Apr. 23rd, 2024 at 12:05 AM
This is a fan translation posted to title-in-progress.dreamwidth.org. Support the author if you can.
During the first night at the Yunshui Mountain Villa, Lin Sui had a good night’s sleep.
It wasn’t only because he’d gotten to tease the puppy, Yan Qin’s reaction to discovering the truth about a few things had also really pleased him.
Besides, something he was really looking forward to seeing would soon happen inside this mountain villa.
On the third day of the winter retreat, the Emperor suddenly fell into a coma.
Consort Yue had been accompanying him at the time, and when Lin Sui rushed over, her face was pale with fright.
Consort Yue was also a palace veteran, her lack of children was a large reason for her undiminished favour, as well as the fact that her father was the Emperor’s confidant.
If something were to happen to the Emperor here when she happened to be the only one by the Emperor’s side, then even if she didn’t die, she would pay dearly for it once she got back to the harem and had to face the Imperial Noble Consort and the rest of the women.
The Imperial Physician that accompanied them arrived soon after. After diagnosing him, he wrote out a prescription and spoke vaguely: “His Majesty has been hard at work with Imperial matters, and the added chill that entered his body in the recent days made him pass out. This humble servant will perform some acupuncture and then apply more medicine patches, and he should be alright.”
Consort Yue felt that something was odd about the Imperial Physician’s expression. Since she was currently the accompanying consort with the highest position, she ordered for the rest of the people to leave so they would not interrupt the Imperial Physician’s treatment.
Lin Sui would naturally not leave, and King Qing was not planning on going away either. Yan Qin had been following behind Lin Sui all this time like a shadow, so if Lin Sui didn’t leave, he wouldn’t leave either.
“Physician Liu, be honest, why did Imperial Father suddenly lose consciousness?”
Lin Sui’s eyes fell on the Imperial Physician, his expression unfathomable.
Lin Sui was, of course, well aware of the real reason. He’d had Zhong Zhuo give the Emperor some incense to liven things up a bit, but that had been no ordinary incense. It would only react adversely to the medicine the Emperor had been taking for a while now, and it would have no effect on any other person.
The Emperor played around too much. On the first day he bathed with several consorts, and yesterday he’d been entwined with a few pretty young women Zhong Zhuo had presented to him. Who wouldn’t faint from such arduous work?
Though the Emperor seemed without issues now, his body had long since been hollowed out by drugs and the slow-acting poison that Concubine Yu had given him. He only seemed to be thriving on the outside, but on the inside he was already a hollow, worm-eaten tree.
All it took now was a well-timed kick from someone, and that tree would come crashing down to the ground.
“His Majesty, he…”
King Qing frowned as he asked: “Physician Liu, why do you hesitate? If something seems to be wrong with Imperial Father, this King will hold you accountable!”
King Qing rarely spoke so harshly, he was probably the one who feared the Emperor’s death the most, seeing as if he were to die without the Crown Prince being deposed then it reasoned that the Crown Prince would ascend the throne. If King Qing were to vie for the throne when that happened, it would certainly be considered treason.
“There truly is no issue with His Majesty’s body, he has just been bedding too many people lately, therefore…”
Physician Liu forced out the words reluctantly, after all, the actual reason the Son of Heaven fainted was much too shameful to say.
Everyone in the room fell silent in an instant. Yan Qin maintained a naïve look on his face, but inwardly he had already strung everything together.
Zhong Zhuo was one of the Crown Prince’s men, and so everything before him became clear.
As for his Imperial Father’s condition, Yan Qin wasn’t concerned at all. On the contrary, he agreed with Lin Sui in that the sooner the Emperor passed away, the better.
Yan Qin had long since stopped wanting to seize power and ascend the Imperial throne, he wasn’t interested in the position at all. He didn’t want to become Lin Sui’s enemy, he only wanted to become his most beloved person.
Inwardly, King Qing let out a breath. Still, he was very resentful of the Emperor’s past two years of increasingly lascivious behaviour and increasing favour towards those crafty people.
However, he couldn’t do anything regardless of how resentful he felt, all he could do now was wait. Moreover, he still had to deal with the Imperial Noble Consort Zhou Xuan, that mother of his was too vicious, she was even thinking of disposing of his own birth mother.
