Can I Uninstall This Dating System!? chapter 11.2

Part 2

An inner attendant walked in hurriedly.

The attendant trotted to Feng Yong and reminded him in a whisper, “Prime Minister Feng, it is Sishi (10 AM).”

Feng Yong looked as if he had been granted a great pardon. His chubby face relaxed, and he let out a long breath.

Sishi corresponds to about 10 AM in modern times. Ancient officials started work early, so by 10 AM, they had been working for four or five hours. Therefore, before the official meal at the public kitchen opened, there was an extra meal within the Department of State Affairs, mostly snacks like sour plum soup and spleen-awakening cakes.

Feng Yong cupped his hands toward the crowd: “Colleagues, Sishi has arrived. The attendants have prepared the meal. Everyone, please quell your heart’s fire and fill your stomachs first to replenish your spirits. This way, when Prime Minister Su returns, we can better discuss state affairs.”

As soon as Feng Yong spoke, the ministers smiled knowingly.

That smile wasn’t because Feng Yong spoke well, but because everyone had long guessed that Feng Yong would use this rhetoric.

Feng Yong was chosen as the Left Prime Minister not because of his super ability in the Department of State Affairs, but because he had a good temper and was good at enduring, never conflicting with anyone.

When Su Xueyi was present, Feng Yong only echoed Su Xueyi’s decisions.

When Su Xueyi was absent, Feng Yong dared not make decisions on his own. Encountering too many people asking him for ideas, he would use eating to plug everyone’s mouths.

Over time, people learned Feng Yong’s style and secretly gave the Left Prime Minister a nickname: The Companion-Diner Prime Minister.

Commonly known as: The one who accompanies others to eat idle meals.

Companion-Diner Feng once again unleashed his ultimate move. The ministers sneered in their hearts, each cupping their hands and returning to their seats, waiting for tea and pastries to be served.

Some thought Feng Yong didn’t have it easy.

After all, his partner was Su Xueyi.

From a famous noble clan of the Six Dynasties, with a reputation filling the capital since childhood, Su Xueyi’s talent was unmatched, and his appearance was extraordinarily handsome.

Su Xueyi excelled in everything. If there was anything to criticize, it was his temper.

—Su Xueyi was more arrogant than the vast majority of talented scholars.

His arrogance was reflected in every aspect.

He handled state affairs, but didn’t treat matters seriously, yet handled them appropriately every time, even performing beyond expectations.

In his past life, Ying Xi tolerated him precisely because he valued Su Xueyi’s talent.

To make Su Xueyi stay comfortably in the Department of State Affairs to work, Ying Xi had given Su Xueyi many privileges.

Just as when others’ meals consisted only of spleen-awakening cakes and drinks, Su Xueyi always had to have one extra item.

Flowers sent to his desk in spring, cool food bestowed in summer, nourishing stews gifted in autumn, and charcoal basins awarded in winter. The “Ice Respect” and “Charcoal Respect” were all different from ordinary people.

In the past, if Su Xueyi claimed illness, Ying Xi would not only exempt him from court attendance but would also visit him personally.

Such preferential treatment, for Ying Xi, was done to the extreme.

But this life was different.

Knowing the final outcome was betrayal, Ying Xi not only broke the filter regarding Su Xueyi but could also recall some strategies Su Xueyi proposed in the past life. He would throw them out in advance, thereby completely striking at Su Xueyi’s value.

Ying Xi hooked his lips, continuing to stand silently outside the main hall of the Department of State Affairs.

Inside the main hall, the extra meal was finished, but the problems remained unsolved. So, before long, the ministers began a new round of bombardment on Feng Yong. The quiet Department of State Affairs became noisy again.

Feng Yong began wiping his head with his vast sleeves again.

If the guess was correct, Feng Yong was now starting to wait for lunch.

“Prime Minister Feng!!!”

Before the shout ended, the person had arrived abruptly.

Suddenly, a young general in armor barged into the main hall from another door.

The young general wore white robes and silver armor, the standard equipment under the Duke of Ying’s command. He held a silver helmet under his arm and had a white sash wrapped around his waist; the Duke of Ying’s side was still wearing heavy mourning.

Being in the military, his voice was inevitably loud. The young general was anxious, so he disregarded etiquette when entering.

The young general strode up to Feng Yong with large steps, spreading his arms left and right to push aside the obstructing court officials to cut in line.

