The invitation made Yun Qiya’s eyes light up. “I can enter the Imperial Clan Court?”
“In principle, no.” The girl’s eyes were so bright that Ling Yanhuai’s mood unconsciously brightened too. “But I can think of a way.”
“Lord Ling, you’re amazing!” Yun Qiya immediately launched into another barrage of compliments. Her judgment truly was excellent. The first imperial clansman whose coattails she had grabbed after returning to the capital turned out to be so capable. She really was a genius at recognizing talent!
“Come on. Yesterday I heard about another restaurant with excellent food. Let’s go try it right now.”
Good news put people in high spirits. She absolutely had to treat her meritorious little partner to something special.
Over the past half month, the two of them had wandered all over the city, sampling food from countless shops. Yun Qiya had even dragged her companion into ranking the restaurants and had set herself the goal of taking him to eat at every good establishment in the capital.
Unfortunately, her companion disliked socializing with other people. Otherwise, she would have brought along Sister Song and Mingzhu as well.
At times like these, Ling Yanhuai rarely had his own opinions. If Yun Qiya declared something good, he nodded in agreement. If Yun Qiya called it mediocre, he agreed it was quite ordinary.
“Lord Ling, you really don’t seem like someone who has lived in the capital for years.” Yun Qiya bit into a steamed meat bun. “You know less about the capital’s food than I do.” She handed Ling Yanhuai a sweet pastry, and Ling Yanhuai poured her a cup of milk.
“I rarely went out in the past.” Ling Yanhuai took a bite of the pastry.
The filling was too sweet, and the crust was not crisp enough.
“I understand. In large families, children who are expected to inherit the family business are raised very strictly. They have to study literature and practice martial arts, and their families keep a close watch on them.” Yun Qiya took a bite of the pastry and paused. Then she quickly finished it in a few mouthfuls. “This pastry wasn’t freshly baked. We’re not coming back here next time.”
She looked up at Lord Ling. He had already finished his pastry and was holding a cup of water. He seemed remarkably easy to feed.
After breakfast, Ling Yanhuai knew Yun Qiya was about to head home.
“Tomorrow morning, I’ll come to the entrance of the Marquis’s residence to pick you up. We’ll go to Imperial Clan Court together.”
“Thank you, Lord Ling!” Yun Qiya beamed with delight.
She was clearly very happy. Ling Yanhuai watched her departing figure. Even the hem of her clothes seemed infected by their owner’s good mood, fluttering and dancing in the morning breeze.
“Prepare some gifts.” He withdrew his gaze and spoke to his attendant.
“I wish to pay a visit to the Minister of the Court of the Imperial Clan.”
The rain gradually intensified, changing from a drizzle into a dense curtain of falling water.
The old prince sat by the window, drinking tea and admiring the rain. Every time he recalled the sentence he had overheard, he couldn’t help worrying. Hopefully Prince Ruining had merely been joking with the young lady and did not truly intend to bring her into the Court.
“Your Lordship.” A household servant hurried over carrying a calling card. His expression was exceedingly strange, as though he had just witnessed a rooster laying eggs or a hen crowing at dawn.
“Someone from Prince Ruining’s residence has delivered a calling card. They say Prince Ruining wishes to visit you.” The servant was baffled. Prince Ruining never socialized with anyone. Why would he suddenly send a formal calling card to the old prince?
The old prince swallowed his mouthful of tea with difficulty and sighed.
“Reply to Prince Ruining’s people. Tell them that no matter when His Highness chooses to honor this humble residence with his presence, it will be our privilege. This old man shall eagerly await his arrival.”
It was finally happening. If Prince Ruining wished to see him, did he dare refuse? If he said no today, then tomorrow he would go from being “Great-Uncle” in the Emperor’s eyes to “that old fool who doesn’t know what’s good for him.” At least Prince Ruining had not simply barged into the Court and done as he pleased. Instead, he was first paying a visit to him, the elder responsible for overseeing the institution. What a polite child. If it had been the Deposed Prince in his younger days, he would have acted first and worried about consequences later, without the slightest concern for anyone else’s life.
People, after all, should always be judged in comparison to others. Close one eye and squint with the other, and life could still go on.
The old prince was getting on in years. Sheltering at home from the rain and enjoying the scenery, he had not attended court and thus did not know what had happened that morning.
The moment the Emperor stepped into Yizheng Hall, he had immediately raised the matter of the Deposed Prince’s punishment before the court.
