Holding the Emperor Hostage : Chapter 25: Entering the Hall with Swords and Shoes

September of the Second Year of Jianyuan, Jingshen

The eighteen regional lords, flying the banner of coming to the aid of the King and saving the state, arrived outside the city walls of Luoyang one after another, only to look at the massive crowds of commoners, women, and children and sigh in utter futility.

They originally thought that after Huo Yan led one hundred thousand troops to Sishui Pass, the military defense of Luoyang would certainly be empty. These lords only needed to rush ahead of the others to occupy Luoyang, and they could hold the Emperor hostage to terrorize the realm. Yet they never expected that the moment the allied forces entered the territory of Luoyang, before they could even clash with the southern and northern armies defending the city, they would first sink into a vast ocean of common people.

The Emperor of Yin had issued a decree to draft young men from Luoyang and Guanzhong into the southern and northern armies. Learning that the various regional lords had entered the capital using a forged imperial decree, the old men, young boys, women, and children left behind after their sons and husbands departed also took up hoes, iron shovels, iron pots, pot lids, and some even tore off the well pump heads from the village fields to use as weapons. Carrying their dry rations and all their belongings, they rushed to the outskirts of Luoyang completely on their own initiative to guard the Emperor.

By the time the various lords arrived in Luoyang, a million citizens had already gathered outside the city walls. These commoners, women, and children, who had never been worth a glance in the eyes of high officials and famous scholars, gathered around the four sides of Luoyang in a grand and imposing manner. Like a bustling moat of human heads, they packed the originally tall and majestic city walls so tightly that not even water could trickle through, successfully blocking the formidable soldiers and strong horses of the eighteen regional lords outside the city of Luoyang.

The originally ambitious regional lords were completely dumbfounded. Born into great noble families and considering themselves benevolent and virtuous, they had never witnessed such a scene before.

Since when did commoners and ordinary citizens automatically gather under the city walls during a war between lords, using their own lives and the lives of their entire families to guard the Emperor? Or rather, could an Emperor who was protected by ordinary citizens at the risk of their lives truly be a foolish ruler who is unprincipled and unable to distinguish between loyal and treacherous ministers?

When the news reached the capital, the civil and military officials were also completely flabbergasted. The noble families and elites, whose eyes were usually fixed on the top of their heads, realized it too late, finally understanding the deep significance behind Yin Shuhuai and Huo Yan’s insistence on showing benevolence to the commoners. Consequently, they competed with each other during the court assembly to praise His Majesty’s benevolence and state that the people’s morale could be put to good use.

Some individuals also worried that these women, children, and commoners loitering outside Luoyang might clash with the allied forces of the lords coming to aid the King. They immediately presented memorials, pleading with His Majesty to disperse the citizens.

Regardless of whether these people had hidden motives, Yin Shuhuai was also worried that the vulnerable elderly, women, and children confronting the lords’ troops outside the city might become cannon fodder on the battlefield. He immediately issued a decree, strictly ordering the various regional lords not to harm the citizens in the slightest, while casually using a single order to divert the allied forces staying outside Luoyang to the outside of Sishui Pass.

Don’t you all want to come to the aid of the King and save the state? Then take your troops and horses to Sishui Pass to crush the rebellion! Whoever can slay the enemy generals, seize the pass, and claim the first prize will be the leader of the lords. When the victorious army returns to court, the Emperor will naturally bestow rewards.

The various regional lords, who only wanted to use the pretext of saving the King to enter Luoyang directly and hold the Emperor hostage, were instantly dumbfounded. They had not come here to fight a rebel army. However, the southern and northern armies had assembled two hundred thousand troops to guard the city from within, and there were a million citizens outside the walls swearing to guard His Majesty to the death. Even if the regional lords could work hand in glove with the noble families inside to trick open the gates, they could not hide it from the million commoners guarding the outside.

Furthermore, His Majesty had already issued a decree ordering the lords to head to Sishui Pass to crush the rebellion, so if the regional lords stayed right where they were, would that not be defying an imperial decree?

With things having come to this point, the regional lords could only brace themselves and redirect their forces toward Sishui Pass. They had originally intended to drag their feet and discuss the matter at a leisurely pace, but unexpectedly, the Duke of Yan, Shentu Yang, coming from Shangdang, rushed to the front of Sishui Pass with three thousand cavalrymen ahead of everyone else, happening to crash head-on into the Liang rebel army marching toward Luoyang.

