Futile Devices Scans

Fengdu, Xiling.

Hanxiang Palace was as warm as spring. Wei Fu held a black Go stone between his fingertips, lazily propping up his head with his other hand. He sat with no semblance of proper posture and yawned incessantly in the heat. One look at him told Mu Heng that this game was no different from feeding fish—Wei Fu might as well scatter his stones wherever he pleased. He merely asked, “Did you go thieving last night?”

Wei Fu drew out his voice mournfully. “It is difficult to sleep upon a lonely pillow, Your Majesty.”

His Majesty scoffed. “How promising of you.”

In truth, His Majesty had also been sleeping upon a lonely pillow. That autumn, the Kingdom of Zhending had attacked the border, and Zhong Yi had been reassigned as Commandant of the Lingzhou Valiant Cavalry Command and sent north to lead troops in battle.

“This subject understands everything.” Wei Fu sighed gloomily. “This subject shares Your Majesty’s suffering. There is no need to pretend to be strong.”

“…Do not use that sour, sentimental mind of yours to speculate about me. Do you think everyone is as incapable of living without someone as you are?” Mu Heng could not stand his lovelorn, suicidal manner and lectured him, “You’ve spent so many years gaining experience abroad, yet all day long you do nothing but mourn spring and grieve autumn. Can’t you attend to something serious?”

After being scolded, Wei Fu’s eyelids, the corners of his mouth, and his nonexistent ears and tail all drooped at once. He turned his head aside and muttered under his breath, “Anger born of embarrassment.”

Mu Heng: “…”

How had he ended up saddled with this debt collector?

Xiling’s southern frontier had remained peaceful over the years, and commerce had flourished. Wei Fu’s years of work in Longsha had contributed greatly to this. Since his return, the most popular topic among the court officials had been how His Majesty would reward him. A senior post in one of the Six Ministries was practically assured; the only question was which ministry he would enter. They also remarked that this elegant young gentleman had delayed marriage until now for the sake of state affairs, so His Majesty would surely need to select a suitable family for him as well.

Yet although Wei Fu entered the palace every few days to attend His Majesty, there was no movement from the palace at all. When several chancellors from the State Affairs Hall tentatively raised the matter, Mu Heng dismissed them with a single sentence: “He has traveled and labored for years. Give him two months’ leave first.”

At least His Majesty had offered an explanation. The Duke Who Stabilizes the Nation’s household said nothing whatsoever. Whenever anyone asked, their answer was simply to let Wei Fu do as he pleased and leave his appointment entirely to His Majesty. It was almost as though they had adopted this son out to the emperor and Wei Fu was no longer a member of their family.

Elio’s Notes: The 

is Duke Zhenguo. We will update this in the previous chapters.

“Have you paid respects to your parents these past two days?” Mu Heng decided to change the subject. “Is the site to your liking? If not, have the craftsmen alter it.”

Wei Fu dawdled for a long while before hesitantly placing a stone. “This subject thinks it is very good. The terrain is high, the scenery beautiful, and there is a pleasant breeze. Many thanks, Your Majesty.”

That year, after Wei Fu emerged from the sinkhole and returned to Xiling, Mu Heng had promised to build a tomb for his father. Later, Yeguang and the Crow Guards took turns raiding the stronghold at Yun Lake, and Yu Gong Zhao Ye entered the mountains to search for him once more. However, Jiang Feng Xun had already vanished without a trace. Perhaps she had decided the location was no longer safe and retreated farther into the mountains.

Wei Fu silently accepted this explanation. The next time he wrote to Mu Heng, he added a request that cenotaphs for both his parents be erected together.

The few remaining relics were buried as well, and the old residence was left completely empty.

When Wei Fu returned to Fengdu this time, the house could only be described as having four bare walls. Wei Rong, who had watched the residence for him, had grown old and hard of hearing; one had to shout for him to understand. Even so, Wei Fu settled there peacefully.

Although he had grown accustomed to the silk curtains, brocade quilts, soft pillows, and high beds of the Chancellor’s Residence in Longsha, lying in that old and familiar house while listening to the wind shake the trees and rattle the roof tiles, he still had an excellent dream.

The next day, as soon as morning court ended, Mu Heng sent someone to drag him into the palace and asked with a frown, “What happened? Weren’t you staying perfectly well at the Duke Who Stabilizes the Nation’s estate? Why did I hear you ran back to Liuzhi Alley alone last night?”

After several years of tempering abroad, Wei Fu’s appearance had not changed much, though his bearing had become far steadier. Unlike his former excitable self, he said calmly, “This subject is a useless man. It would be wrong to sully another family’s honored name. Naturally, I returned to where I came from.”

