Chapter 149: Expelling the Guest

Yu Yuling thought to himself: Father asked me to learn from Brother Wang's breadth of knowledge and insight; he was right. If my own learning and insight could reach even half of Brother Wang's level one day, that would be enough.

Yu Qianlou forgot to chew the sticky rice in his mouth, thinking: This man's genius is such that not only has he far surpassed his peers, but even the scholars of Jingzhou are far from his equal! I have been an official for some time and consider myself experienced, yet I had never even thought of these principles!

Yan Youcheng, though close friends with Liu Zuo, was also swayed by Wang Yang's arguments. And that line, "Idle hands talk of benevolence and righteousness, but Liu Zuo is good for nothing,"—how did it manage to be so catchy?!

Though each had their own thoughts, they were all fleeting; no one had the time to ponder them deeply, and they hurried to keep listening, terrified of missing a single word from Wang Yang.

"... If one wishes to train troops, one must first increase wealth. The previous policy of household registration was aimed at taxation. If taxes cannot be increased, one must start with the word 'commerce.' Throughout history, there has been a major flaw in tax policy, which lies in—"

"Enough!" Liu Zuo stood up abruptly, pointing at Wang Yang, shouting excitedly: "Wang Yang! You speak with deceit and sophistry! You take things out of context! You create evil doctrines to confuse the right path, using treacherous words to bewilder people's hearts! You let the profit of merchants suppress the righteousness of the sages, and while bearing the surname of a noble house, you engage in the peddling of merchants! Now, instead of reflecting on your mistakes, you speak shamelessly and slander the state policy!!!"

Seeing Yu Yi had been listening to the crucial part, only to be interrupted by Liu Zuo. He frowned and rubbed his temple.

Liu Zuo bowed to Seeing Yu Yi: "Master Yu! Fragrant herbs and foul weeds cannot share the same vessel; owls and phoenixes cannot perch together! Wang Yang values profit and commerce to such an extent that he should be ranked among the peddlers and shopkeepers! How can he sit at the same table as us scholars?! I ask that you immediately remove this person's seat and expel him from the estate to set the record straight!!!"

Yan Youcheng and Yu Qianlou saw that Liu Zuo was truly desperate and hurried to persuade him.

"Brother Wenshen! Today is a festive banquet; pure conversation is for enjoyment, don't take it seriously! Let the debate end here, let's have a good drink!"

"Young Master Liu, gentlemen may differ while remaining harmonious; it is common for opinions to differ, don't get angry!"

Lady Xie Lady Xie Xinghan's brows turned cold: "The truth becomes clearer the more it is debated; Young Master Liu, do not engage in a battle of temper. Being aggressive is not as good as convincing others with reason."

Yu Yuling added from the side: "If Young Master Liu cannot win the debate and resorts to driving people away, this breadth of mind..."

Liu Zuo clenched his fists unconsciously, his breathing growing rapid, his shoulders heaving. His body trembled slightly, and his eyes burned with rage as he shouted: "It is not that I, Liu Zuo, am only engaging in a battle of temper! Nor is it because I lost the debate that I am making trouble!! It is that I cannot tolerate someone confusing right and wrong! Turning black into white! Master Yu!!!"

Liu Zuo's tone rose again as he bowed to Seeing Yu Yi, though his hands were trembling from the emotional agitation:

"In the past, my father often praised your pure insight and supreme virtue, saying you were a model for the noble families of Jingchu, and told me to seek your guidance often after arriving in Jingzhou. I believe you should understand my heart! Nowadays, the noble families are losing their order day by day! The root of this chaos lies in forgetting righteousness to fight for profit and the blurring of lines between the noble and the common! Today, I will say this: I absolutely will not sit at the same table as someone who tarnishes the reputation of the noble families and uses clever words to cover up his faults!"

Seeing Yu Yi sighed: "Must it be this way?"

Liu Zuo held his head high: "I, Liu Zuo of Hedong, disdain to sit at the same banquet as this person! Either he leaves, or I leave!"

Given his status! Given his father's status! The one to leave should naturally be Wang Yang!

Anyone with eyes could see the weight of this!

This had nothing to do with whether Seeing Yu Yi appreciated Wang Yang; it was about the reputation of the house. One must respect the master if not the guest; the Duke of Liu was the backing in Liu Zuo's heart.

Yu Yuling stood up before his father could drive Wang Yang away: "Father! Brother Wang is a guest we invited ourselves! As a family of scholars and etiquette, how can we treat a guest this way?! Besides, the Liu family of Hedong cannot be insulted, and the Wang family of Langya cannot be insulted either!"

Seeing Yu Yi ignored his younger son and looked at Yu Qianlou: "Zizhen, see the guest out."

Yu Qianlou looked troubled: "Father, should we reconsider? After all..."

"See the guest out," Seeing Yu Yi repeated.

Liu Zuo looked at Wang Yang, feeling quite pleased!

Wang Yang thought to himself that he could just go home for the festival, and wait until Liu Zuo left before coming back to persuade Seeing Yu Yi. In any case, the logic had been explained, and as long as he didn't leave a bad impression on Seeing Yu Yi, it would be fine.

Lady Xie Lady Xie Xinghan said to Wang Yang: "It's fine, I'll go with you."

Wang Yang felt a warmth in his heart and said: "Good, let's go out of the city to watch the dragon boat race."

Yu Qianlou sighed, walked to Liu Zuo's side, and bowed: "Young Master Liu, please."

Liu Zuo:???

He asked with some uncertainty: "Go where?"

Not to mention Liu Zuo, even Wang Yang, Lady Xie Lady Xie Xinghan, and the others were equally stunned.

Yu Qianlou looked at his father, and Seeing Yu Yi nodded.

Yu Qianlou sighed again and bowed once more: "Please leave the estate, Young Master Liu."

