Chapter 1 The Official Robe

The heir's official robe was custom-made, but when the heir of the Zhenbei Wang (Pacifying the North King) Manor really needed his own official robe, he felt a bit at a loss.

This wasn't just because the position of Little Marquis or Heir had been vacant in the manor for so long, but because rules and etiquette hadn't really been considered rules here for a long time.

When rules can't restrain you, the act of not following them becomes a pleasure in itself.

What disrespect, what breach of etiquette, what being used as a handle to be impeached – none of these were things the Zhenbei Marquis Manor needed to worry about.

Ever since the previous generation of Zhenbei Marquis helped Ji Chengjue's grandfather seize the throne, the status of the Zhenbei Marquis Manor had been completely transcendent.

Li Liangting had joked with the Yan Emperor in the imperial study, saying that his father used to secretly wear dragon robes at home for fun.

Judging by Li Liangting's own familiarity with loosening a dragon robe, he must have tried it on at home quite a bit himself.

Therefore,

Although the Heir hadn't been back at the manor for very long, the Wangfu (King's manor) would certainly not short him on any clothing.

However,

Some clothes were fine for casual wear, for going to the ancestral hall, or attending some family events. No one would care if something was inappropriate or overstepped boundaries.

But to wear them out, to represent Great Yan as the Zhenbei Wangfu's envoy to the barbarian royal court, this official robe had to be proper.

What clothes a Wang (King) should wear,

What clothes a Heir should wear,

How much gold thread, how many borders, how many accessories, and what patterns and textures were all very particular.

From another perspective,

When the people in the Wangfu started to pick up the rules they had previously disdained and prepare to abide by them, it signified a change in the celestial phenomena.

The Zhenbei Wangfu's existence outside the Great Yan's structure was gradually becoming blurred, and as it prepared to rejoin everyone in playing the game, it naturally had to abide by the mainstream rules of this circle.

Fortunately, there were many skilled craftsmen in the Wangfu. The Wangfei (King's wife) herself was a master of embroidery. Even the Junzhu (Princess), who originally had a fiery temper and looked down on needlework, had learned to do some work to pass the time during her years in the capital. She was intelligent, so she naturally picked up needlework quickly.

So,

The mother and daughter worked together, rushing and checking, and finally managed to alter a set of genuine python robes for the Heir that conformed to etiquette.

Li Fei put them on and stood before his mother and sister.

"Actually, our little brother isn't bad-looking," the Junzhu said.

"He's just so-so, much better than his father back then," the Wangfei commented. "When his father stood next to His Majesty, he was completely overshadowed.

Later, I would sometimes think that His Majesty liked to take your father along not just because of his status as the Little Marquis of the Houfu (Marquis Manor). Red flowers always like to have green leaves to set them off, don't they?"

"Mother, was His Majesty very handsome when he was young?"

"Look at those princes, how many of them are ugly? Even that little sixth one was a bit worn out by wine and women in his early years, but his appearance was still good."

"Then why did you choose Father back then, Mother?"

"Because your father seemed reliable. He told me back then that I would be the only woman in his life."

"Just because of that?"

"Of course, any man can say that, but you still have to look at his status, right?"

"True."

Li Fei stood there in his python robes, watching his mother and sister chat.

Finally,

The Wangfei's attention returned to her son.

She said:

"Son, I won't say anything else to you. It's useless anyway. People are tempered by experience. Since my son has taken on this responsibility, just go and do it.

You are, after all, a Li."

"Your son understands."

"Well, I won't cry either. Crying is pointless. I must have been cursed to be in this Li family in this life. Sigh, wouldn't it be nice to live a peaceful life? But we have to keep rushing to suffer again and again."

Li Fei smiled and said, "Mother, the situation is like this, the world is like this. Someone has to stand up and do things."

"I don't need you to teach me these principles. After you go out, listen to the good things from the old barbarian king first. Keep this letter with you. It's handwritten by me. Give it to the old barbarian king when the time comes."

Li Fei reached out and took the letter. "Mother, this is?"

"A marriage proposal. I'm proposing a marriage to the old barbarian king for you. Didn't his eldest prince marry a barbarian princess? I reckon the old barbarian king doesn't have any daughters of suitable age for you. The youngest barbarian princess was promised to the Ji family. We can't possibly raise our seniority, it wouldn't be proper, and my son would suffer.

How about this?

