Chapter 73: Corpse Transformation! (Part Two)

“Thank you, Lieutenant Commander Zheng.”

“You’re welcome.”

Chen Guangting accepted the wine and meat from Zheng Fan, sat down beside the tea table, and began eating.

Eunuch Zhang, lying on the sickbed, saw this and licked his lips.

“Spare some for this old servant. Just a little...”

Chen Guangting shook his head.

“I didn’t touch a drop of the bone broth the Marquis’s residence specially prepared for the wounded tonight.”

The household rules of the residence of the Marquis of Zhenbei were exceedingly strict.

One could even call them harsh.

Apart from the women of the household, every man ate exactly the same food as the soldiers in the army camp. The wounded received the army’s meals for injured soldiers, which merely contained a little more meat and oil.

Even guests were treated the same way.

Since the Marquis’s own household followed these rules, outsiders could hardly complain.

The fact that the Marquis himself had immediately gone out and devoured five roast ducks in one sitting after reaching the capital said more than enough about how bland his ordinary life was.

Of course, in the eyes of the imperial censors, even this became evidence that the residence of the Marquis of Zhenbei was “sleeping on brushwood and tasting gall” while “harboring enormous ambitions.”

“Chen Guangting! This old servant wants meat! Meat! I want meeeeat!”

Eunuch Zhang shouted at him.

Chen Guangting continued ignoring him.

“Chen Guangting! Believe it or not, once this old servant can get out of bed, I’ll castrate you!”

Chen Guangting wiped the grease from the corner of his mouth and replied indifferently, “I’d welcome it. I came out of the Hanlin Academy. If I truly cut myself and entered the palace, go ask around and see whether the Directorate of Ceremonial would dare refuse me a position.”

“Cough, cough, cough...!”

Eunuch Zhang coughed until his entire face turned red.

When a scholar decided to act shamelessly, even a eunuch could not withstand it.

It was true that the eunuchs of the Directorate of Ceremonial were educated men.

But how could their learning compare with someone publicly recognized as one of The Great Yan Dynasty’s finest scholarly talents?

If Chen Guangting genuinely cut himself and entered the palace, even the Chief Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial might have to clear a seat beside himself.

Nothing else needed to be said.

The distinction of being the most highly educated eunuch since the founding of The Great Yan Dynasty alone would be enough to earn him that courtesy.

Zheng Fan reached into his clothes and took out another lotus-leaf parcel, handing it to Eunuch Zhang.

“I originally intended to save this for breakfast tomorrow. Eunuch Zhang, you can have it first.”

“Oh, how could this old servant possibly accept?”

His mouth said he was embarrassed.

His hands, however, had already impatiently opened the lotus leaf.

He tore a drumstick from the roast chicken inside and began taking enormous bites.

One was a eunuch.

The other was a civil official.

Although neither had enjoyed much success in his career, both had always lived comfortable, pampered lives.

Suddenly being reduced to coarse tea and plain food in the Marquis’s residence was naturally difficult for them.

“Eunuch Zhang, Lord Chen, please continue eating. This subordinate will make a patrol outside.”

“Thank you for your trouble, Lieutenant Commander Zheng.”

Zheng Fan left the room.

He had only just reached the courtyard when he saw the Sixth Prince leaning against a railing, peeling a small tangerine.

“You were right. The oranges here really are sweet.”

“Your Highness, don’t eat too many. You might generate too much internal heat.”

“No matter. My constitution is weak. A little extra fire is exactly what I need.”

Zheng Fan leaned against the other side of the railing.

The Sixth Prince continued eating his orange.

When he peeled the second one, he even held out a segment toward Zheng Fan.

Zheng Fan opened his mouth and bit it directly from his fingers.

“Heh. You really don’t stand on ceremony.”

“If I started being polite with Your Highness, we’d only grow distant.”

“That’s true. Although I’m only an idle prince, in all these years there have only ever been two people who dared behave this presumptuously in front of me.

“One was the Princess.

“The other is you.”

“To be mentioned in the same breath as the Princess is this subordinate’s honor.”

“Sigh. There’s nothing anyone can do about her. Even Eldest Brother and Second Brother can’t count on getting a pleasant expression from her.

“Back when Imperial Grandfather was fighting for the throne, there was a period when he lost ground and our entire family was forced to leave the capital. It was the previous Marquis of Zhenbei who sheltered us.

“We brothers were still children then. Father Emperor, Imperial Grandfather, the previous Marquis, and the current Marquis spent every day occupied with helping Grandfather reclaim the throne.

“So all of us children played around the Marquis’s residence by ourselves.

“And she certainly bullied us often enough.

“Heh heh.

“Sigh. Why am I suddenly bringing up all this ancient history?”

