Chapter 17 The Royal Family.
Shi Mi has always been quick to accept things, so she wasn't surprised. She simply exclaimed in admiration, "What a remarkable woman! I'm afraid many people have been manipulated by her! Jie Duyan is dead, but the Nightless City won't collapse. Bai Yujing still can't take over this auspicious land. It's such a pity."
Lu Min smiled faintly, “If you want to take over, it’s as easy as turning your hand. But this place has had its own laws for many years, and it pays the full amount of silver to the state every year. Moreover, it has always lived in peace with the prefecture and has not made any changes. This is beneficial to both sides, so the court is happy to turn a blind eye and tolerate them until today.”
"So, the Nevernight Palace will continue to operate as usual, and neither the Emperor nor the High Council will interfere?" Shi Mi clapped his hands with a smile. "That's good. The Nevernight Palace is not far from Zhongdu. Whenever I want to relax, I can go there for a drink. It is said that the best wine in the world is produced there. By the time the finest wines reach Longcheng, they are already leftovers from the Nevernight Palace."
They talked animatedly, but in their hearts they were still sighing. The world of martial arts was turbulent and unpredictable, with the truth layered upon layer. They never expected that the phoenix and dragon descendants of the Yu Dynasty would be pawns in the hands of the lady.
Shi Mi truly admired this kind of woman; she possessed both courage and strategic acumen. She let her husband and son face danger while she remained safely in the background, ensuring her own survival. As for the deaths of the Xie father and son, their treasonous deaths were not unjust, but their careful consideration of the situation must have been aided by his wife's planning and strategizing.
This is good too; everything is the best arrangement.
Shi Mi smiled with her eyes crinkling, no longer dwelling on the question, and instead asked Lu Min, "May I go for a stroll in the city? To see the prosperity under the emperor's nose and to taste the delicacies of Shangdu."
He said no, raising his eyes to reveal a deep, cold gaze. “The lady must be with me at all times, so that I may not be unable to find you in times of need.”
This "unexpected need" is truly suggestive. Shi Mi understood his meaning, but that didn't stop her from deliberately twisting it, "The Grand Tutor's affection for me is so great that it makes me feel quite embarrassed."
He gave a half-smile, his eyebrows slowly arching, not denying it.
Shimi muttered, "When I get back, I still need to talk to my father. My husband is too infatuated with me, which puts a lot of pressure on me. Maybe we should postpone this marriage and let me think about it."
In the end, Lu Min made a slight concession, "I'm busy today, but I'll make time to accompany you when I return to the capital next time. As for the food, we can have it delivered from the various shops. It's still chilly in spring, so we don't want you to catch a cold."
Look at that possessiveness, it's really strong, restricting her movements. Fortunately, no matter how capable he is, he can't ultimately control her. Today was indeed a bit busy, meeting with two groups of people, all about mundane family matters. I can relax and enjoy myself this afternoon; once I get back to Chong'an City, I won't have any free time anymore.
So, while Lu Min was busy meeting with the advisors of the high council in the front hall, she sat in the back hall, enjoying a hearty meal. The craftsmanship of those shops from years ago was no longer what she remembered; it had probably been adapted to the tastes of the Yan people, with a subtle saltiness and numbing spiciness. Fortunately, the pastries were still there; her favorite ginseng flower cake remained unchanged, and the orange-red cake she longed for was still vibrant. With a pastry in her mouth, she felt a lump in her throat, and it took a great deal of effort to swallow it.
After eating and drinking their fill, they climbed the watchtower. Looking north, they could see a courtyard where the surviving members of the Yu Dynasty's royal family were imprisoned.
Unfortunately, she was too young when she went into seclusion with her master. Baiyujing was too big for her. She couldn't tell how many main roads or neighborhoods there were in the city. Even now, looking down on the whole city, she was still completely lost.
Suddenly someone called out, "Lady...lady!"
