Chapter 692: Grand Court Audience!

Dawn came.

A grand court audience was different from an ordinary morning court session. Officials did not need to begin waiting outside the palace gates before sunrise. It was normally arranged for later in the morning, and because there had been a grand banquet in the palace the previous day, today's audience had been humanely postponed by another two hours.

So quite a few officials chose to report to their yamens first, deal with some of the work in their hands, make a show of doing something, and only when the hour seemed about right did they straighten their court robes and head off to "make the next appointment."

In truth, some men belonged to neither faction.

Put another way, only a minority had truly planted their feet firmly on one side.

The profit from supporting the future sovereign was enormous.

So was the risk.

There would always be plenty of people who chose to protect themselves instead.

As for advancement, not everyone possessed some overwhelming ambition to climb upward. No matter the era, no matter the place, once a group became large enough, the people content to muddle through their days would never be the strange ones.

That was also why the backbone of the Sixth Master's faction consisted mainly of officials who had risen over the past few years.

Their seniority was shallow.

Their accumulated standing was shallow.

The men ahead of them could afford to coast.

They generally could not.

Besides, if the Crown Prince ascended smoothly and everything proceeded step by step, what room would there be for them?

If the old radishes were never pulled out, where were the new radishes supposed to find holes?

Might as well follow Sixth Highness and gamble once.

At the same time, because of arrangements Ji Chengjue had made years ago, he had long since become the patron of a large group of officials who entered government through the imperial examinations.

For those men, turning toward him was perfectly natural.

Of course, the Crown Prince's strength was not small either.

It looked weaker than the Sixth Master's faction.

It was often forced into a corner.

If His Majesty had not entered the board again and again to restore the balance, the Eastern Palace might have become unstable long ago.

But throughout court and countryside, there was actually a vast "silent majority."

They would not run around campaigning for the Crown Prince.

Would not charge at the front for him.

At festivals, if they could avoid sending gifts, they would.

Many did not even possess much hunger for promotion.

But they wanted the present order to remain intact.

Wanted the court to remain stable.

So if someone truly forced them to choose... they would still prefer the Crown Prince.

"Heh. Interesting. It's almost divided into a right wing and a left wing."

Riding his Pixiu, Marquis Zheng ate the meat-stuffed flatbread Siniang had made that morning while listening to the intelligence Sun Ying had gathered over the previous few days.

The Crown Prince was benevolent and advocated recuperation.

The Sixth Prince pressed forward aggressively, and his methods resembled those of the Emperor of Yan in his younger years.

Their positions were opposed.

Their political directions were opposed as well.

"That description from the Marquis is indeed fitting," Sun Ying said. "They are like the two wings of Great Yan's Kunpeng. They depend upon one another, oppose one another, and yet cannot be separated from one another. Excellent. Truly excellent."

An intelligent man did not need to have heard this kind of modern label before.

He could understand it from context immediately.

And continue extending the idea.

"That is also why this subordinate believes His Majesty has always wavered. It seems he too has been weighing which road Great Yan should take in the future."

"That's the downside of having too many sons who are too capable." Marquis Zheng shook his head. "A full man never knows the hunger of an empty stomach."

"Yes."

Last night, Xue San had returned and brought another message from Ji Old Sixth.

The medicine he had left in the carriage last time was indeed intended to help conception.

Its effect was excellent.

Zheng Fan could try it.

After hearing that message...

Marquis Zheng immediately cursed:

"Beast!"

...

They reached the palace gates.

Sun Ying remained outside.

Zheng Fan, on the other hand, rode his Pixiu into the palace, personally led by a Gate Lieutenant Commander.

"They changed the guard?"

Marquis Zheng had come from the army.

One sweep of his eyes inside was enough for him to realize that the faces and equipment were wrong.

The palace's original defenses appeared strict.

In truth, they placed more emphasis on majesty than actual battlefield practicality.

No matter the era, the genuine core of an empire remained the place least likely to be attacked directly.

The so-called palace guards were not much different from Marquis Zheng's own guards in Flying Fish Robes.

Looking impressive came first.

The point was to display imperial majesty.

