Chapter 115

First Volume, Chapter 115: Qingyi Ceremony

To avoid arousing his elder brother's suspicion, the Seventh Prince had lived in seclusion since childhood and knew little of external affairs.

Hearing Xiao Zhuozi recount Qin Feng's various deeds, he couldn't help bursting into laughter, finding the man far more intriguing than the colorful characters described in books.

A single poem, "Out of the Frontier," had stirred the Seventh Prince's blood; his bold defiance of the unwritten rule of officials protecting each other by standing up to Noble Youth had earned the Seventh Prince's admiration, and his verbal duel with the court scholars had left the Seventh Prince applauding in delight.

Now that this matter had surfaced, it only deepened his curiosity about Qin Feng.

Xiao Zhuozi, who excelled at reading minds, saw the Seventh Prince's eyes filled with longing and quickly offered a suggestion: "Your Highness, at tonight's dinner hour, I heard an Imperial Eunuch from the Imperial Household Department say that in three days, the Qingyi Ceremony will be held—you may attend to oversee it."

Upon hearing this, the Seventh Prince's eyes lit up.

The Qingyi Ceremony is a mandatory ritual before a great war; though not as grand as the Imperial Clan's ancestral rites, it draws participation and observation from the Imperial Clan and National Pillars.

Qin Tianhu, as Minister of War, is indispensable—and Qin Feng will surely accompany him.

Just thinking of meeting Qin Feng, the Seventh Prince felt immense anticipation.

Yet the Qingyi Ceremony is of great importance, and issues abound regarding personnel allocation, silver expenditures, and more.

The Imperial Court will surely descend into chaos over this matter again…

The next morning, as dawn barely broke, Qin Tianhu returned from Early Court and smashed several tea cups in fury.

Liu Hongyan rushed over upon hearing the news, intending to comfort him, but found Qin Tianhu silent, his face dark with anger—she guessed something had gone wrong at court. She quickly weighed her options: at this moment, only Qin Feng could offer their father strategic counsel—he was full of clever tricks.

Liu Hongyan hurried to the Back Courtyard and yanked the quilt open.

Half-asleep, Qin Feng thought it was Xiao Xiangxiang playing a prank; he didn't open his eyes, pulled the quilt back with one hand, grabbed Liu Hongyan's wrist with the other, yanked her into the bedding, hugged her slender, boneless form, stroked her up and down, smacked his lips, and drifted back to sleep.

Liu Hongyan's body burned with shame and rage, but her strength was too weak to resist Qin Feng—so she pinched his belly hard.

Qin Feng winced in pain and jolted awake, realizing the person before him wasn't Xiao Xiangxiang but Second Sister—he froze completely.

Then… he grinned, pulling her tighter.

Liu Hongyan's cheeks flushed crimson, teeth clenched: "Let go at once—if anyone sees this, how could you possibly justify it!"

Qin Feng shrugged, carefree: "What's the big deal? Brother and sister sleeping together is only natural. Besides, I didn't crawl into your bed—you crawled into mine."

Liu Hongyan trembled with humiliation, voice stuttering: "You… you're talking nonsense! Who crawled into your bed? You brat—I'm your sister! Watch your tongue! If you dare be disrespectful again, I'll really beat you."

Liu Hongyan was so caught up in arguing with Qin Feng that she only realized something was wrong when her body was tightly encircled by his strong chest—her heart pounded wildly, and she wanted to vanish into a crack in the floor.

That soft body felt like a pillow—so comfortable. Qin Feng wore a mischievous grin: "Alright, alright, I get it. I'll be more careful with my words. Go back to sleep—what time is it? It's still dark."

Liu Hongyan pinched his belly again, furious: "You damn brat, you only ever bully me—did I owe you from my last life? Let go… get up and see Father—he must have been humiliated at court. Only you understand the politics of the Imperial Court."

At these words, Qin Feng immediately released Liu Hongyan—but didn't get out of bed. He rolled over, curled into a ball, and mumbled: "Let someone else go. I'm not going near that headache. If you really must, send Lin Quqi—he's always gotten along well with Old Qin."

