After a full day’s travel without incident, the mounted party stopped for the night at the relay station they had planned to use.
As Zhang A Gu dismounted, he hesitated over whether to ask Fu Xi Yan to invite Pei Yuan Jin and his people inside as well. Although relay stations were technically reserved for officials traveling on government business, it would be easy enough to squeeze the lower-ranking attendants together and free up several rooms.
When he mentioned the idea to Fu Xi Yan, Fu Xi Yan simply told him to look outside.
On the open ground beside the relay station, a small and exquisitely crafted glazed pavilion had seemingly sprung out of nowhere. Yu Su Huan was directing people as they carried furnishings inside, while Pei Yuan Jin was the last to step down from his carriage. Before entering, he cast a cool glance toward the window where the two of them had stuck their heads out to stare.
Fu Xi Yan: “…” He could have sworn he saw disdain in Pei Yuan Jin’s eyes.
Zhang A Gu: “…” No. What he saw was smugness.
In short, Pei Yuan Jin’s image as a tireless model worker remained impossible to establish, while his image as a consummate show-off stood as firm as a mountain.
Zhang A Gu quietly observed them for two days. Once he realized that the Immortal Treasury Palace was accommodating its travel schedule entirely to theirs, his courage immediately grew, and he could no longer suppress the urge to use Fu Xi Yan as an introduction to the heir of one of the martial world’s greatest powers.
A homebody across both lifetimes, Fu Xi Yan truly had no idea how to handle this sort of calculated networking. Afraid that Zhang A Gu would keep pestering him every day, he solved the problem in the most painfully straightforward way possible and wrote him a letter of introduction.
Zhang A Gu took the letter and left. A while later, he returned looking utterly dejected and stared at Fu Xi Yan resentfully. “Young Lord Fu, if you weren’t willing to help, then so be it. Why make a fool of this servant?”
Fu Xi Yan looked completely innocent. “What makes you say that?”
Zhang A Gu pulled out the introduction letter, his voice nearly choking with emotion. “Just look at what you wrote.”
…
Name: Zhang A Gu
Sex: Male
Age: Older than me
Weight: Lighter than me
Work Experience: Former Registrar of the Imperial Supplies Directorate; currently an imperial envoy
Special Skills: Appears to be extremely good at socializing
…
Fu Xi Yan looked puzzled. “Did I write anything incorrectly?”
Zhang A Gu had never heard the term “social death,” yet he had just experienced it firsthand. Furious, he refused to speak to Fu Xi Yan, while Fu Xi Yan happily enjoyed the peace and pretended not to notice.
Elio’s Notes: “Social death” (社死) is modern Chinese internet slang for suffering an incident so embarrassingly public that one feels unable to face other people afterward.
The two continued traveling together in this lukewarm fashion. As they neared Haojing, Zhang A Gu used a roadside wild sour-jujube tree as an excuse to unilaterally end their cold war. What could Fu Xi Yan do? Naturally, he ate the sour jujubes and gave him a dry chuckle.
Because Fu Xi Yan had been recalled by imperial decree, once he returned to Haojing he was supposed to accompany Zhang A Gu directly to the palace and report that the mission was complete. Emperor Jianhong, however, had sent a palace messenger to wait at Yanxing Gate early that morning, granting Fu Xi Yan special permission to return home first and present himself at the palace the following day.
Zhang A Gu said enviously, “His Majesty truly shows consideration for Young Master Fu.”
Fu Xi Yan had no experience with this sort of thing, so he simply copied the scenes he had seen countless times in television dramas. Facing the direction of the imperial palace, he bowed solemnly from afar. “This subject thanks His Majesty for his gracious favor!”
Zhang A Gu immediately regarded him with newfound respect. He had assumed Fu Xi Yan was an ignorant child, yet the boy was unexpectedly skilled at putting on a proper show!
…He needed to learn this quickly.
In a gentler tone, Zhang A Gu asked Fu Xi Yan to convey his regards to everyone at Count Yongfeng’s Estate.