Of course, Marquis Zheng feared death.

So his personal guards were all chosen from hardened soldiers.

The Lieutenant Commander guiding him did not dare answer Marquis Pingxi's question.

How could matters of palace defense be casually spoken aloud?

Couldn't you at least lower your voice and ask secretly?

Fortunately... there was no need to wait for an answer.

Because Zheng Fan saw Old Fourth standing ahead.

The Fourth Prince wore military armor and stood on the Imperial Way.

He looked neither imposing nor heroic.

His expression looked exactly like a man whose mother had just died.

"Heh... pfft... cough..."

Marquis Zheng genuinely could not hold it in.

He laughed.

Then raised his head and looked at the sky as though he had only just noticed that today's clouds seemed unusually noisy.

The Fourth Prince extended one hand.

The soldiers behind him raised their weapons.

"Marquis Pingxi, please dismount."

Zheng Fan nodded and swung down from his Pixiu.

Old Fourth moved aside, signaling that Marquis Pingxi could continue inside.

Every movement was proper.

Every rule followed precisely.

He truly looked like an impartial iron-faced gate god.

Old Fourth had figured things out.

Afraid was afraid.

Cowardly was cowardly.

But there were still things he had no choice but to do.

At least among this generation of Ji pups, even Sixth Brother, whose intelligence approached the demonic, had always been held completely in Imperial Father's palm.

There was even less point speaking of Ji Chengfeng.

He no longer wanted the throne.

Would not fight for it.

Today... he would simply be an impartial gate god.

No faction.

No favoritism.

Do his own duty.

Stand his watch properly.

As for the rest... whoever the hell they wanted to be could be whoever the hell they wanted.

If he behaved like this and still failed to escape the whirlpool in the end, then Heaven truly wanted him dead.

No.

It would mean his old man absolutely insisted on dragging this son down with him because he was afraid of being lonely below.

Fine.

Then he'd go.

Old bastard!

After that, whenever other officials entered, the Fourth Prince maintained an icy expression and stared at every one of them.

He inspected their clothing.

Checked whether they carried anything prohibited.

A few low-ranking officials who had not caught the direction of the wind saw the Fourth Prince suddenly controlling palace defenses and assumed some enormous accident was about to occur.

They lacked the qualifications to squeeze into either the Crown Prince's faction or the Sixth Master's faction.

So they deliberately came forward to flatter him.

History books were not exactly lacking stories of dying Emperors unexpectedly passing the throne to sons no one had anticipated, were they?

Then... the Fourth Prince coldly said to the Imperial Censor beside him:

"This lord. This lord. And this lord as well. Improper conduct before the palace."

The Censor saluted.

"This official has recorded it."

By then, Marquis Zheng had already begun climbing the steps.

He stopped.

Turned around.

And looked back.

Rows upon rows of soldiers.

Rows upon rows of beasts in official robes, symbols of the machinery that kept this empire turning, entering in orderly fashion.

Suddenly... an indescribable feeling rose inside him.

Like some overly sentimental man looking at a bamboo grove in autumn.

Today happened to be cloudy.

The sky was gray.

It matched his mood rather well.

He shook his head.

Smiled.

And entered the great hall.

Sigh.

Time to... find his place again.

Marquis Zheng had a headache.

He had attended court only a handful of times in total.

He genuinely did not know many of the rituals and rules.

Fortunately... he had spent enough time outside earning a sufficiently high rank before returning.

One hereditary military noble he had seen at the banquet the previous night came over very enthusiastically to greet Marquis Zheng.

Marquis Zheng had absolutely no memory of the man's surname or given name.

So he directly grabbed the man's forearm and responded with equal enthusiasm.

Asked whether his elderly mother was well.

Asked whether his children were well.

Fortunately, his mind remained clear enough not to ask whether the man's father was well.

For a hereditary noble to be standing here in court, if his father were still alive, how would the title have fallen to him?

The noble silently guided Marquis Zheng to the very front position in the right-hand column.

Only then did he leave and return to his own place farther back.

Having finally been guided to the correct position, Marquis Zheng laughed inwardly.

Fuck.

