Chapter 876: You’re Afraid

“He cried?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Heh-heh.”

Ji Chengjue put down the memorial in his hand and laughed.

Wei Zhonghe laughed along with him.

“Your Majesty, this slave does not understand. Why torment him like this?”

In truth, news of Shangjing’s fall had arrived early that morning.

The report sent back by the Secret Intelligence Department had come much faster than the formal military memorial.

Military reports had to be submitted through level after level, with each stage responsible for inspection and verification.

Besides, Prince Pingxi, fighting at the front, probably had no mood to send someone racing all the way back to Yanjing at the first possible moment simply to report this earth-shattering victory.

He was no longer that Lieutenant Zheng who had never seen the world.

The great victory was sitting there in reality. It could hardly run away.

Going out of his way to report it immediately would almost feel beneath him.

And at that moment Prince Pingxi himself had still been running for his life.

The Secret Intelligence Department’s information was first-hand, but that did not guarantee it was accurate. After all, back when the Emperor had still been an imperial Prince, he himself had more than once borrowed the name of the Secret Intelligence Department to send back intelligence favorable to his own interests.

And this particular report had been so... outrageous.

Yet precisely because the news was this outrageous, and because the man involved was that particular man... the Emperor had read it and immediately become certain.

Zheng Fan... really had punched through Shangjing!

So when the Emperor went to see Nian Yao, he had already known about the great victory.

He had simply suppressed his emotions and refused to show them.

Faced with Wei Zhonghe’s question, the Emperor smiled.

“When something makes you happy, finding someone to show off to makes it even more enjoyable. And when you show off while pretending you don’t know the thing yourself, that becomes more amusing still. We thought it over. When We needed someone like that... it seemed only he would do.”

“Your Majesty, the Grand Secretariat has sent to ask whether news of Shangjing’s fall should be proclaimed throughout the capital and beyond, so the people may celebrate together.”

“We still don’t know whether the bastard surnamed Zheng can return safely. Suppress the news for now.”

“This slave understands.”

“If anything happens to that bastard surnamed Zheng, then even if Shangjing were breached ten more times, We would still think We had taken a terrible loss.”

“Your Majesty need not worry. Prince Pingxi is blessed by fortune. This slave believes the Prince will certainly turn danger into safety.”

“We think he won’t die either. In this whole world, it almost seems as though nobody can kill him.”

Wei Zhonghe immediately shut his mouth.

Because the Emperor’s words had included the Emperor himself.

The implication could very well be that even the Emperor could not accomplish such a thing.

Whether His Majesty genuinely thought that way or not, a personal servant could not touch those words.

“A pity. If Great Yan had strength in reserve right now, we could exploit Shangjing’s fall and Qian’s disorder to raise a grand army, conscript laborers, and ignite another war between states. Everything north of the Qian River could be swallowed by Great Yan! Ai. What a pity.”

The Emperor was genuinely annoyed.

There was simply no surplus grain left at home.

When his father had reigned, in order to prepare for war, he had long ago pulled out every thorn inside the country. Riding down the great aristocratic houses had been the most famous example.

After he inherited the throne, Ji Chengjue had lived continuously in austerity.

And Qian and Chu refused to behave.

The Emperor would have liked to slaughter a few fat sheep.

Unfortunately, his father’s teeth had been too good.

The old man had left him no convenient fat sheep to cut open.

“Your Majesty, these splendid rivers and mountains of Qian will surely become territory of Great Yan in the future. At worst, we merely allow the Qian people to keep them safe for us for a few more years.”

“We think so too. Now We are only waiting for news that the bastard surnamed Zheng has returned safely. So long as he comes back alive and plants himself in eastern Jin, Chu will no longer dare cause trouble. As for Qian, after this blow... it is basically as though they have been castrated.”

Wei Zhonghe immediately hunched himself a little smaller in extremely cooperative fashion.

“Heh-heh. Once Qian and Chu both settle down, We can finally let the people rest and recover for a few years. Still, Wei Zhonghe... do you think Nian Yao truly made that joke merely to amuse Us, or did he actually guess it?”

“Reporting to Your Majesty: although Nian Yao was captured by Prince Pingxi, in the end he once crossed hands with two generations of Great Yan’s Princes. This slave would say... half and half.”

“Mm.”

The Emperor nodded.

“Does Your Majesty truly intend to use him?”

“We can continue using Li Liangshen. Why not Nian Yao?”

“Your Majesty, this slave did not mean that. What this slave wanted to say is that ever since Nian Yao entered the palace, I have periodically ordered people to force medicine down his throat and deliberately snap his meridians. If Your Majesty intends to use him in earnest and truly lets him become a Chief Eunuch, Nian Yao still possesses a strong Martial Artist’s physical foundation. Should this slave continue to...?”

“Do you really need to ask? On this point, you ought to learn properly from that bastard surnamed Zheng.”