Fu Xi Yan, in turn, praised Zhang A Gu for having directed the journey competently and demonstrated outstanding ability.
The two parted on excellent terms and each went home.
Sitting on horseback, Fu Xi Yan watched the vendors calling out their wares along the street, women walking with baskets hooked over their arms, men hurrying to and fro, and carefree children pestering their parents as they scampered around them. Only then did he finally feel that he had truly come home.
He rode through the city wards and markets, drawing little by little closer to Count Yongfeng’s Estate, his excitement increasingly difficult to contain. Except…
Why were Pei Yuan Jin and the others still following him?
Fu Xi Yan glanced back several times and confirmed that their destination really did seem to be the same as his. Unable to hold himself back any longer, he jumped down from his horse, walked up to the carriage, and knocked on it.
The window opened, revealing an adorable cat’s head.
Yu Su Huan sat inside holding up the cat and said with a cheerful smile, “We’re complete strangers to Haojing and have nowhere to stay. I hope Young Master Fu will take us in.”
Fu Xi Yan thought, Do you think I don’t recognize the auspicious-cloud emblem? I wouldn’t be surprised if the Immortal Treasury Palace owned property on every street I’ve walked down. That was admittedly an exaggeration, but with the Young Master of the Immortal Treasury Palace arriving in Haojing, the local Wind, Rain, and Thunder Divisions had already prepared several residences for him to choose from. Pei Yuan Jin had simply rejected every one of them.
Fu Xi Yan looked at the conspicuous emblem on the carriage and thought of how many people must have seen it during their journey from Yanxing Gate. Whether he agreed to house them or not would no longer change the fact that he had become a fox spirit—the sort of fox that borrowed a tiger’s might, that was.
Elio’s Notes: “The fox borrows the tiger’s might” (狐假虎威) is an idiom for intimidating others by relying on the power or reputation of someone stronger. Fu Xi Yan jokingly casts himself as the “fox,” now that everyone has seen him return to Haojing with the formidable Immortal Treasury Palace behind him.
He replied in an exaggeratedly literary manner, “It is precisely what I desire, though I did not dare ask.”
Yu Su Huan’s face brightened with anticipation. “I’ve lived this long without ever staying in the home of a duke or marquis.”
Fu Xi Yan nodded. “Neither have I. My father is only a count.”
Without the slightest embarrassment, Yu Su Huan replied, “Then let me wish your honored father an early promotion.”
Fu Xi Yan thought about it carefully and decided that it was not entirely impossible.
If the Seventh Princess’s “elopement” had been carried out under the Third Prince’s instructions, and the emperor knew about it yet had imposed no substantial punishment, then establishing relations with the Immortal Treasury Palace must have been ordered—or at the very least tacitly permitted—by the emperor. In that case, bringing the Young Master of the Immortal Treasury Palace directly to his family’s front door might simply amount to reaching the same destination by a different road.
The only problem was that he had already sunk deep into the mire. Now it would probably be even harder to pull himself free.
He thought of his audience with the emperor tomorrow.
Ah, Haojing, Haojing. When he was away, he desperately wanted to return. Now that he was back, although he had his family beside him and no longer needed to struggle alone, countless tangled troubles would inevitably return with them.
⸻
Inside the carriage.
The tabby kitten struggled out of Yu Su Huan’s arms, jumped down, and darted into Pei Yuan Jin’s lap.
Leaning against a soft cushion, Pei Yuan Jin scratched beneath the kitten’s chin and said coolly, “Haojing’s spies are remarkably blatant.” They were practically one step away from jumping onto the roof of his carriage.
Yu Su Huan said, “We are beneath the Son of Heaven’s feet, after all.”
And that…
Mattered how?
Pei Yuan Jin pulled the Crimson Dragon King from his hair, used it to push open the carriage window, and casually swept the weapon—now instantly expanded to the size of a sword—toward the sky.
The pale blue heavens were abruptly washed in the golden orange of sunset. Scorching heat carried a razor-sharp sword intent outward, spreading overwhelmingly in every direction as a warning—
Whoever crosses me dies!
