The Emperor: "You really are my…"
No one dared to admit it.
The key point was that they themselves didn't know who had done it.
Well… which ones had done it.
Those with ambitions for the struggle for the succession had guilty consciences, keeping their heads lowered, not daring to look up or speak.
But those who were content with their lot as salted fish could no longer sit still.
The Tenth Prince raised his hand to cover his mouth and whispered to Xie Zhao.
"How come I never knew before that Eldest Brother and the others were this fierce?"
The Tenth Prince's maternal grandfather was the Marquis of Danyang, who had fought alongside His Majesty to conquer the realm back in the day. The Tenth Prince's uncles, too, knew the history of those conquest campaigns in great detail, and whenever they happened to see the Tenth Prince, they would tell him stories about it.
The more he learned about how chaotic the Shouguang and Tianbao reigns had been, the more he loathed the Liang Dynasty princes who had caused all of it—and the more he kept his distance from the struggle for the succession.
Now, to suddenly learn that his own brothers were even more vicious than the Liang Dynasty princes?
The Tenth Prince was shocked.
…
Can't you be shocked later?!
With the atmosphere this tense, Xie Zhao kept his head buried low, terrified of standing out and drawing the Emperor's attention.
He had been hiding perfectly well, but the Tenth Prince just had to pick this moment to talk to him. Xie Zhao was even more shocked than he was, instinctively making a "don't speak" gesture.
Xie Zhao glanced frantically toward the Emperor's direction, and in the process caught sight of the leftover crab shells. He very much wanted to just slap them over his and the Tenth Prince's heads and play ostrich.
Unfortunately, no matter how fast he reacted, it was useless—the Emperor had already heard, and was looking their way.
Naturally, he also noticed Xie Zhao's little gesture.
The Emperor looked at Xie Zhao and asked, "Eleventh, what are you busy with over there?"
"Ah, ah?"
Xie Zhao hastily set down the crab shell, stood up, and lowered his head. "Nothing."
The Emperor glanced at the crab shell, looked away in disgust, held back for a moment, then couldn't help but speak.
"Playing with crab shells at a palace banquet—is that appropriate?"
Xie Zhao nervously fidgeted with his hands. "…Not appropriate."
The Emperor: "If it's not appropriate, then why are you playing with them!"
Xie Zhao flinched, shrinking his neck in fright.
The Emperor grew irritated just looking at his cowardly demeanor.
"Can't you have a little ambition?"
Xie Zhao mumbled without speaking, eyes vacant, obediently enduring the Emperor's scolding.
Judging by his appearance, he didn't seem to have any ambition either.
The Emperor nodded, too lazy to say anything more, and turned to sigh at the Duke of Yue and the others. "No wonder this boy is already fifteen and not a single one of you has taken a liking to him. Even I get annoyed looking at him!"
The Emperor had good relations with his old comrades-in-arms. Not only did most of his consorts come from noble households, but the princes' wives were also of similar backgrounds. It was only because these families had no daughters left that they had no choice but to marry daughters of high-ranking court officials.
The princes were closely connected to the nobility, and several of them looked like they had promising futures. The nobles were naturally happy to have them as sons-in-law, so their marriages had been settled long ago.
Only Xie Zhao's mother came from a humble background, with no maternal family to support him. He himself was utterly unremarkable—the kind who wouldn't even make a ripple if thrown into the imperial palace.
None of the nobles were interested in him, which meant that at fifteen, Xie Zhao not only hadn't married or established a princely manor, he didn't even have a fiancée. A bachelor through and through.
When the Emperor brought this up now, on the surface it seemed like he was complaining that his son was too childish and that was why he hadn't married.
But the seasoned dukes, old foxes that they were, immediately understood the Emperor's true intent.
He was expressing displeasure at their rejection of the Eleventh Prince.
What did they mean by this?
When the earlier princes were single, they had all scrambled to have them as sons-in-law. But when it came to the Eleventh Prince, they all went quiet.
