"Cough, actually, General Li's words just now weren't his true intentions. From my perspective, General Li spoke out of impulse and misspoke," Prime Minister Wu, who had been observing quietly on the side, finally couldn't hold back and spoke up to defend General Li.

With Prime Minister Wu's words, most of the people present nodded in understanding. After all, in the imperial court, lowering one's head and accommodating each other was a trivial matter, not worth offending General Li over.

Emperor Lin Wanjun also spoke at this moment, saying, "Alright, let's leave it at that." After all, Li Tao was a general of the Tianyang Kingdom. If Li Tao was embarrassed too much, it would also lose face for him as the emperor.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" General Li was moved and immediately knelt down, knocking his head on the ground. Afterward, when he stood up, he cast a grateful glance at Prime Minister Wu. Of course, General Li's hatred towards Ye Yiming only intensified.

This Prime Minister Wu was indeed an astute politician. With just a few words about an impulsive slip of the tongue, he completely exonerated General Li of any fault. He managed to make the issue disappear without a trace, leaving no room for criticism.

Since even the emperor had spoken, Ye Yiming naturally didn't say anything further. After a moment of calm, Ye Yiming performed the ritual of bowing to Emperor Lin Wanjun as a subject and asked, "Since Your Majesty says so, may I take my leave?"

Yes, you may! You better leave immediately! Lin Wanjun cursed Ye Yiming inwardly, but just as he was about to ask Ye Yiming to leave, Prime Minister Wu interjected.

"The matter concerning the Duke Xiaoguo has not yet been resolved. It may be inappropriate for you to leave at this moment," he said.

What do you mean? You're not done yet? Ye Yiming became furious and squinted at Prime Minister Wu, asking, "I wonder what Prime Minister Wu means by this matter?"

Prime Minister Wu paid no attention to Ye Yiming's expression or tone, but turned to Duke Wuguo, who was fishing, and slowly said,

"Regarding yesterday's incident, I believe everyone present should be aware of the situation. Duke Xiaoguo had previously praised me for having foresight in giving his grandson a good name, Wu Yaolin. However, Duke Xiaoguo seemed to have a hidden meaning in his words, which I pondered over all night. Today, I want to ask Duke Wuguo, Duke Xiaoguo said it was good, but where exactly is the goodness?"

As Prime Minister Wu finished speaking, his voice became louder, as if he was questioning Duke Wuguo.

At this moment, the atmosphere in the Tianyang Hall was extremely quiet. All the courtiers, including Emperor Lin Wanjun, were watching Duke Wuguo's reaction, and the atmosphere instantly became tense.

"Hoo~"

Suddenly, a light snore broke the tense atmosphere. For a moment, many courtiers didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and even Lin Wanjun unconsciously twitched his mouth.

"You..." Prime Minister Wu could no longer maintain his indifferent appearance. He stared fiercely at Ye Old Man and slowly said, "Duke Wuguo! There is a saying: 'If a father fails to teach, his son will bear the blame.' The descendants of a public duke are all a bunch of unruly scoundrels, disgracing the name of the public duke!"

Hoo~

The Tianyang Hall suddenly became terribly quiet after this declaration, followed by a heavy momentum spreading from Duke Wuguo as the center. This caused many courtiers present to shiver involuntarily.

The scene was like a long-dormant fierce beast slowly awakening, exuding an intimidating momentum.

Lin Wanjun, who was closest to Duke Wuguo, felt a surge of fear in his heart at this moment.

Such an expression, such momentum, hasn't been seen in many years? The last time Uncle Ye appeared like this was when Wu Ge was almost killed by a group of fugitives and almost died. When Lin Wanjun thought of this, his whole body shuddered!

The Wu Ge that Lin Wanjun thought of was Ye Yiming's father, Ye Wu! At that time, when he and Ye Wu were seventeen or eighteen years old, they were proud and young, inevitably impulsive, and did not listen to advice. They went straight to a gathering place of fugitives, killed the villains, and sought revenge.

But when Lin Wanjun was about to die under the knives of those villains, Ye Wu bravely took the blow for him, losing consciousness on the spot due to excessive blood loss. This made Ye Xiangtian, who came running all the way, think his son had died. Then Lin Wanjun saw an unforgettable scene.