Liu Hongyan sat up and kicked Qin Feng in frustration: "Stop dodging. I'll ask you one more time—will you go?"

Qin Feng didn't hesitate: "No! I'm too tired."

Liu Hongyan punched and kicked him repeatedly, but the brat curled up like a turtle—she couldn't touch him. Finally, she had no choice but to change tactics, blushing as she said: "If you go, I'll arrange a marriage for you. You're not a child anymore—you can't keep fooling around with maids."

Qin Feng's heart skipped—a half-awake realization: so Second Sister knew all about the "games" he played with Xiao Xiangxiang…

Has she been watching me all along?

Qin Feng still didn't move, shook his body, and threw a tantrum: "I don't want any marriage—I only want my sister! If you ever marry, you can only marry me!"

He muttered under his breath: "Besides, we're not even blood-related—what's the harm?"

Liu Hongyan bit her lips, cheeks burning, her emotions strange—she couldn't tell if she was ashamed or secretly pleased; all she could do was pretend anger: "Fine, I'll let you have your way!"

With Liu Hongyan's promise secured, Qin Feng finally got up, washed his face briefly, and walked to the hall—where he found Qin Tianhu sitting alone, sulking, the young maid beside him trembling, too afraid to even breathe.

Qin Feng waved his hand—the maid bowed gratefully and fled like a startled deer.

Two chairs stood at the Bei Zun Wei—only the Patriarch could sit in them. Qin Feng didn't care—he plopped down beside one, grabbed a ritual fruit from the table, and bit into it greedily, mumbling: "Let me guess."

"You only came back after dawn—Early Court lasted nearly two hours. Something important must've been discussed. Aside from War Preparations and Logistics, the only thing that could make Father this furious is the Qingyi Ceremony."

Though Qin Feng's "cleverness" slightly comforted and even pride Qin Tianhu,

the moment "Qingyi Ceremony" was mentioned, Qin Tianhu flew into a rage, smashing the fresh tea cup just placed by the maid—like an enraged tiger: "Unthinkable!"

"In past years, holding the Qingyi Ceremony was fine—but now the National Treasury is drained, funding is scarce—why hold such a ceremony? It's only adding chaos!"

As Qin Feng knew, the Qingyi Ceremony had existed since ancient times—a kind of "War Preparatory Oath."

Since ancient times, commanding generals, before Battlefield Deployment, had to perform the Purification Ritual: first to display the nation's dignity, second so that if they died on the Front Line, they would meet death with a pure, dignified body. The Qingyi Ceremony involved two things: one, the Emperor and civil-military officials overriding the Supervisor of War; two, selecting auxiliary commanders.

Since it was a military selection, martial contests were inevitable.

And any event involving the Emperor inevitably involved heavy spending.

But clearly, money was only a minor concern.

What truly enraged Qin Tianhu went beyond finances…

Qin Feng bit into the ritual fruit, found it tasteless, tossed it aside, and picked up another—when Qin Tianhu's massive palm came crashing down.

Fortunately, Qin Feng was used to outwitting Old Qin—he reacted instantly.

In a fraction of a second, he ducked—then failed to dodge… Qin Tianhu's palm struck him to the ground. He winced, teeth gritted, forgot the fruit, sat on the floor kicking his legs, wailing: "It's just a fruit—do you have to be this brutal?"

Qin Tianhu glared, furious: "Speak your mind or shut up—don't annoy me!"

Qin Feng sighed. Though annoyed, who else was this old man but his own father?

He sat cross-legged on the floor, still not rising, and continued:

"The Qingyi Ceremony is managed by the Ministry of Rites, but with the National Treasury empty, all procedures should be simplified to cut costs. The fact that the ceremony proceeds as planned must be due to pressure from the Ministry of Revenue—and since Father is the Commander of this war, you are the central target. The Hubei Party seeks to use this ceremony to undermine your reputation."

"In essence, now that war is unavoidable, they've shifted strategy—from preventing the war to seizing Command Authority."

"Put plainly, they want to kick you off the Supervisor of War position and replace you with an official from the Hubei Party—isn't that right?"