Mount Zhong, before the Shen Gong Gate of the Xiaoling Mausoleum.
Zhu Helin stared at the commanders kneeling before him in allegiance, still dazed by the sudden turn of events.
Su Yan stepped forward to help Mei Changxi up by the elbow, and the other man rose with the motion.
“Who’d have thought,” Su Yan said with a grin, “that the farmer planting rice seedlings beside us that day would turn out to be the commander of the imperial tomb guard? Lord Mei, were you having us on?”
Mei Changxi answered with some embarrassment, “I would never dare. The Xiaoling Guard is unlike the other twenty-six imperial guards. We live hidden among the common folk, farming our own land and passing down our duty from generation to generation. It has always been so. That day, we meant no deception toward Your Highness or Lord Su, I beg your pardon.”
Zhu Helin waved it off. “No offense, no offense. I was the one who insisted on helping you in the fields.”
Su Yan gestured for them to move into the adjacent Jufu Hall for a more private talk.
Once seated, Su Yan sighed. “Looks like I’m the one kept most in the dark. I carried that brocade pouch on me for a whole year, and all this time I had no idea what was inside.”
Zhu Helin quickly explained, “It wasn’t that I didn’t want to show you the secret decree, it’s just that… ah, well, we’re past the point of concealment now. There’s no harm in telling you the truth.”
At the founding of the dynasty, the Taizu Emperor had established twenty-six imperial guards to protect the throne and palace. These guards answered only to the emperor himself, neither the Five-Armies Command nor the Ministry of War could command them.
But over the years, as the power of the Grand Secretariat grew, successive emperors gradually lost direct control of the military. In particular, nineteen of the guards, such as the Jinwu and Yulin units, which patrolled the capital, were absorbed under the Five-Armies Command.
By the current emperor’s reign, only two remained under his direct, flexible command: the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Tengxiang Four Guards.
There were roughly eight thousand Embroidered Uniform Guard and over forty thousand Tengxiang troops.
These were the forces visible to the world.
The entire court believed the emperor’s sharpest blades were these two. Yet no one knew that in truth, the emperor held one final card, the Xiaoling Guard, hidden in peace, called forth only in chaos.
This was the emperor’s true secret weapon, known solely to him. It would only be passed down when the rightful heir inherited the throne, through the late emperor’s own lips.
Su Yan was astonished. “If it’s only revealed after the new emperor ascends, why did His Majesty give me the brocade pouch a year ago? Could he have already foreseen Your Highness’s current predicament back then?”
Zhu Helin frowned, equally puzzled. “My Royal Father was in his prime, the matter of succession should have been decades away. I too can’t fathom why he would suddenly tell me about the Xiaoling Guard. Perhaps… something unusual happened in the capital, something that made it impossible to deploy the open forces like the Embroidered Uniform Guard or Tengxiang troops, so he planned to use the Xiaoling Guard instead.”
Su Yan immediately recalled the “Decree of Deposition” they had received the night before, and became more certain it was a fake.
Something monumental must have happened in the capital, enough to shake the heavens, and the emperor had foreseen it, laying preparations a year in advance.
Zhu Helin agreed with that deduction.
Mei Changxi then said, “Whatever the reason, it does not concern the Xiaoling Guard. As commander, I acknowledge only the imperial token. Whoever holds it, whichever prince bears the authority to summon us, is the ruler I will serve as the next emperor. Unless that ruler distrusts me or chooses not to use me, that would be another matter.”
Zhu Helin nodded. “Of course I trust you. My Royal Father’s secret decree said the Mei family of Nanjing has commanded the Xiaoling Guard since the founding of Great Ming. The first Commander Mei was the son of the founding Eldest Princess. So, while you and I may not share the same branch, we are of the same blood. I trust that we will work in harmony as sovereign and subject.”
Su Yan silently approved, this young prince had grown more composed and astute, already learning how to win hearts.