“Your Highness, you smell very fragrant.”

“Oh? You noticed?”

The Sixth Prince reached into his pocket and took out a porcelain bottle.

He handed it to Zheng Fan.

“Something Western merchants came up with.”

Zheng Fan accepted it, pulled out the stopper, and took a sniff.

He praised, “Whoever managed to make something like this is genuinely impressive.”

“Exactly. They call it perfume.

“But the way I see it, how is this water?

“It’s clearly flowing gold.”

“It seems Your Highness truly is skilled in commerce.”

“You flatter me.

“You can’t live much of a life on the stipend the palace gives you. The gifts and favors exchanged every day alone cost a fortune.

“If I didn’t think of ways to earn some silver, life would genuinely become impossible.”

“But no matter how much silver Your Highness earns, in the end, you may merely be sewing another man’s wedding clothes.”

“Mm...

“Lieutenant Commander Zheng.

“We’ve only known each other for a single day.

“How many times have you already tried to persuade me to rebel?”

“How would it be rebellion? Your Highness is an imperial prince. You already possess the right to sit in that position someday.”

“But Father Emperor has chosen Second Brother.

“If you encourage me to entertain such thoughts, then you’re encouraging me to rebel.

“Fine.

“Let’s take ten thousand steps backward.

“You’re urging me to rebel.

“Where’s the capital to do it?

“Where are your troops?”

“I’m recruiting them.”

“Where are your grain and military funds?”

“I’m earning them.”

“Do you think I look like a complete idiot?”

“No.”

“Then I’ll tell you the truth.

“I genuinely admire you.

“If this had been earlier, I wouldn’t have minded supporting you somewhat. At the very least, I could have helped you develop into a local military strongman here in the north.”

“And now?”

“Now?

“That would just be throwing silver into the water.

“Tell me, wouldn’t it be better to spend that silver on pork ribs?”

Zheng Fan began digesting the information hidden in those words.

The Sixth Prince reached over and rubbed Zheng Fan’s shoulder, wiping the sticky residue from his orange peel onto Zheng Fan’s clothes as he continued, “I more or less understand what you want.

“But the north has no future.

“Don’t be fooled by the current mess of fish and dragons, with every fortified manor and local military strongman maintaining forces of their own.

“This place genuinely has no future left.

“If you want to rise, I’ll give you some advice.

“Go south.”

“Your Highness means I should defect to the State of Qian?”

“...” the Sixth Prince.

“Is that not what Your Highness meant?”

“My dear elder brother...”

“My dear—”

“STOP!”

The Sixth Prince took a deep breath and pointed at himself.

“Lieutenant Commander Zheng, do you genuinely not regard me as a Prince of The Great Yan Dynasty at all?”

“This subordinate appears to have misunderstood Your Highness.”

“Heh.

“The Great Yan Dynasty has the desert to the north and the states of Jin and Qian to the south.

“What I mean is that the north will soon become a difficult place to make a living.

“You might as well find an opportunity to try your luck in the south.

“Think about it.

“The barbarian tribes had the tribe of their own Left Guli King exterminated, yet the Royal Court didn’t even dare fart.

“They had to let Shatuo Que Shi come here alone to demand an explanation.

“Now his corpse is hanging from the ceremonial archway, and the Royal Court still has to send people here begging to take his remains home.

“When you slap an enemy across the face and he obediently offers you the other cheek—how much military merit do you think you can earn fighting an opponent like that?”

“But Jin and Qian seem even more useless.”

“That’s different.

“The weakness of Jin and Qian is not the same as the weakness of the barbarians.

“Here in the desert, unless you go to the enormous trouble of completely wiping out a tribe, you can barely scrape together any profit.

“But Jin and Qian are different.

“Especially Qian.

“That truly is a gorgeous, prosperous land south of the river.

“So long as you smash through that stone-shell defensive line of theirs, you could wander around inside for a while and come home with enough wealth to make your family rich for three generations.”

Zheng Fan nodded thoughtfully.

Then he stared directly at the Sixth Prince.

“Your Highness means this subordinate should go south to fight, then hand the goods I plunder over to Your Highness to fence for me?”

“Hmm?

“That actually is a pretty good idea—

“Wait.

“You’re deliberately pretending not to understand me.”

“This subordinate would not dare.”

The Sixth Prince stood and slapped the dust from his trousers.

“That’s enough.

“I’ve shown you a road.

“Whether you can seize the opportunity depends on you.

“Of course, becoming Seventh Uncle’s disciple would also be a path forward.

“But if you do that, you’ll spend the rest of your life bound beneath the residence of the Marquis of Zhenbei.

“For a grown man to live his entire life without ever establishing his own headquarters and opening his own yamen—that would always be a regret.”

