She wants to proclaim herself emperor… The Fourth Prince’s outstretched hand froze in mid-air as he stared blankly at his younger sister, suddenly finding her to be a complete stranger.
Huaiqing’s words, like a thunderclap, echoed in the ears of King Li and the other royal family. The shock was even greater than when she and Xu Qi’an had forced Yongxing to abdicate.
Has she gone mad?!
This thought arose simultaneously in everyone’s mind.
King Li calmed himself, his slightly clouded gaze fixed unwaveringly on Huaiqing as he said:
“You… what did you say?”
Huaiqing’s tone did not change:
“We wish to ascend the throne and proclaim ourselves Emperor.”
“Bang!”
King Li slammed his hand on the table, rose with the help of his cane, and pointed a trembling finger at Huaiqing, beside himself with rage:
“Absurd!
“You wretched child, do you even know what you are saying? Just a mere woman, daring to covet the throne and proclaim yourself emperor, who would ever submit to you! I see you are blinded by ambition.
“If you ascend the throne, how will you ever command respect? People will seize the opportunity to rebel, and the Great Feng will fall even faster.”
Unacceptable!
He could tolerate Emperor Yongxing’s abdication. Turmoil often accompanied changes of power, and if Emperor Yongxing could not hold on to the throne, it simply showed his lack of ability.
As long as the heir was a legitimate royal prince, there would be no problem…
Huaiqing was certainly of true royal blood, but she was a princess, just a woman, how could she be emperor!
The various princes began to debate, some sighed and wrung their hands, others thumped their legs and inveighed against madness, all in great agitation.
King Yan, seeing that his uncles and brothers were growing ever more opposed, shrewdly seized the moment, raising his hand and pressing down slightly:
“Uncles, please, let us not be hasty.”
At this point, his status as Huaiqing’s full sibling stood out, and sure enough, all the princes and kings fell silent.
When a woman in the family gained power, the limelight still fell on the men. Huaiqing was King Yan’s full sister; with her rising to prominence, everyone tacitly acknowledged that the power of discourse was with King Yan.
King Yan earnestly tried to persuade her:
“Huaiqing, Fourth Brother has always known you to be ambitious, a heroine among women. Fourth Brother promises to give you a chance to fulfil your ambitions and a suitable arena.
“But as for taking the throne itself, do not speak of it again. Even if we agreed, the other lords would not, nor would the people of the world.”
He barely stopped short of saying outright, You, a mere woman, as emperor? Surely you’re joking.
Huaiqing looked at King Yan, then swept her gaze over all the princes and kings. Her tone remained calm:
“Who says a woman can’t be emperor? There are precedents in history. The Female Emperor of the Great Yang was the forefront of her era.”
“Yang” was the dynasty before the Great Zhou, with a history stretching back nearly two thousand years. In the middle era of the Great Yang, various warlords rebelled and occupied the capital, slaughtering the royal family and exterminating all the men.
At the time, a Great Yang princess, gifted beyond comparson, eschewed poetry and the arts in favour of dancing spears and flashing swords (martial arts, nothing else). Amidst the uprising that nearly wiped out her father, brothers, and all the men of the clan, she boldly stepped forward.
She rallied the troops and quelled the rebellions across the land, taking six years to pacify the warlords.
Thereafter, she ascended the throne and became the first female emperor in the history of the Central Plains.
King Li sneered:
“If you were a second-rank martial artist, I would kneel down and implore you to take the throne.”
The Female Emperor of the Great Yang had reached second rank.
Huaiqing remained composed and unchanged in expression, replying coolly:
“We possess only shallow cultivation, a mere fourth rank, but Xu Qi’an has already advanced to second rank.”
In the side hall, everyone’s faces were filled with disbelief.
King Li’s eyes widened, the hand grasping his cane trembling:
“Xu Qi’an… he has advanced to second rank?!”
Seeing that Huaiqing made no reply, he anxiously tapped his cane and snapped:
“Answer me.”
Huaiqing smiled:
“Otherwise, how could he have the courage to face the Yunzhou rebels in a battle of life and death?”
King Yu was slightly moved:
“You mean, he supports your claim…?”
