TNIBFT -Chapter 302 Surrender

Qin Fengyi’s words landed with force.

In her life, no matter what she said, no one had ever dared to argue with her face to face. She had intended to praise and thank Ye Tian, but who would’ve thought he was such a nitpicker?

Say one sentence, and he’d explain one in return.

Was he really that eager to distance himself from her?

Qin Fengyi’s gaze turned cold, her expression stern, as she turned to look at the empty room beside her.

Sensing the sudden shift in her mood, Ye Tian was speechless. No wonder the ancients said—it’s hardest to deal with petty men and women!

No one could match how quickly she changed her face!

They had come together—he couldn’t just ignore her. Watching her slender figure and flowing hair, Ye Tian shook his head helplessly. Forget it… after all, she was the mother of his children.

He took a couple of steps to catch up and said, “What do you mean I gave birth to them?”

“I’m a grown man—I can’t give birth. Look at how outstanding the children are, they must’ve inherited your genes.”

Genes?

Qin Fengyi frowned.

Ye Tian explained, “I mean your strengths—beautiful and smart. One look and you can tell they take after you, right?”

Seeing Ye Tian’s glib expression, Qin Fengyi lifted her chin slightly and looked away, changing the subject.

“When will the school be ready to use?”

“If you don’t charge tuition, won’t it fall into chaos?”

In ancient times, productivity was low. For most families, let alone attending school, they couldn’t even afford brushes or paper. With Ye Tian offering free schooling, Qin Fengyi could already imagine that in the first few days, the school would be overcrowded. But over time, those who actually had the means might lose interest in coming.

Ye Tian said, “You know education is good—so why not promote it universally?”

“At the very least, when you post an official notice, you wouldn’t need someone standing beside it reading it aloud.”

“If people can read and understand words, they’ll grasp the reasoning behind things. With broader horizons comes greater vision. Let me give you a simple example—long ago, an emperor issued laws, but very few commoners could read. They didn’t understand the law at all. Then one accident caused many deaths. The people panicked, fearing punishment from the emperor.”

“At that moment, among the crowd was a remnant of the former dynasty. Already dissatisfied with the emperor’s rule, he took the opportunity to incite the people—saying the laws were harsh, that they would all die anyway, but if they rebelled, they might still have a chance to live!”

“That man stirred up the people, claiming the emperor was tyrannical and intended to force them to their deaths. With a rallying cry, many were misled, and a large-scale uprising broke out.”

“Outrageous!”

Qin Fengyi was furious, her beautiful eyes wide with anger.

Ye Tian smiled faintly and gently patted her back. “Tell me—if even one person among those people had been literate, or understood the emperor’s laws, would they still have risked everything?”

“Would they have been so easily manipulated?”

Qin Fengyi’s eyes flickered slightly. She had never considered such things before.

“Do you know what public opinion is?”

Ye Tian’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts. She frowned slightly as she looked at him—he used too many strange terms she had never heard before.

Seeing her confused expression, Ye Tian explained, “It’s how the people evaluate you. What you often say—‘the water that carries the boat can also overturn it.’”

Qin Fengyi nodded.

Ye Tian smiled. “In truth, these things can be controlled and guided. Doesn’t that sound terrifying?”

The two spoke back and forth—question and answer.

The shock in Qin Fengyi’s heart had already surpassed what words could describe.

She stared blankly at Ye Tian. Were all these things taught to him by Ye Zhengyang? If Ye Zhengyang hadn’t died… she couldn’t imagine what Great Liang would have become!

“By the way!”

Ye Tian suddenly spoke.

Qin Fengyi turned her head in surprise. Ye Tian continued, “The school is about to open, but we’re short on teachers. How about you fill in for a couple of days? Once Teacher Tao’s students gradually arrive in Sifang City, you can rest right away.”

Qin Fengyi hesitated.

She still had many matters to handle. After subduing Lin Xianzhong and taking control of his troops, she planned to send him to capture the surrounding cities.

If he refused—she would kill him and have Sun Yang replace him!

“Eldest and the others will also come to the school. When the time comes…”

Before Ye Tian could finish speaking, Qin Fengyi quickly replied, “Alright!”

Being able to teach her three children herself was something she actually looked forward to.

“City Lord!”

“City Lord!”

Many workers, upon seeing Ye Tian arrive, hurried over to greet him. After exchanging a few words and urging them to speed up construction, the workers dispersed.

Noticing Qin Fengyi’s absent-minded expression, Ye Tian said, “Shall we head back first?”

Qin Fengyi nodded. She strode toward her black horse, her movements swift and agile as she mounted in one smooth motion.

Ye Tian naturally reached out his hand.

In the next moment, he was seated in front of Qin Fengyi, the two sharing the same horse.

When Lin Xianzhong rushed to the school and witnessed this scene with his own eyes, his eyes widened in shock, his expression turning fearful. Seeing Qin Fengyi about to leave, he immediately rushed forward.

“Your Maj—no, don’t go!”

“City Lord Ye!”

“City Lord Ye!”

Qin Fengyi pulled on the reins, making the horse circle in place. Lin Xianzhong, trembling with fear, stole a glance at her.

His knees suddenly gave way, and he dropped to the ground.

“I’ve made up my mind—I surrender!”

“From now on, Lindong City will follow your command, City Lord Ye. This is the military tally!”

With both hands, Lin Xianzhong presented a pair of small bronze lion tokens.

Qin Fengyi looked at the tally in his hands and was rendered speechless. Did this Lin Xianzhong even remember which country he belonged to?

Ye Tian chuckled. “If you’re surrendering, then surrender—why kneel?”

“No need for such grand gestures in the future. This tally looks quite finely made—let me take a look.”

Feeling a cold gaze upon him, Lin Xianzhong didn’t dare raise his head. He respectfully offered the tally forward. Ye Tian took it, inspecting it from side to side.

“Is this real?”

He looked at Qin Fengyi.

Qin Fengyi nodded.

Ye Tian casually stuffed it into his pocket. “Thanks. You’ve shown sincerity, and so will I. From now on, the troops of Lindong City will still be under your command.”

“Thank you, City Lord Ye!”

Cold sweat covered Lin Xianzhong’s forehead. While bowing, he secretly glanced at Qin Fengyi again.

The Empress showed no reaction—her thoughts impossible to read.

But then again, she and Ye Tian were already like a family, with three children together. Who held the military tally hardly mattered.

If the Empress was willing to come to Sifang City under an assumed identity for Ye Tian’s sake, then currying favor with Ye Tian was surely the right move!

Lin Xianzhong felt secretly delighted.

“Hyah!”

Qin Fengyi flicked the whip, and the horse beneath her galloped forward, splashing water in its wake. Lin Xianzhong narrowed his eyes, watching for a long time.

At least this time, his life was spared!

…

“Has Ye Tian not returned yet?”

Xiao Jiang stood at the doorway, craning his neck to look around.

Ye Shuangxue said, “Did he say something wrong again? Or did Mother refuse?”

“Clop! Clop!”

The sound of hooves rang out crisply. Ye Tian dismounted and stood at the shop entrance, waving goodbye to Qin Fengyi.

The three siblings, Ye Yunting and the others, quickly dropped what they were doing and rushed outside. Seeing Ye Tian’s cheerful expression, clearly in a good mood, Ye Shuangxue grabbed his sleeve anxiously.

“Father—about Mother, I mean Official Meng… did she agree?”

“Did she agree?”

The three little ones looked at him nervously, their round eyes wide.

Looking at the three pairs of bright, expectant eyes, Ye Tian replied lightly,

“She agreed!”