⸻
Fu Xi Yan found an errand runner on the street and sent him ahead to inform his family that the Young Master of the Immortal Treasury Palace was coming to visit and intended to stay for some time. Fu Xi Yan himself then led the Immortal Treasury Palace’s procession on a leisurely detour before finally arriving home well behind the messenger.
At the entrance to Count Yongfeng’s Estate, Fu Li An and Fu Dong Wen were waiting to receive them. The decision to send those two had been made only after careful consideration.
The jianghu, like the imperial court, was divided into numerous factions.
The Immortal Treasury Palace and the Heaven-and-Earth Mirror, for example, had become practically estranged because of Mo Xiao Ran.
Then there was the Spirit Sect, which had expanded rapidly under the support of the Southern Yu court and currently sat in third place while eyeing second and fighting for first.
After drawing in and absorbing numerous martial sects, the Northern Alliance was already showing signs of wanting to push south and contend for supremacy…
Thus, while the Immortal Treasury Palace was undoubtedly one of the greatest sects beneath Heaven, competition within the jianghu was fierce and every one of its rivals possessed formidable origins. Before powers such as these, Count Yongfeng’s Estate was truly insignificant.
Until Fu Fu understood the exact nature of Fu Xi Yan’s relationship with Pei Yuan Jin, he did not want to casually drag the count’s household into the struggles of the jianghu. He therefore treated Pei Yuan Jin’s visit as an interaction between members of the younger generation and sent only Fu Li An, the heir to Count Yongfeng’s Estate, to demonstrate the family’s respect.
Fu Xi Yan had not seen his elder brother in a long time and was genuinely excited. He opened his arms as he approached, only for Fu Li An to perfunctorily pat him on the shoulder before looking straight past him toward the carriage behind him.
As the legitimate eldest son of the family, Fu Li An held himself to extremely strict standards. His manners and bearing were always maintained at the highest possible level. Although his looks were not the most outstanding, he was widely known for his elegant presence, something he never mentioned aloud but privately took considerable pride in.
Yet no matter how gracefully Fu Li An carried himself, like a gentle spring breeze passing over one’s face, his presence had little power to alter the atmosphere around him. The instant Pei Yuan Jin stepped down from the carriage, however, the chill of deep winter seemed to rush directly toward them. It was not that his body literally radiated cold, but rather that his presence possessed the keen, cutting force of a sword freshly drawn from its sheath, enough to make people instinctively shiver.
Fu Xi Yan noticed with some surprise that Yu Su Huan had put on a veiled hat that completely concealed her face, while Fu Li An had already stepped forward to exchange greetings.
When his eldest brother truly set his mind to socializing, he was remarkably adept at it.
On the Immortal Treasury Palace’s side, Yu Su Huan handled the conversation.
Watching the two exchange polite remarks through the gauze veil, Fu Xi Yan reconsidered and decided that, given the conservative customs of ancient people, wearing the veil was indeed appropriate.
Fu Li An had originally arranged a banquet to welcome them and wash away the dust of their journey, but Yu Su Huan declined on the grounds that everyone was tired from traveling. Fu Li An tactfully suggested that they dine together another day instead and ordered the meal sent directly to Fu Xi Yan’s courtyard.
Then Fu Li An whispered, “Father says you’re to stay in his courtyard for the next few days.”
Count Yongfeng’s Estate was large and had relatively few residents. Rooms left unused for too long inevitably developed one problem or another, while the courtyards occupied by the family were clustered too close together to make suitable guest quarters. Fortunately, Fu Xi Yan had deliberately moved into an isolated corner of the estate for his experiments, making his courtyard the best option.
Fu Xi Yan protested, “What freedom could I possibly have living right under Father’s nose?”
His protest was rejected.
The remaining arrangements were left to him.
It was the first time Fu Xi Yan had watched Pei Yuan Jin’s subordinates furnish a residence, and only then did he realize exactly how refined and extravagant Pei Yuan Jin’s daily life was.