King Qing grew up under the Imperial Noble Consort’s strict teachings, so he was very dependent on his birth mother’s tender love and care.
But it wasn’t just the separation and dread, King Qing was also worried that, when the Imperial Noble Consort became Empress, she would use her power to control his actions. This was why nowadays he not only had his hands full fighting against both the Governor of State affairs and Consort De, he was also inwardly guarding against his own people.
As a result, when he looked at the departing Crown Prince, he couldn’t help but admire and envy him somewhat. If he’d been the Crown Prince, would he have gone to the trouble of getting caught up in this predicament?
The world was so unfair, going so far as letting idiots have such good lots in life.
Yan Qin turned his head as he felt a scrutinising gaze. He was met with the look in King Qing’s eyes, then turned his head back around in disdain.
His big brother A-Sui was outstanding in both talent and appearance, and exceedingly resourceful. How could the common folk even begin to compare to him?
He asked sweetly and naïvely: “Big brother Crown Prince, what does bedding someone mean?”
“Is it when two people sleep together? In that case, I also want to bed you!”
He didn’t disguise his excitement, using plain and simple words to express his thirst and eagerness.
Lin Sui swept his eyes over him, wasn’t he getting a little too used to playing this trick?
He looked at Yan Qin with not quite a smile: “Who said bedding someone was just about two people sleeping together? If you like, this One can bestow you a few more for that, seeing as you’ve already come of age.”
As he said this, he suddenly thought back to the matter he’d heard regarding that Senior’s cultivation.
Since he encountered a bottleneck while cultivating, his inner demons were forcefully expelled and his soul was split into two halves, almost leading to his eternal resting place.
Fortunately Yan Qin wouldn’t make that kind of mistake here, he was already in the dangerous situation of having his soul fragmented, so it would be very difficult to split it more.
“But I only want to sleep with Big brother Crown Prince.”
Yan Qin mumbled in a small voice as he pulled Lin Sui’s sleeve, but didn’t bring the topic up again.
He was worried Lin Sui would start thinking of other things, after all, Lin Sui was already eighteen, and he could have had a concubine long ago.
The only strange thing was that he didn’t have anyone by his side save for Fu Shu and that eunuch called Liu Zhonghai.
Yan Qin suddenly became guarded, looking strangely at Liu Zhonghai when he returned.
Liu Zhonghai was inwardly apprehensive, but didn’t give it much thought.
After the Emperor woke up, he was embarrassed and angry about the reason he lost consciousness. Naturally, he didn’t believe that it was his issue, but that it was an issue with someone else.
Before Zhong Zhuo could face his wrath, he quickly began flattering him, saying empty words which boiled down to the Emperor being so busy looking after the country he couldn’t stop worrying about it or his people even after taking a break for winter, which lead to him exhausting himself.
Zhong Zhuo also brought up an instance concerning an official privately occupying some farmland and getting additional taxes, specifically mentioning that the official might very probably have ties with the Crown Prince.
The Emperor’s wrath was successfully shifted and he managed to save face, leaving him feeling confident. Plus he might even have managed to cause trouble for the Governor of State Affairs, killing two birds with one stone, so he immediately ordered Zhong Zhuo to go investigate the matter.
The matter Zhong Zhuo talked about really hadn’t been made up, in addition that official was actually one of the close core members of the Crown Prince’s faction.
This affair was, of course, incited by Lin Sui. He didn’t want to cut off his own wings, but he didn’t need any duplicitous people to show up and obstruct his power.
The Governor of State Affairs wouldn’t touch this person, he naturally could handle this with the help of others.
The group stayed in Yunshui Mountain Village for half a month, then set out back to the palace.
Lin Sui specifically instructed Concubine Yu to not bother the Emperor after getting back, for now she would play the part of a gentle and sweet person, rather than walk the path of a shrewd concubine.
After returning, the Emperor had to take some time to recover, after all, his health was quickly deteriorating.
As he expected, the Emperor was quite diligent with his work after returning. He stayed inside the Imperial Study and didn’t go into the harem, only occasionally having meals with his concubines or taking a look at his children.
Lin Sui, for his part, was waiting. He had already made his opening move, everything could fall in place at any given time, but he was still waiting for the good news.
