Chapter 148
<Previous Chapter<Table of Contents>Next Chapter>
Before Father Emperor’s passing, his final words to him were not to continue deceiving or to seek his forgiveness, but to advise him to live for himself.
Xie Guang harbored too much resentment, but upon closer examination, it was clear that only by completely letting go of the past and seizing the future could he truly escape the harm his father had caused.
Holding back tears, he gazed at his Father Emperor and replied in a low, firm voice, “Your son will.”
The Grand Emperor seemed to settle a matter in his heart, closed his eyes to catch his breath for a moment, then said, “Go, all of you, and bring Chuyan here.”
Upon hearing this, both Xie Guang and Xie Duo were surprised. Only Xie Xiu, without hesitation, turned to leave. But seeing his brothers not moving, he awkwardly stopped by the folding screen.
“Chuyan” should be Lady Yang, Yang Chuyan. However, that woman had not agreed to come to the capital. The Grand Emperor had strictly prohibited any coercion, so he was destined not to see that woman.
“Father Emperor…” Xie Guang wanted to say something to comfort him, but he saw Father Emperor suddenly open his eyes, and his gaze returned to its former luster.
“All of you, leave.” The Grand Emperor’s gaze was fixed on Xie Duo, his voice becoming gentler. “Come closer, Chuyan, get closer to me.”
Xie Guang frowned, looking at his ninth brother in silence.
Xie Xiu also looked at his brother in confusion and asked, “Father Emperor doesn’t recognize you?”
Xie Duo glanced at his seventh brother, lowered his head in thought, and then turned to his sixth brother. “You take Seventh Brother outside, I’ll stay with Father Emperor.”
Xie Guang nodded and led his seventh brother away.
Only the father and son remained in the sleeping chamber.
Xie Duo walked to the edge of the bed and sat down, silently gazing at Father Emperor.
The Grand Emperor remained silent for a long time, his eyes filled with longing as he looked at Xie Duo’s face.
“Have you been living well all these years?” he finally spoke.
Xie Duo looked at him but didn’t answer.
He wasn’t sure if Father Emperor was truly confused or if he was deceiving himself, seeking some comfort in his final moments.
The Grand Emperor seemed unfazed by his silence and murmured to himself, “Chuyan, you always said that my Father Emperor and I were of the same kind. But back then, I did my best to save your family. Do you really want to hold a lifelong grudge against me?”
The suppressed resentment in Xie Duo’s gaze gradually became apparent. He looked at this close relative who had nearly ruined his life and spoke softly, “You are indeed of the same kind as your Father Emperor.”
The Grand Emperor’s eyes widened. “How am I anything like him? I would give you everything I can!”
“You taught me before that to win people’s hearts, one must not only understand their thoughts but also lower oneself, placing oneself on equal ground with the other. It’s about things falling into place naturally, without forcing submission through power. If you have such patience in politics, why have you never cared about what I want?”
The Grand Emperor struggled to sit up slightly and argued, “Everything I’ve done has been for you!”
“Is that so? If I were an opponent with power equal to yours, would you still make decisions for me without hesitation?” Xie Duo looked at him. “Besides, your Father Emperor has passed away, and there’s no one left in the world with power equal to yours. You can replace your Father Emperor and control everyone according to your will. Not to mention past political foes, even a woman like Lady Yang, how can she have her own will? Everything should be subject to your wishes, just as your Father Emperor thought her family should all die, everything should follow your lead.”
The Grand Emperor sank heavily back onto the bed, furrowing his brow and holding his breath for a long time. He eventually suppressed the pain in his chest and said in a hoarse voice, “You are the person I love the most, but you are too stubborn. I thought you would one day understand my heartfelt intentions…”
Xie Duo shook his head. “The person you love the most is yourself. If you’re willing to share some respect and compassion with others…”
“Enough! Enough!” The Grand Emperor, with dry eyes, unexpectedly shed tears and looked hopelessly at the blurry face he had longed for. After a long time, he trembled. “The women I met before were all obedient. I liked your unique nature, yet I also wished you could be as gentle and caring as those women. That’s why I always wanted to suppress your stubbornness, and it ultimately led to a grave mistake. Chuyan, if there’s a next life and we can meet again, could you… teach me how to understand you?”