As the son of a count, Fu Xi Yan’s own furnishings were already considered high-end by the standards of this dynasty, and his room even contained two valuable antiques. Yet once Pei Yuan Jin’s people replaced everything, the original room suddenly looked like a beggar’s den by comparison.
Fu Xi Yan could not help feeling indignant. You weren’t nearly this particular when you stayed at Xiangyun Cloth Shop. Who exactly are you trying to embarrass here?!
Yu Su Huan said, “The Young Master may be staying for quite a while this time.”
Fu Xi Yan’s heart gave a thump. “How long is quite a while?”
Yu Su Huan merely smiled at him.
Tang Bao Yun was dead. That made Fu Xi Yan the only person in the world who had consumed the Harmonized Yang Pills. Whether Pei Yuan Jin liked it or not, he could no longer allow Fu Xi Yan to stray too far from him.
⸻
Fu Xi Yan “waited upon” this demanding lord until midnight before Pei Yuan Jin was finally settled comfortably in bed. Rubbing his sleepy face, Fu Xi Yan left the courtyard and was just about to take a servant along and squeeze into Little Chen Xing’s quarters for the night when someone Fu Fu had stationed there specifically to intercept him immediately escorted him away.
Fu Fu and Fu Xuan were both waiting in the reception hall.
Fu Xi Yan’s journey to Luoyang had been full of twists and disasters. Although Fu Fu and Fu Xuan had witnessed none of it personally, merely reading the reports arriving from the “front lines” had been enough to make their hearts leap into their throats. First the Seventh Princess disappeared, then Zhang Da Shan poisoned someone and was subsequently taken away.
Both elders had regretted not giving in to Fu Xi Yan earlier and allowing him to resign. Yet when Fu Xi Yan finally returned and stood before them completely intact, that regret transformed into relief and satisfaction.
As the saying went, jade that was never carved could never become a useful vessel. A young man truly did need to weather some wind and rain before he could grow properly.
While his son walked through the doorway, Fu Fu secretly looked him up and down for quite some time. The instant Fu Xi Yan looked back, however, Fu Fu immediately assumed the stern dignity of a strict father and rebuked him. “You were away from home for so many days, knowing full well your parents would worry about you, yet you didn’t send so much as a single letter! If Lord Wei hadn’t submitted a memorial to His Majesty, I still wouldn’t know that someone in the Brocade Guard had tried to harm you!”
…Case solved. The person who had informed the emperor was Wei Gang himself!
Fu Xi Yan had run through every possible suspect and had even convinced himself that his carelessness with Wei Gang’s memorial might have dragged Lord Wei into trouble. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that Wei Gang himself had fired the opening shot in the campaign against Zhang Da Shan and Chu Guang.
Lord Wei’s after-sales service was almost excessively thorough!
Fu Xuan’s eyes sharpened. “Did Chu Guang not protect you?”
Remembering all the indignities of being worked to the bone by Chu Shao Yang, Fu Xi Yan’s mouth immediately drooped. His voice choked with grievance as he cried, “Uncle, you have no idea! That bastard Chu Guang is really no damn good…”
The long night stretched on beneath moonlight like flowing silver.
Within the dim glow of the candles, one man poured out an ocean of grievances.
Fu Xi Yan began with Chu Shao Yang making things difficult for him and forcing him to do hard labor, continued through the disappearance of the Seventh Princess and the Third Prince and Chu Guang sending him to Peijie Town to find her, and then recounted his reunion with the “fake Little Divine Physician.” The entire tale was practically written in blood and tears, every word steeped in hardship.
Fu Fu stared blankly. “The Little Divine Physician was a fake? That’s impossible! He left behind a prescription back then, and even the imperial physicians said it was exceptionally sophisticated.”
“He admitted it himself,” Fu Xi Yan said.
“Could it be…” Fu Xuan suddenly thought of something and glanced at Fu Fu, who frowned as though the same possibility had occurred to him.
“Could it be what?” Fu Xi Yan wedged himself between them, looking first at one and then the other.
