Chapter 981: The Emperor Is Dead!

Clear Heart Pavilion was not merely a pavilion.

It was not even a palace compound.

It stood upon a mountain—a small hill in the southeastern corner of Shangjing.

Shangjing had not always belonged to Great Qian. Several generations earlier, other separatist dynasties had made their capitals here as well. For that reason, the hill had long been considered part of the imperial gardens.

After moving in, the Emperor had ordered some renovations.

Not because he wanted to indulge himself.

The changes were mainly meant to make it easier for court officials to come here for audiences and discussions.

Night had fallen.

The air was cold.

The Emperor wore a Daoist robe and sat beside a small pond, watching the fish swim below.

A warm chamber had been built around the courtyard, keeping the temperature comfortable.

When it came to warfare, Qian people might not rank very highly.

But when it came to enjoying life... heh.

Qian had never feared anyone.

Several plates of washed fruit sat beside the Emperor, glistening with freshness.

Farther away stood palace maids and eunuchs.

All of them remained perfectly silent.

No one dared disturb His Majesty’s peace.

The Emperor sat there for a long while.

Perhaps he had grown tired.

He braced one hand beside the pond, lifted his head, and looked toward the moon.

At that exact moment, a dark cloud drifted over and covered what little moonlight there had been.

Then a graceful figure approached.

No one dared stop her.

“Your Majesty, it is cold. You should go inside,” Baili Xianglan said.

The Emperor smiled.

“We still intend to enjoy the moon.”

“The moon tonight is mediocre.”

The Emperor shook his head slightly.

“In truth, it is the same moon every night. Beautiful or ugly, bright or pale, the moon itself does not care. The ones being affected are those standing on the ground, craning their necks toward something they can never reach.”

“Your Majesty, it is cold.”

“Winter has arrived. Where is it not cold?”

The Emperor remained seated.

Baili Xianglan looked at him and said nothing more.

She retreated several steps and stood to one side.

The Emperor looked at her.

“Third Grade?”

“Yes.”

“Your elder brother’s path was never an easy one.”

“The sharpest sword beneath Heaven can only ever be one sword. Xianglan has no intention of contesting the title of First Sword. The road my elder brother walked may not have been the best, but at the very least he proved that it can be walked. Thank you, Your Majesty, for allowing me a share of the national fortune and helping me break through.”

“If your brother could borrow it, why should his younger sister be unable to borrow it too? No need to thank Us. Back then, your brother entered Shangjing in white and stirred the elegance of the entire capital. Yet when all was said and done, his freedom and elegance belonged to him alone. He was just like Yao Zizhan. They chased a kind of glorious reputation, but when it came to actual business and tedious work, neither could be bothered. You, on the other hand... You have worked hard all these years, Xianglan.”

Baili Xianglan said nothing.

She retreated several more steps and disappeared into the shadows, leaving what little moonlight remained entirely to the Emperor.

...

A large force of cavalry came galloping forward.

At their head rode a square-faced, middle-aged general with swordlike brows and bright eyes.

“Who goes there!”

“Identify yourselves!”

At the foot of the mountain, the Imperial Guards immediately formed ranks.

Torches flared.

Darkness was driven back.

The middle-aged general’s face came clearly into view.

“Imperial Son-in-Law!”

“Greetings, Imperial Son-in-Law!”

The officer guarding the mountain immediately saluted.

“This Imperial Son-in-Law has urgent business with His Majesty.”

“Please wait a moment, Imperial Son-in-Law. This humble officer will go report immediately.”

“My business cannot wait.”

“Imperial Son-in-Law, this humble officer is merely carrying out his duty. Please do not make things difficult for—”

Pfft!

Zhong Tianlang’s saber had already pierced the officer’s chest.

He pulled it free.

In the next instant, the armored soldiers behind him drew their weapons and charged.

The Imperial Guards at the mountain’s base had never imagined that Great Qian’s Imperial Son-in-Law—the man most trusted and favored by His Majesty—would rebel.