Shimi leaned against the railing and peered out. He saw the official clasped his hands together and said devoutly, "I've heard that the lord is about to marry the young lady. Although the wedding banquet is being held at Jiuzhang Mansion, our mansion also needs to be decorated. What color bedding and curtains does the young lady prefer? What kind of incense does she usually use? And what about the tableware? Should it be gold, silver, or exquisite porcelain? If the young lady gives us her instructions, we can start making the arrangements as soon as possible."
Shi Mi had no choice but to come down from the watchtower. "It's still early. I don't know how long it will be before I come back next time."
"Better safe than sorry, young lady." The official smiled sheepishly. "I will do my best to serve in the Grand Tutor's mansion for a long time."
Lu Min replaced people too easily, and the whereabouts of those replaced were unknown; Shi Mi had known this for a long time. Looking at this official, who was also of an age with elderly parents and young children to support, Shi Mi felt she had to give him peace of mind, so she took the catalog of patterns and colors and patiently began to select.
After looking around and making some choices, the official bowed deeply to her, saying, "Next time we return to the capital, you should not call me 'Lady,' but rather 'Your Majesty.'"
She is the only and absolute female ruler; the officials stated that the Grand Tutor's wife only recognizes her.
Shi Mi noticed that after spending the whole day together, the official was no longer as lifeless as before. "The eunuch should talk more. When someone talks, the house feels more lively."
The advisor blinked rapidly, looking troubled: "The lord dislikes servants who talk too much, and all the attendants, both inside and outside the palace, keep this in mind. Rather than incurring the lord's displeasure, it's better to remain silent."
Shi Mi laughed, "That was before, when there were no women in the house, and your lord's yin and yang were out of balance. From now on, with me here, I want it to be lively and bustling, the more people the better."
The official nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes. However, adding more people is fine, but Your Majesty must not accept Xiao Jun. Two tigers cannot share one mountain. With Your Majesty's forthright nature, don't let someone set you up and leave you suffering a hidden loss."
Shi Mi solemnly reassured the official, "Don't worry, the Grand Tutor is devoted to me. He would never take a concubine as a concubine in his life."
She was so confident, but when she turned around, she saw Lu Min standing in the corner of the opposite room, looking at her indifferently. She choked on her words and quickly added, "The Grand Tutor is a devoted man, I know that perfectly well."
The official broke out in a cold sweat, mumbled a few words in response, and seized the opportunity to slip away.
Shi Mi walked towards him slowly, but didn't dare to stop. She passed by him and wisely went back into her room.
The next day, as usual, they set off at the crack of dawn. Her old problem hadn't improved at all; she felt sleepy after only ten miles. The wind howled outside, and the carriage was deathly silent. The excessive quiet was unsettling, and she kept suspecting that Lu Min was watching her, so she would keep her eyelids open to check every now and then. She found that he had been looking out the window the whole way; his profile looked handsome, but also as cold as ice.
Xiao Wu is looking more and more like him now, she thought vaguely. Her face, right after the surgery, was much gentler than it is now.
Forget it, what's the point of dwelling on what's already been given away? She hugged the pillow, buried her face in it, and planned to sleep her way back to Chong'an City from Baiyujing to recuperate and prepare for the future.
Just as she was in a dreamlike state, the carriage suddenly stopped, and she heard Lu Min instruct the guards outside the carriage: "Knock on the door and check how the person inside is doing."
She then looked up and glanced out the window, seeing the carriage stopped in front of a mansion. The mansion was strangely built; the courtyard wall was over three zhang high, forming a circle, with gray bricks stacked in an alternating pattern, resembling an iron barrel. The gate was particularly low, only allowing one person to pass through at a time; Bai Heliang had to bend down to go in and inquire.
A vague premonition rose in her heart, and she sat up and asked, "Where is this place?"
“A cage,” he said bluntly, “a cage that keeps people trapped for eternity.”
Shimi leaned against the window and looked out, sighing, "This is a violation of heavenly law; can only get out horizontally?"
Lu Min pursed his lips and remained silent.
