Chapter 932: Ruler and Minister Trade Curses

On one side... the Crown Prince led the civil and military officials in an enormously grand welcome.

Before the eyes of Yanjing’s countless commoners, he escorted Prince Pingxi into the capital, traveled the Imperial Way, and entered the palace.

On the other side... the Emperor sat in a carriage beside Zheng Fan, entered through another gate, and passed into the imperial palace as well.

“There’s a banquet tonight,” the Emperor said.

In terms of formal standing and accumulated prestige, Great Yan’s foremost military Prince ought to have been Prince Zhenbei.

But prestige was prestige.

Nobody here was a Qi Refiner living on mist and clouds.

People ultimately had to live in the real world.

So if one asked who the greatest military Prince in Great Yan actually was today... there was no answer except Prince Pingxi.

The clearest and most direct comparison was simple:

Prince Zhenbei had already entered the capital.

Two days before Prince Pingxi.

The Emperor had also sent the Crown Prince to welcome him.

He had also held a banquet.

But that banquet had been an imperial family feast.

For an ordinary minister, being granted an imperial family banquet was an extraordinary honor.

But for a great territorial governor or military Prince stationed outside the capital, that bit of honor did not carry nearly the same weight.

A territorial governor possessed his own governing philosophy, his own followers, and his own foundation.

A military Prince was even more direct.

He possessed his own fief.

His own army.

The Emperor’s attitude toward such a man was no longer aimed merely at one individual.

It was aimed at the entire power bloc standing behind him.

The public explanation for inviting both Princes into the capital this time was to proclaim to the realm that Great Yan’s present generation had inherited the previous generation’s political structure of one Emperor and two Princes.

Internally, it reassured the state.

Externally, it deterred enemies.

But underneath the surface...

Prince Zhenbei had entered first and received a family banquet.

Only after Prince Pingxi entered would the court hold a formal state banquet for both Princes together.

Whose weight was heavier... could hardly have been clearer.

After all, a princely procession never lost contact with the capital while traveling.

Under normal circumstances, every time it reached a new place, messengers reported the route to Yanjing.

Local officials also submitted reports.

The two Princes could easily have adjusted their schedules and entered the capital on the same day, avoiding any potentially awkward comparison.

Yet the court had not deliberately favored one and slighted the other.

Ji Old Sixth was not petty enough to use Prince Zhenbei as a prop for Prince Pingxi.

Prince Zhenbei himself had voluntarily accelerated his journey and entered the capital first.

Everyone understood that after Li Liangting’s death, Prince Zhenbei Residence had effectively disarmed itself before the court.

Prince Pingxi, by contrast, still held military and administrative authority in a death grip.

Their actual weight could no longer be compared.

But Prince Zhenbei still possessed the greater formal dignity.

The Marquis Zhenbei Residence had, after all, stood for a century.

So Prince Zhenbei’s decision to arrive two days early was his own way of lowering his posture.

A junior bowing to a senior.

“Want to soak together for a while?” the Emperor suggested. “Wash off the travel fatigue?”

Zheng Fan turned and looked at him.

The Emperor smiled.

“I had the bath built in imitation of the one in your Residence. I like soaking there myself now whenever I have nothing else to do.”

One had to admit...

Ji Chengjue paid far more attention to preserving his health than the late Emperor ever had.

Unfortunately, his problem was inside his brain.

No amount of health preservation could truly solve that.

“Fine.”

Zheng Fan agreed.

“Good. Wei Zhonghe.”

“This slave is here.”

“Tell everyone outside that We are discussing state affairs with the Prince in the imperial study. No one is to disturb Us.”

“This slave obeys.”

...

The bathing pool inside the palace was exquisitely built.

But in terms of sheer spectacle, it was not especially grand.

For one thing, the imperial palace was old.

Every palace and courtyard already had its purpose.

During the late Emperor’s reign, even more space had been turned over to government offices.

After Ji Chengjue ascended the throne, he did not neglect personal comfort.

But neither had he launched any great construction projects.

If one truly wanted a magnificent imperial hot-spring bath, one needed to build an entire royal retreat.

Trying to force such a thing into the imperial palace itself would inevitably feel cramped.

At the very least... it lacked imperial grandeur.

The Emperor led the Prince inside.

The two sat beside a stone table next to the bathing pool.

Eunuch Wei personally brought over iced drinks.

Tian Tian licked his lips, accepted one, and took a sip.

Mm.

Not as good as he imagined.

Far too sweet.

