“You are distracted.”
Jinghong Zhui, hidden in the shadow of the eaves, waited a few moments. Seeing no further movement from Yu Wang, he glanced sideways and coldly warned him.
Yu Wang snapped back to attention, pointing: “That palace complex, the tallest main hall is Yangxin Palace.”
Jinghong Zhui drifted forward like a green-eyed shadow, disappearing into the night in the blink of an eye.
Yu Wang simultaneously activated his own qinggong. His movements weren’t as effortless as Jinghong Zhui’s, but he managed to keep up.
He recalled the conversation with the Crown Prince earlier in the Mansion,
The Crown Prince, forced to remove the three small paper slips stuck to his forehead, had to thank him, albeit with a mix of reluctance, embarrassment, and grudging gratitude: “Uh… Fourth Royal Uncle… this time, thanks to your help, things went more smoothly than expected…”
Yu Wang felt a pang of irritation and raised a hand to stop him: “Spare me the empty words. I didn’t help you for nothing. There’s one condition, you decide whether to agree.”
The Crown Prince immediately became alert, glancing sideways at Su Yan: “What condition? Let me be clear: if you dare use Qinghe as a bargaining chip, don’t blame me for losing my temper. Even if I get plastered like a thousand-layer cake, it won’t help.”
Yu Wang smirked: “You’re thinking it all wrong. I intend to use myself as the bargaining chip.”
The Crown Prince’s shock turned to anger: “Nonsense! Who asked you?”
Yu Wang gave him a knowing look, “a child is still a child”, and said deliberately, without hurry: “The trade is for my future freedom. If you ascend, release me to return to my fief, and I will guard the northern barbarians for the country.”
The Crown Prince froze, thinking for a long moment, frowning: “I also know, if Fourth Royal Uncle truly had ambitions, now is the best time, yet you chose to help me… But the key isn’t my feelings; it’s Royal Father. I cannot overturn Royal Father’s decisions, not now, not ever, otherwise it would violate filial duty.”
Yu Wang’s expression darkened. There was a faint aura of martial severity as he spoke bluntly: “If I remain confined to the capital for the rest of my life, whether you or the Second Prince ascends makes no difference to me. Should the Second Prince ascend, Royal Mother will surely serve as regent, and she might even pity me enough to let me return to my fief.”
The Crown Prince knew it was best to agree for now, to secure Yu Wang as a strong ally, and later, once the situation stabilized, try to find a way to renege.
But being inherently sincere, and possessing the youthful, untested righteousness of a young heir, he could not bring himself to act treacherously. He only furrowed his brows tighter.
Su Yan observed their expressions and realized Yu Wang was serious, freedom was his bottom line. The Emperor had crossed it, but could contain himself; however, if the Crown Prince pushed too far, the accumulated resentment would inevitably explode.
The Crown Prince’s thinking wasn’t wrong either. As a son and heir, how could he easily override the Emperor’s decisions, especially when those decisions stabilized the realm and eliminated threats, sacrificing Yu Wang’s freedom and ambition?
From each of their perspectives, neither was wrong.
The world is rarely simply black or white.
Su Yan sighed with difficulty, feeling that at this point, some words must be said, even if it hurt the Emperor.
He cleared his throat, drawing the attention of the four present, and carefully spoke: “Actually… it’s not entirely the Emperor’s decision. Some things, even if thought through and planned like a powder keg, may never explode without a fuse and a spark.”
Yu Wang’s eyes sharpened: “Qinghe, do you mean the final decision behind this wasn’t made by my elder brother?”
Su Yan stammered, recounting what he had overheard while hiding under the curtain of the imperial desk, the conversation between the Empress Dowager and the Emperor:
“—You took this resentment on yourself for me, Royal Mother is aware.”
“Back when Great Tong nearly had a mutiny, I feared Cheng’er would be manipulated by the military, make a foolish mistake, and I worried you would distrust, guard against, or punish him. That’s why I feigned illness, letting you summon him back to serve the Emperor’s needs.”
