Ch 88 “To live in the same bed and die in the same tomb, that is what he wants.”
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During the festive season, the most talked-about topic in the capital city was the Tekeli Khan, who always followed the emperor around and came from Xirong. Those who had the privilege of seeing his true appearance all kept quiet about it, and as for what they said behind closed doors, that was another matter altogether.
As long as it didn’t cause trouble right in front of him, Xie Chaoling pretended not to know. Even if the emperor covered his ears and called a deer a horse, everyone else had to go along with it and pretend to be deaf and dumb, no matter how turbulent their hearts were.
Anyway, it was the emperor’s love affair, and had nothing to do with them.
After the Yuan Festival, envoys from the vassal states gradually returned home with the rewards from the court. Only Tekeli Khan stayed behind, moving out of the Huitong Hall and into the residence that the emperor had specially designated for him, as if he had no intention of leaving from then on.
The speculation of the crowd soon became true. Not long after the Yuan Festival, Xie Chaoling issued a royal edict appointing Xie Chaoyuan as the commander of the Imperial Guard, which caused a sensation throughout the court.
The emperor went crazy and appointed a foreigner to such an important position. The officials below couldn’t persuade him, and this position was only appointed to the emperor’s trusted confidant. Even the Ministry of Personnel couldn’t intervene. Although there were precedents of foreign envoys holding positions in the court, the position of the Imperial Guard Commander…the emperor was really not afraid of having his neck cut off in the middle of the night.
Xie Chaoling was naturally not afraid. Compared to having his neck cut off, Xie Chaoyuan had plenty of ways to torture him to death in the middle of the night. But so what? Behind closed doors, it was all the fun of the harem and not worth mentioning to outsiders.
At the beginning of spring, Xie Chaoling issued another edict and went to Tai Shan to make sacrifices. The Tai Shan sacrifice followed the ancestral system, something that all emperors of the Daliang Dynasty did after they ascended the throne. The preparation alone took a whole year. This was also the first time Xie Chaoling had left the capital since he ascended the throne.
The departure was in early February. With the hundred officials accompanying him, the procession guarding the imperial carriage extended for miles. Xie Chaoling leaned in the carriage and read a book with great concentration. It was only when his lunch was brought in that he realized the carriage had already stopped. Pushing open the half-window to look outside, he asked, “What time is it?”
“In response to Your Majesty, it is almost noon,” the palace attendant who brought the meal whispered.
“And where is he?”
The “he” referred to here was naturally Xie Chaoyuan, who had just been appointed as the commander of the Forbidden Army. As Xie Chaoling’s voice fell, he heard the sound of horse riding outside, and saw Xie Chaoyuan riding back from the front, stopping only in front of the imperial carriage.
The little rascal dismounted from his horse, but did not get into the carriage. Instead, he went to the window and handed Xie Chaoling the spring flowers he had just picked, casually stroking his cheek without caring that they were in public view.
But no one dared to stare at them, so Xie Chaoyuan’s unconventional action went unnoticed.
“Where did you go just now? Come up and have lunch.” Xie Chaoling said, just as he did not hesitate to let Xie Chaoyuan ride in the same carriage as him when they left the palace.
Xie Chaoyuan then got on the carriage and closed the door behind him. Xie Chaoling pushed up the window again and asked him once more, “What did you do?”
“Your Majesty has been reading all along, so I went down to patrol for a while,” Xie Chaoyuan answered casually. As the commander of the Forbidden Army, he was indeed diligent and responsible.
Xie Chaoling chuckled deeply.
Xie Chaoyuan picked up the chopsticks and served him some food first.
After having lunch and drinking half a cup of tea, Xie Chaoling soon felt drowsy. He leaned against Xie Chaoyuan’s legs, his eyelids drooping, holding a book in his hand that he had only managed to turn one page of for half a day.
Xie Chaoyuan took away his book and said, “If you want to sleep, then sleep. Don’t read anymore.”
Xie Chaoling mumbled something like “Don’t go away again” and fell asleep with his head against him.
Xie Chaoyuan slowly massaged Xie Chaoling’s shoulders and neck to make him more comfortable as he slept. When Xie Chaoling’s breathing became steady, he let go and leaned against the carriage wall to rest his eyes.
Until faint voices could be heard outside, Xie Chaoyuan furrowed his brow and moved his eyelashes. The voices behind seemed to have grown louder, so Xie Chaoyuan opened his eyes and carefully put Xie Chaoling down before getting off the carriage.
A fifth-rank official from the Ministry of Works had come and insisted on seeing the Emperor, claiming that he wanted to present a memorial in person. But Liao Zhi and Wang Jin had stopped him and were arguing with him.
Xie Chaoyuan was a little displeased and stepped forward to ask, “What’s all the noise about?”
The man’s face turned red as he replied, “I want to see the Emperor and present my memorial. I hope the Commander can help me pass on the message.”
Xie Chaoyuan said impatiently, “If you want to present a memorial, you should follow the normal procedures and submit it to the Cabinet. Why are you causing a disturbance in front of the imperial carriage?”
“The Cabinet has rejected my memorial several times. I can only come and present it to the Emperor in person.”
Xie Chaoyuan snatched the memorial from his hand and opened it directly, which was not in accordance with the rules. The official’s face turned even redder, but Xie Chaoyuan ignored him and quickly scanned the contents of the memorial.
The situation was somewhat unexpected. The Ministry of Works had been selecting a site for the Emperor’s mausoleum since Xie Chaoling ascended the throne, and the location had almost been finalized. Construction was set to begin this summer. However, the official had come to report that there was a serious problem with the location selected by the Ministry of Works. It was located in an area prone to earthquakes and would not be safe in the future.