As the two armies confronted each other, the three thousand cavalrymen led by Shentu Yang actually scattered the one hundred thousand troops of the Liang rebel army with absolute ease. Shentu Yang himself charged at the very front, fighting his way back and forth seven times through the chaotic army, directly slaying the rebel leader, Liang You, right on the spot.

By the time the eighteen regional lords received the battle report, Shentu Yang had already reclaimed Sishui Pass with his three thousand cavalrymen. Along the way, he had even picked up the heavily wounded Prime Minister and brought him back to Sishui Pass to recuperate.

The eighteen regional lords, who were still traveling leisurely along the road, finally grew anxious. Each leading their own troops, they dashed toward Sishui at full speed, only to be blocked outside Sishui Pass by the one hundred thousand troops of the Yan State army that arrived right afterward.

“What is the meaning of this, Duke of Yan?”

“The Emperor ordered us to come to the aid of the King, wipe out the rebels, and reclaim Sishui Pass. The Duke of Yan led three thousand cavalrymen at the front, crushed the rebel army, killed the generals, and seized the pass, so he should indeed be credited with the top honor. But how can you occupy Sishui Pass all for yourself?”

“Could it be that the Duke of Yan also harbors treasonous intentions?”

Shentu Yang had no interest in wasting his breath on this disorderly mob. He had already sent people to deliver Liang You’s head back to the capital, wondering how the Emperor would reward him!

Yin Shuhuai’s reward arrived very quickly, granting Shentu Yang the title of Grand General to command and restrain the eighteen regional lords.

The moment the news spread, the various regional lords were in an uproar.

“What is the meaning of the Emperor? Does he actually want Shentu Yang, that green youngster whose mouth still smells of milk, to climb over our heads and lord it over us?”

“Never mind a Grand General appointed by the Emperor, even if the Emperor himself were here, he could forget about making us submit to him. If that green youngster dares to treat a chicken feather like a command staff, don’t blame us for turning against him!”

While the various lords were filled with indignation, the generals of Yan State who received the imperial decree were not particularly satisfied either.

“What does it mean to command and restrain the eighteen regional lords?” Shentu Yang’s trusted subordinates looked at His Majesty’s reward, completely baffled for a moment. “Shouldn’t the Grand General command and restrain the military forces of the entire realm?”

“That would be the Grand Marshal Grand General. The young Emperor only granted Big Brother the title of Grand General. Furthermore, Prime Minister Huo Yan concurrently holds the post of Grand Commandant, making him the person who truly monopolizes the military and administrative power of the entire realm. Now that the Prime Minister is still alive, and the southern and northern armies, as well as the imperial guards defending the palace, are all the Prime Minister’s trusted men, how could the young Emperor risk losing his head to hand over the power to command the military forces of the entire realm to our Lord?”

“The old scoundrel Huo Yan is right here in the army. I will go and kill him this instant!”

“You get back here!” Shentu Yang shouted to a halt Gao Jingde, who only thought of slaughtering people whenever something happened.

“This move by the young Emperor is actually brilliant,” Yao Wenru gently fanned his feather fan, slowly analyzing the situation. “He clearly knows that the eighteen regional lords harbor separate agendas and none of them will submit to the others, yet he grants our Lord the title of Grand General to command all the forces. The purpose is to make the eighteen lords restrain each other, or even slaughter one another. He, on the other hand, can sit securely in Luoyang, neutralizing the dangerous situation of the lords forcing the capital without spending a single soldier or horse.”

“He is using Big Brother and our Yan State iron cavalry as a tool!”

“It’s just a pity that this young Emperor completely underestimated Big Brother! He also underestimated our Yan State iron cavalry!” Gao Jingde let out a cold snort and spoke up. “The mere eighteen regional lords are nothing more than a disorderly mob. How can they resist the one hundred thousand troops of our Yan State? Since the young Emperor issued a decree for Big Brother to command the eighteen regional lords, we will first accept the decree and beat all eighteen regional lords into complete submission. When that time comes, we will march our troops to Luoyang and settle scores with the Emperor!”

Shentu Yang intended exactly that.

He had one hundred thousand troops under his command dominating Sishui Pass, supported by His Majesty’s decree appointing him as the Grand General. He possessed the perfect combination of timing, geographical advantage, and popular support. If he still could not subdue these mere eighteen regional lords, would he not fail to live up to the high expectations His Majesty placed on him?

With such deep affection and love, how could he bear to let him down!

