Chapter 58: A child enfeoffed as a county viscount—how utterly absurd!

Daxing Palace, Office of the Imperial Attendants.

The oppressive atmosphere was so heavy that even the eunuchs outside the doors and the palace maids walking in and out did not dare to breathe loudly.

A robust young man with a gloomy expression, disheveled hair, and wearing a dark blue linen garment glared fiercely, his eyes fixed upon the elderly man sitting directly opposite him.

"Wei Zheng, the Crown Prince treated you as his master, yet today you have chosen to surrender to a rebel!"

Anger accumulated within his chest, erupting like a volcano as he raised his hand and slammed a heavy fist against the floor tiles.

The attendant standing behind him could clearly feel the tremor traveling up through the soles of his feet.

Looking at Xue Wanche, whose hair stood on end with fury, Wei Zheng was momentarily at a loss for words, a profound sense of helplessness welling up inside him.

That morning, upon waking, he had received news of the ominous celestial phenomenon of Venus crossing the sun. At first, he refused to believe it, but the Prince of Qin had sent someone to take him to the Bureau of Astronomy to verify the truth.

He had originally expected to face the humiliation of urging the ascension at the morning assembly.

Never had he imagined that the Prince of Qin would tell him the wager no longer counted.

However, as the price for this, he was tasked with persuading Xue Wanche, Xie Shufang, and others to surrender.

Before he could even give his consent, the Prince of Qin had people bring him directly to the Office of the Imperial Attendants, where Xue Wanche had already been waiting for a long time.

After a long silence, all of Wei Zheng's turbulent thoughts dissolved into a single, heavy sigh.

"Lord of Wu'an, matters have reached this point, and the grand局 is settled. The Great Tang cannot afford to be thrown into chaos."

Back then, he had advised Li Jiancheng to strike first and gain the upper hand, but that Crown Prince had hesitated, worrying that the Prince of Qin's faction was too powerful. Even if they fled to Luoyang, the Prince of Qin would remain the greatest threat to his throne in the future.

The Crown Prince remained obsessed with staying in Chang'an and using the Emperor's hand to eliminate the Prince of Qin.

Yet alas, that Crown Prince never truly understood the mind of the reigning Emperor.

What the Emperor wanted was not for either the Crown Prince or the Prince of Qin to emerge victorious, but for them to keep each other in check.

Unfortunately, the Emperor, too, had underestimated the determination of the Prince of Qin.

"You are simply making excuses to justify yourself!"

"And what would you have done instead? Killed the Prince of Qin and plunged the realm back into turmoil? Would the Guanzhong clans have permitted it? Could the aristocratic families of Shandong have tolerated it?"

Wei Zheng was not one to suffer in submissive silence. His earlier speechlessness stemmed from a sense of internal guilt.

Since this brute Xue Wanche refused to show any reason, he had no qualms about tearing off the diplomatic facade.

Things had already come to this anyway.

The intention behind the Prince of Qin sending him to this Office of the Imperial Attendants was crystal clear.

Regardless of whether he was formerly a strategist for the Crown Prince or his close confidant, from now on, he was a subject of Li Shimin.

Xue Wanche suddenly stood up with such violent force that even his boot heel was flung off, smashing against a pillar and shattering into pieces.

Yet, as he stared open-mouthed at Wei Zheng, not a single word came out.

While he was indeed a military man, he was not truly stupid.

Back when he and his elder brother, Xue Wanjun, attacked Dou Jiande, they dug a tunnel outside the city walls of Youzhou leading straight into the city, and then led a hundred men to slaughter their way inside.

They had routed Dou Jiande's army of two hundred thousand until they were completely disorganized.

In history as it originally unfolded, Xue Wanche, finding the attack on the Xuanwu Gate unfavorable, immediately thought of assaulting the Prince of Qin's mansion.

Regrettably, he ran into Qin Qiong, and realizing the situation was critical, he led his troops away from Chang'an to hide in the mountain forests on the outskirts.

Later, when Li Shimin sent men to persuade him to surrender, seeing that the old partisans of Li Jiancheng were all still alive, and even an old stubborn fool like Wei Zheng was being heavily employed, he offered no further resistance and returned to Chang'an to accept pacification.

This showed that he was not entirely narrow-minded and understood how to weigh advantages against disadvantages.

"What is going on here?"