Seeing the once-unyielding Emperor now humbly pleading, the resentment in Xie Duo’s eyes gradually dissipated. “If I teach you, will you listen?”
He eagerly tried to raise his head. “I’m willing! Willing!”
The candlelight flickered. On his gaunt face, the expression he had when he first met Lady Yang reappeared.
The young prince, exuding a feigned air of severity, had his stern demeanor crumble into unexpected shyness when his eyes met the girl’s.
He seemed to hear Lady Yang’s arrogant and cunning voice.
“Alright, then I’ll teach you.”
After the Grand Emperor’s passing, the new ruler’s enthronement ceremony couldn’t be delayed any further.
Xie Duo didn’t have the time to bid farewell to his former freedom. He clumsily ascended the throne, starting the daily early morning court sessions at the hour of the Tiger and the despairing life of reviewing memorials until midnight.
Even when there were no memorials to review, the Empress Dowager didn’t allow Xie Duo to leave the morning court in the Xiyuan Hall. He had to remain until the middle of the night before he could return to the sleeping chamber.
The detailed events of the first year of his reign would be recorded in history. While the historians would also note the Emperor’s daily schedule, this part would rarely be scrutinized, affording some flexibility.
His brothers would say, “Just grit your teeth. A year will pass quickly, and you’ll get used to it in a month or two.”
But what Xie Duo couldn’t endure was being unable to see the little child prodigy.
Even if he didn’t sleep, he only had the “brief” time from the hour of the Rat to the hour of the Tiger to slip out of the palace. During that time, Han Jiao, more often than not, slept like a piglet, even snoring.
On the sixth day after his formal ascension, Xie Duo couldn’t take it any longer. He feigned illness and took two days off. Then, he made a scheduled private visit to the Han residence.
Han Jiao was sleeping so soundly that it was quite a task to wake him up. When he finally awoke and saw Xie Duo, he smiled happily.
Xie Duo took the lazy child prodigy for a stroll in the marketplace.
Passing by a stall, he noticed an elderly man dressed as a Daoist suddenly stand up. He had a big smile on his face and seemed about to say something, but then he was startled and quickly sat back down.
This strange behavior piqued Xie Duo’s curiosity. He led the constantly yawning child prodigy to the stall, lowered his gaze, and looked at the Daoist.
The Daoist, flustered, stood up and nervously smiled but didn’t ask if Xie Duo wanted a fortune telling.
Xie Duo recalled a year ago when the little child prodigy had sought a marriage divination at this stall. The Daoist had said that it was a very ominous reading, and afterward, he knelt and begged for forgiveness, claiming he couldn’t resolve such a bad omen.
“I’ve seen you before,” Xie Duo said, looking at the Daoist.
The Daoist chuckled nervously, not giving a direct answer.
“Last time when he came to you for a divination, you said his reading was very bad. What exactly was the bad omen?”
Unable to evade the question, the Daoist sighed. “I’m getting old, and my memory isn’t that great anymore. I’ve forgotten all about those readings. I hope the benefactor can understand.”
Xie Duo thought for a moment and then reached out to pick up the paper and pen in front of the Daoist. He sketched out the divination that Han Jiao had received that day and asked the Daoist to explain it.
The Daoist continued to evade, “For marriage divination, you need a combination of both the signs and the words. What kind of text Young Master received on that day, I have no way of knowing.”
Xie Duo furrowed his brow and stared at the Daoist, carefully recollecting, “The divination should have been ‘When Wenqu fades, Ziwei takes its place. Longing seeps… longing seeps, what was the rest?”
Han Jiao, who had been drowsy, suddenly spoke up, “Longing seeps, as they meet face to face.”
Xie Duo and the Daoist turned to look at him simultaneously.
Han Jiao raised his eyes to Xie Duo, smiling foolishly and murmuring, “When Wenqu fades, Ziwei takes its place…” He lowered his long lashes slightly and joyfully whispered, “No matter what… I will… save him.”
Xie Duo turned to him in astonishment, grabbing his shoulder. “Xiaobai, do you remember when we had our fortune told here?”
Han Jiao, still in a drowsy state, kept repeating, “Wenqu declines… Ziwei takes its place…”
Just as Xie Duo was about to ask more, a look of shock suddenly flashed in his eyes.
