Chapter 936: Paying Respects

“So you really did open a hole in my skull?”

Ji Chengjue asked while looking into a mirror and touching the bandages wrapped around his head.

“Yep.”

“This hole feels a lot smaller than I imagined.”

Ji Chengjue turned toward Zheng Fan and held both hands apart to indicate the mouth of a bowl.

“I thought you’d slice off a whole section, like eating monkey brains.”

Zheng Fan badly wanted to ask:

You thought we were going to open a hole that big and you still agreed to this “operation”?

But the moment he imagined Ji Chengjue answering, Because I trusted you...

Zheng Fan changed the subject to prevent that disgusting exchange from ever happening.

“A small opening is enough. Oh, right. We preserved the tumor for you. Want to see it?”

“Let me look.”

Zheng Fan walked to a cabinet nearby and picked up a glass jar.

Inside floated a fleshy lump, preserved by Xue San in medicinal solution.

“This thing came out of my brain?”

“Yeah.”

“Looking at it makes me want to vomit.”

“You are what you eat. We could chop it up and add it to a dish. Good for nourishing the brain.”

“Urgh...”

The Emperor first clutched his chest and dry-heaved.

Then dizziness hit him, followed by a dull ache inside his skull, and he gently held his head.

Fortunately, nothing was wrong.

It was only a normal postoperative reaction.

The operation had been extremely successful.

Siniang had stitched the wound on the Emperor’s scalp closed as well.

Once his hair grew back, the only lasting effect would be one small bald patch.

Nothing else.

“Surnamed Zheng, I only just woke up. Can you stop being this disgusting?”

Zheng Fan held the glass jar up and examined it carefully.

“I actually think it has considerable collectible value.”

“Then I’ll give it to you. Preserve it properly for me.”

“I’ll take it outside and feed it to a dog.”

“Put that down!”

In the end, the Emperor kept the jar himself.

Afterward, he began trying to walk on his own.

When he stepped outside and sunlight fell across him, he looked dazed for a moment.

He did not tell Zheng Fan what kind of terrifying nightmares had trapped him every day during those unconscious days.

Now that he was awake, there was no point discussing dreams anymore.

Good dream.

Nightmare.

Either way, it no longer mattered.

“Does this mean I can live a long time now?” the Emperor asked.

“You might survive every meal and still choke to death drinking water.”

“Surnamed Zheng, were you always this sweet-tongued as a child?”

“I’m only stating facts.”

“The fact you survived into adulthood means you owe gratitude to a great many people too.”

“Hungry?”

“A little.”

“I already ordered food.”

“That is the first pleasant thing I’ve heard since waking up.”

“Oh?”

...

“I take that back! Surnamed Zheng, you’re an animal!”

The Emperor stared at the congee, egg, milk, and small serving of meat floss set before him and nearly went berserk.

“Your body is still weak. You need something light. Besides, you have egg and meat. Isn’t that already pretty good?”

As Zheng Fan spoke, he picked up his chopsticks and began eating from the table full of dishes laid before him.

“Can’t you eat the same thing with me?”

“I’m not the one with a hole in my head.”

“What happened to brothers sharing sweetness and hardship?”

“Do you know when food tastes best? When somebody beside you envies what you’re eating. That’s when it tastes best. And when the person sitting there envying me happens to be the Emperor, it tastes even better. Besides, as far as I’m concerned, brothers sharing sweetness and hardship means you handle the hardship and I’ll taste the sweetness for you. Eat. Don’t let it get cold.”

The Emperor really was hungry.

He began eating.

Once both men finished, Siniang entered to clear away the dishes.

A’Ming, meanwhile, wheeled in a wheelchair.

“I don’t need that,” the Emperor said.

Yes, there was now a hole in his skull.

But aside from feeling somewhat weak, he did not think anything else was wrong with his body.

“I just think you’d look more appropriate sitting in a wheelchair right now.”

“Why don’t I feel that way?”

“Because you’d be sitting in it. I’d be the one pushing.”

“Heh.”

The Emperor gave a cold laugh.

“If we switched places, We would probably feel it too.”

“You sitting or not?”

“I’ll sit eventually, but there’s no need right now. I still don’t want to go outside. Ever since becoming Emperor, even that Eastern Inspection half a year ago wasn’t really a vacation. I was exhausted like a dead dog. I want to take advantage of this chance to rest.”

“Planning to go fishing?” Zheng Fan asked directly.

The Emperor’s dragon body was unwell.

No.

In the eyes of the outside world, the Emperor had already established a Regent Prince, completed all his final arrangements, and entered the Rear Garden under the pretext of recuperation when in truth he was waiting to die.

Under those circumstances... there was no guarantee certain people would not begin stirring.