Outside the Office of the Imperial Attendants, Wen He, who had arrived not long ago, leaned against the door frame and cautiously poked his head in to look inside.

Before he even had time to step through the door earlier, he had heard a deafening crash from within and instinctively ducked behind Huang Chun.

He had assumed that Li Shimin and Xue Wanche had come to blows.

If he went in at a moment like that and accidentally got caught in the crossfire, it would be disastrous.

Only when he noticed that the guards at the door remained completely unreactive did he dare to peer in like a stealthy cat.

Both Wei Zheng and Xue Wanche heard the commotion and turned their gazes toward the entrance.

The stark contrast in their appearances made it easy for Wen He to tell who was who almost instantly.

"Greetings, Lord Wei, Lord Xue."

Wen He exposed half his body, offering a forced smile as he cupped his hands in greeting to the two men.

"Hmph." Xue Wanche glared at him with unconcealed resentment and let out a cold snort. "What is this? Does the Prince of Qin look down on me so much that he thinks sending a child is enough to deal with me?"

Hearing this, Huang Chun grew anxious and hurriedly stepped forward with a flattering, servile expression.

"No, no, no, the Prince had no such intention. Young Master Wen was also summoned by the Prince; His Highness is currently changing his robes and will arrive shortly."

Huang Chun did not dare to confront Xue Wanche directly.

Word was that at the Xuanwu Gate, this man had fought more than a dozen opponents single-handedly without losing the upper hand, and had almost cleaved Jing Junhong in two with a single blade.

Had Qin Qiong, Cheng Zhijie, and the others not arrived in time, truly no one could have subdued him.

Although he wore no armor and carried no blade at the moment, his majestic, fierce aura remained entirely undiminished.

"Why must the Lord of Wu'an vent his frustrations on a child?"

Wei Zheng knew that Xue Wanche was deliberately picking a fight out of a desire to vent his pent-up temper.

Yet these grievances were strictly between Xue Wanche and the Prince of Qin; there was no reason to take it out on a child.

"Exactly. Lord Wei is far more reasonable."

Wen He found himself starting to actually like this stubborn old man Wei Zheng.

At least he was different from the rigid, inflexible stereotype in his impressions.

Upon hearing this, Xue Wanche's eyes widened even further.

Was this little brat implying that he lacked breadth of mind?!

"However, this old man is also curious as to why His Highness invited a child here today. Could this child possess some extraordinary quality?"

Wei Zheng squinted his eyes; though he looked at Wen He, his question was directed at Huang Chun.

"This... this humble servant does not know. However, His Highness previously promised to bestow upon Young Master Wen the title of a Baron of a County."

Huang Chun said in a low voice.

The imperial edict conferring the title of county baron upon Wen He had not yet been issued by the Secretariat, and normally this was not something a eunuch should disclose.

Yet he was revealing it privately.

Huang Chun lacked the sheer daring to do such a thing on his own whim.

That meant it had been tacitly authorized by Li Shimin.

Yet why would Li Er do this?

Wen He could not fathom it.

Then, turning his head, he caught the look of profound shock in Wei Zheng's eyes.

"To confer the title of a county baron upon a ten-year-old child—how absurd!"

Wei Zheng suddenly flew into a rage, roaring at the top of his lungs, as if this appointment foretold the collapse of the heavens.

Wen He, who had just praised Wei Zheng for his reason, was utterly bewildered.

Who stepped on your tail to make you throw such a massive fit?

"Is it Chengxuan's meaning that this Prince lacks discernment in rewards and punishments?" A crisp, chilling voice suddenly echoed from the side.

The eastern side door of the Office of the Imperial Attendants opened, and the figure of Li Shimin came into view.

Before him sat a bowl of tea soup and pastries; from the looks of it, he had been sitting there for quite some time.

Upon seeing him, Wei Zheng seemed to realize this as well, and froze instantly.

Xue Wanche on the other side fared no better.

For both of them had just noticed that standing behind Li Shimin were more than a dozen heavily armored guards of the Black Armor Cavalry, every single one of them gripping a massive Mo blade.

Wen He could not help but draw a sharp breath of cold air.

And that was just what was visible in plain sight.

Who knew how many more were concealed within the small side hall?

Furthermore, given Li Shimin's cautious nature, manpower should have been deployed all around this modest Office of the Imperial Attendants.