“This slave understands.”

“Mm.”

“Your Majesty.”

A voice announced itself from outside.

Ordinarily, when someone requested an audience, a young eunuch would enter and report it first.

But certain people possessed unusual status and could announce themselves directly.

The Little Eunuch in Red Robes entered and knelt before the imperial desk.

“What is it?”

“Reporting to Your Majesty: several nights ago, this slave observed the stars. Afterward, the alchemy cauldron responded. Finally, by using the Pixiu beneath the cauldron to establish resonance, this slave confirmed one matter.”

“That sounds like work for the Directorate of Astronomy,” the Emperor said.

Wei Zhonghe beside him spoke:

“Your Majesty, years ago when the Old Master was still alive, he once supervised the Directorate of Astronomy.”

Wei Zhonghe’s meaning was clear.

The Old Master might have been gone for many years, but as his successor, the Little Eunuch in Red Robes did possess the standing to involve himself in the Directorate of Astronomy’s affairs.

“Oh.”

The Emperor nodded, picked up the teacup before him, and blew across it.

“What happened?”

The Little Eunuch in Red Robes sighed faintly inside.

The Son of Heaven before him truly resembled the previous Son of Heaven in temperament.

Both men held the workings of fate, ghosts, gods, and heavenly mysteries in the same disdain.

Sometimes... they merely went through the motions for appearances.

But this matter could not be concealed.

“Reporting to Your Majesty: the Black Dragon Star Array has brightened again.”

“The Black Dragon Star Array?”

Ji Chengjue frowned slightly.

As a member of the Ji Clan, he naturally knew what that meant.

In ancient times, the Three Marquises had opened the frontiers. After Great Xia collapsed, the Three Marquises founded states of their own.

According to the traditions of all Xia, founding a state required one to “uphold the will of Heaven and Earth,” hence the title Son of Heaven.

At the same time, the founding of a state involved drawing a heavenly phenomenon into the vessel of national destiny.

Put simply... you picked a chain of stars in the night sky and declared that it was your state’s star array.

Yan’s chosen array took the shape of a dragon.

It was called the Black Dragon Star Array.

“Your Majesty, after Prince Jingnan departed west and Prince Zhenbei died of illness, the Black Dragon Star Array had already dimmed. Yet the night before last, the entire array suddenly blazed brightly. This is the omen of the weapon of slaughter being grasped once more. It governs killing and conquest.”

“Oh. We understand.”

The Emperor’s answer was exceptionally simple.

But the Little Eunuch in Red Robes continued:

“Your Majesty, if the weapon of slaughter is once more held in someone’s hand, and that person governs killing, then this slave believes that in Great Yan today there is only—”

“You mean Prince Pingxi?”

“This slave...”

“You slave. What were you planning to say next? That a weapon of slaughter is now held by a subject and therefore threatens Us?”

“This slave would not dare! This slave would not dare!”

“No. You dare very much. We find it strange. Did Zheng Fan offend you at some point? Why are you so impatient to smear him before Us? We have not even asked the question yet, and you are already here reminding Us?”

“Your Majesty, this slave speaks only because duty requires it. I would not dare conceal the matter. This slave acts entirely from loyalty to Your Majesty and harbors absolutely no selfish thought! Besides, this slave and Prince Pingxi possess no grievance. In fact, this slave even once found a kindred spirit in the Way of Wine among Prince Pingxi’s people.”

“Heh-heh.”

The Emperor laughed twice.

But there was unmistakable mockery in the sound.

“We ask you this. The last time the Black Dragon Star Array blazed brightly, did Great Yan’s realm collapse?”

“Your Majesty... this slave...”

“Answer.”

“It did not.”

“Good. Since Prince Jingnan, Prince Zhenbei, and the late Emperor never committed any disloyal act, on what grounds do you decide that once Prince Pingxi lights this Black Dragon Star Array, he will become a threat to Us? We know We fall far short of the late Emperor in many ways. We have always examined Ourselves humbly because of that. But We do not need a slave like you standing here, pointing at Our nose and telling Us that We are far inferior to the late Emperor, that the late Emperor could suppress a situation We cannot, that the late Emperor could keep men in line whom We cannot, that the late Emperor could accomplish things We cannot!”

Bang!

The Emperor smashed the teacup violently against the floor.

The Little Eunuch in Red Robes pressed his forehead to the blue bricks of the imperial study.

Wei Zhonghe immediately dropped to his knees as well.

All the eunuchs waiting at the doors of the imperial study knelt.

Beyond them, the palace maids and eunuchs in the imperial garden dropped to the ground too.

When the Son of Heaven was angry... nobody dared remain standing.

“Your Majesty, please calm your anger. This slave... this slave truly...”

