Chapter 641: Brain-dead Fan Lu Xiu

By the lake, they quickly spotted a school of fish; among them was a fish with a particularly special pattern, the Youzhou tricolor. A crowd gathered, pointing and discussing, while Wei Shen walked over using the four-direction step.

Xie Tu noticed him first, and others hurried to greet him; the Great King's cousin was the talk of the town, so even the passing Bai Li Meng and the heir of the Prince of Guanghan stopped to exchange a few pleasantries.

The two princes' heirs didn't stay long, soon leaving to pay respects to the Imperial Consort Dowager, and Wei Shen naturally joined Xie Tu's group.

They had just been watching the fish for a while when a palace maid hurried over, saying, "Second Young Master, I've found you! The Third Young Master and the Zhou family's young master have started fighting!"

"Wei Heng? Which Zhou family are you talking about?" Wei Shen pretended not to recall.

"Isn't there only one Zhou family in Youzhou City right now? It's the younger brother of the Young Master Zhou, the Director of the Armory!"

Wei Shen suddenly understood, "My sister's brother-in-law? Wei Heng has really made something of himself—come on, let me take a look!"

Lu Xiu, who was just talking with him, immediately followed suit; a few eager brothers from the Lu family and Liang Ben also rushed after him, and Xie Tu, seeing this, could only tag along to have a look.

After winding around seven turns and eight bends they reached the destination; Wei Shen glanced over and twitched the corner of his mouth— the Great King had indeed gone all out.

Ah Heng and the Great King rolled together on the ground, surrounded by a circle of palace maids and little eunuchs. People wrestled on the floor, while the Great King's three beloved pets sat quietly in the distance, studying the telescope……

When a telescope is held in a person's hand, Little Gold and CovertheSky show no interest, but now that it's in Winnie's grasp, they instantly become fascinated.

Everyone watching the scene felt it was bizarre… had things been reversed?!

Wei Shen shouted to stop the rolling‑gourd brothers, "Stop fighting, stop fighting— you're all relatives, what are you doing?! Don't you see where you are? Is this really a place to brawl?!'

The Great King lay on the ground, pinching Wei Heng, who grimaced and pleaded for help: "Second Brother, you've finally come— the Zhou family members are unreasonable and bullying us to excess!"

Male No. 4 Zhou Huang arrived late, then suddenly jumped out from the opposite side, saying, "Yo~ what's this? Are you beating my brother and pinning him underneath?"

The Great King silently released Wei Heng's clothes and lay flat on the ground.

The weak, pitiable, helpless one lost the fight.

Everyone looked at the Great King lying on the ground, then at Zhou Huang, and realized— they were brothers.

Zhou Huang ran over to help the Great King up, and Wei Shen pulled Wei Heng to his feet. "Let's talk— we're all relatives, and this is the occasion; how did we end up fighting?"

This question has a lot of lines, but the Chief Director, the Great King, immediately pinched his voice to answer: "Perfect timing— Fifth Brother and Wei Second Brother have arrived, along with all the young masters; let's all gather and judge the reasoning!"

"His Majesty said that for the New Year he would bestow titles again; he had just asked whether Wei Third thought the Lady of Wei State or the Lady of Zhou State sounded better, to be granted to his sister‑in‑law. Yet Wei Third actually said the sister‑in‑law bears the Wei surname, so of course the Lady of Wei State sounds better!"

Wei Shen looked shocked: "Isn't that a fact? My sister couldn't possibly not bear the Wei surname— what's there to argue about?"

This time it was Zhou Huang's turn to speak up: "My sister‑in‑law married into the Zhou family, so of course she now bears the Zhou surname!" The stir‑shit‑stick Great King immediately nodded in agreement.

Only Xie Tu, upon hearing this thorny question, began sizing up the Great King. No, this is just the sort of melodramatic issue anyone would think of— nowadays social customs make it perfectly fine to call her Lady Zhou, but this lady is the Emperor's paternal aunt, and the hot‑headed Emperor himself occasionally still calls himself a Wei; you're standing on Wei Tai Ping's turf and refusing to let her sister keep the Wei surname? This provoking question carries a strange, sharp, spiteful flavor that made him smell something familiar.

Sure enough, in the next instant a lad who resembled Zhou Huang by about fifty‑percent stretched out a claw and dragged them into the fray, saying, "Everyone, let's judge the reasoning together~"

That familiar tone……

Yaoezi's warning!

Xie Tu carefully observed the Great King— his height and attire matched, but the most unfathomable thing was his face; why did he today look fifty‑percent like Zhou Huang, as if he'd simply changed his face?

He realized the Great King resolutely refused to be the one to stick his neck out, while others implicitly took him as their leader, and the scene fell into a brief silence. Lu Xiu, being youthful at heart, said in the Great King's words that his embarrassment threshold was also a bit high— he couldn't stand seeing others' embarrassing remarks fall flat. He was the first to speak up, asking, "...... I don't know which side His Majesty favors more."

Wei Heng instantly raised his paw, declaring, "Of course I support the Lady of Wei State! The Emperor's cousin‑in‑law goes out all the time bearing the Wei surname~"

The Great King, fuming opposite them, snorted through his nose~

Everyone thought Lord Lu was just here to smooth things over, but with that one sentence Lu Xiu unconditionally took the Wei side, saying, "I also think Young Master Wei has a point—I support you."

Beside him, Wei Heng was nearly startled into biting his own tongue by his bluntness— "You just support me like that?"

Only a few Lu brothers twitched the corners of their mouths, almost forgetting that this guy is a brain‑dead fan of Bai Li Jing— he has no stance of his own; his stance is simply the three words 'Bai Li Jing'.

The Great King stood with hands on hips, glancing at him with lowered eyelids, actually feeling quite pleased inside— "Then give me a solid reason to convince me!"

"Speaking of our Great Jin dynasty, a woman belongs to her paternal clan at birth and bears her father's surname; after marriage her social status shifts to the husband's clan and she takes his surname." Wei Heng and Wei Shen glared at him in unison, "Which side are you on?!"

Lu Xiu changed tack, saying, "The crucial point is obvious— everyone knows whether the title we're discussing today comes from the paternal or the marital clan. Since Lady Wei is the beloved daughter of the Marquis Wei Ting's heir and the Emperor's paternal aunt, she could only be granted the title through the paternal line; therefore the Lady of Wei State is most appropriate."

The Great King rolled his eyes at him, "You sure can spin a tale. But what if His Majesty actually prefers the Lady of Zhou State— what would you say then?"

"I don't believe it. Our Emperor is not someone who changes his mind on a whim."

The Great King: ……

Those few palace maids crowded together lifted their heads and glanced at him twice……