Xie Chaoyuan calmly asked, “Such a mistake should not have been made by the Ministry of Works. Why wasn’t it discovered earlier?”
The official became excited and replied, “When His Majesty issued an edict to measure the fields, many noble officials and dignitaries had already seized land belonging to the people. The fields in the location chosen for the Emperor’s mausoleum had been divided among several large noble families. These people were afraid of being exposed, so they used the Ministry of Works to avoid scrutiny by the Ministry of Revenue. There are also people in the Cabinet who are involved, so they naturally wouldn’t allow me to submit this memorial to the Emperor.”
He didn’t say which noble families were involved, but Xie Chaoyuan understood. The position of the Minister of Works had always been held by Yang Xuelin. After the fall of the Zhao family, the Yang family became the number one noble family in the court. It was easy to see who the official was going to accuse.
Xie Chaoyuan stuffed the memorial into his sleeve and lifted his chin. “That’s enough. You can go down for now. We’ll talk about this later.”
The man blew his mustache and stared, “What do you mean by that, Commander?”
“I mean we’ll talk about it later,” Xie Chaoyuan sneered. “The Emperor is resting now. Do you dare to disturb him? The construction of the imperial mausoleum hasn’t even started yet. Why are you in such a hurry?”
After sending the man away, Xie Chaoyuan got back into the carriage.
Xie Chaoling had already woken up, his eyes were a bit bewildered as if he had just opened them. Xie Chaoyuan held him and laid him back on his own body, and gave him a cup of warm water to drink.
After clearing his throat, Xie Chaoling finally fully regained his consciousness and sat up: “I told you not to run around. Why did you go down again?”
Xie Chaoyuan looked at him and smiled: “Big brother slept too heavily, and I was bored alone.”
“…Reflect on what you did last night.” Xie Chaoling muttered in a low voice. The little brat knew they were setting off this morning, but still played around with him last night.
Feeling embarrassed to bring up this topic again, Xie Chaoling changed the subject and asked: “Did someone come to report something outside just now? What did they say?”
Although he was half asleep, he could still hear the loud voice of the runner.
“The Emperor is too lenient with his subordinates. Those who dare to come and disturb your rest should be given a lesson.” Xie Chaoyuan reminded him.
Xie Chaoling shook his head: “Get to the point.”
Only then did Xie Chaoyuan hand over the memorial and repeat what the runner had said earlier. Xie Chaoling was not surprised: “Oh, I know about this.”
Xie Chaoyuan asked: “Big brother knows but is keeping it a secret. Are you waiting for the right moment?”
Xie Chaoling glanced at him and nodded: “There was no evidence before. When I received the news, I had already approved the Ministry of Works’ site selection proposal and had to prepare for the sacrifice. So I temporarily put this matter aside. Let’s wait until we come back from Mount Tai, and take them by surprise when they least expect it. The Yang family is not yet to be eradicated, but we can teach them a lesson through this matter and let them learn from it.”
“Yang Xuelin is the father-in-law of King Xing,” Xie Chaoyuan hinted with hidden meaning.
Xie Chaoling calmly brushed his sleeve, “The one who told me about this is King Xing. He is quite a smart person.”
Xie Chaoyuan clicked his tongue, and Xie Chaoling laughed again, “Why do you seem disappointed?”
“Who would have thought that one day he would become your trusted confidant?” Xie Chaoyuan said sourly.
“Why do you have such a small mind? He has helped us a lot in these years.”
Xie Chaoling was too lazy to say more, “We will arrive at the post station in the evening, and I will take you to a place.”
At dusk, the imperial carriage stopped at the post station they were passing by.
Later, Xie Chaoling changed into casual clothes and, together with Xie Chaoyuan and a group of trusted followers, rode horses to the place he said he would take Xie Chaoyuan before nightfall.
It was a nearby valley, with lush spring flowers and gentle breezes. Under the setting sun, the mountains were covered in golden light, like a paradise on earth.
Xie Chaoling stood on his horse and looked into the distance, where the evening mist could be seen on the horizon.
Xie Chaoyuan was curious and asked, “Where is this place?”
“This is where my tomb will be built in the future.”
Xie Chaoyuan was slightly surprised to hear this. The feng shui of this place was good and it was close to the capital, but it was far away from other imperial tombs, which was not in accordance with the usual practice.
“After death, I will rest here peacefully, and even as a ghost, it will be quite romantic,” Xie Chaoling turned back and smiled at Xie Chaoyuan, “What do you think, Sixth Brother?”
“So, Brother intentionally indulged the Ministry of Works in their actions. When things happen in the future, they won’t be able to use those ancestral rules to stop you from choosing to build your tomb here?” Xie Chaoyuan asked.
Xie Chaoling continued to smile without denying it. It was not just about the location, he had even more daring plans.
To live and die together, that was what he wanted.
“Do you like it here, Sixth Brother?” Xie Chaoling asked again.
Xie Chaoyuan also smiled, “If Brother likes it, then I like it too.”
“That’s good.” Xie Chaoling withdrew his gaze and looked into the distance again.
Xie Chaoyuan looked at him, and the sunset glow on Xie Chaoling’s face softened and spread, making his smile even more charming.
Xie Chaoyuan thought that he was going to climb into Xie Chaoling’s coffin even after he died, but his emperor brother always surprised him.
They got off their horses and walked along the stream in the valley.
When darkness fell, the wind picked up. Xie Chaoyuan grabbed Xie Chaoling’s arm and said, “Let’s go back.”
“Don’t you want to stay a little longer?” Xie Chaoling looked at him, with a bright smile in his eyes.
“We’ll have plenty of opportunities in the future,” Xie Chaoyuan said.
Why rush things for after they turn 100 years old?
They had countless moments ahead of them.
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