“He is seducing me!” Si Huayao screamed internally.
Keeping his eyes fixed on the bridge of his nose and his mind focused inward, he chanted silently: “I am a man, and he is a man too. I am not gay, I am not gay…”
Once he finished dressing him, Zhao Hanqing rose, walked over to the bedside, opened the hidden compartment at the head of the bed, and retrieved a jade cylinder. Then, he lay face down across the mattress.
The actions Zhao Hanqing took next made Si Huayao’s eyes widen in shock. He hastily averted his gaze, cursing the original owner as a pervert all over again.
Though he looked away, his sense of hearing grew all the more acute. Just a few simple, muffled sounds left Si Huayao’s mouth feeling parched and dry. He thought to himself, “Good thing I’m not gay, otherwise…”
Si Huayao did not stop him. He knew such behavior was entirely perverse, but given that he had just arrived, any sudden changes would inevitably arouse suspicion and he had no desire to be burned at the stake as a monster. What he needed to do first was adapt to the persona of the Prince Regent, making subtle, gradual shifts in his daily behavior so that no one would suspect a thing.
Inside the Hall of Supreme Harmony, a crowd of officials had already been waiting for two full hours. Yet not a single person dared utter a single word of complaint; they didn’t even dare to draw a full breath, standing rigidly in their respective positions while awaiting the start of the morning court session. This was simply because countless pairs of eyes were watching within this seemingly quiet grand hall, and the moment anyone showed the slightest sign of dissatisfaction, their only outcome would be certain death with the disaster even implicating their entire families.
Half an hour later, an announcement finally drifted in from outside the hall: “His Majesty has arrived! The Prince Regent has arrived!”
The hearts of the officials tightened instantly as they scrambled to drop to their knees, terrified that the slightest delay in their movements would lead someone to falsely accuse them of severe disrespect.
Reaching the entrance of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, Si Huayao slowed his pace slightly, allowing Zhao Hanqing to step half a step ahead of him. In his view, Zhao Hanqing was the emperor after all; no matter how towering and absolute the Prince Regent’s authority might be, the proper forms of etiquette still had to be observed. However, the moment Zhao Hanqing moved half a step ahead of him, his expression suddenly shifted. The pallor on his face turned even whiter, and his entire body began to tremble uncontrollably.
Looking toward Si Huayao in sheer terror, he stammered, “Your Highness, this servant…”
Watching as tears threatened to spill from his eyes while emotions could certainly be acted out, physiological panic and bodily instincts could not be faked Si Huayao sighed inwardly. Just how much torment must this child have endured to develop such conditioned physical responses?
“Today, you walk in front.”
Hearing this, Zhao Hanqing trembled even more violently, crystal-clear teardrops swirling within his striking phoenix eyes as he pleaded, “Your Highness, did this servant do something wrong?”
“Are you questioning this Prince?” Si Huayao had been continuously feeding himself psychological hints: he was now the all-powerful Prince Regent, a bloodthirsty, ruthless madman.
Two trails of silent tears slipped down as Zhao Hanqing fearfully lowered his head, his hands nervously clutching at his sleeves. “This… this servant wouldn’t dare!”
“What this Prince says, you will do. If you dare question me by even a fraction again, this Prince doesn’t mind changing the emperor.”
The lightly spoken words were laden with lethal intent, sending a bone-chilling shiver straight through Zhao Hanqing’s heart. He hastened to reply, “Yes… this servant will never dare again!”
“Lead the way.”
“Yes.”
Wiping away his tears in a flurry, Zhao Hanqing turned and resumed his forward steps. Despite wearing the heavy imperial robes at the start of early summer, he felt so cold he was shivering, as though he had plunged straight into an icy abyss in the dead of winter.
As the sound of footsteps echoed, the kneeling officials hurriedly pressed their bodies flat against the ground, raising their voices in unison: “Your humble subjects pay respects to His Majesty, and to the Prince Regent! May you live for ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand years!”
With Zhao Hanqing in the front and Si Huayao in the rear, the two of them threaded through the crowd, stepping up the imperial staircase one step at a time. Zhao Hanqing halted before the dragon throne, while Si Huayao stopped at a position slightly ahead and to the side his personal seat. For a mere subject to set up a designated seat inside the Hall of Supreme Harmony demonstrated just how towering his authority was, and he hadn’t even bothered to conceal it in the slightest.
Casting a single glance at Si Huayao, Zhao Hanqing raised his voice and announced, “All my beloved ministers, rise.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty. Thank you, the Prince Regent.”
Only then did the assembled officials rise to their feet, though none of them dared to lift their heads.
Seeing this, Chun Hai sang out in a resonant voice, “Submit memorials if you have matters to report; adjourn if you have none.”
The moment his voice fell, a figure stepped out from the crowd, bowed deeply, and said, “Your Majesty, Your Highness, this minister has a memorial to present.”
Zhao Hanqing glanced at Si Huayao once more before uttering, “Speak.”
“This minister formally accuses Chang Shan, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, of the crime of severe disrespect!”
Chang Shan was momentarily stunned before stepping out of line to drop to his knees, crying out, “Your Majesty, Your Highness, this minister has been wronged!”
Though Si Huayao was searching his memory for information regarding Chang Shan, he knew Chang Shan was indeed part of the pro-emperor faction, and his legitimate daughter, Chang Ying, happened to be one of Zhao Hanqing’s imperial concubines. Si Huayao had also encountered this specific plot point in the book: the person accusing Chang Shan was Huang Yao, a Censor of the Ministry of Personnel and one of the original owner’s lackeys who helped monitor the court officials. Countless officials had perished under his denunciations at the very least, far more than could be counted on two hands.
