Chapter 301: Give Him Some Face, the Two of Us

The next day, before dawn, the maid woke Chen Yan.

After eating some breakfast and donning his court robes, with the maid's help he tidied his appearance, and Chen Yan set out for the Imperial Palace.

When Chen Yan arrived, many officials had already gathered outside the Tai Chi Palace.

At the sight of him, the crowd's expressions varied.

Cheng Yaojin hurried over, "Why did you come?"

"Never mind, that's not important, you go back first."

Saying that, Cheng Yaojin grabbed Chen Yan's arm and walked outward.

Chen Yan instantly became anxious.

He was here today to reason with the officials; how could he just leave like that?

"Cheng Bo Bo, let go of me, I'm not leaving, I want to attend court!"

"What court are you even talking about!" Cheng Yaojin shouted, "Do you think the matter isn't big enough?"

"Listen to me, you go back first; as for yesterday's matter, we and His Majesty stand behind you, you needn't worry about it."

"Go back and be a good County Magistrate; if you really want to get something, I'll send you two attendant maids later."

Chen Yan: "......"

"Don't, I've already come, and besides, His Majesty ordered me to attend court; if I didn't come, wouldn't that be defying the edict?"

Cheng Yaojin froze, "His Majesty sent you?"

"Yes!" Chen Yan broke free from Cheng Yaojin's grip, his face excited as he looked around.

"Should I say it or not, Awo, I've lived this long and it's my first time seeing a scene like this."

"There are quite a few people, huh."

Cheng Yaojin's face twitched.

There are indeed many people, but most of them aren't very pleased with you.

After hesitating for a while, Cheng Yaojin lowered his voice, "When we go in, you stand behind me and Yuchi Gong, don't speak out of turn, understand?"

"What does it mean to stand behind you?" Chen Yan patted his official robes, "Cheng Bo Bo, look, are our clothes the same?"

"Let's not discuss whether I have the right to stand behind you; I'm a civil official, does it make sense for me to stand behind you?"

"This..." Cheng Yaojin hesitated after hearing that.

If it were before, Chen Yan standing behind him would be fine, but now Chen Yan is the County Magistrate of Weinan County, a sixth‑rank civil official, so standing behind him seems rather improper.

"Hey, I say old Cheng, what are you scared of!"

At that moment, a dark‑faced, bearded hulker walked over, glared at Chen Yan, and said, "Where you stand doesn't matter; who dares to challenge this kid in front of us?"

"Besides, aren't Du Ruhui and the others on the civil side?"

"No worries."

"Yuchi Gong is absolutely right!" Chen Yan grinned.

Meanwhile, ahead, Du Ruhui, Fang Xuanling, and Wei Zheng exchanged glances, clearly having a plan.

Du Ruhui glanced again at Changsun Wujie, hesitated, and ultimately did not approach him.

Lately, something changed; the once most lively Changsun Wujie has become unbelievably docile, no longer voicing opinions at court meetings, and after sessions he stays home all day, caring about nothing.

The rest of the Changsun family is the same.

Better not seek him out; just act when the opportunity arises later.

"Hmph, outside the Tai Chi Palace, such loud clamor is downright uncivilized."

At that moment, an official flicked his sleeve, speaking coldly.

"What are you saying?"

Yuchi Gong, hot‑tempered, pointed at him and prepared to step forward.

Chen Yan hurriedly blocked him, "Hey, Yuchi Gong, we are civilized people; our words and deeds must be guided by reason."

"Moreover, if a dog barks wildly at you and you punch and kick it back, doesn't that show you have a small temper, comparable to an old dog?"

"We are people of status; we must be civilized, civilized indeed."

"Sss~" Yuchi Gong slapped his forehead, "Is that so?"

"You..." the official, angry, his finger trembling as he pointed at them, "Your language is so vulgar, yet you still have the face to call yourselves people of status; indeed you are a bunch of coarse warriors, I am ashamed to be in the same company as you."

?

You say I, a respectable civil official, am a coarse warrior?

Can you even stand that?

"I shame your mother!!!"

Chen Yan retorted angrily: "Damn it, you dress yourself all fancy, but you still can't hide the aura of a stray dog."

"Shame your mother for associating with us; since that's the case, why don't you just get lost?"

"A bat with chicken feathers on it, what the hell kind of bird are you?"

"Young master***** I** day****, I'm telling you, I*****......."

A series of muted telegraph sounds suddenly rang out, and the official was stunned by the insults.

The other officials, as well as Cheng Yaojin, Du Ruhui and others, were all dumbfounded.

Weren't we supposed to be civilized people?

You keep saying damn it, where is the civility?

"Great nephew!"

Yuchi Gong was angry, but didn't want Chen Yan to make a scene, since Chang Chao was about to begin, he hurriedly stopped him, saying:

"Great nephew, enough, enough, we won't compare ourselves with an old dog, okay."

"We are civilized people; we must be civilized."

"Civilized, huh?" Chen Yan glanced at Yuchi Gong, curled his lip, "Fine then, I'll listen to Uncle Yuchi; otherwise I'd have to send greetings to that old dog's ancestors for all eighteen generations."

"He gave him face, and us two."

Yuchi Gong: "......"

The officials: "......"

Honestly, these people curse others in such pretentious language, unlike him; after being seasoned by the internet, all sorts of slang just spill out of his mouth.

How can these people possibly endure?

When have they ever seen a scene like this?

When the farce ended, the time was right, and many ministers entered the Tai Chi Palace in order.

Chen Yan stayed at the back, occasionally glancing around.

I must say, the Tai Chi Palace is truly grand.

Li Shimin usually seems not much in sync with him, but once seated on the throne, his petty temperament flared up instantly.

"We ministers, request an audience with His Majesty."

"All honored ministers, rise."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

After the ministers stood straight, the usual procedure began.

However, unlike before, glances occasionally fell on Chen Yan, puzzling even Li Shimin.

Is this kid really that honest?

You stand silently at the back; then what's your purpose in attending court?

Little does anyone know, Chen Yan doesn't want to delay the court session; he intends to handle his own matters when Chang Chao is about to end.

Otherwise he would have started reasoning with these officials long ago.

Thus, the court session slowly passed under a strange atmosphere.

Li Shimin, after speaking, presents any matters; if none, he retires from court.

Chen Yan, unable to wait, stepped forward, "I have a matter to report!"

"Oh?" Li Shimin said lightly, "What matter?"

"I heard that yesterday, when I was in Weinan County, I was summoned by many senior court officials, devoted adults for the country and the people, and in the end the matter fell through."

"I think there may be some misunderstandings, so today I came to court to clear them up."

Chen Yan stepped forward, calmly saying, "May I ask which official wishes to summon this subordinate?"

"......"