Before long, Bai Heliang came out and stood in front of the carriage to report: "Two more children were born in the first month, so now there are nine boys and seventeen girls, a total of twenty-six people."
He nodded, leaned back on the mattress, and said calmly, "Let's go."
The carriage started moving again. Shimi calmed herself down and asked him for confirmation: "Who are the people imprisoned inside?"
He stretched his limbs leisurely, resting one arm on his raised knee, and stroked the trim of his sash, saying, "They are all members of the former Yu royal family who survived the Yan Dynasty's attack on the city. His Majesty ordered them to be imprisoned here, provided with food and drink every day, but forbidden from ever stepping out of the besieged city for the rest of their lives."
The astray couldn't understand, "How could anyone have a child under these circumstances?"
Lu Min said, "When people lose their status, abandon their aspirations, and stray from propriety, they are no different from animals. When all that's left to do is eat, drink, and excrete, what else can they do besides have children?"
"Resist, save yourself, escape." Shimi said with unyielding pride, "If I am imprisoned inside, I will not surrender without a fight."
“Not necessarily.” He spoke with certainty, turning his gaze to her. “How do you know they didn’t resist, didn’t try to save themselves or escape? In the first year they were locked up, no one gave in, but the guards here were too tight, and they couldn’t escape. After two years, they had no choice but to accept their fate.”
"So you're willing to be imprisoned? To give birth to your child and be imprisoned with him?"
Lu Min slowly smiled, "At first they were unwilling, but they will get used to it over time. If we wait another two years, they may not even want to go out when we open the door wide."
Confused, Shi Mi asked, "Why? I don't believe they would refuse to leave."
He, however, was confident of victory. "I'll make a bet with the young lady, for three years. We'll see if my words today are accurate after three years."
Shi Mi scoffed, "You're too arrogant. Tell me first, why don't they leave? Is it because they crave the comfort of the prison and are unwilling to face the changes outside?"
His gaze pierced through the car window, reaching the vast sky. In casual conversation, he revealed a truth too painful to bear reading: "It's not that I'm unwilling to face the changes of the past, it's that I'm unwilling to face my own filth. Over the years of domestication, people gradually forget self-respect, forget human ethics. From initial panic and chaos, they become numb and indifferent. To forget the shame of national subjugation, they can only numb themselves. How do they numb themselves? Through promiscuity, a life of debauchery, and giving birth to one wretched monster after another. Two years later, when the relationships between these people become even more complex and intimate, like molten iron solidified, unbreakable, they know they are out of place in the world. They become afraid to contact the outside world, eventually going mad, insane, with only one way out: to rot in this cage." He glanced at her lightly. "So? You want to gamble?"
His analysis made Shimi almost vomit. She knew that the fall of a country would bring utter disaster to its people. The burial of 200,000 soldiers outside Chong'an City was already an outrage to both gods and men. Little did she know that the Yan people were even more utterly depraved in their treatment of the former Yu royal family.
She stared at him blankly for a long time, but finally firmly disagreed, "That's your deduction. I don't believe people can turn into beasts. But was this dirty trick your idea? If so, I'll think that the puppeteer made a mistake in saving you."
He smiled dismissively, “In a battle between two armies, life and death depend on one’s own ability. I can kill an enemy with a knife, but I will not humiliate unarmed women and children.”
Shimi pressed on with a burning gaze, "So, if it were you, how would you deal with those people?"
“Kill them.” He did not hesitate at all. “To spare them from such a disgrace is the final act of honor for their humanity.”
So how do we distinguish between good and evil? Being killed is not necessarily the worst outcome; sparing someone's life could lead to an even worse fate.
Ugh, my head hurts.
She rubbed her temples and groaned, "I shouldn't have listened to such a tragic story. It's making my head feel like it's going to explode."
Lu Min's voice became very gentle, as if comforting an orphaned child, "Sleep a little longer, we'll pass through Walong around noon, I'll take you to eat something delicious."
A note from the author:
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