“Speak like a normal person. Why are you sulking at me?” Mu Heng said. “You returned to court with great achievements. Who dares call you useless?”

Wei Fu maintained that shameless expression that said It certainly wasn’t my fault, while his mouth said, “It was entirely this subject’s fault.”

“When this subject returned home yesterday, the elders of the family wanted to arrange a marriage for me. I said I already had someone I loved and that his home was in Longsha. They urged me to give him up and choose a young lady from an aristocratic family who could benefit my career. I said I had returned this time precisely to resign from office. Grandfather and my uncles flew into a rage and accused me of willingly sinking into depravity and lacking all ambition… What else was there? I’ve forgotten. In any case, they gave me a thorough scolding, so I returned to the old residence.”

“…” Mu Heng felt as though some crucial piece of information had slipped past his ear. “What did you say you intend to do?”

Wei Fu stared back innocently, shaping each syllable with an exaggeratedly large, round mouth. “Re—sign—from—office—”

Mu Heng slowly supported his forehead and sat down, lest he faint from anger and topple over with a thud.

No wonder that expression had looked so familiar! The two little monsters Zhong Yi raised had worn exactly the same expression after chewing through their cage, running wild through the imperial garden for an entire afternoon, and trampling countless flowers before finally being caught!

“Wei Shuchen, you truly are promising.”

Countless people went their entire lives without seeing the imperial countenance. Wei Fu had known the emperor for twenty years and had even shared life-and-death experiences with him. He had not entered officialdom through ancestral privilege, either, but had served abroad for years and returned covered in achievements. Yet he wanted none of those uniquely favorable circumstances or that bright, open future. He was determined to become a hopeless romantic instead.

People said children were debts owed from a previous life. Mu Heng had merely stayed at the Duke Who Stabilizes the Nation’s estate for a few years, yet it seemed the rest of his life would now be spent looking after the duke’s child.

Clack!

Mu Heng captured a large group of Wei Fu’s stones. Wei Fu furtively attempted to conceal his movements beneath his sleeve and steal one back, only for His Majesty to catch him on the spot and slap away his dishonest paw.

After the crisp smack, Wei Fu resentfully rubbed the back of his hand. “I brought back two bottles of earth from their graves this time. This way, it can be considered as though they are accompanying me. When will Your Majesty let me leave?”

He had repeated the same question every day for the past month, until Mu Heng’s ears had nearly developed calluses. His refusal was equally practiced. “How many times must I tell you not to be impatient? You spent years managing Longsha on my behalf. If you begin wailing about resigning the moment you return, what will the world think of me? How will they judge you? Will they say I mistreated a meritorious minister, or that your heart belongs to a foreign country?”

“Then how does Your Majesty intend to arrange matters for me? Any position will do. Find another excuse to send me to Longsha, or I could serve as a magistrate at one of the border markets…”

To fall from Assistant Chancellor to Border Market Magistrate—how was that any different from exile?

With the Assistant Chancellor’s return, the suzerain-vassal alliance between Xiling and Longsha had entered an ambiguous and awkward limbo. Whether they would preserve the existing arrangement, negotiate something new, or completely part ways depended entirely on what the two rulers could agree upon.

Longsha was Xiling’s southern buffer against Dongyu, an important source of salt, and a vital maritime passage. It was strategically important from every perspective. With war currently raging on the northern frontier, maintaining stability in the south was especially crucial. Abandoning Longsha would leave Xiling attacked from both front and rear, and Dongyu would immediately smell blood and sink its teeth in.

Mu Heng had to keep Longsha close. If sending Wei Fu there would prove useful, he would do so without hesitation. But what if Longsha no longer wished to consider itself a vassal state and demanded equal footing with Xiling? What if it simply boarded Dongyu’s pirate ship and severed ties with Xiling entirely? Then there would no longer be any such office as Assistant Chancellor, and even stationing a permanent envoy in Longsha might be impossible.

How to negotiate, whom to send, how much to offer, and what result to pursue all required lengthy deliberation with the ministers, followed by negotiations with Longsha. None of this could be accomplished overnight. Wei Fu could roll around throwing tantrums in front of him every day, and it would still be useless.

“Your ambitions are either to sell candied hawthorns yourself or supervise someone else selling them. Are you destined to spend your entire life entangled with candied hawthorns?” Mu Heng’s head hurt whenever he considered this debt collector’s future. He rebuked him in exasperation, “Can’t you distinguish yourself properly and have Yu Gong Zhao Ye marry over here instead?”

Wei Fu thought, When did I mention candied hawthorns even once? Feeling deeply wronged, he protested, “If I brought an assassin back here, would Your Majesty be able to sleep at night?”

