He then suppressed his thoughts and led the astonished Qin Sirong into the hall.
At this moment, Yi Yun was sitting in the main seat. Upon seeing Li Ling, he was so happy that he stood up and took a few steps forward, saying to Li Ling, "Feng'er, you're back! Come and see this calligraphy!"
As Yi Yun spoke, he turned around and pointed to the large characters hanging in the hall, saying, "This was specially bestowed by His Majesty because of your merit in saving the Crown Prince."
The plaque hanging there reads "Loyalty and Righteousness Passed Down Through Generations".
"Feng'er, you have indeed lived up to my teachings. You have made such a great contribution on this trip and even stopped Qin Hui's men from assassinating Marshal Yue. Well done!"
Yi Yun's face was full of joy, and then he said, "Tell me the details of what happened, so I can hear it."
"Yes, after I left the manor..." Li Ling briefly recounted his experiences along the way, glossing over the dangers.
After listening, Yi Yun stroked his beard and said, "You have gone through many hardships on your journey. It is a pity that Marshal Yue was dismissed from his post and was unable to go north to strike at the enemy's capital as he wished. Now the Jin Kingdom has been given a chance to breathe, and there will probably be many more twists and turns in the future."
However, this cannot be blamed on you. As the saying goes, man proposes, God disposes. It is already quite remarkable that you were able to speak on behalf of Marshal Yue before His Highness the Crown Prince, preventing him from dying at the hands of treacherous people.
Even as he spoke of the later events, Yi Yun's tone still carried a great deal of resentment.
Seeing this, Li Ling was about to say a few words of comfort when Qin Sirong suddenly stepped forward and interjected, "Old Master, don't be discouraged. As long as our will to resist the Jin remains, the people and soldiers of the Southern Song Dynasty will surely be able to break through the Jin's defenses!"
Yi Yun looked over and saw a beautiful and spirited woman. He couldn't help but praise her, "Well said, young lady. May I ask your name?"
“Grandpa, this is a friend I met at the alliance meeting, Miss Qin Sirong,” Li Ling introduced.
Yi Yun looked at Qin Sirong with great admiration: "Yes, I really like the way Miss Qin speaks. Since you are Ji Feng's friend, why don't you stay at Mingjian Manor for a few days?"
A hint of joy flashed in Qin Sirong's eyes. Being able to stay at Mingjian Manor would make things much easier for her. She immediately replied, "Mingjian Manor is a place of outstanding people and beautiful scenery, a rare sight indeed. I am but a humble woman, and I am deeply grateful for the Manor Lord's kind words. I would be honored to accept such a favor!"
"Alright, Feng'er, settle Miss Qin in first, and then show her around our Famous Sword Manor."
...
That evening, Li Ling came to the study again. Yi Yun handed Li Ling a letter and said, "Feng'er, this is a letter that His Highness the Crown Prince sent Liu Feng, the commander of his guards, to deliver personally. Open it and see what's written inside!"
Reaching out to take the letter, Li Ling found it was well-sealed. He tore open the envelope and began to read. Soon, the contents of the letter made him frown slightly.
Yi Yun had been watching Li Ling's expression closely, and seeing this, he couldn't help but ask, "What did His Highness the Crown Prince say in the letter?"
Li Ling frowned and said, "This time, because he encountered an assassination attempt, he wanted our Famous Sword Manor to help him train a group of personal guards."
Yi Yun was delighted to hear this: "It's a good thing that His Highness the Crown Prince trusts our Famous Sword Manor!"
Li Ling shook his head and explained, "Grandpa, there's a lot more to this than meets the eye. The Crown Prince's personal guards should be selected from the Imperial Guards. If we help train the guards, it's fine if it's just one or two, but if there are too many, we'll offend the Imperial Guards first."
The relationships within the imperial court are incredibly complex. The imperial guards are usually the sons and grandsons of high-ranking officials, and this group wields immense power, with countless connections between them, both openly and secretly.
If we agree to this, we will be drawn into the political struggles of the imperial court, and the slightest mistake could lead to the destruction of our family.
