CMWKSD -Chapter 223 Verbal Duel with the Scholars

Jiu Yue made quite a stir this time.

Those self-important senior ministers even placed her written notice on the emperor Fengyuan’s desk. It seemed inevitable that a confrontation was about to happen.

Fengyuan Emperor made all sorts of preparations. Several imperial physicians were even stationed outside the imperial study.

No choice.

Although these old ministers could be extremely rigid at times, they were still his most trusted officials—his backbone. They couldn’t be allowed to die so easily. He couldn’t risk being provoked into any mishap by Jiu Yue.

But when Jiu Yue arrived as summoned, Emperor Fengyuan saw the Ji family brothers behind her. They weren’t wearing official robes but standard formal civilian attire.

The implication: today, we are not officials. We are just an elder brother and a husband.

Fengyuan Emperor: …

Ji Chaomian wanted to cover his face. Jiu Yue had given him permission to act boldly, but he still hadn’t figured out whether he was the bold one or Jiu Yue was.

Several ministers, upon seeing Ji Yiqing and Ji Chaomian, felt their minds go blank.

The two brothers:

One calm and gentle, yet verbally so sharp that if he licked his own words, he’d probably poison himself.

The other seemed frail, but in debates, his arguments were so cunning that they could never counter him. Often he set traps without anyone realizing it.

And then there was the majestic, fiercely determined Princess Xuyu at the front, looking ready for battle.

Some ministers felt a sudden darkness before their eyes. Silently, they prayed only to return home intact. Everything else was beyond their control. As for the children’s demands, well… let fate decide.

The standoff began. Jiu Yue’s side numbered only three, while the ministers lined up in multiple rows. Fengyuan Emperor inexplicably felt sorry for Jiu Yue.

Until she stared at the Minister of War, spinning her eyes rapidly while speaking, her lips barely restrained from smiling.

Fengyuan Emperor: …

He could hardly bear to look at the Minister of War. His mind filled with an image of the muscular minister, wearing a thin red shirt, waving a handkerchief, and calling, “Guests, come this way!” Jiu Yue had demonstrated this in front of him before—they’d almost been scolded.

Now…

Jiu Yue stealthily met Fengyuan’s gaze.

At a time like this…

One must not make eye contact!

Originally, it wasn’t funny, but the more serious the moment, the harder it was to resist exchanging glances with a close friend.

Fengyuan Emperor took several deep breaths, not daring to look directly at Jiu Yue. But his eyes kept glancing at her.

The moment they met:

Fengyuan Emperor: !!! Oh no, I can’t hold it in!

Jiu Yue: …

He quickly coughed, dropped his pen, and bent down to pick it up—forgetting entirely that he was the emperor. When had he ever done such a thing?

Then Li Feng knelt on the ground and met Fengyuan’s gaze from behind the desk, where the emperor laughed silently, unable to make a sound.

Fengyuan Emperor: …

Li Feng: At a moment like this, can claiming blindness save one from disaster?

The ministers, ready to verbally spar with Jiu Yue, looked at the empty dragon throne.

Minister: … Your Majesty?

Jiu Yue bit her lip tightly, afraid of bursting into laughter. The effort made her eyes water.

Ji Yiqing and Ji Chaomian had initially planned to wait for the ministers to finish before arguing back. But then they turned around to see Jiu Yue with tears in her eyes.

Ji Chaomian: !!! This is bad!

Ji Yiqing: !!! Damn it!!! Jiu Yue’s crying!!!

Jiu Yue, who had never cried, was now accused of doing so by the old ministers.

Then everyone witnessed Ji Yiqing suddenly unleash full verbal force. No matter if the minister was a duke, marquis, or high-ranking official, he didn’t hold back.

“Minister, your statement is wrong. What do you mean by the princess extorting money? Two hundred taels per person is extortion?”

“Yet you daily had the fabric shop deliver the finest red silks to your residence, worth hundreds of taels. Did the shop accept your silver?”

“Then were you extorting or embezzling?”

The Minister of War’s voice shook: “Nonsense! I… I did give silver! How… how did you know?”

Fengyuan Emperor: Is that possible?

“Minister, your household keeps wet nurses year-round and constantly seeks new ones. Do you truly have that many children to raise? Isn’t that extravagant?”

Ji Chaomian: “Exactly, exactly!”

The Minister of Rites, an elderly man, almost tore off his beard in shock. He gasped and nearly fell backward. Ji Yiqing rushed forward, steadying him with strong arms. Then continued:

“The princess did not take extra, and it was all voluntary. She never forced you to give money; you could have chosen not to send your children to the training camp. How can you say she did it for trifles?”

“How much confiscated silver was recovered in Minister Jiang’s embezzlement case?”

“And a silver mine was discovered in the Pingtai County case!”

“Has our princess ever lacked silver?”

“The only reason she collected silver was out of consideration for you!”

Ji Chaomian: “Exactly, exactly!”

“Each child in your households may flourish later and become pillars of the state. The princess watched over them, fearing injury or harm. With such care, if she didn’t collect a bit of silver, your conscience would protest.”

“She acted for everyone’s benefit and found an excuse to collect a little silver. Yet you accuse her of extortion. How unjust!”

Ji Chaomian: “Exactly, exactly!”

These two were subtly scolding the ministers, their mouths unstoppable. What consideration, indeed! Even black was made to seem white.

The sight of Ji Yiqing holding the Minister of Rites while delivering a relentless argument left several senior officials swallowing hard. The Minister of Rites felt he could faint but couldn’t. God only knew where Ji Yiqing was pressing him. He had never been so clear-headed.

When the Minister of Rites finished, Ji Yiqing’s eyes swept the room—anyone he looked at felt a sudden sense of doom.

Ji Yiqing alone stood in the imperial study, verbally dismantling the ministers, twisting right and wrong, leaving an unsettling taste.

After finishing, Ji Yiqing suddenly wailed and dropped to his knees before Fengyuan Emperor. Ji Chaomian reflexively knelt beside him.

“Your Majesty, the princess acts wholeheartedly for the country and for the people, and even considers the well-being of the ministers. Yet she is so slandered! She is wronged!”

Ji Chaomian: “Uh…”

He had forgotten everything he had prepared while listening to Ji Yiqing. All he could say: “Exactly, exactly.”

Fengyuan Emperor: …

Jiu Yue: Even I believe what they just said.

All the ministers: What a snowstorm in June!

Fengyuan Emperor’s gaze sharpened on the Ji brothers. Next time they face the Northern Barbarians in battle, he’d send these two to the front lines. The barbarians wouldn’t survive the shock!

“So, what do you think should be done?”