Yang Ke walked forward with a gloomy expression. The Luan Jia and the ceremonial guard behind him couldn't even keep up with Yang Ke's speed.

Entering the imperial study, Yang Ke picked up the tea on the table and took a sip. He threw the tea cup to the ground with a bang.

"Come here, I will punish the person who made the tea forty."

A palace maid next to her was so frightened that she knelt on the ground and begged for mercy.

"Your Majesty, forgive me."

Chang Chu looked at Yang Ke with some toothache, walked to the emperor and blocked his sight, while quietly waving to the young eunuchs.

"Your Majesty, it's time for lunch."

The little eunuchs were convinced and hurriedly took the palace maid out.

"Eat whatever you want, I have no appetite. Also, Chang Chu, don't think that I don't know that you are going behind my back, so I can reduce the punishment of those servants."

Chang Chu quickly knelt down.

"I don't dare. I know that your majesty is not a violent person, but he is just unhappy. The maid is weak and has been responsible for forty years. She was seriously injured even if she survived. It is not worth the loss of your majesty's reputation for charity. I hope your majesty will have mercy on you."

.”

"Hmph! You old guy, why don't you try to buy people's hearts here?"

Always kowtow.

"I don't dare, slave."

"Your Majesty, this old guy is right. How dare he try to buy people's hearts?"

Hearing this voice, Yang Ke, who was still very angry just now, quickly calmed down and walked towards the door.

"Brother, why are you here?"

Chang Chu and the maids and eunuchs in the royal study quickly saluted.

"See His Royal Highness King Lu."

A middle-aged man wearing a python robe walked in outside the door of the royal study. He was tall and had an extraordinary bearing. He just had some inconvenience in his legs and feet. He was lame on one foot and using a crutch. He walked softly and heavily and had sharp edges and corners.

His face had a resolute look, but there was a sense of decadence in his eyes.

"See Your Majesty."

King Lu was about to salute, but was helped up by Yang Ke who came down with both hands.

"Brothers, why are you like this? If someone comes, please give me a seat."

"Your Majesty, the etiquette cannot be discarded."

Yang Ke supported King Lu and walked slowly inside.

"What's the point of being polite? This throne was originally yours."

Yang Ke sat aside with King Lu and waited until the two brothers sat down before Yang Ke asked.

"Brother, if you have anything to do, you can just send someone a message. Why did you come here in person?"

King Lu smiled slightly and got straight to the point: "I am here to congratulate Your Majesty for meeting such a good minister as Shangshu Ling. The prosperity of our Wei Dynasty is just around the corner."

"Brother, are you here to plead for Cheng Kangming?"

Yang Ke smiled bitterly and continued.

"I know that Cheng Shangshu is a criticizing minister. Although he contradicted me in the palace, I also know his intentions. How can I punish him?"

"Then I'm relieved, but everything he said in the palace today makes sense."

Yang Ke stood up and walked a few steps in the house.

"I also know what he said makes sense, but I just can't forget the fact that my father was bullied by them and you were crippled by them."

King Lu smiled bitterly and looked at his useless leg.

"Your Majesty is a man who cares about the world. Besides, it has been so long ago, so there is no need to take it to heart."

Yang Ke sighed. He tried his best, but he still couldn't do enough. The growth of Wei's national power was still slow. As an emperor, he had no way to take revenge.

"The world is peaceful, it's not that difficult!"

Yang Ke inexplicably recalled that weak figure, seemingly careless but decisive words, and murmured: "Maybe... give it a try?"

"Huh? What?"

King Lu didn't hear Yang Ke's words clearly and asked a question.

"Oh, nothing."

Yang Ke came back to his senses and answered softly.

"Brother, don't worry, I won't blame Cheng Kangming. And I have agreed to their request. Let them come and celebrate my birthday!"

When Yang Ke said the last few words, he spoke every word carefully and loudly.

"Okay, this is the majesty and momentum that a king of a country should have. As for money, your Majesty doesn't have to worry about it. I will also give you one hundred thousand yuan as a congratulatory gift to your Majesty."

"Brother..."

King Lu raised his hand to stop Yang Ke's words.

