Chapter 28: Imperial Court Debate

POSTED ON JUNE 12, 2023 BY TNYKT

“I’m Dong Huazi.” Dong Huazi didn’t get angry, and he said calmly, “The Tao is boundless. Although I have studied Taoism for a hundred years, it is not wrong to say that I’m a beginner. I just wonder how many years have you learned, little friend?”

“It turns out that the taoist is the State Preceptor… I’ve heard so much about you.” Qin Yi tilted his head while saying so, but his face clearly showed a “not as good as your reputation” expression.

This expression was more irritating than any words, Dong Huazi finally got a little angry, “What advice do you have, little friend?”

Qin Yi said with a smile, “The ranking of one’s age and seniority is insignificant. There are thousands of martial artists in the world, but how many of them who are old enough can be Prince Qinglin’s opponents? It can be seen that learning for a long time does not mean that you will be greater. I’m learning knowledge, so who cares if one is older and younger than me?”

Many people were taken aback when they heard this. Even Liu Su, who was going to teach Qin Yi to refute, was also taken aback when she heard the last sentence. She fell silent.

“Young man is really young and energetic. There are some who think they are proficient after reading a few books.” Dong Huazi said slowly, “Our kingdom is on the top, so it is natural that ‘Li’ is on top. ‘Li’ on the above and ‘Dui’ at below will form ‘Kui’. Young man doesn’t understand and said it as ‘Dui’ at above and ‘Li’ at below… Fortunately, the emperor is open-minded and doesn’t mind your disobedience, but don’t be so rash in the future.”

Qin Yi secretly scolded: Damn, this veteran in officialdom is just playing with words. How is this still Tao debate? Liu Su was also speechless. It was really not good in debating this kind of talk. Instead, Qin Yi could argue better by himself. He pretended to be surprised and said, “Isn’t marriage a matter between man and woman? It turns out that the Taoist’s usual posture is woman on top. I’m really young and inexperienced in this. Thank you for your advice…”

“Pfff…” Li Qinglin laughed out loud. Seeing everyone’s eyes on him, he cleared his throat and said, “Qin Yi, it’s fine that you don’t understand since you’re young. It’s not unusual for someone to like lotus sitting position. This is a state banquet, let’s not talk about the topic of the State Preceptor’s sex life.”

State banquet? Even the lotus sitting positon is mentioned. You did it on purpose right? The originally solemn and rebuttal atmosphere became awkward. Many people were struggling to hold back their laughter and peeked at Dong Huazi’s expression.

Dong Huazi didn’t have any expression on his face, and said calmly, “How can the alliance between the two kingdoms be judged on the basis of man and woman? Young man is ignorant, so you should be cautious in your words and deeds. Please sit down.”

Qin Yi thought: What a good rebute.

In fact, there were many things like hexagrams that were ambiguous. They made sense no matter how they were interpreted, which gave wandering scammers a lot of leeways. Just like the current ‘Kui’ and ‘Ge’, it didn’t matter if they were defined as “Kui”. Liu Su had a lot of reasons to make it an ominous hexagram; Dong Huazi also had ways to make it an auspicious hexagram, but it would be endless. Dong Huazi didn’t choose to debate this, but he ended this topic by bringing politics up, leaving the emperor to think for himself.

The so-called debate, most of the time, was not for the purpose of defeating the opponent, but for the audience to listen to. Which side was the emperor more willing to listen to? It went without saying.

Qin Yi was looking for a countermeasure urgently, but Li Qingjun couldn’t hold back anymore and said angrily, “If I marry that savage, I will chop off his dog’s head that night. This is the alliance between the two kingdoms!”

The emperor’s expression turned grim, “Zhao Yang, watch your words.”

Li Qingjun was about to say in aggrieved, then Qin Yi tugged at her sleeve and smiled slightly, “Thank you for the lesson. I thought that cultivating Taoism means withdrawing from the mortal world and transcending to be immortal, but one should also think about the kingdom affairs. Taoist really teaches me a good lesson. Really worthy of the title of State Preceptor.”

The emperor’s expression moved slightly.

Dong Huazi’s eyes also shrank.

Those who understood it also thought this young man was amazing.

What does the emperor want? Immortality!

