Young Master System: My Mother Is the Matriarch

Chapter 206 205: Consensus

Footsteps could be heard in the corridor.

It was not the idle shifting of attendants, the young master could sense about three to four individuals moving closer with measured strides.

~step… step… step~

Li Wei moved at once, using his right hand to lift the chalice and slip it back into his robe. The emperor noticed but did not object, "Guards?" Hui Tong asked quietly.

"No," Li Wei replied. "These were not the group assigned to you." The emperor extinguished the incense with his fingers, pressing the ember flat.

~press~

Smoke ceased at once.

He crossed a decorative screen near the wall and shifted it slightly, revealing a narrow recess behind it. "There is a passage here," he said. "An old construction placed by my grandfather, It should lead to the western archives."

Li Wei shook his head. "If you flee now, it will only confirm their suspicion. They may be testing your vigilance."

The footsteps stopped outside the door and a brief pause ensued.

A polite knock followed afterwards

~knock~

"Your Majesty," came a voice just beyond the partition. Calm and controlled, "We seek a brief audience regarding the annual meeting at dawn."

Hui Tong's gaze darkened.

He looked to Li Wei.

The young master spoke in a low tone, "You must appear unaware…. Let them enter. If the need arises, I shall deal with them." Emperor Hui Tong studied him for half a breath before nodding once.

Li Wei stepped backward and summoned the veil again.

The fabric formed around his shoulders, cool and weightless. His figure blurred before vanishing entirely as the knock came again.

~knock~

Hui Tong moved toward the door without haste.

He wiped the last trace of blood from his palm onto the cloth, before tucking it into his sleeve. Hui Tong straightened his posture as he reached for the latch.

~click~

The door opened fully this time.

Three men stood beyond the threshold, robed in dark silk trimmed with the insignia of parliament.

Behind them, two palace guards lingered.

However, their eyes were fixed on the floor rather than the emperor.

"Forgive us for the intrusion," said the one in front, inclining his head just enough to satisfy etiquette. A piercing gaze flicked briefly over the emperor's shoulder, scanning the chamber.

Li Wei stood two paces to the side, breath steady.

The councilor stepped inside without waiting to be invited, while his shoes brushed the floorboards softly.

~brush~

The other two followed in unceremoniously.

"We wished to confirm your position regarding tomorrow's decree," the lead councilor said. He walked toward the table, fingertips grazing the scroll that Li Wei had unrolled earlier. "There are… concerns that you may not endorse it."

Hui Tong closed the door behind them.

~thunk~

"Your worries are largely unfounded" the emperor replied, "I only have the wellbeing of the nation in mind.."

The councilor's lips curved faintly. "We are pleased to hear those words."

Li Wei shifted one step to the left as the second man moved toward the window, inspecting the lattice.

The third remained near the door, blocking it casually.

They were clearly testing him.

The lead councilor reached the table and noticed the blade resting there, while his gaze dropped to the faint smear of red not fully absorbed by the cloth.

His eyes lifted slowly, "Have we interrupted something?" he asked.

Hui Tong walked back to the table and picked up the blade, examining its edge as though unaware of the implication. "Merely old hands and careless cuts," he said. "Age does not mandate precision."

The councilor held his gaze for a long moment.

Li Wei could feel the veil pressing at the edge of his thoughts again, a faint haze attempting to creep inward.

He clenched his jaw and steadied himself.

The second councilor turned from the window. "Your Majesty," he said, "we insist that the decree be signed tonight. Delays may cause unnecessary turmoil among the lower echelons"

Hui Tong set the blade down with care.

~tap~

"Is there any other reason for this abrupt request."

The air shifted abruptly.

The man by the door moved first with a flick of his sleeve , causing a thin dart to shot toward the emperor's chest.

~whip~

Li Wei reacted without thought.

He stepped forward and seized the dart mid-flight, as the fabric of the veil distorted briefly due to his hand materializing just long enough to intercept it.

~snatch~

The metal tip grazed his palm before stopping completely

The councilor's eyes widened in disbelief, while Li Wei let the dart fall to the floor.

~clink~

The veil slipped from his shoulders and dissolved as he fully revealed himself between the emperor and the attackers.

"So," Li Wei said calmly, "this is how members of parliament conduct themselves."

The man near the window lunged immediatly, drawing a concealed blade from within his sleeve.

He slashed toward Li Wei's midsection.

Young Master Wei pivoted on his heel, allowing the blade to pass within a hair's breadth of his robe. He seized the attacker's wrist and dislocated it fluently.

A crack sounded through the chamber.

~crack~

The blade fell to the ground.

One of the men by the door aimed with his palm at Li Wei's chest, internal force surging behind the strike. The floorboards trembled beneath the impact, while Li Wei stepped into the attack rather than away from it.

He drove his elbow downward into the man's forearm, disrupting the flow of force before it could gather.

The strike landed squarely against the attacker's sternum.

~thud~

Hot air left the man's lungs as he stumbled backward into the table, scattering scrolls across the floor.

~scatter~

The lead councilor retreated toward the door, hand slipping inside his robe once more.

"Guards!" he called out.

The two palace guards hesitated.

Hui Tong's voice cut across the room. "Seize them."

Steel rang out as the palace guards turned their blades toward the councilor.

~ring~

Li Wei closed the distance in two steps and drove his palm into the councilor's shoulder, forcing him against the door.

~slam~

The man's concealed weapon, a narrow spike clattered to the floor.

Within moments, all three assailants were subdued, pinned against the wood or pressed to their knees.

The chamber fell still save for heavy breathing.

Hui Tong looked at the men before him, then at Li Wei.

"So," the emperor said quietly, "the rot runs deeper than I feared." Li Wei released his grip and stepped back, eyes scanning each face carefully,"This was not an act born out of desperation," he said. "It was planned and executed carefully, they expected success."

Hui Tong walked forward and regarded the fallen dart at his feet.

He nudged it with the tip of his shoe. "Poisoned," he observed.

"Yes," Li Wei replied. "Enough to end your life before dawn."

The emperor's gaze hardened.

He turned to the palace guards, "Secure them in the lower cells…. No word leaves this wing."

The guards bowed and hauled the struggling men upright.

~drag~

As the door closed once more, Hui Tong exhaled slowly.

"My entire council may be hungry for providence," he murmured. "It appears they have every intention of seizing power…"

Li Wei looked toward the scattered scrolls on the floor, then to the blood-stained cloth still tucked within the emperor's sleeve.

"Exactly," he said. "Which means hesitating at this juncture could prove fatal."