Prince Pingxi Residence’s standards for food—especially little snacks—had long surpassed the limits of this age.

After all, there was a vampire living in the wine cellar who spent all day either experimenting with grape wine or designing drinks and pastries for the household.

The Emperor lowered his head and looked at Tian Tian.

“How is it? Good?”

“Very good, Elder Brother.”

“If it’s good, drink more, Little Brother.”

The Emperor had stopped caring.

“Hehehe.”

Tian Tian smiled with a little embarrassment.

When the other man behaved this freely, Tian Tian actually felt somewhat awkward.

After all... he had been teasing him deliberately.

At that moment, Eunuch Zhang entered and reported:

“Your Majesty, His Highness the Crown Prince has returned.”

“Summon him.”

“Yes.”

Crown Prince Ji Chuanye entered.

He still wore the heavy ceremonial robes of the formal reception.

The clothes had trapped sweat all over his body.

After enduring the full chain of rituals, the boy looked half wilted.

Fortunately, he had spent a year inside Prince Pingxi Residence and built up his constitution.

Otherwise... his body genuinely might not have endured all that ceremony.

Once he entered... the Crown Prince saw his Imperial Father and Prince Pingxi sitting there drinking iced beverages and chatting.

For a moment... his tiny body seemed to shoulder all the helplessness in the world.

These adults... were truly shameless.

Naturally, he could only think that.

He could not possibly say it aloud.

His Imperial Father would hit him.

His Godfather... would probably hit him even harder.

“Little Brother.”

Tian Tian stood and called out to the Crown Prince.

“...” the Emperor.

Then Tian Tian turned toward the Emperor and asked:

“Elder... Uncle Emperor, can Tian Tian go play with Crown Prince Little Brother?”

The Emperor finally released a faint breath of relief.

He said:

“Crown Prince, look who else came.”

“Brother Tian Tian!”

The Crown Prince saw Tian Tian.

His exhaustion seemed to vanish instantly.

He handed his ceremonial crown to the young attendant beside him and immediately ran toward Tian Tian.

The two children had eaten and lived together inside Prince Pingxi Residence for an entire year.

At night, Tian Tian had even helped the Crown Prince relieve himself.

Their friendship was absolutely real.

The difference had not seemed so obvious before.

But now that Tian Tian and the Crown Prince stood together... even though the Crown Prince’s constitution had improved greatly, one still looked large and vigorous while the other looked slender.

That could not be explained merely by age.

Nor was it simply a matter of fat and thin.

Whether a person possessed abundant blood qi... whether the body was strong and healthy... created a visible impression in itself.

In children, that impression was even clearer.

The Emperor could not help sighing.

“You really raised your Tian Tian well.”

Zheng Fan pointed toward Tian Tian, who was already leading the Crown Prince off to one side to talk.

“Eighth Grade.”

The Emperor blinked.

For a moment, he did not seem to process the meaning.

Then he asked:

“Eighth Grade what?”

“Eighth Grade Martial Artist.”

“...” the Emperor.

Eunuch Wei, standing nearby, also showed a trace of surprise.

Earlier, he had only sensed that Heir Prince Jingnan’s blood qi was unusually abundant.

He had not detected the aura of someone who had entered the Grades.

Clearly... the Heir Prince carried some artifact that concealed his aura.

“That’s too exaggerated.”

The Emperor shook his head.

“Really?”

“Why would I lie to you?”

“Tsk.”

The Emperor raised one hand.

Eunuch Wei bent down closer.

“Wei Zhonghe, do you remember when Prince Jingnan first entered the Grades?”

“Your Majesty, the Secret Intelligence Department archives should contain a record. But this slave remembers that years ago, when the late Emperor and Marquis Zhenbei visited the Tian residence, Marquis Zhenbei exchanged blows with Prince Jingnan, who was still a youth at the time. Marquis Zhenbei won. But after returning to his Residence, he secretly applied medicinal liniment while enduring the pain.”

The Emperor released a long breath.

Then sighed:

“A tiger father does not sire a dog son.”

Tian Tian reaching Eighth Grade now was actually not especially strange.

Over the past half year, he had begun formally cultivating as a Martial Artist.

But in truth... his cultivation had started much earlier.

As an infant, he had grown up lying upon the lid of a zombie coffin with Demon Child beside him.

Provided his fate was hard enough to endure it, that was effectively equivalent to using baleful qi and resentment to cleanse his marrow and temper his meridians from infancy.

Add his spirit-child constitution.

