Chapter 29 (1/2)
XXIX Choices
The atht
Xu Zheng is a quiethis personal sword, he bows to Heng Ziyu and ure disappears into the masses
Using the gloo as cover, twenty thousand elite soldiers leave discreetly They are going to set up a the path to the capital in hopes to stall the southern descent of the steel hooves of Yan, and in turn buyline of shaky torchlight snakes out the city like a red serpent disappearing into the dark night
The soldiers left to defend the city all hold their spears up, lower their heads and bow That is the hest respect in Great Rui—perfor
I hear a low sigh from beside me
Night comes but sleep does not come to me
I can hear the distant sound of the water clock I haven’t had any shuteye yet and aloomy hall After some time, I feel a sudden rush of frustration so I put on a robe and leave the bed Immediately, Liu An rushes over
“I a to the walls,” I tell him calmly
Liu An speaks quietly, “It will be daybreak soon, Your Majesty Why don’t–”
I leave before he could finish
The ht sky
The city gates have long been closed and only the night guards are patrolling along the walls The ca extra clear in the silence
I sigh and lie on a crenel, gazing at the pitch black sky
The capital is still the capital but in laone too far to reach
The prosperity and liveliness of Lake Yu and the bustling clamor in the s will remain when that day comes
And if I will make it out alive
I taste a bitter tang in anizing s
“Your Majesty?”
Startled, I whisk around to find Heng Ziyu standing behind ht It appears he hasn’t gotten any rest yet—his sword is still by his side He’s looking straight atattention to any etiquette
“You have not rested yet?” I ask casually
He replies with a serious expression, “Aren’t You here too, Your Majesty?”
“I could not find sleep so I thought I would take a stroll,” I say set some rest”
I’ve taken a few steps when I spot out of the corner ofbehind me and soon he catches up tostars in the black backdrop “It sure is quiet”
He looks up too before looking back into the distance ahead “It won’t be anys will be when the two sides clash”
I chuckle helplessly, “What else? Bloodshed, death, suffering, skeletons everywhere”
“Your Majesty” He turns to aze “Are You afraid?”
I let my smile fade and shakesouth of the Qihe River by now”
Our footsteps are slow and light, ainst the limestone
“It’s just that, well, I feel bad for dragging You into this”
I chuckle a little while looking doard He i? This is part of my duties as Your subject”
I turn away to the saht sky
I have to say that our relationshi+p seeone past the initial weak alliance and there see
“I could understand why You had sent duchess Yu Qing and the Eldest The other officials and royalty, however…” His question trails off
I look back at hi for my explanation
They all think I sent the duchess and the young son away for personal reasons but this h to see that I have an ulterior motive
He’s still watching htforward about it if You have already guessed it”
His expression changes as he speaks through clenched teeth “Could it be…a back-up plan?”
I drop the s, I do not knohat the future holds or whether I will live or die If I die, then they can declare Duke Yu Qing’s eldest e the Yan The natural barricades of the Qihe River are easy to defend and hard to attack The Yan are not adept at fighting in water and they have a fight of their own back home With that Great Rui will be able to live on in the South”
He opens his lips as if to speak but falters
“I would have lost the people’s faith if I had relocated in the beginning and fighting back would be even harder to accohed at by the world, how the Rui are just spineless fools Even if on, our sons and daughters would have to live with the ridicule and shame! Even if I had to die I would want to die nobly!”
So moves in his eyes; it looks like he’s touched
“You are betting against high stakes, Your Majesty”
“High stakes? Yes, I a back in the day? We are the same kind of people from that point”
He stays quiet and looks away into the distance
I do, too, and rest my hands on a crenel
“Do You still have family, Marshal?”
“I have always been away from home and have not married My parents have both passed away There’s only entle smile
“Ziyu, Zixiang—very good names,” I say with a se at this age now, Marshal”
“My sister always says that she et married My parents doted on her a lot and made her quite bossy and often stubborn”
I can’t help reht abouta princess off to You when the war ends for the immeasurable contribution You have made to the country”
“Is that really true, Your Majesty?” He freezes and drops his smile
“Taking a princess’ hand in e is fit for Your contributions” I squint as a fewrays peek over the horizons in the east “However, all the princesses still in the palace now have a temper, too I am afraid You would be the one to suffer”
I can’t help but smile and shake my head Between a royal-born princess and his beloved little sister—I don’t think even a champion warrior like hi to deal with familial affairs like these
“Your Majesty,” he asks quietly after a silence “I should not be asking this but, well, why have You not named an empress or consort yet?”