And Zhong Tianlang had brought elite frontier troops with him.

Caught completely unprepared, the Imperial Guards collapsed at once and suffered heavy casualties.

Zhong Tianlang advanced with saber in hand, cutting down every Imperial Guard soldier who tried to block him.

Then he began climbing the steps.

Gradually, his own armored soldiers caught up and overtook him, clearing the road ahead.

Yet the killing at the base of the mountain did not continue all the way upward.

By the time Zhong Tianlang reached the mountainside, many Imperial Guards had already thrown down their weapons and moved aside.

Several officers lay dead on the ground.

A half-gray-haired man in silver armor stood there smiling at Zhong Tianlang as he approached.

Beside him stood a young eunuch.

Zhong Tianlang’s eyes narrowed slightly when he saw them.

But he no longer kept his face cold.

“Commander Luo.”

Luo Mingda had commanded the Silver-Armored Guard for twenty years.

Among the common people of Great Qian, his name alone had once been enough to stop children from crying.

“Imperial Son-in-Law.”

Luo Mingda bowed very politely.

The young eunuch beside him seemed unwilling to be ignored and stepped forward on his own.

“Greetings, Imperial Son-in-Law.”

Zhong Tianlang nodded to him.

Eunuch Sun had become one of His Majesty’s trusted personal eunuchs three years earlier. He was very young, yet had already risen meteorically through the inner court.

Clearly... in tonight’s affair, he too had betrayed the Emperor.

Eunuch Sun’s rise had always seemed strange to outsiders. There had even been rumors that he had climbed so quickly through the old “Jin fashion” of male favor.

With both Luo Mingda and Eunuch Sun turning against the Emperor, more than half the defenses inside Clear Heart Pavilion had effectively been opened from within.

Zhong Tianlang exchanged no pleasantries with either man.

He said directly:

“Let us go invite His Majesty to abdicate.”

...

“His Highness the Crown Prince has returned to the capital and inherited the Great Throne!”

“His Highness the Crown Prince has returned to the capital and inherited the Great Throne!”

Outside the courtyard, the shouts rose one after another.

There were still sounds of fighting mixed among them.

But clearly... the resistance was no longer fierce.

The Emperor remained seated beside the pond.

The noise outside seemed unable to affect him at all.

The palace maids and eunuchs inside the courtyard, however, had all gone deathly pale.

At that moment, a child walked in.

After moving into Clear Heart Pavilion, the Emperor had not built some enormous Daoist sanctuary. But he still kept one old habit from earlier years.

He enjoyed discussing the Dao and engaging in quiet philosophical conversation.

The child had ordination scars upon his scalp and delicate features.

His Dharma name was Wen’an.

He was known as Layman Wen’an.

When he spoke, however, his voice did not sound like a child’s.

It carried the rough hoarseness of an adult.

“Your Majesty, they are almost here,” Layman Wen’an said with palms pressed together.

“Oh.”

The Emperor merely acknowledged him.

Then Baili Xianglan stepped out from the shadows.

Her sword left its sheath and hovered before Layman Wen’an.

The child showed no panic.

Instead, he looked at Baili Xianglan and asked:

“The Baili Clan has already sworn loyalty to the new sovereign. Why are you still putting on this act here?”

Baili Xianglan frowned slightly.

She was just about to move her sword when the Emperor stopped her.

“Stand down.”

Baili Xianglan hesitated.

Then she returned her sword to its sheath.

The Emperor flicked out one Daoist sleeve.

He mocked himself.

“We truly have reached the point where everyone has abandoned Us. Good. Very good.”

Baili Xianglan said:

“Your Majesty, I can still try to take you out.”

Layman Wen’an raised one eyebrow.

“If your elder brother were still alive and standing here, he might barely have the standing to say something like that. You do not.”

“Xianglan. We understand.”

The Emperor looked at Baili Xianglan with some comfort.