Fu Fu and Fu Xuan exchanged a knowing glance. Fu Xuan nodded. “I’ll have someone investigate this again.”
Fu Xi Yan, who had apparently become invisible: “…”
Fu Xuan changed the subject. “What happened afterward? Why didn’t you bring the fake divine physician back with you?”
“Because a lot more happened afterward, and then he disappeared.” Fu Xi Yan moved on to Zhang Da Shan’s poisoning and everything that followed at Willowwood Manor.
Fu Fu and Fu Xuan were still analyzing why Manor Master Tang had treated Fu Xi Yan so favorably when Fu Xi Yan casually mentioned that, after taking the pills, he had advanced all the way to the peak Bone Forging Stage. Both men froze, then cried out in shock at the same time.
Fu Xuan immediately grabbed his wrist and took his pulse.
When Fu Xi Yan first returned, Fu Xuan had indeed sensed that something about him was different, but he had assumed it came from being battered by wind and hardship on the road. Now that he examined him carefully, Fu Xi Yan had unmistakably acquired the bearing of a true martial artist.
“But those pills were anything but simple.” Fu Xi Yan abruptly changed direction and launched into the next part of his adventures.
The three talked by candlelight throughout the night, and it was nearly dawn before Fu Xi Yan finally finished recounting everything from beginning to end.
He worked Wei Gang’s request into the story as well and showed them the copper token.
Fu Xuan took it and examined it, frowning in thought. “I’ve seen this design before… It’s on the sign of the East Market Bank. The banknotes I gave you were issued by that bank.”
Fu Fu said, “Their information isn’t cheap, but what they sell is true. The case involving Consort Dowager Chen’s nephew is still being held at the Ministry of Justice. The court is divided over it. The Minister of Justice wants to transfer the case to the Court of Judicial Review, while the Court has proposed a joint hearing by the Three Judicial Offices. There still hasn’t been a resolution.”
Fu Xi Yan asked, “Why isn’t His Majesty protecting the Consort Dowager this time?”
Fu Fu glared at him. “How dare you speculate about His Majesty’s intentions? Getting bold, aren’t you?”
Fu Xi Yan pursed his lips and bounced one leg. “Oh, right. Haven’t you and Uncle both been promoted?”
Promotion and wealth were supposed to be among life’s great pleasures, yet neither Fu Xuan nor Fu Fu looked particularly pleased. Fu Xi Yan distinctly remembered that before he left Haojing, Fu Xuan had gotten into an ugly, red-faced dispute with Chu Guang over the position of Commander of the Yulin Guard.
Their expressions now only confirmed the uneasy premonition Fu Xi Yan had already felt: there was indeed more behind this honor than met the eye.
Fu Xuan said, “Now that you’ve returned, you’ll most likely be entering officialdom. There are certain things we should explain to you.”
“Wait.” Fu Xi Yan hurriedly cut him off. “You both remember the agreement we made before I left Haojing, don’t you?” Terrified that they might go back on their word, it was Fu Xi Yan’s turn to grow red-faced and agitated. “You agreed I could resign and become a shopkeeper! You’re both grown men—one a father and one an uncle. You’re not allowed to throw a tantrum and pretend you never promised!”
Fu Fu said, “Mm. We agreed. But if someone else refuses to agree, there’s nothing we can do about that.”
“What does that mean?” Fu Xi Yan clutched his chest, sensing that some terrible piece of news was about to emerge from the mouths of his own relatives.
Fu Xuan said, “A suitable substantive vacancy in the Ministry of War won’t be available for your father anytime soon, so His Majesty intends to arrange a position for you first.” In other words, there was no major office available at the moment, so the emperor would give the younger generation of the Fu family a smaller one first—as interest.
Fu Xi Yan was stunned. Was this the legendary phenomenon of one man attaining the Dao and even his chickens and dogs ascending to Heaven?
But Fu Xi Yan wanted his feet firmly on the ground! He had no desire to ascend anywhere! Could someone please shoot him back down? He was begging. Thank you very much!