Mu Heng snapped, “If you can sleep, why shouldn’t I?”

Wei Fu said, “Since Chuiyun has been promoted, Your Majesty could give the command of the Egret Guards to our Highness.”

He certainly knew how to climb the pole the moment one was offered. Mu Heng kicked him straight back down without mercy. “Get lost.”

While his mouth busily fanned the flames to distract Mu Heng, Wei Fu took the opportunity to steal one of his white stones and throw it aside. “Your Majesty truly works people ruthlessly. I fear Chuiyun could labor conscientiously his entire life and still fail to land himself the position of empress.”

“Become Longsha’s queen first and show me how it’s done.” Mu Heng sneered. “Yu Gong Zhao Ye is an assassin, and you are a thief. You two are indeed perfectly matched—return my stone, you hopeless Go player.”

The sovereign and minister were attacking each other from both sides and arguing fiercely when Jiang Ling, who was attending outside, approached quickly and reported softly from beyond the partition, “Your Majesty, Commander Xiao of the Egret Guards requests an audience.”

Mu Heng gave Wei Fu a condemning glare and tossed the stone in his hand into the bowl. “Let him enter.”

Wei Fu hurriedly prepared to rise and withdraw, but His Majesty raised a hand to signal that he should remain seated. The newly appointed commander of the Egret Guards entered with his head bowed, dressed in a pale-red military robe, and announced clearly, “This subject, Xiao Kai, pays respects to Your Majesty.” He then cupped his fists toward Wei Fu. “Greetings, Lord Wei.”

Wei Fu lowered his head in return. “Commander Xiao. It has been a long time.”

They had met several times before but were not particularly familiar. Xiao Kai had formerly served as Commander of the Egret Guards’ Eastern Frontier Division and supervised the eight eastern cities. He was shrewd and quick-witted, and Mu Heng later promoted him to replace Zhong Yi as commander of the Egret Guards.

“You may dispense with the formalities, Minister Xiao. What is it?”

Xiao Kai presented a sealed wooden box with both hands. “This morning, Commandant Zhu Ling of the Egret Guards’ Xia Division delivered this object to this subject. He said someone left it with him in the middle of the night and instructed him to present it to Commander Zhong Yi of the Egret Guards, so that this letter might be delivered before the throne.”

Wei Fu’s eyes were sharp. The moment he glimpsed the crescent-moon mark in the upper-right corner of the lid, his heart abruptly gave an inexplicable leap.

Like a bluebird messenger caught between two parties, Xiao Kai explained tactfully, “Commander Zhong has already been transferred to the northern frontier. Zhu Ling feared delaying an important matter, so he specially entrusted this subject to seek an audience and explain the circumstances to Your Majesty.”

Not just anyone would dare ask for Zhong Yi by name. Although the object’s origin was unknown, Zhu Ling had once accompanied Wei Fu on the mission to Longsha, and matters involving Zhong Yi could only be handled by His Majesty. After considering it briefly, Xiao Kai had rushed into the palace and responsibly presented this distant hot potato for imperial inspection.

Mu Heng’s eyes shifted. Jiang Ling immediately understood and stepped forward to accept the wooden box. Yet for some reason, the lid was sealed so tightly that not the slightest gap remained, and there was no lock. After trying for some time, he still could not open it.

Everyone: “…”

Wei Fu could no longer bear watching. Covering his face, he gave a hollow cough from the side and reminded him, “It may have been sealed with fish glue. Warming it over a flame should melt it.”

“Oh.” Mu Heng gave an enlightened sneer. “Longsha deliberately sent this thing to waste my time, did they?”

Wei Fu: “…Haha. Your Majesty is truly amusing.”

A short while later, Jiang Ling opened the lid. Mu Heng unfolded the letter inside, and the sneer gradually froze upon his face.

Wei Fu desperately wished to stretch his head over the page, but with Xiao Kai and a floor full of attendants present, he did not dare overstep his station. He could only sit obediently while enduring the sensation of a hundred claws scratching at his heart, constantly stealing glances at His Majesty’s expression.

“…At New Year this year, King Yu Gong Lie of Longsha abdicated on the grounds of grave illness in favor of Prince Xiaohui, Yu Gong Zhao Ye.”

Wei Fu abruptly froze.

Mu Heng’s long brows twisted more and more severely. “This is a letter written personally by Yu Gong Zhao Ye. On behalf of Longsha, he wishes to maintain friendly relations with Xiling and continue recognizing our dynasty as its suzerain state. He also requests to engage you as State Chancellor for a term of… twenty years?! Even Su Wu only herded sheep for nineteen years! And the term is to be renewed when it expires?”