He did not believe she was merely pretending.

The Baili Clan might have changed ships.

But the Baili Clan was the Baili Clan.

A member of the Baili Clan was a member of the Baili Clan.

They seemed like the same thing.

In truth, they were not.

After all... he himself was Emperor of Great Qian.

And those currently rebelling against him... were they not also Great Qian’s generals?

Layman Wen’an spoke earnestly.

“This past year, Your Majesty favored me enough to discuss the Dao with me often. After Your Majesty becomes Retired Emperor and is freed from worldly state affairs, Wen’an is willing to remain at your side and continue discussing the Dao.”

“Good.”

The Emperor nodded.

In the next instant... a group of armored soldiers rushed into the courtyard.

The Emperor straightened his back and clasped both hands behind himself.

The armor of those men was still stained with blood.

Yet the moment they saw the Emperor, the ferocity on their faces faded almost unconsciously.

One after another... their saber points lowered toward the ground.

Then Zhong Tianlang entered.

When he saw the Emperor... he dropped to one knee.

“Tianlang pays respects to Your Majesty!”

“Tianlang.”

“This minister is here.”

“Great Qian will depend on you from now on.”

“Your Majesty, the Crown Prince has already returned to the capital and resumed his rightful position...”

“Oh?”

“Prince Rui... Prince Rui possesses the bearing of an enlightened ruler.”

“Prince Rui? Zhao Mugou, that boy? We do indeed like him. Emperor Taizu’s line has spent so many years living timidly and uselessly. At last it has produced one treasure. Very well. The affairs of All Under Heaven... have nothing more to do with Us, this Retired Emperor.”

The Emperor’s gaze moved past Zhong Tianlang.

Luo Mingda and Eunuch Sun sensed it and lowered their heads.

“Tell Us. How do you intend to deal with Us? Give Us three chi of white silk right here? Or lock Us away somewhere?”

“Your Majesty, what we have done today was for Great Qian. This was not some act of rebellious usurpation. Even after becoming Retired Emperor, Your Majesty remains Your Majesty.”

“Oh. You are not going to kill Us. Then where do you intend to confine Us?”

Layman Wen’an spoke.

“We invite Your Majesty to ascend the Back Mountain.”

...

It was a coup that spilled blood.

But compared with the examples set by dynasties throughout history... it had been remarkably peaceful.

And it ended within a single night.

The Crown Prince left Jade Void Palace, entered Shangjing, entered the imperial city, and announced his accession as Emperor.

At Clear Heart Pavilion, the Emperor issued an abdication edict on the grounds that his dragon body was in poor health and could no longer manage state affairs.

The throne was passed to the Crown Prince.

The sequence of events was somewhat awkward.

But the history books would arrange it into something more pleasing afterward.

...

Back Mountain.

At the mountain gate.

The Emperor, still wearing his Daoist robes, descended from the imperial carriage.

Armored soldiers stood all around him.

Behind followed several palace maids and eunuchs.

“We were willing to enter Shangjing and personally announce Our abdication before the entire court. Would that not make everything more legitimate? Besides, if both father and son Emperors stood there together and ceded the throne to that boy Mugou, the history books would have fewer criticisms afterward, would they not?”

Layman Wen’an smiled.

“Your Majesty is still Your Majesty. One imperial edict is enough. If Your Majesty personally entered Shangjing again, I fear the matter might become difficult to control.”

“The officials and common people of Shangjing probably hate Us to death because of what happened years ago. What? You are still afraid they might rise in rebellion to restore the rightful sovereign for Our sake?”

“One never knows,” Layman Wen’an replied.

After all... although this Emperor loved cultivating the Dao and preferred Daoist robes to dragon robes, those close to him all knew one thing clearly.

He was not a muddleheaded sovereign.

Not far away stood two carriages.

A third carriage had been stopped farther out by the armored soldiers and was not permitted to approach.

