Chapter 675: Purge the Emperor's Side!

Zheng Fan sat in the bathing tub with both arms resting along the rim, eyes half closed as he savored the moment.

Once a person became accustomed to soaking in a bath, going without one for a while made life feel as though something were missing. Unfortunately, while traveling, finding the conditions and opportunity for one really was difficult.

Siniang entered and began wiping his back.

"Master seems a little different lately."

"Mm."

Zheng Fan nodded. He did not tell her specifically that he felt closer to advancing. He still had no idea when the breakthrough would actually come, and there were quite a few Demon Kings accompanying him on this trip to the capital. There was no need to make them tense up and start mobilizing around him already.

He could tell them after he truly advanced.

"Will Master rest next?"

Zheng Fan shook his head. "I'll go walk around. We're staying here tonight. The eunuchs carrying the imperial summons and the officials sent to receive us all arrived during the day. We should enter the capital tomorrow."

They were staying in the Eastern Camp outside Yanjing.

A Prince was still a Prince. The scale of Tian Wujing's arrival was genuinely larger than that of a mere Marquis. Marquis Zheng had brought only his personal guards in Flying Fish Robes and an escort of eight hundred cavalry.

The Prince of Jingnan, meanwhile, had brought ten thousand iron cavalry of the Jingnan Army.

Yet in truth, Marquis Zheng was obviously the more timid of the two, more afraid of dying, and far easier to kill.

Whether there was some other calculation behind the disparity, Zheng Fan still did not know.

Since ancient times, when a regional prince entered the capital, unless he intended to rebel, he usually kept as low a profile as humanly possible, practically wishing he could bury his own head in his crotch.

But there was no precedent for the peculiar arrangement between Great Yan's Emperor and its two Princes.

As Princes, they seemed remarkably insensitive to actions that would normally provoke a sovereign's suspicion.

And as Emperor, Ji Runhao indulged the two Princes to an almost incomprehensible degree.

Back in the State of Qian, the Tattooed-Face Chancellor had been imprisoned by Chancellor Han on a trumped-up charge and died in confinement. The reason the accusation had to be fabricated was precisely because there had been no genuine crime anyone could seize upon.

When the court ordered him into the capital, he went.

One master, one servant.

His family had already been left behind in Shangjing.

Great Yan was the exact opposite.

If anyone truly wanted to prosecute the Southern and Northern Princes, there would be no need to fabricate charges. There were simply too many real offenses and too much hard evidence. Yet even with mountains of evidence sitting in plain sight, no one above dared make an issue of any of it.

Zhao Jiulang certainly did not dare imitate Chancellor Han of Qian.

After all, everyone knew the Tattooed-Face Chancellor had been utterly loyal to his state and could never have rebelled.

These two Princes, however... had both the ability to rebel and the possibility of actually doing it.

Who would dare provoke them?

With Siniang's help, Zheng Fan dried himself, changed into fresh clothes, and left the command tent.

In the neighboring tent, A’Ming was playing xiangqi with Sun Ying.

The two had become quite close, because Sun Ying had one particular hobby: wine.

As Grand Tutor Sun's eldest son, Sun Ying had never truly suffered much hardship despite Sun Youdao's regret that he had spent too much time on government affairs and too little properly teaching his eldest boy.

Situ Lei had treated Sun Youdao practically as a brother. As the Sun family's legitimate eldest son, Sun Ying could enter the imperial wine cellar of Great Cheng almost as casually as he entered his own.

Besides, a minister sometimes needed to reveal a few weaknesses and appetites so that the man above him had an opportunity to satisfy them. One could not always behave like a sage utterly without desire.

For a very long time, that difficult responsibility had fallen to Sun Ying.

One of A’Ming's lonely frustrations had always been that several of his interests were simply too refined for the people around him.

Master did not drink.

The other Demon Kings did not drink either.

At most, Liang Cheng might occasionally join him for a cup of blood.

Now, with Sun Ying around, A’Ming could take out bottles from his private collection, share them, and judge the vintages together. He was not stingy about it. Wine only revealed its true worth when given to someone capable of appreciating it.

Seeing Zheng Fan emerge, Sun Ying immediately pushed his wheelchair out of the tent.

A’Ming merely yawned.

