Ye Yiming looked at the sixteen low-grade martial artist pills in his hand, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "Two taels of gold turned into sixteen taels of gold. It only took me an hour, which is two hours. At this rate, even if I spend just ten hours a day refining pills, I can produce around eighty low-grade martial artist pills in a day, totaling eighty taels of gold! Eighty taels in a day, eight hundred in ten days! Eight thousand in a hundred days!!!"

"I'm going to be rich! I'm going to be rich!" Suddenly, a vision of golden mountains appeared before Ye Yiming's eyes. He burst into foolish laughter.

After a while, Ye Yiming gradually snapped out of his entrancing fantasy. He wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth discreetly and reminded himself inwardly, "Stay calm! Stay calm! I need to stay calm!"

Despite trying to calm himself down, Ye Yiming couldn't help but nervously chuckle again when he looked at the six low-grade martial artist pills.

"Hehehe! I'm going to be rich! I'm going to be rich!" ... While Ye Yiming was laughing nervously, a eunuch from the palace arrived at the Duke's mansion with an imperial decree.

The incident started early this morning when Ye Yiming had just arrived at the pharmacy.

Following yesterday's discussion, Prime Minister Wu and General Li had arrived early at the palace gates today.

As more officials arrived for the morning court session, General Li would discreetly pull those familiar with Prime Minister Wu to his side. After a few whispered words from Prime Minister Wu, these officials nodded in agreement.

Gradually, more officials gathered around Prime Minister Wu, causing those less close to him to gather in groups and discuss in hushed tones.

Soon, with the announcement of "Court in session!" by the Master of Ceremonies, the officials entered the palace in an orderly fashion.

The Sun Hall, where the Emperor of the Tianyang Kingdom summoned his courtiers to discuss state affairs, was extremely spacious. It could easily accommodate thousands of people at once.

The floor was paved with large white jade stones, and the walls were adorned with golden dragons and phoenixes. Most striking were the dozen or so dragon pillars, each depicting a golden dragon. The vivid eyes and fierce heads of these dragons were so lifelike that they inspired awe.

At this moment, the Sun Hall was filled with all the influential ministers of the Tianyang Kingdom. At the center, on the highest throne, sat Emperor Lin Wanjun.

After the audience, perhaps awed by Emperor Lin Wanjun's aura, the ministers stood quietly without moving.

When the ceremony was over, the Master of Ceremonies beside Emperor Lin Wanjun sharply declared, "Present your petitions if you have matters to bring up; otherwise, the court is dismissed!"

After a while, seeing the ministers silent, the Master of Ceremonies was about to announce the end of the court session when General Li stepped forward and bowed to Emperor Lin Wanjun, saying, "Your Majesty, I have a matter to report!" With that, he presented a memorial.

Seeing this, the Master of Ceremonies immediately straightened up, took the memorial from General Li, and handed it to Emperor Lin Wanjun.

Emperor Lin Wanjun, who had been expressionless until then, showed a slight change after reading General Li's memorial.

After reading the memorial, Emperor Lin Wanjun frowned slightly and glanced lightly at Prime Minister Wu below, thinking of Ye Yiming's "great achievements" yesterday, feeling somewhat helpless.

Although the memorial was presented by General Li, Emperor Lin Wanjun could discern that it was written by Prime Minister Wu. While the memorial detailed many things, its intent was clear: Ye Yiming, grandson of the Duke of Wu, was exploiting the Duke's name to oppress the people and commit all sorts of atrocities.

Although the memorial overtly criticized Ye Yiming, the insinuations between the lines were thought-provoking. Undeniably, Prime Minister Wu was indeed the foremost literary figure of the current court. He wrote extensively about Ye Yiming's wrongdoings, but also subtly hinted at the Duke of Wu's shortcomings after Ye Yiming's misdeeds.

After Emperor Lin Wanjun finished reading the memorial, Prime Minister Wu bowed and said, "Your Majesty, Ye Yiming is using the Duke of Wu's prestige and past merits to blatantly disregard the laws of the country. His actions are extremely egregious. If he is not punished, it will surely damage the country's prestige!"

"Yes, Your Majesty, Prime Minister's words are reasonable. If Ye Yiming is not punished, it will indeed damage the country's prestige!"

"Your Majesty, please consider carefully!"

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"Your Majesty, please prioritize the country's interests!"

...

Prime Minister Wu's words had just fallen, and the other ministers followed suit, discussing Ye Yiming's faults.

Is it really such a serious matter, just a squabble between children? Huh! Who's disregarding national laws and disrespecting the current emperor? It would be more direct to say dissatisfaction with the Duke of Wu. When Emperor Lin Wanjun understood Prime Minister Wu's implication, he couldn't help but smile bitterly.

Moreover, when has that old man ever held himself above others? Even if he made a mistake, it's not for me to handle! Since Emperor Lin Wanjun ascended the throne, the Duke of Wu's appearances at court have been extremely rare, almost nonexistent. Most people believed Emperor Lin Wanjun spared the Duke of Wu from attending court due to his advanced age. But how many knew it was actually because Emperor Lin Wanjun feared Ye's old man?

Yet there were things that couldn't be said, nor should they be. The Lin and Ye families of Tianyang weren't simply master and servant relationships.

Emperor Lin Wanjun was in a dilemma. He didn't dare summon Ye's old man; it was good if Ye's old man didn't come to cause trouble. But if he didn't handle this matter, it would chill the hearts of most ministers!