The occupant of the first nearby carriage had to be carried down.

He lay upon a sickbed, his face deathly pale.

It was Old Chancellor Han.

He was not pretending to be sick.

He truly did not have much time left.

Yao Zizhan stepped down from the second carriage.

Great Qian’s Literary Saint had tear tracks down his face and looked utterly grief-stricken.

Beside the distant third carriage stood Li Xundao.

This former Chancellor of Great Qian... was still a Chancellor now.

He still possessed enormous authority.

And on that night... he had done nothing at all.

“Your Majesty! Your Majesty!”

Yao Zizhan dropped to his knees and began sobbing.

“Hahahaha.”

The Emperor looked at him.

“Does this scene stir Master Yao’s poetic inspiration? In years to come, when you look back upon it, perhaps you can drain a whole cup of wine?”

Yao Zizhan suddenly had no idea how to respond.

The Emperor did not make things difficult for him.

Great Qian’s Literary Saint was, when it came to actual affairs of state, essentially a useless little pastry.

The Emperor had known that for years.

He did not believe Yao Zizhan had truly participated in this coup.

If the man had no ability to participate... naturally he had no ability to change it either.

Still...

Yao Zizhan’s poetry was forever filled with such vast, upright righteousness that it seemed ready to pierce the heavens.

Perhaps that was because Yao Zizhan himself was so short.

The pillar of righteous qi simply looked taller by comparison.

“Your Majesty...”

Old Chancellor Han spoke from the stretcher.

“Han Sui.”

The Emperor called him by name and walked over.

No one stopped him.

This was meant to be a farewell.

Barring some accident, once the Emperor ascended the mountain today... he would never descend again for the rest of his life.

Tears lay at the corners of Han Sui’s eyes.

His tears looked considerably more sincere than Yao Zizhan’s.

“Your Majesty, please forgive this minister. This minister also acted for the sake of Great Qian.”

“We do not blame you.”

At that moment, Layman Wen’an spoke again.

“Perhaps Your Majesty does not know one thing. Prince Rui inheriting the Great Throne truly conforms to Heaven’s Mandate. At present, this is the only path capable of restoring the proper root, clearing the source, and rebuilding the pattern of the age.”

The Emperor turned toward the child who had followed them here.

He said:

“Listen to yourself. Every usurper from ancient times to the present has loved exactly that sort of explanation.”

“But what Wen’an says is true.”

The Emperor laughed.

“Listen to yourself again. From ancient times to the present, what usurper sitting on the Dragon Throne ever believed his own explanation was false?”

“What Wen’an is saying truly is true.”

The child had grown somewhat anxious.

The Emperor wiped away the tears that had appeared at the corners of his eyes from laughing.

“We know. We know. When Emperor Taizu stole the dragon robe from Liang’s orphan and widow, that was true too. When Emperor Taizong took the Dragon Throne from Emperor Taizu’s line, that was also true. Truer than true.”

“Your Majesty, everything Wen’an says is—”

“Can what is true in your eyes not be false in someone else’s?”

“...”

Layman Wen’an fell silent.

Old Chancellor Han spoke.

“Your Majesty has suffered.”

“Do not say that.”

The Emperor comforted him instead.

“Please rest assured, Your Majesty. Xundao and the others remain. Great Qian’s affairs will improve in the future. Matters beneath Heaven require some kind of accounting. Once that accounting is made, everyone can unite their hearts and strength against the Yan dogs.”

“We believe that.”

“Your Majesty... please cultivate the Dao in peace upon the mountain. Though I must trouble Your Majesty to keep an eye out while cultivating over the next few days. Perhaps this old minister will follow soon. When that happens, perhaps my soul will fly directly to the Back Mountain so I can kneel before Your Majesty in person and beg forgiveness.”

“What crime have you committed? You have rendered merit. Great merit to Great Qian.”

“This minister... is ashamed.”

The Emperor bent down.