And most importantly... the bloodline he inherited from Old Tian.

Unlike the Sword Maid, who had needed the Sword Saint to suppress her early sword cultivation, Tian Tian possessed an innately terrifying physique.

He could walk the Martial Artist path without any reservations at all.

What Zheng Fan did not tell the Emperor was this:

On another timeline, this child had grown into adulthood, led the remnants of the Jingnan Army through repeated bloody battles against Yan troops, then ultimately broken Yanjing itself and fought into the imperial palace.

Now... because of Zheng Fan’s existence, that path had already been changed beyond recognition.

One could even say with certainty... it would never happen.

But there was no reason the Tian Tian personally raised by Zheng Fan... should end up inferior to the Tian Tian who had grown like a weed outside.

Yes.

There were legends about men rising from the grasslands with one saber and one sword, hacking through every obstacle.

There were stories about indomitable spirit.

Wildflowers blooming brighter because they grew without care.

But Zheng Fan could provide more.

The conditions he could offer... would only be better.

Most importantly... although Tian Tian as a godson had never carried the same significance to the Demon Kings as Zheng Lin, the “Son of a Demon King,” in those earlier years there had been only one child in the household.

It was impossible not to teach him constantly, like a child growing up in a Valley of Villains.

Seven teachers.

Even though none had yet recovered their full strength and all felt somewhat stifled by that... as teachers?

They were wildly overqualified.

After all, Fan Li could watch the Sword Maid perform a secondhand version of the Sword Saint’s techniques once and immediately grasp the sword intent inside them.

By comparison... when Zheng Fan himself had first entered the Grades, Siniang had needed to use threads across A’Ming’s body to embroider the flow of blood qi so he could imitate it directly.

That really did make Zheng Fan look like trash.

“One Tian Tian, plus that son and daughter of yours. Surnamed Zheng, your fate really is good. You’ll have people to rely upon in old age.”

The Emperor’s voice carried obvious sourness.

He was jealous.

Truly jealous.

Back then, Li Liangting had seven commanding generals beneath him.

Six were adopted sons.

But adopted sons were not biological sons.

Tian Tian had been raised by Zheng Fan at his side.

That made him practically a true son.

And the other two spirit children shared Zheng Fan’s blood.

The moment Li Liangting died, the court had been able to dismantle Marquis Zhenbei Residence immediately.

No one could possibly use the same method against Zheng Fan.

Throughout history, one could cite countless examples of blood relatives slaughtering one another.

But beneath the greater tide... mutual support among kin had always been the real mainstream.

“Your vision is too small. I, Zheng Fan, haven’t reached the point where I need my children to support me.”

Even though... deep inside, the Prince had always thought exactly that.

Along the road to the present, he had relied enormously on the Demon Kings.

Once the children grew older... he would finally be able to count on them.

And a father relying on his children was damned well right and proper.

It would feel even more natural than relying on the Demon Kings.

At that moment, another eunuch entered to report:

“Your Majesty, Prince Zhenbei has arrived.”

“Invite him in.”

“Yes.”

Prince Zhenbei had also been invited by the Emperor to soak in the bath.

Zheng Fan and the Emperor sat there watching the present Prince Zhenbei, Li Fei, enter.

Li Fei walked with a slight limp.

The Emperor rose and went forward personally to greet him.

Before the Emperor could reach him, Li Fei had already knelt.

“This minister pays respects to Your Majesty. May Your Majesty live ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand ten thousand years!”

“Quickly, rise.”

“Ah, don’t bother with so many rites. You’ll make me look like the one who has no manners.”

Zheng Fan laughed and teased him.

Once Li Fei stood, he immediately bent toward Zheng Fan in salute.

“Fei greets Uncle Zheng.”

Li Liangting and Tian Wujing had belonged to the same generation.

In age, status, standing, and seniority alike, they were unquestionable peers.

Zheng Fan had inherited Tian Wujing’s mantle.

He had adopted Tian Wujing’s son.

Everyone beneath Heaven knew that the former Prince Jingnan and the present Prince Pingxi had regarded one another as sworn elder and younger brothers.

And Zheng Fan had not inherited the title Prince Jingnan.

He had earned the title Prince Pingxi through his own military achievements.

So Zheng Fan and Li Liangting were also peers.

Seniority was always an interesting thing.

But seniority only existed on the surface.

What truly mattered... was qualification.

Inside large commoner clans, if no one possessed exceptional standing, then the elder generation naturally spoke at banquets.

