"Ma Yin! You can shut my mouth, but you can't shut the mouths of all the people in the world! Do you think you can justify your actions by falsely claiming it's heaven's will? I, Liu Cun, cannot bear to see you betraying trust and abandoning righteousness! Today, I must seek justice for my brother!"

  Liu Cun charged forward with his sword in hand, and the guards inside the palace immediately gathered to block him!

  At this moment, the atmosphere in the hall was tense and nervous. Some guests were frightened, while others watched with interest.

  Ma Yin calmly raised his hand to stop the guards from surrounding and blocking, saying indifferently: "Third Brother, leaving behind the position of Governor, I have a clear conscience!"

  Liu Cun let out a string of cold laughter, then raised his sword and stabbed towards Ma Yin.

  Just as the sword was about to strike, Meng Zhi-Xiang suddenly stood up and blocked Liu's path, while Ma Yin remained calmly seated on his throne.

  "Brother, everything is fate, why not follow fate." Meng Zhi-xiang looked at Liu Cun with a tone of bitter persuasion.

  "Heaven's will? Heaven's will is just what he says with his mouth?" Liu Cun furiously said: "Get out of my way! Otherwise, I'll poke a hole in you first!"

  Meng Zhi Xiang sighed and then said loudly: "Relying on my royal power and strategic planning."

  Suddenly someone in the crowd let out an exclamation of surprise.

  Many people were excited, but Liu Cun was stunned on the spot: "You, are you sure?"

  Meng Zhi-xiang didn't answer Liu Cun, but instead turned to look at Ma Yin: "Now that things have come to this point, I'm afraid the only way to clear your name, Brother Ba, is to invite out Wang Quan's clever strategies!"

  ……

  "What's this thing about the king's power and calculations?" Yuer heard this and couldn't help but interrupt to ask, just as Tang Ji also returned with a basket of wild fruit.

  "That's an ancient artifact that has been passed down through generations of famous families, and legend has it that it will only be brought out in the grand hall when the crown prince ascends to the throne, as proof that the king's power is truly ordained by heaven!" Tang Liu's expression was profound and beyond your understanding.

  "Is this something rare?" Hua Rou couldn't help but click her tongue, unexpectedly Mu Junwu suddenly said to her: "Listen to his nonsense!"

  "Who blew it?" Tang Liu'er excitedly: "Who blew it! I've listened to this passage a dozen or twenty times, and I can recite it fluently. Don't believe me? Ask Brother Ji! Brother Ji, you heard it with me, didn't I tell the truth?"

  Tang Jian nodded in affirmation: "Mm-hmm." He complied and stuffed the wild fruit into Tang Liu's hands, distributing the rest to everyone else.

  "What's next?" Yuer hurriedly asked, finding it all so novel.

  Tang Liu took out a wild fruit and tapped it on his leg: "Let's continue from last time!"

  ……

  Meng Zhi-xiang took out a lacquer box, inside which was a round abacus filled with counting rods. Each rod looked exactly the same, shining golden.

  Many people had heard of it but never seen it, and now they couldn't help but get excited one by one, crowding around and staring at this divine artifact that could determine the fate of heaven with eyes shining brightly.

  However, Ma Xi Sheng's interest was still on the cricket box in his hand, and he was deaf to the commotion and everything that happened around him.

  And Ma Xifan beside him was staring at Meng Zhiyang's hands holding the abacus, watching as he presented it to his father, Ma Yin.

  "Brother Batu, this box contains a total of 50 divination slips, among which three are imperial mandate slips. If Brother Batu draws out any one of the imperial mandate slips, I believe no one will ever question your legitimacy again."

  Ma Yin's face looked somewhat unpleasant at this moment.

  Is this a rescue?

  Is this helpful?

  Out of fifty coins, only three are king coins. If you don't draw one, isn't that the same as saying you're not destined for greatness?

