Chapter 704: Old Bastard!

Earlier, Marquis Pingxi had once asked the Sixth Prince:

How many troops can you actually mobilize inside the capital?

The Sixth Prince had answered:

A little over a thousand.

Zheng Fan had mocked him.

You, Ji Old Sixth, are known as Great Yan's God of Wealth, and that's all you've got?

Yes.

That was all.

And almost every one of them... was inside the Eastern Palace Guard.

The situation now was extremely awkward.

The Emperor had entered the Lu Residence of his own accord.

The Crown Prince had personally brought troops over.

And the Sixth Prince, who by all rights should have been playing the role of a cornered dog leaping over the wall in this affair, had arrived with only his personal eunuch companion driving a carriage.

Then... he took control of the Eastern Palace Guard straight out of the Crown Prince's hands.

The Emperor came in by himself.

The rebel troops were personally delivered by the Crown Prince.

The official histories would never dare write things this way.

Even if some storyteller in a little teahouse tried telling the story like this, the audience would think he was deliberately insulting their intelligence. In a rage, they might flip his long table over, grab the storyteller's own wooden block, and crack his skull open with it.

Unfortunately... stories needed logic.

Stories needed people to believe them.

Reality... did not give a damn.

Ji Old Sixth had not worn his princely python robe today.

Instead, he wore a white brocade robe.

He was married now.

Had three children.

The Sixth Prince was no longer the elegant, carefree young man he had once been.

His face had grown paler.

His belly... had begun to round slightly.

He was clearly marching toward middle age.

Naturally... he needed to look like a middle-aged man.

He had envied that bastard surnamed Zheng before.

Zheng was even slightly older than he was.

Back then, Ji Chengjue had been handsome and graceful.

Zheng Fan, because of the enormous gap in identity and status between them... mm.

Always seemed to be missing something.

Now Zheng Fan's status had risen.

That missing bearing had long since filled itself in.

And over these recent years, he had gone out to campaign almost annually.

Sometimes he even led a long-range cavalry raid once a year.

Always moving.

Naturally, it was difficult for him to gain weight.

The last time Zheng Fan visited the prince's residence... before leaving... he had even patted Ji Chengjue's belly.

"Yo. How many months along?"

Ji Old Sixth's answer at the time had been:

We're grown men now.

Naturally, grown men should look like grown men.

A grown man should be steady.

And what does "steady" mean?

First, your body has to be heavy.

Only with enough weight can you stand firmly.

So first... you have to get heavy!

Then, after Marquis Zheng left the residence...

Ji Old Sixth, for once in his life... did not eat his late-night snack that evening.

A man was no longer young.

Looking back... there was always something to sigh over.

Ji Old Sixth walked up to the Crown Prince.

Lu Bing still stood between the two brothers.

"Uncle Lu. Please report to Imperial Father that I've come to see my son."

Lu Bing nodded.

He gave half a salute.

Then turned and walked back into the Lu Residence, taking the servants who had been blocking the entrance with him.

Ji Old Sixth extended one hand toward the Crown Prince.

"Second Brother. Let's take a walk together."

The Crown Prince extended his hand as well.

Ji Old Sixth did not grasp it.

Instead, he lowered his own palm slightly beneath the Crown Prince's.

Seeing this... the Crown Prince reached out.

And clasped Ji Old Sixth's hand.

The two brothers turned together.

And walked into the Lu Residence.

...

"Your Majesty, Sixth Highness has arrived," Lu Bing reported.

"Mm."

The Emperor of Yan was not surprised in the slightest.

More precisely... the reason he had come to the Lu Residence today... was to wait for this particular son.

"Cough... cough..."

The Emperor suddenly coughed twice.

Afraid of waking his sleeping grandson, he raised his sleeve and covered his mouth and nose.

His spirit still looked good.

But his body had long since become thin as paper.

Only a few days remained before the end of the ten-day period.

Suppressing the cough by force nearly made him lose his breath entirely.

Yet the Emperor simply stiffened his neck.

Forced himself upright.

And endured it.

He had grown accustomed to doing this.

Back in the Rear Garden... he had repeatedly squeezed this failing body dry and forced himself to endure until today.

Blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

Not bright red.

Black.

Not much.

But thick enough to look almost sticky.

Wei Zhonghe offered a handkerchief.

The Emperor did not take it.

He wiped the blood away directly with the sleeve of his white robe.

Then... he took two steps forward.

His body swayed.

Fortunately, one arm landed across Lu Bing's shoulder.

Lu Bing immediately reached out and steadied him.

Old Madam Lu remained seated nearby.

Watching in silence.

The Emperor looked toward her and smiled.

"Wet Nurse has seen Us embarrass Ourselves."

Old Madam Lu closed her eyes.