But if some younger member possessed true status, even old men of higher generation would not dare speak loudly before him.

The Emperor stood outside such calculations.

He did not need to consider seniority because he was Son of Heaven.

Only Zheng Fan dared have Tian Tian directly call the Emperor “Elder Brother” simply to tease him.

Everyone else—even an imperial uncle or some other elder—still had to observe ruler-minister etiquette first.

Still... for Prince Zhenbei Li Fei to lower himself this much truly gave Zheng Fan enormous face.

Zheng Fan stood and went forward personally.

He helped Li Fei upright.

“The three of us don’t need to be this polite and ceremonial. Relax.”

“That should have been my line,” the Emperor complained.

“Same thing.”

The Prince did not care.

Watching the exchange, Li Fei clearly realized something.

The relationship between the Emperor and Prince Pingxi truly was extraordinary.

This was not simple harmony between sovereign and minister.

Nor was it a performance for outsiders.

Everyone had arrived.

The three men undressed and entered the bathing pool.

The water was extremely hot.

Prince Pingxi, with the cultivation of a Fourth Grade grandmaster... simply lay down in the center.

Eyes closed.

Enjoying himself thoroughly.

Without saying a word, he mocked the two weak chickens who could only sit at the edge and cautiously lower their feet into the water.

“Your Majesty, this slave will add some cold water and balance the temperature,” Wei Zhonghe said quietly.

“No need. Look how comfortable he is.”

The Emperor refused.

“Yes.”

The Emperor took two towels.

He handed one to Li Fei.

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

“No need to be this polite. When our three fathers gathered together years ago, they were relaxed like brothers too.”

“Whose father?”

Prince Pingxi shouted from the center of the pool.

“Back then I was standing beside both of your fathers.”

The Emperor slapped his towel against the water.

“You bastard surnamed Zheng were nothing more than someone following behind them back then.”

“Hey. Doesn’t matter where I stood. At least I was qualified to sit down with them.”

“Surnamed Zheng, don’t get too damned smug!”

The Emperor raised his voice.

“Fine. If you have the ability, stop me from being smug. Hahahaha!”

Prince Zhenbei Li Fei merely stood nearby and smiled politely.

Using their towels, the Emperor and Prince Zhenbei slowly wiped themselves down and adapted to the temperature.

Eventually, both lowered themselves fully into the water.

Still... neither dared move too close to the center.

The hot-water outlet was there.

That was where the temperature was highest.

The Emperor asked:

“Surnamed Zheng, why aren’t you asking Li Fei how Beifeng Commandery and the desert are doing?”

“That topic should be raised by you, the Emperor.”

“Oh? Now you suddenly understand etiquette?”

“Mm. I’m only interested in acting like your elder.”

Li Fei spoke:

“Ever since my Imperial Father and Prince Jingnan trampled the Barbarian Royal Court, the tribes across the eastern half of the desert have fallen completely leaderless. Over the past several years, another round of fighting, annexation, and competition has begun across the desert. As a result, many smaller tribes have had no choice but to leave the desert and submit to Great Yan.”

Hearing that, Prince Pingxi shouted:

“How come I haven’t seen even a single hair from them?”

The finest commander in Great Yan today was naturally Prince Pingxi.

The man best at using Barbarian troops was also Prince Pingxi.

Everyone knew Prince Pingxi had begun his rise with three hundred Barbarian soldiers.

The Emperor’s face had already turned red from the hot water.

He answered directly:

“Do you have any idea how much grain and money it costs to send an entire tribe all the way to eastern Jin?”

Over the past two years, most of the Barbarian troops who submitted to Great Yan had been sent by the Emperor to his Eldest Brother in Yinlang Commandery.

After all... his Eldest Brother still possessed the status of a son-in-law of the Barbarians.

“Tsk. Ji Old Sixth, you’re getting more and more outrageous. Cutting off eastern Jin’s grain and money wasn’t enough. Now you’re even cutting off my source of troops. Barbarian soldiers are excellent to use. Savage troops are nowhere near as good.”

“Stop taking advantage and still acting wronged. Have you taken too little advantage from me?”

Prince Pingxi sat upright.

“Now hold on. We need to talk about that properly. This Great Yan realm belongs to your Ji family. Your Ji family is the biggest landlord in Great Yan. We ministers are long-term hired hands working for your estate. Even common peasants understand that during harvest season, if a neighbor comes over to help, you at least feed him a meal. So when people work for your Ji family, you give them a little reward and now they’re supposed to be eternally grateful? You call that taking advantage of your family? Ji Old Sixth, do you still have any face? Damn. The more I think about this, the more cheated I feel. This really is one of those things you shouldn’t start calculating too carefully. What the hell am I even doing now? Bringing my own rations while helping your Ji family guard the front door?”