He brought his mouth close to Han Sui’s ear.

Then he called softly:

“Dad...”

Han Sui’s eyes flew wide open.

The Emperor straightened.

And burst into thunderous laughter.

“Hahahahahahaha...”

“Your Majesty...”

“If We call you that, you do not believe it. But suppose We lay sickly upon a bed, face pale, breath fading, and called you that again. Would you... believe it then?”

“Your Majesty...”

Han Sui’s body began trembling.

“The Yan dogs once mocked Great Qian’s Silver-Armored Guard, saying they knew how to do nothing except deliver wives. Fine. But do you know where, over the past century, the Silver-Armored Guard has delivered the most?”

Han Sui began gasping desperately.

One shaking finger rose and pointed at the Emperor.

The Emperor bent down again and looked directly at him.

“Mugou is a good child. Such an outstanding boy. What do you call that? A phoenix chick! There is an old folk story. When a wealthy and powerful man wants to adopt a godson, countless people rush forward to call him Father. And by the same principle, when a phoenix chick wants to recognize a grandfather... hahahaha... you, Han Sui, immediately think: yes, yes, this must be the seed of my Han family! Hahahahahahaha! Han Sui. Where is your face?”

“You... you... you...”

“We will tell you plainly. Mugou does not bear the surname Han. He bears the surname Zhao! That chair... even if We no longer sit upon it... We will never allow someone outside the Zhao Clan to sit there!”

The joking expression vanished completely from the Emperor’s face.

Once again, the majesty of the Son of Heaven emerged from him.

“Ever since We ascended the throne, Our court has been obstructed at every turn by you old Renzong-era chancellors. You were the ones who praised Emperor Renzong. You were also the ones who criticized Emperor Renzong. You people were flawless. Pure. White as frost. Proud as plum blossoms in winter. But Emperor Renzong was a muddleheaded fool. And the ones who truly reduced Great Qian to this half-dead state... were you. You lot!”

Yao Zizhan stared at him in shock.

He hurriedly said:

“Your Majesty... you...”

“It was only when the Yan invaded that year, shaking court and countryside alike, that We finally found an opportunity to drive you old things out of the court. We carried out reforms. We sought renewal and strength. We changed the policy of elevating civil officials and suppressing military men. We promoted generals, raised their status, and tried to restore the warrior’s heart that was willing to die for the state! We trained new armies. We taxed Jiangnan. We taxed the great households, wealthy merchants, and maritime trade. We tried to strengthen Great Qian’s northern frontier! We already did everything We were capable of doing. And while doing it, We still had to face you old bastards who supposedly retired home yet refused to stay quiet, along with the useless disciples and descendants you left throughout the court, good for nothing except dragging their feet and hindering everything! We admire Ji Runhao. A pity We never had Tian Wujing and Li Liangting. Otherwise... We too would have joyfully washed Great Qian clean in blood, slaughtering all these insects who are plainly fools yet insist on imagining themselves pillars of morality!”

Layman Wen’an spoke.

“Your Majesty... knew already?”

The Emperor looked at the child before him.

Disdain curled at the corner of his mouth.

“Did you truly think Great Qian’s Silver-Armored Guard merely sat around eating free rice?”

Confusion appeared in Layman Wen’an’s eyes.

“So Your Majesty chose to abdicate of your own accord?”

The Emperor raised his head and released a long sigh.

“We sat inside Clear Heart Pavilion and waited for five years. We waited for all of you for five years. You truly made Us wait!”

The Emperor swept one sleeve outward.

Then turned and walked toward the Back Mountain gate.

