As the figure on the dragon throne departed, a eunuch called out, “Court is dismissed.” The Grand Empress Dowager, trembling with rage, was also helped away by her attendants. Below, the assembled officials were momentarily speechless.
No one had expected the young emperor, absent from court for so long, to confront them with such a performance. The boy who once trembled at the sight of the regent had opened today’s session by publicly demanding to know why he did not kneel. The boy who had never dared contradict the Grand Empress Dowager now scarcely looked at her and even threatened to settle accounts with her.
Even the Minister of Revenue, a member of Chancellor Yin’s faction, had been reprimanded over the waterworks. In short, the young emperor had scolded all three factions.
No one knew what he intended, much less why one trip outside the palace had seemingly transformed him into another person. How had he become so bold? What was he relying on?
“Could one of Great Yao’s ancestors have possessed His Majesty?” someone suggested.
Of course, more pressing than the young emperor’s sudden change in temperament was his proposal for a banquet celebrating with the people.
Once news spread, it would draw more than merchants. Impoverished noble families, imperial relatives, and ministers at court would all scramble to purchase an invitation for a chance to marry into the imperial family.
As the old saying went, “The realm grows lean while Yanjing grows fat.” Tax revenue might have fallen short in recent years and the treasury might be empty, but Yanjing’s rich and powerful had never lacked money. Who knew what astronomical prices those invitations would fetch?
Some quick-thinking officials were already considering how to obtain an invitation and resell it for a fortune. Others, however, discerned another meaning behind the proposal.
“His Majesty is preparing the way for personal rule.”
Chancellor Yin Wei spoke to Cheng Qu beside him as they stepped out of Taihe Hall.
Cheng Qu listened quietly, wearing his usual genial expression. “As your student told you before, His Majesty has changed.”
Indeed he had, Chancellor Yin thought. He had learned to scheme.
Raising funds for the waterworks was merely a pretext. His Majesty’s true objective was the people who would attend the banquet.
Whether merchants, imperial relatives, nobles, or court ministers, they would all be coming because of the emperor. And if they came for him, they would need to align themselves with him to secure their places aboard his ship.
“The Grand Empress Dowager will never allow His Majesty to build his own faction unchecked. She controls the Chief Military Commission. To assume personal rule, His Majesty will inevitably have to challenge it. Those men are genuine imperial relatives, not easy opponents. His Majesty has neither troops nor followers. This will be a prolonged struggle.”
Cheng Qu ventured, “Then should we give His Majesty a push?”
Chancellor Yin considered for a long while before answering, “There is no hurry.”
His gaze rested on the tall figure in the vermilion python robe ahead.
“We are subjects. His Majesty assuming personal rule is a good thing. But adding flowers to brocade is never worth as much as delivering charcoal in the snow.”
Cheng Qu’s gaze flickered, and he immediately understood.
The Grand Empress Dowager, ruling from behind the curtain, was not the only person troubled by the emperor’s assumption of power. There was also the regent, who headed the Grand Secretariat and held supreme authority. If those two fought until both were weakened, Chancellor Yin’s faction could then step forward to support the young emperor. They would suffer no serious losses and would earn his gratitude for coming to his aid in a crisis. Their position at court would be stronger still.
“Whom did His Majesty meet outside the palace?” Chancellor Yin suddenly asked.
“Only a farmer. Your student had him investigated. An honest, dutiful man with no connections or education. Once he learned His Majesty’s identity, he was terrified and refused to accompany him to the capital to take office.”
Cheng Qu understood his teacher’s concern. The young emperor had changed so drastically in a single month and become so calculating that someone might be secretly guiding him. If so, they risked doing all the work for another person’s benefit.
Worse still, the young emperor might intend to eliminate them as well.
“There was also the regent. His Majesty dealt with little else but him throughout the journey.”
“Xie Yun is no concern.” Chancellor Yin shook his head dismissively. “Years ago, His Majesty merely mocked Xie Yun’s green eyes as sinister and declared him no decent man. Xie Yun drew his sword before everyone and cut the tassel from his hat, utterly humiliating him. His Majesty has hated him ever since and would like nothing better than to see him dead. Not to mention that Xie Yun’s ambitions are common knowledge.”
“If there is one person His Majesty would never befriend, it is Xie Yun.”
…
Inside the warm chamber, Song Liang propped his head on one hand while loosely holding a brush in the other. In a soft, languid voice, he called to the man before him.
“Imperial Uncle, how do you write the character dong in dongliang, ‘pillar of the state’?”
Xie Yun: “…”
This man had summoned him immediately after court, claiming he wished to discuss affairs of state. Yet more than an hour had passed since Xie Yun’s arrival, and he was still on the very first memorial. He could not even recognize all the characters. Every so often, he called for help—and in a decidedly improper tone.
