, I specifically reported them to the authorities, so besides us, the imperial court is also hunting them down. They were attacked from both sides and couldn’t shake off my pursuit. Ah, speaking of which, that Embroidered-Robe Commandant of the imperial court is your family’s son…”

Before he could finish speaking, Master Wei interrupted him, saying, "Don't let our young master know about this."

De'an paused for a moment, then asked curiously, "When father and son are of one mind, their strength can break metal. What, is it that your young master isn't on the same side as General Wei?" He couldn't help but laugh, "That's right, this young master was raised by someone else. I once saw Zhao Tan leading your little one by the rope..."

Master Wei raised his hand and slammed it on the table, instantly shattering the thick tabletop.

De'an took a step back and dared not speak again.

“You need to understand, we don’t necessarily need this prince.” Master Wei looked at him and said coldly, “The General said that he can also send you to the Emperor. You hand the prince over to the Emperor, you seek wealth and honor, and he proves his loyalty.”

De'an gave a wry smile: "Going to His Majesty only gets me a reward; I've seen too many of these fleeting riches." Then, with a fawning tone, he added, "Only by following the Great General can I obtain lasting wealth and honor."

Master Wei said calmly, "Then show some sincerity."

De'an reached into his sleeve and took out two scrolls, which he then opened.

“The young prince was protected by Eunuch Zhang, and at the time, the Qi family was acting with impunity, preventing him from showing his face. Not many people had seen the young prince, and I was one of them,” he said.

Master Wei looked at the two scrolls: "Why are there two?"

A smile appeared on De'an's face.

“That is my value,” he said. “My so-called meeting with the young prince means not only seeing his true face, but also his disguise.”

Easy?

Master Wei was relieved; this was normal, given his important identity, it was natural to conceal it.

“Even without me, with these two portraits, your Wei family has many eyes and ears. No matter how big the capital is, or how big the world is, you will definitely be able to find him.”

De'an presented the portrait to Master Wei with both hands.

"That's how sincere I am."

Looking at the portraits handed to him, Master Wei hesitated for a moment before opening one of them.

This should be its true appearance.

Because the child in the portrait is about ten years old.

The child was thin, with round eyes and thin lips, and looked at him quietly.

……

.......
The stove fire burned late at night, dispelling the chill of late autumn and early winter, and making the usually sallow face of the boy sitting next to him rosy, and his eyes and brows more lively.

“I found out that Wei Jiao did indeed study under Wang Zaitian,” Zhang Shengyou said. “It happened a long time ago, before the National Academy even existed.”

Peach Blossom frowned beside her: "What's wrong with Wang Zaitian? How come just anyone can study with him?"

Mo Zheng, who had been lost in thought, chuckled upon hearing this.

“Indeed, Mr. Wang taught without discrimination, and anyone could study under him,” she said. “There were people like Wei Jiao, and there were people like me.”

Ling Yu, who was addressed as "Senior Brother," was unaware of her identity, while Wang Zaitian, who was not addressed as "Master," knew her true identity.

(End of this chapter)