The Emperor spoke coldly:

“At tomorrow’s court session, We want to see the Director of the Directorate of Astronomy personally submit a memorial on the celestial signs. The Black Dragon Star Array blazes brightly, signifying that Great Yan’s God of War has risen once more and that Our martial fortune remains undiminished. This is Heaven protecting Great Yan. Heaven’s will lies with Yan!”

After speaking... the Emperor’s gaze fell coldly upon the Little Eunuch in Red Robes.

The young eunuch immediately replied:

“This slave... obeys the decree!”

...

The rear palace.

Peach Garden.

When the new Emperor had first ascended the throne, the Empress lived in the central palace of the rear court. In terms of location, it stood behind the imperial study and then behind it again. After handling affairs in the imperial study, the Emperor only needed to walk north through two courtyard gates to reach the Empress’s residence.

Later, however, the Empress moved into a more secluded palace garden.

A patch of ground there had been reclaimed for vegetables. One side hall had been turned into a silkworm room, complete with silk-reeling equipment.

There really were silkworms inside.

But naturally, the Empress did not personally perform that work.

Keeping the room simply allowed the palace to proclaim to the outside world that the Empress personally instructed the women of Great Yan in diligent household labor.

The vegetable garden, however... the Empress truly tended herself.

The Emperor had only just entered when he saw her crouching there washing cucumbers.

She was not wearing formal palace dress.

Instead, she was dressed like a farm wife.

In truth, a farm wife’s clothing could be quite attractive too.

Her clothes were neither dirty nor torn.

She herself was clean and voluptuous.

And crouching as she was... her posture looked especially alluring.

The Emperor swallowed instinctively.

The Empress had already borne him two sons.

Even so... his interest in her had not diminished in the slightest.

Most of the palace servants who ought to withdraw had already done so.

Those who remained were trusted people with enough sense to know where not to look.

The Emperor walked up and wrapped his arms around the Empress.

She had actually heard his footsteps long ago.

She looked back.

Then held one freshly washed cucumber up to his mouth.

Ji Chengjue opened his mouth and took a bite.

A cucumber grown in his own home was crisp and refreshing.

Somehow, it really did taste different.

“Is it good, Your Majesty?”

“Good. But you planted too many.”

“The weather is hot. We can make cold cucumber at every meal, and pickle some of them sour too. This concubine was thinking I planted too few.”

The Emperor could only look helpless.

In truth, if that bastard surnamed Zheng had never told him a filthy joke involving cucumbers years ago, he would not have thought anything of it.

But once that association entered his head... looking at this entire patch of cucumbers always made him wonder whether state affairs had kept him too busy lately and caused him to neglect someone.

“Has Your Majesty eaten?”

“Yes. Do you have any iced drinks?”

“The imperial physicians said Your Majesty has been burdened with state affairs and has too much liver fire. Better to drink cooling tea.”

“Fine.”

The Empress personally brought the cooling tea.

The Emperor emptied the entire cup in one go.

“Have you heard what happened outside?” he asked.

“Outside? What happened?”

The Empress shook her head.

“This concubine has not planted any eyes in the front court. There are only this concubine and Younger Sister in the rear palace anyway. There is no need to arrange many people.”

She was telling the truth.

Great Yan’s two imperial Princes had both been born from her.

One was even the legitimate eldest son and Crown Prince.

For the rest of her life, what she needed to do... was nothing.

Once every month, she would admonish the Emperor to practice thrift, have the court historian record it, and let Wei Zhonghe send word to the Grand Secretariat.

The next month, she would urge the Emperor to select more palace women, have the court historian record that too, and again send word to the Grand Secretariat.

In between, whenever the Emperor wanted to punish someone lightly despite a serious offense, the Empress could be arranged to step forward and urge mercy, allowing the Emperor to follow her advice and climb gracefully down the ladder.

Thus, despite having served as Empress for only a short time, her reputation for virtue was already praised throughout court and countryside.

Once she had handled her public image properly before the outer court, the Empress could devote the rest of her attention to amusing herself inside her own residence.

“To the south. Zheng Fan fought his way into Qian’s capital.”

“Truly?”

Seeing that the Emperor was not joking, the Empress immediately knelt.

“This concubine congratulates Your Majesty!”

“Rise, rise. We’re husband and wife. Why bother with all this?”

“No. This concubine feels that without doing this, I cannot properly express how excited I am. Zheng Fan truly is terrifyingly good at war. Weren’t they fighting in Liang? How did he suddenly end up in Shangjing?”

“He simply went mad and did whatever he wanted. The problem is, he actually has the ability to make madness succeed. Still, only the news has come back so far. We don’t know when that bastard surnamed Zheng himself will manage to return safely.”

“Your Majesty, didn’t they already break Shangjing?”

“They did. The significance is enormous. Unfortunately, Great Yan no longer has the ability to send troops and expand the result. The forces around South Gate Pass entangled with the Qian-Chu coalition are already approaching the limit of what our logistics can sustain.”