Two warm tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Heh-heh. When We were little, We drank so much of Wet Nurse's milk that Milk-Brother never got enough for himself. Looking at this body now, though... it still turned out useless. Truly wasted Wet Nurse's milk."

The Emperor's failing health was real.

But in the beginning... it had not deteriorated beyond recovery.

There had been the matter of Master Cang entering Yanjing to sever Great Yan's dragon vein.

Then a senior elder from the palace had dragged Mount Tianhu's Daoist establishment into destruction to forcibly replenish that lost fortune.

If one truly believed in such things, it was nothing more than one loss followed by one replenishment.

Like a human body suffering an injury, then healing.

On the surface... nothing might appear wrong.

But the deficit had already been carved deep inside.

Everyone in the Buddhist hall understood.

The Emperor of Yan... had simply exhausted himself.

For court affairs.

For the State of Yan.

Day after day.

Night after night.

Forgetting food.

Forgetting sleep.

Planning.

Designing.

Calculating.

A person's essence, qi, and spirit had limits.

Spend them too early... and no medicine could truly restore them.

The world remembered how the Northern and Southern Marquises had once trampled the great aristocratic clans beneath their cavalry hooves.

Heroic!

Magnificent!

A deed worthy of draining a great cup in celebration.

But in truth... after the cavalry trampled those clans, how did one prevent court administration from collapsing?

How did one make sure the state remained a state?

That was the true test of a ruler's ability.

A state's institutions were like a person's body.

Everyone knew that violent medicine acted quickly.

But before pouring it down someone's throat, you first had to ask whether the body had been strengthened enough to withstand such a magnificent "medicine that cures the disease."

Both Marquis Zhenbei Residence and Marquis Jingnan Residence had once possessed the strength to launch military uprisings.

Neither had done so.

Because even if they temporarily sent troops into Yanjing... what awaited them afterward... would be an enormous mess.

A state had its structure.

A household had its rules.

The Emperor of Yan had poured his heart's blood into creating the situation Great Yan possessed today.

Many men below had criticized the empire for being like oil blazing over a fierce fire.

But Great Yan had, in the end, endured through the most bitter and difficult period.

The current magnificence would not vanish the instant someone blinked.

With Lu Bing supporting him, the Emperor of Yan walked out of the Buddhist hall.

Of course... there was no principle in this world where a father went out to welcome his sons.

So the Emperor simply sat down on the steps below the Buddhist hall.

Wei Zhonghe brought over a meditation cushion and tried to place it beneath him.

The Emperor waved him away.

The weather had grown cold.

Sitting directly on the stone steps made that coolness even sharper.

Yet the Emperor had not experienced this kind of casual freedom for a very long time.

The ginkgo tree before the Buddhist hall shimmered in mottled light.

Its leaves swayed gently in the wind.

The scene carried an almost painterly mood.

"You sit too. Sit and talk," the Emperor told Lu Bing.

Lu Bing sat down beside him.

"Counting the days, Wujing and Liangting should be nearing Beifeng Commandery," the Emperor said.

Lu Bing replied:

"Your Majesty, the Prince of Jingnan may be able to endure it, but Prince Zhenbei's body probably cannot withstand that kind of long-distance forced march."

"Heh-heh."

The Emperor laughed.

He could almost see Li Liangting before him already... panting for breath.

Shouting that he truly could not continue riding at that pace.

Tian Wujing was a peak Martial Artist.

His body was more than capable of sustaining the fastest possible pace.

There was no question of that.

"The fighting over there is about to begin. Ours here should come to an end soon as well."

The Emperor tugged up his sleeves.

A sensation of feverish heat was beginning to rise again.

He suddenly regretted not bringing the folding fan.

"Milk-Brother. We trust you."

The instant Lu Bing heard that, he rose and knelt below the steps.

"This minister deserves death!"

He truly did.

If Wei Zhonghe had merely pretended to be careless and numb to the danger... then Lu Bing had, in practice... already been luring the sovereign into the trap.

"Sit back down."

"This minister obeys."

Lu Bing could only rise and sit once more.

"Milk-Brother and Wet Nurse have both lived cautious lives because of Us. You have suffered for it."

"Your Majesty must never say that. Everything the Lu family possesses today came only because Mother once nursed Your Majesty. Without Your Majesty, there would be no Lu family as it exists now."

"Afterward, Milk-Brother can live in the light. Help the new sovereign for a few years. Then slowly hand over the matters in your hands. Let the Lu family withdraw from this line of work."

Emotion flickered across Lu Bing's face.

He understood.

His Majesty was arranging a road of retreat for the Lu family.

Since ancient times... those who controlled the Emperor's eyes and ears often enjoyed limitless glory for a time.

How many ever met good ends?

Eunuchs were different.

Eunuchs had no descendants.

Removing the Lu family from this dark intelligence yamen was, in truth, a way of arranging several future generations of wealth and security for the household.