"Your Majesty knows that I have quite a lot of property, and besides, you and my brothers don't talk about it."

Yang Min, one of the ministers of Honglu Temple, walked out of Zichen Hall and went straight to Chu Rupeng.

"Hold on, Prime Minister Chu!"

Chu Rupeng turned around and saw Yang Minzhi.

"Mr. Yang Laosi, what else can you do?"

Yang Minzhi quickly returned the gift.

"Your Majesty still needs Prime Minister Chu's support for his birthday. I would like to express my thanks in advance."

After saying that, he saluted Chu Rupeng.

"Hey, you, I don't dare to take it seriously. Yang Siqing, please tell me if you have anything to say."

"Then I'm not welcome. I'm afraid three hundred thousand guan is not enough. I wonder if Prime Minister Chu and I can submit a letter together, asking Your Majesty to allocate some more. I'm worried that it will be ridiculed by several countries if it is done in a crude way."

Chu Rupeng looked very embarrassed.

"Yang Siqing should know that His Majesty has always been frugal, and this time he has spent three hundred thousand guan at his limit."

"Isn't it possible to move a hundred thousand guan away?"

Chu Rupeng smiled bitterly.

"Not to mention one hundred thousand guan, the 200,000 guan from the national fund can only be withdrawn after deferring part of the military salary of the border army. If it is transferred again, the official's salary will be gone. You and I are for the sake of the Wei Dynasty and for your majesty.

Maybe we can make do with it, but for low-level officials, they rely on their salaries to support their families."

"Hey! My Wei family is still a bit weak, so I'll take my leave."

In the Zichen Palace, Shen Xiyao and the Yulin Guards who were on duty in the palace were the last to exit.

When he returned to the Hou Mansion, Shen Ao was already waiting in the hall.

Seeing Shen Xiyao coming back, Shen Ao said hello. The servants in the house began to serve food. Both the grandfather and grandson were starving, and they swept away the food on the table like a whirlwind.

After people took away the leftovers and brought tea, Shen Ao sat back on his chair and picked his teeth with satisfaction.

Shen Xiyao looked at Shen Ao, with a look in her phoenix eyes that she was hesitant to speak.

"What, is something wrong?"

Shen Ao glanced at his granddaughter.

"Grandpa, why did Yuan Yushi call Southern Chu and Later Qin rebel against Chu and rebel against Qin in court today?"

Hearing Shen Xiyao's question, the satisfied look on Shen Ao's face disappeared. He slowly sat up straight and sighed.

"This happened more than ten years ago, and you juniors don't know it. This is the humiliation of our country, the Wei Dynasty. The situation at that time was extremely critical, and one wrong step might lead to the destruction of the country. The late emperor was worried that the court might be swayed by public opinion, which would lead to the loss of control.

Therefore, a ban was issued, and the books recording the incident were placed in the palace and prohibited from spreading among the people."

"Grandpa, tell me."

Shen Xiyao put down her tea cup, stood up and poured a cup of tea for Shen Ao. She stood beside Shen Ao with her hands behind her back and looked at Shen Ao.

Shen Ao pondered for a moment.

"Well, since this matter has been mentioned in the court today, it must have spread among the officials. It is not easy to keep it secret. There is nothing going on today, so I will tell you from the beginning."

"At the end of the Han Dynasty, the world was in chaos. In order to protect themselves, people began to gather together based on their surname, family, and place of residence to keep warm, and gradually formed aristocratic families."

"But the world has been fighting for years, and the people are in dire straits. Various ambitious people have begun to think about getting involved in the world, and use the power of various big and small families to compete for the world."

"Aristocratic families, big and small, are not fools. They took the opportunity to rise and began to gradually control various forces. For hundreds of years, countries have risen and fallen. But these families have always existed. They hide behind the scenes and rule the world."

"Slowly, the six aristocratic families of Wang, Pei, Hu, Li, Xu and Wu were gradually formed. Almost 80% of the world's wealth and talents are concentrated in the hands of these aristocratic families."

Shen Ao picked up the tea cup, moistened his throat, and continued.
To be continued...