While Prince Pingxi spoke...

Li Fei found it inappropriate to say anything.

After all, Marquis Zhenbei Residence had depended upon court support for more than a century.

And even so... that Residence had still become Great Yan’s unquestioned supreme hereditary military house.

Prince Pingxi Residence in eastern Jin, meanwhile, had reached the point where it could even feed and supply itself.

Now that Li Fei himself sat in the position of Prince Zhenbei... he suddenly felt cold across his back.

“Surnamed Zheng, did you come to my door just to collect debts? Guarding the frontier for the Son of Heaven is an enormous honor!”

“Even eunuchs in the palace draw monthly salaries! Why the hell should I fight wars outside and guard the family gate without seeing so much as one tael of silver, while still paying out of my own pocket?”

“Without the state, where would the family be?”

“Without me, where would your state be?”

“Zheng Fan, you are presumptuous!”

The Emperor shot to his feet in the bathing pool.

“What? Being Emperor means you no longer have to reason with people?”

Prince Pingxi stood as well.

At this point, Li Fei could hardly remain sitting in the water.

He stood quickly and tried to mediate.

“Your Majesty, calm your anger. Calm your anger. Prince Pingxi does not mean it like that. He does not mean it like that. Your Highness, Your Highness, we cannot speak to His Majesty this way. His Majesty is the Son of Heaven. He is our sovereign. Whatever the matter is, we can discuss it. We can discuss everything. All of us are acting for the state, for Great Yan, aren’t we?”

“Surnamed Zheng, what exactly do you want?”

“I don’t want anything. I just suddenly realized I’m being cheated. Eastern Jin only produces so much silver and grain, yet I have to support this many troops. I can’t sustain the cost anymore. If I had more elites who could fight ten men each, fine. Then I could save a lot of mouths. But you know the Savage troops are only barely usable. They can’t truly carry the stage. And they eat a damned lot too! Send the Barbarian troops back to me. I want Barbarian troops!”

“Your Highness, speak more gently. More gently,” Li Fei urged.

“Dream on. Set aside the fact that I already sent those Barbarian troops to Marquis of Andong. There is no reason to demand them back without cause. More importantly, Yinlang Commandery faces the entire Three Frontiers of Qian. Do you understand how much pressure that means? How could I possibly undermine him? Surnamed Zheng, I think you’ve grown completely lawless. What, do you want to rebel? Fine. Take this Emperor position yourself!”

“Your Majesty, absolutely not. You cannot say such angry words. Your Majesty, absolutely not. Prince Pingxi cannot possibly mean that. He cannot possibly mean that. Uncle Zheng, Your Majesty, let us discuss this properly. We will certainly find a solution that satisfies everyone. Certainly.”

Zheng Fan sneered.

He pointed at the Emperor.

“No money. No grain. No troops. What, you want me to become a Qi Refiner and cultivate immortality instead? Eastern Jin has to suppress the Jin lands, guard against the snowfields, and watch Chu. I’m carrying three loads by myself. Do you think that’s easy?”

“Then what would satisfy you?” the Emperor roared.

“Your Highness, what do you want?” Li Fei hurriedly asked. “If necessary, my Prince Zhenbei Residence can reduce the grain and military pay for the second half of this year and let the court support eastern Jin instead...”

Li Fei had been about to suggest cutting some of Prince Zhenbei Residence’s grain and military pay for the second half of the year.

After all, the Barbarians had spent recent years slaughtering one another in the desert.

The threat had already dropped greatly.

But before Li Fei could finish...

Zheng Fan cut straight across him.

“Fine. I’ll take a loss. We’ll do it according to what my good nephew just suggested. Transfer Li Chenghui’s entire command to eastern Jin. I’ll exchange Savage troops for them.”

Li Fei:

“Huh?”

The Emperor released a long sigh.

He seemed to be deliberately suppressing his fury.

Then he slapped the wet towel in his hand against the surface of the water.

He turned his head away... wearing the expression of a man who could no longer bear to look at that bastard surnamed Zheng for another instant.

Instead, he looked toward Prince Zhenbei Li Fei standing beside him.

“Ah. Prince Zhenbei... what do you think?”

“...” Li Fei.

[End of Chapter 932]