One was the new junior who had only just entered the household.

The other was an old hand who had been around since the startup days.

Naturally, their enthusiasm differed.

"Does the Marquis have any instructions?" Sun Ying asked.

"Nothing. Just taking a walk."

Zheng Fan looked at him.

"Come along."

"Yes, Marquis."

Sun Ying began turning the wheels himself, but A’Ming stood, stepped behind him, and pushed the wheelchair forward.

"This is too much, far too much."

Sun Ying looked somewhat overwhelmed. He already understood the status within the Marquis Residence of the several men addressed as "Mister."

A’Ming merely smiled.

"No need to be so polite."

That day, Sun Ying had sat with Master and spoken at length while drinking cold tea.

Afterward, Master had told Siniang to add hot water.

The meaning was obvious:

Sun Ying had some ability.

He was useful.

Under the night sky, Zheng Fan walked in front while A’Ming pushed Sun Ying's wheelchair behind him.

"Have you ever been to Yanjing before?" Zheng Fan asked.

"To answer the Marquis, never. But Ying remembers that when the late Emperor of Great Cheng was still alive, he once said while playing Go with my father that Great Yan to the west would probably soon become something like the Three Jin are today."

"When did he say that?"

"Almost ten years ago."

"Oh."

By then, the present Emperor of Yan had already ascended the throne.

At the time, Great Yan was crowded with powerful aristocratic clans. In the west stood Marquis Zhenbei Residence. Elsewhere, the great clans effectively monopolized nearly half the population and farmland outside Tiancheng Commandery.

The Tian Clan, because Tian Wujing commanded the Jingnan Army, had already begun to emerge as foremost among the aristocratic houses.

Situ Lei had personally witnessed the weakening of royal authority and the partition of Jin among three great houses. Naturally, he had reason to believe the State of Yan might eventually walk the same road.

"But my father disagreed."

"Oh? What did the old Grand Tutor say?"

"My father said that the late Emperor of Great Yan certainly revered the occult arts, sought elixirs and immortality, built the Rear Garden, indulged in pleasure, and devoted himself to Daoist pursuits.

"But one thing in particular was worth noticing.

"The late Emperor had many sons, yet only one was made an imperial prince. Later, that same prince entered the Eastern Palace, and his position was so stable it could not be shaken.

"Since ancient times, conflict between father and son in an imperial house, especially between an Emperor and his heir apparent, has been almost inevitable. Yet Great Yan showed none of it.

"However muddleheaded, incompetent, or pleasure-loving an Emperor might be, if he can arrange the succession with such decisiveness, certainty, and absolute firmness, then he is already no ordinary man.

"Across history, how many otherwise wise and capable Emperors reached old age and still failed to settle the succession properly, leaving chaos behind them?"

"Heh."

Zheng Fan smiled.

He knew something of these matters. Little Sixth had spoken of them before.

When the late Emperor of Yan had seized the throne, he had at one point been driven out of Yanjing and pursued. The old palace eunuch had sworn to protect him and suffered grave wounds, leaving him crippled for life.

Later, with the aid of Marquis Zhenbei Residence, the late Emperor returned to Yanjing and took the throne. Afterward, he spent his years seeking immortality and elixirs, gathering men of the occult arts, and building temples and Daoist monasteries.

Yet the present Emperor's position had remained extraordinarily secure throughout.

On one side, he had practically grown up together with Li Liangting.

On another, marrying a daughter of the Tian Clan had not been enough. While still an imperial prince, he had also married a daughter of the Min Clan as a secondary consort.

Later, he was formally installed as Crown Prince.

What kind of lineup was that for an Eastern Palace?

To put it crudely, if the current Crown Prince, the Second Prince, possessed that kind of backing, he would probably laugh himself awake every night.

A Crown Prince already occupied the legitimate position as heir to the state.

To the west, he enjoyed close relations with Marquis Zhenbei Residence.

He was bound by marriage to the Tian Clan, one of the great aristocratic houses.

He was also bound by marriage to the Min Clan, a merchant colossus.

And beyond that, the Crown Prince of Yan traditionally commanded the Imperial Guards. The present Second Prince had done so before as well.

