After the upheaval outside Zhaoyang Hall, the Golden Crow Rear Guard had been almost entirely wiped out. The few survivors were imprisoned by the Ministry of Justice for interrogation. Jiang Wei’s father, Jiang Yingyu, the Earl of Zhongyi, held aloft his family’s iron certificate of immunity and begged for an audience with the Grand Empress Dowager, to no avail. The Jiang family and the other families implicated in the rebellion were sent to prison one after another.
As for the Cloud Stationery produced by the traitor Yang Guangzhen, bearing a treasonous letter in the Grand Empress Dowager’s own hand, the Qin woman flatly denied it. She claimed someone had forged her handwriting to frame her.
When arguments at court yielded no result, the Grand Secretariat ministers and the Minister of Personnel, along with Hanlin Grand Academician Chang Xiaofen and Court of Judicial Review Minister Yang Feng, submitted successive accusations against her. They charged her with allowing her clansmen to terrorize the common people and treat human life as worthless. There was also irrefutable evidence that Jiang Wei, Yang Guangzhen, and other members of the Golden Crow Rear Guard had repeatedly shielded the Qin family’s younger generation. The officials demanded that she surrender the imperial seal and return governing authority to the emperor.
Overcome with rage, the Grand Empress Dowager fainted on the spot.
The matter was temporarily put to rest on account of her grave illness. Although the emperor had not formally recovered full governing authority, he had regained the right to use the imperial seal and now officially participated in the Grand Secretariat’s deliberations.
The first memorial Song Liang approved after joining those deliberations concerned reform of the Twelve Guards. The second concerned the punishment of the Jiang and Yang families. Its terms were simple: execute every member of the direct lines and exile all collateral branches.
Song Liang considered this quite merciful. Yet as soon as the two decrees were issued, rumors began circulating that he was a bloodthirsty tyrant. Opposition arose at court as well, accusing him of being too ruthless toward the descendants of meritorious officials. The Jiang and Yang families were one thing, but what had the other members of the Twelve Guards done to deserve this?
Song Liang pretended not to hear. He soon drafted a detailed reform plan for the Twelve Guards and handed it to Minister of Personnel Fan Yuan and Left Censor-in-Chief Cheng Qu to refine together. One was old and the other young, but both were shrewd men who knew how to read the situation. Conveniently, one represented the veteran ministers and the other Chancellor Yin’s faction. Sure enough, the opposition at court subsided.
As for the rumors outside court calling him a tyrant, Song Liang could not care less. First, Li Huai’s role in the original story was that of an incompetent tyrant anyway. Second, he had discovered something far more pressing—
Xie Yun had blocked him. Physically.
It had begun when Song Liang confiscated the Jiang and Yang families’ property. Besides gold and silver, he acquired quite a few rare medicinal ingredients. Immediately remembering Xuan Seven’s remark about Xie Yun’s serious injuries, he personally selected several remedies for internal injuries and sent Zhou An to deliver them to the regent’s residence.
Two hours later, Zhou An returned with everything, looking embarrassed as he explained that the residence would not let him in.
Song Liang nearly thought he had misheard. What did he mean, they would not let him in? He was the emperor. He had sent someone to deliver a few things to the prince’s residence, and they had refused entry? Who had refused?
Looking even more embarrassed, Zhou An said everyone had. From top to bottom, from the steward to the guards—even the yellow dog guarding the rear courtyard would not let him in.
Song Liang did not believe it. The next day, he sent Xuan Seven instead.
Then Xuan Seven returned to the palace with his clothes in tatters and reported that not only had the yellow dog refused him entry, but so had the hidden guards protecting the residence.
At the sight of a bruise on his face, Song Liang angrily threw down his brush. Whatever else happened, they could not go around hitting children. His boy was not even an adult!
Song Liang personally brought the boy to the prince’s residence to demand an explanation. The gatekeeper recognized him and hurriedly summoned the steward. The steward recognized him too, then turned around and summoned Cen Huan.
After hearing Song Liang’s demand and looking at the “child” beside him, Cen Huan gave a cold scoff and shut the main gates in his face.
“Xuan Seven,” Song Liang called.
