Chapter 828: Prince Jingnan... Receive the Edict!

The Pixiu Eunuch Huang had ridden out from the capital had already given out halfway through the journey.

He had changed horses several times at relay stations before finally crossing the Wang River. He did not stop at Yupan City, the once-famous den of gold and pleasure that was gradually recovering its vitality and had regained perhaps thirty percent of its old appearance.

Instead, he passed Yupan City in one breath and continued to a village east of the city before finally stopping to rest.

In truth... he should not have stopped.

As long as he had not died, he ought to keep jolting forward.

The decree in his hands concerned genuine military and national affairs.

Not one moment could be wasted.

The problem was that the pain in Eunuch Huang’s lower abdomen had become unbearable, as though someone were repeatedly threading a needle through his flesh.

His face had gone pale and bloodless.

With the possibility of suddenly dropping dead now plainly visible to everyone, Eunuch Huang had no choice but to accept his attendants’ advice and spend one night near the village.

The imperial decree was important.

But if the eunuch carrying it died halfway there, who exactly was supposed to proclaim it?

That would even affect the sanctity of the decree.

Perhaps its validity as well.

After all, forging an imperial decree was not truly difficult.

One could even call it simple.

The difficult part was forging the person who delivered it.

That person possessed rank.

A publicly recognized status.

Qualifications matching the importance of the decree.

People first recognized the messenger.

Only after recognizing the messenger did they recognize the decree he carried.

If some old peasant climbed straight out of a field holding a genuine imperial decree and appeared before a high official or great noble... would anyone believe him?

The court had long since developed a strict system of cross-verification for such matters.

So Eunuch Huang himself was part of the imperial decree.

It was not that he feared death.

Nor that he cherished his life excessively.

Nor had he simply become too tired to continue.

For the sake of the imperial command, he had to keep his wretched life intact until the decree was delivered.

The village where they stopped contained a small military fort. Around the fort stretched a planned military-farming district.

Outsiders were checked strictly.

But after Eunuch Huang’s identity was verified, the Squad Leader of the fort voluntarily vacated his own little courtyard and let the party stay there.

Eunuch Huang’s attendants laid him on the bed.

They had left in too much haste to bring an imperial physician.

Nor could they possibly carry a complete pharmacy with them.

They had brought plenty of qi-restoring pills for the long journey, but despite technically being medicine, those pills had only worsened the pain when they fed him two at the beginning of the attack.

After that, nobody dared give him more.

Once the Squad Leader learned what had happened, he found an old soldier.

The veteran came over, took one look, then gathered several herbs and began decocting them.

After lying in bed for two hours, Eunuch Huang received a bowl of green medicinal liquid.

Before he even drank it, a sharp fishy stench struck his nose.

But Eunuch Huang was not some delicate flower.

He pinched his nose and downed the entire bowl in one go.

Another hour passed.

And, hey... the pain was gone!

One attendant went to ask the old soldier about the prescription.

The veteran explained:

“In a farming village like this, whether someone has a headache, a fever, something wrong with the nose, mouth, or ears, even if they fall and break a leg, I boil this same medicine. If drinking it works, then good, it worked. If it doesn’t, they go to the nearest large town and find a real physician. The garrison soldiers here are registered Standard households. Farming households without Standard registration sometimes borrow a soldier’s Standard-household identity to see a physician and get medicine. They don’t need to pay. The Prince Residence covers it.”

The attendant heard this and momentarily forgot why he had come.

He asked in surprise:

“Isn’t borrowing someone else’s identity like that deceiving the Prince Residence?”

The old soldier laughed.

“Of course you can’t let just anyone do it. If it happens too often, trouble comes. The higher-ups investigate. Only people you’re close to get to borrow the benefit once in a while.”

“Then the medicine just now?” the attendant asked.

“Didn’t I already say? I don’t know what damned use it really has either. Most illnesses in this world will improve seven or eight parts on their own even if all you do is drink some medicine. Of whatever remains, what a genuine physician can actually cure is perhaps half of half again. And if King Yama truly intends to collect your life, then no matter what you do, that life is gone. That is basically how common people like us treat sickness. If we can endure it, we endure it. If we can bear it, we bear it. The younger ones, when they truly can’t take it anymore, might find a doctor and try their luck. As for the old, forget whether their families are willing to invite a physician. Many old people themselves refuse treatment. Once you reach the age, why keep tormenting yourself? When it’s time to go, you go. Only after becoming a Standard household do you get this kind of protection. That’s why Heaven knows how many young lads are waiting for the chance. They’re waiting for the Prince to give one order and call men up for war.”

