The royal entourage arrived and stopped steadily on the road. Because of the confusion and chaos of battle, no yellow dirt had been spread on the road or water sprayed. However, the Emperor’s feet did not hesitate to step down firmly and steadily from the steps, standing on the dirt beside Jingdou.
The Emperor moved his hand from Eunuch Yao’s arm and slowly swept his calm gaze across the wilds. Thousands of officials and generals were kneeling on the ground, prostrating themselves in worship. His expression was indifferent. There was not much emotion in his eyes.
Amidst the greetings that shook the heavens, the Emperor pulled his gaze from the distant Jingdou closer. It landed nearby, passing over the scholars Hu and Shu, the Great Prince in armor, they youngest son who was nervous and giddily happy, and lightly landed on Fan Xian’s handsome and imposing face. He noticed that his face carried a deep exhaustion.
The corners of the Emperor’s lips turned up slightly. It carried a hint of affection. He was beginning to like that pretty face more and more in the depths of his heart. His brows immediately furrowed because he realized Fan Xian had sustained heavy internal injuries.
The bright yellow robe spread open as the Emperor extended out both of his arms. Calmly and dominatingly, he faced the field in front of him. The sound of greetings gradually faded away.
If no one dared to look at the Emperor, then how did these thousands of people know what the Emperor did?
From when he stepped out of the carriage, the Emperor’s gaze had practically been focused on Fan Xian. Fan Xian felt uneasy all over and kept his head down, not sure what to do. After the greetings, he heard the Emperor’s feet gradually approach his group of people.
Right before he arrived in front of Fan Xian, the Emperor suddenly changed direction. Without glancing at Fan Xian, he formally helped up Shu Hu and Hu the Scholar. He used both his hands to cover old Shu’s shoulder and pressed down slightly. With a warm and firm voice, he said, “You’ve suffered, old scholar.”
Shu Wu’s heart jumped. His face showed fear. Hu the Scholar also quickly repeated it. The Emperor smiled and didn’t say anything. Immediately after, he helped up the Great Prince, who had performed a great service and was always a soldier before all else in Jingdou.
As for this eldest son that he had never liked, the Emperor’s emotions were complicated. But, his expression was still calm.
After, the Emperor pulled up Li Chengping and stroked his youngest son’s head for a while with his right hand. His eyes gazed at the officials loyal to him in the field. He didn’t say a single word.
Then, he turned around and left, heading toward his carriage.
Everyone was shocked and thought to themselves, That was it? It was not about whether the ceremony of the Emperor returning to the capital was over or not. Rather, the official most responsible for safeguarding the country, Duke of Danbo Fan Xian, was still kneeling stiffly on the ground. Why did the Emperor say anything at all?
Shu Wu and Hu the Scholar glanced at each other, seeing the confusion in the other’s eyes. Fan Xian was also very confused and not sure if he should stand up.
“Stand up, unless you are unable to without me helping you?”
Before he climbed back into the carriage, the Emperor tossed this line into the crowd. Although it was not targeted at anyone, everyone knew that he was talking to Fan Xian. It seemed indifferent and cold but actually carried a trace of intimacy. As for the other means hidden in these words, only Fan Xian could understand them. The Emperor had already acknowledged his ability and loyalty. Even without his help, he was able to stand in a position that was his own in this court.
Fan Xian laughed bitterly and stood up. He lowered his head to look at the mud on his knees. Before the Emperor ascended the carriage, as an official, he was not allowed to clean his clothing. However, an impulse from somewhere made him use his right hand to brush at his knee, dusting away a bit of dirt.
This little action did not draw the attention of too many people, but it made the Emperor, who was climbing into the carriage, pause slightly. Then, everyone heard the Emperor’s words.
“An Zhi, come into the carriage.”