A short blade instantly slipped into the gap, stopping the gates from closing. Cen Huan’s face darkened as he stared at Song Liang.
“What exactly do you want?”
“A pillar of my court has been on sick leave for days. I have come to visit.”
“His Highness is well. There is no need for Your Majesty’s concern.”
“I’ll know whether he’s well when I see him. That isn’t for you to tell me.”
Song Liang regarded him with a faint smile.
“Come to think of it, the Black Armor Guard belongs to the imperial guard. I am your true master. You treat me with such disrespect—are you that certain you’ll never fall into my hands?”
“…”
Cen Huan’s expression soured. A few months ago, he had not even taken the young emperor seriously, much less his threats. But after witnessing the man’s schemes and methods, he had no choice but to be wary.
Gritting his teeth, he reluctantly answered, “His Highness is receiving a guest.”
Song Liang raised an eyebrow.
“Isn’t he refusing visitors?”
“…”
“Oh. So I’m the only visitor he refuses to see.”
“…”
Cen Huan gave him an unfriendly look.
“Your Majesty probably wouldn’t want to meet this guest.”
“I’ve always been hospitable. Especially toward other people’s guests.”
“…”
Cen Huan truly could not understand how an emperor could be so shameless. Back when he was stupid, he had at least cared about his dignity and known better than to offend their prince. Now that he had become clever, he had instead begun pestering their prince without restraint.
Song Liang did not care what he thought. He strode brazenly into the residence with his companions. Seeing him head straight for the study, Cen Huan hurried forward to stop him.
“His Highness is receiving a very important guest. Please wait in the front hall, Your Majesty!”
“A very important guest? How important? More important than me? Are they discussing a rebellion together?”
“…”
Cen Huan was speechless. Yes, he wanted to rebel, and their prince intended to rebel too. But was it normal for the young emperor—the very person they would be rebelling against—to toss the word around so casually?
One look at his expression told Song Liang that Xie Yun was not secretly plotting a rebellion. This only made him more curious. Then a thought occurred to him.
“Don’t tell me it’s a newly acquired concubine?”
Cen Huan stared at him in shock.
Song Liang glanced at him.
“It really is a concubine?”
Cen Huan hurriedly shook his head. Their prince might be powerful and exceptionally handsome, but he had no interest in indulging in beauty. Occasionally, officials sent him beautiful women or pretty boys, and he never spared them a second glance. Their prince thought only of his grand ambitions!
Song Liang gave a cold laugh, turned, and charged toward the study.
Alarmed, Cen Huan instinctively reached out to stop him, only for Xuan Seven to block his path. He could do nothing but watch Song Liang shove the study doors open.
Xie Yun stood quietly inside in a moon-white robe, his long hair loosely half-bound with a white jade hairpin. The plain robe fell to his ankles, emphasizing his height and broad shoulders. He resembled a cool jade lotus beneath the moon.
Song Liang silently stared for a moment, then abruptly began to sneer.
“Dressed so provocatively—who are you trying to seduce?”
Xie Yun: “…”
Cen Huan was profoundly stunned. That was actually one of the plainest everyday robes their prince owned.
“Why aren’t you speaking? Feeling guilty?”
Song Liang’s burning gaze swept over Xie Yun’s waist and legs before returning to his face. He gave another cold laugh.
“You won’t see me, so who are you seeing in secret?”
“I can forgive you for secretly plotting a rebellion, but I will never forgive you for secretly cheating on me.”
“…”
Xie Yun looked at him expressionlessly.
“I hope you won’t regret this in a moment.”
Regret?
Song Liang raised an eyebrow.
“I never regret anything I say.”
If Xie Yun truly dared to rebel, he would dare to capture him and lock him up for life.
He took a step forward, about to declare this with full conviction, when he noticed a second person standing in the study.
“…”
Looking at the elderly man before him, who was staring at him as though he had seen a ghost, Song Liang fell into thought. Then he said with certainty in his mind:
【I’m pretty sure I’m supposed to know this man.】
【Your teacher.】
“…”
Song Liang wondered who had invented the idea that emperors needed teachers.
He was going to drag that person out and have them executed.
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