Chapter 408: A storm is coming, yet you’re still at ease (1/2)

Chapter 408: A storm is coming, yet you’re still at ease

Emperor Tianhui had originally planned for the Duke of Qin to remain in the disaster regions until ploughing season began. His intentions was to keep the man occupied with the troubles of the famine area, far away from the nexus of power in the capital city. But His Highness Duke of Qin managed to resolve the famine issue before spring ever came, so he had nothing to do beyond waiting for his summons back.

Under these circumstances, keeping the Duke of Qin in South Ning Prefecture would only allow him to establish a foundation there instead. He might even take complete control of South Ning Prefecture and its two large, neighboring regions. The three areas that had suffered famine this time were Tianning Country’s three most important regions. Their combined landmass made up half of Tianning’s central region and occupied a key position between the south and northern regions of the country. Most of Tianning’s population centers were located around these prefectures. If they fell under the Duke of Qin’s control, his power and influence would increase substantially.

How could Emperor Tianhui not panic at the possibility?

Right now, he was lying sick in bed. Careful thought had made him realize that sending the Duke of Qin to the south was a bad choice, but it was too late now. Emperor Tianhui sent Eunuch Liu to Jiangnan’s Plum Blossom Sea, where the poor man had been sitting in the guest hall for nearly half the day. Still, he hadn’t seen hair or hide of His Highness Duke of Qin and esteemed wangfei. Instead, it was Chu Xifeng who came out to meet him.

“Eunuch Liu, His Highness is in poor health and in no condition to meet with visitors. Please forgive me,” Chu Xifeng said politely.

Eunuch Liu couldn’t afford to accept such formality from the man, and quickly clasped his hands in front of his chest for a bow. “Guard Chu, you are overwhelming me with your favors. I don’t know whether His Highness has made any plans to return to the capital yet?”

“Eunuch Liu, His Highness has worked hard and is unsuited for long, arduous journeys at the moment. The doctor said to wait and see, so there’s really no set date at the moment,” Chu Xifeng replied helplessly.

Eunuch Liu knew that he was in a tight spot, but what else could he do except return and report the news to Emperor Tianhui? In his mind, dealing with Emperor Tianhui was far easier than with His Highness Duke of Qin. And thus, Eunuch Liu left with an ‘unconfirmed’ for the expected return of the Duke of Qin.

When Emperor Tianhui heard the news, he nearly leapt out of his sickbed. Even an idiot would know that the Duke of Qin was doing this on purpose. Instead of delaying his trip back, he’d flat out refused to give a date.

“Someone come, send out an imperial decree. Zhen refuses to believe that I can’t summon him back!” Emperor Tianhui was delirious with rage.

By his side, Noble Consort Xue, who had been nursing him, quickly held him back. “Your Majesty, please calm your anger. That mustn’t be done at all costs!”

Emperor Tianhui glared at her, causing Noble Consort Xue to quickly bow in return. “Your Majesty, the Duke of Qin currently has a stellar reputation in the central regions. What will the people think once news spreads of Your Majesty’s decree to summon him back?”

Emperor Tianhui grew even angrier at these words. “What will they think? What, will they want to revolt instead? Do they think that Long Feiye’s the one calling the shots for Tianning Country?”

“Your Majesty, please calm your anger! Chenqie never meant it that way. But those low class commoners have never been able to tell what’s good for them. Anyone who treats them well gets their favor, especially the peasants from South Ning and North Ning. I ask that Your Majesty thinks thrice to prevent falling into the Duke of Qin’s snares.”

Noble Consort Xue’s words finally reached Emperor Tianhui. He was shrewd enough to understand the intricate connections between such details, but had been too angry to think straight. After a long pause, Emperor Tianhui summoned Eunuch Liu anew. “Send out an imperial decree. The Duke of Qin has rendered great services by relieving the people in the disaster areas. He shall be handsomely rewarded once he returns to the capital! Let Gu Beiyue…” At this, Emperor Tianhui suddenly changed his mind. “Let Imperial Physician Huang go to treat the Duke of Qin with the best medicine available!”

If Emperor Tianhui wanted to win the people’s favor, treating the Duke of Qin well was his only option at the moment.

“Your Majesty, there are two Imperial Physician Huangs in the Imperial Physician Courtyard. Which one do you mean?” Eunuch Liu asked.

“Huang Gengchen,1 the one whose medical skills are only inferior to Gu Beiyue. Remember to tell him to help the Duke of Qin recover as fast as possible!” Emperor Tianhui emphasized, meaning to using Imperial Physician Huang to urge the Duke of Qin back.

How could the Duke of Qin keep pretending to be ill when an imperial physician was knocking on his door? Gu Beiyue stood vigil by the emperor’s sickbed as he walked Eunuch Liu leave, a smile playing upon his lips. When the empress dowager had tormented him until he was left convalescing at the Duke of Qin’s estate, this same Imperial Physician Huang had treated him in secret. Although Han Yunxi didn’t know the exact relationship between him and Imperial Physician Huang, she was quite friendly with this particular doctor.

Now that everything was over, Noble Consort Xue quickly lifted a bowl of medicine in her hands. “Your Majesty, please calm your anger. Your health is most important!” She was a young consort, not more than 20 years old. In the rankings of the four Noble Consorts in the palace, she was number three. Born from a concubine, she was the daughter of the imperial uncle’s estate and the empress’s half-sister, making her the empress dowager’s niece on her sister’s side. The imperial uncle’s estate might have fallen, but Empress Dowager Li was still around, so Noble Consort Xue hadn’t been much affected by their reverse in fortunes.

Of the four Noble Consorts in the palace, Noble Consort Xiao–mother to the second imperial son–had already fallen out of favor. Noble Consort Ning remained in her quarters without vying for anything, while Noble Consort Yun had been poisoned to death. Noble Consort Xue managed to fill in the blanks and earn the emperor’s favor. Moreover, with the empress dowager’s support from behind the scenes, she was currently the brightest star in the imperial harem.

Emperor Tianhui drank his medicine as he thumbed through memorials and petitions written to the throne. Suddenly, he noticed a booklet from the Ministry of Rites in regards to the West Chu princess and related marriage rites.

The West Chu princess was none other than Chu Qingge. Because she was representing Western Zhou in the marriage alliance, the emperor had conferred her the title of ‘princess.’ Chu Qingge had a good family background to begin with. With this added title, she would definitely make the competition more interesting in the imperial harem upon her arrival. The majority of the royal court and the imperial harem wanted to get rid of the insane empress. Noble Consort Xue secretly peeked at the booklet from the Ministry of Rites and felt her heart turn uneasy. She’d seen Chu Qingge before and could only imagine what kind of mischief she’d get up to in the harem.

In the end, Noble Consort Xue decided to find the princess consort Mu Liuyue to talk things over. They were in the same boat, after all. If Mu Liuyue wanted to be empress in the future, she would have to help the crown prince vie for the throne and eliminate all possible threats in the cradle. Noble Consort Xue paid a visit to the Eastern Palace that very night.