More than half a month later.
Time, like a horse passing between windows, swiftly arrived at late midwinter. This year’s heavy snow arrived exceptionally late. The damp and cold weather persisted for half the winter, and the snow only began to fall in the early morning before dawn. At first, it was just a light snow, but by the time several officials arrived at the palace in their carriages, the snow had grown heavier. The snow on the umbrellas melted into water, dripping and soaking the ground, dirtying their shoes.
Inside the hall, everyone looked like quails with their heads tucked in. The sudden warmth from the brazier made them shiver.
It was too cold.
Xie Subai sat high in the main hall, his eyes lowered as he reviewed memorials. He leaned slightly to the side, resting most of his weight on the armrest. This posture made him look somewhat lazy, adding to his otherworldly aura, but the imposing dragon robe he wore made him appear even more intimidating.
Since ascending the throne three months ago, the new emperor had been vigorously enforcing new laws and reforming the court with a firm hand, making decisions unilaterally. However, his gentle and polite demeanor often led the cabinet to believe that he was still the same person who allowed them to participate in decision-making.
They once thought that without the interference of the eunuch faction, they could fully spread their wings. Who would have thought that the new emperor would make them complete subordinates?
Because the new emperor had opinions on everything.
Yesterday at the morning court, Xie Subai ordered a reinvestigation of the Shen family case, which half of the cabinet opposed.
The rest of the courtiers chose to observe.
Now, they had come to the warm pavilion for this matter.
The ascension of the eldest grandson required the ministers’ kowtowing, but the old case of the Eastern Palace still remained a stain on him. Given the current situation, everyone wisely chose to forget about it; no one dared to bring it up and provoke the new emperor.
But not mentioning it didn’t mean everyone could pretend it never happened.
The new emperor’s intention to reinvestigate the Shen family case meant he intended to clear the Eastern Palace’s name.
Attitudes towards Prince Huaijin in the court were already divided into two extremes; those who believed in him believed firmly, and those who didn’t were resolute in their disbelief.
To these people, Xie Subai’s move was seen as using power to whitewash the Eastern Palace. How could they tolerate this?
Allowing a traitor’s son to ascend to the throne was already a huge concession. Now, he was attempting to overturn the truth — this was unacceptable!
This was why the Eastern Palace case was difficult to investigate. Even the three judicial offices close to the Crown Prince’s faction had to investigate in secret.
The elderly Grand Secretary Huang stroked his beard and said, “Your Majesty, investigating the Shen family case may be inappropriate. The Shen family hoarded private soldiers for the Crown Prince back then. To expand their private army, they even forged household registers and forcibly recruited commoners. How is this different from the current Duke of Zhen’s estate? It’s only been ten years, and the suffering of the people is still fresh in their memories. Wouldn’t your action chill the hearts of the people?”
Xie Subai gently closed the book and said, “Was the massacre of the entire Shen family ordered by Emperor Xianzhen?”
Grand Secretary Huang paused, “Though the late emperor did not order it —”
Xie Subai calmly interrupted, saying, “The late emperor ordered the confiscation and detention, but the Shen family refused to comply. The Eastern Depot executed them on the spot, which was an overreach. Now, I am thoroughly investigating the Eastern Depot to account for its past actions. What’s wrong with that? Are you speaking on behalf of the Jinyiwei, Grand Secretary?”
“You—” Grand Secretary Huang glared, feeling this was unreasonable and nonsensical!
Another cabinet minister supported, “Grand Secretary Huang is merely concerned for Your Majesty. Delving into old cases right after ascending the throne may invite criticism, which is indeed… unwise.”
Xie Subai smiled gently, “I appreciate Grand Secretary’s thoughtful concerns, but as the Emperor, I must govern boldly and not shy away from matters. To do otherwise would damage the dignity of the imperial family, wouldn’t it?”
The dignity of the imperial family—any further words would now be accused of damaging it!
Those who wanted to speak and those who didn’t all fell silent. The ministers opposing him turned pale with anger. Xie Subai always had a way of effortlessly shutting them down, yet he maintained a calm and agreeable demeanor, which was infuriating!
