Chapter 887: Pillow Talk

Rows of oil lamps burned brightly inside the ancestral temple.

The spirit tablets of the Shang clan's ancestors stood upon the altar, lending the hall a faintly eerie air despite all the light.

Firelight flickered over their shadows.

Emperor Shang Jianxiong of Yan stood before the ancestral tablets, gazing at them with a solemn imperial bearing. His expression was complicated.

Inwardly, he was reporting the news to his forefathers.

When word of the Yan-Zhao war arrived, he had been surprised.

He too had never imagined Zhao would collapse so quickly.

There had still been several million troops in the field, yet a single battle had already seized Zhao by the throat.

Zhao's destruction was imminent.

Yan had actually driven Zhao into a desperate corner and brought it to the verge of annihilation!

One or two years ago, Shang Jianxiong would never even have dared imagine such a situation.

Back then, it had been Yan's own precarious condition that left him unable to eat or sleep in peace.

True, he had little to do with directing the war that was destroying Zhao.

But he was still Emperor of Yan.

Under his reign, Yan had once again achieved an extraordinary feat.

That was what he had come to tell his ancestors today.

In the end, it could be summed up in a single sentence:

Yan had destroyed Zhao in his hands!

Tian Yu, Chief Steward of the Inner Palace, entered the hall.

He walked quietly to Shang Jianxiong's side and said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, it is late. You should rest."

Still staring at the ancestral tablets, Shang Jianxiong answered with something entirely unrelated.

"Tian Yu, the achievement of expanding the realm—what Taishu Xiong has always wanted to accomplish but never managed—I have accomplished!"

From the meaning of those words, he seemed to be saying that he was even greater than Taishu Xiong.

Even as the Emperor's personal servant, Tian Yu could not keep the corner of his mouth from twitching.

His Majesty truly dared to say it.

A thought could not help crossing his mind.

Does Zhao's destruction have even half a copper coin's worth to do with you?

Tian Yu would even dare guarantee that if Shang Jianxiong had been given any chance to suppress Shang Chaozong's rise, he would rather have abandoned the glory of destroying Zhao than refrain from dragging Shang Chaozong down.

Still, Tian Yu also understood deeply that after so many hard years, His Majesty desperately needed some affirmation of himself.

And the situation had changed quickly.

The aftershocks of Niu Youdao forcing Tong Mo to his death had not yet faded.

The swelling power of the Shang faction had been pressing so hard on this side that it could barely breathe.

The Emperor had been furious yet unable to speak, suffocating under humiliation.

Then suddenly, the situation changed completely.

Shang Chaozong had actually rallied the army and publicly torn away all pretense with Yan's three great sects.

When the news reached the capital, this side had been overjoyed.

Anyone with eyes could see it.

After something like this, how could the three great sects possibly allow Shang Chaozong to continue acting arrogantly?

What would happen after the war was easy enough to imagine.

This side had done absolutely nothing.

Yet in an instant, the political situation had reversed.

No one had expected it.

...

The Taishu Xiong Shang Jianxiong had just mentioned was at that very moment standing atop a pavilion beneath the starry night sky, flourishing a sword with exuberant intent.

News of the Yan-Zhao war had reached him.

Zhao was about to fall just like that?

For some inexplicable reason, the development filled him with excitement.

Reality had proven that the long stalemate among the states was not impossible to change.

The realization instantly ignited the hot blood in his chest.

He yearned for change.

He looked forward to it.

So he practiced his sword for pleasure, letting his heroic spirit run free.

"Your Majesty, the Sect Leader has arrived."

Tao Lue, Chief Steward of the Inner Palace, suddenly came to report, not caring that he was interrupting the Emperor's enjoyment.

Hearing that Qiyun Sect Leader Taishu Feihua had personally arrived, Taishu Xiong immediately put aside his mood.

He did not dare delay and was just about to go down to receive him.

Before he could descend, a figure flashed over and landed atop the pavilion.

It was Taishu Feihua.

Taishu Xiong immediately clasped his hands around the sword and bowed.

"Eldest Uncle!"

Tao Lue bent at the waist as well.

Taishu Feihua gave a sound of acknowledgement.

His gaze flicked toward the sword in Taishu Xiong's hand.

"Practicing?"

"A-Xiong, no one can become accomplished in every single thing."

"You need only focus on the affairs of the State of Jin. Naturally, there are others to handle everything else."

Taishu Xiong smiled bitterly to himself.

He knew his elder uncle had misunderstood, but he still obediently answered yes.

After tossing the sword to Tao Lue, he asked, "Eldest Uncle, for you to come at this hour, is there some urgent matter?"