He wasn’t planning on making a move until Yan Qin came of age, but that would take too long, and he couldn’t wait until next September.
According to the timeline of the original book, Yan Qin would “recover” his mind at next year’s Autumn hunt, unfortunately it seemed like the Emperor’s body wouldn’t last until next Autumn hunt.
Lin Sui turned the falcon whistle over in his hands, smiling.
That December was bitterly cold.
A charcoal fire burned inside the palace pavilion, making it feel as warm as spring.
Yan Qin sat next to Lin Sui, watching as Lin Sui and Zhou Yunfang played chess.
Actually, a person’s style of playing chess was more or less a reflection of their character.
Zhou Yunfang played chess very steadily, meticulously advancing and consolidating his position with every step, whereas Lin Sui seemed to have no structure, but he had a particularly oppressive power which made people realise they’d fallen into a trap only after the fact, then they were snuffed out.
“This minster has lost again, You Highness’ chess skills are excellent, this minister can hardly compete.”
Zhou Yunfang looked at his own pieces, already having been robbed of any opportunity, and accepted defeat.
This master’s style of playing chess was particularly crafty, one would be left terrified if they carefully examined his behaviour and strategies.
However, Zhou Yunfang didn’t need to go into the details of it, as far as he was concerned, as a subordinate he was following a particularly formidable master, which guaranteed his safety.
“You’re also not bad. How’s Old General Mao doing, has his health been good recently?”
Zhou Yunfang nodded. The superior of the marching troops where he was stationed was General Mao, who was the second son of Old General Mao.
Lin Sui played with the smooth chess piece between his fingers, asking with a faint smile: “And Miss Mao?”
Zhou Yunfang blushed slightly, stammering: “This minister doesn’t know about Young Lady Mao’s affairs.”
Lin Sui didn’t tease him again, only feeling like destiny was truly an indecipherable thing.
Since the last time Young Lady Mao left the rear palace, Old General Mao had privately gone to express his thanks.
Although Mao Guqing was the daughter of a general, she did not like wielding neither swords nor spears, she was the pampered eldest daughter of her house.
Last time, he had made Zhou Yunfang escort Mao Guqing out of the Eastern Palace, and the two of them had connected.
Mao Guqing’s impression of Zhou Yunfang had probably been very good, and Old General Mao had paid him special attention since.
In the original book, Mao Guqing was also Zhou Yunfang’s wife, but the matter had not been as smooth as it was this time.
Zhou Yunfang experienced many ups and downs, after he was exiled for plotting a rebellion, he was brought back to the capital by Yan Qin and became his valiant general. At that time, Old General Mao had already passed away, and the Mao family was going through hardships. Mao Guqing struggled to support her family, and on top of that had to deal with a violent leech of a husband.
When Mao Guqing was bullied, Zhou Yunfang took chivalrous action, and even helped out her older male cousin who was going through a hard time. Encouraged, Mao Guqing wrote a letter of divorce and of accusation, driving her former husband out of the house and turning him over to the authorities.
The two people that had experienced all the hardships of life walked together in the end, living happily ever after.
Covered in a blanket of snow from outside, Liu Zhonghai appeared to free Zhou Yunfang from the embarrassing situation he found himself in, and he quickly gave him a cup of tea.
Liu Zhonghai was flattered, thanking him, but didn’t pay attention to the tea, saluting Lin Sui and reporting the good news instead.
“Your Highness, Concubine Yu is around two months pregnant.”
Lin Sui put down his tea, arching his brows in a cheerful look and saying: “Have her notify the Emperor. It’s almost the end of the year, why not have a joyful occasion in the palace?”
“This slave will go at once.”
“Have her be careful, we don’t want anything going wrong.”
“Yes.”
Liu Zhonghai bowed, taking his leave, but was stopped by Lin Sui.
“Drink your tea before leaving.”
Lin Sui’s expression was gentle. He was in a pretty good mood now, and didn’t hesitate in being attentive towards his subordinates.
Off to the side, Yan Qin looked at Liu Zhonghai warily, jealously thinking, could it be that big brother Crown Prince really likes this one?
Liu Zhonghai shuddered unexplainably, thinking that perhaps the wind outside was too strong.
Naturally, this game was not over, so Zhou Yunfang looked at Lin Sui, waiting for his next order.