He remembered that the last time the little child prodigy had lost his memory, it happened right at the moment when he received the decree for his ascension.
The Daoist was personally invited to the palace by the Emperor.
Fearing severe punishment, the Daoist willingly recited all the divinations he could recall.
The Daoist couldn’t explain the full meaning of that divination, but he revealed a dreadful interpretation. Han Jiao wouldn’t live past the summer.
No matter how reasonable an Emperor may be, they could have a temper. The conclusion the Daoist had come up with had offended Xie Duo deeply.
“The imperial physician has confirmed his well-being. What gives you the right to say he won’t live through this summer?” Xie Duo suppressed his anger, glaring fiercely at the Daoist. “If you seek wealth, I can grant it to you, but if you dare to speak such nonsense—”
“I have never spoken a falsehood,” the Daoist, with a mournful face, said, “If one wishes to attain wealth and prosperity, one must also have the cultivation to overcome tribulations. I can only do divination, I lack the power to dispel disasters, and I dare not interfere with the destiny of the Emperor star’s arrival.”
“Then who can help him avert this disaster?”
“This calamity is a matter of fate, and it cannot be altered through any means. Your Majesty, please grieve accordingly.”
With a loud sound, the Emperor crushed the armrest of his chair.
An aura of menace spread as if it were a tangible force. The eunuchs in the hall shivered involuntarily and dropped to their knees.
The old eunuch by Xie Duo’s side bent down, trying to console him, but was struck dumb by the expression on Xie Duo’s face.
In his memory, he had never seen his young lord display such a fearful, terrified look.
His young lord had experienced confusion and helplessness before, but he had never known fear. Yet now, he was unnerved by this stubborn Daoist.
The old eunuch, infuriated, turned and angrily ordered, “Hurry and take this charlatan out! First, lock him in the guardhouse, make sure he doesn’t escape!”
The Daoist was escorted out.
The hall was filled with a deathly silence.
The remaining attendants held their breath, kneeling and not moving.
Only Han Jiao was sitting carefree in the grandmaster’s chair, humming a tune, and playing with the pastries on the tea table.
After a while, Xie Duo raised his head, stood up, and walked over to Han Jiao. He reached out to touch his face, but his fingertips hesitated to make contact with his skin. Instead, he felt the gentle warmth coming from him from a slight distance.
Han Jiao looked up at Xie Duo, smiled, tilted his head happily, and pressed his face into Xie Duo’s palm.
“He looks perfectly fine. See, they all say he’s not sick.” Xie Duo urgently wanted to prove something. He turned to the attendants and called them to come and look at the little child prodigy. “The imperial physicians said he’s healthy.”
“Master Han is perfectly healthy, perfectly healthy!” an old eunuch hurriedly reassured. “Look at his rosy complexion, he can live for more than a hundred years! Your Majesty, don’t listen to that charlatan’s deceptions!”
Xie Duo turned to him. “Where’s that Daoist whom Father Emperor used to support? Let him come and see too.”
The Daoist from the former palace had been interrogated due to the Emperor’s poisoning. It was not easy to find a reputable Daoist at the moment. The old eunuch lowered his head in thought, then looked up to reply, “Your Majesty, rest assured. I will immediately find a Daoist with a high level of cultivation!”
Having said that, he hurriedly led two attendants out of the hall.
Xie Duo dismissed the remaining attendants, leaving himself alone by the side of the little child prodigy.
Han Jiao looked up at him. “I’m tired.”
Xie Duo frowned nervously. “You only woke up at noon, and you’re tired again?”
Han Jiao rubbed his eyes. “I want to sleep.”
“No.” Xie Duo firmly held his hand. “Look at me, Xiaobai. You can stay at home every day from now on. I’ll handle all the official matters. As long as you go to bed and wake up early, I’ll take you and Ferrari to play in the new county every day. How does that sound?”
Han Jiao brightened up a bit. He raised his thumb wrapped in gauze, showing Xie Duo the silver bracelet on his wrist. “The village chief said everyone can only steal a bracelet once. You can’t steal bracelets for others anymore.”
If you enjoy this novel, support the Translator ginevre on her ko-fi account :))
<Previous Chapter<Table of Contents>Next Chapter>