“I still remember what Royal Mother said then. I remembered it for over ten years.”
“Yes. I said, I do not need a dead prince-general remembered in history; I only need a living son.”
Silence fell in the study. Yu Wang’s face turned dark, disbelief evident: “Truly… Royal Mother’s intent? She wanted me to serve dutifully under her, yet placed all responsibility on my elder brother!”
“I pleaded several times for her to intercede with my elder brother, but she said, ‘Tong’er is my son, but also the ruler of all. On the grand scale, imperial commands cannot be disobeyed. On the small scale, the husband follows the son. Royal Mother cares for you, but is helpless.’”
“How could she treat her own son this way!”
Yu Wang’s clenched fist trembled.
Su Yan knew he was deeply pained, also aware part of this was because the Emperor distrusted Yu Wang’s control over the military. Had the Empress Dowager not taken such a firm stance, the Emperor’s final decision was unpredictable.
The Crown Prince was also shaken, not by her manipulations, but by her ability to bind two sons for decades with maternal love. Having lost his mother early and yearning for maternal affection, he found such a method selfish to the extreme, almost vile.
Righteous anger surged through him. The Crown Prince gritted his teeth: “I’ll release Fourth Royal Uncle!”
Su Yan felt a jolt inside, thinking the young Zhu was still too impulsive, too easily swayed by temporary emotions. Some things could be attempted, but words couldn’t be spoken so directly.
Trying to mend things, he continued the Crown Prince’s words: “But the condition is, Yu Wang cannot reassemble the former sixty-thousand-strong Jingbei Army.”
Yu Wang turned sharply to Su Yan, eyes filled with grief and hurt.
Su Yan folded his hands and looked down, speaking calmly: “The Jingbei Army was dismantled and merged into other units thirteen years ago. To put it another way, it’s like a remarried woman carrying her new husband’s child. If her ex-husband demanded her return, she would be trapped; how could she reconcile with her devoted current husband? Likewise, if the generals stir trouble, you, Wangye, would become the target. Other princes, stripped of military power, would take the opportunity to create a stir. The one caught between a rock and a hard place becomes the young lord and Yu Wang.”
The Crown Prince listened silently and nodded. The grief, disappointment, and disbelief in Yu Wang’s eyes eased somewhat.
Su Yan continued, “When Wangye has the chance to return to your fief in the future, I suggest you first train the five hundred guards of your residence well, step by step, without rushing to the battlefield. A person recovering from a long illness must start with light porridge and mild food to slowly restore the stomach. If they stop medicine one day and the next feast on rich delicacies, even the strongest body would collapse under the strain. Wangye, do you see my point?”
The metaphors were apt and reasoned, spoken entirely from Yu Wang’s perspective. Even if he remained stubborn, he couldn’t help but be persuaded and silently weighed the logic in his heart.
Meanwhile, the Crown Prince thought to himself: Qinghe’s words make so much sense… how does he always manage to speak so well? No! I’m the future enlightened ruler, I can’t let myself be led by his words every time. It makes me seem weak and lacking in authority! I must find a way to counter his rhetoric… well, perhaps not this time, next time.
After a brief moment of thought, Yu Wang finally nodded. “As you say, step by step.”
The Crown Prince raised no objection. The deal was, for now, tentatively settled.
But trouble arose when Su Yan, seemingly unwilling to stop, added a few more sentences with a muttering tone: “As long as His Majesty still reigns, this isn’t something the Crown Prince can decide. In any case, His Majesty will live a long, long life. For all we know, before the Crown Prince even takes the throne, His Highness may already be too old to lift a spear. What’s the point of discussing this now? Better to save your strength and spend your nights with a few more young and pretty scholars.”