“Pass down the order. I will personally lead five thousand cavalrymen to intercept and slaughter the logistics and grain supplies of the various lords along the way.” He wanted to break these eighteen regional lords one by one and then wipe them out altogether!

“My Lord, you cannot!” Yao Wenru was the first to step forward in opposition. “The act of plundering grain is far too hazardous. Furthermore, the eighteen regional lords possess a combined force of a million troops, while my Lord is only taking five thousand cavalrymen. In the event that you encounter the main force of the lords, I fear you will meet with disaster.”

“Precisely because the various lords claim to have a million infantrymen, I must lead the cavalry to charge and slaughter them.” Shentu Yang waved his hand, completely indifferent to the million-strong army of the eighteen regional lords.

Ever since he led eighty brothers to stage an uprising against the Xiongnu nomads, he had won every battle along the way by defeating the many with the few. Even the most elite cavalry army of the Xiongnu had been defeated at his hands, so why would he care about this disorderly mob?

“Since the young Emperor appointed me as the Grand General to command the eighteen regional lords, I must naturally act in accordance with the decree!” Speaking up to this point, Shentu Yang gave a sinister smile. “I am still waiting to return victoriously to court to ask him for a reward!”

A few days later, when the news that Shentu Yang had defeated the eighteen regional lords, organized the million-strong army, and was returning victoriously to Luoyang reached the capital, the civil and military officials were completely shocked and terrified out of their wits. No one knew how Shentu Yang had actually accomplished it.

“That is a literal army of a million men!”

Even if it were a million chickens, it would take five to eight days to slaughter them all, let alone a million human lives. Furthermore, this million-strong army was not a disorderly mob led by the remnants of the Liang clan, but the most capable elite forces under the command of the various regional lords. Now, they had been defeated one after another by Shentu Yang and had even been absorbed for his own use. How could this be possible?

The civil and military officials were completely baffled.

If it could be said that Shentu Yang leading three thousand cavalrymen to scatter ten thousand rebels and reclaim Sishui Pass was already a matchless feat of divine valor, his current achievement of subduing a million-strong army with one hundred thousand troops was flat-out miraculous. Following these two campaigns, the battlefield prowess demonstrated by Shentu Yang thoroughly intimidated the civil and military officials in Luoyang, who all harbored their own hidden agendas. The noble families and elites, who had originally intended to conspire with the lords to hold the Emperor hostage, completely lost their nerve.

It wasn’t until Shentu Yang led the million-strong army directly under the walls of Luoyang that everyone, looking at the murderous soldiers outside the city, realized with late-coming horror that the Duke of Yan, Shentu Yang, was not one of their noble peers, yet he could bring a million troops to lay siege to the city. This man was definitely dangerous!

“We absolutely must not let him enter Luoyang!”

“The Duke of Yan is returning victoriously to court after crushing the rebels under the Emperor’s orders. Now that the grand army has arrived outside Luoyang, what excuse do we have to deny him entry into the city?”

“But if we delay opening the city gates for too long, what if we enrage the Duke of Yan and he simply leads his million-strong army to slaughter his way into the city?”

The million-strong army was already at the city gates, yet the civil and military officials still stuck to their own views, arguing fiercely during the court assembly between those in favor of opening the gates and those swearing never to let them open. Some people even turned their thoughts toward the vulnerable elderly, women, and children outside the city, hoping these commoners could once again surround the army. When that time came, whether the million-strong army was forced back by the commoners or Shentu Yang ordered a massacre of the ordinary citizens, it would buy them room to maneuver.

Yin Shuhuai, sitting straight at the head of the hall, watched the scheming civil and military officials with a cold eye, without offering a single word.

Learning that Luoyang was surrounded, the elderly, women, and children outside the city indeed carried iron shovels, hoes, iron pots, and well pump heads, converging from all directions. Only this time, the Emperor staying deep inside the inner palace did not shut the city gates tightly to brace for an attack. He first issued a decree to the commoners, telling them to disperse and not surround the army, and then ordered the guards defending the city gates to open them, commanding the Grand General Shentu Yang to enter the court for an audience with eight hundred guards.

“That Emperor brat is going too far! Only allowing Big Brother to bring eight hundred guards into the court for an audience, what is that supposed to mean? Who knows if they will take advantage of Big Brother’s audience to command the two hundred thousand troops in the city to catch a turtle in a jar? In my opinion, we might as well take our million-strong army and slaughter our way directly into the palace, drag that young Emperor off the dragon throne, and support Big Brother to sit on it!”

