Chapter 486: - Now That's a Master

It was a rather unconventional way to say hello.

Simple and direct, yet straight to the heart.

Inside and outside the palace gates, from the Grand Director of the Imperial Clan and the imperial princes down to the eunuchs, Imperial Guards, and servants, anyone who had anything to do with the palace was no true fool.

Even beggars on the street learned which people were softhearted enough to give alms and chose their targets accordingly. Those who begged for a living beside the palace walls were even better at finding hidden meaning in a single sentence or expression.

In their eyes, those two greetings were the Sixth Prince deliberately displaying his relationship with Count Pingye in front of the civil and military officials.

Great Yan’s political situation had split sharply after the Sixth Prince’s meteoric rise. The Eastern Palace continued to decline, while the Sixth Lord Faction steadily gathered momentum.

Everyone knew that when Count Pingye first began making his way in the world, he had entered through the Sixth Prince’s door.

Because he had saved the Sixth Prince, and because the Sixth Prince had worked the connections for him, Count Pingye had been transferred from Lieutenant Commander of Merchant Protection at Tiger Head City to command Cuiliu Fort under Nanwang City, allowing him to catch the great wave of the Three-State War.

After that, the Sixth Prince’s financial backing and support had never ceased. Back in the early days at Cuiliu Fort, every man under Count Pingye marched to war in armor with two horses apiece. To put it bluntly, it was supposed to be the establishment of a local military chief, yet money had been poured into it until its equipment rivaled the Zhenbei and Jingnan armies.

No one doubted Count Pingye’s ability to wage war.

But everyone also understood that no matter how talented a shopkeeper might be, if he had no starting capital, he could only go down to the docks and break his back to feed his wife and children.

Now Count Pingye had entered the capital.

The Fifth Prince led his mount.

The Crown Prince guided his procession.

And the Sixth Prince stood inside the palace gates, opened his mouth, and said:

“Beast.”

There was no question that this was a political signal.

Of course, Count Pingye could have simply thrown himself to the ground before the Sixth Prince and cried:

“Your Highness, your loyal little dog Xiao Fan pays his respects!”

But that would have been beneath him. He was Count Pingye, a man valued by the Marquis of Jingnan and already regarded as the foremost military talent of Great Yan’s younger generation. To abase himself like that would only cheapen his own standing.

Great Yan was not the State of Qian.

And even in Qian, neither civil nor military officials degraded themselves that way before imperial princes.

Yet Count Pingye had answered the Sixth Prince’s “Beast” with a flat “Bitch.”

Was that meant to show that the two of them were truly inseparable, like Jiao and Meng, never one without the other?

Or was Count Pingye using it to declare that although he had risen with the Sixth Prince’s support, he now possessed the standing to meet the Sixth Prince as an equal?

Beast.

Bitch.

Over the next two days, those two words would become the hottest topic in the wine shops and teahouses of Yanjing. Even high officials and nobles lying in bed at night would inevitably take them out and chew them over again.

And the more they chewed, the more flavor they would find.

Of course, from the perspective of the two people involved, there were not nearly so many twists and hidden meanings.

Everyone else was desperately answering a reading-comprehension question.

For these two, it really was just the purest possible way of saying hello.

Ji Chengjue stood inside the palace gates and watched Count Pingye in his golden armor basking in all that glory.

He was jealous.

Watching Zheng Fan look utterly composed while clearly preening inside, Ji Chengjue could not help himself and simply cursed him.

Zheng Fan, meanwhile, had already been holding back a curse the moment he saw Ji Chengjue. Since the other man struck first, he naturally let his own fly.

Ah.

That felt good.

Ji Chengjue raised the imperial edict.

“Zheng Fan, Chief Commander of Great Yan’s Snow Sea Pass, Grand General of Cheng State, Imperial Son-in-Law of Great Yan, and Count Pingye, receive the edict.”

Count Pingye stepped forward twice and knelt.

Ji Chengjue looked down at the man kneeling before him, smiled, and nodded.

“Count Pingye is permitted to receive the edict without kneeling.”

“...” Zheng Fan.