The catalyst for this incident wasn’t Chang Shan disparaging Si Huayao at the Huihai Tower banquet, but rather a personal grievance between Huang Yao and Chang Shan. Strictly speaking, since one worked in the Ministry of War and the other served as a Censor, harboring a personal feud shouldn’t have been easy. However, Huang Yao was exceptionally narrow-minded; whenever anyone did something he considered a slight even if others thought nothing of it he would stubbornly harbor a grudge.
Chang Shan had offended Huang Yao over Huo Jian, the Regional Commander of Guangning. Huo Jian and Huang Yao were fellow townsmen on friendly terms. During Huo Jian’s tenure, he embezzled military provisions, leaving the garrison soldiers of Guangning without a single copper coin of pay for three full years, which ultimately triggered a mutiny among the troops. The incident caused an enormous uproar, and officials within the Ministry of War could not simply turn a blind eye; thus, Chang Shan submitted a memorial impeaching Huo Jian.
Although Si Huayao was ruthless and quick to kill, his targets were almost exclusively corrupt officials. Toward ordinary commoners, his attitude was diametrically opposed: he governed with diligence, cherished the populace, reduced taxes, and encouraged agricultural production, allowing the common folk to live far better lives than before which was precisely why the common people supported him.
Upon learning of the incident, Si Huayao had immediately ordered a decree to be drafted, dispatching the Jinyiwei (Brocaded Uniform Guard) to arrest Huo Jian and throw him straight into prison.
The fallout had implicated a vast number of people. Because of his usual satisfactory performance, Huang Yao narrowly escaped disaster, though he received a severe reprimand from Si Huayao. Harboring deep resentment and looking for an opportunity to retaliate against Chang Shan, Huang Yao coerced and bribed Lin He into framing Chang Shan for acting out of personal vengeance.
Huang Yao waited for quite a while, yet Si Huayao remained silent. Inevitably feeling anxious, he didn’t dare act rashly and maintained his kneeling posture.
Turning his gaze toward Si Huayao, Zhao Hanqing inquired, “How does the Prince Regent suggest we handle this matter?”
“Present the memorial.” Amidst the anxious silence of the crowd, Si Huayao finally spoke.
Chun Hai acknowledged the order, descended the imperial steps, retrieved the memorial, and presented it to Si Huayao.
Si Huayao opened it, glanced through its contents, and casually tossed it down the imperial steps, instructing, “Lord Chang, take a look for yourself.”
Hearing his name called, Chang Shan’s body stiffened involuntarily as he scrambled forward to pick up the memorial. Upon reading it carefully, his complexion shifted dramatically. “Your Highness, this minister is wronged! This minister has never uttered any such words; this is a malicious framing!”
“Did you or did you not drink with Lin He at Huihai Tower the day before yesterday?”
“Yes. But Your Highness, aside from Lin He, two other officials from the Ministry of War were present. They can testify on my behalf.”
“This Prince asked a question; you need only answer it. Why spout so much useless nonsense?”
Si Huayao’s flat tone broke Chang Shan out in a cold sweat. “This minister knows his crime! Spare my life, Your Highness!”
Silence hung in the air for a moment before Si Huayao commanded, “Summon Hu Yi.”
Chun Hai raised his voice: “By order of the Prince Regent, summon Hu Yi, Commander of the Jinyiwei, to audience!”
Chang Shan’s entire body began to shake uncontrollably. Si Huayao summoning the Jinyiwei Commander at a time like this meant nine times out of ten he was going to dispose of him. He was only thirty-five years old this year, with an elderly mother and young children depending on him at home he genuinely did not want to die!
Compared to Chang Shan’s despair, Huang Yao wore a look of smug triumph. Anyone who had ever offended him would never escape retribution.
Everyone in the hall felt a sense of impending doom, mentally reviewing their past interactions with Chang Shan and terrified of getting caught in the crossfire.
Roughly the time it takes to brew a cup of tea later, the sound of footsteps broke the pin-drop silence of the hall. Lazily opening his eyes, Si Huayao watched as a young man dressed in a scarlet robe and carrying a embroidered spring sabre at his waist walked in.
Hu Yi possessed a baby face that was remarkably endearing, particularly when he smiled, revealing dimples on both cheeks. Although he was already twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, he looked as though he had barely reached adulthood.
No one would ever have guessed that Hu Yi, bearing such an innocent and harmless appearance, was actually the terrifying Commander of the Jinyiwei the Prince Regent’s ultimate executioner of evil and atrocities.
Approaching the hall, Hu Yi dropped to one knee and announced, “Your humble subject Hu Yi pays respects to His Majesty, and to the Prince Regent.”
Casting a sweep of his eyes over the two kneeling figures of Chang Shan and Huang Yao, Si Huayao stated, “These two are locked in a dispute and this Prince cannot tell who is telling the truth. I leave the matter in your hands; give me an answer by tomorrow.”
Chang Shan, who had braced himself for the worst, let out an internal sigh of relief. Although the Jinyiwei was far from a pleasant place and entering meant enduring physical torment, at least there was still a chance of survival.
In contrast to Chang Shan, Huang Yao was slightly stunned, unable to comprehend why he who had always succeeded effortlessly was hitting a brick wall today. The Jinyiwei was a living hell where those who entered either died or suffered crippling injuries; accustomed as he was to a pampered life of privilege, he simply couldn’t endure that kind of torture.
“Your Highness, everything this minister has said is the absolute truth. Chang Shan truly harbors grievances against Your Highness; I beg Your Highness to investigate and judge fairly.”
“Does Lord Huang take this Prince for a fool?”