“Thank you for showing this subordinate the way, Your Highness.

“But even if this subordinate wanted to go south, I have no connections.”

“If you truly want to go, I can find you a way.

“The Minister of War’s youngest son owes quite a bit of silver at one of my gambling houses.

“Heh heh.”

“Then this subordinate thanks Your Highness for your patronage!”

“Wait.

“Hold on.

“That is an enormous sum of silver.

“Once I spend that favor, it’s gone.

“I don’t conduct business at a loss.

“Friendship is friendship.

“Business is business.

“We keep the accounts separate.”

“Your Highness.

“Does this perfume smell good?”

“Of course. Excellent stuff.

“Hmm?”

“This perfume was made by this subordinate.”

A smile immediately appeared on the Sixth Prince’s face.

Then he stared at Zheng Fan with unusual seriousness.

“You really do treat me like your little brother, don’t you?”

“My dear—”

“AH!”

The Sixth Prince clapped both hands over Zheng Fan’s mouth.

Then he leaned toward Zheng Fan’s ear.

Word by word, he whispered, “Lieutenant Commander Zheng.

“You reveal your ambitions so openly in front of me.

“Are you genuinely not afraid that, for the sake of peace and stability in The Great Yan Dynasty, I might first eliminate an ambitious bastard like you?”

“Lieutenant Commander Zheng.

“Answer me!”

“Lieutenant Commander Zheng.

“Why aren’t you speaking?”

“Mmph! Mmph...”

“Oh.

“Sorry.”

The Sixth Prince released his hands.

Zheng Fan stared at him.

Then, equally slowly, spoke word by word.

“I’m not afraid.”

“Why?”

“Because The Great Yan Dynasty isn’t yours yet, Your Highness.”

A smile appeared on the Sixth Prince’s face.

He was clearly very satisfied with that answer.

But he continued, “Lieutenant Commander Zheng.

“Want to have a dream together?”

“Uh...”

“Let’s have a beautiful dream first.”

“Your Highness, please don’t...”

“Let’s imagine that in this beautiful dream, one day, we genuinely succeed.

“I think it would be best if Lieutenant Commander Zheng purified himself now.

“That way, in the future, sovereign and minister can live harmoniously together for the rest of our lives.

“It might even become a celebrated tale.

“And we can avoid the tedious old ending where ruler and minister eventually turn against one another.”

“Your Highness jests.”

The Sixth Prince let go of him and straightened his clothes.

“Yes.

“I was joking.”

...

“Mother, what happened to Uncle Yuanhu? Why did you punish him?”

The Princess leaned against the bed, nestled beside the Old Marchioness.

No matter how strong and ruthless a woman might be before outsiders, in front of those closest to her she could still reveal the heart of a young girl.

The Old Marchioness had maintained herself extremely well.

She hardly looked fifty.

Even the wind and sand of the northern frontier had failed to carve any obvious wrinkles into her face.

“Heh.

“My Li Clan established itself through martial strength.

“We have guarded the northern frontier for a century without falling.

“What did we rely on?

“Four words:

“Fearless in the face of death!

“Li Yuanhu has grown capable now.

“The Left Guli King had already fought through ten military formations and exhausted his qi and blood before Yuanhu even entered the fight.

“And yet when he finally faced the man, he actually let himself be forced back.

“Yes.

“He is one of the seven Regional Commanders of my Li Clan.

“He has wealth now.

“He has status.

“And so he has begun cherishing his own life.

“On the battlefield, anyone who retreats without military orders is to be executed!

“I didn’t have him beheaded.

“I merely punished him.

“What?

“You still think your mother was too harsh?”

“How could I?

“It’s just that Uncle Yuanhu has always doted on your daughter.

“I ought to say a few good words for him.”

“Dotes on you?

“Heh.

“Before your father left for the capital, he explicitly ordered all seven Regional Commanders not to allow you to mobilize a single soldier.

“Li Yuanhu did well, didn’t he?

“He privately gave you three thousand iron cavalry!”

“Mother, our family was bullied that badly.

“How could your daughter possibly endure it?”

“Don’t think your mother doesn’t understand what you’re thinking.

“The Li Clan has defended the Central Plains from the barbarians for a century.

“Not even the histories can erase that achievement.

“Girl.

“Mother knows you have a restless heart.

“I never expected you to sit obediently learning needlework while waiting to marry into another household and spend your life serving your husband and raising children.

“But the Li Clan’s century-old reputation was built by generations of our ancestors.

“You cannot simply destroy it because you feel like it.”

“It’s the Emperor of Yan who has gone too far!

“I’m not the only one who can’t stand it.

“The soldiers beneath us have been seething with righteous fury for a long time!”