Fu Xuan said, “Now that you’ve returned with the Immortal Treasury Palace, His Majesty will be even less willing to let such an opportunity to win them over pass. When you enter the palace tomorrow, you must be careful in everything you do. No matter where His Majesty assigns you, agree first. You cannot throw yourself around and make a scene the way you do at home.”
Fu Xi Yan collapsed bonelessly into the chair and rubbed his aching temples. “You still haven’t explained why His Majesty suddenly started treating the two of you like precious pearls and treasures.”
“…” Fu Fu seized him by the back of his collar and hauled him upright. “Sit properly when you speak.”
Fu Xi Yan’s martial arts had already surpassed his father’s, but when his father laid hands on him, he still obediently submitted exactly as he always had and did not dare resist.
Fu Xuan said coldly, “His Majesty is extraordinarily calculating. When he decides to do something, no one knows how long he has already been secretly preparing before he makes his move. I don’t know when the Fu family first caught his attention, but his first move came after your contest with Chu Shao Yang.”
Only after listening to Fu Xuan’s explanation did Fu Xi Yan learn that Eunuch Zhang’s downfall was actually connected to the slingshot he had used during that contest.
Fu Xi Yan had no impression of Eunuch Zhang himself, but learning that someone had indirectly died because of him still filled him with guilt, even if that man had deserved death in the eyes of many.
That, in turn, reminded him of Zhu Yu Da, who had found the slingshot for him.
A question that had once flashed briefly through his mind suddenly found its answer. Fu Xi Yan said with certainty, “Uncle Zhu wasn’t expelled from the Yulin Guard because of the trouble at the restaurant. It was because of me.”
At last, he understood why his father and uncle looked so unhappy despite their promotions.
Originally, they had sought government positions because they wanted to serve as officials with a certain degree of freedom. But the emperor had first struck them with the stick and then handed them a sweet date. What he wanted was not independent officials, but enforcers. An enforcer might look impressive, but he was the one sent to do all the dirty, exhausting work—and when the time came to sacrifice him, there would be no hesitation.
Eunuch Zhang was the best example.
Worse, the Fu family had no right to refuse. Eunuch Zhang’s confession still existed, as did the palace maid who had handed the slingshot to Zhu Yu Da. If the Fu family refused to cooperate, harsher measures were waiting for them.
Fu Xi Yan felt suffocated with frustration. “If we had the Immortal Treasury Palace on our side…”
Fu Fu had originally wanted to avoid becoming too closely involved with the Immortal Treasury Palace. After hearing Fu Xi Yan’s entire story, however, he realized that unless Fu Xi Yan suddenly ceased being a child of the Fu family, Count Yongfeng’s Estate and the Immortal Treasury Palace were already tied together so tightly that they could not possibly be pulled apart.
Watching someone so young, with such an enormous face, brood so seriously, Fu Xuan could not help reaching out and patting his head. “The aftershocks of the capital relocation are still spreading. Every faction is fishing in muddy waters, and Southern Yu has even sent people to assassinate the children of noble families. His Majesty won’t make any excessively large moves for the time being.”
The mention of assassinated noble heirs reminded Fu Xi Yan of his elder sister’s marriage. He hesitated before asking, “Sister’s fiancé…”
Fu Fu sighed. “The Liu family intends to select another promising young man from the clan to continue the marriage arrangement. It’s simply a pity about Zhi Yuan.”
Although women in this era were not expected to remain chaste for a fiancé they had never married, the violent death of a betrothed man was still extremely damaging to a young woman’s marriage prospects. The Fu family’s marriage alliance with the Liu family had already been a match above their station. After something like this, any future match would ordinarily have to be made downward.
The Liu family’s willingness to choose another clansman and continue the engagement was therefore an act of goodwill, and the Fu family was naturally extremely grateful. Still, the Liu family formed one of the core pillars of the imperial faction, so their response might also have been prompted by Emperor Jianhong.
Fu Xi Yan asked, “Then Sister…”
“She was upset for quite some time,” Fu Fu said. “She’s much better recently.”