“The day before yesterday, the former Duke of Ying’s coffin completed the Touqi (first seven days). The court didn’t give a posthumous title for the burial, saying Prime Minister Su was out on official business. We waited until today.”

“Today Prime Minister Su called in sick, and again no one gives a decision. We cannot carve the tombstone, and the Commander cannot be buried!”

The young general became more agitated as he spoke, his tiger-like eyes instantly filling with tears.

“The Commander was loyal to the country all his life and died in battle. After death, he cannot even be laid to rest in the earth—such humiliation of a meritorious official! Is this Prime Minister Su’s meaning, your meaning, or the court’s meaning… This general will risk this life today to ask for a clear answer!”

This young general spoke without a filter, and the entire Department of State Affairs fell into silence.

Everyone knew he was being sarcastic, saying the Emperor was deliberately making the Xie family look bad.

The rumors that the Emperor murdered a meritorious official had just subsided slightly. Now, letting the official’s subordinate say it out loud was like one wave rising before the last had settled.

This topic was scalding; everyone wished they hadn’t grown ears, wished they hadn’t heard.

But they had heard it, and they couldn’t ignore it.

As the most senior official in the Department of State Affairs, Feng Yong had to show an attitude. Otherwise, if it caused a massive disaster for the Emperor, even if he were sliced into a thousand pieces, he couldn’t bear the responsibility.

He could, of course, arrange for the Ministry of Rites to quickly give the Duke of Ying a posthumous title, but he didn’t know the Emperor’s mind—did he want to give a high one or a low one?

Feng Yong still had to delay.

Feng Yong darkened his face and said, “Presumptuous! Do you want to bring a fatal disaster upon the current Duke of Ying? —Hurry back and await news!”

But the young general could no longer care about these things, crying, “The dead are the greatest; this is the most basic principle. The spring air is warming, and the Commander’s partial remains have long since rotted.”

“The Commander fought side by side with us. He would personally collect the bodies of comrades sacrificed on the battlefield. How can we stand seeing this?”

The young general retorted hard, “Prime Minister Feng asks me to wait again, but I don’t know if the Commander can wait. If the Commander dies with grievances and comes to Prime Minister Feng tonight to demand an explanation, I wonder if Prime Minister Feng can still sit as steady as Mount Tai!”

Ancients avoided talking about life and death, fearing malicious ghosts and wronged souls.

Feng Yong’s round face changed color instantly, as if extreme fear momentarily pinned him to the spot like a wooden wedge.

Feng Yong’s lips were pale, his expression twisted abnormally. He slowly raised a finger, murmuring, “You… get out… you…”

“Prime Minister Feng!”

“Quick, summon the Imperial Physician! Prime Minister Feng!!!”

The Department of State Affairs fell into chaos again.

It was unclear if Feng Yong truly fainted from anger or used the opportunity to escape.

This comical Department of State Affairs before his eyes was actually the decision-making core of Great Qin.

Outside the Department of State Affairs, Ying Xi felt anger piercing through his skull. He lifted his robe and stepped over the threshold.

Yu Jing secretly gritted his back teeth and followed closely, thinking, Dragon wrath, we’re finished, we’re finished.

Seeing Ying Xi suddenly enter the Department of State Affairs to inspect the work, the officials let go of Feng Yong, their expressions freezing simultaneously, hands and feet not knowing where to place.

The teenage Emperor had a slender and upright figure, his robes billowing due to his rapid pace.

The Emperor entered the hall, and the officials on both sides cupped their hands to make way.

The Emperor sat on the main seat of the Department of State Affairs, setting up a posture for interrogation.

The court officials hurriedly bowed: “Greeting Your Majesty!”

Then each fell silent as a cicada in winter.

Ying Xi said grimly, “What? Without Su Xueyi, is My empire going to be finished too?”

The ministers lowered their heads even deeper, watching their noses and hearts, drawing a cold sneer from Ying Xi.

He picked up a brush. Yu Jing immediately understood and ground the ink. Yu Jing’s little apprentice caught his master’s eye signal and hurriedly opened a memorial and spread out rice paper.

The brush moved like dragons and snakes.

Ying Xi wrote without pausing and finished the first handling approval.

Yu Jing hurriedly reminded, “My Lords, why not listen to the decree and handle it quickly?”

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