Let the old barbarian king choose one of his granddaughters for you. The betrothal gifts and letters are all prepared. They're in the gift cart. When the time comes, send this letter and the list of gifts to that old thing."

"Mother, isn't there going to be a war? Why are we still..."

"What do you know!"

The Wangfei glared at her son unhappily.

Li Qian smiled and explained, "Little brother, if Father and the Prince of Jingnan make any mistakes when they go to war, you will definitely die. But if Father and the Prince of Jingnan sweep in like autumn winds sweeping away fallen leaves,

Maybe the old barbarian king will consider leaving a seed."

The Wangfei nodded and said, "That's the idea. I hinted in the letter that I want to pick one of the little prince's children for you. Although they might be a bit younger, I heard it's just a baby, but it's still the little prince's direct bloodline.

If that little girl can save your life, I won't mistreat her when she comes to our house in the future."

Li Fei finally understood. He could only say that these two women in the Li family were really too smart.

They couldn't change Zhenbei Wang Li Liangting's decision,

But under this decision, they could still come up with ways to increase their son's chances of survival.

If this war went wrong, he would definitely be killed by the barbarians to vent their anger, or even be used as a sacrifice to launch the first eastern expedition of the barbarians after the alliance.

And if his father and the Prince of Jingnan succeeded, and the situation was one-sided, according to the Yan people's cruelty towards the barbarians, the barbarian royal court would definitely be left with no survivors. In fact, this battle was aimed at this goal.

And his marriage could preserve the bloodline of the Jinzhang (Golden Tent) royal court.

"Also, little brother, take this."

Li Qian threw a delicate dagger from her sleeve to Li Fei, who reached out and caught it.

"Your sister is telling you that while you're an envoy, you can have integrity, but you have to deliberately show that you're strong on the outside but weak on the inside, and also reveal your simple side.

Anyway, you were raised in the mountain village since you were a child. You don't need your sister to teach you how to act like a simple commoner, right?

Then, give this dagger to some young prince in the royal court, showing that you like him very much, and pretend to be very stubborn and down-to-earth.

At a critical moment, if one little princess isn't enough to save your life, then you can pull in a little prince?

Let the old barbarian king, or the little prince who is about to take over the barbarian royal court, tell you that they can spare your life, but you have to protect a prince to continue living and so on.

No matter what the reason, you agree to it immediately."

"Yes, sister, your brother understands."

"Actually, if we didn't do these things, and the war went smoothly, the old barbarian king probably wouldn't kill you," the Wangfei sighed. "If the Zhenbei Wangfu's Heir is gone, and your old man really becomes carefree and leaves his old bones in the desert and doesn't come back, our Wangfu will really become extinct.

Commoners eat the extinct, which is really cruel;

The imperial court eats the extinct, and it won't show any mercy.

A century-old Marquis Manor might be revoked and taken back by the central government, and the Zhenbei Army and the Beifeng Commandery will also be taken away.

As long as the old barbarian king isn't completely muddled, he wouldn't want to see the Marquis Manor's foundation completely taken back by the Great Yan imperial court. At that time, a unified Great Yan, a Great Yan with the central government controlling the entire territory, heh heh...

For the sake of his barbarian descendants, he will also consider sparing your life to come back and inherit this throne."

"Mother, what you said really makes your son feel that it would be most beneficial to the country if I died in that desert."

"Your father probably thinks so too, but in the end, it's okay if the three of them are crazy. I still think that a real man must first take good care of his family.

I have a fierce temper and can't stand the cold treatment of the future reduction of fiefdoms;

Your sister has an even worse temper. If she doesn't have the Houfu as a big tree to support her, wouldn't she really have to be sent to the Pingxi Marquis Manor to be a concubine?

Heh heh,

In this world, the only one who doesn't mind that your sister almost married someone else and is happy about it seems to be that Pingxi Marquis."

"Mother," Li Qian pushed her mother.

"Son, once you leave, there will only be the two of us at home. You have to come back. The women in the family are still counting on you for the rest of their lives."

"Mother, sister, don't worry, Fei will definitely come back. And Fei also thinks that last time, when Father and the Prince of Jingnan joined forces, they completely defeated the Helian and Wen families. This time, they are joining forces again, and there can't be any problems with the barbarian royal court."

"Alright, alright, pack up and leave. Don't delay the day. Your father secretly came back and didn't even enter the house. He's probably still counting the days in the military camp."

"Counting the days?" Li Fei was a little puzzled.