Fu Xi Yan: “…” Well, it had been a marriage arranged entirely by their families. He could hardly expect some soul-shattering romance.
Fu Xuan reassured him. “There’s no need to worry too much. Our Fu family has always had considerable prestige in the military. We aren’t rootless duckweed like Eunuch Zhang, or the Liu family would never have agreed to marry into our household in the first place. Besides, His Majesty is currently occupied with the case involving Consort Dowager Chen’s nephew. I doubt he has much attention to spare for anything else.”
⸻
Emperor Jianhong was indeed thinking about Consort Dowager Chen’s nephew.
Unlike the overwhelmingly one-sided condemnation of Consort Dowager Chen as a wicked consort years ago, most people sympathized with her cuckolded nephew this time. They argued that “his feelings overcame him, he struck out in the heat of emotion, and the circumstances were understandable.” Even the attitudes of the court officials were deliberately ambiguous.
The old Commandery Prince stationed far away on the northern frontier had specifically sent two letters back to the capital about the matter.
The first was reasonably mild. He reviewed the assistance Consort Dowager Chen had given Emperor Jianhong in years past, including one line that awakened a long-dormant memory: “Chen Ji once told the Prince of Longnan that you cultivated a reputation for virtue and might harbor designs on the throne. It was the Consort Dowager who invited Lady Ruan to a banquet and helped cover for you.”
The Prince of Longnan. It had been so long since Emperor Jianhong heard that title that it almost felt unfamiliar.
During the years when he was growing up, the Prince of Longnan and the Prince of Yunzhong had shone so brilliantly that they cast an endless shadow over everyone around them. Every other member of the imperial clan had lived beneath that shadow—weak, mediocre, and seemingly destined never to rise.
But…
Emperor Jianhong stroked the imperial seal and smiled faintly. In the end, he had still made his way out. A tiny step each day. Another tiny step the next. Then, while the two tigers fought one another, he seized his chance and toppled both mountains that had pressed down on him until he could barely breathe.
When the first letter produced no result, the old Commandery Prince quickly sent another, this time in far harsher language.
Summed up, it amounted to this: Back then, your elder brother was a brilliant strategist and your younger brother possessed martial arts unmatched beneath Heaven. Both were famous throughout the realm. Why, then, did we support you? Because you were benevolent. Now look at what you’ve done all these years!
Noble Consort Liu watched nervously as Emperor Jianhong went from a quiet chuckle to open laughter, until at last his voice turned hoarse and he sat panting in his chair.
He suddenly asked, “Do you still remember the Prince of Longnan and the Prince of Yunzhong?”
Before he became emperor, Noble Consort Liu had been his secondary consort and had interacted with the households of both princes. How could she possibly have forgotten them? Yet perhaps because so many years had passed, she stared blankly for a moment before answering, “Didn’t Your Majesty posthumously name them Prince Li and Prince Kua? One was cruel and tyrannical, the other all show and no substance. Neither was a good man.”
Emperor Jianhong smiled. “I use that story to deceive other people, and now you’re using it to deceive me.”
Noble Consort Liu started and hurriedly dropped to her knees to beg forgiveness.
Emperor Jianhong sighed. “If we had been born into an ordinary family, I would have been proud to have them as my brothers.”
He had said “I” rather than the imperial “We,” as though the emperor of Northern Zhou had momentarily set aside the dignity of the throne and allowed something softer inside him to show.
Noble Consort Liu looked up and said with charming innocence, “This consort didn’t invent the bad things people say about them. I only heard them from others. I thought that if one person said they were bad, perhaps that person might be mistaken, but if so many people said it, then surely there must have been something wrong with them.”
Emperor Jianhong laughed and helped her to her feet. “You always have an answer for everything.”
He tossed both of the old Commandery Prince’s family letters to Yu Shuang Xi and motioned for him to burn them. Then he said, “The northern frontier is bitterly cold. There’s no reason for the old Commandery Prince’s entire family to remain there with him. If We remember correctly, several of his grandsons are already old enough to begin their studies. Why not have them return to Haojing? We will find renowned teachers for them.”