Thus, back when the present Emperor had still been Crown Prince, he had the Imperial Guards inside the capital, Marquis Zhenbei Residence as powerful support outside it, excellent relations with the aristocratic houses, and Eastern Palace officials such as Zhao Jiulang already occupying important posts throughout the court. Men of the Crown Prince's faction were spread across court and countryside.

It was no exaggeration to say that the present Emperor of Yan, while still Crown Prince, could have crooked one finger and staged a Xuanwu Gate coup with virtually no risk at all.

The late Emperor would have had no choice except to become Emperor Emeritus and retire to enjoy his final years.

Sun Ying continued, "My father also said at the time that when a sovereign seeks immortality and pursues the Dao, it usually isn't because he truly devotes himself wholeheartedly to the Dao itself. What he seeks is longevity.

"Not longevity so he can continue pursuing truth without rest, caring only that he hears the Dao in the morning even if he dies that evening.

"No.

"It is because the Dragon Throne, that position itself, is too intoxicating. He wants to sit there forever.

"That is why the Emperors recorded in history who pursued immortality were generally exceptionally selfish and placed extraordinary importance on power and status.

"Yet that Emperor of Yan was different. Not only did he delegate enormous authority to the Eastern Palace, he showed no intention of suppressing it. Nor did he elevate other princes to balance against the heir.

"Something about that was wrong."

Sun Ying paused there and sighed.

"I have always admired my father's eye for people and affairs."

Facts later proved Sun Youdao correct.

There truly had been something unusual.

After ascending the throne, the Emperor of Yan spent more than ten years consolidating and expanding his own strength while making preparations in secret.

In truth, the preparation had begun even earlier, when he had still been an imperial prince and later Crown Prince.

Then came the cavalry trampling the great clans.

Then outward expansion.

Even if Great Yan's national fortune truly snapped and the dynasty died in its second generation under the most extreme possible outcome, Ji Runhao would still inevitably be honored in the histories as a sovereign of magnificent talent and grand strategy.

And Sun Youdao had indeed deserved the words peerless scholar of the realm.

Unfortunately, when Great Cheng submitted to Yan, the Emperor of Yan issued several edicts inviting Sun Youdao to serve in Yanjing, but the old man repeatedly declined on account of his advanced age.

"But His Majesty is old now," Zheng Fan said.

Sun Ying was no longer startled by such words.

Traveling with the Marquis's party these past days, what had struck him most deeply was the atmosphere inside the Marquis Residence.

How to describe it?

Politically... it was astonishingly free.

At first, Sun Ying had thought the men below, especially those addressed as Mister, were merely indulging themselves and trying to influence the Marquis.

Slowly, he realized that the Marquis himself was the true source from which this "freedom" spread.

At one point Sun Ying had even become confused.

Back then, he had spent so much effort plotting restoration and rebellion, nearly destroying the entire Sun family in the process.

For what?

If he had simply joined this Marquis early on... wouldn't the essence have been almost the same?

"Sun Ying."

"This subordinate is here."

"I think you are a talented man."

"Thank you for the Marquis's praise. Ying..."

"But..."

Sun Ying immediately stopped trying to modestly decline and listened obediently.

"But some things will be completely different from what you imagine. Great Yan's court today, and the overall military and political order of the state, do not resemble any situation you have ever read about in the histories."

"Ying understands. Tomorrow, Ying will watch carefully. Truly watch."

"Very good."

Zheng Fan nodded.

Then he turned toward A’Ming, who was pushing the wheelchair.

"Where's San'er? I don't think I've seen him all day."

"A’Li seems to have eaten something bad."

"Got the runs?"

"No. Constipated."

"Mm?"

A’Ming explained, "A’Li's body has very high drug resistance. Ordinary laxatives don't do much. San'er is mixing a stronger dose specifically for him."

"Don't let him ruin his body experimenting."

Long ago, Xue San had once tested a medicinal bath on Zheng Fan.

The potency had reduced him to unbearable agony in an instant.

"Don't worry, Master. San'er knows what he's doing."

A’Ming did not tell Master that Xue San planned to test the medicine on a Pixiu first, then give it to Fan Li.

"And yours?" Zheng Fan asked again.

"In a cage," A’Ming replied.

The old vampire named Kashir.

