Dingding
The news of Huo Mingguang's defeat was like a pebble thrown into a still lake; though it didn't create a huge wave, it stirred up ripples deep within the Huo family mansion. Eventually, these ripples reached the most secluded and heavily guarded study.
A few days later, Xishan Villa welcomed another visitor.
There was no caravan, only a seemingly simple blue-canopied carriage and a few attendants.
However, these attendants had sharp eyes and a calm demeanor, and each step they took was perfectly positioned for both exertion and defense, making them completely different from the entourage brought by Huo Mingguang.
The carriage curtain was lifted, and an elderly man slowly stepped down.
He was tall and imposing, his back still straight as a pine tree despite being over sixty. His face was lean, with deep wrinkles, as if carved by a knife and axe, recording countless hardships and decisive actions. His hair and beard were already gray, but this only added to his imposing presence. Unlike Huo Mingguang's calculating scrutiny, his gaze was calm and profound, like an ancient, cold well, unfathomable. Occasionally, a sharp glint would flash in his eyes, carrying a sense of imposing authority born from years of battlefield experience and the power of life and death.
This man was none other than Huo Ying, the true pillar of the Huo family and the Grand Marshal.
He didn't even have anyone announce his arrival; he simply pushed open the wooden door of the villa and stepped inside.
The courtyard remains unchanged.
The children were playing, Shen Zhangwu was busy by the stove, and Shuangren was lying to the side drooling.
Ling Zhan was washing freshly picked vegetables by the well, his sleeves rolled up.
Huo Ying's gaze immediately bypassed everyone else and landed precisely on Ling Zhan.
Just then, Ling Zhan seemed to sense something and looked up.
Their eyes met.
There was no fear, no flattery, not even the tension one would expect from an ordinary person meeting him. Ling Zhan's eyes were as calm as a deep pool of water, clear yet chillingly cold, containing an almost beast-like instinctive vigilance and an absolute sense of power. It wasn't the kind of gaze one could cultivate in a secluded mansion or the imperial court; it was a pure sharpness honed in the mountains and forests, on the battlefield, and from countless brushes with death.
Just that one glance.
All of Huo Ying's considerations, tests, and the initial thought of "perhaps I can apply pressure" vanished instantly.
He has known countless people throughout his life and would never be wrong in his judgment.
The owner of such a gaze is an unyielding blade, a ruthless character capable of risking everything, including their life. To force her? Or to force the man she approves of to marry another? The result will never be compromise; it will only be a fight to the death, shattering the Huo family's meticulously planned scheme.
His grand-nephew Huo Mingguang is completely wrong.
This is not a village woman at all; it is a lurking female leopard.
Huo Ying's gaze lingered for only a moment before naturally shifting away, as if it were just a casual glance.
He looked at Shen Yan (Wei Jin), who came out of the study in slippers after hearing the noise.
"I, Huo, have come uninvited and have disturbed your peace, Lord Lord."
Huo Ying spoke, his voice low and hoarse, yet carrying a metallic quality that could not be ignored.
Shen Yan still wore that lazy smile on his face, but his eyes narrowed slightly.
"So it's General Huo who has arrived. It's truly an honor to have you here." He stepped aside. "Please."
The aroma of tea lingered in the study.
Huo Ying didn't beat around the bush; his directness was suffocating.
"I am already aware of the conditions that Mingguang brought."
He looked at Wei Jin with a gaze as tangible as a physical object, "I understand your answer."
Wei Jin didn't speak, but slowly poured tea.
"very good."
Huo Ying suddenly uttered two words, a faint smile—whether it was admiration or sarcasm—appearing on his face: “A man should have principles for life, and principles for not doing. It’s a good thing to have principles to uphold.”
This reaction was completely unexpected by Shenyan.
Huo Ying continued, his tone calm yet resolute.
"Since you favor the Ling family for the Empress's position, then it shall be the Ling family. The Huo family will have no further objections."
Shen Yan paused slightly as he poured the tea, then looked up at Huo Ying.
He tried to discern deeper scheming from that calm, expressionless face.
Huo Ying seemed oblivious to his probing, and continued, "Three days from now is an auspicious day. The Empress Dowager's decree will arrive, welcoming you into the palace to offer sacrifices at the ancestral temple and ascend the throne. The Ministry of Rites will send someone to instruct you on all the ceremonies." He stood up, as if he had merely come to inform you of a predetermined fact.