A cabinet minister twitched his mouth and said, “If we are to deal with the Eastern Depot, shouldn’t we also handle the Embroidered Uniform Guard? They are essentially the same entity. How can we deal with one and not the other? Huo Xian, that villain, has committed numerous crimes. Now that he has been captured, when will he be executed?”
Someone in the corner suddenly exclaimed, “I recall that Huo Xian was once the companion reader of the eldest grandson, wasn’t he? Perhaps the Emperor is too kind-hearted to carry out the sentence.”
The disappearance of Huo Xian had not been announced. Having already lost Zhao Yong, if they found out Huo Xian was also gone, it would surely cause an uproar.
These people still believed Huo Xian was languishing in prison.
Xie Subai said indifferently, “Executing him swiftly would be satisfying, but we cannot let those behind him go unpunished. Minister Lin, I must trouble you to handle this.”
The Vice Minister of Justice cursed inwardly. Initially, he thought this purge would be a straightforward big operation, but it turned out to be an arduous task!
All the prisoners were in the Ministry of Justice’s prison. If anything went wrong, he would be the one to answer for it! He had always been a loyal supporter of the Crown Prince’s faction, but the new emperor’s methods were troublesome, dragging him into every mess.
Sure enough, the next moment, Xie Subai started coughing, his already pale complexion turning paper-white.
Wu Sheng smiled and said, “The Emperor has many affairs to attend to and has caught a cold. If there are no other matters, you may all leave. The snow has stopped, making the roads easier to travel.”
The officials had no choice but to disperse.
After everyone left, Wu Sheng quickly handed over tea and took Xie Subai’s handkerchief. He saw a spot of blood on it.
His heart trembled.
The Vice Minister of Justice might think the new emperor was avoiding trouble, but he didn’t know that the emperor’s health was worse than he claimed.
Wu Sheng was about to refill the tea when Xie Subai stopped him, pulling up the blanket. He asked, “Has Shen Qingli arrived?”
Wu Sheng glanced at the young eunuch by the door, who nodded. Wu Sheng then replied, “Yes, he’s in the side hall.”
–
Shen Qingli pushed aside Xie Subai’s chessboard and spread a large map over the table, then laid a dirty piece of cloth in the corner. The cloth had blood-drawn horizontal and vertical lines, resembling a maze at first glance.
It was Huo Xian’s blood.
Ji Yuluo frowned as she looked at the cloth and asked, “Where did he send this from?”
Shen Qingli paused and gestured for her to look out the window. Ji Yuluo raised her head and saw a giant falcon circling the sky, then swooping straight toward the window. Its large wings created a gust of wind that blew Ji Yuluo’s hair up as they folded.
Ji Yuluo was taken aback. “This isn’t mine…”
Falcons recognize their master and not just anyone can use them to send messages. Ji Yuluo hadn’t used it for a long time, leaving it to be taken care of by Chaolu near the kitchen. How could it have changed its allegiance?
She quickly looked at Chaolu.
Chaolu scratched her head, also puzzled.
“When Miss wasn’t visiting it, Huo Xian would often go to the kitchen and feed it meat paste.”
After a while, the falcon seemed to grow distant from them.
And then, too many things happened, and they didn’t have the time to care for it, so they let it fly off on its own occasionally.
Ji Yuluo didn’t say anything, but when she came to her senses, she said, “The falcon is large. He wouldn’t use it to send messages unless absolutely necessary, unless he couldn’t leave marks along the way. Zhao Yong and others still didn’t fully trust him and kept monitoring him, and—”
Her gaze fell on the cloth.
Shen Qingli said, “And he didn’t directly tell us the location. Perhaps he doesn’t know where he is either; Zhao Yong must have blindfolded him.”
But the biggest problem now was that the routes on the cloth only pointed in a direction without specifying how many miles to travel in each direction, leading to multiple potential locations.
Shen Qingli said, “Zhao Yong and his men travel by carriage and can’t use the canals, so they have to take the nearest small roads. I compared this route and it’s likely in the southern region of Shu. Could they have returned to Yunyang?”
