Chapter 1018: Sovereigns

The imperial procession of Great Yan crossed the Bian River.

As it drew near Shangjing, great swaths of Qian commoners could be seen coming out to "welcome" it.

To call it a joyous welcome for the King's Army would not quite have been appropriate.

But to call it hatred... the feeling was not especially strong either.

First, the icy sabers of the eastern Jin armored soldiers inside the city had thoroughly cowed people's hearts.

Those who meant to rebel had already rebelled, and had been suppressed.

Those who meant to hang themselves for the fallen state, or burn their homes to declare their resolve, were either cold corpses by now or ashes.

Those who meant to shut themselves inside their houses and practice nonviolent noncooperation were simply left alone. No one invited them out, and no one deliberately made trouble for them.

Most importantly, the Regent Prince's entry into Shangjing this time was different from the last.

Zhao Mugou had chosen surrender.

He himself, as Son of Heaven, had suffered extraordinary humiliation, but by doing so he had indeed preserved the capital region from another baptism of war like the one it had endured years ago.

And so everyone had been allowed to choose his own road.

For the multitude of living beings, fear of death was usually the most natural state of all.

The common people cooperated when cooperation was required.

After all, for the past hundred years they had done the same whenever facing their own Emperor.

The people of the capital in particular were quite familiar with this sort of spectacle.

Now the Emperor of Yan had arrived.

So they came out of the city to welcome him.

When the imperial carriage passed, they could kneel and, led by others, cry out together:

"Long live the Emperor!"

Ji Chengjue's gaze passed through the curtains of the imperial carriage and swept across the numb, bewildered faces kneeling on both sides of the road.

He did not lose himself in the tide of "Long lives."

Silently, he spat a grape seed from his mouth.

Wei Zhonghe reached out and caught it.

Eunuch Zhang beside him picked up a piece of silk and gently wiped the corner of His Majesty's mouth.

"Looks like that Zheng bastard has governed Shangjing rather well."

An Emperor naturally looked at such matters from a different angle than an ordinary man.

From the moment he crossed the Bian River, Ji Chengjue had been observing.

This former capital of Qian had already resumed functioning as a system.

Its efficiency was still very low.

Its structure still contained gaps.

But it was undeniably operating.

For a conqueror to accomplish this in such a short time... was genuinely impressive.

Then again... since the man was Zheng Fan, the Emperor found it only natural.

In truth, there had been reasons Prince Jingnan repeatedly protected that Zheng fellow all those years ago, and reasons his own imperial father kept promoting him according to the standards of a great frontier governor.

It was not only because the bastard knew how to fight.

His ability to govern territory was equally important.

By comparison, the rough military blockheads who had held ranks equal to or even higher than Zheng Fan in those early years had long since been left so far behind that they could no longer even see his back.

Only from the perspective of the entire board, from the perspective of a manager and ruler, could one truly appreciate how valuable a man like Zheng Fan was.

Other garrison commanders needed the state to keep pumping blood into whatever territory they captured.

He could rapidly achieve self-sufficiency and independent development, then radiate military influence outward as far as possible.

He was almost absurdly considerate.

Compared with that... the danger of "raising a tiger only to invite calamity" had, during certain periods, simply not been worth mentioning.

As the imperial carriage neared the city gate, the formal welcoming party finally appeared.

"Let Us guess. That Zheng bastard definitely won't come out to receive Us personally. He probably sent his son."

Wei Zhonghe had just received a report from outside.

He immediately smiled.

"Master, this time you've guessed wrong. The Regent Prince himself is waiting ahead to receive you."

"Oh?"

The Emperor of Great Yan, Ji Chengjue, froze slightly.

Then he braced himself and stood up on his own, muttering mockingly to himself:

"Son of a bitch. Why do We somehow feel flattered beyond measure?"

Wei Zhonghe and Eunuch Zhang exchanged smiles.

Both stepped forward to straighten His Majesty's dragon robe.

"Greetings, Your Highness!"

"Greetings, Your Highness!"

Outside, the imperial guards could be heard saluting.

Across all Great Yan, there was only one man who required no announcement before entering the Emperor's presence.

No one dared stop him and ask him to wait.

For one thing, those serving beside the Emperor knew perfectly well how deep the true bond between His Majesty and this man ran.

For another... no one dared bear the consequences.

No one could bear them.

Imagine it.

One day the Regent Prince comes to see the Emperor.

The guards stop him.

They say they need to announce him first.

What happens next?

