Perhaps because it had been three years since the spring hunt had been held, Emperor Xianlong, for the sake of caution, not only summoned Yun Lie and Yun Pei, but also Princess Huanrong Yun Xi, Prince An Yun Huan, and Prince Gong Yun Chi, to discuss the matter with the officials of the Imperial Household Department.
Currently, there are only five people with titles and fiefdoms. With the position of heir apparent vacant, the relationship between these five princes is inevitably delicate. Under normal circumstances, they tend to avoid each other and rarely share the same task.
Today, Emperor Xianlong has gathered these five people together, euphemistically calling it "assisting the Shaofu," but the officials under the Shaofu all have an impulse of "I'd rather die than give up."
But the person who was even more anxious than the officials under the Imperial Household Department was none other than Yun Lie.
"What was Father thinking?" Yun Pei secretly pulled him aside and whispered, "If the five of us get together and no one bleeds on the spot, we'll be lucky to reach a consensus.
While this statement may contain some exaggeration, it is also quite true. Each of the five individuals has their own interests to consider, and someone will inevitably try to sabotage the others, making it impossible for them to easily reach a consensus.
As expected, as soon as the officials of the Imperial Household Department presented the rough list to the five people, Princess Huanrong Yunxi and Prince An Yunhuan immediately started arguing.
Seeing that the two were locked in a stalemate, the officials of the Imperial Household Department, who were at their wits' end, hurriedly sent someone to report to Emperor Xianlong and request his judgment.
Emperor Xianlong waved his sleeve lightly and replied with a smile, "Such matters are enough for the children to worry about. If a decision cannot be made immediately..."
He turned to his personal attendant, "Du Fushan, have someone prepare sleeping quarters for the five princes. If they can't reach an agreement right away, they can stay here and talk slowly. There's no rush."
Upon learning the result, Yun Lie's face turned as black as his clothes, and he wished he could strangle Yun Huan and Yun tide, those two troublemakers, on the spot.
****
The dispute and standoff between the five princes—mainly Yun Huan, Yun tide, and Prince Gong Yun Chi, who joined the fray later—over the list of those to be hunted in the spring hunt lasted until the ninth day of the first lunar month.
For six consecutive days, the officials of the Imperial Household Department were exhausted by the tense atmosphere created by the princes' sharp tongues. Seeing that things seemed to be improving today, they secretly breathed a sigh of relief, as if they had heard the wonderful ending.
Just when victory seemed within reach, Yun Lie unexpectedly made a strong statement.
Over the past few days, Yun Lie had kept a dark expression but didn't say much. He didn't offer any unrelated opinions, and his whole being exuded an aura of "Why so much nonsense? Let's finish this quickly, I'm in a hurry to go home."
At this moment, he suddenly became imposing and slammed his fist on the table at the very end of the list, which was labeled "Merchant's Home," causing everyone's faces to widen in surprise.
"If we're talking about the most outstanding merchants in the capital, then the Luo family of western Beijing is undoubtedly the best. Since the Luo family isn't even on this list, what's the Tang family doing here?"
The Tang family was indeed inconspicuous among the merchants in the capital. The reason why they were on this list and were selected as one of the merchants to accompany the emperor on his journey was naturally due to some reasons that could not be made public.
Yun Lie went straight to the heart of the problem and swiftly took control of the situation.
The officials under the Shaofu dared not say anything, Yunxi and Yunchi watched from the sidelines, while Yunpei was completely bewildered.
Prince An, Yun Huan, said solemnly, "Fifth Prince, you are mistaken..."
In the chaotic battles of the past few days, Yun Huan has won more than he has lost, after all, in some respects, he has the most chips among the five.
"Stop talking nonsense. If you can't figure it out, go out and ask around yourself," Yun Lie stared directly into his eyes, his imposing aura like a battle formation on the battlefield. "If even the Luo family of Jingxi isn't qualified to be a merchant representative, you should ask the Tang family if they dare to admit such a big face."
Yun Huan was already lacking in martial arts skills, and having lived a life of luxury in the capital for a long time, his physique was obviously thinner and more scholarly compared to Yun Lie. Now, facing each other head-on, he was already at a disadvantage in terms of physique alone.
However, the Tang family clearly affected some of Yun Huan's interests. Even though he was caught off guard by Yun Lie's sudden attack, he would not easily back down.
“My fifth brother has been away from the capital for a long time, and there are some things he may not be aware of,” Yun Huanqing cleared his slightly tense throat, “This is…”
"What do you mean, 'what do you mean'?" Yun Lie glanced at him. "It's only natural to have some plans or biases in mind, but you can't be too unseemly when you do it."
Yun Huan, indignant, weakly retorted, "Fifth Brother said I have an unseemly way of eating? You, who have been supporting the Bao family, don't you have any biases?"
****
Everyone knows that among the five princes who have established their own residences, Yun Lie has neither the Emperor's favor nor the support of his maternal relatives. Being weak and alone, he naturally keeps a low profile and doesn't get involved much in the court's power struggles.
Even when he faces suppression or exclusion, he will not show off his talents too much unless absolutely necessary.
Over time, people have somewhat forgotten that he was a valiant general who guarded the border.
That was a tough bone that hadn't retreated an inch even amidst the flames of war.
On the current Linchuan defense line, whenever the central army's cloud-shaped banner appears, the Northern Di people have to start planning their retreat in advance.
There is a saying among the Northern Di people: "Yun Lie is an unbreakable steel wall when he stands, and an insurmountable mountain when he falls; never think of engaging him in a head-on battle before you are absolutely certain that you can completely annihilate him."
This is the kind of person who seems determined to protect something today, displaying his arrogance to the fullest.
Yun Huan was no match for him with such an imposing aura.
"Of course I have my own selfish motives, but so what?" Yun Lie coldly curled his lips, his eyes fixed on Han Jiang. "What misunderstanding made you think I'm a reasonable person?"
"You! You..."
His unconventional and thuggish manner left Yun Huan speechless, unable to think of a way to defuse the situation.
"What do you mean, 'you'?" Yun Lie coldly froze Yun Huan into an ice sculpture, then looked around at everyone present. "Whoever wants to keep the Tang family on the list, I guarantee they'll be sent back to their residence across the inner city gate."
That's just too...
Yun Pei cleared his throat, and seeing that he ignored him, he could only try to smooth things over: "Yun Lie, Eighth Brother is not one of our comrades in the army. You can't joke around like that to scare people."
"Who has the time to joke with him?" Yun Lie scoffed, then said to Yun Huan, "Want to give it a try?"
Yun Huan silently turned his head to the side.
No, thank you.
****
Yun Lie returned to Prince Zhao's residence just before curfew.
Upon returning to his residence, he did not immediately go back to his bedchamber. Instead, he first summoned Xiong Xiaoyi and inquired about Luo Cuiwei's movements over the past few days.