Count Pingye stood and stared at the bastard in front of him. He suddenly had a powerful urge to beat him up and let him experience the might of a peerless Sixth Grade expert.

“By the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Our beloved minister, Count Pingye, is permitted to ride within the palace. Respect this.”

Permission to ride within the palace was both an honor and a privilege. Unless His Majesty later issued another decree revoking it, Zheng Fan would still be entitled to enter the palace on horseback the next time he came.

Of course, most people exercised such a privilege only once. On later visits, they still entered on foot. Few dared grow arrogant merely because they had received imperial favor.

“This subject thanks His Majesty for his boundless grace.”

Count Pingye looked at Ji Chengjue.

Ji Chengjue carefully studied him from head to toe.

“You’ve lost weight.”

In truth, the two of them had only met twice.

Once at the Marquis of Zhenbei Residence.

And once at the roast-duck shop when Zheng Fan had followed the Marquis of Jingnan into the capital.

But they exchanged letters constantly, and each man’s life was often affected by the other. It did not feel remotely as though they had met only twice.

Ji Chengjue still remembered the scene outside the Marquis of Zhenbei Residence, when the man before him had ceaselessly urged him to rebel.

And now Zheng Fan commanded twenty thousand iron cavalry. Snow Sea Pass might be far from Yanjing, but no one dared ignore him anymore.

Count Pingye gave Ji Chengjue a good look in return.

“You’ve gained weight.”

When they first met, Little Sixth had been an idle prince with a body hollowed out by indulgence. The second time, he had personally roasted duck for Zheng Fan and had still looked terribly frail.

Now he was a father and practically the “Minister of Revenue” in all but name. He had clearly put on some weight, and there was finally a little flesh on his face.

“What can I do? My father-in-law sells pork. It’d be harder not to get fat.”

“Fair enough.”

“Come on. Let’s go inside.”

Count Pingye was about to take a horse when Ji Chengjue stopped him.

“You and the princess ride your Pixiu. These horses are for the Grand Director, the Crown Prince, and me.”

The Pixiu was a symbol of Great Yan’s imperial clan.

Count Pingye entering the palace in golden armor with the bestowed Barbarian saber was part of the ceremony, and riding the imperial-bestowed Pixiu was another part of it.

The Pixiu might be a fierce beast, but riding it into the palace did not violate any taboo.

“Fine.”

Zheng Fan walked back to Xiong Liqing.

“Kneel.”

The princess instinctively started to kneel.

The Pixiu beside her dropped to its knees even faster.

“...” The princess.

Oh.

He had not been talking to her.

Zheng Fan reached out, helped the princess onto the Pixiu, then climbed up behind her. The Pixiu rose, and Count Pingye wrapped an arm around the princess as they slowly passed through the palace gates.

Those entitled to ride mounted their horses. Those who were not walked.

Ji Chengjue rode over beside them.

“How does it feel to ride a horse inside the palace?”

Count Pingye replied blandly, “Last time, Qingshuang and I galloped through the palace together.”

“...” Ji Chengjue.

That day, Qingshuang had carried an order from the Marquis of Zhenbei, while Zheng Fan carried one from the Marquis of Jingnan. The two had galloped straight into the rear gardens of the palace to mobilize two cavalry forces.

“Isn’t it strange?” Ji Chengjue said. “We haven’t seen each other for more than two years, but there’s not even a hint of awkwardness between us.”

“We just met. Don’t be disgusting.”

“Disgusting?”

“I’ve spent too long in Jin.”

“Oh. I understand.” Little Sixth laughed. “Come drink at my place tonight. I have my own residence now. I don’t live in what you used to call... ah, right, the communal dormitory.”

“I’m very busy. We’ll see if I have time. You know how it is. There are a great many princes, dukes, and ministers waiting to invite me to dinner.”

“Beast.”

“Bitch.”

The two rode side by side from the outer gate toward the inner gate.

The Imperial Guards had already opened the inner gates. Once the procession entered, Ji Chengjue deliberately slowed his horse and allowed Count Pingye to move ahead alone.

Before him stood the towering great hall where the morning court was held each day.

Rows upon rows of saber-bearing Imperial Guards stood on the white marble paving before it.