When that time came... even if the descendants were useless, they could still enjoy several generations of education and comfortable living.

And if the descendants proved capable... then the Lu family could finally grow from a household that had risen through imperial favor... into a true established family.

"Milk-Brother's body is much stronger than Ours. When that time comes, if you still feel robust enough, you can request a frontier posting. We remember... when we were boys, Milk-Brother always said you would one day command an army on Our behalf. Because of Us... that ambition was never fulfilled in this life."

"Your Majesty, those were words this minister spoke as a child who did not understand the immensity of Heaven and Earth. They hardly count as some lifelong ambition left unfulfilled. Leaving Wujing aside, even Marquis Pingxi's ability to command armies is beyond anything this minister could hope to match. Great Yan does not lack one more general like me. But beside Your Majesty... there has always been room for one family member like this minister. To have assisted Your Majesty in this life... this minister has long had no regrets."

Those words came from Lu Bing's heart.

His loyalty toward the Emperor of Yan... had always been real.

In the past.

And now.

"There was a time when We hated it. Hated Heaven. Why would it not give Us a little more time? At the time, We truly believed Ourselves the Son of Heaven. Omnipotent. Even in dreams, We imagined Great Yan, under Our hand, pacifying the entire realm and unifying all the Xia lands. Later... We slowly understood. Human strength has its limits. Even an Emperor reaches the end of what he can do. If a man can live his own life well, that is already enough. For Our descendants... We can only try to leave them a better board to inherit. We... cough, cough, cough..."

The Emperor began coughing again.

"Cough... We have not failed the state and its altars."

"Your Majesty has already done better than anyone before you."

"There is still this final little piece. Just this final piece. Once We finish closing it out... We can finally rest properly."

As he spoke... the Emperor looked toward Lu Bing.

The corner of his mouth curved upward.

"These past few days, We dreamed of the Empress. And dreamed of Consort Min. They're already down there... waiting for Us."

"Your Majesty..."

"All Our life, We have never bowed Our head to anyone. Never softened before anyone. But now... We have prepared plenty of explanations. Prepared to bow. Prepared a great many jokes. We've been thinking... once We go down there... We will apologize to them. It was We... who failed them. They... never failed Us in the slightest."

As he spoke... the Emperor pointed toward the ginkgo tree before them.

"Consort Min was a silly one. On the second day after marrying into the princely residence, she met Aunt Rou at the Empress's place. Then she deliberately came into Our study to tell Us that Aunt Rou was one of the nails her father had planted inside Our residence. Milk-Brother... what a good woman she was."

"Your Majesty..."

"Cough... cough... cough..."

The Emperor began coughing violently again.

Then gasped in great mouthfuls of air.

He lifted his sleeve once more and wiped at the corner of his mouth.

"Wujing must hate Us. Liangting is dissatisfied with Us too. And the truth is... when have We ever stopped hating Ourselves? But We could not show it. Not even a trace. Fortunately... We can still give them an answer. Here. In a little while. We... will give every last one of them... and Ourselves as well... an answer."

"Lu Bing, receive the decree."

Lu Bing immediately rose and knelt.

"This minister is here."

"We order you: from this moment onward, no matter what happens here, you are not to intervene. Every person in your yamen may be used only to protect the first imperial prince who walks out of this residence afterward. Milk-Brother. We have always treated you as family. This time... guard Our family gate for Us one final time."

"This minister obeys the decree!"

"Wei Zhonghe."

"This slave is here."

Wei Zhonghe immediately knelt.

"That entire room of Mr. Horns... it would be a shame to simply give them away. They are the fruit of many years of effort."

Wei Zhonghe did not show the slightest embarrassment that His Majesty knew about his private collection.

Instead... he smiled with genuine release.

"Your Majesty, this slave truly has made a fool of himself before Your Majesty."

"You have worked hard all these years."

"Your Majesty, being able to serve at Your Majesty's side is fortune this slave cultivated across ten lifetimes!"

"After We are gone, We will not need a castrated bastard like you waiting on Us for a while. Don't hurry to come disturb Us. Like Milk-Brother, help manage things for another two years first. Hand everything over properly. After that, wander through the jianghu if you like. Go take a look at Qian's Back Mountain if you like. Walk more. See more. When you finally decide there is nothing interesting left outside... come to Our tomb. Keep Us company. And tell Us about the people and things you saw out there."

"This slave... this slave obeys the decree."

Wei Zhonghe's eyes had long since reddened.

He forced himself not to cry.

The Emperor of Yan drew in a deep breath.

His gaze turned toward the distance.

And he cursed:

"Why haven't those two little beasts gotten here yet?"

...

The Crown Prince held Ji Chengjue's hand as the two brothers walked through the Lu Residence.

"Zhu Xuancheng... is he yours too?"