As expected, Mei Changxi was deeply moved. Rising, he clasped his fists and bowed. “Your Highness honors me with such trust, treating me not as an outsider. I will repay you with utmost loyalty.”
Zhu Helin raised an eyebrow. “How loyal?”
Mei Changxi blinked, caught off guard.
Zhu Helin fixed him with a subtle expression. “Loyal enough to rebel with me, dare you?”
Su Yan: “…”
What did I just praise you for? And this is what you say next? Can you not give me heart palpitations for once?
He was about to speak up and smooth things over, but Zhu Helin pressed a calm hand over his to stop him.
So Su Yan shut his mouth and waited to see how this would play out.
After a stunned pause, Mei Changxi looked conflicted, then suddenly laughed, the tension breaking. “Your Highness almost had me fooled! To hold the Xiaoling tiger tally means you’re the heir recognized by His Majesty. So tell me, if I follow Your Highness, whom could I possibly be rebelling against? Against yourself?”
Zhu Helin rose, clapped him on the shoulder, and said with a hearty laugh, “Just a joke. It’s only that I’ve yet to receive an imperial summons to return to the capital, and I fear something has gone wrong in the city. I’m thinking of defying the decree and returning to the capital, yet I don’t know if you would be willing to help me, hence the question.”
“Defy the imperial decree and return to the capital?” Mei Changxi hesitated inwardly.
That was a crime punishable by death. If it were only himself, he would accept whatever fate awaited him for following the Crown Prince. But behind him were three thousand soldiers of the Xiaoling Guard, men with families, parents, wives, and children. How could he decide their life and death on a single impulse?
“…Has Your Highness considered sending someone ahead to the capital to investigate the situation first?” he suggested. “It’s not that I fear for my life, but to ensure that Your Highness’s return to the capital will not be questioned by the court and the people.”
“There’s no time,” Zhu Helin said. “Do you know? Last night, someone impersonated the Embroidered Guards and delivered a false edict, their intent was to assassinate me.”
Mei Changxi was utterly shocked.
—
The rain had just ceased. Water trickled from the eaves, dripping into the large vat in the corridor.
In the dim, gray light before dawn, Shen Qi used his sword sheath to push open the half-closed gate and stepped into the Zhong Mountain mausoleum compound.
What met his eyes was a courtyard littered with corpses. Bodies lay sprawled in every direction, the rainwater on the ground dyed red like a sea of blood.
The entire courtyard was deathly silent, like a ruin.
Behind him, Shi Yanshuang gasped, “Why are there so many dead Embroidered Guards? Where is the Crown Prince?”
Shen Qi frowned, used his sword sheath to flip over a corpse at his feet, and ordered, “Search the bodies. Find their waist tags.”
Two imperial guards stepped forward and searched the corpse inside and out, then reported, “No waist tag.”
“Judging by his attire, he was at least a qianhu. On duty, it’s impossible he’d go without his badge, unless…” Shen Qi narrowed his eyes. “They’re not real Embroidered Guards.”
Shi Yanshuang asked in quick succession, “Not Embroidered Guards? Impostors? Then they were killed by the Crown Prince’s guards?”
Shen Qi ordered, “Search each one carefully. See if you can find any clue to their real identity.”
The most skilled investigators from the Northern Surveillance Bureau began examining the corpses one by one. Soon, they found something, one body carried a peculiar wooden talisman, scorched by lightning strikes.
They also recovered from the mud an empty box that once contained an imperial edict and a small gold flask with a slender neck. All were presented to Shen Qi.
He uncorked the flask, sniffed it, and said with certainty, “The wine was laced with crane’s red poison.”
Shi Yanshuang examined the empty box. “This looks like the kind used in the palace to deliver edicts… Where’s the document?”
“The edict might be with the Crown Prince.”
“The Crown Prince… received the edict and then slaughtered all the Embroidered Guards who brought it?” Shi Yanshuang was appalled. “Does he mean to rebel…” He swallowed the last word abruptly, the effort producing a sharp hiccup.