The Deposed Prince’s crimes were grievous in the extreme. He was truly beyond forgiveness. Some court officials, eager to curry favor with the Emperor, proposed the punishment of death by dismemberment by five horses. Others disagreed, arguing that although the Deposed Prince deserved death, he was still the Emperor’s brother. Execution by hanging would suffice, while dismemberment would damage His Majesty’s reputation for benevolence. Still others felt that hanging was too lenient and insisted that at the very least he should be sentenced to waist-severing.
All sides argued passionately, citing laws, precedents, and classical texts. But no matter how fiercely they debated, everyone shared one assumption: The Deposed Prince had to die.
Consensus: The Deposed Prince must die.
Disagreement: Exactly how the Deposed Prince should die.
“Your Majesty, this minister has an objection.”
The assembled officials turned toward the speaker: Assistant Minister Yun of the Ministry of Rites.
“And what are Assistant Minister Yun’s views?” the Emperor asked from the Dragon Throne. The hanging jade beads of his imperial crown concealed his expression, making it impossible for the officials to read his mood.
“In exploiting the people, bringing calamity upon Great An, and stirring public outrage across the realm, the Deposed Prince’s crimes are too numerous to record,” Yun Boyan declared in a ringing voice. “In this minister’s opinion, nothing less than the punishment of death by a thousand cuts can appease the people’s anger.”
The court was stunned. No one had expected the usually quiet Assistant Minister Yun to open his mouth and immediately advocate the harshest punishment imaginable.
The moment those words were spoken, both the hardliners and the moderates fell silent. Sharing a room with Assistant Minister Yun, they suddenly felt as though the relics of enlightened monks hidden within their bodies were glowing with virtue by comparison.
The Emperor raised a hand and lifted the strands of jade beads. Leaning forward, he studied Yun Boyan for a long moment. “What Beloved Minister Yun says does have a certain logic to it.”
The more perceptive officials noticed that the Emperor’s form of address for Yun Boyan had changed. He had gone from “Assistant Minister Yun” to “Beloved Minister Yun.”
Could His Majesty actually be one of the hardliners? In the end, the debate went on without reaching any conclusion.
With a sweep of his sleeve, the Emperor declared, “We shall discuss this matter again tomorrow.”
Among all the officials in court, only Beloved Minister Yun truly understood my intentions. What a pity. Hopefully the rest of them can grasp my hint.
Just as court was about to adjourn, an official suddenly brought up the matter of Prince Luo entering government service.
The Emperor had only two sons. His eldest son was already twenty, but unfortunately frail and often ill. His second son was nearly eighteen. If he did not begin participating in court affairs, how would he one day shoulder the responsibility of governing the realm?
“Prince Luo will not turn eighteen until three months from now. There is no need to rush his entry into government affairs,” the Emperor replied, fixing the speaker with a steady gaze. His tone had become noticeably colder. “My eldest son underwent his coming-of-age ceremony five months ago. He is nearly three years older than Prince Luo. It is indeed time to consider his participation in court matters.”
An emperor rarely revealed his emotions openly. If he made his displeasure obvious, it meant he was already extremely dissatisfied.
“You intentionally overlooked my eldest son when making this proposal. What exactly is your motive?” The Emperor’s voice grew even colder. “Are you trying to sow discord within the imperial family? Showing disrespect toward Prince Ruining? Ignoring the proper order of seniority? Is this how you conduct yourself as an official?”
He had been nearly thirty before Huai’er was born. After Huai’er’s birth, he and the Empress had raised him personally, entrusting him to no one else and cherishing him as the apple of their eye.
Now that Huai’er had finally returned to his side after suffering every conceivable hardship and humiliation, people still dared to overlook him and show him disrespect? The terror and panic he had felt when they found the boy barely clinging to life were matched only by the fury he felt now.
He was the Emperor. And yet people still dared to disrespect his son. If that were the case, what was the point of being Emperor at all?!
“You disloyal, unrighteous, and unworthy man! How are you fit to serve in government?”
The moment that furious rebuke rang through the hall, the ministers who understood the Emperor all quietly lowered their heads.
Anything involving Prince Ruining could make His Majesty start losing his composure again.
“Guards! Remove this man’s official hat and strip him of all offices and ranks!” The Emperor rose from the throne. “Court is dismissed!”
As soon as the Emperor departed, the Imperial Guards dragged away the official who had incurred the Son of Heaven’s wrath. Everyone knew his career was finished.
“Prince Luo is young and overly impatient.” The Minister of Rites stepped over the hall’s threshold and sighed.
No one present was foolish. The official who had raised the matter was a distant relative of the Empress’s natal family. It was obvious that someone had instructed him to do so.
But did the Empress know about it? She did not. Only after the Emperor stormed into her palace after court and began loudly cursing did she learn what had happened. Soon, one more person was angrily cursing.