Huaiqing’s mind drifted as she recalled the scene of their exchange via the Earth Book that day,
【THREE: Your Highness, one final question…】
【ONE: Go ahead.】
【THREE: Do you truly wish to support the Fourth Prince’s ascension?】
【ONE: Why do you ask?】
【THREE: Because I feel that you want to be emperor.】
After a long, long silence… 【ONE: If we wished to ascend the throne, how would you see it?】
【THREE: Fine by me!】
Even now, when she remembered that exchange, Huaiqing could still feel the surging waves in her heart at that moment.
At that time, she had walked to the window, pushed it open, and let sunlight and cold wind flood in together.
Facing the sunlight, she raised her chin, closed her eyes, and let out a sigh-like whisper of three words.
Xu Ningyan…
Huaiqing did not answer King Yu’s question, as there was no need.
She continued:
“The Wei Clique and Wang Clique are both on my side. The majority of the twelve Imperial Guard divisions in the capital have already submitted to me, and as for the five camps of the Royal Guard, they answer only to the tiger tally, not to a person. That tally is already in our possession.
“With Xu Ningyan, a second-rank martial artist, supporting me, Uncle, uncles and brothers, of all the royal clan, is there any more suitable than me to claim the throne?
“Jiang Lyuzhong and Zhang Kaitai, commanding tens of thousands at Yuyang Pass, are my men. The general of Chuzhou is also my man.
“Uncle, is that enough?”
Silence. After a moment, King Li spoke in a low voice:
“A woman claiming the throne upsets moral order and disrupts the laws of court. Do not forget, outside the capital, there is still the Cloud Deer Academy.”
“How coincidental. We were just about to mention that,” Huaiqing said lightly.
“We have already promised to restore Cloud Deer Academy to the court and have Zhao Shou enter the cabinet.”
”…” King Li closed his eyes.
Huaiqing seized the occasion to ask again:
“In terms of strategy, talent, and courage, is there anyone in the royal family who surpasses me?”
King Yan opened his mouth but, in the end, said nothing.
Huaiqing rose, her gaze sweeping imperiously over all the princes and dukes:
“Besides those loyal to us, who among the royal family can save the imperilled Great Feng, who can save you, when you stand on the brink of disaster?
“Will you rely on that weak and useless Yongxing?”
This was the first time she had revealed her sharpness and disdain.
It was only now that the royals realised how they had underestimated the eldest princess, dismissing her as merely fond of reading and somewhat talented.
From Yuanjing to Yongxing, she had always kept a low profile, never revealing her hand or showing an interest in government affairs.
Only now was her true face exposed. By the time they came to their senses, their lives were already in her grasp.
Seeing no one voicing opposition, Huaiqing withdrew her sharpness:
“We called you all here today so that royal blood need not be shed. Support us, and you may enjoy riches and glory. Harbour divided hearts, and there will be no mercy.
“Uncle, as an elder, will you say a few words?”
King Li could not help glancing at Huaiqing and was shocked to find her eyes calm and dark, but with killing intent lurking within. His heart chilled, and he said gravely:
“At this point, what else can we say?”
Huaiqing then looked at her shell-shocked brother and gently straightened his robes, smoothing the creases on his chest, speaking softly:
“From now on, we must trouble our Fourth Brother, Yongxing, as well as the other brothers to stay temporarily in the basement of the Stargazing Tower.
“We shall take good care of Fourth Brother’s and everyone else’s children your behalf.
“If uncles are interested in a stay in the Stargazing Tower, we would most warmly welcome it.”
The faces of the royal family members changed slightly.
“Clap, clap!”
Huaiqing clapped her hands, summoning the armoured guards from outside the side hall, and instructed:
“Take them back to Jinluan Hall, and bring the members of the Wang Clique to me as well.”
The Wang Clique knew nothing of her intentions to ascend the throne, Xu Qi’an had persuaded Wang Zhenwen on the grounds of elevating King Yan.
But now, they were already on board the pirate ship, with no easy way off. So next, Huaiqing would have a heart-to-heart with the key figures of the Wang Clique.