As he went, his voice rang loudly across the mountain:

“That great war was already the final opportunity Qian and Chu possessed against Yan. And we lost. Shangjing was broken too. From that day onward, We understood that Yan’s great momentum had already taken shape! Because We were more certain than anyone else of one thing. The new sovereign chosen by Ji Runhao would possess at least seven parts of Ji Runhao’s own bones, would he not? And We were equally certain of another thing. That Yan brat who once dared point at Our nose and curse Us for knowing nothing of war... was a very interesting man. Unless Yan collapses from within... who can stop its momentum? We truly do not want to become the ruler who loses the state. Being the second-to-last is still better than being the very last. The second-to-last is usually remembered with regret. People will say, if only he had lived a few more years, perhaps things might have been different. Hahahahaha! A thousand years from now, those reading history will remember only that while We reigned, We purged the so-called court overflowing with virtuous gentlemen. We reversed the policy of elevating civil officials and suppressing military men. We taxed great households, wealthy merchants, and maritime commerce. We trained new armies and reorganized the realm’s defenses! Unfortunately... We were overthrown by you treacherous little villains. And thus the splendid, elegant Great Qian that later generations will endlessly romanticize for its poetry, ritual, and grace... was ultimately trampled beneath the hooves of Yan horses!”

Layman Wen’an said solemnly:

“Your Majesty, that will not happen. We have already recovered one move of Heaven’s Mandate. Everything will return to its proper place—”

The Emperor had already reached the steps.

Hearing this... he suddenly stopped.

Then turned around.

Standing several steps above them, he now looked down upon the child below.

The child seemed even smaller.

The Emperor pointed at him.

“We cultivate the Dao too. We love Daoist robes. We delight in the misty and transcendent. We respect Master Cang. We respect Li Xundao. And yet in your eyes... in the eyes of people like you... they are fools blinded by worldly dust, fools who abandoned the Great Dao. Ridiculous. You believe yourselves correct. You believe your gaze has pierced through emptiness, seen the heavens, seen Heaven’s Mandate. And yet you... do not dare... to look even once at this human world!”

Layman Wen’an pressed his palms together and began reciting the Heart Sutra rapidly.

At that moment... he felt his Dao-heart trembling.

As though it might collapse.

The Emperor looked farther away, toward Li Xundao standing beside the distant carriage beyond the soldiers.

Then he let out a long cry.

“Xundao! Back then... We welcomed you down from the mountain! Today... you send Us back up!”

In the distance...

Li Xundao dropped to his knees.

“Long live my Emperor! Long live! Long, long live!”

The Emperor turned around again.

He faced the steps and began climbing.

One step.

Then another.

After walking for a while... he suddenly cursed:

“This is exhausting. Forget it. We are not walking anymore.”

Right there... the Emperor raised his left hand.

Pointed toward the sky.

And declared:

“We... the Retired Emperor of Great Qian... a Ninth Grade Qi Refiner... will shed this body today. We seek neither ascension nor attainment of the Dao. We are simply too damned lazy to keep climbing this birdshit path!”

A tiny blue-green flame—so small it could hardly be any smaller—sprang from the Emperor’s shoulder.

Slowly... it soaked into Zhao’s flesh and blood.

“Hiss...”

The Emperor’s face twisted.

But he could not bring himself to cry out in pain.

And he refused to turn around.

So he could only endure.

The flame was too small.

It could certainly burn him to death.

It would simply take a little time.

“Xundao! Didn’t you say shedding the body was a kind of great freedom? We regret this... We should have taken cultivation more seriously back then. At least if We were going to kill Ourselves, We could have done it cleanly and quickly.”

The little blue flame finally burned into his chest.

The agony intensified.

The Emperor dropped to his knees and braced one palm against the stone.

“If We had known earlier... We really should have brought a bottle of poisoned wine. It hurts...”

At last... the flame reached the space between his brows.

The Zhao Emperor’s aura vanished.

His broad Daoist robe collapsed inward.

His body slowly turned to dust and scattered on the wind.

At the foot of the mountain...

Han Sui closed his eyes.

Yao Zizhan, Layman Wen’an, and all the armored soldiers dropped to their knees.

Up on the mountain... inside the pond that had already become completely empty... a single lotus bloomed again.

[End of Chapter 981]