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Really... How could I even be noticed?

It turned out that the King of White Bones had no problem observing human emotions, guessing almost every time with remarkable accuracy...

That’s what Wei Gongxing was thinking at that moment!

While everyone else was hoping to be valued by a major player, he truly did not want to...

Compared to the other members of the Wei Family, he trusted the words of Patriarch Weichi more, believing that allowing these Ghost Spirits to parasitize was akin to seeking the skin of a tiger and that in the end, nothing good would come of it.

He might have felt some regret for not being able to go to Jiangnan in the past, but in this year, he wholeheartedly supported the decisions made by the Weichi Patriarch.

But there was no choice this time, he had been chosen by the Family Head, and he didn’t understand why—his bloodline wasn’t pure, and he wasn’t as reliable as his cousin Wei Gongcheng. How did the Family Head choose him to be involved in such a crucial matter?

Just thinking about what the Family Head had said filled him with fear.

Someone had laid a grand scheme, trapping the Emperor in Yundu.

It was planned during the reassignment of the Ghost Army to take control of the Mother and Child Ghost Temples.

In a situation where gods battled, he, a mere mortal, truly didn’t want to get involved.

Wouldn’t it be much better to stay home and leisurely fish and lead horses?

However, there was no way out. The Family Head didn’t plan to let him continue his leisurely life; as soon as he spoke, he revealed the enormity of the task. The consequences were clear: you either agree, or... you die...

Wei Gongxing, who accepted the task with tears, didn’t plan to exert too much effort anyway.

He knew for sure that the Family Head wouldn’t have asked only him to come.

How could such a big task rely on him alone?

He was just one of many backups, meant to participate symbolically and then, as usual, skate by doing as little as possible.

But this time... he felt like he might not be able to skate by...

"It seems you really don’t wish to be favored by this old man?" The elder asked Wei Gongxing with a smile.

Wei Gongxing dared not agree with the statement.

He quickly knelt and kowtowed: "Please forgive me, senior. I certainly did not mean that. It’s just that I feel.

.. with my dull wits and mediocre talents, I am hardly capable of being a proper host for senior, hence I have never harbored such presumptuous hopes! "

Hmph... At least he knows himself...

The aristocratic scions looking on suddenly sneered.

They thought someone with hidden talents had been favored by such an important figure, only to find out he was an unambitious salted fish.

With such low aspirations, why bother coming at all?

Wouldn’t it be better to stay home and clean up horse dung?

If Wei Gongxing could hear their thoughts at this moment, he would surely produce a bitter smile without reason. He indeed would much rather go back to cleaning horse dung...

"It’s true that you have no delusions, but a sigh of relief is also true..." The elder chuckled: "You are an interesting boy, look at this old man."

Wei Gongxing felt a chill in his heart and could only carefully raise his head to look at the other party.

"This old man asks you, everyone who comes here, even if they don’t think they’ll be extremely lucky, still holds some hope in their heart. Why do you have no such hope? This old man wants the truth. If the old man hears even half a lie, your fate will certainly be worse than you can imagine!"

Wei Gongxing: "....."

So, it turns out my mother was right, a person should wear red underwear in their birth year... Damn... what kind of misfortune have I managed to encounter!

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"Why did you speak the most to that Wei boy alone?"

In the Weichi Residence, Mu Hongqing frowned and posed this question to the Patriarch of the Weichi Clan.

"Because that boy is clever enough!" Old Weichi laughed: "For a generation, the Wei Family could be said to have smoke billowing from their ancestral graves, several uncut jades hidden within. It’s only a pity that a few shortsighted women buried them, nothing more.

Wei Gongcheng is brave and cunning, cool and composed in his work, capable of significant responsibility, the best of lieutenants.

Wei Gongzhan is adept at seizing opportunities, like a sharp dagger, the best pioneer seedling.

But I heard he chose to be a farmer in Jiangnan, seems like someone without the heart to do great things. "

"What about this Wei Gongxing?"

"He is a military genius!"

"Military genius?" Mu Hongqing looked at the other party with surprise. This term was not one to be used lightly. There were only a few people in the world who could be worthy of this title!