Count Pingye lowered his voice. “Is it too late to turn around and run? This is already ridiculous. There’s more?”

Ji Chengjue shook his head. “Father is the Emperor, after all. When he decides to shower someone with favor, who can keep his heart from being moved?”

The man seated upon the dragon throne represented the legitimate order of Great Yan. He was its rightful supreme ruler.

The Imperial Guards split into two ranks.

Shhk!

Shhk!

Shhk!

Sabers were drawn in unison and raised diagonally overhead, forming a glittering corridor of steel.

It was the highest ceremonial honor granted to a military commander.

And it was taking place within the imperial palace itself, directly before the great hall.

In Zheng Fan’s arms, the princess whispered, “My imperial brother once said that the better an emperor treats someone, the more he intends to take from that person. Emperors are the greatest merchants in the world.”

Merchants traded gold, silver, and goods.

An emperor traded in lives.

Count Pingye lowered his head and gently kissed the princess on the forehead.

“Don’t worry. No one is taking my life.”

Then Count Pingye drew his Barbarian saber and raised it high.

The Pixiu stepped forward.

As it passed, the guards on either side lowered their blades. It was like a ripple spreading across the surface of a still lake, and Zheng Fan was the point from which that ripple began.

“Count Pingye, mighty and valiant!”

“Count Pingye, mighty and valiant!”

The Imperial Guards shouted in unison, their voices rolling through the inner palace.

At that moment, a trace of bewilderment suddenly entered Count Pingye’s heart.

Emperor Yan had granted him such overwhelming honor and favor. Men were not grass or wood. Who could remain entirely unmoved?

But just as Zheng Fan had told the princess, his life belonged to him.

He closed his eyes.

Then opened them again.

In that brief closing and opening, the fervor in his gaze gradually faded.

He would not become a loyal minister of Great Yan. Not because he disliked the Black Dragon Banner, but simply because he had no interest in reenacting a Yue Fei-style tragedy.

What the Marquis of Jingnan had endured was even more brutal than Yue Fei’s fate.

I only want to be myself.

I only want to live happily.

None of you get to bind me!

“Count Pingye, mighty and valiant!”

“Count Pingye, mighty and valiant!”

Amid the cheers, Count Pingye gave a low shout. The Pixiu beneath him, which had followed him onto the battlefield before, immediately opened its stride and began to run.

Seen from afar, it looked like a streak of golden scales racing through black waves.

After charging through the ranks of armored guards, Count Pingye reined in the beast and raised his saber from the saddle.

A beauty in his arms, he shouted:

“Long live His Majesty! Long live Great Yan!”

Boom!

The Imperial Guards answered as one.

“Long live His Majesty! Long live Great Yan!”

“Long live His Majesty! Long live Great Yan!”

In the distance, Ji Chengjue sat on horseback watching the scene ahead.

Slowly, the Crown Prince rode up beside him.

“A long time ago, I thought Zheng Fan was a chicken rib. Even now, I still think the same.”

If Zheng Fan were not Chief Commander of Snow Sea Pass, but instead commanded the Imperial Guards, or even Nanwang City, then the twenty thousand iron cavalry under him could exert terrifying influence.

If turmoil broke out in the capital, or if someone deliberately created such turmoil, those cavalry could respond and provide support.

But Snow Sea Pass was simply too far away.

Ji Chengjue smiled.

“Is reading useful, Second Brother?”

Before the Crown Prince could answer, Ji Chengjue continued, “Does reading make you weigh a few more jin? Some accounts aren’t meant to be calculated that way. Plenty of people think Zheng Fan and I have the usual relationship between an imperial prince of old and a great general commanding troops on the frontier. But in truth, he and I are friends.”

The Crown Prince sighed. “It’s difficult to imagine those words coming out of your mouth.”

“Too sentimental?”

“A little.”

“That’s precisely the point. Living every day with a solemn face would be terribly dull.”

The Crown Prince tipped his chin toward the front.

“Your chicken rib is about to be won over by Father.”

This time Emperor Yan truly had piled favor upon favor.

Even Zheng Fan’s original title of Count Pingye had been an exceptional grant from the Emperor.