At that time, Ye Xiangtian went mad, and a bloody red power emerged all over his body. Then a breath resembling that from hell suddenly emerged, screams continued to sound, and then Lin Wanjun didn't know anything. Because when Ye Xiangtian went mad, Lin Wanjun passed out due to serious injuries.

When he woke up, Lin Wanjun found that all the fugitives had been killed! No one survived, and they were all killed in such a way that they were chopped into pieces! The real remains were gone!

Now this scene is so familiar to that year! Lin Wanjun was scared, really scared! He was not afraid of being killed himself, because even Ye Xiangtian, who was going crazy, would not harm him, but these courtiers couldn't. Who knows if these courtiers will be a few pieces later!

At this moment, Lin Wanjun found himself, hating Prime Minister Wu so much!

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

"Heh!" Just as Lin Wanjun closed his eyes and couldn't bear to witness the tragedy happen, a light laugh came over, attracting everyone's attention. This made the heavy atmosphere that had been slightly weakening.

When Lin Wanjun opened his eyes, he found that the one who made the sound was Ye Yiming, and he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. If anyone present could stop Ye Old Man from going mad, it would only be his precious grandson.

Ye Yiming didn't know that Lin Wanjun at this moment was thanking him for avoiding a disaster. Because all Ye Yiming could think of now was one sentence. That is, 'If a father fails to teach, his son will bear the blame!'

This sentence might be acceptable to others to some extent, but as a former orphan who had lived for more than twenty years without parents, this sentence was undoubtedly Ye Yiming's inverse scale!

"Wu Hui! You old fool!" When Ye Yiming's anger reached its peak, he finally couldn't help but scold Prime Minister Wu.

This was truly a shocking move! Who was Wu Hui? The Prime Minister of a nation! The foremost among civil officials! Moreover, he was the Grand Tutor of the current dynasty! Yet now, he was being called an old fogey by an eighteen-year-old youth! If this wasn't a shocking move, then what was?

Ye Yiming's calling Wu Hui an old fogey caused many ministers present to momentarily forget their solemnity, mouths agape as they stared blankly at Ye Yiming.

Lin Wanjun was also dumbfounded at this moment. What surprised him even more was that after Ye Yiming's remark, the oppressive aura that had been so intimidating began to recede like a tide. Lin Wanjun finally breathed a sigh of relief, but immediately after, he began to worry.

Because this rascal Ye Yiming had actually called Prime Minister Wu an old fogey in front of so many civil and military officials. This could be difficult to handle!

"You...," Prime Minister Wu was experiencing being called an old fogey for the first time, momentarily unable to believe it, pointing at Ye Yiming but unable to find the words.

"What about me! This young master is calling you exactly that, what's wrong with it?" Since he had already said it, Ye Yiming simply adopted an indifferent attitude, ready to face whatever consequences.

It seemed Prime Minister Wu finally accepted this realization and angrily declared, "You ignorant youngster with no sense of propriety! Disrespectful and lawless to the extreme!" Yet, being a man of letters, Wu's insults were delivered in an elegant manner, albeit uncomfortably for those listening.

Ye Yiming, infuriated, chuckled in response, "I lack respect? I am lawless? I know nothing of propriety? Then may I ask, with the Prime Minister's broad vision and knowledge, what does he truly understand about propriety? And what are his own manners?"

"Humph! Ignorant child, I am the current Prime Minister, leader among civil officials, and the Grand Tutor to the Emperor and Crown Prince. You, a young scion, dare lecture me on propriety?" At this point, Wu's expression was nothing but disdain, as if Ye Yiming was engaging in some foolish, incomprehensible act.

Ye Yiming didn't say another word, just kept staring at Prime Minister Wu until the latter felt uneasy under his gaze and finally spoke again, "Very well, today I shall teach you a lesson and set an example for someone!" With that, Prime Minister Wu glanced briefly at Ye Lao Ye.

"The sage said, 'Dao, virtue, benevolence, righteousness, these four virtues arise from ritual, and are bound by it.'" Wu the Prime Minister's words were abruptly interrupted by Ye Yiming without hesitation. Impatiently, Ye Yiming said, "Prime Minister, I am already familiar with what you are saying."

