As expected, this extreme behavior acted like a lit fuse. Among the crowd, several officials who had long been bought off or incited by the Empress Dowager and Li Miaoze immediately seized the opportunity to speak out:
“The Grand Historian has died with a remonstrance… Heavens have given us a warning!”
“Your Majesty, lately there are indeed nursery rhymes chanted among the common people: ‘The Jin Palace tilts, the dark dragon roars; the sun and moon lose their light…’ Could this, could this truly be the will of Heaven?”
“There is also a song saying, ‘December snow, blood falls like rain; the Ziwei star dims, a new master is born’…” “Previously, we ministers only thought it was ignorant commoners talking nonsense, but now it seems…”
Panic spread among the officials like a plague. Lin Xian, the top scorer of the imperial examination, suddenly dropped to his knees, kowtowed, and shouted, “Your Majesty, the Grand Historian’s loyal words are hard to the ear, but though he is dead, his honor remains! We beg Your Majesty to open wide the avenues of speech, lessen corvée labor and taxes, and treat the people kindly so as to appease the wrath of Heaven! If punishments remain severe, I fear it will truly be as they said: the hearts of the people will scatter, and the nation will cease to be a nation!”
“Utter nonsense!” Duan Zhuifeng retorted, “A few skulking rats spouting hot air, and the death of a senile old fool is going to cause the country to fall? Those people were corrupt, embezzling, and colluding with enemy states should they not have been killed? Should they not have been punished?”
Several hot-tempered military generals chimed in one after another:
“General Duan is right! They deserved to be killed!”
“What kind of damned will of Heaven! This old man only believes in the blade in his hand!”
“Clearly, someone is playing tricks! Once I find out who it is, I’ll hack him to pieces alive!”
Among the civil official faction, someone immediately rebuked: “Vulgar and crude military men! How could you possibly understand the warnings of the heavens?!”
“The Grand Historian is in charge of astronomy and the calendar; are his words simply groundless?”
“Excessive punishments will damage the harmony of the universe!”
“Go fuck your mother!” The generals cursed right back.
“You, you, you, you simply crude and unbearable!”
For a time, in front of the Fengxian Hall, chaos broke out. The civil and military officials argued in distinct factions, spittle flying, almost coming to blows. Panic, skepticism, anger… various emotions and motives intertwined and collided, and the scene completely spiraled out of control.
Yet Shen Chaoqing, situated right at the center of the storm, still sat silently and steadily upon the imperial throne.
He seemed entirely indifferent to the chaos before him, the officials’ denunciations delivered with their deaths, and the curses of national doom. Only Xiao Huaiyan, standing closest, could perhaps perceive that beneath those heavy ceremonial robes, the young emperor’s body—now that the fear had vanished along with the death of that dog was overcome by an unusual sense of relaxation.
Even amid the slight swaying of the pearl tassels, Xiao Huaiyan seemed to catch a hint of keen, amused interest.
It was as if this chaotic dance of demons before him, a farce meant to drive him into a desperate corner, appeared exceptionally entertaining in his eyes.
Just as this clamor reached its peak and the corners of Li Miaoze’s mouth could scarcely suppress a trace of triumphant satisfaction, Shen Chaoqing, who had remained silent upon the imperial throne, finally raised his hand slowly.
It was an extremely simple gesture, yet it seemed to carry an invisible, suffocating power that instantly gripped everyone by the throat.
The arguments, the cries of grievance, and the refutations came to an abrupt halt.
“My esteemed ministers. All of you are discussing this vicious hound where did it come from?”
“Discussing astronomical phenomena whether they constitute a warning.”
“Discussing Us whether We have… lost Our virtue.”
His fingertips, pale and slender, rose slowly and pointed with precision at that restless, dark, wolf-like shadow.
“We have listened for this long, yet We only wish to know one thing…”
He paused slightly, his gaze sweeping across the audience like a cold probe, skimming over every face panicked, hypocritical, or angry before finally resting on Li Miaoze’s slightly stiffened face, his tone turning sharply: “If this ferocious hound that lunged at the carriage and attempted regicide can be counted as the ‘heaven-sent beast of retribution’ in your mouths…”
“Then what of this ‘Tuxue Zhuiji’ who stepped forward from beneath the claws and fangs of that ferocious beast to protect Us unharmed and even kill it on the spot?”
“What shall it be counted as?”
When these words were spoken, they were as startling as a thunderclap, like pouring a ladle of ice water into a boiling wok of oil.
Li Miaoze’s pupils contracted sharply, the expression of grief and indignation on his face freezing instantly. For all his calculations, he had never expected the emperor to approach the issue from this angle, using the very wolf he had brought to launch such a tricky and fatal counterattack.
