Chapter 323

"You just need to send someone to Huashan; the soldiers there will receive notification, and after learning that the person who came was sent by you, they will bring them to Prime Minister Feng."

"If the talks go well on that side, this side might send someone over to go with you to negotiate with them!"

Ji Lin said.

"Good, I will arrange this matter as soon as possible; as soon as there is news, I will immediately send someone to notify you!" Cheng Cheng Xionglin said.

"Then I will take my leave." Ji Lin bowed.

After Ji Lin left, Cheng Cheng Xionglin sent someone to find his eldest son, Cheng Ze.

After stating Feng Feng Qiji’s meaning, Cheng Ze immediately shook his head.

"Father, they don't understand the new Emperor at all; doing this will only anger the new Emperor!" Cheng Ze said.

"Are you saying Ying Su doesn't want to negotiate?" Feng Feng Qiji said.

"It's not that he can't negotiate, but the new Emperor will not accept threats! Besides, the conditions they proposed are impossible for the new Emperor to agree to!" Cheng Ze said.

Cheng Cheng Xionglin thought for a moment, then said: "Things have reached this point; we can only take one step at a time! You still have to make a trip to probe the attitude on that side."

"Okay, I will set off immediately." Cheng Ze said.

"Take Prime Minister Feng’s seal, but don't show it to people immediately; just ask to see Prime Minister Zhuge in the name of our Cheng family."

"Of course, our Cheng family’s weight is not enough, and Zhuge Liang will likely not see you."

"When that happens, just come back."

Cheng Cheng Xionglin said.

"Since that is the case, why should I take Prime Minister Feng’s seal?" Cheng Ze felt puzzled.

"Take it just in case. No one knows what might happen." Cheng Cheng Xionglin said.

"I understand." Cheng Ze took the seal, kept it carefully, then bowed and left the garden.

Then, he immediately mounted his horse and took two attendants to the Xianyang Palace.

It was still early in the day, and when they arrived at the Xianyang Palace, it was still afternoon.

Cheng Ze first went to the Shaofu Office, found a minor official who was on good terms with the Cheng family, and stated his request to see Zhuge Liang.

This minor official was stunned as soon as he heard it.

He was just a small official; how could he have the ability to introduce someone to Prime Minister Zhuge?

"Please help me and take me to the Prime Minister’s residence." Cheng Ze said.

He also knew that the other party couldn't directly take him to see Zhuge Liang, but leading him to see the guards at the Prime Minister’s residence was possible.

Otherwise, as a small noble son, he wouldn't even be able to reach the entrance of the Prime Minister’s residence.

"Fine, I will take you, but let's be clear first: whether the Prime Minister sees you or not has nothing to do with me, and if something happens, it has nothing to do with me either!"

The minor official said.

"That goes without saying!" Cheng Ze said readily.

Actually, that minor official was also a bit slow.

He was the one who brought the person; if something really happened, how could he escape the blame?

It was just that as a member of the Shaofu Office, he was devoted to his work and didn't understand some things in the officialdom very well.

Soon, Cheng Ze was led by his acquaintance to the Prime Minister’s residence.

There were guards at the entrance of the Prime Minister’s residence, and Cheng Ze stepped forward and stated his purpose.

Of course, he didn't state the real purpose, just vaguely saying he had something to request an audience with Prime Minister Zhuge and wanted to ask the guards to report it.

"If you don't say specifically what the matter is, I won't report it for you."

The guard’s tone of refusal was very polite.

First, Zhuge Liang’s governance was very strict, and he did not allow his subordinates to bully others by relying on their power.

Second, the guard recognized that the person beside Cheng Ze was wearing the uniform of the Shaofu Office, so he subconsciously thought Cheng Ze was a staff member of the Shaofu Office.

And the work of the Shaofu Office was mainly based on invention and construction, which was a department that the Prime Minister valued very much.

Therefore, the guard was very polite to Cheng Ze.

"Two big brothers, it's not that I don't want to say the specific purpose, but I can't!"

"Please report it for me; just say I am a noble." Cheng Ze said.

"A noble?" The guard frowned.

It would have been fine if Cheng Ze hadn't mentioned his noble status, but after he did, the guard’s attitude immediately changed.

Who didn't know that the nobles were currently stirring up trouble? They had even gathered together to attack the Xianyang Palace!

"I advise you to leave quickly, do what you should do, and meddle less in things that have nothing to do with you!" One guard shouted.

He had always thought Cheng Ze was a technical staff member in the Shaofu Office, and now he was looking for Zhuge Liang probably to plead for some noble.

174. An Exception to Meet

"Please report it, guard brother; whether to see me or not, Prime Minister Zhuge will decide for himself."

"If Prime Minister Zhuge wants to see me and doesn't because you refuse to report it, Prime Minister Zhuge will be angry afterwards." Cheng Ze said.

"You are still threatening us? I tell you, we act according to the rules; Prime Minister Zhuge will not blame us!" The guard said.

"Acting according to the rules is correct, but there are always exceptions to everything, and I am the exception!" Cheng Ze said.

The two guards looked at each other, and then both laughed.

"What kind of exception are you?" One guard said.

"First, I am a noble. Second, I know that a large group of nobles came to attack the Xianyang Palace not long ago. Third, if Prime Minister Zhuge thinks I am stirring up trouble, he can punish me; I will stand here and not run, and I can't run anyway!"

Cheng Ze said.

Once these words were spoken, the two guards were bluffed.

Seeing that this person would rather be punished than not see Prime Minister Zhuge, maybe there really was some urgent matter?

They discussed in a low voice, and finally one guard said to Cheng Ze: "I will go and report it; if your reason for seeing Prime Minister Zhuge is not sufficient, we will absolutely not spare you!"

"It's not sparing him; I am just the one leading the way, it has nothing to do with me!" The minor official who brought Cheng Ze said hurriedly.

The guard glanced at the minor official and turned to walk inside the gate.

In the main hall of the Prime Minister’s residence, Zhuge Liang was sitting at the table reviewing documents.

As Prime Minister, there were a pile of things to handle every day.

And there were also many documents sent from various departments.

If it were in the past, the table and the floor would be piled with bamboo slips.

But now the floor was clean, and there was only a stack of white paper on the table.

Just as he was engrossed in reading, a servant walked to his side.

"Prime Minister, the guards at the gate say someone is requesting an audience." The servant said in a low voice.

"Let the guard come in and speak." Zhuge Liang put down the document in his hand.

After a while, the guard walked in.

"Prime Minister, someone at the gate claims to be a noble; he wants to see you but refuses to say what the matter is."

"I didn't want to let him in, but he insisted on seeing you and even said he would rather be punished than not do so."

The guard said.

"Oh... a noble?"

Zhuge Liang frowned slightly.

Why did the person who came emphasize his noble status?

Didn't he know that the nobles had gathered to stir up trouble not long ago?

Come to think of it, a noble status was not rare.

There were some nobles among the officials in the imperial court.

And other officials, although not born as nobles, had status and standing similar to nobles.

If someone said they were a noble in normal times, that would be fine.

But emphasizing this point during such a sensitive period aroused Zhuge Liang’s curiosity; he wanted to see what kind of person this was.

"Bring him in." Zhuge Liang said.

"Yes." After hearing this, the guard turned and left.

After a while, the guard brought Cheng Ze before Zhuge Liang.

"I, Cheng Ze, pay my respects to you, my lord!" Cheng Ze bowed.

"You are a noble?" Zhuge Liang asked.