Chapter 112 [VIP]

...a woman surnamed Jun.

"—Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"

"My beloved subjects, rise."

Xue Yi looked at the assembled ministers below. Two months had passed, and spring was fast approaching. He had a rough idea of ​​how the ministers were doing. Although he had dismissed Lu Xuejin from her post, Lu Xuejin had not participated in politics and frequently visited the Censorate. In just two months, she had redressed more than a dozen grievances for the people.

He did not allow Xiao Shen to go south, and Lu Xuejin turned a blind eye to the matter, letting it go unresolved. Xiao Qi went west to garrison Wuling, and before leaving, she repeatedly asked him if he wanted to send troops to the capital.

He recalled Lu Xuejin saying the day before that she was going to Lidu, and connected the two.

He looked down at his ministers and felt that, though he was on the throne, there was a hazy mist separating him from them. The mist obscured their faces, and as for what that mist was... perhaps it was related to his illness.

"Oh! I saw Lord Song coming out of the library early this morning... Could it be that he has taken a fancy to one of the palace maids there? That's why Lord Song goes there every day."

Zhang Lin: "Your Majesty, in my humble opinion, since Lord Lu is currently busy at the Censorate, it would be better to have Lord Song go with him... This way, it would not be a waste of Lord Song's talents. What kind of work is it for him to stay in the library all day?"

"Mr. Wei, don't you agree?"

Elder Wei: "This... depends on Lord Song's own wishes."

Upon hearing this, Song Zhao looked at him. Every time he met Song Zhao's gaze, he felt that Song Zhao's deep, frosty eyes held a multitude of emotions, a kind of expectation or some indescribable longing. Two months of testing had made him realize that the court truly cared about him and stood by his side.

Song Zhao replied to Zhang Lin, "Didn't Lord Zhang say the other day that he wanted to go with me...?"

"Your Majesty... I am perfectly fine staying in the library. There is no need to trouble Lord Lu."

Looking at the expectant look in Song Zhao's eyes, he wondered what he had done earlier... He only felt an emptiness in his heart when he couldn't see Lu Xuejin in court.

He said to Song Zhao, "You've been staying in the library all this time... You've read so many books, you should put them into practice for the benefit of the people. Starting tomorrow, you will go to the Censorate together."

The hall was quiet for a moment. Song Zhao bowed and said, "Your subject obeys the decree."

After the morning court session, seeing that Song Zhao was about to head to the library, he watched Song Zhao's back from inside the sedan chair and had the guards stop halfway there.

"Song Zhao, come to my side."

Hearing this, Song Zhao turned around and said to Song Zhao, "You're going to the library? How about I go with you to take a look?"

Song Zhao stopped walking, paused slightly upon hearing this, then looked at him and said, "The library is not very interesting. There is no heater there, and I am worried about Your Majesty's health."

He said to Song Zhao, "It's alright, my health is much better now."

He had Song Zhao get into the carriage, which headed towards the library. The library was originally built in a natural cave, near the mountainside behind the house. It looked very deserted, with only a few guards on duty.

"I haven't seen any students from Zhizhang Hall, but you keep coming here," he said, noticing the figure of Tengluo not far away.

When Tengluo saw him, she was startled and quickly bowed from a short distance away, "This servant...this servant greets Your Majesty."

He asked quietly, "Wisteria, if you want to borrow books, just go inside. Why are you guarding the outside?"

The smooth rock, worn smooth by the guards standing there, revealed his face. He saw that he always spoke with a calm expression, his handsome face devoid of any emotion, which inexplicably reminded him of Lu Xuejin.

Tengluo glanced at Song Zhao beside him and replied, "This servant was just about to go in... What brings Your Majesty here?"

He couldn't help but ask, "...I can come whenever I want. Where is your master now?"

Tengluo: "Young Master is in the Censorate... If His Majesty misses Young Master, he may go to the Censorate himself."

Without saying a word, he and Song Zhao stepped into the library together.

Upon entering the library, he saw Song Zhao pull out old books from the shelves, written in the script of the Hu people. He casually picked up a book and sat down opposite Song Zhao.

A dim candlelight illuminated his and Song Zhao's faces. Song Zhao, clearly not understanding his purpose, asked, "Does Your Majesty have something to ask of me...? If so, there is no need to go to such lengths. Your Majesty only needs to summon me, and I will go to Xiyuan Palace."

He replied, "I was just stopping by... there's nothing wrong with this place."