Everyone: “…”

What sort of “engagement” was this supposed to be? Once they engaged their State Chancellor away, would they ever get him back?

With the dagger at the end of the map finally revealed, His Majesty flung the letter away and declared in exasperation, “Longsha is finished!”

Wei Fu frantically caught the letter, gleefully shoved the Go board aside, and completely destroyed the game. “I accept!”

In the third month of the eleventh year of Chenghe, Xiling dispatched envoys to Longsha to invest the new king and State Chancellor.

It was the most splendid and luxuriant season in Bihan City. A sea of flowers bloomed throughout the capital—peach, plum, apricot, peony, and herbaceous peony; pale crimson and powdery white, deep violet and light jade-green. Even the dandelions in the corners held up clusters of tender yellow petals, blooming contentedly amid the lively, overlapping clatter of horses’ hooves.

The envoys’ carriages followed the red carpet to Longxiao Palace and slowly halted outside the main gates.

An inner attendant rolled up the curtain. The former Chief Minister and newly appointed State Chancellor, dressed in brilliant scarlet court robes, leaned out of the carriage. Avoiding the hand offered to assist him, he stepped into the warm, radiant sunlight of spring.

He raised his eyes across the broad, open square and the solemn ranks of civil and military officials. At a single glance, he saw the sovereign waiting above the vermilion steps, likewise dressed in vivid scarlet robes.

The distance he had to cross toward that person was very long, yet there was only this one thought in his mind, and somehow, in the blink of an eye, he had already arrived before him.

The king descended the steps to receive him personally. Wei Fu had just begun to bow when a pair of hands he knew better than any others firmly supported him.

Merely gazing at that cold, jade-pale face brought a hot ache to Wei Fu’s eyes. He felt Yu Gong Zhao Ye gently squeeze his forearm and heard him say in a voice only the two of them could hear, “Shh. This is a joyous day. You are not allowed to cry.”

His shimmering peach-blossom eyes met those pale amber irises. Neither of them spoke, yet everything was expressed in that single gaze—the longing on the verge of spilling over, the uncontrollable adoration, even a trembling call of A’Ying. Thousands upon thousands of words had already been spoken.

Wei Fu blinked away the mist in his eyes, lowered his gaze, and smiled at Yu Gong Zhao Ye. With docile warmth, he addressed him, “My Sovereign.”

All the accompanying ministers’ minds went blank at once—you certainly never addressed the king that way before!

What a shameless flatterer! The moment he arrived, he outdid every one of them!

Then they watched helplessly as their solemn, austere, and imposing new king’s expression shifted, revealing a smile that could almost be called warm.

“My dear minister.”

It was over. The king liked it.

With this glib-tongued fox spirit constantly beside the sovereign, surely Longsha was not going to be finished!

Beneath their sleeves, their palms met and their ten fingers intertwined. Yu Gong Zhao Ye turned with Wei Fu’s hand in his own and, before the eyes of the entire court, led him step by step up the stairs toward the towering palace halls beneath the vast sky, their roofs rising in magnificent double eaves.

Years ago, upon a subterranean cliff, the blood that had flowed over their tightly clasped hands became the red thread of fate, binding together a single breathtaking glimpse amid the fleeting illusions of the mortal world. That threadlike red had once stretched across ten thousand li and flown over countless mountains, looping and circling again and again until it finally closed within their joined palms, becoming their broad sleeves and robes entwined in the wind.

The fluttering qilin sashes matched the scarlet carpet beneath them, winding through layer after layer of palace gates before flowing into the endless blossoms filling the entire city, where spring was as deep as the sea.

Jade City’s twelve balustrades twist and turn;

Rhinoceros horn wards dust, and white jade wards cold.

In Langyuan, letters are often borne by cranes;

On Mount Nüchuang, no tree stands without a phoenix.

Stars sink beneath the sea, seen through the window;

After rain, the River’s source gleams across the seats.

If only the dawn pearl shone bright and steady,

I would spend my life facing the crystal disc.

—Li Shangyin, “Three Poems of the Jade City, No. 1”

—End of the Main Story—

Author’s Notes:

A traditional ending is a happy, harmonious reunion. My trademark ending is having every character appear and say, “Longsha is finished!” It isn’t.

According to the setting, Su Wu does not exist in their world, so I have no idea whether anyone understood my crappy joke… In any case, thank you all for tolerating my disastrous update schedule and inexplicable lousy jokes. I hope everyone enjoyed the meal! The author bows to you together with Xiao Guan and Xiao Ying!

Extras will be posted irregularly. You can request anything you would like to see in the comments~ Strolls away with hands clasped behind back.

Elio’s Notes: There are two special chapters. Please stay tuned.

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