Our Famous Sword Manor is merely a martial arts force; why should we get involved with the imperial court? Grandfather, I think we should return home after this matter is settled.”
Yi Yun frowned upon hearing this. He truly had no idea there would be such a hurdle. He had never been in contact with the imperial court in his life and was unaware of the various intrigues and power struggles within it.
Although he had some reservations about Li Ling's concerns, he still didn't have a clear understanding of them and said presumptuously, "Feng'er, you're worrying unnecessarily. We're all serving the court, how could we offend those imperial guards?"
Li Ling knew that political struggles were the most brutal, and he didn't want to get too involved in the court's intrigues, so he tried his best to persuade Yi Yun.
"Grandpa, think about it carefully. For example, in our manor, Manager Zhang was originally in charge of the daily management of our manor. Suddenly one day, you found someone else and let him also be in charge of managing the manor. What would Manager Zhang think? Would he try to make things difficult for that person?"
At this point, Li Ling saw Yi Yun begin to ponder and added, "As the saying goes, people share the same thoughts and the same principles, so this job is not so easy to do."
"The Imperial Guards have been responsible for the security of the palace for so long, and they have many connections with the Emperor, many princes, and even court officials. If we agree to this, we might be taking away the Imperial Guards' jobs."
They might not dare to openly oppose us, but even a casual remark could bring endless trouble. The affairs of the imperial court are complex and arduous; our Famous Sword Manor is merely a martial arts sect, so let's not get involved.”
After listening to Li Ling's detailed analysis, Yi Yun's expression also became serious. (The remaining text appears to be unrelated and likely refers to a separate entity or event.)
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Chapter 176 Those who ruin someone's reputation, shall be killed!
After listening to Li Ling's series of persuasions, Yi Yun finally reluctantly agreed to Li Ling's statement and agreed to directly reject the Crown Prince's request.
After receiving a reply, Chen Muyang understood Li Ling's attitude and didn't pursue the matter further, but that's another story.
Over the next few days, Li Ling led Qin Sirong on a tour around the Famous Sword Manor. Knowing her identity as a spy, Li Ling did not allow her to access the secrets of the Famous Sword Manor.
After seeing Qin Sirong off, that evening, Yi Yun said to Li Ling, "Feng'er, did you and Miss Qin... get along very well?"
Upon hearing this, Li Ling immediately understood Yi Yun's meaning and laughed, "Hehe, Grandpa, you've probably misunderstood. Miss Qin and I are just ordinary friends, and there's absolutely no romantic relationship between us. Since I've already chosen Miss Xueyan, there won't be any changes."
Li Ling didn't really have many thoughts about Qin Sirong. Although she was beautiful, it wasn't like Li Ling hadn't seen beautiful women before.
In the worlds he had experienced before, he was always accompanied by outstanding women. In modern society, he also has the witch loli Gu Ziyun. Now, he no longer has the mentality of wanting to collect all the beautiful women in the story.
Given the girl's somewhat complicated background, and the fact that I don't have the patience to win her over little by little like Zhang Junbao, I'd better leave it to Zhang Junbao and let him deal with the headache.
"Well, it's good that you've made your decision. Your marriage to Miss Ling is settled. In three months, it will be your wedding day. It's been a long time since our Famous Sword Manor has had a happy occasion. Oh, by the way, bring me that invitation on the table!"
Li Ling took the bright red invitation and asked, "What is this?"
Yi Yun said, "Zhang Tao is taking a concubine and wants to invite me to the wedding banquet. Please go in my place!"
Li Ling was somewhat dismissive: "Zhang Tao is only taking a concubine, not getting married. Sending a gift is enough. Why bother making the trip in person?"
Yi Yun, however, looked somewhat solemn: "It is widely rumored in the martial arts world that Marshal Yue once gave Zhang Junbao something important. Zhang Tao is Zhang Junbao's father. I want you to investigate the truth of this matter."
Li Ling understood immediately and said, "Grandpa, you don't know this, but Zhang Junbao was my companion when we went to rescue Marshal Yue. I was there when Marshal Yue gave that thing to Zhang Junbao."