This young man directly pointed to the most important thing in the emperor’s heart. What should be in the mind of the cultivator? What kind of alliance between the 2 kingdoms was as important as this? Coupled with the determination of Li Qingjun, it was obvious that the alliance between the 2 kingdoms was not stable. It was really hard to say how the emperor would consider the hexagrams between them this time.

Dong Huazi responded slowly, “There are thousands of ways of Tao, not just one. In this world of mortals, there are all kinds of human beings, and Tao is everywhere. Little friend is biased.”

“Ugh… I have nothing to say anymore. Thank you.” Qin Yi didn’t argue anymore, because there was no need to argue further. He cupped his hands, bowed, and sat down with Li Qingjun.

Dong Huazi also returned the courtesy very gracefully to show that the matter was over.

But everyone knew that this young man’s life would be difficult in the future… Looking at Qin Yi, they saw that Qin Yi was smiling as if he didn’t care.

The emperor nodded secretly. This young man really has a sense of aloofness. Where did my daughter find this man?

Li Qingjun also understood the meaning of the debate. She sat down on the seat and happily patted Qin Yi’s shoulder, showing her admiration to him.

In the eyes of everyone, this intimate attitude gave them different thoughts.

Mang Zhan, who had been quiet, finally spoke, “I’m here with the hope of bringing peace between 2 kingdoms and turning a century of conflict into benefits. You and I are feuds. If order to form an alliance, we need a bond to connect us. It’s a pity that I don’t have any sisters, otherwise it would be good to marry her to Brother Qinglin.”

The words insinuated that the South Li Kingdom was ignorant, and there was also a hint of threat.

Li Qinglin sneered, “Even if you have a sister to marry me, I don’t think this will affect my perception of your West Savage Kingdom. Maintaining the alliance between the 2 kingdoms with women, when did you Mang Zhan become so naive?”

Mang Zhan sighed, “Seeing Princess Zhao Yang today is like a spear piercing into my heart. No matter what Brother Li thinks, if I get Princess Zhao Yang, I will step into the land of your South Li Kingdom in my lifetime.”

Li Qingjun jumped up with the spear in furious, “If I kill you, you can’t step into South Li Kingdom either!”

“Zhao Yang, watch your manner.” The emperor waved his hand, signaling not to argue anymore.

In fact, if looking at this matter from the kingdom level alone, the marriage between the 2 kingdoms was indeed a good matter. Although the South Li Kingdom advocated martial arts, compared with the relatively barbaric West Savage Kingdom, the people of the South Li Kingdom were more civilized and were not very aggressive. The wars between the 2 kingdoms in these 100 years were due to the invasion of West Savage Kingdom. If it could really be settled with a political marriage, the courtiers would think that it was good for Li Qingjun to marry over.

The problem was that Li Qingjun herself was extremely resistant. According to what she said, if she really married over and cut off her husband’s head, it would be the trigger for a deadly war between the 2 kingdoms. Unless the South Li Kingdom was willing to humiliate itself and cripple the princess before sending her to the enemy kingdom, then as Li Qinglin said, the South Li Kingdom would be ashamed. Such humiliation might not be able to achieve peace. It might even make them more barbaric.

The emperor himself was quite inclined to marry his daughter to Mang Zhan, but only if the daughter agreed. The key here was…

His eyes fell on Qin Yi. Qin Yi was gently pulling Li Qingjun’s sleeve to signal her to sit down, and Li Qingjun sat down as if she was listening to him very much.

This was the key. His daughter already had a lover.

Originally, such a commoner wouldn’t matter much, but this young man seemed to be cultivating too, and he seemed to have some attainment in Tao… The emperor, who was infatuated with Tao, decided to make contact him once or twice. Therefore, he didn’t answer Mang Zhan’s topic and said, “Today is just to welcome. We will discuss the kingdom affairs later.”

Since the emperor made a decision, Mang Zhan couldn’t keep talking on this occasion. The topics in the court shifted toward romance and leisure by the people in the Ministry of Rites.

Li Qinglin let out a sigh of relief.

It’s fine that the decision isn’t made here. Calling Qin Yi over is indeed the right decision.

As for the next step… He stared at Mang Zhan, then at Dong Huazi, looking at the exchange glances between them.

Li Qinglin sipped the wine thoughtfully and said in a low voice, “Brother Qin, after the banquet, you and I will have a talk.”

TL: With Liu Su’s help, Qin Yi can convince the emperor right?