"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Our congratulations, Your Majesty!"

"Your Majesty has the eye that knows a pearl, and the marquis is valiant beyond compare. Heaven protects our Great Xuan."

"Congratulations, Your Majesty. After a battle like this, Nanyue will certainly never dare set foot on an inch of our Great Xuan's soil again."

At a moment like this, however badly a man felt about it, nobody dared spoil His Majesty's pleasure.

The officials of the peace party felt worse than if they had eaten shit.

Ning Chen had gutted them thoroughly before he left.

And now he had won a battle on top of it, and it sat worse with them than ever.

The Xuan Emperor was greatly pleased, and turned his head to the Fifth Prince, who stood to one side with his hands folded. He asked with a smile, "Has my son anything to say?"

The Fifth Prince bowed low, his bearing exactly right, and said in a clear voice, "Father, Marquis Ning has done our Great Xuan a service as remarkable as this one. When he comes back to the capital, your child means to go out of the city to meet him, and to carry the whip and lead his horse himself."

The Xuan Emperor's face was all smiles.

The thing he most hated in a prince was a jealous streak, because with that it was not only brothers and sisters who suffered — able ministers and good generals came to grief too.

That the Fifth Prince could speak so showed he understood the art of judging men, and that he was a generous-spirited man.

"Good! Ning Chen is a treasure of our Great Xuan... He is well worth my son leading his horse and carrying his whip."

"When Ning Chen comes back to the capital, this emperor means to reward him handsomely."

Having finished with Ning Chen's business, the Xuan Emperor looked at Shen Min. "Beloved Minister Shen. How do the arrangements stand for the summer retreat and the hunt?"

Shen Min stepped out of the ranks and bowed. "Reporting to Your Majesty, everything is arranged.…