"Nothing especially urgent."

Taishu Feihua asked, "I hear Zhao's three great sects have concentrated nearly all their strength to resist the enemy. The Zhao capital's imperial palace is now thinly defended?"

Taishu Xiong wondered inwardly why he was asking.

Aloud, he followed the question.

"According to Blackwater Terrace's intelligence, that should be the case."

"Though to say the palace is completely empty would be an exaggeration. There should still be some cultivators guarding it."

"Eldest Uncle, since you're personally asking about this, do you have some plan concerning Zhao's imperial palace?"

Taishu Feihua neither confirmed nor denied it.

"A-Xiong, you know that the sect has been financially strained in order to help you prepare for war."

Taishu Xiong hurriedly replied, "It is my incompetence."

"Enough of that empty nonsense."

Taishu Feihua said, "Your uncles' meaning is that Zhao's imperial palace presents a rare opportunity right now."

"Forget everything else. If we can seize Zhao's state-protecting divine artifact alone, it can be sold for an excellent price."

Taishu Xiong stared at him in surprise and uncertainty.

"Eldest Uncle intends to rob Zhao's imperial palace?"

"If we're going to act, we should act early."

Taishu Feihua said, "If we wait too long, someone else may get there first."

"You don't need to concern yourself with the operation. The sect will handle it."

"What you do need to do is make Blackwater Terrace's network in the Zhao capital investigate the situation beforehand."

"After all, very few people from the sect have ever entered Zhao's imperial palace."

Taishu Xiong hesitated.

"Eldest Uncle, even Blackwater Terrace may not be able to investigate the interior of Zhao's imperial palace completely."

"Take this palace, for example. Even I would not dare say I know every situation inside it like the back of my hand."

"Moreover, precisely because Zhao's three great sects have transferred away so much strength, security inside the imperial palace will only have become more cautious."

"They may hide important people and objects. I'm afraid we may not necessarily be able to seize anything."

Taishu Feihua said, "You only need Blackwater Terrace to lock down Hai Wuji's location."

"So long as we can find Hai Wuji, there is no reason Jin cannot do what Song's three great sects managed to do."

...

Beneath the upturned eaves of another palace, Hao Yuntu stood with his hands behind his back, gazing up at the stars and occasionally sighing.

The Empress approached carrying an outer robe.

She personally draped it over his shoulders and tentatively asked, "What has Your Majesty so full of emotion tonight?"

Hao Yuntu sighed.

"Zhao is probably finished."

The Empress did not understand.

"After Xiaoyue Pavilion raised its forces, wasn't Zhao's destruction already expected?"

Hao Yuntu shook his head.

"You don't understand."

"Since Qin was destroyed, the seven states have remained locked in stalemate for a full three hundred years."

"Once Zhao falls, that three-hundred-year-old situation will have been pried open."

"That means the whole arrangement of great interests has begun to shift."

"It is not a good sign."

The Empress asked tentatively, "In other words, Your Majesty does not want Zhao destroyed?"

Hao Yuntu raised one hand and lightly brushed the back of his fingers across her cheek.

"The land of Zhao is like a beauty."

"If I can't have her myself, I don't want to stand by and watch someone else take her either."

"If anyone is going to sleep with her, naturally it would be best if I were the one."

"What kind of comparison is that?"

The Empress gave him a faintly reproachful look.

Of course, she understood his meaning.

If Qi could not have Zhao, then naturally Qi did not want anyone else to have it either.

Still, she enjoyed his manner toward her.

She caught his hand, seemingly wanting to share his burden.

"If Your Majesty does not want Zhao destroyed, is there truly no way to help it?"

Hao Yuntu replied, "Yan has gained a favorable environment for attack and has no worries behind it."

"No one can persuade Yan to stop. It cannot bear to give up that fat piece of Zhao."

"After all, Xiaoyue Pavilion is blocking Qi and Wei to the west."

"And who knows what medicine Xiaoyue Pavilion swallowed wrong? Faced with threats from both Qi and Wei, it simply does not care. It has set its heart on bringing Zhao down."

"Most importantly... no one expected Zhao to collapse this fast."

"Now, even if someone wants to help Zhao, there is nothing they can do."

"Zhao's army cannot hold out until reinforcements arrive."

"Unless Misty Pavilion intervenes, but that is almost impossible."

"Another possibility would be for the other states to join forces and urgently send a concentrated group of their top cultivators. Perhaps that might leave Zhao a thread of hope."

"But Han and Song are already overwhelmed with their own troubles. They will not act."