Actually, he didn’t really understand why his Master had insisted on waiting until Concubine Yu was pregnant to make his move, since the next Son of Heaven after his Master ascended the throne ought to be his child.
But he couldn’t think too much into it. Thinking too much would lead him to realise that his Master didn’t currently have anyone by his side, and that was part of his Master’s private affairs, which he, as a subordinate, had no business thinking about.
Zhou Yunfang had the mind of a soldier, he didn’t think too much about anything except fighting, and so did whatever his Master told him to.
Yan Qin also didn’t understand why Lin Sui had planned for Concubine Yu to become pregnant, he had a faint guess in his heart, but feared it would come to nothing, so he didn’t think about it too much.
“Speak to grandfather after you leave the palace, tell him he can begin preparing.”
“Yes!”
Lin Sui looked down at the undisturbed chess board. The black pieces had been surrounded by the white pieces with only one move left, and now, only two steps away from that move, the white pieces had long since been waiting for their moment.
Therefore, Zhou Yunfang had looked at his still-standing black pieces and plainly admitted defeat.
“Where do you think this black piece can go?”
Lin Sui propped his chin up on his hand and turned to look at Yan Qin, interest written clearly over his face.
Yan Qin knew Lin Sui wasn’t testing him, but rather was sharing his joy in the face of victory.
From his position, he could actually only see one corner of the chessboard, in much the same way that he couldn’t clearly see all of Lin Sui’s plan.
“I think it can only go here.”
Yan Qin pretended not to understand, grabbed the chess piece, and made the only move he could, though regardless of whether or not the white piece made a move, his path was already blocked.
“Not bad, this is the only way he can go, unless the board gets overturned. Otherwise, he can only move towards a dead end.”
“An opponent of mine can only ever meet such an end.”
Lin Sui flung the white piece forward, and it landed on top of the empty white space.
The game was set with a flick of his wrist.
Outside the pavilion, the white snow was vast and boundless. The young heir to the throne leaned back languidly in a proud display.
That lofty display of leisure was like that of a god wielding the power of life and death.
Yan Qin stared at him in a daze, filled with a hidden infatuation.
He knew that he also had to change.
Admittedly, he could get close to Lin Sui for a time staying by his side with this pretence, but that wasn’t his long-term plan.
A person who pursued power would only ever look forward, and only the strong would be enough to catch his eye and provoke his desire to conquer.
The news that Concubine Yu was with child truly made the Emperor happy for quite a while, and since Concubine Yu had already lost a child, he cared about this one even more.
Everyone inside the palace felt differently about it. The concubines below her envied Concubine Yu’s luck and were jealous of how she was favoured, contrasted with the Imperial Noble Consort and Consort De who didn’t particularly care.
Unless Concubine Yu’s child could turn twenty years old overnight, this pregnancy was of no concern to them.
This year’s Spring Festival was quite lively. Lin Sui stood among the lights, his lip curling upwards.
The bustling Lantern Festival was on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.
The Emperor spent the night at the Imperial Noble Consort’s place. Just as the Imperial Noble Consort had taken off her clothes in preparation for being intimate with the Emperor, the Emperor spat out a mouthful of blood, spraying it over her face.
After that, the Emperor couldn’t stop coughing up blood, and the Imperial Noble Consort hurried to call the Imperial Physician. Not long after, the news that the Emperor was coughing up blood spread throughout the entire Imperial Palace, even reaching the outside.
Lin Sui was already dressed neatly, he walked out leisurely and put on a false mask of concern before going into the room, then hurried inside.
The scene was chaotic for a while as the Imperial Noble Concubine wiped the blood off her face and urged the Imperial Physician to save the Emperor.
The Imperial Noble Consort and Consort De were torn with anxiety, hoping that the Emperor would quickly open his eyes or say something, but the Emperor could only twitch and cough up blood from time to time with his eyes still closed, his face turning more and more pale.
Physicians from the Imperial Hospital provided care with sweat soaking their foreheads, but the Emperor was deteriorating much faster than they had imagined. When the sky turned bright, a physician felt his pulse, let out a deep breath, and knelt on the ground with an ashen complexion.
“His Majesty… has passed.”
The Imperial Noble consort drew in a breath, teetering on the verge of collapse.
Concubine De looked equally as pale, and she fell on a chair as her strength left her.