Seemingly understanding Emperor Lin Wanjun's hesitation, Prime Minister Wu stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, Ye Yiming's current behavior is so stubborn, tarnishing the reputation of the Duke of Wu. His conduct is unworthy and may not be suitable as the Crown Prince in the long run."

With Prime Minister Wu's words, coupled with what happened to Ye Yiming yesterday, many ministers understood what was going on. Emperor Lin Wanjun also saw the point.

So that's how it is!

Once Emperor Lin Wanjun figured it out, he immediately understood Prime Minister Wu's intentions. Perhaps Prime Minister Wu had already calculated that he wouldn't punish Ye Yiming directly, but through this incident, tarnishing Ye Yiming's reputation and causing issues with the engagement between Ye Yiming and the princess, thereby achieving the goal of canceling the engagement.

Emperor Lin Wanjun also understood that Prime Minister Wu did this for his second grandson, Lin Yaolong. Setting aside everything else, Emperor Lin Wanjun was quite satisfied with Lin Yaolong, meeting his expectations for a son-in-law. Unfortunately, he couldn't decide his daughter's marriage with Ye Yiming.

The more Emperor Lin Wanjun thought about it, the more he felt a headache. He harbored resentment towards Ye Yiming, his future son-in-law.

If it weren't for you, brat, would I be so troubled now?

Finally, Emperor Lin Wanjun stopped thinking about it. He turned to the Master of Ceremonies beside him and said, "Xiaode, go and deliver the imperial decree, summon Ye Yiming to the court." After saying that, Emperor Lin Wanjun immediately wrote the imperial decree, stamped it with the jade seal, and handed it to the Master of Ceremonies.

Xiaode, the Master of Ceremonies, took the decree and hurried to the Duke's mansion. At this time, Ye Yiming had just finished refining the sixteen low-grade martial artist pills.

"What? Summoned to meet the emperor in the palace?" Looking at his grandfather sitting in the chair, Ye Yiming looked extremely surprised.

Just a moment ago, he was planning his grand fortune, and now he was summoned to the palace. Such a dramatic turn of events! Although he had seen many fake emperors on TV when he was on Earth, he had never met a real emperor before! This feeling was a bit unsettling.

Seeing Ye Yiming's nervousness, Ye's old man seemed indifferent and said, "Why be nervous? Just meeting someone. What's there to be nervous about?"

Hearing his grandfather's casual words, Ye Yiming was first stunned, then scratched the back of his head and realized belatedly, "Right! It's just meeting someone! One nose, two eyes, nothing scary about that."

"Hahaha! Well said! One nose, two eyes, what's there to be afraid of!" Hearing Ye Yiming's unexpected response, Ye's old man burst into laughter.

Seeing the two ancestors who didn't seem to take the current emperor seriously, Xiaode couldn't help but sweat profusely. However, he said nothing, keeping his eyes on his nose and his heart as if he hadn't seen anything.

It wasn't that Xiaode was indifferent to this; he simply didn't have the courage!

In his early years, there was an eunuch who was favored by Emperor Lin Wanjun's side. At that time, he was highly favored. However, during a decree reading at the Duke's mansion, Ye's old man sat and listened. Suddenly infuriated, he pointed at Ye's old man's nose and accused him of disloyalty and rebellion. As a result, Ye's old man called for servants to beat him with sticks, and the very next day, the highly favored eunuch was sent to the pigsty to raise pigs. That's why he didn't care what Ye's old man was saying.

When Emperor Lin Wanjun saw Ye's old man and Ye Yiming entering the court together, he was so shocked that he nearly jumped off the dragon throne. Fortunately, he wasn't an emperor for nothing; despite almost losing his composure, Emperor Lin Wanjun managed to regain his calm. Even so, he hurriedly commanded, "Someone, bring a seat for the Duke of Wu!"

Upon hearing Emperor Lin Wanjun's words, Ye's old man raised an eyebrow at Prime Minister Wu before settling down comfortably.

The actions of Ye's old man caused the ministers who had been standing near Prime Minister Wu to instinctively distance themselves from him.

This scene greatly surprised Ye Yiming because he had a faint feeling that the emperor and the courtiers seemed somewhat afraid of his grandfather!

As this thought crossed his mind, Ye Yiming was startled by his own speculation. Could it be that the emperor feared his subjects? That seemed unlikely! Yet, deep down, Ye Yiming couldn't help but believe his own conjecture to some extent.

"How bold! Ye Yiming, you dare not kneel and pay respects to His Majesty? Are you plotting rebellion?" Just as Ye Yiming was pondering his relationship with the emperor, a loud shout suddenly startled him.

Looking up, Ye Yiming saw a general clad in armor glaring at him as if harboring deep-seated grievances against him.

Narrowing his eyes at the general for a moment, Ye Yiming recalled that he was General Li Tao, the father of Li Feng.

Seeing General Li's demeanor and then glancing at Prime Minister Wu, who appeared indifferent, Ye Yiming suddenly understood.

So that's why the emperor had nothing better to do than summon me! It seems something has happened.

Casting a sidelong glance at his grandfather, who was smiling but silent, yet his eyes revealed a supportive look, Ye Yiming thought for a moment and felt assured. He looked at General Li, who was filled with anger, and smiled.

"You dare to scare whom? With my grandfather here, do you think you can intimidate me, you little punk?"