Xuancheng was Zhu Zicong's courtesy name.

Ji Chengjue shook his head.

"No. But I noticed that man beside Second Brother very early and had people investigate him. He's a decent talent. Understands civil affairs. Knows military matters. And he can keep accounts."

"So he merely fell into one of your calculations?"

The man Ji Chengjue had predicted... was not the Crown Prince himself.

It was the Crown Prince's most important strategist.

Ji Chengjue nodded.

"Something like that."

"Second Brother. I don't know why, but right now I feel strangely relaxed. Almost like we've gone back to when we were children."

"When we were children, you were the cleverest. Now... you're still the cleverest."

"Exactly. Back then I could never understand it. I kept wondering how my older brothers could all be so stupid. Hahaha."

"I read the letter you sent me yesterday," the Crown Prince said. "Was that meant to attack my heart too?"

The letter... had mentioned an old eunuch.

That eunuch had served inside the palace for many years and seen countless storms.

Several years earlier, after the Empress began suffering episodes of madness, that old eunuch remained stationed inside Fengzheng Palace.

As long as he was there... no one could harm the Empress.

No one could act against her.

Including... the Empress herself.

Then... several days before the Empress died... the old eunuch was transferred away.

After that... the Empress died.

The Empress had wanted to die for a long time.

But she had never been allowed to leave.

At last... perhaps someone's heart softened.

Or perhaps someone simply decided the time had come.

The old eunuch was transferred away.

And during one brief moment of clarity, the Empress looked around.

Did not see that dull-faced eunuch nearby.

And chose to end her own life.

"No. But I suppose it also counts." Ji Chengjue stopped and looked at the Crown Prince. "I've always felt that even if we brothers are going to maul each other bloody, at least we should do it knowing exactly why. No one should die muddleheaded."

"I never believed you were the one who made a move against Mother," the Crown Prince said.

Ji Chengjue nodded.

The Crown Prince turned his head and looked at his Sixth Brother.

"If you had been given another few years, would everyone inside my Eastern Palace eventually have become your people?"

"Second Brother. The truth is, we were never on the same level. While all of you were still reading the sages and classics, I had already inherited everything my maternal grandfather left behind. Wealth. Connections. And besides... I'm smarter than all of you. I could arrange for the woman who sold herself to bury her father, the one you bought when we left the palace together, to be my person. The beauty you rescued while playing the hero could be my person. The little beggar who stole your purse, whom you caught only to discover he needed the money to buy medicine for his mother... could be my person too. The maid who served you in bed the first time your heart began stirring... might also have been mine. Before any of you even understood that you needed to build your own group... I had already prepared candidates for you. I'm younger than you. But I started doing these things far, far earlier. My maternal grandfather's inheritance was vastly larger than any of you ever imagined. For a time... it even made me feel that Imperial Father had truly been forced to destroy the Min Clan. In short... with money... you really can do whatever the hell you want. But today, I did not expect Second Brother to personally bring troops here. Imperial Father only just told you that doing nothing was your greatest advantage. Mr. Zhu is indeed talented. He can see through some things. But that does not mean he knows how to arrange the correct response. Aunt Rou's trap was different. This time... Second Brother, you should never have come."

"If I didn't come, how were you planning to mobilize these troops?"

"Just raise them directly and attack. Have Wu Liang fly the Eastern Palace banner and set fire to the Lu Residence while besieging it. Then let Eldest Brother and Marquis Pingxi watch the wind and act. Purge the Emperor's Side. Suppress the rebellion. Fish in troubled waters. Pile the fire high enough... then see whether Heaven chooses to send rain. It would've been crude. But little brother here truly had no other option. I really had been forced into a corner. So... Second Brother. Why did you come? Do you understand how much trouble you've saved me by coming personally? The Eastern Palace Guard itself was built up in the shadows by Wen Yin. You replaced him with Wu Liang and never carried out any large-scale purge. Second Brother... you actually dared bring this force outside?"

"Sixth Brother. Do you remember what I asked you the day Chuanye was born?"

"I remember." Ji Chengjue said, "Second Brother asked me then whether I hated you."

The Crown Prince drew in a deep breath.

"For a very long time, no one ever asked me one question. Do you actually want this realm? I assumed... I probably did. Because I am the eldest legitimate son. Because I am Imperial Father's son. I should fight. I should take. I should do everything I was supposed to do. All of it... felt natural. But later... I gradually realized... the realm is too far away from me. So far that I cannot even see it clearly. But my family... is right in front of me. I watched it with my own eyes... break apart. Fall away from itself. Shatter. Bleed."

The Crown Prince smiled.

Then continued:

"In truth, I would have come even without Zhu Zicong urging me. Since you've decided to make a move against that old bastard... the one thing your elder brother can do... is bring the troops over for you."

[End of Chapter 704]