If the Prince quietly waits, then perhaps nothing.

But knowing this Prince's temperament, if he decides he does not feel like waiting and simply turns around and leaves... half the sky over Great Yan could collapse in an instant.

The curtain was yanked open from outside.

"I say, Ji Old Sixth, are you some woman who has to put on makeup before leaving the house? The sun's this damned high already, and I've been standing outside waiting for you forever. Are you coming out or not?"

"Greetings, Regent Prince! May Your Highness enjoy health and fortune!"

Every palace maid and eunuch inside immediately dropped to his or her knees.

Even the two Grand Eunuchs who had just finished arranging the Emperor's dragon robe knelt to salute him.

Wei Zhonghe's posture in particular was immaculate.

Wei Zhonghe truly was afraid.

All those years ago, he had let his mouth get ahead of him and teased the man once.

Had it been anyone else, that should have counted as an honor. Not everyone in the world was worth enough for the Seal-holding Grand Eunuch to "take notice" of him.

But this particular lord... after that day, almost every time they met, his office, title, authority, and power had leapt another enormous step upward.

And now... first Chu had been broken, then Qian destroyed.

Of three great national wars, he had indirectly participated in one and directly commanded two.

His identity and status could no longer even encompass the scale of his achievements.

Even if Prince Jingnan returned and the old Prince Zhenbei rose from the grave, if the seats were assigned by merit, this lord could take first place without shame.

"Oh? Eunuch Wei. Still alive and well, I see."

A warm greeting from the Regent Prince.

Countless Mr. Horns immediately seemed to churn through Wei Zhonghe's heart.

Heavens above.

How long did this lord intend to hold a grudge?

"This slave congratulates Your Highness on the great merit of destroying a state!"

Wei Zhonghe instantly answered with a smile blooming like a daisy.

Fortunately, the Emperor spoke at that moment.

"I say, Zheng bastard, what are you in such a hurry for? I really thought you'd send your son to receive Us. I didn't expect you to come yourself."

"So if my son had come, you weren't planning to get out at all, were you? Ah. Good thing I came."

The Emperor rolled his eyes at the Prince.

"Let's go."

Before the eyes of tens of thousands, the Regent Prince in his python robe and the Emperor of Great Yan in his dragon robe emerged from the imperial carriage together.

The Regent Prince mounted his Pixiu.

The Emperor mounted a magnificent black warhorse.

Side by side, they entered the city.

"Why didn't you ride a Pixiu?" Zheng Fan asked.

"There aren't many Pixiu to begin with. Why should I ride one and waste it? Oh, right. I nearly forgot. You've gotten bolder and bolder, bastard. Were you really not afraid this whole thing would get out of hand?"

"It couldn't," Zheng Fan said, shaking his head. "If we're talking only about fighting wars now, I honestly can't think of anyone I could still lose to."

"Tsk, tsk. Listen to you. Hand you a pole and you climb straight to the top just to praise yourself. Zheng bastard, we've known each other for more than ten years. How has your skin only gotten thicker?"

"Charge into battle with a saber a few times yourself and you'll understand."

"Oh?"

"Thick skin stops sabers and arrows."

"Zheng Fan, do you take me for an idiot?"

"You've probably heard enough flattery about how wise and divinely martial you are. Only at my place can you feel a different wind. Treasure it."

The two most exalted men beneath Heaven rode through the city side by side, laughing and cursing each other with perfect ease.

All the ceremonies that had been prepared in advance were canceled on the spot with a wave from each of them.

The two of them... were the greatest rules beneath Heaven.

They were also the men who made the rules.

"The next priority should be suppressing rebellions, shouldn't it?" the Emperor asked.

"No hurry."

"Why?"

"We're already inside the rice jar. No need to gorge ourselves all at once and burst our stomachs. Shangjing is ours. The Three Frontiers are ours. Half of Jiangnan is ours. Let's digest what we've already swallowed first. Several commanders under me are still campaigning in different places, but they don't have enough troops to make any major new breakthroughs. Better to leave them where they are for now and maintain the situation. First, we need time to integrate and stabilize what we have. Second, give those Qian who refuse to submit to Great Yan some time to travel. Let them gather together into nice big piles. Then we can deal with them once and for all."

"We have enough troops," the Emperor said. "I brought quite a lot with me this time."

"That's not how troops should be used."

"Fine. On military matters, I listen to you."

"Mm. One more thing I hadn't mentioned. The surrendered Qian troops have to be gathered, sorted, and reorganized before we use them. Otherwise something could go wrong on the battlefield."