Shen Qi gave a cold laugh. “Not necessarily. Look at this.” He showed Shi Yanshuang the wooden talisman strung with hemp cord. “It’s lightning-struck wood, carved with a charm for protection. As far as I know, only people from Qingzhou wear these as amulets.”
“Qingzhou?” hiccupped Shi Yanshuang. “That’s beyond the frontier, much too far. And wasn’t Qingzhou long since fallen to the Tatars? How would anyone from Qingzhou be here?”
Shen Qi only said two words: “The Wei family.”
Shi Yanshuang’s eyes widened in realization, the Wei clan’s Qingzhou army!
—Who would have thought, after pledging allegiance to Great Ming for twenty years, the Wei family had secretly preserved a private Qingzhou force!
—They impersonated Embroidered Guards to deliver a false edict and even brought poisoned wine. The Wei family was mad with audacity, they meant to murder the Crown Prince!
—And whoever gave them the courage must be someone who saw the Crown Prince as a thorn in their side…
A chill ran through Shi Yanshuang. He dared not think further and turned his pleading gaze toward his superior.
But Shen Qi’s concern at this moment wasn’t the Crown Prince, it was Su Yan.
The mausoleum was close to Nanjing, and Su Yan was close to the Crown Prince. Could this assassination attempt have implicated him as well?
Clenching his fists, Shen Qi ordered, “Spread out from the mausoleum. Search the surrounding area for the Crown Prince’s whereabouts. If you encounter the enemy, signal immediately.”
The guards acknowledged and split into small teams, dispersing quickly.
Shi Yanshuang saw his superior’s grim face and tried to reassure him. “Judging from the bodies and the signs of battle, it’s all very recent. The Crown Prince and his men probably left not long ago. We’ll find them soon.”
Shen Qi was about to reply when suddenly, a sharp whistle pierced the air.
Not far away, a red flare shot skyward like a meteor, the Embroidered Guards’ signal firework. Shen Qi leapt onto his horse, drew his Xiuchun blade, and shouted, “Enemy attack! Embroidered Guards, with me, engage!”
—
At Zhong Mountain Mausoleum’s ceremonial hall.
After hearing Su Yan recount the events of the previous night, Mei Changxi broke into a cold sweat.
“If His Majesty entrusted the Xiaoling Guard to Your Highness, there’s no way he would also issue an edict abolishing you. There must be treachery afoot!” he declared.
Zhu Helin said, “That’s why I must return to the capital, to ask Royal Father in person. The only thing missing is a decree summoning me back; without it, I have no legitimate pretext.”
Mei Changxi deliberated for a long moment, then steeled himself, just as he was about to speak, someone outside called out loudly: “Commander! A unit of Embroidered Guards has been sighted at the foot of the mountain!”
Embroidered Guards?
Could they be reinforcements from last night’s assassins?
Zhu Helin’s anger flared. “This is the Xiaoling Mausoleum! Do they dare, in front of the Taizu Emperor’s resting place, to attempt murder against his descendant?”
Mei Changxi cupped his fists. “Your Highness, please rest. This subordinate will capture them and await your orders!”
He turned and strode out.
Inside the hall, Zhu Helin and Su Yan waited anxiously. Before long, a messenger came running, breathless, and reported from outside the doors:
“The leader of that Embroidered Guard unit claims to be Shen Qi, Tongzhi of the Northern Surveillance Bureau, and says he bears an imperial order to escort the Crown Prince. Commander Mei cannot tell if it’s genuine, so he sent me to report and ask, shall the Crown Prince receive him?”
Su Yan shot to his feet so abruptly that his sleeve knocked over the teacup on the table.
Zhu Helin blinked in surprise, then stood up and said, “Bring him in to see me.”
Su Yan couldn’t wait any longer and hurried to leave the hall, but Zhu Helin grabbed him by the sleeve.
