Chapter 2251: Point-counterpoint

"Your humble servant greets His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess!" Zu An announced loudly.The atmosphere in the room had been extremely strange. Even the Crown Prince and Crown Princess had been forced to bow their heads, and everyone else in the Eastern Palace was naturally silent, fearing they might invite trouble upon themselves. Then, suddenly, such a loud voice rang out, instantly drawing everyone's attention in the room.

The eunuchs standing beside the Crown Prince, Little Xu and Little He, were dumbfounded, thinking, "This guy is incredibly bold, daring to walk straight into the firing line at a time like this." His close guards, Pu Duandiao and Jiao Sigun, were frantically winking at him from a distance, signaling him not to speak carelessly.

Zu An felt a warmth in his heart, realizing his friendships weren't in vain. However, he had his own agenda. He walked directly towards the Crown Prince and Crown Princess, saying, "Oh, besides His Majesty, who else commands such reverence that the Crown Prince and Crown Princess offer tea and bow to them? Who might this be?"

Openly offending the King of Qi was a calculated decision. He knew that during his journey to the capital, he had encountered several assassination attempts, most of which were orchestrated by the King of Qi. Why should he be polite to someone who wanted him dead? Furthermore, the various events that had transpired since his arrival in the capital had made the conflict between them irreconcilable. For instance, because of him, Murong Tong of the King of Qi's faction had been removed from the crucial position of Imperial Commandant, and now General Cheng Xiong of the Left Guard had also died. Even if the King of Qi were magnanimous, his loyal subordinates would surely hate Zu An to the bone. Moreover, he didn't dare believe the King of Qi could truly be so generous, so it was better to openly provoke him and at least secure the Crown Princess's favor. As for the Emperor's instruction to give the fake secret manual to the King of Qi, there was no time limit on that, so he could just ignore it for now.

As he spoke, he looked at the King of Qi seated in the chair, secretly sighing to himself that such a mature and refined older man would undoubtedly be a heartthrob in his previous life.The King of Qi also looked at him, his gaze showing no discernible emotion. Not even the system backend registered any rage points from him.Zu An secretly warned himself that this man possessed profound shrewdness and would need to be dealt with carefully in the future.

The Crown Princess, however, looked at him with delight. She used to find this fellow somewhat annoying, but today, seeing him, she found him exceptionally pleasing. Her heart was full of laughter, yet she feigned a scolding expression and said, "This is the wise King of Qi, praised by all under heaven. Zu An, how can you be so rude?" She intentionally emphasized the words "wise" and "praised" to sarcastically highlight that he, who claimed to be a virtuous king, was intentionally bullying a junior today.

She knew why the other party was deliberately putting on this display today. It was clearly related to the Cheng Xiong case recently, where an official from the Crown Prince's faction had effectively caused his death. Losing such a key general, the King of Qi's frustration was understandable. Whether for himself or his subordinates, he had to vent his anger. Thus, when the King of Qi intentionally made things difficult for her and the Crown Prince, she had reluctantly endured it, thinking, "We've gained the practical benefits, so if you want some recognition, go ahead and take it." But with Zu An's arrival, she suddenly realized that perhaps the King of Qi might not even get that recognition after all.

"Greetings, King of Qi," Zu An said, bowing with a feigned expression of humility and trepidation."You are Zu An?" The King of Qi looked at him with a complex expression. It was important to know that for years, he had held the upper hand in his struggle with the Emperor. In his mind, his opponent had never been this foolish nephew or his supposedly clever niece; his true adversary had always been his older brother on the throne.

While the Emperor was indeed invincible, he was ultimately no match for time. Combined with the Crown Prince's extreme incompetence, the general tide had gradually shifted in the King of Qi's favor. That was until Zu An suddenly appeared. First, he produced the 'Phoenix Nirvana Sutra,' a manual for achieving immortality, catching the King of Qi completely off guard. When he first learned of this news, even his long-undisturbed composure had faltered. If the Emperor could truly achieve immortality, what was the point of his struggle?

Upon this news, even some of the courtiers who had secretly sided with him began to waver. These individuals had aligned with him not out of genuine affection, but because the powerful Emperor was destined to die, and the Crown Prince was utterly useless. Now, knowing that the Emperor might achieve immortality, which of these ministers would risk their lives by betraying him? He had been overwhelmed dealing with this series of changes recently. Yet, after this fellow arrived in the capital, he directly and indirectly caused the critical positions of Imperial Commandant and General of the Left Guard to fall out of his control. This could be considered the most severe loss the King of Qi's faction had suffered in years.