The officials were shocked again and looked at each other in astonishment. Earlier, the Emperor had not personally helped Fan Xian to stand. Now, the Emperor was giving Sir Fan junior a rare honor. To enter the capital with the Emperor’s royal entourage, what kind of honor was that? It was something even the Crown Prince had never experienced.
The gaze the cleverer officials turned on Fan Xian became heated. However, these officials appeared to be overly clever or thought themselves to be clever. Some of their gazes involuntarily shifted onto the Third Prince. Everyone knew that since the Crown Prince and Second Prince were involved in the rebellion, their ends would not be good. Everyone had originally thought that the future master of the Qing Kingdom would be the young prince, but looking at the Emperor’s attitude today…
The reason the officials thought they were smart was because they expressed an inappropriate attitude in an inappropriate place. The scholars Hu and Shu kept their eyes to themselves as if they had not heard the Emperor’s words. This was the difference between a superior official and an official.
Fan Xian’s mouth tasted bitter, but he could not disobey an imperial edict. Walking to the side of the high carriage, he lifted the yellow curtain to stand in front of the Emperor. Although the royal carriage was tall, it was still unable to allow a person to stand straight. He was forced to stand in front the Emperor with his head down, just like everyone else in the world.
“Sit.” The Emperor seemed to see through his thoughts and slightly inclined his head as he spoke.
Fan Xian followed the instructions and sat down across from the Emperor. Looking at this Emperor he had not seen in a month, his emotions gradually became complicated. In the past, although this monarch had been brilliant and powerful, he did not come close to how scary the Emperor was now. The Emperor remained calm, but it was like a bottomless abyss, hiding unfathomable power. This kind of feeling made Fan Xian afraid. Looking at the two sharp brows, those calm eyes, he involuntarily felt the need to shrink back.
An Emperor’s dominating power did not emerge from his outward appearance and physique. Rather, it emerged through his strategies and results in the history books. To be able to come down from Dong Mountain alive and arrange such a large setup, it was no wonder that such a powerful person was the foremost person in the land in the last 30 years. Fan Xian understood this reality and accepted it.
The middle-aged man wearing a dragon robe lowered his head to look at the urgent memorials from various Roads the two scholars had presented. He didn’t acknowledge Fan Xian’s gaze on him, even though such a look from an official to an Emperor was rude and tabooed.
The royal carriage slowly began to move. The sunlight outside the window slanted through and shone on the memorial in the Emperor’s hand. He lowered his head and read them with furrowed brows. Suddenly, he said, “Three years. My Qing Kingdom still needs three years.”
When he said these words, the Emperor did not raise his head. It seemed that he was talking to himself. Fan Xian understood what the Emperor was saying. Having experienced an internal rebellion, putting aside the heavy damages that Jingdou sustained and the chaos in court affairs, just the attack within the army had already caused serious consequences. At this time, the military was still not stable. Furthermore, the officials in the Dongsheng Road region were all implicated. Although the Emperor had moved capable officials from Jiangnan to take over, the impact on the people’s lives was certain to be massive.
Recouping the army’s loyalty would take at least a year. Removing the psychological impact of this rebellion would take at least a year. To truly be prepared in terms of wealth, resources, public support, and other areas for a largescale war would take the Qing Kingdom at least three years.
Presumably, in the Emperor’s heart, this Northern expedition to unify the world would be the last Northern expedition. The steps of history that had been forcefully blocked by the other two Great Grandmasters would slowly accelerate.
The sunlight from outside the carriage window shone through the square pieces of glass and reached continuously toward the back. It scattered countless rays of light on the father’s and son’s faces. The Emperor continued to keep his head down and said, “When one’s work is done, brush off clothing and hide deeply one’s person and name… This was something you once wrote but don’t think that I will let you go. When work is done, presently the major work is incomplete. You, a young man, why are you rushing to finish and retreat?”
