y the emperor to the recipient, such as immunity from death;

4. The Emperor’s Oath. According to the relevant laws of the dynasty, the heroes, important officials, and their descendants who hold iron coupons can enjoy various privileges bestowed by the emperor.

The Vice Minister placed the iron voucher in a place of honor in the main hall, which brought glory to his ancestors.

Yunqi kicked Tuoba Feng, and he became conscious of the sense of derision in his smile, which he quickly put aside.

The Jinyiwei Commander and Deputy Commander left the house of the Vice Minister of Rites and returned to the palace on foot.

Over the last few days, all that Yunqi could think about was Lan Yu’s words. Lan Yu was no alarmist, he wouldn’t have said those things just to frighten them. From Jiang Huan and Lan Yu’s comments, one could deduce that the officials of the Imperial Court were in agreement, that?the Jinyiwei’s power and influence had already grown to the point that it was difficult to control.

The civil and military officials would want to ensure that Zhu Yunwen would be able to control the Jinyiwei after Zhu Yuanzhang’s death. As such, it was likely that they would submit a memorial for impeachment, and request for one person to be removed. Perhaps while removing that person, they may even carelessly slap a crime on him, and have him executed, in order to threaten and intimidate his successor.

Mao Xiang, who had once held great power, was the best example of this. When the Hu Weiyong case had gotten out of hand, almost a hundred civil officials had knelt outside the court. Zhu Yuanzhang had to execute Mao Xiang in order to appease the public wrath.

If the situation deteriorated to the worst-case scenario and Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to execute Tuoba Feng, how should he plead for clemency in order to save Tuoba Feng’s life?

In other words, if the one that was to be executed was himself, would Tuoba Feng..

“What are you looking at?” Tuoba Feng asked impassively, “You’ve stared at me all day.”

“....”

Yunqi frowned slightly and shook his head. Tuoba Feng carelessly supported himself against the palace walls, and pressed Yunqi against the side of the wall, asking, “Thinking about?Shi-ge?”

Yunqi casually stroked Tuoba Feng’s handsome and spirited face, and asked, “How much silver do you have?” He spun and pushed aside Tuoba Feng’s hands, walking towards the inner palace.

Tuoba Feng was bewildered by this question, replying, “Isn’t the money handled by you?”

Yunqi thought about it and realized it was indeed the case. He answered, “Together with the reward, I estimate that we have one hundred and twenty taels now.”

Yunqi walked towards the Jinyiwei courtyard, and said, “Take the hundred and twenty taels, and resign from your position.”

Tuoba Feng seemed to be invigorated by these words, he strode forward to catch up with Yunqi, turning to walk backward while facing Yunqi, he smiled and asked, “You intend to resign from your post?”

Yunqi said huffily, “It’s not that I intend to resign, it’s you resigning from your post. Go home and marry a wife.”

Tuoba Feng’s face was filled with confusion, as he asked, “What do you mean?”

Yunqi spoke as he walked, “ I fear.. that you’ll be in danger. You return home first, and after a few years, once the Imperial Grandson has ascended the throne, I’ll come back. In the future, we’ll buy two houses next to one another, and be neighbors..”

Tuoba Feng furrowed his brows slightly, and asked, “Return home? Return to whose home?”

Yunqi stopped walking and recalled that Tuoba Feng was an orphan. Even if he returned to the?Kherlen River, that area had already become a wasteland.

The two men entered the great courtyard. At this time, the young fellows were all gathered in a heap in a corner of the courtyard. It wasn’t clear what they were up to.

The autumn sun was warm and gentle, and the leaves of the Wutong tree littered the grounds. Dozens of Imperial Bodyguards dressed in brocade finery were assembled together kicking up a fuss, as they laughed and shouted, “Hey-yo, Hey-yo~”

That group of bodyguards kept crowding towards the corner of the wall, they were densely packed together; dozens of people shoving against one person in the corner of the great courtyard.

Life in the Imperial Palace was extremely boring, it was unknown when the tradition had started, but whenever the Imperial Bodyguards were bored to tears, with too much energy that they didn’t know where to expend, they would grab someone, and push him to the corner of the wall. Everyone would then rush up, call all their friends and buddies, and play this moronic, crowding game, called “Hey-yo.”

These young and hot-blooded guards would cry out “Hey-yo, Hey-yo” as they exerted their full strength to crowd and press onto that person, causing the bullied victim to be squeezed to the utmost before stopping.

Yunqi and Tuoba Feng had entered the palace as bodyguards since they were children. And naturally, he’d been “Hey-yo” -ed since he was a child. Other than Zhu Yuanzhang, whom no one dared to grab to “Hey-yo”, all the males in the palace including the Imperial Grandson, Zhu Yunwen had been crowded several times.

