The Demon Lords

A very unconventional way to greet someone,

simple,

straightforward,

yet touching the heart.

Inside and outside the palace gates, from the high-ranking officials and princes to eunuchs and guards, and anyone related to the imperial palace, there is absolutely no one who is truly a fool.

Beggars begging on the streets understand which people are kind and will give alms, thus they act accordingly. Those who beg "at the palace walls" better comprehend the deep meanings hidden within a single word or expression.

In their eyes,

these two greetings,

are the Sixth Prince intentionally showcasing his relationship with Lord Pingye in front of civil and military officials.

The political situation of Yan has been fragmented with the strong rise of the Sixth Prince, causing the scene of seizing the throne to split abruptly. The East Palace continues to decline, while the faction of the Sixth Prince continues to support and grow in strength.

Everyone knows that Lord Pingye started his career early on by following the Sixth Prince’s path.

Because he saved the Sixth Prince, and through the Sixth Prince’s support, Lord Pingye was able to be transferred from the commercial defender at Hutou City to the post of Green Willow Fortress Commander in Nanwang City, catching up with the Three Kingdoms War.

Afterwards, the Sixth Prince’s aid and support to Lord Pingye never ceased. In the early days at Green Willow Fortress, when Lord Pingye’s men went out to battle, everyone was armored, each with two horses. To put it bluntly, originally a local military head’s setup, but it was forcefully transformed into an equipment comparable to the North and South armies.

Lord Pingye’s prowess in battle is undisputed.

However, everyone also knows that no matter how skilled a shopkeeper is at business, without initial capital, he can only go to the docks to do hard labor to support his family.

Lord Pingye enters the capital,

the Fifth Prince holds the horse,

the Crown Prince leads the way,

and the Sixth Prince stands inside the palace gate,

opens his mouth and says:

Beast.

This is undoubtedly a political signal.

Of course,

Lord Pingye could also kneel directly before the Sixth Prince,

shouting:

"Your Highness’s servant Little Fan greets Your Highness."

However, doing so would be unbecoming. Lord Pingye, esteemed by Lord Jingnan, is implicitly recognized as the leading general of the new generation in Yan. Acting like this would essentially be losing face.

Yan is not Qian,

and even in Qian, when civil and military ranks face a Royal Family prince, they wouldn’t demean themselves like this.

But Lord Pingye responded directly with "loser",

to show that their relationship is really good, like "Inseparable"?

Or perhaps,

to convey that although he initially rose thanks to the support of the Sixth Prince, now he has the standing to be on equal footing with the Sixth Prince?

Beast,

Loser;

these two words,

in the next two days,

will become the most discussed words in the taverns and tea houses of Yanjing,

even the officials and nobles lying in bed at night can’t help but mull over these two words.

Moreover, the more they think about it, the more intriguing it becomes.

Of course,

from the perspective of the parties involved, there aren’t that many twists and turns.

The outsiders’ desperate reading comprehension exercises,

are really just the purest way these two greet each other.

Ji Chengjue stood inside the palace gate, envying the splendid Lord Zheng who was in full golden armor.

Looking at his self-satisfaction while maintaining an absolutely calm expression,

he couldn’t help but,

directly curse.

When Lord Zheng saw Ji Chengjue, he already had words he needed to say, since the other had made the first move, he naturally responded in kind.

Ah,

that felt good.

Ji Chengjue raised the imperial edict,

"Commander of the Snow Sea and General of Yan, Qian’s son-in-law, Lord Pingye, Zheng Fan, receive the edict."

Lord Zheng stepped forward two steps,

kneeling down.

Ji Chengjue looked at Lord Zheng kneeling before him, smiled, nodded, and said:

"Lord Pingye is allowed to receive the edict without kneeling."

"..." Zheng Fan.

Lord Zheng stood up, looked at this fellow before him, suddenly wanting to beat him up, to let him taste the prowess of a sixth-ranked master.

"By the will of Heaven, the Emperor decrees, that the beloved minister is allowed to ride within the palace, take note."

Riding within the palace is an honor, also a kind of privilege, unless the Emperor specifically issues another decree, otherwise, even next time when Lord Zheng enters the palace, he can ride.

Of course, generally people only ride this once, and afterwards still walk into the palace, as nobody dares to misuse their favor.

"My lord, thank you for your great grace."

Lord Zheng looked at Ji Chengjue.

Ji Chengjue sized up Lord Zheng and said:

"You’ve lost weight."

In fact,

they have only met twice.

Once, at the Earl of North Border’s residence;

once, at the roast duck shop where Zheng Fan followed Lord Jingnan to the capital.

But there are lots of letters exchanged between them, and their lives are often influenced by each other, so it doesn’t really feel like they’ve only met twice.

Ji Chengjue recalled the scene outside the Earl of North Border’s residence where this man in front kept persuading him to rebel.

Now,

he has amassed twenty thousand cavalry, although too far from Yanjing, no one dares to ignore him now.

Lord Zheng also looked at Ji Chengjue,

and said:

"You’ve gained weight."

The first time they met, Ji Laoliu was a frail inactive prince with a depleted body, the second time they met, he was personally making roast duck, very weak, now, as a father, obviously acting like the "Minister of Revenue", he has clearly fattened up, with a bit more flesh on his face.

"Whose fault is it that the father-in-law’s family sells pork? It’s hard not to gain weight."

"That is true."

"Let’s go, enter the palace."

Lord Zheng was about to lead his horse, but was stopped by Ji Chengjue, who said: "You and the princess ride your Pixiu, these horses are for the Clan chief, the Crown Prince, and myself."

Pixiu is a symbol of the Yan royal family.

Lord Zheng entering the palace, clothed in golden armor and armed with a barbarian knife is a ritual, then, riding the imperial gifted Pixiu into the palace is also one of the rituals.