No one capable of standing in this hall and attending court was simple, even if all he had done to get here was choose the right womb.

That man had obviously noticed the awkwardness in Zheng Fan's steps long ago and deliberately come forward to guide him.

Marquis Zheng deliberately leaned slightly aside and looked carefully at the man's face.

Someone this good at navigating people was worth remembering.

By then... most of the officials had already entered the hall.

They still spoke quietly among themselves.

But Zheng Fan could clearly sense that some men were obviously distracted.

Inside this hall stood the two succession factions.

One prepared to attack.

The other probably understood that it was about to be attacked.

Both were concentrating and preparing.

The wind fills the tower before the storm arrives.

Excellent.

Today... was definitely going to be extraordinarily entertaining.

The Censor responsible for inspection and a red-robed chief eunuch walked forward for the final check.

Everyone knew the audience was about to begin.

The whispers stopped immediately.

Officials settled into place.

At last... the center of the strongest empire in the East displayed its majesty and sacred solemnity.

Then Zhao Jiulang, the Crown Prince, and the Sixth Prince entered.

Only now did Marquis Zheng realize... he had entered too early.

As a heavyweight... he really should have waited until about now to make his entrance.

Aiya.

Careless.

Careless.

Zhao Jiulang stood at the head of the left-hand column.

Ji Old Sixth stood beneath him.

He might be an imperial prince, but Ji Old Sixth was the Ministry of Revenue's Minister in all but formal title.

Standing there was perfectly proper.

The Crown Prince, meanwhile, stood on the raised platform between the Dragon Throne and the assembled ministers.

A genuine position beneath one man and above ten thousand.

At that moment, quite a few officials noticed Marquis Zheng's side.

They had already realized that the space around Marquis Pingxi was unusually empty.

Wei Zhonghe's long cry shattered the atmosphere.

"His Majesty arrives!"

Every minister dropped to his knees.

Even the Crown Prince knelt.

"Long live Our Emperor, long live, long live ten thousand ten thousand years!"

A short while later... a familiar and majestic voice came from above.

"Beloved ministers, rise."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Everyone rose.

Then... collectively... they turned deeply emotional and concerned gazes toward the Ninth-Five Supreme seated on the Dragon Throne.

His Majesty sat upright.

Perfectly straight.

The Sixth Master's faction inwardly released a breath of relief.

At a moment like this, the healthier His Majesty appeared, the longer he seemed capable of holding on... the more time they still possessed.

The Crown Prince's faction, by comparison, felt somewhat bitter.

Then... the Emperor of Yan's resonant voice rang through the hall.

"We have spent too long recuperating in the Rear Garden. When it comes to affairs of state, We truly have become somewhat rusty. Since this is a grand court audience, let each ministry first select the important matters and report them.

"Let Us, and all Our ministers... have a clear understanding of the situation."

The Emperor's breath sounded extraordinarily full.

Marquis Zheng pressed his lips together.

The Emperor's condition today... did not look like something forced out by swallowing medicine.

One could imagine... the Crown Prince and Ji Old Sixth were surely paying even closer attention to their father's body than Zheng Fan was.

Fortunately... they were probably... used to it.

Used to their old man looking as though he were on the verge of death... only to suddenly straighten up again.

Unfortunately... inside this hall... apart from His Majesty himself and perhaps Wei Zhonghe, who as a Qi Refiner could vaguely sense something... no one knew that the Emperor before them, whose voice now rang with strength and whose color had visibly recovered... had only nine days of life remaining.

At that moment... the elderly Minister of Rites stepped forward.

The same old man who had been angered ill by the roast duck...

No.

By Prince Zhenbei.

He had come to court today despite still being sick.

Among the Six Ministries, Personnel held the greatest practical authority.

But Rites ranked highest in pure prestige.

Before the old Minister could speak, however, the Emperor of Yan turned his gaze toward Zheng Fan's side.

There truly was a conspicuous amount of empty space around Marquis Zheng.

Four men should have occupied those places.

Only Marquis Zheng stood there.

The men below did not dare move up to fill the gaps.

The Emperor of Yan asked in confusion:

"Where are Prince Zhenbei, the Prince of Jingnan, and Wujiang?"