If one were to speak of the incident with the greatest fanfare, it must have been when over a hundred guards crowded the current dynasty’s?Grand Tutor?[27],?Huang Zicheng, and squeezed him so hard that he’d lost his hat, his shoes were askew, he’d become incontinent, and his clothes were in disorder – that unprecedented grand occasion.

[27]?tài fù?(太傅) Grand Tutor was one of the?three Ducal Ministers, i.e. the most senior of the Emperor’s closest advisors., the other two being the?Grand Preceptor?and Grand Protector.

From then on, whenever Huang Zicheng moved about in the Imperial Palace, upon catching sight of more than three Imperial Bodyguards hanging around, arms hooked companionably, he would be sure to give them a wide berth.

Yunqi just pretended that it was all invisible, and strolled with Tuoba Feng into the courtyard, no longer discussing the previous matter.

There have been many people bullied in this way, and so far there hasn’t been anyone petty enough to complain to Zhu Yuanzhang about it. It’s just unknown which pitiful creature was currently being crowded in the corner.

Yunqi entered his room, and the sounds of “Hey-yo, Hey-yo” from outside could be heard incessantly.

Yunqi moved a chair, sitting in the corridor as he basked in the sunshine. Tuoba Feng squatted next to him and asked, “What danger?”

Yunqi suddenly straightened out his thinking, and smiled, “No danger. Our lives are mutually dependent, you can’t die.”

Upon hearing these words Tuoba Feng seemed to be beside himself with joy, he cried out loudly, “Right!”? He lifted the lapel of his robes, and laughed as he plunged into the pile of bodyguards, shouting, “Hey-yo!”

Yunqi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, as he shook his head. He got up and returned to his room to count money.

“Hey-yo, Hey-yo~”

With Tuoba Feng’s addition, the crowd of Imperial Bodyguards was filled with renewed enthusiasm, only thinking about squishing the person in the corner to death.

After Yunqi finished counting the money, he say that the bodyguards were still?Hey-yo-ing. His fur immediately puffed up in anger?[28], as he growled, “Who are you?Hey-yo-ing? Aren’t you done yet? It’s already been half a?shichen!”

[28]?zhà máo?(炸毛) – This refers to the body language of an angry or aggressive cat, its fur standing on end. Angy kitty (=^-ω-^=)

Tuoba Feng had a self-satisfied and delighted appearance. He turned and waved towards Yunqi, before ruthlessly crowding in, yelling, “Hey-yo~”

“....”

Yunqi shouted angrily, “Commander Tuoba! Have them disperse! Any more?Hey-yo?and they might die!”

Tuoba Feng squeezed his own ears, and smiled as he shouted back, “Just play a little longer!”

Yunqi gnashed his teeth and went into his room. In a moment, he came out carrying the dazzlingly gold, gloriously shining treasure, a three?chi,?two?cun?long item. In mock seriousness, he yelled, “The?Shangfang Baojian?[29]?is here! All disperse now, the noise is driving me crazy! I want to take an afternoon nap alright!”

[29]?shàng fāng bǎo jiàn（尚方宝剑) lit. “Shangfang’s treasure sword” An ancient sword that was cast by Shangfang Jian for the use of the Emperor and the Imperial family. It represents the Emperor’s will and is a symbol of power and honor. If a minister holds this sword bestowed by the Emperor, it means that he has the Emperor’s favor, and can even directly kill officials and common people without a need for a tribunal.

That item was the?Shangfang Baojian?bestowed upon the Commander of the Jinyiwei. When Tuoba Feng caught sight of Yunqi, he hastily asked everyone to go out, including the salted fish, saying in a hurry, “Disaster, disaster – everyone disperse!”

The group of Imperial Bodyguards burst out laughing as they scattered. Yunqi held the?Shangfang Baojian, and stared uncertainly at the man who’d been crowded into the corner.

That man was about thirty-plus years old and was dressed in a red?taotie?brocade. He’d been squeezed to within an inch of his life. He hollered, “His mother! Who was the first to start crowding in? The young fellow of the Rong family wasn’t it! This Prince won’t let you off!”

Yunqi’s jaw dropped to the ground.

That man picked up his black boots and hopped as he put them on. With a woebegone look, he said, “My dear?Xiao-jiu-zi?[30], your?Jiefu?[30]?was almost crowded to death, but at least I finally got to see you.”

[30]?xiǎo jiù zi?(小舅子) Wife’s younger brother.

The word used for Brother-in-law is?jiě fu?(姐夫) Older sister’s husband. This is?Zhu Di.

Yunqi’s eyes rolled back as he fainted.