The Wangfei nodded and said:

"The alliance in the west has to hold the ceremony of sacrificing to the barbarian gods, and they have to look at the celestial phenomena to choose a good day, that's one;

On the other hand, they are still waiting for news from the east."

"News from the east?"

"You'll know when the time comes. Go ahead and leave early. Get to the royal court early, choose a wife early, and do more things to protect your little life."

"Yes, Mother."

Li Fei knelt down and kowtowed to his mother.

The Wangfei sat there and accepted it.

Then,

Li Fei knelt down again to Li Qian, preparing to kowtow.

"Little brother, what are you doing this for?"

"Sister, if, just in case, your brother really can't come back, you'll have to take care of Mother."

"Alright, alright, don't kowtow. She's my mother too."

"Heh heh."

Li Fei scratched his head, stood up, reached out and patted the dust off his knees, and said:

"Mother, sister, Fei is leaving now."

"Okay."

"Okay."

Li Fei walked out of the house.

The Wangfei stood up, picked up a handkerchief, and wiped her tears. Her son was gone, and she could finally cry.

"Mother, little brother doesn't look like he's going to die young."

"I know that. If your brother was going to die young, he would have been poisoned to death by your bowl of medicine back then."

"..." Li Qian.

…

The Zhenbei Wangfu's envoy team left the Wangfu.

There were many people in the team, with hundreds of guards and porters pushing goods.

However, just as the team was about to leave, they heard a commotion and faint cries.

Li Fei, sitting in the carriage, was a little puzzled. He asked the Wangfu Heir's chief secretary, whom his mother had assigned to him:

"Go see what's going on."

"Yes."

The chief secretary got out of the carriage. Not long after, he returned and reported:

"Your Highness, the messenger from the capital has arrived. His Majesty has passed away. The new emperor is the sixth prince."

The news of the Yan Emperor's death finally reached the westernmost frontier of the empire at this time.

"Are the people crying?"

The crying was very clear. Although it wasn't as earth-shattering as in Yanjing City, it was still quite loud.

"Yes, Your Highness."

The chief secretary was a little embarrassed. He thought that the Heir would be angry because the people gathered inside and outside Beifeng Commandery, especially near the Zhenbei Wangfu, should be loyal to the Zhenbei Wangfu. But now they were actually crying for the death of the emperor in the capital.

As the Zhenbei Wangfu's Heir, he must be a little unhappy.

But in reality,

Li Fei didn't have this emotion. He hadn't adapted well to being an Heir. He was more used to identifying himself as a small villager, an ordinary commoner under the rule of Great Yan.

So,

He could understand the people's emotions, even though they were very close to the Houfu;

But they were,

After all, Yan people.

This, was what the hearts of the people desired.

The emperor, had done such a good job that there was really nothing to criticize.

In the early years, Great Yan had powerful clans internally and tigers and wolves watching from the outside;

But over the years, the tigers and wolves had been beaten almost all around, and what could be seen from this was the extreme expansion of imperial power.

For example,

The Heir's python robes he was wearing had been carefully examined.

Ruling the world, the supreme of the ninth five, the power of imperial authority, didn't really rely on the balance of power, but on the silent and subtle influence under the magnificent atmosphere.

Seeing that the Heir wasn't speaking, the chief secretary said:

"Your Highness, now that His Majesty has passed away, our Wangfu can breathe a sigh of relief."

What the chief secretary didn't know was that he had flattered the wrong person.

But Li Fei wasn't a hot-tempered person. On the contrary, he was very gentle. Otherwise, Chen Xianba, with his fiery temper, wouldn't have been able to be good friends with him.

"Chief Secretary."

"Your Highness."

"In the village, I had a Confucian teacher who originally taught my friend to read. My friend didn't like writing, so he always dragged me along. The old Confucian was a bit pedantic and had always been interested in my nanny;

But some of the old Confucian's words, I think, made a lot of sense.

I remember it was five years ago, I don't remember exactly, but one night, someone heard a message from the teahouse in the town, saying that the Prince of Jingnan was possessed by a demon and had committed the heinous act of exterminating his entire family.

That night, the old Confucian drank a lot of wine and got drunk by the river. My friend and I found him and carried him back.

He was drunk and said some drunken words, which now sound very interesting."

"May I ask, Your Highness, what did the old gentleman say?"

Li Fei lifted the carriage curtain and looked outside.

After a long time,

He opened his mouth and said:

"He said,

'The fall of Great Yan's clans began with the Tian family and will end with my Li family.'"