Already irritated by Ye Yiming's sudden interruption, Wu the Prime Minister smirked in anger. "Ha! You are familiar? Hah! Then tell me!"

"Young man like you can understand these principles? Huh! If you really do, then all these years of reading the classics have been in vain!"

Ye Yiming seemed to see through Prime Minister Wu's current thoughts and felt a sense of amusement. "Hmph! I understood these things when I was fifteen. Am I supposed to be afraid of you?"

"From the Prime Minister's words just now, I can summarize it as 'Dao, virtue, benevolence, righteousness, without ritual, are incomplete.' Does the Prime Minister have any objections?" Upon saying this, Ye Yiming looked smugly at Prime Minister Wu.

"How is this possible?" Prime Minister Wu was deeply shocked by Ye Yiming's words, as the phrase 'Dao, virtue, benevolence, righteousness, without ritual, are incomplete' perfectly encapsulated the essence of the four virtues he had just mentioned.

Muddled! Yes! Surely, he was fooled!

Seeing Prime Minister Wu's expression, Ye Yiming knew exactly what he was thinking. Without pausing, Ye Yiming immediately continued.

"Dao, virtue, benevolence, righteousness, without ritual, are incomplete; teaching propriety and correcting customs, without ritual, is inadequate; resolving disputes and litigation, without ritual, is undecided; studying with mentors in politics, without ritual, is distant; leading the court and managing the military, governing officials and enforcing laws, without ritual, lacks authority; offering prayers, sacrifices, and serving spirits, without ritual, lacks sincerity and respect. Thus, a noble person is respectful, frugal, and yielding, to demonstrate propriety."

After Ye Yiming finished speaking, he shouted loudly at Prime Minister Wu, "Prime Minister, do you find any fault with what this inexperienced youngster has said?"

With Ye Yiming's words, the atmosphere immediately exploded. Civil officials throughout the court pondered the meaning of his words. Even Prime Minister Wu had forgotten his conflict with Ye Yiming and could only mutter quietly.

Although the military officials didn't fully grasp the profound meaning behind Ye Yiming's words as the civil officials did, they could tell from the expressions of the civil officials that Ye Yiming's recitation was exceptional.

Ye Lao Ye, no longer fishing, watched his grandson with a look of pleasant surprise.

Ha! Who would've thought this little rascal had such eloquence! He truly lives up to our family's reputation! Hahaha!

Lin Wanjun watched Ye Yiming with a mix of emotions. It seemed that his decision to arrange a marriage with Wu's family wasn't such a bad idea after all! This young man seems quite impressive now! For the first time in a long while, Lin Wanjun felt that Ye Yiming would make a good son-in-law.

"Therefore, a noble person is respectful, frugal, and yielding, to demonstrate propriety. Yielding to demonstrate propriety..." Prime Minister Wu muttered these words repeatedly, his heart filled with turmoil.

Seeing this, Ye Yiming smiled coldly, walked up to Prime Minister Wu, and said, "Prime Minister, I have another passage for you to savor. How about it? Are you willing to listen?"

Although he knew Ye Yiming was likely to speak ill of him next, Prime Minister Wu, still red-eyed, growled lowly, "Speak! I will savor it slowly!"

Hmph!

With a cold snort in his heart, Ye Yiming began, "Parrots can speak but do not leave the company of birds. Apes can speak but do not leave the company of beasts. If a person lacks propriety, though able to speak, does their heart not resemble that of a beast? Indeed, only beasts lack propriety, causing fathers and sons to gather together like herds. Therefore, sages create rituals to educate people, so that they may have propriety and distinguish themselves from beasts."

With each sentence uttered by Ye Yiming, Prime Minister Wu's complexion changed slightly. By the time Ye Yiming reached the phrase 'so that they may have propriety and distinguish themselves from beasts', Prime Minister Wu was struck as if by lightning, trembling all over, his face instantly pale, and he staggered back several steps.

Distinguish themselves from beasts!

What an excellent phrase to distinguish oneself from beasts!!!