After discovering that the matter involved distant relatives from her maternal family, the Empress personally drafted an imperial decree while venting her fury, thoroughly reprimanding her relatives. Her relationship with her natal family had never been particularly close to begin with. Now that they dared interfere in matters involving her two sons, she scolded them without a shred of guilt.
As an added measure, she conveniently downgraded her family’s noble title by one rank as well. If that decree had come from the Emperor, outsiders might have assumed that the Empress had fallen out of favor.
But because the Empress herself issued the decree, any intelligent observer could see she was deeply dissatisfied with her natal family. In truth, her relatives were not particularly clever.
The Emperor had only two sons, and both were born of the Empress. Even if her family did absolutely nothing, they would still enjoy wealth and privilege for three generations. Yet they insisted on being clever, hoping to earn the merits of supporting a future emperor by attaching themselves to Prince Luo.
One need not fear heaven or earth. One need only fear a fool struck by a sudden flash of inspiration.
When Prince Luo learned that the official who had spoken on his behalf had been expelled from court by the Emperor, he entered the palace to apologize to his father and mother.
“I did casually mention at my uncle’s house that I wished to help share Father and Mother’s burdens. Beyond that, I have done nothing. What happened today has absolutely nothing to do with me. I beg Father and Mother to see the truth.” Kneeling before the imperial couple, he looked thoroughly pitiful.
Three parts apology. Seven parts acting spoiled.
Behind him came the sound of somewhat hurried footsteps. Distracted, Prince Luo wondered who would dare walk so irregularly outside the Empress’s palace. The footsteps drew closer and closer before finally crossing the threshold. Prince Luo lowered his head even further. Only three people in the Empress’s palace could behave so freely.
His father.
Himself.
And…
Ling Yanhuai.
Ling Yanhuai never paid attention to such trivial things. Prince Luo kneeling on the floor wouldn’t even draw a second glance from him.
The Empress was still simmering with anger, but the moment she saw her eldest son come to find her of his own accord, more than half her irritation vanished.
“Huai’er, what brings you to see your father and mother?”
Huai’er was her first child. The child born from the boundless hopes she and her husband had cherished together. He could roll over and crawl. The first time he called out “Mother” and “Father,” the first step he took, filled them with immeasurable joy. The little bundle of flesh they had once cherished in their palms had been tortured until he was barely recognizable. How could she not hate those responsible?
She had even wished that Huai’er would hate her, would blame her, instead of quietly retreating into a corner, neither happy nor angry, showing no emotion at all.
“Father. Mother.” Ling Yanhuai cupped his hands in salute. “I wish to bring someone into the Imperial Clan Court. I request your grace…”
“Yes, yes, yes!” The Emperor was overjoyed. He exchanged a glance with the Empress. “When do you wish to go? Shall we make the arrangements?”
It was rare for their child to ask them for anything. How could they possibly refuse?
Ling Yanhuai shook his head. “I can arrange it myself.”
The imperial couple still readily agreed. In their eyes, the fact that Huai’er wanted something at all was already a wonderful sign.
Ling Yanhuai came and went. From beginning to end, he never once looked at Prince Luo kneeling on the floor. Only as he departed did the fluttering hem of his robe accidentally brush against Prince Luo’s face.
It did not hurt. But it brought Prince Luo a profound sense of humiliation. His elder brother wanted to bring someone into the Imperial Clan Court, and Father did not even ask a single question. Yet when he merely wanted to participate in court affairs, Father immediately expelled the man who suggested it from the government. Doesn’t he care about saving face at all?
Prince Luo left the palace with a gloomy expression, finding every person he saw equally irritating. He swung down from his horse and strode into a restaurant. Just as he reached the second floor, a gray-robed old man stepped into his path.
“Prince Luo, a great calamity is about to befall you. This old man can only sigh on your behalf.”
The old man had intended to put on a mysterious act and perhaps shed a few symbolic tears, hoping to arouse Prince Luo’s curiosity about what he would say next. Instead, he suddenly felt himself flying through the air.
Prince Luo withdrew the foot he had just used to kick him and continued walking without breaking stride.
You old fool, who do you think you are? How dare you stand in my way and babble at me? I hate nothing more than old men who put on airs. Just looking at you is annoying.
The gray-robed elder rolled down the staircase like a giant gourd, tumbling end over end until he finally slammed into a corner wall. With great difficulty, he managed to sit up. The first thing he saw was the hem of a goose-yellow skirt. The skirt’s owner immediately jumped backward three large steps.
“You fell by yourself. This has nothing to do with me.”
“That’s right, that’s right,” He Lu chimed in immediately. “It has nothing to do with my young mistress either.”