“General…” Wei Jin began.
Huo Ying stopped and turned to look at him, his gaze deep: "Sitting in that position, enjoying the bounty of the world, one must also bear the responsibilities of the world. I hope you will take care of yourself." With that, he left without lingering. He came suddenly and left just as abruptly.
The somber atmosphere in the villa only eased slightly after Huo Ying's carriage disappeared at the end of the mountain road.
Wei Jin walked to Ling Zhan's side, his brows furrowed slightly: "What's this old fox up to? Are we just going to let it go like this?"
Ling Zhan placed the washed vegetables into the basket, shook the water droplets off his hands, and spoke calmly.
"He understood it."
"What do you understand?"
"I understand that you and I are the same kind of people." Ling Zhan looked up at him. "If pushed too far, we'll bite and flip the table."
Meanwhile, inside the Huo family mansion.
Huo Ying's wife, Huo Xian, who was also known for her strong and assertive personality, was indeed furious.
"What?! You just agreed like that? To make that country bumpkin empress? What about Wan Jun? Where will the Huo family's reputation be?!"
She almost tore the handkerchief in her hand to shreds.
Huo Ying sat in the armchair, slowly sipping his tea, a stark contrast to his ruthless and decisive demeanor at the villa.
"Otherwise what?"
He didn't even lift his eyelids. "You really think Wei Jin is joking? He's the kind of person who would rather have a beauty than an empire. He's just a scoundrel who grew up in the streets. You can't play the old trick of arranged marriages between noble families with him. He won't take the bait."
"Then let's find someone else! He's not the only member of the royal family left!"
"Who should we replace?"
Huo Ying put down his teacup and glanced at his wife. "What if we replaced her with someone as stupid as a pig, like Wei Jie? Or someone with a powerful maternal clan behind her, someone who's been around for a long time and has a deep mind? Which one would be easier to control than this rootless, wife-obsessed, seemingly unambitious 'playboy'?"
Huo Xian was speechless. He opened his mouth, but couldn't find any words to refute it.
Indeed, it would be almost impossible to find another puppet as "perfect" as Wei Jin.
Huo Ying's tone softened, revealing a hint of shrewdness: "Besides, don't tell me you didn't see through Wan Jun's thoughts. Ever since she saw Wei Jin from afar at the last palace banquet, she's been distracted ever since. That boy, he's born with the look of a femme fatale."
He paused, his voice lower but more powerful: "Most importantly, both empress dowagers are daughters of the Huo family, and they both favor him. He has the most legitimate status, the best reputation, and is the easiest for the world to accept. There will be the least resistance to his ascension to the throne."
"But..." Huo Xian was still unwilling to give up, "What if that village woman gives birth to a legitimate son in the future, which would be detrimental to the Huo family..."
"There are no 'buts'."
Huo Ying interrupted her, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes, "Isn't it better that he puts all his attention on that woman? An emperor who indulges in the pleasures of the harem is much more reassuring than an emperor who thinks all day about governing diligently and reclaiming power. As long as this empire is still ruled by the Wei family, don't you understand who actually sets the rules?"
Huo Xian finally fell silent, though his chest continued to heave violently, but the anger in his eyes was gradually replaced by scheming.
Yes, a lovelorn and incompetent emperor is perhaps easier to deal with than a wise one.
What does it matter if we temporarily relinquish the title of Empress? The real power still lies in the hands of the Huo family.
Thus, the last resistance within the Huo family was forcibly suppressed by Huo Ying after weighing the pros and cons.
Three days later, the Empress Dowager's decree arrived at the Xishan Villa.
In a solemn yet somewhat rushed ceremony, under the watchful eyes of countless people, some with complex emotions, some with anticipation, and some with wariness, Wei Jin—the eldest grandson of the deposed crown prince who had been living among the common people for eighteen years, and the eldest grandson of the valiant emperor—donned his imperial robes, offered sacrifices to heaven and earth and the ancestral temple, and ascended the throne as emperor, designating the following year as the first year of the Chuyuan era.
The heavy palace gates slowly closed behind Wei Jin.
This also completely separated him from Ling Zhan, and the Xishan Villa, which was full of life and warmth, into two separate worlds.
Before the afterglow of the coronation ceremony had completely dissipated, the first official edict and the second decree of bestowal of favors issued by the new emperor Wei Jin in the Zichen Palace were like two boulders thrown into the still turbulent political swamp of the capital, stirring up two completely different waves.