"I haven't spoken much with you these past two months, please don't take it to heart. A while ago... around the time of the Spring Festival, I fell ill and suffered brain damage from the fever, so I can't remember many things."

“During this time, I have recovered somewhat and my health has improved a lot, but I still can’t remember those past events. I haven’t told anyone about this matter yet, but every time I see you, I feel that you are someone I can trust, and I am willing to tell you about it. When Xiao Qi talks to me, he is too impulsive, and I don’t want to talk to him about it… He asked me to send troops to the capital, and regardless of whether it is because of Chang You, I feel that my temperament has been worn down a lot by my illness… Many things, complicated things, I don’t want to think about anymore.”

"The more chaotic the situation, the more cautious we must be. Sending troops rashly may invite further unrest... I am telling you all this now. Changyou once told me that you and Xiao Qi are trustworthy people... Because I have always doubted him, I have become estranged from the two of you. He understands me far better than I understand myself. I have come to you... to tell you this matter, in order to ask for your opinion."

Song Zhao, who had been turning the pages of his book, paused at his words, and a sudden surge of intense emotion welled up in his clear eyes. He watched as Song Zhao's face gradually paled, and in his vision, Song Zhao's breath grew extremely weak, seemingly disappearing for a moment. The turmoil caused by that extreme emotional shift cast a deep shadow over Song Zhao's eyes.

With a "thud," the book in Song Zhao's hand fell to the ground.

The dome of the library suddenly pressed down, landing on Song Zhao's back, as if it would break his body.

The air fell into a deathly silence before Song Zhao spoke.

"...Does Your Majesty truly wish to ask for my opinion?"

He met Song Zhao's gaze, and Song Zhao's eyes were filled with the image of Chen Zhong's heroic spirit. His emotions burned like a raging fire, yet were also extinguished by the snow falling at night.

Everything was burned to ashes within it, everything was consumed by its flames.

He said to Song Zhao, "Of course...you are the only person I can trust in the palace."

“Lu Xuejin…Lu Xuejin’s ambitions are higher than the sky; she actually dares to defy the will of Heaven. Ha…” Song Zhao sneered.

Song Zhao: "If Your Majesty trusts me... there's no need for me to reiterate many things. Even if Your Majesty has no memory, you can see his abilities just from your interactions with him. As long as he's alive, Your Majesty will become a ruler of a fallen kingdom, not to mention his people... Your Majesty's empire will surely be destroyed in his hands. That Ninth Prince has escaped death several times and has an insatiable obsession with him; he will surely chase after him back to Shengjing... If Your Majesty keeps him, then you and I will both be at his mercy."

"If Your Majesty wishes to preserve the empire, the only way is to eliminate him... to remove the scourge upon our Great Wei. Once he is gone, the Ninth Prince will be powerless, and I may leave without hesitation. All of this depends on Your Majesty's determination... Your Majesty only needs to be as ruthless as you were in eliminating the Ninth Prince."

"Why be infatuated with him... He and the Ninth Prince have become one in body and soul, he is no longer the Lu Xuejin of the past, he is now a traitor to our Great Wei."

Song Zhao took out a square dagger from his sleeve, which had a Suzhou seal on it and was a family heirloom. He placed the dagger between the two of them.

"Your Majesty was originally most skilled with daggers in the military camp... We can discuss the rest after Your Majesty kills him. Your Majesty's abilities are limited. If Your Majesty favors him, even if I have the heart to protect the emperor, I will have no place to offer my advice."

Song Zhao left behind a dagger. As he emerged from the library, he saw the maidservant waiting for him outside. His cold gaze fell upon the blushing woman, and then, as if struck by a thought, he stopped in his tracks.

"Lord Song...you're going back so early today?" Tengluo asked.

"...Do you like me?" he asked.

As soon as he asked the question, Tengluo's face immediately turned bright red.

"This...this...this servant never said such a thing."

"So, Lord Lu never taught you this?" He looked at him coldly. "Although I am not yet married, I am already engaged, and my fiancée is still young... In any case, I should not covet a married man."

His words drained all color from Tengluo's face.

A jade-green dagger.

The hilt of the dagger is carved with opulent peonies, their golden patterns shimmering like layers of silk. The petals extend upwards, outlining the dagger's incredibly sharp curve, its tip gleaming with a cold light. When stained with blood, it transforms into roots that flow into the flowerbed, causing the peonies to bloom.

"Brother...brother?"

The young man's image flashed before him, his deep brown smiling eyes reflecting his own, his face as white as snow and as beautiful as spring. He suddenly thought of a blooming peony, which would be incredibly elegant if placed beside the young man.