“What’s the rush? It won’t make a difference if we take a moment to confirm the truth.” Zhu Helin’s face was all sourness as he said with a jealous edge, “As my imperial Royal Father’s ‘beloved,’ you’re that eager to go running off to see another wild man, don’t you think that’s inappropriate?”
Su Yan flushed with anger and shame, yanking at his sleeve. “Nonsense!”
“Which part is nonsense? ‘Beloved’? Or ‘wild man’?” Zhu Helin shot back sarcastically.
Su Yan was so furious he wanted to sew his mouth shut with needle and thread.
“Whether I’m going to see my brother or a so-called wild man, what business is it of yours? What right do you have to meddle in my affairs?” He couldn’t break free and blurted out in anger, “Who are you to me, that you think you can control my private life?”
That made Zhu Helin angry as well. “You say this young master has no right? Fine! If I’m not your anything… then I’ll do it as my imperial Royal Father’s representative!” He yanked Su Yan back toward the chair.
The two of them tugged and struggled, nearly breaking into a fight.
Lihua, full from the guards’ hand-fed treats, somehow wandered in from who-knows-where. It wove anxiously around their feet, meowing in distress.
“Don’t fight in front of Lihua, you’re upsetting the child,” Zhu Helin muttered.
Su Yan said, “Then let go first.”
Zhu Helin replied, “If I let go, you’ll bolt the moment I do! What, do you want me to lose face?”
Su Yan sighed. “…I already said he’s my brother. It’s been a year and a half since we last met.”
Zhu Helin snorted, “If he’s just a brother, ten years apart wouldn’t matter. But the way you guard that Shen fellow like a lover, if you keep that up, I’ll—”
Su Yan shot him a murderous glare. The Crown Prince hastily changed his words: “—I’ll make his life miserable every single day!”
The threat from his future boss deflated Su Yan’s anger. He was the first to let go and sighed, “Forget it. I won’t see him, all right? I’ll go hide in the back for a while.” Lifting the curtain, he went straight into the side chamber.
Zhu Helin hadn’t expected him to give up so easily, and for a moment he just stared blankly at Su Yan’s retreating figure.
At that moment, Mei Changxi entered with the commander of the Embroidered Guards, cupped his fists, and said, “Young master, the man has been brought.”
Zhu Helin turned, and sure enough, it was Shen Qi.
Intending to vent his irritation on him, Zhu Helin nodded to Mei Changxi, signaling him to wait outside. Mei withdrew.
Shen Qi’s boots and the hem of his robe were spattered with mud, his neck marked with flecks of blood, as if he had just survived a vicious battle. Everything about him irritated Zhu Helin, who wished the imperial tomb guards had beaten him bloody. He mocked, “Well, well, so Shen Tongzhi traveled all the way to Nanjing to spar with the tomb guards? How did that go?”
Shen Qi didn’t answer. His eyes, still sharp with the scent of battle, looked straight at the Crown Prince. His expression was calm, but in the depths of his gaze was a faint, leisurely mockery, as if he was amused by what the other would do next.
Then he spoke just four words, words that instantly drained the color from the prince’s face: “His Majesty is gravely ill.”
“…What did you say?” Zhu Helin’s voice cracked in disbelief. “Impossible! My Royal Father, when I left the capital, he was perfectly fine! How could he suddenly be gravely ill, Shen Qi! To curse the Son of Heaven is a crime punishable by the extermination of three generations!”
Shen Qi’s face remained impassive as he repeated, “His Majesty is gravely ill. The palace is in chaos; communication has broken down. Fifteen days ago, His Majesty summoned me in secret and gave verbal orders, ‘Go to Nanjing and bring the Crown Prince back safely.’”
“Verbal orders? Why wasn’t there an edict?” the prince demanded.
“The edict was issued,” Shen Qi said. “It went out seven or eight days before I even departed. What’s this? His Highness didn’t receive it?”
There was a faint mockery in his tone, and Zhu Helin ground his teeth. “Receive what, my *ss! The only thing I received was a dogsh*t fake edict sent by some b*stard pretending to be an Embroidered Guard, ordering my death!”