In his eyes, his own detestable father was one, Siao Mingyue was one, Chen Qing was one, and the rest would be the Emperor from the Siao Family. Others, including Duke Liu Yu of the Song state, he did not consider to be military geniuses!

"Incredible, right?" Old Patriarch Weichi laughed, "At first, I almost misjudged him too. This young man is best at hiding his talents, and without any desire for fame and fortune, he would rather muck out stables at the bottom than get involved in troublesome affairs. If it weren’t for the Northern battle where I was driven to extremity, that boy would never have shown himself. "

"The Northern battle?" Mu Hongqing immediately became interested. At that time, the battle in the North was the largest one fought since the Siao Family established their dynasty, aiming to fully subjugate the Northern Territory and drive the barbarians out of the Central Plains!

What the previous dynasty had failed to accomplish was achieved by this generation’s Emperor, and the nation celebrated. Many believed this Emperor of the Siao Family to be the most martially accomplished in a thousand years.

But... many did not know that the battle was actually far from easy.

There were several moments of crisis at the front, and most of the Emperor’s troops were tied down guarding against the strength of Duke Lumings of Qin.

At that time, the chances of victory led by Duke Wei of the Wei Kingdom and others of the Northern Territory were not high.

That was the battle where Weichi Peng made his name, single-handedly defeating three great masters from the Northern Wasteland.

But... those who understood military affairs knew that the victory in that battle was due to Patriarch Weichi’s struggle for survival at the edge of defeat in the northwest, and his campaign that turned the tables.

It was after he shattered the Northwestern defense and burned the enemy’s granaries that the tide of the war turned.

At that time, many were surprised, as Patriarch Weichi’s military capacity had always been of a steady style. Pushed into a corner by the Third Prince of the Wolf Country and isolated, he managed to fight such a stunning turnabout battle that it left many jaws dropping.

Some believed it was luck, others thought that Patriarch Weichi had been hiding his talents. Now it seems that everyone was wrong.

It appears that the victory in that battle might actually have been thanks to a young man?

"At that moment when we were cornered, I was prepared for the worst, to serve the court faithfully and hold back the Northwestern forces for as long as possible. But unexpectedly, that young fellow broke into my tent in the middle of the night..."

Patriarch Weichi recalled the scene and suddenly laughed. At that time, he had been clutching at straws, bizarrely taking the young man’s word for it. But looking back now, if it hadn’t been for that occasion, the Weichi Clan, who had mobilized en masse, would probably have perished in that battle.

But after that, the young man showed no intention of claiming credit for himself. He did not want to be noticed, openly or in secret, and I respected his wish. After all, having such a military genius in the Weichi Clan, which controls the Imperial Army, is not necessarily a good thing.

Ever since the tale of the yellow robe being donned emerged, all those in charge of the Imperial Guards were highly competent, yet their military prowess was generally mediocre. Any famed general with exceptional military ability would never be allowed near the reins of the Imperial Army.

"Had this been a time of peace, I would’ve preferred to keep him under wraps," sighed Patriarch Weichi. "I would’ve waited until my son grew a bit more, then handed over to him the position of an advisory strategist behind the scenes. But now, it seems we need to make use of him."

"Are you not rating him too highly?" Mu Hongqing smiled as he spoke.

"Not high at all..." replied Patriarch Weichi earnestly. "Our situation back then was precarious. With over forty skirmishes, losing just one battle would’ve doomed us, but with his help, we didn’t lose a single one. His calculative skills are second to none, even compared to Siao Mingyue. I don’t know why he doesn’t want to climb higher, but if this young man gets the chance to soar, he will be a double-edged sword.

Honestly, if you hadn’t arrived so suddenly and spoken of such dire urgency, I really wouldn’t want to let him out. "

"Oh?" Mu Hongqing burst out laughing. "There’s such a person? Then I really must keep my eyes wide open and take a good look this time."

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"My lord, I beg for forgiveness..."

Wei Gongxing’s face was pressed against the ground, while those around him watched as if it were a spectacle, their eyes filled with schadenfreude, showcasing the petty side of human nature in full display.

But he had no time to look around, knowing that the person before him was not one to be fooled easily, and he was certain that this person must be one of those Patriarch Weichi mentioned, plotting to rebel against Your Majesty!!