"The source of the rumor is unknown, but it has been widely circulated in the capital, yet neither the palace nor the court has issued any notice to put an end to the rumor.
"So this news must be at least eighty to ninety percent true."
The man in blue finished his words, and then the man in green continued, "King Yan is not a prince, and doesn’t even bear the Yang family na, so naturally, he cannot be the Crown Prince.
"Back then, many contributors to King Zhou’s campaigns to unite the world eventually submitted to him, supporting his ascension to the throne, because it was rightful for the Yang family to rule the country.
"If the palace bestows the throne to a general’s orphan with no blood ties simply because there is no prince, what would the ritorious officials and generals think?
"Even if there were to be an abdication, it should definitely not fall to an obscure general’s son!
"So, recently, there has been both joy and concern within the court; it is joyful that General Pei led the generals in capturing Dayue remnants successfully, yet concerning that while external threats are resolved, internal troubles arise.
"The Yang family has no prince or grandson to inherit the throne, so what is to be done with this vast land? If the throne must be given to court contributors, then to which family should it be given?"
"Exactly! Not ntioning other generals, nor Civil Servants, within the ranks of nobility alone, there are the five Great General Mansions with notable military accomplishnts.
"Which of these five families doesn’t showcase a string of rits? Who is inferior to whom? Just choosing one successor among them is already a task akin to ascending to the heavens!"
The four people at the table took turns discussing, as Yang Yi remained dumbfounded, exchanging shocked glances with He Zhao, seeing the sa astonishnt in each other’s eyes.
Yang Yi asked the man in blue, "Brother, is everything you said true? Has the court truly not responded to these rumors?"
"Indeed, it’s true!" The man in blue tapped the table with his bent fingers, emphasizing his words, "If you say there’s no response at all, that’s not quite right.
"During those initial days, several Great Generals in the court, along with a few Imperial Censors from the Imperial Censorate, rebuked those avidly discussing in the streets.
"But they couldn’t produce any concrete evidence to refute the rumor, and it was all done privately, without any public decree from the court to prohibit the discussions, so it didn’t have much effect.
"The crux is, this matter concerns both court officials and the common people, and it’s impossible to suppress such rumors!"
Yang Yi took a deep breath, "So the court is just ignoring it?"
"Certainly not," the man in blue waved his hand, "Isn’t it because they were in the northwest recently apprehending remnants, and it’s said the court is waiting for the northwest to be pacified and for General Pei and the others to apprehend all the offenders, before addressing this matter.
"But as for what exactly they plan to do, we common folk have no way of knowing, nor can we involve ourselves!
"We just hope these officials will consider the common people’s hardships and refrain from stirring any more conflict. Over these decades, who knows how many have been wounded or killed in war, or starved due to conflict and famine, another upheaval would be too much suffering for the people!"
The man in blue sighed as he finished speaking.
Those at the sa table followed suit, sharing the grievances of these past years.
Yang Yi remained silent for a long ti, the cup of tea given to him by the man in green had grown cold in his hand without his noticing.
...
In the small room at the back courtyard, wine and dishes had already been laid out, and although the arrangents during travel couldn’t compare to the capital, there were fish and at, and the alcoholic beverages had just been freshly brewed, already quite satisfactory.
Everyone was waiting for Yang Yi, holding off using chopsticks, and chattering casually among themselves.
At this mont, Jiang Lin walked in: "They’re discussing the matters of the capital in the hall, and the Crown Prince passed by earlier and has already heard about it."
Everyone at the table fell silent, exchanging looks before turning their gaze to Pei Zhan.
Pei Zhan hadn’t gotten a chance to speak when the guard outside announced, "Mr. Yang has arrived."
Shortly thereafter, the door curtain was lifted, and Yang Yi bent low and stepped inside.
He cast his gaze towards Pei Zhan imdiately upon entering: "Sothing has happened in the capital; King Yan’s lineage has been exposed. You all know about this, don’t you?"
Everyone remained silent.
Pei Zhan stood up, nodding, "Ah Zhen’s letter was indeed about this matter. So I’m eager to return to the capital quickly because I really don’t know what chaos might ensue.
"Since the founding of Great Zhou, though the ruler and ministers have resonated in harmony, and the court has been relatively stable for so many years, infighting among ministers wasn’t prevalent, it doesn’t an there were none."
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