“You shut your mouth!” The veins on Shentu Yang’s forehead throbbed violently. With a sharp command, he expelled Gao Jingde, who was shouting about slaughtering into the palace right in front of the messenger eunuch and the eighteen regional lords, out of the military tent.

“We brothers fell into the hands of the Xiongnu nomads when we were young, and every single one of us is an illiterate person, so I hope the imperial messenger will not take offense.” Shentu Yang accepted the decree with a smile, then changed the subject. “However, the concern raised by my brother is not without reason. There are two hundred thousand troops in the city, while I am only bringing eight hundred people into the court for an audience, which indeed leaves me feeling a bit anxious and faint-hearted. After all, we soldiers of Yan State were still called rebels by the imperial court just last year.”

Prime Minister Huo Yan had once dispatched one hundred thousand troops to Yan State to crush the rebellion, but unfortunately, the moment the army arrived in Shangdang, it was beaten to absolute shambles by the thirty thousand troops led by Shentu Yang. Sixty thousand troops were captured, and even the general suppressing the rebellion, Jiang Yang, was heavily wounded and defeated, only being ransomed back later by Huo Yan for a massive sum of money.

As Shentu Yang mentioned this matter at this particular juncture, the eyelids of the imperial messenger and the eighteen regional lords in the tent all twitched.

“The Duke of Yan must be joking,” the messenger eunuch bowed slightly and said in a manner neither humble nor arrogant. “His Majesty has long heard of the heroic deeds of the Duke of Yan leading eight hundred fierce warriors to slaughter his way through the Xiongnu. His Majesty is curious to see how valiant these eight hundred fierce warriors truly are, which is why he allowed the Duke of Yan to lead these eight hundred people into the court for an audience. The Duke of Yan is the greatest contributor to this campaign of crushing the rebels, and is furthermore the Grand General personally appointed by His Majesty. His Majesty cherishes the Grand General immensely, so how could he possibly do something like catching a turtle in a jar?”

Shentu Yang smiled knowingly.

These words were meant to be taken with a grain of salt. No matter how beautifully this messenger eunuch phrased it, Shentu Yang would not enter Luoyang with only eight hundred men.

“When I crushed the rebel army and reclaimed Sishui Pass, I happened to encounter Prime Minister Huo, who was hiding in Xingyang to nurse his wounds. Fearing that the rebel army might scatter in all directions and harm the Prime Minister, I brought him back to Sishui Pass. I hear that His Majesty and Prime Minister Huo enjoy a harmonious relationship between ruler and minister, so do you need me to dispatch people to escort Prime Minister Huo back to the capital?”

Shentu Yang was not someone who displayed kindness randomly. Since Huo Yan had ordered his trusted general Dong Wan, his second son Huo Quan, and his son in law Zhuo Shang to manage the palace guards and the southern and northern armies before leaving, it meant that the young Emperor’s safety was still firmly held in Huo Yan’s grasp. Now that Shentu Yang was using Huo Yan’s life as leverage, he believed that resourceful young Emperor would be sensible.

Sure enough, when the news that Huo Yan was still alive was delivered back to the palace through the messenger eunuch, Yin Shuhuai, who had originally just wanted to test the waters and saw that Shentu Yang had not grown so arrogant as to blindly seek his own death, immediately relented, changing the order to allow Shentu Yang to lead three thousand troops into the court for an audience.

This was not to say that Yin Shuhuai still clung to the illusion of catching a turtle in a jar, but rather that the city of Luoyang could currently only accommodate this many troops.

After all, the eighteen regional lords had come to the aid of the King and saved the state, so Yin Shuhuai could not possibly see Shentu Yang alone. Since he had to see all eighteen regional lords, when the lords entered for their audience, they naturally had to bring along their ceremonial guards according to imperial etiquette. These ceremonial guards, combined with Shentu Yang’s three thousand troops, added up to nearly ten thousand people.

For Shentu Yang, since he could rely on five thousand cavalrymen to subdue the million-strong army of the eighteen regional lords, leading three thousand troops into the city at this moment practically ensured he would be invincible.

As a person from a later generation who firmly believed in the miracle of the eight hundred, Yin Shuhuai had never underestimated Shentu Yang’s combat capability.

If Shentu Yang had previously agreed to lead eight hundred men into the court for an audience, Yin Shuhuai, pitting his two hundred thousand troops against Shentu Yang’s eight hundred men, might still have stood a chance. But now that Shentu Yang was leading three thousand fully armed cavalrymen into the city, Yin Shuhuai directly chose to be sensible.