“No,” Ao Zhi said, pushing Xie Subai into the room. Xie Subai glanced briefly at Ji Yuluo and calmly said, “Huo Xian revealed Yunyang’s details to Marquis Xuanping when Xiao Cheng deployed his troops. The Ministry of Justice had already cleared out Yunyang. While it might have been one of their largest strongholds, it wasn’t necessarily their main base. Xiao Cheng wouldn’t be so foolish as to put all his eggs in one basket.”
Ji Yuluo suddenly looked up. “Zhong Min’er.”
The “external residence” that connected with Xiao Yuanjing. They initially learned about Yunyang’s hidden troops from her husband. The army in Yunyang needed supplies, and so would those hiding in their main base. After this was exposed, Xiao Cheng would have withdrawn the courier bureau supplying the army, and those people wouldn’t have been left alive. But—
Nanyue also suddenly looked up. The falcon being fed so much that it nearly chose a new master was one thing, but Nanyue had been with Ji Yuluo long enough to understand her intentions with just a glance. He immediately stood up and said, “The person is still in the Imperial Prison. I’ll have Liyang bring them out right away.”
—
As the sun set behind the western hills, Huo Xian stood on the high ground.
In the harsh winter, flowers and plants had withered, and the mountains and forests were bare. From this vantage point, one could overlook the entire training ground hidden within the mountains.
The soldiers wielded their weapons with precision, their shouts echoing through the air. This was a well-trained army, numbering about six thousand. Accumulating private soldiers is like a snowball, growing larger as it rolls.
They hid these six thousand men in their stronghold, like “Green Mountain.” When the time was right and the trees were lush, they could ignite a blazing fire.
Just like another Yunyang.
No wonder Xiao Cheng could sever ties without hesitation to ensure survival; he had the chance to start anew.
Huo Xian looked up at the endless sky, where the falcon was no longer in sight. The map’s lines were too vague. If Xie Subai and his team couldn’t find him…
Once Xiao Cheng’s forces developed, staying here would become increasingly dangerous. Xiao Yuanjing was a ticking time bomb; Huo Xian could be dead before Xie Subai’s people arrived.
And here, he had no power to fight back.
So, he had to gamble on the possibility of fighting alone.
The young man chuckled softly, seemingly mocking the Duke of Zhenguo’s accomplishments. Xiao Cheng frowned and looked over. “What do you want to say?”
Huo Xian glanced at him and said, “By the time you fatten this army to attack the court, the imperial city would have already changed hands. Why go through so much trouble?”
Xiao Cheng detested Huo Xian’s taunting demeanor. Usually a calm person, he couldn’t remain composed seeing Huo Xian’s provocative look. Coldly, he said, “Speak your mind!”
Huo Xian, pretending to lower himself, finally spoke. “You have so many informants in the capital. Has no one told you that the new emperor won’t live long?”
He squinted at the imposing training ground and said, “Once the new emperor dies, the situation will become chaotic. The cabinet, full of scheming old foxes, would be eager to support Prince Ning. What is Xie Subai compared to him? Prince Ning will outlive him.”
Xiao Cheng thought he was joking. “What trick are you trying to pull?”
Huo Xian suddenly missed Mu Lei. If the impulsive strategist were still here, he would have already rallied the six thousand soldiers to attack Prince Ning’s mansion upon hearing this.
Unfortunately, Xiao Cheng was too cautious, a person who took two steps forward and one step back.
Huo Xian shrugged. “Believe it or not, you still have people in the Directorate of Ceremonial. Ask them, and you’ll know the truth. Why would I lie to you?”
Xie Subai’s illness was a well-kept secret, but given his condition, relying on medicine daily, anyone with a keen eye could find some clues.
Xiao Cheng said, “Zhao Yong always harbored his sufferings, which is why he was deceived by your act. I’m not him. Even if you help me today, I won’t use you if I ascend to the throne. You know this well, yet you still help me. What other motives do you have?”
“I do have other motives, and I haven’t hidden them from you. If you want to know, I’ll tell you.” Huo Xian looked at him. “When you ascend the throne and die, the new emperor will be Yuanting. You may not live long, but I will certainly outlive you. When that day comes, won’t I be second to none, above all others?”
“You!” Xiao Cheng was angered once more, sneering coldly. “You are just like your father. Your Huo family has been in the capital for many years, yet you never shed the demeanor of country bumpkins.”