  At this moment, Ma Yin looked at Meng Zhi Xiang with a smile that was not quite a smile and an anger that was not quite anger, unable to express himself, while the guests around them had already started to jeer.

  "Brother Ba Tu, quickly, quickly, take a shot and show us!"

  "This is the magical power of the Heavenly Fate Calculation, I've heard it since I was young and today I can see it with my own eyes! I think, as long as Brother Ba Tu draws out the Royal Power Calculation, everyone present will be witnesses. Whoever dares to wag their tongue again, we'll tear their mouth apart!"

  The jeering voices came in waves, like a giant hand pushing him to the edge of despair.

  Liu Cun saw Ma Yin remaining silent and not responding, so he slammed the sword in his hand to the ground and shouted: "How come you're not responding? Are you afraid to draw your sword?"

  Ma Yin struggled to maintain a neutral expression, neither happy nor angry, but his eyes towards Meng Zhiyuan were filled with a layer of anger. Meanwhile, Meng Zhiyuan had a smile all over his face, looking sincere and genuine, but the sinister intent in his eyes was also palpable.

  Just as Ma Yin and Meng Zhi-Xiang were at a stalemate, the cheering in the hall began to get out of control. Suddenly, Ma Xi-Fan stood up and said: "Wait! What if there's no imperial edict in this box after all?"

  Ma Xi Fan's words left everyone stunned, and Ma Xi Sheng, who had been playing with his top, finally lifted his head, but he looked at everyone in a daze, seemingly unaware of what had happened.

  Meng Zhi-xiang glanced sideways at Ma Xi-fan, who looked skeptical, and said slowly: "My Meng family has been worshiping this thing for generations. It is only brought out when the imperial heir is selected. How could there be no royal seal inside?"

  Ma Yin still didn't speak, but Ma Xifan stepped forward from his seat, with a respectful and serious expression: "But Uncle Meng, there are words under this contract, which can't be seen from the outside. Can we just take your word for it?"

  "Hey!" Meng Zhi-xiang's face suddenly flushed with anger, he looked at Ma Yin discontentedly, but at this time Ma Yin was holding chopsticks and picking up meat to put in his mouth, slowly chewing, still not speaking.

  How can he say his own son is wrong?

  Others are framing him, setting traps for him. If he raises any doubts, it will become narrow-minded and small-hearted, even cowardly and guilty. In short, whatever he says can be used as evidence against him.

  But from his eight-year-old son's mouth came a question that was naive, innocent and unashamed!

  Besides, did he ask the wrong question?

  Who knows if there is really a royal seal in this box?

  Meng Zhi-xiang saw Ma Yin like this, nodded and said: "Good, since the virtuous nephew has doubts, then let you see if there is!"

  At this point, he ordered people to take out all the tally sticks in the box in public and found three royal tally sticks.

  And throughout the whole process, Ma Xi Fan stood quietly on one side, silently watching.

  His expression seemed to be curious, but his eyes were always fixed on the tally sticks, watching as the three branches were handed over to Meng Zhi-Xiang's hands, and he raised them up with a proud declaration: "The three royal tally sticks are here!"

  At this time, Ma Yin suddenly smiled: "Meng younger brother, I'm only eight years old this year, a child's family, doesn't understand things."

  Meng Zhi-xiang's face sank, and he let out a cold snort. He mixed the three royal scepter slips into the other slips, then grabbed all of them, shuffled them, and inserted them back into the tube. After that, he rotated the tube again, so the slips inside were completely jumbled up. Nobody could possibly tell where the three royal scepter slips were now.

  "Come on, Ba Tu!"

  At this moment, Meng Zhi-Xiang's face didn't even have a hint of hypocritical smile, and Ma Yin seemed to know that he couldn't avoid it anymore. He immediately stood up and went to draw lots.

  But at this moment, Ma Xifan, who was standing below, suddenly rushed forward and hugged Ma Yin's leg, shouting with a innocent and excited face: "Father King, let me go and draw lots, okay?"