Qin Dynasty: Who offended my frail and sickly minister?

Meng Jijiu turned his head slightly, his gaze falling on Yao Jia, and his tone rose a few notches:

"Since the Qin envoy suspects that our Jixia Academy is merely a name without substance, and that our academy is afraid of being seen and keeps its doors closed, then Jixia will deliberately open its doors wide and show itself openly to the world, so as to set the record straight!"

"I wonder if the envoy from Great Qin would be so kind as to accept the invitation and grant me a visit to the academy?"

As expected of the chief priest!

Zhou Wenqing inwardly praised this speech, which could be described as a textbook example of a graceful comeback.

He neither relentlessly pursued Yao Jia's morally reprehensible argument nor failed to skillfully gloss over Qi Chen's earlier lapse in composure, deftly deflecting the attack with minimal effort.

—You're questioning it? Then come and see for yourself!

If you can truly find flaws, then your words are well-founded; if you find nothing after reviewing everything, then you have spoken recklessly and overstepped your bounds, and are slapping yourself in the face.

Frank, fair, and watertight...

Zhou Wenqing's eyes lit up.

So, could this person be packaged up and sent to his own king?!

At the same time, the pent-up anger and frustration that had been building up inside the hall, caused by Yao Jia's precise attack on their sore spots, had largely dissipated.

In an instant, all eyes in the hall were focused on the host.

The gazes of the king and his ministers, including the King of Qi, lingered between Yao Jia and Fusu, their eyes filled with anticipation, silently repeating in their hearts: Agree! Agree quickly!

However, King Qi was hoping that this noisy court dispute would end quickly so he could go back and enjoy himself with his beauties. Who had the patience to listen to these long, pedantic arguments?

Qi Chen's expectations were much simpler: he just wanted to see the arrogant Qin envoy get a good slap in the face.

After all, in their deep-rooted perception, the barbarian Qin was ultimately a remote and desolate place in the west, which had always valued martial arts over literature and lacked education. They were good at fighting on the battlefield, but when it came to literary traditions and the elegance of scholars, they could hardly compare with the Great Qi!

Do they really think they can find fault with all the scholars and lecturers in my Qi state?

That's wishful thinking!

The pressure was put on the Qin envoy's side—

To go or not to go?

Fusu remained calm and nodded slightly to Yao Jia without much hesitation.

Yao Jia understood, a calm smile playing on his lips, and said loudly:

"Chancellor Meng is open-minded and magnanimous. Such a grand literary gathering is something our Great Qin has always valued, and how could we possibly refuse to attend?"

He paused briefly, then smoothly changed the subject, adding a touch of sharpness, and looked directly at Chancellor Meng:

"More than just attending the invitation to observe, such a grand event would be a disservice to the Chief Minister's good intentions if we did not participate. Our Qin delegation also wishes to ascend the platform to discuss and exchange ideas, but we wonder if this would be overshadowing the main event?"

He lowered his eyes slightly in a humble manner, then raised them in an instant, calmly scanning the tense Qi officials and civil servants in the hall. The last half of his sentence was uttered lightly, subtly provoking the situation:

"I only hope that if our humble opinions inadvertently overshadow the scholars of Jixia Academy, the Chancellor will be forgiving and not take offense."

Upon hearing this, Meng Jijiu's white eyebrows furrowed almost imperceptibly, and his usually composed expression relaxed for a moment, as if he was slightly unaccustomed to the arrogant tone of the young man in front of him.

Although he knew the other party had acted intentionally, such an overbearing and unassuming manner would have been met with a good beating from his own disciple if he were in that situation, to temper his impetuousness and arrogance.

However, this slight pause was fleeting. Meng Jijiu quickly relaxed his brow, gently flicked his plain sleeves at his sides, his back remained ramrod straight, and his tone was calm and composed, without a trace of anger:

"The Qin envoy is overthinking it."

"At Jixia Academy, there are no restrictions on speech. Regardless of nationality or social status, all scholars are welcome to take the stage to express their opinions, speak frankly, and debate the meaning of the classics. We never punish people for their differing views, nor do we punish them for their words."

"The Qin envoy may rest assured to ascend the platform and debate freely, discussing what he has learned. The students of Jixia Academy will naturally use literature to discuss the Way and reason to contend. The Way of literature becomes clearer through debate. We have never been afraid of learning from each other, let alone competing with scholars from foreign lands."

He paused slightly, his gaze settling calmly on Yao Jia's face:

"I only wish that Vice Envoy Qin's trip will be successful. If he sees that our academy has a solid literary tradition, a flourishing academic atmosphere, and virtuous scholars, and is not just a place with an empty reputation as the Vice Envoy claims, then I ask that the Vice Envoy retract all his previous frivolous remarks that belittled Jixia and slandered culture, and solemnly vindicate our Great Qi's thousand-year-old academy and hundred-year-old literary tradition."

Seeing that the other party hadn't fallen for the trap, Yao Jia's playful edge softened slightly, and he solemnly promised:

"That is the case. Please rest assured, Master. If this proves that Yao was indeed narrow-minded and wrongly slandered the academy, I will certainly apologize publicly, clarify the rumors, and restore justice to the Jixia Academy."