“He is a minister of Great Yan. Loyalty to Father is only natural.”

“You are not a man who likes things that are ‘only natural.’ Neither is Zheng Fan.”

“Second Brother, you are the foundation of the state. Speaking of a meritorious minister that way could chill the hearts of those who serve.”

“He crippled Third Brother right in front of me.”

Right in front of the Crown Prince, Zheng Fan had taken his scabbard and brought it down between Third Brother’s legs.

Smack!

At the time, the Crown Prince had only been another prince.

And Third Brother had also been a prince.

For Zheng Fan to cripple one imperial prince in front of another, it would have been impossible for the Crown Prince not to feel the chill of seeing a fox die and knowing the rabbit might be next.

The Marquis of Jingnan had first gone to see the Crown Prince that day, then proceeded to the Third Prince’s residence. At that time, the princes still lived in the Princes’ Residence, so after the Marquis left, the Crown Prince and Li Yinglian had followed to watch.

The Crown Prince exhaled slowly and shook his head.

“You weren’t there, but I was. I saw him clearly when he crippled Third Brother. What I saw in his eyes was... excitement.”

“If I could smash an expensive vase without having to pay for it, I’d be excited too.”

“In his eyes, the blood of our imperial clan means nothing.”

“In the Marquis of Jingnan’s eyes, imperial relatives mean even less.”

“Heh. Sixth Brother, do you think I’m trying to drive a wedge between you?”

“No, Second Brother. I’m confident I understand what sort of man he is better than you do. Besides, did you notice? The man Zheng Fan crippled with his own hands that day was also Father’s son.”

The Crown Prince’s expression immediately turned cold.

“No one in this world is made of silver. No one can ever make everyone like him. Even we sons of the Ji Clan have plenty of people inside Great Yan who refuse to submit, never mind the countless states beyond our borders. The Emperor of Jin was legitimate too. Now he and the Empress Dowager are both living here in Yanjing, aren’t they?”

“So you’re saying that the one thing I still have left isn’t worth much either?”

Ji Chengjue turned and studied his second brother carefully.

There was no anger on the Crown Prince’s face.

Only calm.

“Second Brother, find an opportunity tomorrow and invite Zheng Fan to the Eastern Palace for a meal. Talk to him. You’ll feel better afterward.”

“You’re willing to let him come?”

“I never treated him as some dog beneath my gate in the first place.”

“True. A Crown Prince in my present state couldn’t pull him over even if I tried.”

“Brooding too much is bad for the body.”

“I thought you’d be eager for me to make way as soon as possible.”

“Please don’t. You need to keep standing there. Without Second Brother in front of me, I’m finished.”

The Crown Prince took a deep breath and slowly let it out.

“Would he come?”

“I’ll speak to him.”

“Will you come too?”

“No. Otherwise people will say I brought Count Pingye into the Eastern Palace to throw my weight around and insult my superior.”

The Crown Prince smiled.

Then, suddenly, he asked, “Sixth Brother... is there hatred in your heart?”

The Sixth Prince tugged his reins.

“Zheng Fan is climbing the imperial steps. Let’s go to Chunfang Hall and wait for the banquet.”

...

At that moment, Count Pingye was holding Xiong Liqing’s hand as they climbed the steps.

The imperial palace of Great Yan was nowhere near as splendid and dazzling as the palace of the State of Qian. Yet perhaps because Great Yan stood at the height of its power, there was a grand and imposing air flowing through these halls all the same.

Count Pingye had visited the Qian palace and the Jin palace, but had never seen Ying Capital in Chu. He immediately lowered his voice and asked:

“How does this compare with the palace of Great Chu?”

Xiong Liqing gave him two words.

“Pretty shabby.”

“Hahahaha!”

Count Pingye burst into loud laughter.

Xiong Liqing was puzzled. They had been whispering to each other, so why had he suddenly laughed so extravagantly?

Still, she trusted that her husband had his own purpose and arrangements.

At last, they climbed the final step.

Ahead, beneath a golden imperial dragon standard, Emperor Yan sat enthroned.

Wei Zhonghe stood at his side.