Didn't you send them to fight the Barbarians?

Marquis Zheng stepped out.

He answered:

"To reply to Your Majesty, the Prince of Jingnan said he could not be bothered coming to listen to people ramble."

Meaning... he could not be bothered standing here listening to nonsense.

The elderly Minister of Rites beside him suddenly felt as though an arrow had struck him.

His illness... worsened at once.

The entire hall fell silent.

Then... an Imperial Censor stepped forward.

"This minister impeaches the Prince of Jingnan for arrogance and overbearing conduct!"

Another official followed.

"This minister concurs!"

"This minister concurs!"

The impeachment was mostly formalism.

Because the Prince of Jingnan truly was the kind of man who would do something like this.

Prince of Jingnan behaving arrogantly?

No.

The Prince of Jingnan not behaving arrogantly would be abnormal.

There was no need even to mention the stone lions or the imperial envoys.

Only a few days ago, he had shouted "Purge the Emperor's side!" outside the city.

Besides, the Prince of Jingnan was famously withdrawn.

He had even returned every servant the Imperial Household Department placed in his residence.

Was it not perfectly normal that he now wanted to sit quietly alone inside his estate?

Everyone understood that impeaching the Prince of Jingnan now was merely a formality.

But someone had to perform that formality.

Otherwise... the entire hall would fall awkwardly silent.

The Emperor of Yan smiled.

"We know."

"Qingshuang, Garrison Commander of Prince Zhenbei Residence, requests audience outside the hall."

"Admit him."

Qingshuang entered.

He knelt.

"This general greets my Emperor. Long live Your Majesty."

"Where is Liangting?"

"To reply to Your Majesty, His Highness thought he had not drunk enough at last night's palace banquet. He dragged First Highness into drinking afterward and then... His Highness and First Highness both drank themselves senseless. They are still unconscious and cannot attend court."

The ministers present looked at one another.

Good.

Same old flavor.

For a Prince who had once roasted lamb leg inside the Imperial Study... drinking too much and missing a grand court audience was almost too normal.

Five years ago, everyone had nearly believed the man intended to raise troops and march on Yanjing in rebellion.

As for the First Prince... mm.

He could only be called unlucky for having that kind of neighbor.

Another Censor sighed.

Then stepped forward.

"This minister impeaches Prince Zhenbei for arrogance and overbearing conduct!"

"This minister concurs."

"This minister concurs."

Everyone performed the formality again.

Along the way... they also impeached the First Prince.

"Wei Zhonghe, later send some sobering soup over."

"This slave obeys."

And so... the matter was set aside.

Exactly as everyone expected.

Of course, plenty of "clever people" believed that the Northern and Southern Princes were absent because they did not want to involve themselves in the final struggle for the succession.

Given their identities, there was no need to wade into it at all.

Better to remain quietly at home.

Then... the elderly Minister of Rites was finally permitted to speak.

Afterward... the other leaders of the ministries reported one after another.

The Ministry of Revenue was not represented by Ji Chengjue.

Another official stepped forward instead.

Then came the heads of other departments and yamens, each roughly summarizing their affairs.

At the end, the Crown Prince reported on matters from the period of his regency.

Finally, Zhao Jiulang, as Chancellor, delivered the concluding remarks.

The process was extremely long.

But no one showed the slightest impatience.

Nearly everyone present knew... something major would happen today.

Even Marquis Zheng, who had never liked listening to report meetings, kept himself alert throughout.

He was thinking.

From which direction would Ji Old Sixth attack the Crown Prince?

Errors in administration?

The Crown Prince had not made any obvious mistakes.

He might look like a professional punching bag... but the man genuinely possessed ability.

During his regency, the court and state had continued operating smoothly.

Compared with Sixth Highness, perhaps he truly was a little less dazzling.

But perhaps the Crown Prince had also been deliberately hiding his edge.

The Eastern Palace needed only one thing.

Stability.

Zheng Fan also felt that attacking through government affairs, even if one found flaws, would probably be very difficult to use as a single decisive strike.

Other directions?

Bury a dragon robe beneath the Eastern Palace garden?