…
By midday, the disturbance from the palace to the imperial city had been thoroughly quelled. All the martial experts in the Royal Guard had been suppressed by Xu Qi’an. Those of the twelve guards loyal to Emperor Yongxing who could be persuaded were convinced; those who remained steadfast were executed without mercy.
With Xu Qi’an standing guard, not a single guest master employed by the nobility in the imperial city dared to show their face.
In Jinluan Hall, the nobles, ministers, and imperial clansmembers gathered once more. Flanked by two rows of armoured guards, Huaiqing entered in a trailing white dress.
With dignified poise, she walked to the throne, overlooking the assembled officials, her voice cold and clear:
“Since the onset of winter, disaster and famine have ravaged the land, the people are destitute. Yongxing has not governed well, causing resentment and many uprisings. Knowing his own lack of virtue, he wishes to abdicate and entrusts the fate of the country to us.
“Do my Lords have any objections?”
Excepting the Yunzhou delegation, all the officials, nobles and royal clan bowed their heads and loudly declared:
“Your Highness is of great virtue, worthy of such a great task.”
As she had not yet ascended the throne, they could not refer to her as ‘Your Majesty’.
The Yunzhou delegation stood alone, nervous and awkward in equal measure.
…
Atop Jinluan Hall, Xu Qi’an stood with hands clasped behind his back, gazing over the whole Palace city.
The cold wind lifted his robes and swept up his temples. Inside, the shouts of the officials echoed. Xu Qi’an, for no particular reason, thought back to two years ago, when he had been of no consequence at all.
Yuanjing, Wei Yuan, the Jianzheng, Wang Zhenwen, and the officials in the hall, all of them had then stood at heights he could only look up to.
Two years on, some of those people were dead, others were ill. As for the grand figures of the court, and even the entire capital, they were all now under his feet.
“Rolling the Yangtze’s waters eastward flow, its sprays drowning each and every hero.
Right and wrong, winning and losing, become empty at one head’s turning;
Like before, the mountains shall remain green;
Times the evening sun set red, how many have there been…1
“This poem would certainly cause yet another stir if it was shared, Second Uncle would be scolded again.”
After reciting softly, he smiled complicatedly:
“But I no longer feel the urge to make my name with poetry like I once did.”
…
Inside the imperial study, only Huaiqing and Xu Qi’an were present.
“I do have some reputation left. The Twelve Guards of the Capital and the Royal Guard have all been pacified. Everyone has given me due respect and are staying out of trouble for now.”
Xu Qi’an stood in the hall, looking at the cool and beautiful woman behind the large desk, and said:
“How to stabilise the troops, replace your confidants, and reassure the people, that’s all your business.”
He looked as if it had nothing to do with him at all.
Next, the capital would enter a short period of chaos, with all the major factions needing to reshuffle.
Draw in who can be drawn in, eliminate those who cannot, and, of course, make compromises where necessary, making some concessions.
He didn’t need to worry about these things; Xu Qi’an believed the eldest princess could handle it herself.
Huaiqing’s fingers brushed over the brushes on the brush rack, selected an ivory brush, and said calmly:
“How you deal with Lin’an next is your business as well.
“A little palace maid from Jingxiu Palace came here just now at great risk to bring a message: Noble Consort Chen wants to see you, and Lin’an is also there.”
After she gained full control of the four palace gates, Huaiqing lifted the restrictions and no longer forbade the princes, princesses, and concubines of each palace from entering or leaving their quarters.
Xu Qi’an thought for a moment, then said:
“As for reassuring the people, I do have an idea, parade the Yunzhou delegation through the streets as an example, and post a notice saying this campaign to purge those beside the Emperor was initiated by me. You, as a mere princess, have no legitimacy to ascend the throne, and before you achieve any merit, the commoners across the land will not acknowledge you.
“But you can borrow my reputation.”
“We had exactly the same idea.” Huaiqing dipped her brush in ink, scrawled a few poems he had written in the past on some paper, and said:
“There’s no need to bother about Noble Consort Chen. If you find her troublesome, we shall deal with her for you. As for Lin’an…”
The princess’s lips curled in a mocking way:
“Silver Gong Xu’s greatest skill is his glib tongue, just show your best side.”