Liu Zuo froze for several seconds before finally reacting: "Master Yu! Have you lost your mind?! You are actually asking me to leave?!"

He looked at Seeing Yu Yi in disbelief: "Is this your intention?"

Seeing Yu Yi said calmly: "You and Young Master Wang are both guests I invited; the Yu family has no reason to drive guests away. If Young Master Liu wishes to stay, I welcome you. But do not speak of 'removing seats' again. Otherwise, do not blame me for being discourteous."

Liu Zuo felt as if he had lost all face! He flew into a rage: "Seeing Yu Yi! How dare you insult me like this? My father—"

Seeing Yu Yi said faintly: "Never mind you, even if the Duke of Liu himself arrived, if I did not wish it, I would still turn him away. Someone, see Young Master Liu out!"

The steward led several sturdy servants over and said in a deep voice: "Young Master Liu, this way please."

Liu Zuo felt as if he had been struck by lightning! His whole body stiffened! His eyeballs seemed ready to pop out of their sockets!

He looked at Seeing Yu Yi, then slowly shifted his gaze to Wang Yang, staring fixedly. His eyes reddened, and a look of madness appeared on his face as he suppressed his voice and uttered the word "good" three times.

"Good—good—good—"

The three sounds crawled out from the depths of his throat like vengeful demons!

Everyone felt that Liu Zuo's state was wrong!

It was as if he were angry to the extreme and about to lose control, or as if he had lost his mind and would go insane the next moment!

No one could predict what would happen next, and no one dared to step forward to persuade him, fearing it would only stimulate Liu Zuo and cause him to explode prematurely. The atmosphere became extremely tense.

After all, he was the son of the Duke of Liu; whether he made a scene or lost his sanity, it could lead to unpredictable consequences!

Just as everyone was pondering a solution, not knowing what to do, Wang Yang suddenly said: "Today's events were just a playful debate between me and Young Master Liu; neither of us took it seriously, so please do not spread it."

Seeing Yu Yi said: "Naturally. The debate between the two of you will not be known to outsiders."

Liu Zuo still didn't speak, staring fixedly at Wang Yang, as if he were about to lose his mind.

Wang Yang looked at Lady Xie Lady Xie Xinghan and said worriedly: "Young Master Liu's state seems a bit poor. You know his elder brother, right? Please tell his brother about what happened here, and ask some of his close friends to come and persuade him, and write a letter to the Duke of Liu..."

Liu Zuo's face twitched a few times, and he instantly broke his composure!

He glared at Wang Yang with hatred and said: "I will remember today's humiliation! I will never step foot in the Yu estate again!" Having said that, he flicked his sleeves and left.

Once Liu Zuo made his threat, everyone felt relieved. Wang Yang shook his head with a smile; this Liu Zuo was just too spoiled. The "madness" act was likely a tactic he used at home, no different from a child rolling on the ground or refusing to eat—a potential means of coercion.

This was somewhat like Baoyu throwing his jade in a fit of madness. Breaking this tactic wasn't difficult; one just had to call out, "Quickly invite the Second Master!" and Baoyu would immediately behave.

Wang Yang didn't know who Liu Zuo feared, but Liu Zuo cared about his face; what he feared was losing face. So if his family were told, and his friends were told, would he still dare to act mad? He wouldn't dare even if he wanted to!

Yan Youcheng felt complicated.

He really wanted to hear Wang Yang finish what he hadn't said, but Liu Zuo had left, so he couldn't stay. He sighed: "Alas, it was supposed to be an elegant gathering, but it ended in such a twist. Master Yu, Wenshen was just impulsive; I apologize on his behalf. I have been friends with him for a long time and cannot abandon him. I will go check on him first, and when there is an opportunity in the future, I will come back to drink with everyone. I apologize, I will take my leave first."

Yan Youcheng bowed to everyone to say goodbye. When he reached Wang Yang, he said sincerely: "Brother Wang's talent and strategy far exceed ours; Youcheng is truly impressed! I will return east next month; let me know when you come to Jiankang, and I will surely sweep the bed to welcome you and seek your guidance on the unfinished discussion from today!"

Wang Yang returned the bow: "You are too kind, Brother Yan! Let us meet again if fate allows!"

Yan Youcheng thought for a moment and added: "Today's matter was Wenshen's fault. But actually, Wenshen is not a bad person, it's just that... Brother Wang, your talent is outstanding, and your breadth of mind is not something ordinary people can match. If you could not hold it against him... After all, when two tigers fight, one will surely be injured. After all... we are all..."

He carefully chose his words, speaking in a stutter. Wang Yang's future was limitless; although his family background was inferior, with such learning and the surname of Wang from Langya, who could say he wouldn't soar like a swan and travel a thousand miles in one leap? If he and Liu Zuo became enemies, it would definitely not be a good thing for either side.

But he couldn't directly tell Wang Yang not to hold a grudge against Liu Zuo; he had no standing, couldn't grasp Wang Yang's attitude, and it would be easy to offend him. Furthermore, it wasn't convenient to point out the stakes, as that would sound like threatening Wang Yang with the power of the Liu family, which would be counterproductive.

Wang Yang understood Yan Youcheng's meaning and smiled slightly: "Rest assured, it's just a minor verbal spat; I won't hold it against him, as long as he doesn't provoke me in the future. I will not take the initiative to provoke him."

Yan Youcheng was overjoyed: "Brother Wang is truly magnanimous! I will persuade him!!"

After Yan Youcheng left, Seeing Yu Yi dismissed the servants and asked: "Young Master Wang just mentioned that there is a major flaw in the tax policies of successive dynasties; what is this flaw?"

As if fearing Wang Yang might hold back, he added: "There are no outsiders here now; Young Master, please feel free to speak your mind."