However, while Yin Shuhuai chose to be sensible, the noble families and elites, who had been holding back for a long time, began to grow restless.

According to the ancestral regulations of the imperial court, the grand court assembly where lords were received was called the Court Congratulation. Whenever a Court Congratulation took place, the palace would first arrange guarding carriages, cavalry, infantry, as well as various banners and ceremonial items. Everyone from the regional lords down to the minor officials would wait outside the palace. Once dawn broke, the master of ceremonies would manage the etiquette, and the officials of the court would enter the palace gates one by one according to the hierarchy of their noble titles. The meritorious officials, lords, generals, and other military officers formed a queue on the west side, standing to face the east, while the civil officials from the Prime Minister on down formed a queue on the east side, standing to face the west. When the word to walk briskly echoed from the hall, the lords arriving for the audience would take off their shoes and untie their swords one by one according to their rank before entering the hall.

However, when the master of ceremonies inside the hall announced the entry of the Duke of Yan, Shentu Yang, Shentu Yang, who had been waiting outside, directly shoved aside the eunuch who stepped forward to remove his shoes and untie his sword. Keeping his hand pressed on the hilt of his sword, he entered the hall with his sword and shoes. Instantly, the entire court of officials was completely dumbfounded!

“How can the Duke of Yan enter the hall with his sword and shoes? Do you intend to commit treason and usurp the throne?”

“The Grand General must absolutely not act in this manner!”

“You Shentu brat! A treacherous rebel, arrogant and wild to the extreme. Having merely achieved a trivial bit of merit, you actually treat the laws and systems of the imperial court as nothing, entering the hall with your sword and shoes and looking directly at the sacred countenance. Do you truly think the imperial guards dare not execute a rebel?” The Commander, Dong Wan, stepped forward, pointing directly at Shentu Yang’s nose as he roared in fury, “Men, come here!”

The imperial guards defending outside the hall surged inside with a roar.

“Take this arrogant scoundrel down for me!”

“Who dares!” Gao Jingde and the others who followed Shentu Yang into the palace immediately charged into the hall, confronting the imperial guards.

The eighteen regional lords, who were likewise blocked outside the hall, looked at each other, completely at a loss for what to do.

Only Shentu Yang gripped the hilt of his sword, taking a leisurely stroll up to the front of the hall, tilting his head to look at Yin Shuhuai, who sat calmly at the head of the hall.

The holy Emperor governed by doing nothing, staying completely motionless like an exquisitely sculpted jade statue. An elegant and beautiful face was concealed behind the swaying twelve tassels of his ceremonial crown, revealing only a sharp hint of a chin and thin, vermilion lips as red as cinnabar.

“What if I look directly at Your Majesty’s sacred countenance?” Shentu Yang let out a light laugh, his right hand caressing the hilt of his sword, when suddenly he drew his sword out. Following a flash of cold light, amidst the gasps of the civil and military officials, Shentu Yang actually used his sword to lift the Emperor’s tassels, carefully inspecting the unruffled Emperor of Yin.

Yet the Emperor of Yin merely raised his right hand, using two fingers to pinch the blade of the sword and gently move it aside. The twelve tassels of his crown swayed slightly, and the calmly sitting Emperor remained completely unfazed, speaking faintly, “The Duke of Yan has overstepped his bounds.”

His voice was like the shattering of fine jade, striking a chord in Shentu Yang’s heart. This fleeting glimpse was like a passing shadow, and Shentu Yang let out a faint sigh, “Your Majesty was born with such a wonderful appearance, so if people aren’t allowed to look at it, would that not be a waste of God’s gift?”

It wasn’t until this moment that the flabbergasted civil and military officials finally reacted!

“Audacious scoundrel!”

“Where are the imperial guards? Drag this fellow who insults the ruler and violates the throne down for me!”

Before the words could even fade, the exceptionally enraged Commander, Dong Wan, actually drew the sword from an imperial guard’s waist with lightning speed, striking directly toward Shentu Yang.

Shentu Yang let out a cold snort, piercing Dong Wan’s wrist with his sword. Following a sharp clang, the precious sword crashed heavily to the ground, and Dong Wan clutched his wrist with a distorted face.

“The Commander is so dedicated to his duties, I am sure Prime Minister Huo would be exceptionally comforted.”

With just this single, light sentence, Dong Wan, who had wanted to call upon the imperial guards to charge together, instantly froze.