"Could it be that this fellow is naturally my nemesis?" This thought barely formed before he suppressed it. At his level of cultivation, he could not allow himself such a powerless notion.Zu An replied, "Your humble servant is Zu An; I have long admired your esteemed reputation, King of Qi."The King of Qi's eyebrow twitched. "Just moments ago, he challenged me, and now he claims to have long admired my name? Isn't that clearly sarcasm?"Rage points from Zhao Jing: 99!

Feeling this surge of rage points, Zu An felt quite frustrated. "You're a Grandmaster, after all, with immense soul power. You shouldn't be contributing so few rage points!""The Emperor is Zhao Ritian; you can only be Zhao Rijing. No wonder you can't compare to him," he mused.But jokes aside, the King of Qi had contended with the world's most powerful Emperor for so many years; how could he be weak?

During his recent conversations with Yun Jianyue, she had mentioned that there were only two and a half people in the capital whom she truly feared. The two were the Emperor and the King of Qi. As for someone like Zhuxie Chixin, he didn't even count as half a person; at most, he was a slightly troublesome ant.

The King of Qi took a delicate sip from his teacup before calmly saying, "From what I just heard, it seems Sir Zu believes my request for the Crown Prince to offer tea is improper? As the saying goes, 'In all learning, a strict teacher is paramount; when the teacher is strict, the Way is respected, and when the Way is respected, the people know to revere learning.' This is an ancient principle. Sir Zu, having previously mingled in the markets of Brightmoon City, may not have heard of it."

Hearing the veiled insult about his lack of education, Zu An didn't get angry. He said with a cheerful smile, "However, the Crown Prince is, after all, the heir apparent to the nation, destined to ascend the throne in the future, and the Crown Princess will also become the Empress. For the King of Qi to act in such a manner ultimately seems to deviate from the proper conduct of a subject."

At these words, many in the room gasped. The two eunuchs, Little Xu and Little He, turned pale, while Pu Duandiao and Jiao Sigun inwardly sighed, "It's over, it's truly over. To dare speak to the King of Qi like that... he's doomed." Even Rong Mo, the Crown Princess's maid, tensed up defensively, fearing that the King of Qi's wrath might extend to the Crown Prince and Crown Princess. Yet, if he were to make a move, even at her full strength, she would be no match, let alone now, still recovering from severe injuries. Thinking this, she couldn't help but secretly resent Zu An for being such a troublemaker.Rage points from Rong Mo: 233233233...

Only the Crown Princess felt as refreshed as if she had eaten an ice-cold watermelon on a scorching summer day. She felt utterly invigorated, and the more she looked at Zu An, the more pleasing he became to her. She hadn't expected this fellow to be so loyal to her, and she resolved to cultivate him diligently in the future.

The King of Qi's eyes narrowed slightly, but he quickly responded, saying, "There are two instances where a sovereign does not treat his subject as a subject: when the subject acts as the 'shi' (personator of the deceased during rituals), and when the subject acts as a teacher. According to the rites of great learning, even when teaching the Son of Heaven, one does not face north, as this is to honor the teacher."

Zu An thought to himself, "Good thing I had nine years of compulsory education before I transmigrated, or I wouldn't understand your high-flown language." The gist of the King of Qi's words was: A monarch does not treat a subject as a subject in two specific situations: first, when the subject acts as the chief officiant in a sacrificial ritual, the monarch must not treat them as a subordinate but respectfully accept the officiant's arrangements. Second, when the subject acts as a teacher during the monarch's studies, the monarch must also not treat them as a subordinate but respectfully accept the teacher's instructions.Although this was a world of cultivation, for the stability of the nation, a set of customary rituals had been established over thousands of years. A teacher, when imparting knowledge or explaining classics to a monarch, was not required to observe the etiquette of a subordinate. When a monarch listened and learned respectfully, forgetting their sovereign status, that was a sign of honoring the teacher.The King of Qi's meaning was clear: if even a monarch behaved this way, how much more so should a Crown Prince and Crown Princess?

The Crown Princess also blinked her beautiful eyes, looking at Zu An. She had endured the situation earlier precisely because of this reasoning. She was very curious how Zu An would respond. For some reason, she always felt this fellow wouldn't disappoint her.