In the courtyard, Zhang Zhuo and Chen Liqin paced back and forth under a persimmon tree. Old Man Yao sat on a chair, eyes closed, resting, without even a flicker of his eyelids.

At that moment, Zhang Zhuo and Chen Liqin saw Chen Wenzong, Chen Wenxiao, and Zhang Xia behind Mr. Feng, their eyes burning with fury.

A young man beside Zhang Zhuo charged forward frantically, shouting, “Beast! Release my sister! If you have a problem, face the men of my Zhang family. Why trouble women?”

Mr. Feng watched the young man approach calmly, showing no intention of evading him. He slowly raised his hand, ready to strike a palm.

In the nick of time, Chen Ji stepped in front of Mr. Feng, blocking him, and punched the young man in the abdomen.

The young man instantly curled up like a shrimp, vomiting uncontrollably.

Chen Ji said coldly, “Dare to be disrespectful to Mr. Feng? You’re asking for death.”

Mr. Feng patted Chen Ji’s shoulder, praising, “You’re quite perceptive. Step aside; I need to speak with the two sirs.”

After speaking, his gaze swept over Zhang Zhuo, Chen Liqin, and Old Man Yao’s faces, finally returning to Zhang Zhuo. “Lord Zhang, I’ve always heard your chess skills are exceptional. Would you care for a game? I fear that after today, I may not have another chance to play chess with you.”

Zhang Zhuo helped up his vomiting son and snapped, “At a time like this, you’re still thinking about chess? What you should be doing now is protecting your mother!”

Mr. Feng paused, then burst into laughter. “You civil officials, your insults are always so indirect. Not satisfying enough.”

He sat down at the stone table in the courtyard as if no one else were present, then looked up at She Dengke and smiled, “Young man, please pour me some tea. I’ve been busy all day without a moment’s rest and haven’t had a single drop of water.”

She Dengke acknowledged him and quickly entered the covered tower of Feiyun Court to pour water.

Zhang Zhuo led his son aside, then swaggered to sit opposite Mr. Feng, questioning him. “I hear you also passed the imperial examination. Why waste ten years of hard study to live anonymously and do such a life-threatening job?”

Chen Liqin, from the side, said coldly, “When we were at Donglin Academy, the teachers often praised you. How could you now degenerate so far as to become a servant to the Liu family?”

Mr. Feng sighed, “Donglin Academy… I envied you all back in those days.”

“Envied what?”

Mr. Feng recalled, “You could go out for spring outings, drink wine and compose poetry, get drunk at brothels, and still return to be seen as treasures in the teachers’ eyes.”

Chen Liqin frowned. “These are just ordinary things. What’s there to envy?”

Mr. Feng began to count on his fingers. “Going out for a spring outing requires hiring a carriage, doesn’t it? A modest cart with a common horse costs thirty ‘wen’ for one trip, while a better carriage would be over a hundred ‘wen’. In taverns, the wine you usually preferred often cost several hundred ‘wen’. I only managed to attend Donglin Academy by selling our family land to gather enough tuition. How could I waste money on such things?”

Zhang Zhuo retorted, “My background wasn’t good either, but that’s no reason to become a family servant to someone else.”

Mr. Feng scoffed, “Lord Zhang, if you hadn’t married a woman from the Xu family, would you be where you are today? What good was being the top scholar back then? You were still kept buried in books as a compiler for several years by Grand Secretary Xu. All right, all right, let’s not dwell on old grievances. Let’s discuss serious matters.”

Zhang Zhuo asked in a low, tense voice, “Why are you detaining us? What do you want?”

Mr. Feng calmly stated, “I would like to ask you two to write a proclamation denouncing the rebels.”

“Denouncing what rebels?”

“Xu Wenhe, Wu Xiu, the Directorate of Ceremonials, and the eunuch faction!”

Zhang Zhuo was no fool. He immediately took a deep breath. “You intend to march into the capital under the pretext of ‘purifying the emperor’s side’?”

Mr. Feng smiled but remained silent.

She Dengke brought the tea. Mr. Feng gulped down a cup, then handed it back to She Dengke. “I was truly thirsty. Please pour me more.”

Zhang Zhuo, seeing Mr. Feng’s calm demeanor, grew annoyed. “Do you realize that if I write this proclamation, I will also become a rebel? If your plan fails, I’ll lose my head along with you.”

Mr. Feng replied calmly, “I know.”

Zhang Zhuo straightened up. “If you want to win us over, we need to discuss terms. You can’t just tell us to write, and we’ll write, can you?”

Mr. Feng sincerely said, “Lord Zhang, if you write this proclamation for me, I will spare your entire family, young and old. How does that sound?”

Feiyun Court suddenly fell silent. A chilling wind swirled in the courtyard, and the atmosphere instantly turned grim.

Zhang Zhuo, however, sneered, “The Liu family’s hasty uprising is doomed to fail. What difference does it make if my family is executed sooner or later?”

Mr. Feng shook his head. “This Ning Dynasty may seem prosperous, but it is rotten to the core. This vast empire is like a flickering candle in the wind, ready to be extinguished with a single puff. It only depends on who delivers that puff.”

Zhang Zhuo stood up, adjusting his red official robes. “You cannot make enemies before achieving your goal. If you kill my family, you will be making an enemy of the Xu family. Then, caught between two fires, how will you ‘purify the emperor’s side’?”