Was he not the Emperor's son too?
The nobles hurriedly lowered their heads to apologize as well.
The Duke of Yue smiled and said, "The Eleventh Prince has the heart of a child. I am quite fond of him too, but unfortunately my household only has one unruly boy left—I'm afraid I don't have that fortune."
The Duke of Yue's two eldest daughters were already married, and his remaining youngest daughter was only five years old—there was no way she could be connected to Xie Zhao. So he was completely at ease and even in the mood to console the Emperor.
"Your Majesty need not be anxious. Marriage is determined by fate. Perhaps in just a few days, you'll gain a daughter-in-law."
The Emperor waved his hand. "Changming, no need to comfort me. Do I not know what kind of son this one is? He can't even drink two cups of wine without falling into the lake."
The latter half was said while looking at Xie Zhao, who lowered his head again, fidgeting with his hands, pretending to be invisible.
When the nobles saw Xie Zhao's behavior, they couldn't help whispering among themselves.
"With him like this, can His Majesty really blame us? Who would take a liking to that?"
They were all military men by background, admiring those with decisive, straightforward, and magnanimous temperaments. The pathetic display Xie Zhao put on was something they couldn't stand in the slightest.
The Marquis of Linyuan couldn't take it anymore and quietly pulled the Duke of Chen aside to complain.
"You can't say that. The Eleventh Prince is just young and hasn't experienced much. We shouldn't be too harsh."
The Duke of Chen refused to engage with the Marquis of Linyuan's words. No matter what the Eleventh Prince was like, he was still the Emperor's son—not someone for them, as subjects, to criticize.
No one was willing to offer their daughter to the Eleventh Prince voluntarily, and even the Emperor would have made a remark about it. If word got out that they openly looked down on the Eleventh Prince, a fine of their salary would be the least of their worries.
He had elders above and children below—he wasn't about to get involved in such matters.
The Marquis of Linyuan's burning desire to gossip went unsatisfied. He found the Duke of Chen too timid, shot him a glare, and went off to find the Marquis of Danyang instead.
Then the Marquis of Danyang, straining with all his might, dragged his solid wooden chair away, using his actions to make it clear he didn't want to hear it either.
The Marquis of Linyuan was dumbfounded. "Hey—you old bastard."
The Marquis of Danyang's voice drifted back from afar: "Not as old as you."
The Marquis of Linyuan twitched his mouth and could only quietly drink his wine.
After Xie Zhao sat down, the person drawing fire was gone. The Tenth Prince was also called up by the Emperor, who asked what he had been muttering about earlier.
The Tenth Prince tried to copy Xie Zhao by lowering his head and picking at his hands, but the Emperor wasn't buying it.
"Take your hands apart!"
The Tenth Prince jolted, quickly separating his hands and placing them at his sides, looking as obedient as could be.
The Emperor said, "Stop copying your younger brother. Do you think I don't know your nature?"
"What were you muttering about down there just now?"
The Tenth Prince stole a glance at Xie Zhao. Xie Zhao raised a crab shell to block the Tenth Prince's view and waved his hand, signaling him not to look.
What are you looking at me for? This isn't a teacher asking questions in class—do you think I can just give you the answer?
The Tenth Prince glared at Xie Zhao angrily. No loyalty!
Under the Emperor's gaze, the Tenth Prince didn't last two seconds before telling the truth.
"Father, I was just praising my elder brothers."
"Praising?" the Emperor asked. "And how exactly were you praising them?"
"I—I was saying…" The Tenth Prince blinked rapidly when nervous, as if he could blink his way into a perfect solution.
Clearly, there was none.
"I was saying, I didn't expect the eldest brother and the others to be so impressive."
Whether he stuck his head out or tucked it in, it was a blade either way. The Tenth Prince ultimately chose to say it quickly, then close his eyes and await his fate.
Who would have thought this would involve him too? The First Prince (once again) stood up to apologize.