The attendant nodded.

He finally understood that his godfather had not encountered some hidden master of folk medicine.

His godfather had simply been lucky and the pain had subsided.

Seeing the attendant fall silent, the old soldier said:

“War’s coming.”

“Ah?”

The attendant had been distracted.

The old soldier chuckled.

Disdain and pride mixed across his face.

“Those fellows in the west couldn’t handle matters and lost a battle. So now everyone’s looking to our Prince again. I’m too old to go onto a battlefield anymore. But every young lad in the farming households around here is waiting for it. These days, messengers like your group are not the first to stop in our village. You can tell. The people over there are panicking now. Hahaha.”

The veteran clearly did not know this messenger party’s true identity.

He merely assumed they were people sent by some other Prefect to deliver letters.

After the Squad Leader learned that the visitor was an imperial eunuch carrying a decree, he had been ordered not to tell anyone nearby and only to pass the information backward through the proper channels.

So in the old soldier’s eyes, these people were wealthy and important enough, but their status had nothing to do with him.

This was eastern Jin.

Land beneath the Prince’s feet.

There was no need to bow and scrape before outsiders.

And no one had developed the habit of doing so.

The attendant returned inside and reported everything truthfully.

Eunuch Huang laughed after hearing it.

“So in the end, it was His Majesty protecting this slave.”

Everyone around him immediately agreed.

Of course...

Third Master happened not to be here.

If Third Master had been present, perhaps he would already have pulled out his scissors.

Acute appendicitis, right?

Come.

Third Master will cut it out for you.

Tiny procedure.

About the same as cutting off a foreskin.

What?

You don’t know what foreskin is?

Then Third Master might as well remove that troublesome bit of skin for you too.

Eh?

Where’s your skin?

“When we left the capital, the atmosphere in Yanjing was terribly oppressive,” Eunuch Huang said. “When we first entered Jin, western Jin was full of alarm. There were even rumors that the Qian-Chu coalition was about to attack through South Gate Pass. Central Jin was somewhat better. Yingdu is orderly enough. Prefect Xu really is capable. Auxiliary troops, grain, provisions, laborers, everything is already being prepared. Tell me. Both men carry the surname Xu. So how did our Imperial Commissioner Xu Qingshan manage to be such a useless piece of work?”

Eunuch Huang was an old hand inside the palace.

His information was naturally excellent.

Even while chatting privately with several attendants, he did not casually trample men for amusement.

But Eunuch Huang knew perfectly well that the imperial commissioner had already earned His Majesty’s anger.

The assignment itself should not have been especially difficult.

The broad political momentum already favored reclaiming some local military authority.

Could he not slowly boil the frog in warm water?

Instead, he insisted on creating such enormous conflict.

A man qualified to leave the capital as imperial commissioner could not possibly be stupid.

The reason the affair had become this ugly was simple: he had been too eager to distinguish himself.

Originally, Xu Qingshan should merely have been recalled to the capital and left on a cold bench.

Once the words “inept in handling affairs” were written beside his name, his future prospects would become limited.

But after what had happened now... his ending... heh.

Eunuch Huang continued with some satisfaction:

“Fortunately, once we entered eastern Jin, the spirit of the soldiers and civilians beneath the Prince Residence was still high. That settled this slave’s heart too. There is actually nothing terrifying about this. When the late Emperor was alive, Great Yan did not go through its entire history without ever losing a battle. Lose one? Then win the next one. When that happens, both face and substance will still be held in Great Yan’s hands. The late Emperor had Prince Jingnan and Prince Zhenbei. Doesn’t our present Emperor have Prince Pingxi? As this slave sees it, Qian and Chu simply refuse to accept the tide of the age and are making one dying struggle. So we invite Prince Pingxi to come down from the mountain... and teach them how people are supposed to behave.”

Eunuch Huang knew there were not no other voices inside the capital.

Some suggested the First Prince.

Others Qingshuang.

Others Li Liangshen and similar veteran commanders.

Let one of them assume command and stabilize the situation around South Gate Pass.

The reason was simple.

The former Marquis Pingxi was already Prince Pingxi.

Invite Prince Pingxi out one more time to command the greater situation... and Prince Pingxi would truly rise to the same level Prince Jingnan had occupied in the old days.

