Chapter 467: The deposed Empress Tang Ji

"I, Zhuge Ziyu, pay my respects to Prime Minister."

Zhuge Jin bowed respectfully to Gu Yi.

To tell the truth, Zhuge Jin was a man of talent and appearance.

Although he was only a scholar,

because he was born in Langya,

and coupled with the fact that the Zhuge family's genes were quite good, Zhuge Jin's height had also grown to around eight chi.

Compared to my Brother Ji, he was not inferior in height.

(PS: As mentioned previously, the definition of "chi" is different in every era.)

(According to research on the Records of the Three Kingdoms, the eight chi of the late Han period corresponds to 1.82 to 1.84 meters, not the 1.9 or 2 meters corresponding to the Tang dynasty period.)

However,

after Zhuge Jin finished his salute,

Gu Yi did not grant him a seat.

He did not even make a single sound.

At this, Zhuge Jin could not help but feel anxious.

Although he had not come up with any strategies while at Liu Bei's side, nor did he have much of a presence,

but... how could Gu Yi's thoughts be measured by common sense?

Gradually, cold sweat streamed down Zhuge Jin.

At this moment, he was merely a young man in his twenties.

He had not seen many grand scenes.

Facing the person with the highest power in the world today in the true sense, how could Zhuge Jin not panic?

However,

Gu Yi still did not speak, only looking at him calmly.

With a "thump" sound,

Zhuge Jin's legs went soft, and he nearly collapsed to the ground.

But he was Zhuge Jin after all, not an ordinary person.

After a brief moment of being dazed, Zhuge Jin stood his body straight again and took the initiative to speak:

"Prime Minister, I was originally a person under Liu Xuande's command."

"But under the persuasion of my younger brother Zhuge Kongming,"

"I traveled day and night to leave Chaisang and rush to Niuzhu, hoping to be able to join under your command, Prime Minister."

As the saying goes,

sincerity is the greatest ultimate move.

Zhuge Jin knew that in front of Gu Yi, no matter how much he racked his brains to make up a story, it would likely all be in vain in the end.

Therefore, Zhuge Jin decided to confess and truthfully inform Gu Yi that he came from under Liu Bei's command.

After hearing this,

Gu Yi slightly raised his hand and smiled:

"Ziyu, is it?"

"Take a seat."

Zhuge Jin felt as if he had been granted an amnesty.

Standing in front of Gu Yi, the psychological pressure he endured was truly too great.

That feeling was like Mount Tai pressing down on one's head, making it difficult to breathe.

"Ziyu, you are an honest man."

"But if this Prime Minister remembers correctly,"

"your younger brother Zhuge Kongming is the culprit who incited Sun Ce and Liu Biao to turn against this Prime Minister and instead choose to form an alliance with Liu Bei, right?"

In an instant,

cold sweat streamed down Zhuge Jin's head once again.

This was not something he could respond to!

Fortunately, Gu Yi did not have the intention to intimidate Zhuge Jin.

He took a slight sip of tea and sighed with deep meaning:

"Zhuge Kongming is young, but he possesses not-so-ordinary knowledge and insights."

"What is even more commendable is that his courage also far exceeds that of ordinary people."

"If this Prime Minister has not guessed wrong,"

"he had you join under this Prime Minister's command to preserve the Zhuge family, preventing you from walking the old path of the Lujiang Zhou family, right?"

As the words fell,

Zhuge Jin's pupils constricted.

Clearly, up to this point, he had only spoken less than ten sentences,

yet his purpose for coming here had already been completely exposed by Gu Yi.

For a time,

Zhuge Jin completely became the passive party.

In other words, how the plot would develop next was completely held in Gu Yi's hands.

"Ziyu, Zhuge Liang is a smart man."

"He knows that this Prime Minister will definitely accept you."

"But this Prime Minister does not keep idle people here."

"Moreover, what Zhuge Liang wants is the preservation of your Zhuge family."

"It is impossible that you have just entered this Prime Minister's service, having yet to establish even an inch of merit, and this Prime Minister would immediately agree to preserve the Zhuge family."

"I wonder... what can you bring to this Prime Minister?"

Upon hearing this, Zhuge Jin hurriedly took out a silk pouch from his sleeve.

This silk pouch was something Zhuge Liang had specially given to him before Zhuge Jin departed.

"Prime Minister, this is the silk pouch Kongming gave to me."

"He said that it contains a grand gift for you, Prime Minister."

Having said this, Zhuge Jin respectfully handed the silk pouch to Gu Yi.

After opening it,

a somewhat playful smile appeared on Gu Yi's face.

"Ziyu, you should serve under this Prime Minister's command with peace of mind first."

"As for Zhuge Xuan and Zhuge Jun, this Prime Minister will also protect them."

Zhuge Jin's hanging heart finally let go.

Although he did not know what exactly Zhuge Liang had left in the silk pouch,

since Gu Yi had already given his word and agreed to the preservation of the Zhuge family, this matter could be considered settled.

Subsequently,