“If I hadn’t made you Regent Prince, and if you personally weren’t inside the capital right now, then maybe I could play that game. But with you here? A new official lights three fires after taking office, and you came from commanding troops. Anyone with even the slightest sense knows better than to jump around in front of you right now. And if some blind idiot really does jump out, the only reason he was left alive until now was because we needed him alive. Fishing for him would be a waste of bait.”

“You really only want to rest?”

“Yes.”

“For how long?”

“We’ll see. Call Wei Zhonghe and Lu Bing in and let me meet them. That’ll be enough.”

Resting was real.

But Ji Chengjue had no intention of resting himself into becoming a Retired Emperor.

“Then I’m going out for a while,” Zheng Fan said.

“You’re not staying with me?”

“I’m going to visit the Tian Clan ancestral graves.”

“Oh. Fine.”

Zheng Fan turned to leave.

Then stopped.

“You really don’t need me to do anything?”

The Emperor smiled.

“Imperial Father used Tian Wujing as a blade. I won’t do that. Besides, you, Zheng Fan, are not the sort who enjoys being used as someone else’s blade.”

“Heh.”

“And anyway, a few stray cats and dogs don’t require you to personally move. I’ll clean them up while I’m at it.”

“And you say you aren’t planning to fish?”

“Fish hide underwater. You have to fish for them. Stray cats and dogs yowl from the rafters in spring. All they do is make noise. Enough. Go.”

...

Prince Pingxi...

No.

The Regent Prince rode Pixiu with Tian Tian beside him.

The Sword Saint and a group of Brocade-Clad personal guards accompanied them as they left the Rear Garden and headed toward the old Tian residence.

At that moment... almost every eye in Yanjing was fixed upon the Rear Garden.

Broaden the scope and account for the delay of news over distance, and one could almost say every eye in All Xia was focused upon this garden built and designed by craftsmen from Qian.

The news that the Regent Prince had left struck the taut surface of the lake like a thrown stone.

Ripple after ripple spread outward.

One chain reaction followed another.

Not long after Zheng Fan left...

Wei Zhonghe, Companion Zhang, and Lu Bing—who had guarded the outer perimeter of the Rear Garden without moving an inch—knelt before the Emperor.

The Emperor was not sitting in the wheelchair.

He sat in an ordinary chair.

Aside from his shaved head... his complexion looked quite good.

Wei Zhonghe, Companion Zhang, and Lu Bing all had tears in their eyes.

“All right. Put those tears away. This time, We have truly returned from the gates of Hell. We’re fine now. Heaven wanted to deny Us years. But We seized them back by force. Interesting. Truly interesting.”

“Your Majesty’s health is the blessing of...”

“Enough. Shut up.”

The Emperor clearly had no interest in listening to long-winded nonsense right now.

He went straight to the point.

“Since We are fine, then let us draw in the net this time. Lu Bing. What is the situation?”

“Your Majesty... everything has been peaceful. The main reason is Prince Ping... the Regent Prince is here.”

If one truly wanted to beat the grass and flush out rabbits, the most convenient situation would have been Zheng Fan not being here.

Let the Emperor “weaken,” and every demon and ghost might start jumping out on its own.

The problem was... if Zheng Fan were absent, never mind who would have treated the Emperor.

The Emperor himself would never have dared play the game this way.

Across Great Yan, Prince Pingxi Residence could not be touched.

Prince Zhenbei Residence had already been dismantled.

Imperial Father had already trampled the hereditary clans beneath his horse hooves.

After two years of the New Policies, most open and hidden resistance had already been cleaned away.

By ordinary standards, reaching this point as Emperor meant he had already gathered supreme authority into his own hands.

Had the former Regent Prince of Chu or Qian’s Emperor possessed such a situation in their early years... they probably would have laughed themselves awake from dreams.

Yet Ji Chengjue still was not satisfied.

He did not merely want the bureaucratic system to obey him.

He wanted to look at it... and find it pleasing.

He wanted to knead it into a shape he personally liked.

One year had already passed.

Less than four remained.

This had nothing to do with whether his “treatment” succeeded.

The five-year timetable he and Zheng Fan had agreed upon for reopening the wars would not change.

At that time, both he and Zheng Fan would still be in their prime.

They would possess enough strength and enough time to settle the whole of All Xia.

For that objective...

Ji Chengjue intended to prepare the best situation he possibly could.

The Emperor took a sip of tea.

“If they’re behaving, then stir them up a little. After all, when one wants to accuse a man, there is never any shortage of charges. Do as much as we can.”

Lu Bing immediately replied:

“Yes. This minister understands!”

Wei Zhonghe and Companion Zhang both released quiet breaths.

The meaning behind the Emperor’s words was obvious.