But too much was involved.

Even ministers who opposed Prince Pingxi’s self-importance, or who genuinely feared the military domain growing beyond control and wished to protect imperial authority, had to admit one thing.

At this moment in Great Yan... the man with the highest prestige and greatest ability to handle the crisis was Prince Pingxi.

And anyone loudly promoting some other candidate now was gambling his own household and future.

If the alternative commander solved the problem, fine.

If not... every minister who had shouted for that choice would be unable to escape responsibility afterward.

There were not many officials hot-headed enough to place their entire fortunes on that table.

A large portion of the court therefore held the mature view:

Invite Prince Pingxi first.

Stabilize the situation.

Do not create another absurd disaster.

The trouble inside Liang itself could still be handled.

But if the crisis spread until all of western Jin collapsed, then destabilized the whole Three Jin region, perhaps even causing the territories the late Emperor had fought so hard to conquer to be lost again... everyone would become a criminal of Great Yan.

“The pain’s gone. Let’s continue.”

Eunuch Huang stood.

His attendants no longer dared persuade him otherwise.

They immediately packed everything and notified the guards outside.

After leaving the Squad Leader’s courtyard, Eunuch Huang mounted his horse.

Then shouted loudly:

“Your Highness! This slave is coming again!”

...

“Your Highness... this slave... this slave... has come...”

The journey had been brutal.

But when he set out, Eunuch Huang had still been full of spirit.

He kept remembering the grand feeling he had enjoyed during the Battle of Fan City, when he personally charged and killed an enemy soldier.

Every beautiful expectation... ended the moment he finally entered Fengxin City.

Finally arrived before Prince Pingxi Residence.

And saw... the great gate still tightly shut even after word had been sent inside.

And the two stone lions before the gate, scrubbed so clean and polished so thoroughly that they practically reflected light.

Eunuch Huang began calling out with almost plaintive misery.

No.

No.

Do not treat this slave like this!

Your Highness!

Your Highness!

This slave doesn’t want this!

This slave truly doesn’t!

Eunuch Huang knelt on the ground.

In both hands he held the sealed case containing the imperial decree.

Before the Residence gate, Brocade-Clad personal guards stood with hands on their sabers.

Beyond them... a huge crowd of commoners had gathered, packing the area so tightly that water could not pass.

Back in Shengle City, the Blind Man had already begun recruiting storytellers.

Dramatic performances had long since become fashionable throughout eastern Jin.

Even Yupan City now had a branch theater.

Because the Blind Man understood one principle very deeply:

If you did not occupy the high ground of propaganda, someone else would.

During this period, throughout Fengxin City, Snow Sea Pass, Zhennan Pass, and the other areas where soldiers and civilians lived together, tea houses, local opera stages, and other public venues had already begun spreading the “true story” of recent events according to the Blind Man’s instructions.

And one could not even accuse the Blind Man of deliberately making trouble.

Because what he spread was genuinely the “truth.”

The imperial commissioner chosen by the Emperor had fought Count Yishan of Sushan Camp for control.

Then trouble erupted in Liang.

The Garrison Commander personally promoted by the Emperor...

Ran Min.

At this point, Ran Min’s biography received some artistic polishing.

For example, years ago he had killed his own wife in order to curry favor with his superior.

Then the Blind Man added one artistic line which, by sheer coincidence, turned out to be completely accurate.

Much like the famous old line, “How could a sparrow know the ambition of a great swan?” making the hoe itself look like Sima Gong, the Blind Man gave Ran Min the declaration:

“What Prince Pingxi can do, I, Ran Min, can do as well!”

And in truth, Ran Min had actually said something close enough.

So the man had not even been wronged.

Besides, nobody knew whether Ran Min was alive or dead now.

He had most likely died in battle.

Even if he survived... his crimes from this disaster made any comeback impossible.

After all... his surname was not Ji.

Other people did not possess the First Prince’s kind of good fortune.

So there was no need to hesitate.

Step on him hard.

Paste the villain label directly onto his forehead.

The story therefore became simple.

The imperial commissioner personally appointed by the Emperor quarreled with Count Yishan, a genuine general who actually knew how to fight.

Count Yishan had no choice but to close his doors and remain at home.

The Garrison Commander elevated by the Emperor was a useless fool who imagined himself capable of comparing with their own Prince, became greedy for merit, advanced rashly, and fell into an ambush.