"I actually have an idea about that. We could imitate your military system in eastern Jin and establish the Standard Household system in the Qian lands too. Use it to break up the Qian army's old loyalties and draw their allegiance to us."

Hearing this, Zheng Fan turned and looked at Ji Chengjue.

"What? You're unhappy that I'm plagiarizing your system?"

Zheng Fan shook his head.

"I heard you made Zu Zhuming Marquis of Donghai?"

"Yes."

"You're the Emperor. I understand your position. Now that Qian has been destroyed, you probably wish you could turn every Qian man into a Yan man overnight, make them your subjects, and achieve lasting peace and stability in a single stroke. But now you're handing out military-merit titles and transplanting the Standard Household system. Ji Old Sixth... what are the Great Yan soldiers who fought and bled and died to expand your territory supposed to think? Yes, you have your reasons. And yes, from the perspective of the whole realm, I know what you're doing is correct. But you are the Emperor of Great Yan first. Only after that are you the Son of Heaven of All Xia. One day the Qian lands may rebel. Jin may rebel. Chu may rebel. When that happens, the men truly willing to fight and die for you to the end will still be the old Yan people. If you chill their hearts now, what are you planning to rely on in the end? The Qian whose hearts you won over? The Chu? The Jin? Are they the ones you expect to rush to the capital and protect the sovereign?"

An Emperor had an Emperor's position.

A Regent Prince had a Regent Prince's position.

Zheng Fan was unquestionably the foremost man in Great Yan's military.

Since he possessed that status, he had to bear the responsibility that came with it.

At the most basic level, virtue had to match position.

A man had to fight for the interests of the group and class he represented.

Of course, Zheng Fan's warning did not come purely from the narrow interests of the military establishment.

What he said was genuinely true.

All Under Heaven had only just begun to settle, and the flames of war would not stop for some time.

If the Emperor wounded the hearts of Yan soldiers now, who would still willingly risk his life for him in the campaigns to come?

Chen Yang had the achievement of breaking Shangjing.

Yet because his supposed merits and crimes had "canceled each other out," he still had not been made a Marquis.

And now a surrendered general had received a Marquisate first?

"I know you're saying this for my sake," the Emperor said.

Because if Zheng Fan had possessed selfish ambitions, he would never have raised the issue at all.

He could even have quietly fanned the flames and widened the divide between the court and army.

"But I've considered all of that. Making Zu Zhuming a Marquis was something I did on impulse. The Three Frontiers have been stuck in the hearts of successive Yan Emperors for decades, especially my imperial father. In a moment I'll have Wei Zhonghe give you a list. It's the roster of rewards and enfeoffments I've prepared. Add whatever you think is missing and return it to me. I've prepared quite a few Marquisates this time."

"Fine."

"The Qian lands really are good country, Zheng bastard. What do you think about moving the capital here?"

"The Son of Heaven guards the nation's gate."

Ji Chengjue fell into thought.

Once All Xia was nominally unified, the only force likely to become a genuine threat to Great Yan in the foreseeable future would still come from the desert.

Either another Barbarian King would rise among the desert tribes... or powers from the west would extend their reach through the desert.

By comparison, the native tribes, northern Qiang, Savages, mountain Yue, and the rest were all lesser troubles.

The true future threat would most likely lie in the west.

The Emperor said, "I understand what you mean. But from the perspective of governing the state, Shangjing is more or less the center of All Xia."

Geographically it was near the middle.

Economically and culturally, it was unquestionably the central region.

"Not necessarily."

"Not necessarily?"

"If we launch western campaigns in the future, Great Yan itself becomes the center."

The moment Zheng Fan said it, Ji Chengjue looked both surprised and moved.

But he did not continue pursuing the subject.

Instead, he said, "Then we'll establish Shangjing as a Secondary Capital for now. Right. For what comes next, same old rules. You decide military affairs. I'll assist with everything else."

"Don't drag me into that. The war is over. I'm planning to go home and lie down."

"If you don't remain in Shangjing, who will? Don't tell me you expect this Emperor to live here permanently. Besides, after working this hard to win everything, are you really willing to hand it to someone else and risk something going wrong?"

"My dear elder brother-in-law is still waiting. He stabbed me in the back this time. I still have an account to settle with him. For Shangjing, appoint one great official capable of standing alone to govern and garrison the place. The northern Qiang and the native tribes can be pacified first. Concentrate our strength on cleaning up the remaining Qian resistance. That's just grinding work now. It won't be difficult."