Yu Wang nearly spat blood in rage, utterly torn between retorting, ‘No matter how old I get, I’ll never be too weak to lift a spear!’ or ‘No matter how lustful I am, I won’t go back to sleeping with young scholars!’
Then, another thought struck him, Su Yan had never interfered in his private life before. For him to bring up his past romantic affairs now… could it be a hint of jealousy he himself hadn’t noticed?
With that thought, his heart felt unexpectedly lighter. His mind wandered briefly, and as they infiltrated the imperial palace, he was momentarily distracted.
Jinghong Zhui noticed and called him out, snapping him back to focus. Yu Wang quickly gathered his thoughts, setting aside personal emotions, and followed Jinghong Zhui into Yangxin Hall.
Inside, only half the candles were lit, casting the room in a dim, flickering glow.
Perhaps because the Emperor spent most of his days in a semi-conscious state, little light was needed, nor were the palace attendants often called upon. The night watch eunuchs, exhausted, had dozed off.
The two men moved silently through the hall. Whenever they couldn’t avoid an Imperial Guard, they struck the sleep acupoint and hid the bodies out of sight. When they finally reached the dragon bed and lifted the curtain, they saw Emperor Jinglong lying there quietly, as though fast asleep.
But Yu Wang saw immediately, his elder brother had grown thinner still. His complexion was pale, bloodless; his eyes sunken; and deep vertical lines creased his brow, as if even in unconsciousness he endured constant pain.
Yet he remained serene and dignified, almost meticulous, his hair was neatly combed, as though he could wake at any moment and attend court.
Yu Wang bent down and gazed for a moment, sighing softly. “I can’t wake him.”
Jinghong Zhui thought for a while and asked, “Have you tried channeling internal energy into him?”
Yu Wang replied, “I’ve tried several times. But after years of illness, his meridians are severely blocked. Forcing energy through might harm his body.”
Jinghong Zhui said, “That’s because your qi is meant to kill, not to heal. I’ve studied internal injury treatments, let me try.”
Before Yu Wang could even nod, Jinghong Zhui placed his fingers on the Emperor’s pulse and sent a fine thread of inner energy into him.
Yu Wang instinctively wanted to stop him, but hesitated. Jinghong Zhui’s martial skill was now unfathomable, his cultivation even higher than his own. And since Su Yan trusted him so completely, perhaps letting him try might bring an unexpected miracle.
Soon after, Jinghong Zhui withdrew his energy and said coolly, “The blockage is indeed severe. The energy reached the chest’s Shanzhong acupoint and could go no further. Forcing it through would damage the meridians.”
“You can’t either?” Yu Wang sneered.
Jinghong Zhui shot him a sidelong glance. “Whether I can or not, Lord Su knows better than you. After all, time reveals a man’s true nature.”
Yu Wang chuckled coldly. “Petty tricks. Showing off your toy sword before a master craftsman!”
They glared at each other with open hostility, resisting the urge to fight beside the sickbed, and turned their focus back to the sleeping Emperor.
Jinghong Zhui said, “I plan to divide my inner energy into countless fine threads, guiding them slowly through all his meridians, clearing blockages and restoring blood flow as they go. Wherever the flow stops, that’s likely where the illness lies.”
Yu Wang knew such words were easy to say, but doing it was nearly impossible.
Internal energy was one’s vital force, sending it out of one’s body and into another was already difficult. To then split it into a web, advancing along multiple paths simultaneously, required immense power, endless regeneration, and exquisite precision. Was there truly anyone in the world capable of that?
Only a martial grandmaster who had transcended form itself could hope to achieve it.
Jinghong Zhui answered his unspoken doubt calmly: “It’s my first time attempting this, I don’t know if it will succeed, but I’ll try. It’s a dying horse, but we might as well treat it as if it could live. During the process, I must not be disturbed. I’ll need you to guard me.”
He spoke to everyone with “you” as an equal, even to princes, but fortunately Yu Wang, being free-spirited and unconcerned with formalities, didn’t take offense and nodded in agreement.
