Emperor Xuan tapped the armrest. "I have heard a lot about you, Yang Xian."

"It's an honor for someone so powerful as you to remember a lowly person like me, Your Majesty." Yang Xian cupped his hands and bowed politely. His expression was completely proper as if he was truly thankful for the Emperor.

However, who didn't know that everyone here put on a mask on their faces? What they show, what they talked, and what they were thinking, could be completely different. It was hard to guess what the other person really wanted from them.

Emperor Xuan laughed.

"Well, well, let's start with the main reason for us to call you here."

He waved his hand and Prime Minister Wei walked forward. He was holding a scroll in his hand that he opened and read.

"Strategist Liu is a just and upright man. Despite his young age and limitation, he managed to minimalize the damage from Tribe Bo infiltration and saved Lady Gao whilst annihilating the entire tribe members with only several people from Gao City. For his bravery and accomplishment, he'll be awarded with 100 liang of silver and have his nobility rank risen by one."

Wei Liuying was trying her best to keep calm, but she was thoroughly astonished. Even a liang of silver was already a lot for her since she only needed a few coppers to feed herself. A liang of silver might even sustain her for more than a week. With 100 liang of silver, Wei Liuying was sure that she would be extremely rich. Even if she didn't work for the next several years, she would be able to sustain herself.

However, in the eyes of many nobles, that money was anything but much. It was only because Wei Liuying was nothing more than a little brat and also because she was a commoner that it would already seem a lot.

As for the nobility rank rise, it just meant Wei Liuying was no longer a commoner, but a noble. She was not totally sure about the nobility ranking nor she cared for them. However, since she was just given a title without land, it could be said that she was only a fake noble.

Nobles that only have honorary title.

"Liu Ying, please accept the edict."

"Thank you for your benevolence, Your Majesty."

Wei Liuying stepped forward and kneeled in one knee to accept the edict. In her entire life, she would never expect that there would be a day when she would be accepting an edict by herself.

After all, a concubine daughter with no relations whatsoever to the Imperial Family would be very unlikely to receive an Imperial Edict. But right now, she was Liu Ying and not Wei Liuying. The course of life had turned to a completely different route thanks to many factors.

As Wei Liuying walked back to Yang Xian, Emperor Xuan was paying close attention to Wei Liuying's small stature. If one didn't know better, they would never think that this skinny young brat was the famous Strategist Liu who had a sharp mind and capable of leading soldiers to achieve victory.

It looked a bit surreal.

Emperor Xuan smiled. "Based on your small stature, I believe you're still very young, Liu Ying. This makes me curious. How did you manage to grow up to be so capable?"

Wei Liuying cupped her hands according to the custom. She raised her head. "Replying to Your Majesty, this one is nothing but a b*stard child who can only rely on oneself to survive. It's only by listening in and sneaking to library this one managed to learn so much."

This was the story that Yang Xian and Wei Liuying agreed upon. Concubine daughter was not exactly a legal or main daughter, so it was not weird to say that she was even worse compared to a b*stard son. And there were many illegitimate sons who were not treated well, which would make the story believable.

If it was just a small not too influential family, there were a lot of illegitimate children who didn't fare well and not known to the mass. After all, those officials would usually hide the fact that they had illegitimate children because it wouldn't look good on them.

No one would admit openly about this matter unless they wished to be subjected to punishment.

They were also not completely lying about how she managed to learn so much as Wei Liuying did sneak to the bookstore a lot in order to learn.

Emperor Xuan smiled. This was the first time he met someone who was so upfront with his background. "In that case, how old are you, Liu Ying?"

"Replying to Your Majesty, Liu Ying is 14 years old."

For their ages, it would be better for them to not lie. Wei Liuying's small stature itself already made it hard for them to make her look older. If one didn't know better, they would not even think of Wei Liuying as 14 years old but maybe 11 or 12 years old. Even if Yang Xian wanted her to pose as someone older, her appearance was simply unconvincing.

In the end, they both decided to use her real age. For boys, it was still a young age and there were dozens of people of the same age with her.

"14 years old," Emperor Xuan repeated and looked at Yang Xian. "You're really lucky to be able to meet such a promising young lad, Yang Xian. Even though you're still a brat yourself."

From the harsh tone, Wei Liuying could guess that Emperor Xuan didn't like Yang Xian. As for the reason why, she could guess that it must be related to Prince Ji Sheng. The fact that the Emperor didn't look favorably upon Prince Ji Sheng was an open secret in the capital city.

Since Yang Xian had followed Prince Ji Sheng for a long time, it was clear that there was no possibility of Yang Xian ever betray Prince Ji Sheng unless they have a huge fallout. Besides, the Emperor had been neglecting his son to the frontline for a long time, so he didn't know how close they were.

But based on their performance, it didn't seem like getting Yang Xian was an achievable dream.

Yang Xian cupped his hand and showed a faint smirk on the corner of his lips. "Since his father didn't even care for him and his mother neglected him for her other children, there shouldn't be anything wrong if I took him in."

Emperor Xuan looked at Yang Xian coldly. He never liked the commoners and so on, but when they were showing enormous potential like this, he couldn't just ignore them. Usually, commoners could only distinguish themselves either through military or through the Imperial Examination.

But both Liu Ying and Yang Xian were made known through different ways.

"You're in front of His Majesty, restrain your language," an official rebuked when he saw Yang Xian's expression.

"This lowly one doesn't dare." Yang Xian cupped his hands, but there was still a distinctive aura of arrogance around him. For someone who was accomplished, it was not weird for him to be proud of himself. But this kind of appearance would only make more enemies for himself.

'He's really well versed in his act.'

Wei Liuying still kept polite demeanor, but Yang Xian was a bit more unbridled. Even though that annoying strategist didn't break any rules, just seeing his face was already more than enough to make one wished to punch him on the face.

Of course, Wei Liuying was not an exception.

"I don't mind," the Emperor laughed and looked at the two youngsters in front of him. "They're only commoners children."

"His Majesty is wise!"

"The Emperor is kind."

Yang Xian and Wei Liuying also cupped their hands and gave thanks to the Emperor. However, they knew very well that the Emperor's words were nothing more than scolding them for their low background that led to their bad attitude.

But even if they understood, they had no intention to correct him.

It was their intention.

The Emperor was still looking at them with interest. He truly wanted to find out more regarding both Wei Liuying and Yang Xian, but not now.

It would be unbecoming of him if he tried to get involved personally with them. He would ask for his subordinates to find out more about Liu Ying such as finding out how Yang Xian managed to meet him in the first place or something like that. Of course, he also needed to consider the fact that Liu Ying might not be his real name.

'This is why I hate those around Ji Sheng. That brat is very unpredictable like that person.'

The Emperor sighed a bit. For a moment, his eyes were looking a distance as he recalled the bitter memory of the past.

"Excuse me, Your Majesty. The fact that Tribe Bo managed to breach in, I think that it's an important thing to be addressed properly."