"Recommend someone."

"Xu Wenzu."

"Good."

Perhaps outsiders would have found it impossible to believe.

Yet in the course of riding into the city side by side, laughing and cursing one another, the Emperor and Prince of Great Yan had essentially finished arranging the future of an enormous country.

After entering the imperial palace, the Emperor went to prepare for a grand court audience.

Last time, the Qian officials had kowtowed to the Regent Prince in the great hall because they were the conquered side lowering their heads.

This time, the Emperor of Great Yan had come as the bearer of legitimate dynastic authority.

What he needed to do in Shangjing, and across the former State of Qian, was establish a genuine new governing order.

In other words... last time, everyone had bowed to save his life.

This time... they were bowing so they could keep being officials afterward.

Zheng Fan had preparations of his own.

The Emperor would receive the civil officials of Qian.

Zheng Fan needed to placate the surrendered Qian generals, together with all the Yan army commanders who had followed the Emperor here.

Civil and military.

He and Ji Old Sixth each handled one side.

It was a tacit understanding neither needed to state aloud.

"Your Highness, this is the roster of rewards His Majesty asked you to supplement."

Eunuch Zhang delivered a yellow scroll.

Zheng Fan accepted it and nodded.

Then he mounted his Pixiu and left the imperial palace.

Now that Ji Old Sixth had moved into the palace, it was no longer appropriate for Zheng Fan to remain there too.

Instead, he found a princely residence in Shangjing and took it as his temporary mansion.

The residence had belonged to the previous Emperor back when he was still a Prince.

It had been repaired and expanded several times since.

It lacked the awe and majesty of the imperial palace, but it was exquisite and secluded beyond question.

After all, that former Qian Emperor who had styled himself the "Supreme Daoist Lord Emperor" had certainly known how to enjoy life.

Civil and military went their separate ways.

Each returned home to find his own mother.

Zheng Fan rode his Pixiu to the gate of his temporary residence.

Outside, personal guards from numerous armies were already waiting.

The moment they saw the Regent Prince, every one of them knelt in salute.

Their commanders were already inside.

Zheng Fan rode straight in on his Pixiu.

Almost casually, he pulled out the imperial decree of rewards and glanced at it.

Mm.

One glance was enough.

Because there was nothing written on it.

It carried the great imperial seal... and nothing else.

Blank decrees bearing the imperial seal were not exactly rare.

At least not to the Regent Prince.

He was a professional when it came to manufacturing imperial decrees.

But this blank sealed decree meant something extraordinary.

The Emperor had completely delegated authority to Zheng Fan and allowed him to decide the military rewards himself.

Even who would become a military-merit Marquis... would be Zheng Fan's decision.

The Emperor had all but said as much when they entered the city.

At that moment, Zheng Lin emerged from a side courtyard with his godfather, the Blind Man.

He happened to see his father sitting atop the Pixiu.

His father tossed the bright yellow imperial decree toward him.

Zheng Lin caught it.

"Heh heh."

His father chuckled twice, then rode the Pixiu straight into the front hall.

Zheng Lin was about to open the decree when his godfather spoke beside him.

"No need. It's blank."

"Hm?"

Zheng Lin first made a puzzled sound.

Then realization followed.

"Oh."

His godfather truly did not need to open a letter to read it.

An imperial decree was no different.

"If nothing unexpected has happened, it should be a decree of rewards. Military rewards," the Blind Man said.

"So the Emperor means to let Father decide all the rewards himself? Isn't that basically handing over complete authority over the army?"

"Yes." The Blind Man nodded. "That's why I've always told you this Emperor is no simple man. Here your godfather has been helping your father plan how to divide territory after the war, yet who could have expected the Emperor to be even more direct? He simply gave your father more."

"He's not afraid?"

"Afraid of what? The more he gives, the more stable everything becomes. The stingier he is, the more dangerous it gets. Lin'er, it's like a young couple discussing bride-price and dowry before marriage. If either side tries to take advantage, the result is usually chicken feathers all over the floor and a hundred, a thousand resentments in the heart. But if both sides are generous and neither wants to take advantage, each becomes willing to give even more. If you take advantage of me by even one copper coin, it sticks in my throat. But if you make it clear you don't want to take advantage, then even if I treat you to ten taels' worth of wine and courtesans, I won't feel the slightest pain."

"Godfather, don't be anxious."

Zheng Lin reached out and patted the back of the Blind Man's hand.