Jinghong Zhui then lifted the Emperor’s quilt. Yu Wang positioned his brother’s body flat, with the five centers facing upward. Jinghong Zhui, irreverently, kicked off his boots, sat cross-legged upon the dragon bed, and pressed his palms against the Emperor’s back.
Yu Wang stood watch by the bed, alert and ready, if Jinghong Zhui’s energy wavered or backfired, he would intervene immediately.
Jinghong Zhui closed his eyes and concentrated, manipulating countless fine threads of energy with utmost precision. Each meridian he opened connected to the next, forming a slow, intricate web.
Several times he nearly lost control, threatening to turn the Emperor’s insides into chaos, but each time, his exquisite mastery brought the situation back from disaster, leaving Yu Wang drenched in cold sweat.
Jinghong Zhui was also under great strain, sweat soaked through his heavy robes, darkening the gray fabric to a deep blue.
After more than half an hour, he finally withdrew his palms and let out a long breath before stepping down from the dragon bed. Though his face showed no visible exhaustion, the depletion was clear in the sluggish rhythm of his breathing.
The human body, so intricate it might as well be divine craftsmanship, had drained him immensely. His mind and energy were both overtaxed, and it would take time to recover, only when his vital energy regenerated in his Zifu Dantian could he be restored fully.
Yu Wang helped the emperor lie back down. Seeing that he remained unconscious, he frowned and asked, “Why hasn’t my royal brother awakened yet?”
“I’ve done all I can,” Jinghong Zhui replied. “The lesion lies inside his skull, in the brain, a blockage the size of an egg, where even the structure and texture seem to have transformed. The blood vessels there are twisted and knotted. My energy cannot pass through no matter how I try. If I force it, I might damage the surrounding normal tissue, so I had to withdraw.”
“And how should that lesion be treated, then?”
“I only know a little medicine, mostly what I picked up in my assassin days, to better understand how to kill,” Jinghong Zhui said calmly. “From what I understand, the root of the problem could only be removed entirely, by cutting the foul thing out.”
Yu Wang was startled. “Cut open the skull? And live through that?”
Jinghong Zhui’s face was cold and indifferent. “Exactly. Most likely he’d die right after. And it couldn’t be done with inner energy, you’d need a blade. Oh, and you’d have to split the head first.”
Yu Wang almost wanted to split his head open for saying such things.
He was about to curse when suddenly, he sensed a faint change in the emperor’s breathing. At once, he turned sharply toward the dragon bed.
The emperor’s fingers twitched slightly. After a pause, they twitched again, more noticeably this time. Yu Wang’s heart leapt, he grabbed his brother’s hand and called softly, “Royal Brother… Royal brother?”
Jinghong Zhui reached out, took the emperor’s pulse, and gave a slight nod. “He’s waking up.”
The words had barely left his mouth when the emperor’s eyes slowly opened.
Waking from a long coma, his vision gradually cleared, and Yu Wang’s face came into focus. The emperor studied him for a long moment before speaking in a hoarse, low voice:
“Breaking into my sleeping chamber without leave, tell me, Fourth Brother, do you mean to ‘purge the emperor’s side’ or to force the throne?”
Yu Wang curved his lips in a wry grin. “Is there much difference between the two? I only meant to inform you, if you kept sleeping, I’d have let Royal Mother carry that three-year-old brat to the throne myself, and then see who’d win the right to act as regent. As for your dimwitted eldest son, well, he’s got your old lover keeping him company in that shabby hut down in Nanjing. He’s hardly suffering.”
The emperor closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again, his expression as calm and unshaken as ever. “So Helin has returned.”
Yu Wang’s tone rose in irritation. “What do you mean ‘so Helin has returned’!? That fool’s been hunted every step of the way, what could he possibly rely on to make it back alive? His birth? His luck?”