Loyal Great Yan commander Li Fusheng rushed to rescue him.

The Qian-Chu coalition surrounded him.

After fighting for days... he died for the state.

What would the court do next?

Obviously... come beg their magnificent Prince to descend from the mountain!

That was the theme.

Tea houses.

Wine shops.

Opera stages.

Even the girls in the red tents repeated this version of the “events” to the common people again and again.

Every major ingredient needed for an exciting story was present.

A conventional great villain.

Well... inside Yan proper, Yan people felt deep affection and respect toward the Ji imperial house.

There, the story might need to become:

The Emperor is good, but several Chancellors or some treacherous minister deceived the sovereign.

But in Jin...

Jin people did not possess much reverence or affection for the Ji Emperor.

So the Emperor became the hidden villain behind everything.

The imperial commissioner and Garrison Commander Ran became the two villains actually visible onstage.

Li Fusheng became the sacrificial hero used to wring out tears and sympathy and deepen the story’s grief and anger.

The conflict stood out clearly.

The emotional coloring was strong.

Most important of all... there was the satisfying payoff.

The favorite ending of Jin commoners listening to stories or watching local opera:

At the critical moment, their Prince stepped onto the stage and defeated every opponent.

Every time, the audience waited for exactly that ending.

And when it came... they roared their approval.

So the ending of this story was already obvious:

Just wait.

Just watch.

In the end, those useless fools at court will still have to come beg our Prince to come down from the mountain!

Therefore... when Eunuch Huang changed into full eunuch robes outside the city and entered beneath formal ceremonial banners, he immediately discovered commoners gathering toward him from every direction.

They followed all the way to Prince Pingxi Residence.

If Eunuch Huang had never visited Fengxin City before... he might even have imagined the local people were desperately eager to feel the majesty of Heaven.

Of course...

Eunuch Huang had no attention left to spare for thoughts like that now.

He felt wronged.

Miserable.

He wanted to cry.

In fact... he was already crying so hard that tears and snot covered his face.

This slave was not mentally prepared!

This slave never imagined this!

Heaven knew how many eunuchs of his generation had envied him after he carried Prince Jingnan’s decree last time and somehow survived instead of dying, even climbing rapidly afterward.

Who could have guessed... a debt owed still had to be repaid!

Heavens!

Dying of illness on the road would have been better.

Smashing his skull against a stone lion... would hurt so damned much!

“Your Highness... Your Highness...!”

...

Behind the gate of Prince Pingxi Residence...

Chen Daole and He Chunlai stood waiting.

The Blind Man sat on the steps peeling an orange while educating the two younger men.

“This is not about imitating Prince Jingnan. Nor is Master simply trying to show off. Mm. Master may indeed possess that particular need. But Prince Jingnan himself would never have done something so meaningless simply for display. Back then, the reason he made two eunuchs carrying imperial decrees smash themselves to death against the stone lions was that people needed a way to vent. It helped those soldiers whose comrades died at Wangjiang release the resentment inside them. The late Emperor deliberately did not place Prince Jingnan in supreme command. He chose the First Prince instead. And the result was defeat. That anger had to come out. Otherwise the armies that followed would have been difficult to lead. The situation now is the same. Beginning last year, the court started stripping local military commanders of administrative authority. This year, that effort intensified. Then the imperial commissioner and Count Yishan produced this entire disaster. Count Yishan himself was also at fault. In fact, his fault may even have been the larger one. But when war actually begins, the men doing the fighting are those grunts. You need them to believe you stand on their side. You need to help them release that anger. An imperial eunuch carrying a decree is the Emperor’s face. So you slap the Emperor’s face where those soldiers can see it. Only then do they feel comfortable. And at the same time, you establish your own authority. You show everyone that you do not even give a damn about an imperial decree. After that, every local military boss and local official looks at you like a rabbit seeing a hawk. No matter what relationship they try to rely on, it becomes useless. Naturally, they devote themselves entirely to serving you.”

He Chunlai and Chen Daole listened and nodded continuously like chicks pecking grain.

They felt deeply educated.

Then Chen Daole asked:

“Will the Prince really let that eunuch...”

The Blind Man tossed the peeled orange toward Chen Daole.

He Chunlai saw it and quietly released a breath of relief.

“If only he would.”

If Master could truly become like Prince Jingnan, absolutely merciless in every matter... then the Blind Man’s lifelong ambition might have been achieved long ago.