Mr. Feng asked curiously, “Lord Zhang, do you really think the Xu family would become enemies with my Liu family for your sake? Aristocratic families are aristocratic families; they never consider one person’s gains or losses, only their own interests. That is how their fortunes flourish. My Liu family intends to share the realm with the Xu and Chen families. I’m sure Grand Secretary Xu and Grand Secretary Chen would be very interested.”

Zhang Zhuo sneered, “You are welcome to try.”

Mr. Feng shook his head in disappointment, then turned his gaze to Chen Liqin. “Lord Chen, what do you say?”

Chen Liqin stated solemnly, “My Chen family has upheld scholarly tradition for generations. How could we associate with your ilk?”

Mr. Feng let out an “Oh.” “It seems you’re all the type who won’t shed tears until you see the coffin… Lord Chen, your son, Chen Ji, is in my hands. At my command, his head will fall. I’ll give you ten breaths to think. After ten breaths, you will have one less son.”

Chen Ji froze for a moment, then realized Mr. Feng was bluffing Chen Liqin.

Mr. Feng counted down: “Ten, nine, eight… three, two, one.”

Chen Liqin’s face darkened, but he remained silent.

Mr. Feng sighed with emotion, “A concubine’s son is indeed a concubine’s son. Everyone says our dynasty makes no distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children, and even if there is a difference, fathers should be kind to their sons, and brothers should be respectful. But great scholars always say one thing and mean another, presenting one face in public and another in private. Only when it comes to actual events do you realize whether there’s a difference.”

With that, he turned to Chen Ji and said, “Go kill Lord Chen’s illegitimate son.”

Chen Ji bowed and said dully, “Yes.”

Before Chen Ji could leave, Zhang Zhuo suddenly spoke up, “Wait!”

Mr. Feng turned in surprise. “Oh? Does Lord Zhang have something to say?”

Zhang Zhuo thought for a moment and said, “Chen Ji had a falling out with the Chen family long ago and has lived at Taiping Medical Hall for years without returning home. What does this matter have to do with him? If you claim to be righteous men purifying the emperor’s side, why do harmful things that implicate the innocent? Grand Physician Yao, wouldn’t you agree?”

Old Man Yao, sitting on a chair in the courtyard, finally opened his eyes and slowly said, “Mr. Feng, how about I write this proclamation denouncing the rebels for you instead?”

Mr. Feng was speechless.

After a long silence, he said, exasperated and amused, “You’ve completely confused me. How is it that the father hasn’t even pleaded, yet you two are more concerned than he is? Grand Physician Yao, a proclamation written by a Grand Physician is useless. Please don’t join the fun.”

Old Man Yao glanced at him. “I am, at least, a seventh-rank official.”

Mr. Feng chuckled. “If I were to use a Grand Physician’s proclamation to execute rebels and raise my banner, I’d probably be laughed out of the world. Storytellers in tea houses would mock me, saying: ‘That Feng Wenzheng fellow, he’s not very bright.'”

Zhang Zhuo raised an eyebrow. “Then don’t trouble a mere medical apprentice. That would be a petty act.”

“Indeed,” Mr. Feng said, his gaze shifting. He instructed Chen Ji, “Bring Lord Chen’s legitimate son over.”

“Yes,” Chen Ji replied, bringing Chen Wenxiao to the stone table. “Sir, what should I do?”

Mr. Feng sniffed. “Wait, what’s that smell?”

He looked down and saw urine dripping from Chen Wenxiao’s trouser leg.

Mr. Feng raised a hand dismissively and waved it at his nose. “Move him farther away. Cut off one finger.”

Chen Wenxiao looked as if he’d been struck by lightning, crying out in pain, “Father, save me!”

Chen Ji dragged Chen Wenxiao to the persimmon tree, forced him down, then pried open his fingers one by one, pressing them to the ground and stepping on them to hold them in place.

He drew the saber from his waist and raised it, about to cut.

Chen Liqin suddenly stepped forward. “Stop!”

Mr. Feng’s eyes lit up. “What do you say?”

Chen Liqin remained silent for a long time. “I can write the proclamation denouncing the rebels, but only against the eunuch faction. I will have no part in the rest.”

Mr. Feng clapped his hands. “Excellent! Excellent! The eunuch faction has long misled the country, and any ambitious man in the realm has the right to eliminate them! Compared to Lord Zhang, Lord Chen is truly a man of insight!”

Zhang Zhuo, from the side, said coldly, “Chen Liqin, have you thought this through? If you become a spineless coward today, you’ll never be able to hold your head high again. You usually cherish your reputation more than I do. What’s wrong with you now?”

Chen Liqin turned his head away, saying nothing.

Mr. Feng smiled at Zhang Zhuo. “Lord Zhang, everyone has their own ambitions. If this ‘purification of the emperor’s side’ succeeds, Lord Chen will also be remembered in history, won’t he? How about it, Lord Zhang, are you willing to write this proclamation?”

Zhang Zhuo turned to his son. “Should I write it?”

Zhang Zheng angrily retorted, “Write it, damn it!”

Zhang Zhuo then turned to Zhang Xia. “Daughter, what do you say?”

Zhang Xia pursed her lips. “Don’t write it.”

Zhang Zhuo laughed heartily. “My son and daughter are quite capable, at least better than Lord Chen’s!”

Mr. Feng stood up and began to walk away. “No matter. Lord Chen’s proclamation will be enough. Take Lord Chen and his family away.”

An armored soldier quietly asked, “And the rest…”

Mr. Feng said casually, “Kill them all.”