The Blind Man drew a deep breath, then slowly exhaled and smiled.

"I'm not anxious. I gave up hope in your father a long time ago. My hope... is in you. The Iron Triangle of the late Emperor and the Northern and Southern Princes... and in this generation, the arrangement between your father and the Emperor... those patterns can no longer be changed. But the next generation? Who can guarantee anything about the next generation?"

"Mm," Zheng Lin answered. "Lin'er won't disappoint Godfather."

"Good Lin'er."

"Since Lin'er is so good, Godfather, help me reject that marriage with the Zu Clan."

"Not a chance."

"But I've already promised that if the opportunity comes, I'll help Godfather rebel in the future."

"Exactly. Which is why if the Crown Prince marries one and you don't marry the other, aren't you the one losing out? Zu Zhuming is almost certain to become one of the great regional guardians of the Qian lands."

Zheng Lin said, "I..."

"It's only one woman. What are you panicking about? Your father has four wives, doesn't he?"

"But Father stole all of his. None of those were arranged marriages."

The Blind Man reached out and stroked Zheng Lin's head.

"Your father's was arranged too."

"Heh. Who could arrange a marriage for him?"

"Your mother."

...

That day, the Emperor of Great Yan received the hundred officials of Qian in the great hall.

Zhao Mugou once again crawled forward on his knees and confessed his crimes before the Emperor of Great Yan, saying that he himself had merely been a monkey wearing a cap, while the man before him was the true one to whom the Mandate of Heaven had returned.

The Emperor proclaimed Shangjing a Secondary Capital of Great Yan.

Following the structure of the court in Yanjing, six ministries and a Cabinet would be established there.

That same day, the Prince of Great Yan received the salutes of Yan and Qian generals in the courtyard of the princely residence.

Ji Wujiang and Zu Zhuming represented the Yan and Qian commanders respectively in offering congratulations to the Prince.

Once more, they confirmed beyond all possibility of dispute that the Regent Prince... held the true first seat in Great Yan's military.

Before everyone present, the Prince enfeoffed Jin Shuke, Chen Yang, and numerous other commanders of outstanding merit as military-merit Marquises.

Chen Xianba was made a Count.

He already possessed a long list of military achievements, and he had the severed head of a Pillar of State to his name.

No one could object.

Tian Tian was made a Count as well.

He was the Heir of Prince Jingnan. Giving him a Count's title meant allowing him to follow a path similar to the one Ji Wujiang had once taken, and left enormous room for the future.

Zheng Man was also made a Count.

His military achievements were not actually sufficient.

Neither was his seniority.

Nor did he possess Tian Tian's lineage.

But as the unquestioned leader of Great Yan's foremost military faction, the Regent Prince needed to forcibly lift one man who did not quite qualify until he did qualify, in order to display the Regent Prince's magnificent "nepotism."

Everything had two sides.

Excessive nepotism could destroy an organization.

A measured dose of nepotism could strengthen cohesion.

Otherwise... who would still want to keep following you?

Two men were omitted from the enfeoffment list.

One was Liang Cheng, whose achievements in the war to destroy Qian deserved first place.

The other was Gou Moli, who had perfectly completed his supporting assignments in two successive wars that broke entire states.

Liang Cheng could not be bothered receiving some new formal title to begin with.

He had long since stopped caring about such things.

Besides, Zheng Fan's troops were Liang Cheng's troops.

What else did he need?

As for Gou Moli, he personally asked not to be enfeoffed.

With a shameless grin, he said they were all family, and handing out titles and offices would only make things feel distant.

Little Dog's dream was not to gain titles and rank.

It was to squeeze himself into the sequence of the "gentlemen" around Master.

In short... everything was spiraling upward toward the better.

The reason it was spiraling rather than moving in a straight line was Zhao Yuannian.

Before traveling to Shangjing to surrender his state title and accept enfeoffment, Zhao Yuannian decided to show off a little in Jiangnan.

Ignoring Jin Shuke's objections, he forcibly organized his troops and attempted to expand the territory under his control.

Unfortunately, the men under him were a complete rabble.

They actually failed to defeat even the righteous militias spontaneously organized by the people of Jiangnan, and instead suffered a rather embarrassing defeat.

Fortunately, Jin Shuke arrived with troops in time to save him and ultimately crushed the militia.

Otherwise, Zhao Yuannian would truly have lost all face.

Even so, after Zhao Yuannian entered Shangjing, relinquished his state title and imperial rank, he was still enfeoffed as Prince of Qian.