He intended to open another great purge.

Fabricated charges.

Invented crimes.

Anything would do.

The bureaucracy would be cleaned again from top to bottom.

And Lu Bing, who now controlled two secret-police yamens, was the finest blade for the task.

But not every blade could become Prince Pingxi.

Some blades... once used...

The Emperor turned toward Wei Zhonghe.

“Go investigate what books the Crown Prince has been reading recently.”

...

After the Tian Clan’s bloody night, Zheng Fan had been the one left behind to collect the bodies.

Conditions had been crude.

So the graves raised here had been extremely rough.

At the time, Zheng Fan had possessed neither the manpower nor the circumstances to identify every corpse and erect a separate marker for each.

Aside from a number of important Tian clansmen who received their own inscriptions, everyone else had simply been buried and covered with grave mounds.

The abandoned Tian residence.

The desolate ancestral graves.

This place had become forbidden ground.

The court maintained a special group of elderly eunuchs here to keep the site in order.

When Tian Wujing was still present, no one dared neglect it.

After Tian Wujing disappeared and Zheng Fan rose, no one dared neglect it either.

Everyone knew Prince Pingxi had inherited Prince Jingnan’s mantle.

When Zheng Fan arrived with Tian Tian, his guards stepped forward and presented red envelopes, wine, and meat to the elderly eunuchs.

A small reward for the men who had maintained the grounds.

Also simple courtesy.

The old eunuchs hurriedly knelt before Zheng Fan and kowtowed, then silently withdrew.

Zheng Fan took Tian Tian by the hand and walked through the graves.

The Sword Saint followed behind them.

“Dad brought you here because even though you are Dad’s son, your surname is still Tian. No matter what, you should come see this place and pay your respects.”

“Yes. Your son understands.”

“For all these years, Dad has always told you that your biological father was a towering man. A man even your dad admired. Great Yan’s God of War. But today... you can see another side of your biological father.”

Zheng Fan gestured toward the graves around them.

“The people buried here were all members of your clan. But in truth, they have almost nothing to do with you anymore. You had barely been born when Uncle Yu carried you to my side. You never met them. You never ate one meal or drank one bowl of water from them. Recognize them as family. That is enough. There is no need to force yourself into excessive grief.”

“Yes. Your son understands.”

“Your biological father was a hero of this state. Without him, Great Yan would not stand where it stands today. If one day Great Yan truly unifies All Xia, then the beginning of that road... was here.”

Zheng Fan’s gaze moved across the graveyard.

“Among the common people, some call your biological father an executioner. A demon who recognized neither kin nor family. They aren’t wrong. I can understand what your biological father did back then. I admire him for it. But I do not want you to become someone like him. That was your biological father’s own wish too. He was exhausted. He suffered terribly. So he hoped you could live somewhat more freely. More happily.”

“Yes.”

“This is your grandfather’s grave. And your grandmother’s.”

Tian Tian prepared to kneel.

Zheng Fan caught him first.

“No rush. Let Dad introduce everyone. Later you can take incense, candles, and paper money and pay respects one grave at a time.”

“Yes, Dad.”

“This is your great-granduncle’s grave. He was the one who taught your biological father certain esoteric arts beyond the ordinary schools. Your biological father only understood a little of them.”

“Mm.”

Zheng Fan continued walking with Tian Tian.

Soon they reached another place.

Two gravestones there were obviously newer.

One marked a joint burial with two spaces.

The other had been built in a far more imposing style, with a stone Pixiu placed before it.

“This... is your mother’s grave.”

“Mother...”

“Your mother came from Qian’s Silver-Armored Guard. A lot of people in those secret-police yamens were taken in as children and brainwashed... You understand what brainwashing means, right?”

“Your son understands. Master Bei taught me.”

“Good. So from childhood, your mother lived in that kind of environment. Then her identity was changed, and she was sent into Yan and entered Yan’s Secret Intelligence Department. You have to understand the suffering your mother endured back then. It was complicated. There are specific things even Dad doesn’t understand. And Dad suspects even Qian itself might not know the full truth anymore.”

Zheng Fan paused.

“But there is one thing Dad can tell you with certainty. Your mother loved you. She loved your biological father too. She cut open her own belly. Gave birth to you. Then entrusted you to Uncle Yu, the most trustworthy person she could find at that moment. She did everything she possibly could.”

Tian Tian listened silently.

“Your mother died. She had to die. That was her fate. And her tragedy. But she did everything she could to make her death hurt your biological father... perhaps a little less. At the root of it, however... your mother died because of your biological father.”

Zheng Fan lowered his eyes toward Tian Tian.

“So... do you understand why Dad has never shown much face even to the Emperor? Do you understand why, even though the Emperor and I constantly call each other brothers, Dad still grips military power and territory tightly in both hands and will never become some obedient minister?”