There was no need for Zheng Fan to give instructions about him. A’Ming treated his new "blood bag" like a treasure. He had been feeding Kashir extremely well these past days, even going so far as to mobilize Zheng Fan's personal guards and one column of Jingnan troops to ride far out and suppress a band of Jin rebels.

The poor rebels had merely occupied a hill, waved a banner a few times, and were still planning to bargain with the local magistrate for amnesty.

They had not even finished building their Brotherhood Hall or ranking the seats of their sworn brothers when they saw the finest cavalry of Great Yan charging straight at them.

Even as they died, they probably thought:

Wasn't this a little excessive?

"Is the Marquis worried about what will happen after entering the capital?" Sun Ying asked.

Zheng Fan nodded.

"With both Princes gathered there, what could possibly happen?"

"That is exactly why, Sun Ying."

"This subordinate is here."

"You need to watch more. Watch carefully."

"This subordinate was wrong. This subordinate... understands."

"We're going back. Back to sleep. Tomorrow, we enter the capital."

Marquis Zheng waved a hand and turned directly toward his own command tent.

Inside, Siniang had already made the bed and climbed beneath the covers herself. She held needle and thread, sewing clothes.

They were children's clothes.

For Tian Tian.

Marquis Zheng removed his shoes and outer clothes and slipped beneath the quilt.

He lay flat on his back, eyes open.

Siniang set aside her sewing, turned on her side, and lightly patted Zheng Fan's chest.

"My Lord Marquis, are you still uneasy?"

Zheng Fan nodded and sighed.

"What is coming will come in the end."

"I know. I know."

Zheng Fan reached out and wrapped an arm around Siniang's waist.

"Once tomorrow actually arrives and the matter is right in front of me, I'll probably feel calmer instead."

...

The next morning, several groups of eunuchs bearing imperial edicts, together with officials from the Ministries of Rites and War, ran back and forth preparing to welcome the Prince of Jingnan and the Marquis of Pingxi into the capital.

It had been more than four years since the Prince of Jingnan last entered Yanjing.

When the Prince's banner once again appeared within the capital region, many people instinctively remembered that blood-soaked night outside Yanjing years before.

Fortunately, all the frantic movement and crippling tension belonged to the people inside the capital.

The procession entering Yanjing remained perfectly orderly.

The Prince of Jingnan rode his Pixiu at the front.

Zheng Fan rode his own Pixiu half a body-length behind him.

On either side and to the front and rear were Zheng Fan's personal guards in Flying Fish Robes.

Only beyond them came the black-armored cavalry escort.

"Your Highness, these uniforms look good, don't they?" Zheng Fan said, showing off the dress of his guards to Old Tian.

The Pixiu beneath him snorted and rolled its eyes.

And you mocked me?

Aren't you showing off a new skin yourself?

"Mm. They do," Tian Wujing said.

"Don't worry. When we get back, I'll send a set for your personal guards too."

"Good."

Zheng Fan smiled and continued following behind.

News from ahead said their group would arrive before Prince Zhenbei, though Prince Zhenbei was expected no more than another two days later.

So all of today's ceremony was for the Prince of Jingnan entering the city.

Soon, a great imperial canopy appeared ahead.

The Son of Heaven's imperial carriage had also come out.

Only... the Son of Heaven himself was not in it.

Sending the imperial carriage to receive the Prince was itself a matter of ritual, representing the imperial clan and court's respect for the Prince of Jingnan.

In front of the imperial carriage rode the Crown Prince in a red python robe embroidered with gold.

Behind him were, in order, the Sixth Prince Ji Chengjue, the Fourth Prince Ji Chengfeng, and the young Seventh Prince Ji Chengsu.

The First Prince had still not returned.

The Fourth Prince stood behind the Sixth despite being older, a violation of seniority. Yet no one criticized it. Even the officials of the Ministry of Rites pretended not to notice.

Before absolute ability, ranking by age and seniority was worth less than a copper coin.

The imperial carriage halted.

The Imperial Guards took their positions.

Ranks of ceremonial implements and golden parasols spread outward.

Behind them, the civil and military officials arranged themselves in neat order.

For the Prince of Jingnan's return, the whole court, or more precisely nearly every civil official, military officer, noble, and honored family in Yanjing, had practically emptied itself out to greet him.