Before he could organize his words, Duan Zhuifeng, who had been observing the situation from the side, leisurely spoke up: “The Holy Wolf of Northern Di, a symbol of auspiciousness once every hundred years, appeared in the ancestral temple, pounced upon and killed evil spirits, and rendered distinguished service in protecting the sovereign. If this is not Heaven blessing Your Majesty and blessing our Great Jin, what is it? Could it be that Heaven simultaneously sends a ferocious beast to kill Your Majesty, yet also sends an auspicious beast to save Your Majesty? Contradictory and utterly absurd!”
“Furthermore, as for this vicious mastiff,” he waved his sleeve sharply, his fingertip pointing directly at the massive carcass of the hound, “its size exceeds the ordinary, its fur is glossy, its fangs are sharp, and the marks of taming are obvious it is definitely not a wild creature from the mountains and forests! To be able to bring it into the heavily guarded palace forbidden grounds and accurately drop it right before Your Majesty’s eyes! How could this ever be accomplished by a few petty thieves?”
He abruptly turned his head, his gaze piercing like two ice picks straight into Li Miaoze: “If it were not for a supremely treacherous villain who has entrenched himself within the inner palace for many years, how could he possess such means?! How could he possess such daring audacity?!”
Li Miaoze narrowed his eyes slightly and gave no reply. Lin Xian, who stood beside him, stepped forward, neither servile nor overbearing: “Since it is a supremely treacherous villain, he must certainly be thoroughly investigated. However, the words of the Grand Historian were not entirely groundless…”
“Groundless? An old man putting on a god-fearing act what is there to believe? This is not a natural disaster at all; this is a man-made calamity through and through. Someone has deceived the ruler and flouted superiors, thrown the imperial court into chaos, and even gone so far as to desecrate the ancestors. Their intent is punishable, and their crime deserves the extermination of their nine clans!” Shen Chaoqing refuted unhurriedly.
Every word was like a knife, every phrase striking home. He directly defined the “heavenly retribution” as a “man-made disaster,” forcefully slapped the label of “loss of virtue” right back onto his opponents, and infinitely escalated their crimes.
“Your Majesty is wise!” Duan Zhuifeng immediately dropped to one knee, his voice resolute, carrying an awe-inspiring aura of martial execution, “This subject is willing to guarantee with his own head on the block that this mastiff is definitely not a common canine breed of the northern borders or the capital region. It was undoubtedly carefully raised by designated handlers! This subject begs an imperial decree to immediately seal off all departments of the palace forbidden grounds, strictly investigate all beast enclosures, breeding records, and everyone on duty or entering and leaving today! Even if we must dig three feet into the ground, we will surely ferret out this national traitor who harbors malicious intentions and frames our sovereign father! May Your Majesty grant this!” He was no longer requesting; he had directly assumed a combat posture, awaiting only a single command.
“This subject seconds the motion!”
“This subject seconds the motion! It must be thoroughly investigated!”
“Your Majesty, please discern the truth! This is the work of treacherous villains!”
The pro-emperor officials finally found their backbone and a sharp weapon for counterattack. They stepped forward one after another and knelt, their voices booming and public sentiment surging, instantly overwhelming the opposing side.
Those few officials who had previously chimed in with Li Miaoze were now as pale as paper, trembling like chaff, wishing they could shrink into cracks in the ground.
Shen Chaoqing looked coldly at the pale-faced Li Miaoze, a gratifying smile curving the corners of his lips.
“Granted.”
A single word settled the universe.
“Duan Zhuifeng, We command you to take full charge of this matter. You are granted the golden tablet and arrow. Within and without the palace, anyone implicated regardless of rank or status shall be apprehended without exception and subjected to strict interrogation! Anyone who dares to obstruct shall be executed first and reported later!”
“This subject obeys the decree!” Duan Zhuifeng cupped his fists, rose abruptly, his gaze flashing like electricity as he swept it over his personal guards. A rapid series of orders was issued instantly, decisive and swift.
Shen Chaoqing’s gaze swept across the plaza, passing over the glaring patch of blood and debris, and finally landed upon the burning brazier.
“The ancestral sacrificial grand ceremony shall continue. How could the ritual of gazing into the sacrificial fire be interrupted by mere clowns? Throw the blood of this beast and the Grand Historian together into the brazier.”
“Announce to our imperial ancestors that We hold the mandate of Heaven and reign supreme over the universe, and no petty villains can ever harm Us!”
The thunderous cries of “Long live” rang out once more. This time, they were filled with the frantic fervor of surviving a disaster, reverence, and fear of absolute power.
Shen Chaoqing watched as the man and the dog were thrown into the cremation furnace, curving his lips in satisfaction.
Destroy what you fear most; an emperor must have no weaknesses.
Xiao Huaiyan still stood quietly to one side, the shadows perfectly concealing his aura. He watched the young emperor upon the imperial throne who, even after a coughing fit and a dangerous ordeal, could instantly reverse the universe and drive his opponents into a desperate corner.
The fingers hidden beneath his dark sleeves twitched slightly, almost imperceptibly.