Tian Tian looked up at him.

“Because if your biological father had given others the same feeling Dad gives them now... then Zhao Jiulang, former Chancellor of Great Yan, would never have dared help push events along that path back then. Because he was certain... your biological father would never rebel. So they dared... keep pushing farther.”

“Dad. Was Zhao Jiulang the one who caused Mother’s death?”

“He did. But not only him. At the deepest level, your biological father himself caused her death.”

“My biological father...”

“Still, Dad already killed Zhao Jiulang. At dawn, I cut his throat with a saber and let him slowly bleed out. By the time the sun rose... he was gone.”

“Thank you, Dad.”

“That was something Dad should have done. Your mother’s grave was originally in Litian City. I ordered it moved here. There is an empty place beside it. That place is reserved for your biological father.”

Tian Tian looked toward the vacant space.

“That is the destination your biological father swore he would return to one day. One day... he will come back here. And ask forgiveness.”

Zheng Fan squeezed Tian Tian’s hand.

“You only need to know these things. Dad brought you here for two reasons. First, to let you see the graves of the clan you were born into. Second, to tell you that your biological father has already done far, far too much for this country. Tian Tian... you no longer owe it anything.”

Zheng Fan’s voice became gentler.

“If one day you possess enough ability. Enough strength. Then protect your family. Protect the people you treasure. Do not let them be threatened. The greatest pain in this world... is possessing the ability to act, yet still being unable to protect your own family.”

“Yes, Dad. Your son understands. When your son grows up, no one will be allowed to hurt Dad. No one will be allowed to hurt First Mother, Second Mother, or the others. No one will be allowed to hurt Little Sister or Little Brother. Anyone who dares hurt them...”

Tian Tian stopped.

Then shook his head.

“No. Anyone who even dares harbor the thought of hurting them... your son...”

Tian Tian silently clenched both fists.

“Your son will never let them go. Never.”

Zheng Fan reached out and rubbed Tian Tian’s head.

Tian Tian was still only a young boy.

Yet he was already an Eighth Grade Martial Artist.

One could only imagine how terrifyingly strong this child might become in the future.

“Son.”

“Dad.”

“Say it openly. If anyone dares even think about harming our family... we exterminate his entire clan first.”

Tian Tian nodded heavily.

A faint trace of blood-red light flickered in his eyes.

“Your son will remember Dad’s teaching. I will remember it forever. Whoever touches my family... I kill his entire clan.”

It was not that Zheng Fan was cruel and insisted upon teaching a child such things.

The very reason Tian Wujing had entrusted the boy to Zheng Fan was because of this exact personality.

That was who Zheng Fan was.

Better that I wrong all beneath Heaven than let all beneath Heaven wrong me!

In this life...

Zheng Fan intended to live selfishly.

And live freely.

Zheng Fan bent down and picked up a bundle of incense and paper money.

“Go. Offer incense to these people who are your clan in name. Kowtow. Do what is proper.”

“Yes.”

Tian Tian carried the incense, candles, and paper money and began paying respects at each grave one by one.

Zheng Fan, meanwhile, walked toward the other new grave.

The tombstone was imposing.

Before it stood a stone Pixiu.

The inscription read:

Tomb of Guo Fusheng, Count Huwei of Great Yan.

Zheng Fan had ordered Li Fusheng buried here.

Li Fusheng had originally borne the surname Guo.

After Marquis Zhenbei adopted him, his surname became Li.

He had no ancestral graveyard of his own.

Zheng Fan had placed him here because it was convenient.

Given Li Fusheng’s temperament, if he knew he would spend eternity as Prince Jingnan’s neighbor... he would probably become so excited he started kicking the lid of his coffin.

Zheng Fan sat down before the tombstone.

“Old Brother. No idea when I’ll come see you again.”

He sighed.

“Who told you to be so damned stupid? You actually let yourself get surrounded and killed. Embarrassing enough to shame your grandmother.”

Zheng Fan leaned back slightly.

“In another few years, when I truly start the great war again... you won’t get the chance to follow along and see it. Tell me. Isn’t that a damned pity? Weren’t you stupid?”

Zheng Fan could not be bothered saying anything more.

Because of Li Fusheng’s death... and because his corpse had been mutilated...

Zheng Fan had once ordered the capital of Liang massacred.

Between men... say less.

Do more.

Zheng Fan leaned his body against Li Fusheng’s tombstone and took out the iron cigarette case he always carried.

The afternoon wind passed across the graveyard.

Grass and trees whispered.

Outside... the Regent Prince smoked a cigarette.

Inside...

Li Fusheng smoked incense.

[End of Chapter 936]