Grand Eunuch Wei had already escorted the Sword Saint away to drink tea. There were two people there who were just barely qualified to keep the Sword Saint entertained.

Then Wei Zhonghe had hurried straight back to the Emperor’s side. He was the Son of Heaven’s personal attendant. Even when sent away on an errand, he had to return immediately.

“This subject pays respects to His Majesty! Long live His Majesty! Long live! Long, long live!”

“Liqing pays respects to His Majesty! Long live His Majesty! Long live! Long, long live!”

“Liqing, girl, rise. Let me have a look at you.”

Emperor Yan did not call Zheng Fan up first. He had Xiong Liqing rise.

She stood.

“A daughter of the Xiong Clan indeed. Dignified and imposing. Zheng Fan.”

“This subject is here.”

“Treat her well.”

“This subject obeys.”

“Liqing, girl, if this brat ever treats you badly, send someone to tell me. I’ll deal with him myself.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Those words were not entirely false sentiment, nor were they merely polite convention.

After all, of all the ruling houses in the world, the only family the Ji Clan considered a true neighbor worthy of living beside them was Great Chu’s Xiong Clan.

Jin had already fallen, and its imperial clan had been brought to Yanjing.

Qian had existed for barely a hundred and fifty years. Its Zhao emperors had ordered civil officials to revise the histories again and again, desperately trying to connect their ancestors to the Son of Heaven of Great Xia and place themselves on the same generational footing as the Marquises of Yan, Jin, and Chu.

The other three families had never taken that claim seriously.

“You may rise.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Count Pingye stood.

“Why were you laughing while climbing the steps just now?” Emperor Yan asked.

Zheng Fan’s laughter had been far too loud, with a completely unrestrained boldness to it.

“Your Majesty, this subject asked the princess how our Great Yan palace compares with the palace of Chu.”

Emperor Yan immediately grew interested.

“Oh? And how did Liqing answer?”

Only then did Xiong Liqing understand what her husband’s laughter had been setting up.

But how was he going to answer?

Surely he could not repeat her exact words.

Then Count Pingye did precisely that.

Smiling, he replied, “The princess said that compared with the palace of Great Chu, our Great Yan palace can be described in just two words.”

“Let me hear them.”

“Pretty shabby.”

Emperor Yan fell silent.

Xiong Liqing’s heart suddenly tightened.

Wei Zhonghe stared at Count Pingye in astonishment.

Zheng Fan still wore a smile, as though he had just uttered the most auspicious compliment imaginable.

A moment later, Emperor Yan slapped the armrest of his dragon throne and burst into laughter.

“Hahahahaha! Good! ‘Pretty shabby’! Excellent! Hahahaha, excellent!”

Count Pingye immediately laughed along with him.

Wei Zhonghe had no idea why they were laughing, but he began laughing too.

And only then did Xiong Liqing suddenly understand.

Calling the Great Yan palace shabby would not anger this Emperor.

Since taking the throne, Emperor Yan had forbidden extravagance of every kind. He had even handed several palace buildings over to offices of the outer court for use as government workplaces. His own sons had continued living together in the Princes’ Residence until they were nearly adults.

As an emperor, he had been almost brutally frugal with himself while devoting all his effort to strengthening the state.

And now?

Great Chu had been defeated by Great Yan on the banks of the Wang River, and a princess of Great Chu had even been snatched away by one of Yan’s generals to become his wife.

Great Yan stood at the height of its power.

Qian and Chu had been forced to unite before they dared oppose it.

The shabbiness of the palace was no mockery of this Emperor.

It was praise.

It was recognition.

Look.

This is what I sacrificed.

Look.

This is what my labor achieved.

Wherever the armies of my Great Yan point their blades, the nations tremble.

It was flattery transformed into something almost miraculous, striking directly at the place in Emperor Yan’s heart that most wanted to be scratched.

Xiong Liqing could not help raising her head.

She looked at her husband laughing beside Emperor Yan.

A sudden feeling of gazing up at a lofty mountain rose within her.

No wonder the Marquis of Jingnan treated him like his own son or nephew.

No wonder her imperial brother could sit in a carriage and chat with him so happily.

If a man like this could not rise, who could?

[End of Chapter 486]