"What is Xue Yanli thinking about?"

He then came to his senses and realized that according to the etiquette between ruler and subject, one should not address someone by their first name. However, if they had grown up together, it wouldn't be wrong to call each other by their first names. All the rules were merely to maintain distance; if one wanted to become close to someone, these rules would not apply.

"I...I'm thinking about Changyou. How is Changyou doing in the Censorate?"

Lu Xuejin said to him, "It's still peaceful... I read the petitions written by the people a few days ago. In just one year, some people have already started to reach into the lives of ordinary people... Besides that, there are all sorts of trivial matters. The other day, there was a case where the concubine of the King of Changling beat her own child... The child who was beaten was a young girl. Her brother was indignant and wrote a petition."

He then asked, "Why is that?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Xuejin looked at him with a calm expression and smiled, "This has been a problem throughout history. Royal relatives typically take men as their wives, while women are used for family alliances and marriages… The situation is a little different with Prince Changling. He had several wives, but due to difficulty conceiving, he rotated wives, saying whoever could give birth to a son would become the queen. This concubine, of lowly birth, rose in status and escaped slavery through her union with Prince Changling, hoping daily to give birth to a son and become the queen… but in the end, she gave birth to a daughter. Not only was she not destined to become queen, but because Prince Changling looked down on her and her daughter, he vented his resentment on the daughter."

"The ancients said, 'Even tigers don't eat their cubs,' but if the living environment is harsh, it doesn't seem uncommon for mothers and daughters to eat each other."

He asked, "So, how did Changyou handle it?"

Lu Xuejin did not answer him, but instead asked, "If it were my elder brother, how would he handle it?"

He pondered for a moment and said to Lu Xuejin, "If it were me... I might not get involved in this kind of case. It's difficult to quell the unrest under one's rule, let alone someone else's family matter."

Lu Xuejin seemed to have already guessed his answer, and quietly said, "I came precisely for this matter. Young children need protection, and even close relatives should not trample on them at will. I cannot bear to see others bully the weak... As long as I can see, I must intervene. I went to investigate this matter... The young girl's brother is my half-brother, and in principle, getting involved in this matter would not benefit him... If it's about acting out of righteousness, neither my brother nor I can convince ourselves of that reason. I sent people to investigate and learned that it was the young girl's maid who couldn't bear to see it, so she asked the Changling King's child to deliver the letter. The twists and turns involved... are beyond our imagination. This letter must have gone through countless hardships to reach me, and I naturally cannot let them down."

“I have been busy with this matter these past few days. I have petitioned my brother to promote legislation that anyone who bullies the elderly, the young, the weak, the sick, the pregnant, or the disabled should be imprisoned for three to five years if there are sufficient witnesses and evidence. If the circumstances are serious, torture may not be an option. Young children should be supported by their other spouse. Anyone who refuses to support them or whose direct relatives have seriously abused young children should be stripped of their right to the royal inheritance.”

"Although the enactment of the new law is a long and arduous task... this case serves as a good example."

He looked at Lu Xuejin's frank appearance. On the table, a document had already been drafted, with sharp and elegant handwriting and clear edges. A draft had already been written.

Those deep brown eyes and brows were like torches piercing through the imperial court, burning away all injustice and evil hidden in the shadows. The snow falling over the desert, the moonlight mingling with the snow, shone brightly into people's hearts, so clear that it was hard to look directly at them.

The person before me is a sinner of the Great Wei.

If this gets out, I wonder which side the people will side with?

He looked at the young man, who shone like a bright pearl, and felt ashamed of himself in comparison. His figure grew smaller and smaller in the moonlight, turning into a tiny black dot, lowly and insignificant.

"What Changyou said is certainly excellent... and these remonstrances are also without fault. As for the rest... let me review these documents before making a decision, shall we?"

"Really?" Lu Xuejin turned to look at him, her eyes softening at his tolerance.

He couldn't help but say, "Of course. When have I ever lied to Changyou?"

“Brother, you’ve been lying to me all along… You promised me you would be a wise ruler, so take a good look and don’t be biased towards the forces under your rule,” Lu Xuejin said to him.

He touched Lu Xuejin's fingertips, and as she drew near, a cool fragrance wafted over him. Her exceptionally elegant face moved closer, stirring certain emotions within him.

...I want to see that gentle smile again.

...Perhaps it's better for the peonies not to bloom.

...Was he destined to become a monarch who lost his country?

A note from the author: