Chapter 545: - The Dragon Body

Yanjing.

The Sixth Prince’s residence.

Lingxiang stepped forward of her own accord to help Little Sixth dress in his court robes.

The last traces of girlish youth had only recently faded from her. Now there was a fluid grace about her, a kind of perfectly measured spring warmth gathering in her eyes and brows.

Little Sixth half closed his eyes and held out both arms, clearly enjoying the moment.

“Old Grandmother’s birthday is coming up, isn’t it?”

Old Grandmother was Madam Fengxin of the Lu Clan, who had once served as the present Emperor’s wet nurse.

One of her sons, Lu Bing, held only an inconspicuous minor office in one of the Six Ministries.

On the surface, it looked like the Emperor had merely extended hereditary favor to a foster brother from childhood.

But in truth...

Little Sixth knew very well that the Secret Intelligence Department was not the only intelligence force under his imperial father’s command.

Hidden beneath even the Secret Intelligence Department was another office, deeper in the water, more loyal, and far purer in purpose.

The person in charge of that office was very likely the Emperor’s foster brother.

When Ji Chengjue married, He Sisi had used the Lu Clan as a temporary maternal family for the wedding.

The Lu Clan had given him full face. They prepared a complete dowry, servants, maids, and every proper detail.

Lingxiang had once been Madam Fengxin’s personal maid. She had been given to He Sisi as an attendant. After He Sisi entered the residence and later gave birth to Ji Chuanye, Ji Chengjue had taken Lingxiang into his own bed as well.

“Yes, Your Highness. It is the eighth day of next month. Elder Sister discussed the birthday gifts with this concubine the day before yesterday.”

Among great households, true family friendships were maintained by the masters of the households hosting occasional banquets for one another.

Families closer still would have their sons visit each other, or the women of the inner residences would call on one another and talk.

The more ordinary sort, and also the most common, was simply for the household steward to follow the gift ledger.

The people themselves did not need to appear, but the gift had to be returned.

Living in the capital was not easy.

Much of that difficulty lay in this one word: gift.

The Lu Clan was another “maternal home” for He Sisi.

Naturally, she took the matter seriously.

Ji Chengjue nodded.

Once he was dressed, he went into the rear residence to look at his son.

The child was already awake, wearing a bellyband and doing little somersaults by himself.

He Sisi, slightly fuller after childbirth, stood beside him laughing.

The more his mother laughed, the more enthusiastically the boy tumbled.

“Son.”

Ji Chengjue bent down, scooped the child up, pressed their faces together, and kissed him several times.

His son appeared deeply resistant to this and kept kicking at Ji Chengjue’s face.

Little Sixth did not get angry.

He laughed loudly and put the boy back into the cradle.

“For Madam Fengxin’s birthday gift, there’s no need to make it extravagant. The court is using the whole strength of the state in war right now. Times are difficult.”

“Yes, Husband.” He Sisi nodded to show she understood.

“And don’t wait until next month. In the next day or two, choose a time and take our son to the Lu residence to visit the old madam. Spend some time talking with her. Tell her I said she is blessed with longevity and fortune. Ask her to give our little Ye some objects touched by that blessing. Whatever she gives, accept it. Don’t refuse.”

“Yes. I understand.”

“Mm.”

Ji Chengjue nodded, left the rear residence, and boarded the carriage driven by Eunuch Zhang.

They headed toward the imperial palace.

Along the way, the carriage stopped.

“Master, it is Fourth Highness’s carriage.”

Ji Chengjue sat inside with his chin resting on one hand.

Before long, movement came from outside.

The curtain was lifted.

“I knew it! Little Sixth, I knew you had ice in this carriage!”

There was an ice basin inside the carriage.

A large block of ice rested atop it, misting white vapor.

The Fourth Prince sat down and pulled open his collar slightly.

Clearly, he had been badly overheated.

Ji Chengjue picked up the chilled sour-plum drink he had already taken a couple of sips from and handed it to Fourth Prince Ji Chengfeng.

The Fourth Prince accepted it without caring that someone had already drunk from it.

He gulped several large mouthfuls, chewed the pieces of ice, and only then finally relaxed.

“Don’t you think it’s strange? This summer has been especially hot, and it has lasted especially long.”

Ji Chengjue nodded.

“According to the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, when one place is this hot and dry, somewhere else will often have endless rain.”

“Ah.”

The Fourth Prince had no interest in the Imperial Astronomical Bureau.

He merely pointed at the ice basin in front of him.

“Little Sixth, Father stopped the daily deliveries of ice to the princes’ residences this summer. Your elder brother has nearly died from the heat these past few days. Could you maybe...”

“Go dig an ice cellar at your own residence. When winter comes, go break ice at Lakeheart Pavilion and store it. Then you’ll have ice next summer.”

“Can I just dig wherever I want inside the princes’ residence?”

“Dig. Your nephews in later generations will thank you for it.”

“Hah! If I actually dared dig one, the censors would immediately impeach me for excavating a cellar in the princes’ residence to forge weapons and raise deathsworn!”

“They wouldn’t.”

Ji Chengjue shook his head.

With complete confidence, he said:

“Because Wang Rui of the Censorate is one of mine.”

“...” The Fourth Prince.

The carriage continued forward.

The Fourth Prince sipped the cold drink while Ji Chengjue resumed resting his chin on his hand.

After a long while, the Fourth Prince spoke again.

“The Ministry of Revenue is under enormous pressure right now, isn’t it?”

“Is the Ministry of War any less busy?” Ji Chengjue asked back.

The Fourth Prince still had a little influence within the Ministry of War.

But after the collapse of the Deng Clan, it truly was only a little.

“How much longer are we going to fight in the east? Is there still no fixed answer? Batch after batch of young men are being sent over. Money and grain are being hauled east without end. It isn’t as if we don’t know exactly how deep Great Yan’s reserves are. How can the country endure this kind of drain?”

“When you see Father in a while, you can tell him yourself.”

“I don’t dare.”

The Fourth Prince was refreshingly honest.

“Father already issued an edict. No one is permitted to criticize the campaign against Chu.”

“Then why are you talking?” Ji Chengjue asked.

“I’m talking to you. At least my surname is Ji too. Two brothers talking privately cannot possibly be a crime, can it?”

Ji Chengjue picked up a towel, dipped it into the ice basin, wrung it out, and laid it over his face.

“There’s no point talking about it, so you might as well not. A military report did arrive yesterday. It said East Mountain Fort and West Mountain Fort have both been taken by our Great Yan army. Next comes clearing out the remaining forts and camps, then truly attacking Zhennan Pass.”

“Ah. Your elder brother estimates this war will probably end once Zhennan Pass is taken. At most, after taking the pass, the army will push into Chu and plunder for a while. However many people, how much money, and how much grain we can seize can count as some consolation. But trying to destroy Chu outright in one sweep probably is not possible.”

Ji Chengjue nodded.

When it came to military affairs, he knew this Fourth Brother of his was still capable.

But Little Sixth possessed something the Fourth Prince did not.

Count Pingye sent him secret letters at regular intervals.

“Once Zhennan Pass falls, the campaign against Chu will basically have achieved its purpose.”

The Fourth Prince narrowed his eyes, somewhat surprised.

Ji Chengjue removed the now-warm towel from his face and breathed out.

“With Zhennan Pass in Great Yan’s hands, Chu loses its northern gateway. After that, Great Yan’s iron cavalry can ride south into Chu whenever it wishes. Once we leave Shanggu Commandery, there is open ground all the way. More importantly, the Chu will not abandon Zhennan Pass easily. If the pass falls, then Chu’s frontier elites will inevitably suffer catastrophic losses. Once both men and land are lost, Chu’s vitality will be badly damaged. We can let this piece of meat recover for a while, then gnaw at it slowly in the future. It will simply become another Qian, except one without the Three Frontiers.”

“Yes. Yes.”

The Fourth Prince silently took the towel from Ji Chengjue’s hand, dipped it into the ice basin, washed it, wrung it out, and wiped his own face.

The princes’ residence had once been quite lively.

But now, the First Prince and Little Sixth had established their own residences.

The Second Prince lived in the Eastern Palace.

Third Brother had died blocking a blade for Father.

Fifth Brother had gone to the Wang River to manage the riverworks.

Inside that enormous princes’ residence, only the Fourth Prince remained.

“Little Sixth, do you know? Every day I stay in that princes’ residence, my heart feels empty. Is this not basically announcing to the world that among all our brothers, I’m the most useless one?”

Ji Chengjue leaned back.

He said nothing.

“Why aren’t you answering?”

Ji Chengjue smiled.

“Usually, you only interrupt to correct someone when they say something wrong.”

“You...”

Ji Chengjue took out his favorite Buddha’s-Hand Cabbage snuff bottle and inhaled from it as he asked:

“Want to be posted outside?”

“Yes.”

The Fourth Prince did not bother hiding it.

“Where?”

“Anywhere. Leave the capital to you and Second Brother. You two can fight over it. I won’t get involved.”

The succession struggle had reached the point where everything was both white-hot and increasingly clear.

If Emperor Yan still wanted to maintain a balance, he ought to raise another faction and create a three-way contest.

The Fourth Prince had once been waiting for exactly that day.

Even if he was only dragged up to make up the numbers, it would mean he still had a chance.

But now the campaign against Chu had progressed this far, and Father showed no intention of doing anything of the sort.

Instead, he had simply left the Fourth Prince in the princes’ residence and ignored him.

A tree moved and died.

A man moved and lived.

The same applied to imperial princes.

He could not truly remain inside the princes’ residence forever.

To think one profoundly disrespectful thought: if he stayed there all the way until Father died and one of his brothers ascended the throne, he might not even get a princely residence of his own.

“For something like this, you should go to Second Brother. He is the Crown Prince.”

“I don’t want to go to Second Brother. I came to you. I know you were the one who arranged things for First Brother too. Otherwise, with First Brother’s temperament, he never would have done something like threatening to smash his head against a palace pillar unless Father agreed. What I care about most is that night when we were drinking with Third Brother. The Crown Prince did not come.”

Silence filled the carriage.

Ji Chengjue played with the snuff bottle and licked his lips.

The Fourth Prince looked at Little Sixth.

“We brothers can quarrel when we quarrel, fight when we fight. Believe me or not, I don’t care much about that seat anymore. Unless one day you completely screw yourself and let me see a real opportunity, I will not spend my time thinking about what might have been. We’re not going to imitate that pack of bastards in Chu. They knew perfectly well they were no match for the Regent and still all rose up to make trouble together. Why bother?”

“You cannot go to Beifeng Commandery. The Marquis of Zhenbei originally regarded Second Brother as his chosen son-in-law. If you went there, the Marquis would be unhappy. Before Second Brother takes the throne, Beifeng Commandery has no room for a second imperial prince. You cannot go to Nanwang City either. First Brother is in charge there. If you went, you could only serve beside him as an adviser. You would not be allowed to command troops, perhaps not even allowed onto the battlefield. If anything happened to you, First Brother would be put in a very difficult position. So would I. Following Fifth Brother to supervise the riverworks and civilian laborers is also impossible. Since ancient times, there have been countless cases of riverwork laborers gathering and rebelling. You are different from Fifth Brother. If you went there, Chief Minister Zhao Jiulang and the other ministers would never agree. So...”

“I can go to the Chu front!”

“Ah...”

Ji Chengjue lightly tapped his own leg.

“That is exactly where the problem lies. Other people might treat an imperial prince courteously, but the Prince of Jingnan will not. Fourth Brother, if you go there, you could very easily die in battle. Even if you did die, no one would complain of injustice for you. They would beat drums and gongs in celebration that the ancient custom of sons of the Ji Clan dying righteously for the state had returned.”

Everyone knew how Third Brother had first been stripped of favor.

It happened the day before the Marquis of Jingnan annihilated his own clan.

The Ji Clan owed the Prince of Jingnan.

One Third Prince probably, perhaps, truly was not enough to fill that debt.

Even if another prince were thrown in, given the Prince of Jingnan’s present achievements, no one would consider it unjust.

More importantly, aside from Father, there was no one under Heaven who could control what that southern Prince might decide to do.

“Then where can I go?”

The Fourth Prince looked completely lost.

It was almost laughable.

He was a dignified imperial prince who understood military affairs.

And somehow the world was so vast, yet there was nowhere for him to go?

“There is one place that actually suits you quite well.”

“Where? Little Sixth, hurry up and say it. Stop keeping me in suspense.”

Ji Chengjue pointed downward.

“The capital.”

“...” The Fourth Prince.

“Don’t misunderstand. Li Liangshen’s force will have to move sooner or later. It will probably go to Yin City to support First Brother, or perhaps enter Jin from there. Leaving it sitting outside the capital forever is far too wasteful. It is still one full garrison of Zhenbei cavalry. Once Li Liangshen leaves, the Capital Garrison will need a new commander. Great Yan has always had a tradition of placing imperial princes in charge of the capital forces. In earlier years, First Brother commanded the Tiancheng Commandery troops, while Second Brother nominally commanded the Imperial Guards in the capital. Fourth Brother, you are actually suited for this position.”

“The safety of the capital would be entrusted to me?”

The Fourth Prince looked as though he had heard the greatest joke in the world.

“Who else should it be entrusted to? Second Brother? Or me? It can only be entrusted to you. With it in your hands, Father will be at ease.”

Ji Chengjue bent forward again.

The Fourth Prince offered him the towel.

Ji Chengjue did not take it.

Instead, he pulled out a fresh one.

“Uh...” The Fourth Prince.

Ji Chengjue soaked the clean towel in the ice water, then passed it to him.

The Fourth Prince accepted it.

Ji Chengjue said:

“It actually fits quite well. I fight with Second Brother, and you act as the referee.”

“Would Father agree?”

“I’ll arrange for a memorial to be submitted tomorrow. You do nothing. Let us see what Father wishes. In the end, you are still Father’s son.”

“Yes. Still Father’s son.”