Even when Marquis Zhenbei entered the capital years ago, there had not been a display on this scale.

Perhaps it was precisely because the Prince of Jingnan had such a terrible reputation among the common people.

The worse the reputation, the more solemnly and perfectly one had to observe every courtesy, the less one dared show even the smallest neglect.

Or perhaps... after years of war, achievement, prestige, and military glory, Great Yan's Southern Prince had already surpassed the Marquis of Zhenbei of old.

He was indisputably Great Yan's foremost God of War.

The pillar of the state.

The Crown Prince urged his horse forward at a slow walk.

Ji Chengjue, Ji Chengfeng, and Little Seventh all dismounted and followed.

From the opposite side, the Prince and Marquis riding Pixiu also advanced slowly, their beasts' hooves stepping onto the solemn yellow cloth laid along the road.

But neither the Prince of Jingnan nor the Marquis of Pingxi dismounted.

Marquis Zheng had already entered full follow-the-leader mode.

He could not be bothered thinking about anything else.

If Old Tian ahead of him did not dismount, neither would he.

The Crown Prince's party and theirs drew closer and closer.

Someone had to dismount first.

Someone had to offer the first greeting.

By normal propriety, the heir to the state stood before them, one man below the Emperor and above all others. Aside from the man on the Dragon Throne, he was unquestionably the second-most exalted person in the realm.

But... perhaps the Crown Prince himself had imagined it.

At least that was what Ji Chengjue thought as he looked toward the Southern Prince, who still showed no intention of leaving his Pixiu, and Zheng Fan behind him.

If the Prince of Jingnan took the initiative to dismount first now, there would be no need even for a formal salute.

A simple greeting, even one delivered merely as an uncle to his nephew, would be an enormous political boon and acknowledgment for the Crown Prince.

Unfortunately.

What a pity.

The Prince of Jingnan was still the Prince of Jingnan.

Tian Wujing was, after all, Tian Wujing.

The Crown Prince dismounted.

The three imperial princes behind him stopped.

The Crown Prince folded his hands before himself and saluted the Prince of Jingnan, who remained seated on his Pixiu.

"Uncle has campaigned for the state for many years, expanding our borders and establishing achievements unmatched in this age. Your nephew respectfully welcomes Uncle home!"

Ji Chengjue and the others saluted as well.

"We greet Uncle. May Uncle enjoy health and peace."

Tian Wujing's elder sister had been Empress, the legitimate mother of all the imperial princes.

That made him uncle to every one of them.

Tian Wujing's gaze moved past them to the empty imperial carriage behind them.

He asked:

"Where is His Majesty?"

The Crown Prince replied, "Imperial Father is recuperating in the Rear Garden. I went beforehand to request that he come, but Imperial Father has caught a chill and cannot come out to welcome Uncle for the moment. He ordered me to bring the imperial carriage out in his place and receive you on his behalf.

"Please enter the capital and rest first, Uncle. Everything has already been arranged."

Tian Wujing reached down and patted the head of his Pixiu.

The beast opened its mouth.

The Kunwu Saber flew out and landed in Tian Wujing's hand.

In the next instant, every Jingnan Army rider behind him drew his saber at once.

A murderous chill surged across the field.

The Crown Prince's mouth parted slightly.

Even Little Sixth behind him revealed shock in his eyes.

The ministers and nobles farther back erupted in alarm.

This... this... even if you were going to rebel, could you really be this direct about it?

Tian Wujing lowered his gaze to the Crown Prince standing before him.

Slowly, he said:

"This Dragon Throne, in this Prince's lifetime, has only one man I acknowledge as worthy to sit upon it."

His stern gaze swept across the other three imperial princes behind the Crown Prince.

Then his voice deepened.

"So long as His Majesty has not passed away, you little bastards have no right to use anything that claims 'as though We were present in person.'

"Two hours.

"This Prince gives you two hours.

"If this Prince does not see His Majesty's imperial countenance within two hours, I will take it as proof that you have committed treason against your sovereign, imprisoned your ruler, and plotted rebellion.

"This Prince... and the more than ten thousand iron cavalry I have brought with me... will immediately storm Yanjing, sweep away the foul miasma, and purge the Emperor's side!"

[End of Chapter 675]