The Embroidered Guard commander, the one being indirectly insulted, said coldly, “That wasn’t the Embroidered Guards. It was the Qingzhou Army.”
He went on to report the evidence they had found at the tomb complex and explained that his squad had been ambushed there. They fought a fierce battle against hundreds of Qingzhou soldiers who had come as supposed reinforcements, but ultimately defeated them.
At dawn, they saw signal smoke rising over Zhong Mountain. They suspected it was the prince’s distress signal, so they came at once to their aid.
“‘Aid’?” Zhu Helin’s expression darkened. “You saw it yourself, outside there’s a sea of my men. I need no one to ‘save’ me. And as for the nonsense you just spouted, this young master doesn’t believe a single word, ”
“—I do!” Su Yan burst out from behind the curtain.
Heaven knew how hard it had been for him to stay put when he heard the words ‘His Majesty is gravely ill.’ It had taken every ounce of self-control not to rush out immediately.
Zhu Helin turned on him. “You actually believe his lies? Royal Father is in his prime, strong and healthy, how could he suddenly be gravely ill? I’ve long known Royal Father never trusted that man, always suspected—”
“Young master!” Su Yan cut him off sharply. “Do you truly not believe, or do you not dare to believe, do you refuse to believe? What other reason could there be for His Majesty to lose control of the Imperial Seal and the right to issue decrees?”
And you? Do you believe it? Zhu Helin wanted to ask, but the words stuck in his throat. He stared at Su Yan, and his expression suddenly changed. “Qinghe… Qinghe, your hand!”
Shen Qi lunged forward and caught Su Yan’s hand.
The bruises from where the fake guards had gripped him hadn’t faded yet, and now fresh blood dripped from between his fingers. When he opened his hand, his palm was full of shattered porcelain shards, thin, sharp pieces embedded deep in the flesh. He had crushed a teacup in his hand without even realizing it.
He looked at his palm in a daze, remembering how, behind the curtain, he’d just poured himself a cup of tea as he listened to their conversation.
Shen Qi quickly pulled him into a chair, drew a dagger, passed the blade through the candle flame, and began picking out the porcelain fragments from his flesh.
“Does it hurt? Does it hurt?” Zhu Helin was rummaging through his satchel for wound powder, asking over and over.
Su Yan shook his head. “No.”
He truly felt no pain. Because the words that had come from Shen Qi’s mouth had already ground his heart like a millstone, over and over, until all other pain was drowned beneath it.
How could it not hurt? Shen Qi grit his teeth as he picked out the porcelain shards. Qinghe fears pain so much, even when I’ve bitten him before, leaving nothing but faint tooth marks without breaking the skin, he’d still whimper and complain it hurt, so how could it not hurt now, when his palm is nearly torn apart?
Su Yan felt as if he had fallen into a state he had never experienced before,
On one hand, he was lost in a kind of dazed confusion. Countless words glimmering faintly with light drifted across the pages of his mind, countless voices overlapping:
“His Majesty’s head ailment has worsened, it’s likely affected his eyesight, he may soon go blind…”
“What did Chen Shiyu say to you?”
“The attacks have indeed become more frequent lately, perhaps due to the heavy workload. He’s just a bit overtired. There’s no need for worry; more rest will help…”
“Qinghe, you needn’t trouble yourself with comfort. I know my own body better than anyone.”
His fingers twitched spasmodically, “Don’t move! You’ll drive it deeper!” Shen Qi warned sharply, his tone tight with anxiety.
Yet on the other hand, Su Yan’s mind had never been clearer. His thoughts were moving with cold precision, tracing every thread of memory, connecting each oddity and unexplained moment until the entire picture came into focus.
“So that’s why His Majesty prepared so far ahead…” Su Yan murmured. “He hid it from me, for a whole year.”
“A whole year!”
He lifted his head toward the Crown Prince, face pale yet cuttingly sharp. “What, exactly, does he take me, Su Qinghe, for?!”