“Father hates seeing his own sons sit around doing nothing and eating for free more than anything.”

“...” The Fourth Prince.

“Master, Your Highness, we have reached the palace gate.”

Ji Chengjue stepped down from the carriage.

The Fourth Prince followed closely behind.

His own carriage had been following Ji Chengjue’s the entire way, and his attendant now hurried over to straighten his collar.

“Regret appearing at the palace gate together with me?” Ji Chengjue asked with a smile.

“We were not traveling the same way to begin with. I deliberately waited for you,” the Fourth Prince replied, unconcerned.

“Fine. Fourth Brother walks in front, and your younger brother follows behind. We cannot let the rites become confused.”

“Fine.”

Today was a family banquet.

In truth, this banquet was held once every year.

Its purpose was to remember hardship and cherish the present, to recall the difficulties their ancestors had endured in founding and preserving the dynasty.

Originally it should have been held in spring.

But the beginning of the year had been busy, and afterward the campaign against Chu caused another delay, so they had chosen this day of rest instead.

The meal was held inside the Imperial Study.

Compared with several years earlier, there were far fewer people today.

Little Seventh no longer needed a matron to lead him in by the hand.

Because he still lived inside the palace, he arrived earliest and sat obediently in his place.

Ji Chengjue and the Fourth Prince entered one after another.

They waited quite a while.

Then the Crown Prince arrived and took his seat.

The Crown Prince’s face was much thinner than before, but the desolate air that had clung to him at the beginning of the year was gone.

He now seemed steadier, more capable.

Once all the princes had arrived, Emperor Yan emerged from a side hall behind the Imperial Study and sat down behind the imperial desk.

A group of eunuchs brought in the meal.

Bran porridge.

Coarse steamed cakes.

Pickled vegetables.

The Emperor and the princes ate exactly the same food.

“Eat.”

Emperor Yan picked up his silver chopsticks.

“Thank you, Father.”

“Thank you, Father.”

The princes began eating.

The Crown Prince ate with the greatest refinement.

Little Sixth ate with the least restraint and even had a eunuch bring him an extra plate of pickled vegetables midway through.

The Fourth Prince ate most quietly, his thoughts still lingering on the Capital Garrison.

Little Seventh suffered the most.

Every mouthful he swallowed seemed like a tremendous ordeal.

But his father and elder brothers were all eating.

He did not dare act spoiled.

He could only continue.

Suddenly, as Emperor Yan moved his chopsticks, they slipped from his hand and fell onto the table.

The silver chopsticks struck with a clear ringing sound that echoed through the Imperial Study.

Emperor Yan lowered his gaze to his right hand.

The hand was trembling faintly.

Deep within the Emperor’s eyes, anger appeared.

This supreme sovereign of the mortal realm could issue a single decree and command a million soldiers and civilians to open territory for him.

He could send the Prince of Jingnan to war.

He could make the Marquis of Zhenbei guard the wasteland.

He could force the ruler of Qian to bow his head.

He could make a young Barbarian prince acknowledge him as an uncle.

And now, he could not even control his own right hand well enough to pick up a pair of chopsticks again.

For an instant, inside the Imperial Study, everyone’s heart stopped at the sound of those fallen chopsticks.

But very quickly, the Crown Prince calmly picked up some pickled vegetables.

His left hand rested beneath his chin as he brought the food to his mouth.

He chewed slowly, as though nothing at all had happened.

The Fourth Prince stared forward in shock.

His whole body trembled.

By accident, he knocked over the bowl of porridge beside him.

It fell to the floor and shattered.

Immediately afterward, the Fourth Prince left his seat, dropped to his knees, and prostrated himself on the blue bricks of the Imperial Study.

Ji Chengjue sighed.

He set down his own chopsticks, stood, walked to Little Seventh, took the chopsticks from the child’s hand, and placed them on the table as well.

Then he took the confused Little Seventh by the hand, led him over beside the Fourth Prince, and brought him down into a prostration.

The Crown Prince, who had continued eating, finally put down his chopsticks too.

Little Seventh asked in a child’s voice:

“Sixth Brother, what happened?”

“Father is angry,” Ji Chengjue answered.

Little Seventh raised his head in surprise and looked at Emperor Yan.

“Father, why are you angry?”

Ji Chengjue answered for him:

“Because we brothers are useless. We cannot properly share Father’s burdens in affairs of state. We are nothing but a pack of stupid rice sacks who know only how to eat. Father grew so angry just looking at us that he could no longer stomach his meal, and that is why he threw down his chopsticks.”

The Crown Prince rose, left his seat, and prostrated himself.

Then, all the princes spoke together:

“Your sons are incompetent and have failed Your Majesty’s grace. Father, please calm your anger!”

[End of Chapter 545]