His butt had barely left the chair, his body not yet fully upright, when a frustrated shout came from above his head.
"Sit down!"
"Yes!" The First Prince quickly sat back down.
The Emperor continued pressing the Tenth Prince: "What's so impressive about your eldest brother? Tell me."
The First Prince straightened up, frantically trying to defend himself again, but was silenced by a sharp glare from the Emperor.
How could the Tenth Prince possibly say it?
Say "the eldest brother is truly impressive—when he doesn't contend for the succession, fine, but when he does, the realm trembles and the mountains and rivers shatter, offering the whole world as sacrifice. Truly worthy of being eldest brother (thumbs up.jpg)."
The Father Emperor would tear him apart.
He couldn't tell the truth, but he also didn't dare lie. Seeing the delay drag on longer and longer, the Tenth Prince simply gave up and lowered his head. "I don't know. I was just talking nonsense."
"You little—"
[No wonder some people say that among all the emperors in history, the most formidable was Yan Taizu Xie Boting—every one of his sons is fiercer than the last. Truly a hero father.]
The Emperor's words were interrupted by Mumu.
He frowned. That didn't sound quite right.
"Is that praising me?" the Emperor asked.
"Uh, it should be, it should be…" everyone answered vaguely.
[Of course, the fiercest of them all is still the one we're talking about today—Yanwudi! He is the greatest work of the hero father Xie Boting!]
Finally!
At the words "Yanwudi," everyone perked up.
The Emperor's heart sank. He had no mind to quibble over whether Mumu was teasing him.
He hadn't expected that this Yanwudi, called a tyrant by later generations, was actually his own son!
He swept his gaze across the princes and sneered, "Impressive. Truly worthy of being my good sons."
The nobles and imperial relatives were no longer calm either.
The Emperor was already past fifty. Even if his health was still decent, no one knew how much longer he could hold on.
That meant they themselves, and their children and grandchildren, might all have to live under this Yanwudi's rule.
Under a tyrant? That was hell mode—one misstep could lead to House Seizure and Clan Extermination. There was no way they couldn't be nervous.
The most nervous of all were, of course, the princes.
They had been contending for the succession just fine. Sure, from what this spirit creature was saying, it sounded like the fighting had gotten a bit brutal.
But they were brothers—who didn't know who? Everyone was equally weak. Safe and sound.
And then, at this moment, you tell me that this Yanwudi, ranked number one in the "Tyrant History Review," is among us?
The struggle for the succession instantly turned into a werewolf game! Time to start running for your lives, brothers.
Who cares about the succession anymore!
Who could be more ruthless than him!
Even Xie Zhao couldn't eat his crab anymore.
What the hell? He'd just been planning to be a lazy good-for-nothing, and now the next emperor is a tyrant?
What kind of tyrant?
The Yang Guang kind? Or the Hu Hai and Fu Sheng kind? This matters a lot!
There are differences between tyrants.
Some are extravagant and pleasure-seeking, their crimes mostly involving massive construction projects and oppressive taxation, like Yang Guang.
Even though living under such a ruler wasn't easy, as long as he stayed lazy enough, it wouldn't be a big problem.
The fear was that this one might be of the ilk of Hu Hai or Fu Sheng.
Hu Hai, the Second Emperor of Qin, driven mad by the worry that his brothers might contend with him for the throne, slaughtered all of his siblings without exception.
Fu Sheng was even more brutal. Every time he summoned his ministers, he would have blades and other weapons prepared in advance, and whoever displeased him would be killed on the spot.
He killed his ministers, and he killed his consorts; he killed those who defied him, and he killed those who flattered him just the same—a veritable psychopath.
If Yanwudi shared the temperament of those two, Xie Zhao reckoned he had better make a run for it sooner rather than later.
Even if it meant finding some small island out at sea to play Robinson Crusoe, that would still be better than staying in the palace.
Author's note:
None