My sto tone “Thank You for the concern, but no one knohat is going to happen I cannot just leave thes should be between two people in love” I look down and pause “And I don’t think I can ever…”
I ain in this life…”
The rays grow brighter and brighter, staining the east pale white The dark plains turn into a rich green colour under its radiance, extending to the horizons as though boundless
What a beautiful realm
The two of us do not exchange any azes off over the vast stretch of flatland The clouds churn like the ocean and the sunlight bursts through, shooting over the battlements towards the wispy clouds on the other end of the sky
In the secret cha me a thin piece of paper with his head lowered Liu An takes it and passes it to me Calmly, I open and read it
I have to admit, the Wraiths are quite efficient They arrived at the Yan capital in the shortest aot in touch with all sorts of parties, including the previously existing ones Not only have they gotten in contact with people working for the two princes, they even obtained information from the inner palace
I re Yuto their information, it seems the emperor’s illness has worsened and he even fainted several tiuards to the second prince, and the troops stationed in the capital to the third prince
While the emperor is too sick to oversee the country and the prince royal is out at war, the maternal branches have started to act up The left minister has tried his best to suppress the involved in all areas and it has just become a mess
The empress may be the emperor’s wife but she doesn’t have his affection The emperor has always preferred the prince royal He had been disappointed by the second and third prince’s disregard towards his generosity The eht et the second prince the throne
Ahest hopes to ascend the throne He was born to the eh uards and plots to usurp the throne
The prince royal has no support from his mother, only the support of the left er Xiao’s clan The ereed and prohter and the prince royal The left hout the court Once the prince royal takes his daughter as wife, it means he will be under the protection of the Xiao clan No one would dare easily disregard the power of the Xiao clan
I hold the paper above the candle and the flames leap up to devour the words Bits of ashes flutter around
As I gaze at the dark yellow flames, the past flashes before my eyes and makes my heart ache
After a long silence, I ask in a raspy voice “Have you seen the princes themselves?”
The Wraith shakes his head “In reply to Your Majesty, no, but we have met with their people”
“What is the situation?”
He hesitates for ato the report, they were interested in our offer but did not express any wish to cooperate The second prince even said he would only consider it if Your Majesty personally wrote to him”
I scoff silently to myself I doubt it’s just a written letter he wants I’m afraid I have to stamp my imperial seal too
“They even said that whether they will or not depends on Your sincerity” He presses lower to the floor after seeing my expression
Sincerity, huh It’s none other than giving him what he wants As a mortal, desires never stray far from fame, profit, power, authority, wealth and sex A few more back-and-forths with him and I’ll know exactly what he desires
I wave my hand “I understand You may retire for now”
He leaves with his back bent and Liu An follows him out I feel exhausted all of a sudden so I collapse on a co and let my mind wander
If they say so, that means I have a chance to reach an alliance with the the Yan army’s backyard on fire, then they surely won’t have the pleasure of entertaining the frontiers; if Great Yan falls into an unstable state, or even the emperor passes away, the left minister would not allow the prince royal to be away from the capital He would definitely order a retreat Even if it’s not the entire army, the prince would need to return at the least
I’h stakes and so are they
It’s just that I’ their future welfare
The only similarity is that we are all past the point of no return
One carelessstep and what awaits us is a bottomless pit
I sigh softly and close my eyes
I don’t have a second choice
I spring up like a fish out of water I lay out sorind the ink, pinch the brush tip and start writing
“Frohness, the Second Prince of Yan…”
I start chortling as I write Thank goodness no one knows, or else those old farts would get caught up on the way of addressing Those old farts love wasting time on these useless matters
Na is fine as long as I can keep my country safe
I don’t kno long it has been when I have finished I shake out ht daes I remember back when I would rack e done when Master Liao used to uess people just perform better under pressure
With my head propped on my hand, I carefully read over the letter and after much consideration, take out the jade seal and stan sinks into the paper with a thud
Having received the Mandate of Heaven, He shall live eternally and abundantly
Dynasty of Great Rui
Seeing these words, I laugh out bitterly