A faint smile touched the emperor’s lips. “On the fact that he is my son. And on the fact that Qinghe has protected him at every turn, and will continue to support him with all his strength.”
Yu Wang stiffened, the fight leaving him all at once. After a moment, he muttered, half-defeated, “Forget it. I’d already made up my mind long ago. Winning an argument now means nothing. Off the battlefield, I’ve never beaten you.”
“You’re mistaken,” the emperor said quietly. “Between us, there was never winning or losing, only reason and choice. Whichever side you stand on, no one truly wins.”
Yu Wang was silent for a few seconds, then turned to Jinghong Zhui. “Can you make him pass out again? I really don’t want to listen to this self-righteous nonsense.”
“That would require his consent first,” Jinghong Zhui replied evenly.
Yu Wang muttered darkly, “Dog.”
The emperor’s gaze drifted toward the window. “What watch of the night is it?” he asked softly.
—
At the fourth watch of the night, the officials who had just received the summons hurriedly dressed in court robes, some so rushed they skipped breakfast, and hastened to gather before the Meridian Gate.
The Empress Dowager had abruptly issued a decree summoning all officials of the fourth rank and above to court, not at the outer square of Fengtian Gate as usual, but inside the Fengtian Hall itself. She claimed there was a “grave matter” to announce before all ministers.
A grave matter? What could be graver than the emperor’s life and health?
After two months of unease and rumors, the officials felt that the long-hidden secret within the palace was finally about to be revealed by the Empress Dowager herself. A heavy tension filled the air, few dared whisper as they assembled.
When the bells tolled, the left side gate slowly opened, and the ministers filed in one after another, crossing the long-unvisited square of Fengtian Gate and entering the grand hall.
Strangely, the usually diligent Minister of Rites, Yan Xing, and the Gelao of the Inner Cabinet, Yang Ting, were nowhere to be seen in the procession.
Only after everyone else had entered did the two arrive in haste, stepping out of their sedan chairs and striding quickly through the left gate. One wore a resolute expression; the other looked troubled but unwavering.
The whip cracked, signaling the arrival of the Empress Dowager’s phoenix carriage, surrounded by attendants and guards, with the sleepy Second Prince Zhu Hezhao in tow.
Chief Eunuch Lan Xi was absent; another scribe-eunuch took his place to deliver the imperial will. The Empress Dowager ascended to the dais and seated herself beside the empty dragon throne, drawing Zhu Hezhao close to her side with affectionate protectiveness.
After the ministers had performed their formal bows, the Empress Dowager began to speak: “The Emperor, worn by years of toil, has fallen gravely ill. What began as a minor ailment has turned to a dire affliction. The palace physicians and the famed healers of the realm have all done their utmost, yet to no avail. My heart is torn with grief and dread, each day feels unbearable. I fear that if Heaven and Earth should collapse, our great Ming kingdom will be left without a foundation.”
“Fortunately, last night, the Emperor briefly awoke from his coma and left a final edict, instructing me to proclaim it before the full court of ministers. All of you, hear the sacred decree, ”
The officials gasped, shocked and horrified, but before any could speak, the eunuch’s sharp voice rang out: “All ministers, kneel and listen to the imperial decree!”
They fell to their knees, foreheads to the floor, waiting as the eunuch unfolded the scroll and began to read.
Each word was recited with slow, deliberate clarity, until he reached the line:
“—The eldest son, Zhu Helin, is violent and without virtue, unfit to serve the ancestral temple or rule under Heaven. Therefore, he shall be stripped of his title and made a commoner. The second son, Zhu Hezhao, is hereby established as Crown Prince. Should I meet misfortune, Hezhao shall succeed to the throne.”
The court erupted in shock.
The Second Prince felt the Empress Dowager’s arms tighten fiercely around him, so tightly it hurt. But faced with the overwhelming scene before him, fear rose in his chest, and he clung to her, trembling, as though her embrace were the only safe place left in the world.