At the same time, the three thousand cavalrymen ordered to guard the outside of the palace also completely surrounded the imperial palace. The imperial guards responsible for defending the palace drew their swords to confront them, both sides locking horns as a massive battle teetered on the edge of breaking out.

“I accepted orders to crush the rebels, reclaimed Sishui Pass for Your Majesty, and subdued the army of the eighteen lords, yet Your Majesty treats me in this manner,” Shentu Yang slowly sheathed his sword, his eyes still glued to the face of the holy Emperor hidden behind the tassels. “Would this not break the hearts of loyal ministers?”

Hearing Shentu Yang speak with such utter shamelessness and twist the facts, the Commander, Dong Wan, was practically laughing out of pure rage. If it weren’t for the fact that the Prime Minister was still in the hands of the rebel scoundrel, he would have thoroughly ridiculed Shentu Yang.

While the Prime Minister’s faction swallowed their anger, the noble families and elites who wanted to win over Shentu Yang had to step forward to offer pleasant words of advice, “The Duke of Yan’s loyalty to Your Majesty and the imperial court can be witnessed by heaven and earth. If Your Majesty did not cherish the talent of the Duke of Yan, why would he grant the Duke of Yan the title of Grand General to command the lords of the realm?”

“The Grand General must absolutely not misunderstand His Majesty’s intentions.”

“Is that so?” Shentu Yang smiled mockingly upon hearing this, his gaze still fixed tightly on Yin Shuhuai’s face as he asked with a half-smile, “Does Your Majesty think so too?”

Yin Shuhuai’s gaze pierced straight through the swaying tassels into Shentu Yang’s eyes. At the moment their eyes clashed, Yin Shuhuai asked with a face as calm as a deep well, “Is the Duke of Yan so arrogant because he truly believes I do not dare to kill people?”

The smile on Shentu Yang’s face deepened, “Does Your Majesty wish to execute a meritorious minister?”

“I only execute treasonous ministers.”

In an instant, the entire hall fell into absolute silence. The civil and military officials stared intently at Yin Shuhuai and Shentu Yang, simply waiting for a single order from either the holy Emperor or the Duke of Yan to turn the palace into a river of blood.

Yet after a long standoff, it was ultimately Shentu Yang who compromised first.

“Your Majesty is stone-hearted, which truly breaks one’s heart.” Shentu Yang waved his hand, and the three thousand fully armed cavalrymen retreated rapidly like spilled mercury.

“Is Your Majesty willing to believe my loyalty now?” Shentu Yang explained himself with a look of grievance. “I left my million-strong army outside the city, my three thousand cavalrymen outside the palace, and my eight hundred fierce warriors outside the hall, entering the hall entirely alone. Although I entered with my sword and shoes, it was merely because I wanted to beg for a favor from Your Majesty.”

“Could it be that despite achieving such merit, I still cannot make Your Majesty look at me with special regard?”

Gao Jingde and the others, who had disregarded the obstruction of the imperial guards and boldly charged into the Chonde Hall just now, all looked askance upon hearing these words, staring at the lying Shentu Yang as if they had seen a ghost.

Was this truly their Big Brother who slaughtered Xiongnu nobles at the drop of a hat and showed no pleasant expressions to the ladies of Yan State? Could he be possessed by a ghost?

Yin Shuhuai remained silent in an unexplainable manner for a moment, “The Grand General has achieved merit in crushing the rebels, so he may receive greetings without his name being called, enter the court without walking briskly, and enter the hall with his sword and shoes.”

The so-called receiving greetings without the name being called meant that the master of ceremonies would not directly shout the minister’s name when guiding him through etiquette; entering the court without walking briskly meant the minister did not need to take small, rapid steps to show respect when visiting the Emperor; while entering the hall with his sword and shoes meant the minister did not need to untie his sword or take off his shoes when visiting His Majesty. In reality, it meant not pursuing Shentu Yang’s immense disrespect in the Chonde Hall just now.

Shentu Yang was finally satisfied.

He gently caressed the hilt of his sword, scanning the shocked and furious civil and military officials in the Chonde Hall, and finally looked up at the Emperor of Yin, who still sat straight at the head of the hall, looking completely devoid of joy or sorrow.

He wondered what kind of vibrant life was hidden beneath this jade statue and clay molding.

That night, Shentu Yang tossed and turned, and the twelve tassels of the Emperor’s crown kept swaying in his dreams.

The spring dream was full of romantic tenderness.