Do you have to speak so sarcastically… Xu Qi’an grumbled:
“Yongxing is still her elder brother after all.”
Huaiqing nodded:
“That’s why sparing his life is the best explanation for Lin’an. Let her cry for a few days, she’ll get over it herself.”
Xu Qi’an felt disgruntled and said unhappily:
“Is this how you help me?”
Huaiqing put down her brush and looked at him expressionlessly:
“Yongxing has already abdicated, so the marriage he bestowed is null and void. After our accession, we shall help Silver Gong Xu dissolve the engagement.
“You need not worry about comforting Lin’an.”
“My Second Uncle has already agreed to it. How could we possibly dissolve the engagement?” Xu Qi’an shook his head repeatedly.
“If we say it can be done, it can be done.” Huaiqing was uncharacteristically domineering, as if she insisted the engagement must be dissolved.
“Your Highness would do better to worry about the present issues!”
Xu Qi’an cupped his hands and left the imperial study. Instead of heading to the inner palace, he changed course and went to the Nightwatcher Constabulary.
In the imperial study, Huaiqing bit her lip and let out a cold snort.
…
Mounting his little mare, clattering back to the Nightwatcher Constabulary, under Song Tingfeng’s guidance, he headed for the dungeons.
The jailers opened the iron doors leading underground. Song Tingfeng walked in front, and as they passed the torture room, he said, puzzled:
“Ningyan, every time I see these strange torture devices, I feel like I’ve forgotten something.”
Xu Qi’an was unfamiliar with the Nightwatcher dungeons, and even more so with the torture devices, so he paid no attention to Song Tingfeng’s comment.
“We’ll go to the goulan later, but you have to disguise yourself first.”
“We’ll see if there’s time. Right now, who has the time to visit a goulan?”
Chatting as they walked, they soon arrived at the cell where the Yunzhou delegation was held.
The guards who had accompanied the Yunzhou delegation had already been executed on Huaiqing’s orders, leaving just the negotiating officials, Ji Yuan, Xu Yuanshuang, and Xu Yuanhuai.
The three of them were held together, stripped of their fine clothes and dressed in prison uniforms.
Xu Yuanhuai’s tendons in his hands and feet had been cut. He wore handcuffs and ankle shackles and leaned weakly against the wall.
When Xu Qi’an opened the cell door and entered, the three each reacted differently.
Ji Yuan frowned slightly and stepped back.
Xu Yuanhuai glanced up at him, then turned his head away, face full of cold indifference.
“What- what are you here for…”
Xu Yuanshuang felt far more complicated about this eldest brother, with the hostility instilled in her from childhood, the pity influenced by her mother, admiration for an older brother, as well as a kind of helplessness from having her own priorities.
So much so that she herself could not distinguish what she truly felt toward her elder brother.
“What did Xu Pingfeng want the two of you to do in the capital? Disgust me on purpose, or increase Ji Yuan’s margin of error?”
Xu Qi’an glared at them coldly.
Xu Yuanshuang lowered her head and muttered softly:
“I think it’s both.”
Xu Qi’an scanned the two of them and sneered:
“Looks like you’re just disposable ants. Useless, don’t even have any value left.”
Xu Yuanhuai clenched his fist hard, but with his tendons cut, he couldn’t even make a proper fist.
Xu Yuanshuang felt aggrieved and ashamed, lowering her head.
“Since you’re in the capital, don’t think about leaving. This place does not suit you.” Xu Qi’an turned to Song Tingfeng:
“Transfer them to the basement under the Stargazing Tower.”
Song Tingfeng nodded.
“Has that lad been interrogated yet?” Xu Qi’an looked at Ji Yuan, who was leaning against the wall.
“The Sitianjian’s arcanists have already questioned him, the details are classified, so I haven’t seen them.” Song Tingfeng finished, then looked at Xu Yuanshuang and tutted:
“Such a dainty beauty, don’t send her to the Sitianjian, Ningyan. Why don’t you take her home as a concubine?”
He didn’t know about Xu Qi’an’s background, nor the feud between him and the Yunzhou branch of the family.
Perhaps, if there’s an opportunity in future, I really can take them back and let Second Uncle meet them, and see out of my sister and cousin, who’s fiercer… Xu Qi’an walked up to Ji Yuan and looked down at him from above:
“You’re ranked ninth among your useless brothers?”
Ji Yuan was not angered at all, and smiled:
“Ji Yuan pays respects to Elder Cousin.”
Since being locked up in the Nightwatcher dungeon, Ji Yuan had calmed down quickly. After a brief analysis, he concluded that Xu Qi’an was not completely brainless. Even though he took the chance to launch a coup and prop a woman to power, he hadn’t killed Ji Yuan, which suggested he still saw some value in keeping him alive.
Perhaps to use him in negotiations with Yunzhou.
“Slap!”
Xu Qi’an backhanded him across the face.
Ji Yuan, a frail scholar, could not take the blow, and flew like a sandbag, his ears ringing so loudly that he didn’t get up for a long time.
“Don’t call me cousin. Who’s your elder cousin?” Xu Qi’an’s expression stayed calm, as if he’d just swatted a fly.
“Legitimate son or concubine-born?” he asked.
Ji Yuan’s ears were ringing and he could not hear clearly, but when he saw Xu Qi’an raise his hand again, his face changed drastically. It was Xu Yuanshuang, remembering their cousinly relationship, who answered for him:
“Concubine-born…”
Xu Qi’an grunted and sneered:
“Born of a lowly concubine, another pawn with little value. How much do you think the one in Qianlong City is willing to pay to ransom you back?”
“Think carefully before you answer. Whether you get back to Yunzhou alive depends on it.”
Crude, vulgar brute… Ji Yuan propped himself up with the wall and struggled to his feet, his cheek hugely swollen. Suddenly, he lowered his head and spat out a tooth covered in blood.
Xu Yuanshuang said softly:
“He’s Ji Xuan’s real brother.”
Xu Qi’an’s eyes brightened as he laughed:
“Interesting!”
He walked slowly towards Ji Yuan, who pressed himself in panic against the wall, that earlier slap having knocked all the fight and will out of him.
“As expected of brothers, you and Ji Xuan both lack self-awareness.”
He patted Ji Yuan’s face, and then, together with Song Tingfeng and his pair of siblings, left the cell.
Ji Yuan leaned against the wall, fists clenched, face full of resentment and humiliation.
In the corridor, Xu Qi’an had barely taken a few steps when a crisp female voice rang from a cell on the left:
“Hey, hey, is that Silver Gong Xu?”
Turning his head, he saw a woman with messy hair in a filthy prison uniform, but with strikingly beautiful features.
Xu Qi’an paused:
“And who are you?”
“I’m from the thieves’ guild, no, from the Divine Thieves guild. I’m A-zhu. During the conflict of heaven and man, you locked me up.”
The woman looked devastated, clutching the bars excitably.
“Oh, it’s you. What do you want?” Xu Qi’an asked in confusion.
“When are you going to let me out? I’ve been here for nine months already.” A-zhu sounded agitated.
Xu Qi’an looked at Song Tingfeng:
“What’s to be done with this woman?”
Song Tingfeng curled his lip:
“For notorious habitual offenders like her, either exile, cut off her hands, or keep her locked up forever. Didn’t you tell us yourself to guard her carefully in case she was useful one day?”
Xu Qi’an thought to himself, Damn, I completely forgot.
Just as well I could use more hands right now, will give her a posting later… As he stepped out of the dungeon doors, Xu Yuanshuang whispered:
“These past few days, Ji Yuan has been secretly contacting Noble Consort Chen.”
Noble Consort Chen… Xu Qi’an nodded, then turned to Song Tingfeng and said:
“Tomorrow, take the Yunzhou delegation out for a little parade, give the people of the capital a surprise.”
Leaving the Nightwatcher Constabulary, Xu Qi’an parted ways with Song Tingfeng, who took Xu Yuanshuang and Xu Yuanhuai to Sitianjian.
He rode straight for the imperial palace.
Just as well, there was still a riddle in the Consort Fu case that remained unsolved, he intended to question Noble Consort Chen personally.
Part of the opening song of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms ↩
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