"Qi and Wei would like to help, but the states are already in such chaos that Jin is probably like a wolf that has smelled blood."

"It may be eager for Qi and Wei to become entangled, giving Jin the chance to pounce from behind and tear into us."

"Besides, any assistance from Qi and Wei would first require Zhao itself to retain the ability to resist."

"Does Zhao still possess that ability now?"

"The road is too long."

"Even if Qi sends an army, distant water cannot put out a nearby fire."

"Sending only some experts from Qi and Wei will not be enough to change the entire course of the war."

...

At Tianwei Residence, beneath flowers and moonlight, Xuan Wei and Ximen Qingkong strolled side by side.

Looking at the hazy radiance of moonlight across the side of her face, Ximen Qingkong badly wanted to put an arm around her.

He wanted to possess her.

But Xuan Wei's mind was occupied with worry over the consequences if Zhao fell.

The two continued observing the line between them and did not dare overstep it.

Inside the imperial palace, however, someone else was enjoying himself without the slightest restraint.

Behind gauze curtains, after clouds had dispersed and rain had stilled, Noble Consort Chang and Wei's sovereign Xuan Chengtian lay close together, whispering intimately at one another's temples.

The pillow talk continued for quite some time.

At last Xuan Chengtian sighed.

"See? Recently, Imperial Sister has handed several matters over quite readily."

"She truly isn't the kind of person you imagine."

"If anything, she's eager to push me into mastering things quickly."

"There are so many affairs to deal with. I'm exhausted."

Noble Consort Chang lay against his chest and complained, "This consort only thinks of Your Majesty's interests, yet now I've become some woman who sows discord."

"Hmph. If I hadn't heard certain things, I wouldn't even bother saying these unpleasant words."

Xuan Chengtian laughed.

He flicked the tip of her nose with one finger.

"You live inside the deep palace. What news could you possibly hear?"

"And what could there be that I don't already know?"

Noble Consort Chang said coyly, "There are some things this consort would not dare say."

"If I did, I'm afraid Your Majesty would fly into a rage."

Xuan Chengtian's interest only grew.

"Speak."

"No matter what you say wrong, I pardon you in advance."

Her fingertip traced circles on his chest.

"No matter how magnanimous Your Majesty is, this consort still doesn't dare say it."

Xuan Chengtian raised one hand.

Smack!

He slapped her lower back.

"I order you to speak. Do you intend to resist an imperial decree?"

Noble Consort Chang put on an appearance of writhing reluctance, as though she had no choice but to obey.

Finally, she leaned to his ear and whispered, "This consort heard that Imperial Sister and that Ximen Qingkong have long since developed feelings for one another..."

After listening, Xuan Chengtian chuckled.

"I thought you were about to reveal some great secret."

"This?"

"Who doesn't know about Imperial Sister and that man? Did I need you to tell me?"

"Does Your Majesty truly have no worries at all?"

"What is there to worry about?"

"Surely we cannot make Imperial Sister remain a widow for the rest of her life."

"Finding someone she cares for is a good thing."

"Just as I care for my beloved consort."

"Your Majesty, this really is different."

"This consort is only a consort."

"But Imperial Sister is the female Chancellor holding Wei's civil and military power."

"If Imperial Sister and Ximen Qingkong end up together, what happens if they have a child?"

"The great authority lies in Imperial Sister's hands."

"Who can guarantee that one day she will not hand Wei's power to her own child?"

"Would Imperial Sister willingly watch her own child bow his head and serve someone else?"

"This..."

Xuan Chengtian hesitated.

"You're thinking too much."

"Imperial Sister is already gradually returning power to me."

"Is she truly returning it?"

"How could that be false?"

"This consort has one simple method that can test whether it is true."

"Your Majesty yourself has been saying that after taking over, there are too many affairs and you're exhausted."

"But true power should not mean merely doing all the work yourself."

"It should mean controlling the people below who actually do the work."

"Is this consort wrong?"

"More or less."

"The work may be done by Your Majesty now, but whose people are the officials doing that work?"

"They were all promoted by Imperial Sister."

"If Your Majesty wants to know whether Imperial Sister sincerely intends to hand over power, you might try touching the greatest power still in her hands."

"Military command."

"Your Majesty can pretend that you intend to remove Grand Commandant Nan Renyu from military command and see how Imperial Sister reacts."

"If she does not object, then this consort has been talking too much."

"But if she strongly opposes it..."

Noble Consort Chang's voice softened.

"As for what Imperial Sister might be thinking then, this consort would not dare say."

[End of Chapter 887]