Xie Yun tossed down the memorial in his hand and said coldly, “I thought Your Majesty had finally acquired some understanding at court this morning.”
“Hm?” Song Liang lazily raised his head. “Understanding of what?”
Xie Yun: “…”
“Why did Your Majesty propose that banquet this morning?”
“It’s my birthday.”
Song Liang lifted his eyes languidly.
“Don’t you invite people to eat on your birthday?”
Xie Yun: “…”
Xie Yun stared at him, unsure whether he was deliberately playing dumb or had genuinely acted without deeper intent.
“If it is merely a meal, why not hold a family banquet?”
Song Liang looked offended, his expression asking whether Xie Yun had gone mad or he had.
“You want to sit down with that old woman, the Grand Empress Dowager, for a warm and loving family reunion?”
“…”
Xie Yun said evenly, “If Your Majesty has nothing important to discuss, I should be getting off work.”
Song Liang paused, then laughed. “Off work? You’re using that phrase too? Do you know what it means?”
“Simply that court has ended.”
Xie Yun rose and smoothed the creases from his robe. The jade pendants tied at his waist with black cord chimed as he turned to leave.
Song Liang reached out and caught his robe, looking up with a smile.
“Since you’re already here, stay and eat with me.”
“…”
The youth gazed up at him, the corners of his eyes lifted, languid amusement rippling through his dark eyes. The words were clearly a command, yet his tone was soft and familiar, like someone coaxing a person very dear to him. Even the hand holding Xie Yun’s robe merely pinched the fabric lightly between his fingertips.
Xie Yun stared at him for a moment, then brushed the hand away.
“I am not accustomed to—”
Before he could finish, the doors were shut from outside, followed by the rattle of a chain.
Xie Yun: “…”
He looked at the youth before him. The boy’s smile remained as languid and composed as ever.
“Attend me. Serve the meal.”
“…”
Having endured for years, it hardly seemed worth launching a rebellion over breakfast. In the end, Xie Yun sat opposite a certain someone and ate the imperial kitchen’s offerings.
The young emperor had decent table manners and was not particular about his food. He ate whatever the eunuch beside him selected, occasionally even accepting morsels directly into his mouth. Meanwhile, he maintained the same pose he had held in the study—head propped on his hand, staring at Xie Yun.
“…”
Xie Yun raised his eyes to meet that blatantly undisguised gaze and asked directly, “What exactly does Your Majesty hope to obtain from me by behaving like this?”
“I’d very much like to say I want you, but you certainly wouldn’t believe me, so never mind.”
Song Liang dismissed the attendants with a gesture, then smiled at the man opposite him.
“Are you very dissatisfied with me as emperor?”
“Do you want the truth?”
“Is there a lie on offer?”
“No.” Xie Yun spoke without mercy. “I am indeed very dissatisfied. I have never seen an emperor like Your Majesty. Great Yao having you is like a fish riding a thunder chariot.”
Still smiling, Song Liang urgently prodded the system in his mind. 【What does that mean?】
【He’s saying Great Yao needs you like a fish needs a bicycle.】
Song Liang: “…”
His smile did not change as he looked across the table.
“I am the emperor, after all. Isn’t that a little harsh?”
Xie Yun’s expression remained unchanged. “It is advice, not an insult. A fish riding a thunder chariot may command clouds and rain, but how can its own scaly body remain safe? Your Majesty may wish to govern the realm well, but without sufficient ability, you will only cause upheaval, disturb the people, and bring harm upon yourself.”
“Oh.” Song Liang’s lips curved upward again. “You care about me.”
Xie Yun: “…”
He set down his chopsticks and stood. “I have finished. Farewell.”
“Xie Yun,” Song Liang suddenly called.
Xie Yun turned to look at him.
“What kind of Great Yao do you want?” Song Liang asked.
Xie Yun paused slightly. Looking at the faint smile on the youth’s face, he answered, “A peaceful realm, abundant resources, and a prosperous people.”
“A fine ambition. I believe you can achieve it.”
The youth seemed entirely unsurprised that a man notorious for his ruthless ambition would say such a thing. He even applauded sincerely before continuing.
“But what about after you’re gone? How long will this realm remain peaceful, abundant, and prosperous?”
“Or will it return to starving bodies littering the land and war raging everywhere?”
“…”
Xie Yun’s gaze was impassive. “What are you trying to say?”
“One person’s strength is too limited to change the way the world works.”
Song Liang folded his hands together and looked at him with a quiet smile.
“It isn’t Great Yao’s fault that it has me. But Great Yao is what made me.”
An icy chill instantly flooded Xie Yun’s eyes.
“If Your Majesty wishes to make excuses for your incompetence, you would do better to abdicate in favor of someone worthy!”
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