The Emperor’s eyes were looking at the memorial. These words seemed to be spoken unintentionally, but Fan Xian’s heart thumped. He was unsure what to say. When one’s work was done, brush off clothing. He had not thought that his unconscious dusting off of his clothing in front of the royal carriage would cause the Emperor to guess at his thoughts and destroy all of his fantasies and mental probing with unusual determination and heartlessness.
He laughed bitterly and did not hide anything. He said straightforwardly, “I am truly not skilled when it comes to things like fighting. It is better for me to quietly earn some money for the court.”
Fan Xian had other plans on his mind, so he took the opportunity to first say everything clearly. The Emperor suddenly raised his head and looked at him. “There is no need to think about quitting. If you’re afraid of people talking, I will take care of the matter of reducing your power.”
Fan Xian cried out bitterly in his heart. The Emperor’s words had forced him into a corner. If he was forced to stay in Jingdou to plot, he did not want his power to be reduced. The Overwatch Council was the most powerful weapon in his hands. If the Emperor really did tear a hole in that, what would he use to negotiate with this unfathomable Emperor?
Until now, he still did not know the truth of what happened on Dong Mountain. In the carriage, he didn’t dare to ask. It was the Emperor who first spoke and inquired as to the specific details of these few days. Although Jingdou had been sending non-stop memorials to where the Emperor’s carriage was these three days, matters involving the privacy of the royal family were not. There were many things that could only be personally reported by Fan Xian to the Emperor.
Fan Xian’s voice rang out in the carriage. He told his tale of leaving Dong Mountain, entering Jingdou disguised as an oil merchant, setting the plan with the Great Prince, breaking into the Royal Palace, and finally about when the Ye family attacked. He told everything methodically and clearly. He purposely glossed over some of the details that the Emperor probably didn’t want to hear.
As Fan Xian was making his report, the Emperor had already lowered his. It was difficult to carefully observe the Emperor’s emotional reactions. Unexpectedly, regardless of whether it was the Eldest Princess’s death or the news of the Second Prince’s suicide, neither made the Emperor’s stone-like expression move at all. It was not until he reported on the empress dowager’s illness did the Emperor raise his head.
“How many days does the empress dowager have left?”
“The Imperial Academy of Medicine has seen her… Her body is feeble, and her vital energy is weak. She has also experienced such a major event and was frightened. I’m afraid…” Fan Xian’s words stopped. A malicious thought toward the cold and indifferent Emperor rose in his heart. The empress dowager had been scared to death by you, what should you do as a filial Emperor?
“The Imperial Academy of Medicine?” The Emperor’s brows furrowed as he looked coldly at Fan Xian. “What good are those useless fools? You’re in the Palace, do you not know the details?”
Fan Xian said dimly, “It is truly beyond the capability of people to reverse the situation.”
…
…
Under the gaze and salutes of countless people, the Emperor’s royal entourage entered Jingdou. Following the wide and straight Tianhe Avenue, they entered the Royal Palace. Along the way, the common people who had just suffered at the hands of the soldiers forcefully suppressed the sorrow and fear in their hearts to joyfully welcome the Emperor’s return. It seemed they were welcoming back a pillar of their lives. From this, it was evident that the Emperor’s reputation and prestige among the Qing people were just like the right of a monarch itself, solid and unbreakable.
Arriving at the main doors of the Royal Palace, Fan Xian retreated from the carriage with his body bent. Meeting the Great Prince’s eyes, he shook his head indicating that the Emperor’s mood was fine and had not been impacted by the series of deaths.
Fan Xian followed the carriage into the Palace. Looking at the bright yellow curtain, he involuntarily thought of the Emperor’s expression earlier. His heart felt a chill. Although the Eldest Princess and Second Prince were both main culprits in the rebellion, they were, after all, the Emperor’s younger sister and son. Furthermore, looking at the rebellion now, it was clearly a trap the Emperor had purposefully woven for the other party. Learning about the death of his sister and son, the Emperor still remained calm. This level of will and cold-bloodedness truly made him shiver.
The Great Prince walked to his side and said in a low voice, “Why did you get off?”