Living off the enemy was not a permanent solution.

A great army still needed to move and redeploy according to battlefield requirements.

It could not behave like a bandit horde, eating one region empty and then simply running to the next untouched place to continue feeding.

So South Gate Pass still needed to send grain and military supplies to the armies.

The pressure was growing heavier and heavier.

At Nanwang City, the First Prince and Li Liangshen’s army merely shouted across the line at Qian’s Three Frontiers, moving in and out to create pressure.

They had not truly mobilized the entire army for a great campaign.

Without logistics... the army could not move.

“Still, Zheng Fan has completely beaten down Qian arrogance for Us this time. At last, We can free Our hands and let Great Yan gather some blood and strength again.”

“To break Shangjing... even the founding Marquis Zhenbei failed to accomplish such a feat. How does Your Majesty plan to reward him?”

“Reward him how? He’s already a Prince. What else can We give him? We already sent Our son to his side. Surely this time We’re not supposed to send him a wife too? Oh. Right. We could send him a wife. That bastard surnamed Zheng already has that reputation anyway. Perhaps he’d genuinely be delighted. Heh-heh.”

The Empress opened her mouth and bit the Emperor on the shoulder.

“Hiss... that hurts...”

The Empress bit her lip.

“If Your Majesty is willing to send me, then this concubine will go. We’ll see who ends up hurting.”

“Heh-heh.”

The nearby eunuchs and palace maids stood completely motionless, like statues.

The Emperor and Empress had known each other among the common people.

Their feelings ran deep.

A husband and wife saying a few provocative things in private was hardly noteworthy.

It merely added a little spice.

After they fooled around for a while, Empress He frowned in thought.

“Looking at it this way, there really doesn’t seem to be anything left with which to reward him.”

At those words, Wei Zhonghe, standing nearby, felt a chill crawl up his spine. Ten thousand horses seemed to thunder through his mind.

The meaning of the Empress’s sentence... was not that Prince Pingxi had reached the point where there was nothing left with which he could be rewarded?

Wei Zhonghe knew perfectly well that the Empress had no hidden political meaning.

Her Majesty was very clever.

In dealing with people and affairs, she measured things extremely well.

But expecting a woman born in a butcher’s household, after such a short period as Empress, to immediately understand every current and taboo of court politics... that was impossible.

The speaker had no intention.

But the listener?

Out of the corner of his eye, Eunuch Wei carefully glanced across the Emperor’s face.

Seeing that His Majesty’s expression remained normal... he finally breathed out.

“Several Chancellors are coming to discuss affairs with Us tonight. We won’t return here to sleep.”

“Mm. This concubine understands.”

The Emperor dallied affectionately with the Empress for a little longer before rising.

He took two washed cucumbers with him.

Chewing on one as he walked, he left the garden.

Eunuch Wei followed closely behind.

That evening’s discussion in the imperial study did not last especially long.

For the most part, the Emperor spoke, the Chancellors listened, and then everyone coordinated the procedures for the following day’s court session.

Once matters were finished, the Chancellors all withdrew.

With Eunuch Wei attending him, the Emperor lay down in the side hall.

This was the place his father had liked resting most.

On Ji Chengjue’s first night after ascending the throne... he had slept here too.

The Emperor settled down.

Eunuch Wei stood at the doorway, leaning his back against a pillar with his eyes half closed.

Inside the hall...

Ji Chengjue lay with his eyes open.

After lying there for a while... he sat up again.

“You’re afraid?”

A familiar voice sounded.

Ji Chengjue raised his head.

His “Imperial Father” was standing before him.

His father bent down until their faces were extremely close.

At the corner of his mouth hung that familiar smile... the faintly mocking smile of a man who believed everything before his eyes could be grasped and controlled.

“Imperial Father, were you truly never afraid back then?”

“Do you think We were afraid?”

“Perhaps... a little?”

“We were the Emperor.”

“So am I.”

“No. You are not. You are inferior to Us.”

“I am inferior to you?”

“We told you before. An Emperor must sever himself from the seven emotions and six desires. Have you done it?”

“Imperial Father means I should sever the bond between Zheng Fan and me?”

“Look at you. Look, look, look at you... heh-heh-heh...”

“Imperial Father, what are you laughing at? What is so funny?”

“You once told Us you would never become an Emperor as heartless as We were. Hearing that now is genuinely hilarious.”

“Imperial Father...”

“To sever feeling does not necessarily mean one has no heart. To possess feeling does not necessarily mean one truly keeps faith. Heh-heh-heh. We were an Emperor who severed the seven emotions and six desires. We simply did not possess the emotion called fear. But you... you, the Emperor who boasted that in this one matter you would never learn from Us... now stand here and tell Us... you... are... afraid!”

[End of Chapter 876]