Zhao Mugou, meanwhile... essentially returned to where he had started.

He was enfeoffed once again as Prince Rui.

Barring some unexpected accident, the curse hanging over the Prince Rui line would continue.

In addition, the Emperor appointed Xu Wenzu Grand Commandant and placed him in overall charge of the Secondary Capital.

It was said that before Xu Wenzu entered Shangjing, he first went to the willow the Prince had planted and wept bitterly for a long time.

After being made Grand Commandant, he returned to the willow and cried there for half the night again.

This time he brought wine.

Sitting beside the willow, he told it story after story about the old days between himself and the Regent Prince.

He spoke of how he and the Regent Prince had recognized kindred spirits in each other almost from the moment they first met.

He spoke of how he had joined the Sixth Master faction early on, proving that His Majesty was indeed a wise Emperor for the ages.

Xu Wenzu would probably never learn that years ago, outside Marquis Zhenbei Residence, when Sha Tuo Queshi deliberately smashed the carriage in which Xu Wenzu had been meant to hide... his "bosom friend" Zheng Fan had given the order.

Nor would he ever learn that the reason he had somehow been abducted into the Red Tents and held there for so many days, then finally had to ride two horses to death in an utterly miserable, desperate journey back to Tiger Head City... was the doing of the present "wise Emperor."

Once everything had been arranged, the Regent Prince prepared to travel south along the Qian River.

He would follow the old road through Xie Clan territory, then turn back toward eastern Jin.

A gentleman may wait ten years to avenge an insult.

A Prince takes his revenge tonight.

His dear elder brother-in-law had stabbed him in the back.

How could Zheng Fan possibly return home and soak in a hot spring in peace before stabbing him back?

True, not all the Qian lands had yet been recovered.

But the core regions were already in Yan hands.

The scattered pockets of resistance here and there across Qian could no longer build any real momentum.

Once Qian was dealt with, what possibility remained for the already half-crippled State of Chu to turn the tide beneath the pressure of the greater trend?

The Emperor, meanwhile, would return north to Yanjing.

"The Imperial Beast-Taming Directorate has bred four new Pixiu. How about we assign one to each of your three little brats?"

"Why has the Imperial Beast-Taming Directorate suddenly become so productive?"

Pixiu were extraordinarily difficult to breed.

They were not Pi Beasts.

"The Directorate developed a new method. They can extract soul-blood from the old Pixiu spirit in the palace, and the success rate has increased dramatically."

"Four is too few. Reserve eighteen for me first. Give them to my personal guards. That way I'll have enough grandeur when I go out."

"Dream on!"

"Heh. Merchant to the bone. Stingy."

"Zheng bastard, after I return to Yanjing, I'll build that Lingyun Pavilion you once mentioned and put you in the first position."

"If you're really sincere, why not clear a place for me in your Imperial Ancestral Temple?"

"Go fuck yourself. Would you be willing to let a man surnamed Ji into your ancestral grave?"

"Come on in. I'll leave an empty place beside me for you."

The Emperor froze.

Then he cursed loudly:

"Bitch!"

The Prince, seated atop his Pixiu, waved a hand.

"Until next time, beast."

...

The Emperor returned to his imperial carriage.

The procession turned north.

After they crossed the Bian River, Wei Zhonghe, who had been holding tea while attending the Emperor as he reviewed memorials, silently set the cup down and stepped forward.

At that moment, a plump woman dressed in white entered and knelt in salute.

Behind her stood a eunuch in red robes.

It was difficult to tell whether he was accompanying her or guarding her.

The Little Eunuch in Red Robes from years ago was no longer especially little.

The Emperor put down his brush.

Massaging a wrist that had grown slightly sore, he asked:

"If you're supposed to be breeding Pixiu for Us in the Imperial Beast-Taming Directorate, why did you insist on traveling a thousand li all the way out here?"

A faint smile appeared at the white-robed woman's lips.

In an instant, a lush, seductive charm seemed to flow from her, bright enough to make spring itself more radiant.

"Your Majesty, a Pixiu manifested before this common woman and revealed a method to me."

"Oh? A method? Can this method breed more Pixiu?"

The white-robed woman shook her head.

Every trace of seduction and charm vanished from her face.

Then... the words she spoke plunged the atmosphere inside the imperial carriage into a terrifying chill.

"A method... that can make the Regent Prince's departure seem perfectly natural."

[End of Chapter 1018]