“Dare I ride the entire way into the Palace?” Fan Xian glanced at him. “The Emperor asked about some matters in the carriage. As you know, those matters cannot be announced to the crowd.”
There had been no need to explain anything to the Great Prince, but Fan Xian saw the gazes being trained in his direction and knew what kind of discussion and consequence his entering the capital with the royal entourage would have. Unconsciously, he added these words. Afterward, he felt that talking like this with the Great Prince might have the opposite effect. Smiling bitterly, he said, “It was too cold in that carriage. I came down to stretch out my muscles.”
The Great Prince laughed and patted his shoulder, not saying anything. At this time, both the brothers were actually forcing their smiles. Having secured Jingdou and prevented the monarch of a country becoming a lonely spirit, they had, without question, performed a great service and were deserving of the most credit. But, so many people in the royal family had died, and they had used so many tricks. No one knew what the Emperor was thinking.
…
…
The Qing Emperor wasn’t thinking anything. In the process of organizing the sweeping up of rebel soldiers outside the capital, he had already learned of the deaths of Li Yunrui and Li Chengze from the urgent memorials Fan Xian had sent. In the carriage, he was only learning the specific situations about when they died from Fan Xian.
His face was calm, as if the people who had died were strangers. He continued to look at the memorials presented by the Hall of Governmental Affairs. When the carriage entered the Palace and Fan Xian got off, the Emperor put down the memorial in his hand and leaned against the back of the chair with his eyes closed silently.
The lonely silence continued for a long time. Gradually, a trace of age and sallowness appeared on the Emperor’s face. By this time, the carriage had already stopped outside Hanguang Palace.
He gently sighed and slowly walked out from under the curtain Eunuch Yao had pulled up. Exiting the carriage and seeing the familiar but unfamiliar Palace, his expression immediately became calm and severe. There was no longer a trace of the gloominess when he was alone in the carriage. Every eyebrow and every glance imparted his strength and power.
…
…
The empress dowager was wearing plain white clothing and lying on the warm and soft phoenix bed. The lines on her face were deep, as if she had also been greeted with too much wind and rain like the Royal Palace and had been eroded to such a degree.
The Emperor said some things to the imperial physician kneeling in fear on the ground. He then sat down on the side of the bed, placing his slender fingers on the empress dowager’s wrist.
Fan Xian and the other two brothers waited patiently behind the screen, not daring to interrupt. Fan Xian felt slightly nervous. It could faintly be seen that the Emperor’s actions in taking a pulse were well practiced. It was clear that he had some medical learning.
However, he had more confidence in Sir Fei Jie’s medicine. Most importantly, that pill was not a poison. Regardless of whether it was a doctor from the Imperial Academy or any other wise doctor, they would not be able to find the true reason for the empress dowager’s gradually receding life force and would directly attribute it to her failing old body and the end of her lifespan.
The Emperor’s long finger had already left the empress dowager’s weak pulse. Lowering his head and thinking for a moment, a trace of helplessness flashed through his eyes. It seemed that this Great Grandmaster also knew that it was impossible to stall his mother’s leaving. His brows suddenly furrowed as his finger went out like the wind, landing between the empress dowager’s brows.
As his finger stretched out, the atmosphere in the entire Hanguang Palace changed. The cold and sinister autumn wind was dispersed by a copious and irresistible sunlight. A powerful and impressive atmosphere reached each person’s heart.
Fan Xian suddenly felt the atmosphere behind the screen. His heart shook as his fingers quickly began to tremble. Although this atmosphere was not familiar, it seemed as harmonious as family to the zhenqi in his body. However, it was a number of levels higher than his realm. Faintly, he realized that this was the entry to the realm that he had long searched for but could not find.
He abruptly raised his head and gazed at the thin screen in a daze. A sound in his heart was calling out to him that this was the second part of the scroll he had been practicing for 20 years but unable to move forward on.