They both looked towards the Crown Prince whose expression was completely flat. Since they had reached this point, there was no need to hide any more.
“It was you, wasn’t it?! You actually…”
“What is Madame Imperial Noble Consort saying? Imperial Father passed from a sudden illness in your palace, and yet this One isn’t accusing it of being your doing.”
Lin Sui spoke unhurriedly, then turned to look at the dazed Consort Yue.
“What is Consort Yue thinking about? Could it be that edict of disinheritance?”
The Emperor had actually written an edict of disinheritance a long time ago to give himself a way out, he was naturally a paranoid man who didn’t even fully trust the Senior Court Eunuch at his side, and so he had put his edict away inside the harem.
He had neither given it to the Imperial Noble Consort nor to Consort De, but rather had given it to Consort Yue, who’d been by his side for many years.
The crowd slowly turned to look at Consort Yue, and she became frightened.
No one should have known about this except for His Majesty and herself, so how did the Crown Prince come to know about it?
Furthermore, since the Crown Prince had brought it up, it meant that he already had a certainty.
Consort Yue opened her mouth and spoke, teeth chattering somewhat: “This One doesn’t understand what the Crown Prince is talking about.”
Even if she wanted to hide it, her reaction just now had given everyone an answer.
The Imperial Noble Consort looked at Lin Sui in disbelief, then slammed her fist onto the table.
King Qing still didn’t dare to believe what was happening as he stared at Lin Sui, he could only think that the scene in front of him was all extremely ridiculous.
How could this… how could such an earth-shattering change happen all of a sudden?
Not to mention the Seventh and Eight Princes who were only fifteen years old, they hadn’t even begun taking part in the Court’s affairs, so their expressions were even more bewildered.
“Sir Zhong, Sir Xue, are you hearing this?!”
King Qing immediately looked towards those of the Emperor’s inner circle standing inside the room. Aside from Zhong Zhuo and Xue Dingchun, there was also the Governor of State affairs and three Imperial Officers.
Zhong Zhuo looked distressed: “Before His Majesty ascended to the heavens, didn’t many ministers praise His Highness the Crown Prince?”
Xue Dingchun’s expression was complicated. Now that the situation was clear, he let out a long sigh, kowtowed towards the dead Emperor on the bed, and didn’t say a word.
With the Imperial Noble Consort’s many years of blood, sweat and tears gone to waste, she couldn’t contain her rage: “What a bunch of nonsense, you craven and cowardly man. You’ve been working against him for so long, do you really think it will end well for you?”
At this moment they still didn’t understand that Zhong Zhuo was one of the Crown Prince’s men, and so thought that this fawning was simply a means to survive and win the favour of the future ruler in advance.
Then, a voice rang out inside the room in an affected sobbing tone.
“Imperial Father is dead, what are we going to do? Don’t adults say that the country can’t survive even a day without a ruler?”
“Your Highness, please ascend the throne as soon as possible and take over the Imperial Court. The Fifth Prince is right, the country cannot go a day without an Emperor.”
The Governor of State Affairs knelt towards Lin Sui, quickly followed by Zhong Zhuo, then the two Imperial Officers from the Crown Prince’s faction hastily knelt as well.
The remaining Imperial Officer and Xue Dingchun looked at each other in dismay for a second, then helplessly knelt down.
Unless Consort Yue could bring out that edict of disinheritance, the outcome was already set.
Consort Yue returned to her palace without caring about anything else, but when she saw that unfurled yellow scroll with not a single word written on it, she burst into bitter tears.
Not a single person in the whole Imperial Court slept peacefully that Lantern Festival night.
When Pei Xinian heard news from the palace that the Emperor had died, he let out a deep sigh.
After all was said and done, Yan Qin hadn’t been lucky this time. He hadn’t even “recovered” his mind and yet the end had already come.
It would be better to continue pretending at this point, if this were to be exposed, then it would just become a thorn in the Crown Prince’s side.
Pe Xinian had such a plan, completely unaware that his grandson was already planning on taking off his disguise at any time.
A great change happened overnight, and the Imperial Palace had a new master.
The next morning at court, Lin Sui succeeded the deceased and, with acting Imperial power, began observing his filial mourning.
He methodically arranged the matters of the burial, the posthumous recognition, and the sacrifices to Heaven at the Imperial Temple. Then, after mourning his father for twenty-seven days, held the ceremony of ascension.
After Lin Sui ascended the throne, the era name was changed to “Yuan Qing”.
At court, those part of the former Crown Prince’s faction, now the Emperor, were naturally overjoyed, but everyone else had objections.
The Governor of State Affairs first proposed that he balance the powers and slowly weed out the influence of the other factions, but Lin Sui didn’t care to do that. He didn’t become Emperor to have his hands tied at the throne.
When the new Emperor took office, he started three fires. Lin Sui burned King Qing’s faction with the first fire, Consort De’s faction with the second, and used the third to burn Zhong Zhuo.
Zhong Zhuo was still dreaming about being the Emperor’s favourite minister, but was awoken in the blink of an eye. It happened so quickly he didn’t even have time to react, and evidence of corruption was laid out before everyone’s eyes, leaving him no escape.
Lin Sui wasn’t worried about him trying to bite back, that kind of chess piece couldn’t bite even if he wanted to.
Lin Sui sent the woman who became Princess Noble Consort to the Imperial Tomb to pray for the Emperor; sent Concubine De to a Temple to listen to scripture; King Qing, the Seventh Prince, the Eighth Prince and the others were given titles and land, and divided throughout the land.
As for the Fifth Prince, the new Emperor took pity on his lack of intellect and gave him special permission to remain in the Imperial Palace.
His way of doing things was like thunder, irrefutable.
After taking office, he made reforms boldly and decisively. He strengthened centralised state power, abolished the Imperial Military, and set up a government cabinet, just like he was turning the Imperial Court into his own personal domain.
Court Councillors came to admonish him one after another, but Lin Sui revealed his ruthless nature.
“Disobedience means death.”
Sir Lin, the current Grand Scholar of the Palacial Pavilion, didn’t approve of this course of action, and Lin Sui’s glance fluttered towards him.
“Grandfather, being a benevolent monarch is hard, but being a tyrant is quite easy. We are not as useless as Our father, but must begin by relying on others.”
This was a strike, affection beget affection, and power beget power.
The ruler of the world would not care about the insignificant bugs trying in vain to move him.
Sir Lin still hid that secret in his heart, the secret that the ruler in front of him was not a legitimate ruler from the royal bloodline.
But the young Emperor in front of him didn’t care, he was full of mettle and frightened people with his imposing manner, he was filled with the power of the Heavens.
When he left the Imperial Study, Sir Lin’s body became a little stooped.
The steps in front of the throne room became stained with blood again and again, and the dissenting voices became fewer and fewer.
Of course, Lin Sui wouldn’t allow this dark cloud to continue shrouding the Imperial Court. The rewards that ought to be given were given, the punishments that were deserved were meted out, the vermin was plucked out by Lin Sui, but those that didn’t matter too much he left behind. He was happy to leave some space for flexibility.
No fish are found in clear water[1], and only with people around could one reap the benefits, so it couldn’t be done cleanly.
That year just happened to be one with Imperial Examinations. Lin Sui repealed a few unreasonable policies and issued many policies that were beneficial to both the country and the people, energetically urging the growth of talented people.
The Court Ministers all felt that this actually seemed to be pretty good, and Xue Dingchun in particular was clearly moved.
He originally thought that he would have been banished from court and sent away to serve a sentence, after all, he had impeached an official back when the Emperor was still Crown Prince, but the Emperor still put him in an important position, and furthermore he was very pleased with the Court’s environment and these new policies.
Xue Dingchun didn’t care about the change in power, he only wanted to improve the people’s lives, and so he would support whichever Emperor made things better for the common people, even if that Emperor was a little ruthless.
As for the common people, they didn’t care who the Emperor in the capital was at all, they only cared about whether their lives were good or not.
When the trees began to shed their leaves, the capital too entered into Autumn.
Inside the Imperial Study, Fu Shu hastily reported: “Your Majesty, His Fifth Highness hit his head, he’s fainted and hasn’t come to!”
The author has something to say:
Yan San: Let’s see, who’s coming of age?
Yan San: Oh, it turned out to be me!
This is a fan translation posted to title-in-progress.dreamwidth.org. Support the author if you can.
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