The contents of the imperial edict quickly spread throughout the court and the public:
First, General Huo Ying is hereby promoted to Grand Tutor, concurrently serving in the Secretariat and assisting in the administration of the state. His nephew, General Huo, who had repeatedly distinguished himself in battle on the northern frontier but had been demoted due to previous factional strife, is to be immediately reinstated and ordered to return to the northern frontier army to command the border troops and defend against foreign aggression.
Second, he summoned his eldest sons, Shen Xiao and Shen Hong, who were far away on the northern frontier, back to the capital and to the palace for an audience.
Third, Xuan Chenzi was reinstated as the Director of the Imperial Observatory, to regain control of astronomy and the calendar, and to pray for the nation's fortune.
Fourth, Yang Sijian is promoted to Governor-General of Liangjiang, overseeing all military, political, and civil affairs along the southeastern coast; Zhou Wenqing is promoted to Minister of Trade for the Southern Seas, in charge of maritime trade and tributary relations with vassal states. He shall assume his post immediately.
These few appointments are truly a stroke of genius.
The Huo faction members, who had been on edge, preparing for the new emperor's purge or the cultivation of his own faction, breathed a long sigh of relief and felt incredibly comfortable.
Especially the first one.
Conferring upon Huo Ying the titles of Grand Tutor and concurrently in charge of the Secretariat was not only an honor but also a reaffirmation of his actual power. Restoring General Huo's military command in the northern frontier was a tangible transfer of military merit and benefits! The northern frontier was a key defensive area with a strong military force; returning this important position to the Huo family undoubtedly demonstrated the new emperor's "sincerity" and "understanding."
When Huo Ying received the news at his residence, he stroked his beard without saying a word, but a hint of satisfaction flashed in his eyes.
Just as he expected, this kid knows who his real reliance is.
As for the latter few points, they were insignificant and even somewhat laughable in the eyes of the Huo family and their cronies.
Summon your sons back to Beijing? That's only natural. Two grown boys, in the treacherous capital, wouldn't they be easy prey for you?
An old director of the Imperial Observatory was reinstated.
Over the years, he has long since become a true old Taoist priest! He spends his days pretending to be a ghost, doing nothing of substance.
Most importantly, Yang Sijian and Zhou Wenqing were appointed.
"Southeast coastal area? Governor-General of Liangjiang? Minister of the Southern Seas?"
When Huo Mingguang heard his confidant's report in the duty room, he couldn't help but sneer, "His Majesty is quite sentimental, eager to give benefits to those who have helped him rise to power. Well, after all, he is a loyal servant who has stood by him through thick and thin, even after his family was destroyed. It is only right to give him an official position in a prosperous place so that he can enjoy a life of leisure."
He took a sip of tea and said to his advisors, "In the southeast, besides the navy defending against insignificant pirates and escorting merchant ships, what else is there? The Japanese pirate problem has been quelled for many years. The real power center, the key tax-generating areas, and the border army are all in our hands. Sending two trusted confidants to those insignificant, idle places in exchange for real power in the northern frontier and stability in the court, this new emperor is quite the businessman. It seems that his mind is indeed focused on bringing back his son and... that woman in the harem."
This argument quickly became a consensus within Huo's party.
They automatically interpreted the new emperor's actions as an "exchange" and a "compromise"—using the "empty seat" in the southeast to gain the Huo family's support for the throne and to appease their pitiful old subordinates. They even looked on with a hint of superiority and pity as Yang Sijian and Zhou Wenqing happily and gratefully prepared to leave the capital to take up their posts.
"He comes from a humble background, and he's short-sighted. He's just going to be dismissed with a mere title of governor." Some people mocked him like this.
They were completely unaware of the immense strategic importance that vast ocean, which they considered a remote and uncivilized frontier, used only for "naval defense against pirates," and the enormous trade network and potential power connected to it, held in the mind of the new emperor.
Wei Jin stood atop the palace, gazing southeastward, a cold smile playing on his lips.
"Father, we want to go to the Southeast to join the navy," Shen Xing and Shen Chen made their request again.
“Go to your mother’s training and assessment,” Shen Yan said with a smile, patting the two boys on the head. “If you pass, I’ll send you to find Grandpa Yang.”
"Father keeps his word."
"My word is as good as gold."
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