With the arrogance of the Northern and Southern Princes setting the standard... a Crown Prince secretly storing a dragon robe did not even seem like that serious a matter.

Colluding with army generals?

If Ji Old Sixth attacked the Crown Prince on that point, it would be like a man covered head to toe in filth laughing at someone else for being dirty.

Who in the entire court did not know the relationship between Zheng Fan and Ji Old Sixth?

So... what exactly was Ji Old Sixth planning to use against the Crown Prince?

And... it had to be fatal in one blow.

There was no longer enough time for slow erosion and drawn-out struggle.

At last...

Zhao Jiulang finished speaking as well.

The Emperor of Yan sat straight on the Dragon Throne as though he felt no fatigue at all.

"Our heart is greatly comforted. Greatly comforted. Beloved ministers, you have all labored hard."

At once... everyone understood the cue and dropped to their knees again.

"This minister is terrified."

"Rise. Rise."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Marquis Zheng was genuinely curious.

How the hell had all these bastards trained themselves to move with such perfect uniformity?

"If there are still matters to memorialize, present them now."

Wei Zhonghe stepped half a pace forward.

"If there are matters, submit memorials. If there are none, court is dismissed."

The atmosphere inside the great hall... instantly grew heavy.

Every heart tightened.

Here it comes.

It's coming!

As expected... at that moment... the Grand Director of the Court of the Imperial Clan stepped forward.

He was also the clan head of the Ji imperial house.

The current Emperor's paternal uncle.

Ji Changwang.

"Your Majesty, this minister has a matter to report."

"Permission granted."

"Your Majesty, during the first third of this month, this minister discovered among the common people a blood descendant of the Son of Heaven."

The imperial bloodline broadly included every branch of the Ji imperial clan.

But "blood descendant of the Son of Heaven" referred specifically to the Emperor of Yan's own direct line.

"Oh?"

A trace of puzzlement entered the Emperor's voice.

The Court of the Imperial Clan was responsible for administering the Ji clan throughout the realm.

Preserving and verifying the Son of Heaven's bloodline naturally fell within its duties.

Ji Changwang continued:

"Your Majesty, a woman has been living with a young daughter in a farming estate in the capital region. The woman possesses a token capable of proving the girl's identity."

At that moment... the Crown Prince standing above suddenly opened his eyes wide.

He looked downward.

Not toward the Grand Director who was speaking.

But toward his own younger brother standing among the officials.

Ji Chengjue!

By now... quite a few ministers present had already guessed whose bloodline this might concern.

Once one began from the assumption of political conspiracy... and treated the matter as a weapon of attack... there were only two imperial princes inside this hall.

Either the Crown Prince was attacking Sixth Highness.

Or Sixth Highness was attacking the Crown Prince.

There was no reason to raise this matter now merely to strike at some prince who was not even present.

Then everyone saw the Crown Prince, standing in the extraordinarily conspicuous position beneath one man and above ten thousand, suddenly lose his composure.

That was enough.

Ji Changwang continued speaking.

"The girl was born full-term on the third day of the sixth month in the Third Year of Yongping."

The third day of the sixth month, Third Year of Yongping.

Every minister began silently calculating.

Once you knew the date of birth, count backward through a full pregnancy and you could roughly determine when the child had been conceived.

The Grand Director had specifically emphasized that the girl was born full-term.

Then... the ministers who completed the calculation first suddenly changed expression.

Several backbone officials of the Crown Prince's faction turned pale as corpses and stared toward the Crown Prince above in disbelief.

The girl had been conceived... precisely when the Empress died.

Not merely during the formal mourning period.

The Empress had remained lying in state inside the palace for forty-nine days before being interred in the Emperor of Yan's own mausoleum.

It was entirely possible... that when this woman conceived... the late Empress's coffin had still been lying in state.

Her bones had not yet gone cold.

This was... truly... monstrous impiety.

And at that moment... inside Marquis Zheng's mind... there suddenly surfaced the message Xue San had brought back from Ji Old Sixth the previous night.

Zheng Fan... this medicine works very well.

You should try it.

[End of Chapter 692]