“Impudent!

“Are you trying to anger your mother to death?”

“Mother, your daughter was wrong.

“I was wrong.”

“If you want something, go take it yourself.

“Being a Princess isn’t enough for you?

“Do you want to become an imperial princess?”

“Mother, I don’t.”

“Then even being an imperial princess won’t satisfy you?

“My daughter is impressive.

“Mother is pleased that you possess such lofty ambition.

“Then perhaps you want to become Empress?”

“Mother!”

“Or... do you want to become a female Emperor?”

“Your daughter does not.”

“Then Mother will show you a clear road.

“If the wind and sand of the north cannot fill your heart, then marry into the capital.

“Become the Crown Princess!

“A legitimate daughter of my Li Clan marrying into their Ji Clan—surely the imperial court can loosen its grip a little on my Li Clan and these three hundred thousand Zhenbei troops?

“Another ten or twenty years from now, when His Majesty and your father are both gone, you will control the inner palace from within and command a mighty feudatory power from without.

“If you decide to let the hen crow at dawn then, who in the world could stop you?”

“Mother.

“Your daughter knows she was wrong.”

“No.

“My daughter takes after me.

“Mother knows you.

“You’re stubborn inside.

“Sigh.”

The Old Marchioness climbed down from the bed.

The Princess immediately reached out to support her.

“My girl.”

“Mother.”

“Mother knows you are intelligent.

“But never underestimate the people beneath heaven.

“Do not assume everyone else in this world is an idiot.

“Most importantly, never underestimate your father or the current Emperor.

“Those two grew up playing together.”

Just then, a middle-aged man in armor entered the hall.

He dropped to one knee.

“Madam, word has arrived from the watchtower.

“The wind has risen.”

The Old Marchioness narrowed her eyes.

“Pass down my order.

“Not a single rat that crawled in tonight is to leave alive.

“If even one escapes, every officer of Lieutenant Commander rank or above who failed in his duty will be executed!”

“Understood!”

The middle-aged general saluted and withdrew.

The Princess looked curiously toward her mother.

“Mother, what arrangements have you made?”

“The remains of the Left Guli King are still hanging outside, aren’t they?”

“They are.”

“The body of a Third-Grade Martial Artist.

“Before dying, he slaughtered a thousand soldiers.

“His corpse is saturated with bloodshed and baleful energy.

“Tell me—do you really think those things hiding inside the Royal Court’s Shrine could bear to simply abandon such a superb vessel?”

“Those people have always possessed a natural fascination with corpses.

“They won’t be able to resist.”

“Mother, you mean they’ll make their move tonight?”

“The Left Guli King came here as a commoner.

“Perhaps from the very day he resigned his office, the Shrine had already begun considering how to recover his body after he died in battle.

“They may even have made arrangements long ago.”

“Mother.

“And you said I was ambitious.”

The Old Marchioness patted the back of her daughter’s hand.

“Yesterday, the Royal Court lost its Left Guli King.

“Tonight, Mother intends to break their Shrine as well!

“This time, I want the Royal Court to be incapable of recovering its strength for thirty years!”

“Mother, did Father arrange this before he left?”

The Old Marchioness paused slightly.

“Before your father went to the capital, he left behind one sentence.

“He said:

“Before cleaning your own house, beat the neighbors first.

“You can’t go wrong.”

...

The desert.

Yellow sands.

Feng Siniang sat on a blanket.

The boy beside her seemed sleepy, his head constantly drooping as he dozed off.

Liang Cheng stood nearby with his eyes closed.

He seemed to be sensing something.

“Hey.

“Can you sense it yet?” Siniang asked.

“I can,” Liang Cheng replied.

“Heh.

“This is pretty interesting.

“Don’t you feel like you’re eavesdropping on someone else’s radio transmission?”

A mysterious force was summoning the baleful energy within a corpse.

In other words, it was inducing a corpse transformation.

Liang Cheng happened to be a zombie himself.

And not merely an ordinary zombie, but a high-level zombie possessing intelligence.

Essentially, everyone was already broadcasting on the same frequency.

So... although the summons was directed at that corpse, Liang Cheng could sense it too.

“Hey.

“I’m bored sitting here too, you know.

“What exactly are they saying?”

“It’s in the barbarian language.”

“Do you understand it?”

“I learned some during our recent journey.”

“Then translate it for this old lady.”

Liang Cheng nodded.

He began translating.

As he did so, he even seemed to imitate the cadence of the “audio transmission” he was receiving.

“Re... turn...

“Re... turn... to us...”

Seeing Liang Cheng half translating and half chanting, Siniang could not help laughing.

Then she joined in:

“Wanderer who roams the ends of the earth...”

(End of Chapter)