The Empress Dowager stood high above, looking down at the uproarious ministers. Her voice sank low and heavy: “Why do my subjects clamor so? Could it be you doubt His Majesty’s final edict? Tell me, do you intend to obey your sovereign’s will, or defy and rebel against it?”
A civil official stepped out of line, bowed deeply, and said: “Your Majesty, it is not that we harbor thoughts of defiance. It is only that this edict came as a great surprise. Merely a few months ago, nearly a hundred officials submitted memorials requesting a change of heir, yet His Majesty punished them all, some were imprisoned, others dismissed from office. That clearly showed where the Imperial Will lay. How, then, has the Crown Prince suddenly been deposed?”
The Empress Dowager fixed him with an icy gaze. At once, an attendant beside her recorded the man’s name and rank.
The Empress Dowager said coldly: “His Majesty banished the Eldest Prince to Nanjing, and further degraded him to guard the tombs as penance, refusing to see his face for years, was that not His Majesty’s will as well? You find this edict sudden? I find it perfectly natural. When the Emperor lay gravely ill, he still refused to summon the Eldest Prince to his side, but was moved by the filial devotion of the Second Prince, whom he deemed gifted, virtuous, and compassionate. He made him Crown Prince, was that not in accord with Heaven’s mandate and the hearts of men? Why, then, this great outcry?”
Still, many ministers found it improper. One after another stepped forward to remonstrate, but the Empress Dowager refuted each of them sharply, her tone severe and imposing, dominating the hall.
Soon many gazes turned toward the Grand Chancellor, Yang Ting. No one expected him to be as fiery or sharp-tongued as his predecessor, Li Chengfeng, but at least he could speak up, anything was better than acting like Xie Shiyan, the ever-placating elder.
Yet Yang Ting seemed a different man from usual, eyes half-closed, chin slightly lifted, utterly motionless, as though silently standing in support of the Empress Dowager. A wave of disappointment rippled through the court.
The six ministers of the major departments remained silent as well. Even the usually outspoken Minister of Rites said nothing. The Ministry of Personnel’s position remained vacant since Li Chengfeng’s departure. The Minister of Justice was trying in vain to reason with the Empress Dowager, while the Ministers of Revenue, Works, and War could not even find a chance to speak, drowned out by the chattering censors.
Faced with such disorder, the Grand Secretariat remained calm. Did this mean that even the Cabinet believed the edict legitimate, that it truly represented the late Emperor’s will?
Doubt and confusion spread among the officials.
Then the Empress Dowager suddenly thundered: “Must I bring the Emperor’s sickbed here to the Hall of Heavenly Order, so that you may hear his words from his own mouth before you’ll believe?”
“—There is no need to disturb Royal Father. Let this son attend him in Yangxin Hall instead!”
A clear, youthful voice rang out from beyond the hall, bright and resonant, poised between boyhood and manhood.
The ministers froze, then turned toward the entrance.
There, Crown Prince Zhu Helin entered in full court robes, holding a scroll of yellow silk. As he strode forward, his voice carried across the hall:
“This son has returned to the capital under His Majesty’s command, humbly requesting audience with the Emperor!”
“This son has returned to the capital under His Majesty’s command, humbly requesting audience with the Emperor!”
“This son has returned to the capital under His Majesty’s command, humbly requesting audience with the Emperor!”
He repeated it thrice, his words echoing through the hall. By the third time, he stood at its very center, unrolling the imperial edict to reveal its text and seal for all to see.
The Empress Dowager’s face darkened; she suppressed her fury and said coldly: “Since you were summoned back, stand among the princes and do not disrupt the court session.”
Zhu Helin met her gaze without flinching and declared in a clear, ringing voice: “Will the Empress Dowager not also show her edict to the ministers? If they are convinced, then I shall have no complaint and will willingly accept my demotion to commoner!”
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