Unfortunately...

Master was not that sort of person.

If the eunuch outside were some unfamiliar great eunuch in red robes, then if he smashed himself to death, he smashed himself to death.

Master probably would not care.

Unfortunately, Master had dealt with Eunuch Huang several times in Yanjing.

Then several more times in Jin.

And Eunuch Huang knew exactly how to behave.

He might lack the potential to advance another realm... but the man knew how to lick boots.

Most likely...

Master would not do it.

Then again... if one forced Master to become exactly like Prince Jingnan, perhaps that would not be beautiful either.

At least for the Demon Kings, life would lose much of its flavor.

Sometimes... even the Blind Man himself became trapped inside this kind of uncertainty and contradiction.

Perhaps it was simply the collision between ambition and the desire to enjoy life.

But viewed another way... a household needed one person who understood how to savor life.

And another who fussed over rice, oil, salt, and every tiny expense.

Only then could days remain both comfortable and stable.

If everyone was the first kind, the household would not last.

If everyone was the second... life would become unbearably dull.

Master could live openly according to his true temperament.

The Blind Man could serve as the pair of white gloves.

That was perfectly fine.

He had never possessed much interest in becoming a good person anyway.

The Blind Man smiled.

Then rose and bowed slightly.

...

Eunuch Huang stopped crying.

His tears had dried.

Eunuch Huang stopped shouting.

His voice had gone hoarse.

He began removing his hat while studying the two stone lions.

Which one looked a little more pleasing?

Perhaps one of them might offer a little tenderness for his final collision.

The sealed decree case was placed to one side.

The eunuch robes came off.

Even his boots were set neatly beside them.

The guards Eunuch Huang had brought did not stop him.

His attendants prostrated themselves on the ground and cried as though their hearts were being torn apart.

As a household slave of the Son of Heaven... this was something you were expected to endure.

Something you were expected to do.

If the imperial decree could not be delivered... you had no reason to return alive.

The commoners gathered outside also held their breath and waited for the next moment.

Wearing only white underclothes, Eunuch Huang first kowtowed three times toward Yanjing in the west.

Then he turned toward the Prince Residence and kowtowed twice.

Finally... having accepted his fate, Eunuch Huang backed several steps away.

Eeny, meeny, miny, moe...

He chose the lion on the right.

He had no idea which unlucky bastard would replace him later and have to smash himself against the left one.

Heh-heh.

Eunuch Huang pulled his hair tight.

Gathered himself.

Then charged!

Creeeak...

The Residence gate opened.

Fortunately, Eunuch Huang had practiced Qi Refining and reacted more sharply than an ordinary man.

His toes twisted instantly.

His entire body shifted half a step sideways.

Instead of smashing into the stone lion, he hit the steps with a heavy thump and rolled back down.

His forehead and arms were bruised and scraped in several places.

All around him... the Brocade-Clad personal guards dropped to their knees.

Beyond them, every commoner gathered there also knelt.

Eunuch Huang had rolled himself dizzy.

But at that instant he reacted as though someone had injected chicken blood straight into his veins.

His feet were still crossed awkwardly beneath him, yet he forced his neck upright and raised his head.

Prince Pingxi walked out of his Residence wearing black armor.

Decorative white tassels hung from the shoulders, symbols of the supreme authority and sanctity of princely power.

But in Eunuch Huang’s eyes... a scene that had seemed buried beneath years yet remained branded into his mind suddenly appeared again.

The same two stone lions.

The same steps.

The same cold personal guards who refused to kneel even before an imperial decree.

The same Residence gate opening at this exact moment.

The same overwhelmingly majestic man emerging from within.

Even the white tassels drifting gently in the wind from the Prince’s armor seemed, in Eunuch Huang’s dazed eyes, to become the flowing white hair of that man from years ago.

And looking at the matter on a larger scale... once again the state faced crisis.

Once again the sovereign placed his hopes here.

Once again the entire realm waited.

For Eunuch Huang at that moment, the wheel of years seemed like a mischievous child.

It had spun forward several turns... only to spin backward again and return to the same point.

After the brutal journey, the torment of illness, and then this violent swing between grief and joy, Eunuch Huang’s thoughts fell into a strange daze.

Yet duty forced him to gather himself and finish what he had come to do.

The next instant... he opened his mouth and shouted:

“Prince Jingnan... receive the imperial decree!”

[End of Chapter 828]