Born for Your Majesty
Shangguan Jin felt a nameless urge stuck in his chest, and it took him a long time to get it out.
Was he some kind of heretical monk or Taoist priest, or a rebel, that he would appear in history in such a way?
He asked with difficulty, "Why did you insist on finding me?"
Sima Jinyuan looked at him like he was an idiot and said, "That's because I don't want someone as talented as you to be buried in a pile of dead men's graves for the rest of your life!" He said happily, "To be honest, you are the smartest person I have ever met, and the person I trust the most. The only condition for me to agree to become emperor is that you must be my Grand Secretary. How about that? Am I loyal?"
Shangguan Jin stared at him blankly for a long time.
What exactly is going on in this person's head?
For the first time, he regretted whether he had been too polite when he was young with Sima Jinyuan.
Those earnest, perfunctory responses and polite refusals of thanks perfectly crafted his emotions.
As a result, Sima Jinyuan never truly understood him.
Sima Jinyuan, unaware of what was going through Shangguan Jin's mind, was still extremely excited, looking at him expectantly, just waiting for him to say "yes," and wishing he could immediately draft an edict to appoint him as prime minister.
Shangguan Jin finally suppressed the complex emotions in his heart and said calmly, "I have no intention of taking up an official post. Excuse me."
Then he turned and left, leaving Sima Jinyuan speechless and standing there with his mouth agape.
When Sima Jinyuan came again, Shangguan Jin did not show up at all.
This time, he learned his lesson and knew that Shangguan Jin disliked such ostentation, so he only brought a servant to lead his horse.
This time, it was the clan chief who stepped forward and tactfully informed Sima Jinyuan of the responsibilities of the Shangguan family's tomb guardians, as well as Shangguan Jin's lifelong ambition to cultivate swordsmanship and remain detached from worldly affairs. This was not a decision made overnight, nor was it made under duress.
Inside the forbidden area, Shangguan Jin stood behind the stone tablet, looking out at Sima Jinyuan, who was listening to the clan leader's eloquent speech with a blank expression, unsure whether he understood anything.
He was sweating bullets, feeling endless annoyance.
Sima Jinyuan is, after all, the current crown prince and the future emperor. If he were to become so entangled with us, and we were to handle the situation improperly, it would still damage the reputation of the Shangguan family as a lineage of virtuous ministers and capable officials.
He watched Sima Jinyuan's departing figure, turning back every few steps as if deep in thought, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Sima Jinyuan's return came as a surprise to Shangguan Jin.
He thought that his uncle had made things very clear last time, and that Sima Jinyuan had already accepted the matter.
Therefore, when Sima Jinyuan, clad in a golden crown and dragon robe, stood outside the forbidden area a month later and shouted, "Shangguan Shisan, I have something to say to you," he hesitated, unsure whether he should go out.
Sima Jinyuan is now the emperor.
He was preoccupied with his own thoughts, silently pushed open the door and went out. He looked up at Sima Jinyuan, but his heart was filled with confusion, and he didn't know whether he should bow down.
If one is a reclusive hermit or a highly accomplished person, they have the privilege of not bowing to the emperor. However, if one still considers oneself a subject of the Shangguan family, then one must observe the proper etiquette between ruler and subject.
He hesitated for a moment, but finally made a gesture of bowing. However, Sima Jinyuan was quick-witted and grabbed him.
Sima Jinyuan grinned and said with a simple and honest smile, "Don't worry, I won't bother you again after this visit."
He proudly shook the newly made dragon robe on his body at Shangguan Jin.
Shangguan Jin was about to utter a sentence, but then the words caught in his throat.
He wanted to ask: Wasn't it said that Sima Jinyuan would only ascend the throne as emperor if he became the Grand Secretary?
He hasn't agreed yet, so why has Sima Jinyuan already ascended the throne?
Sima Jinyuan laughed and said, "If you don't want to, there's nothing I can do. Those governors who are in charge of the troops insist that I ascend the throne, saying that otherwise the people's hearts cannot be calmed. I can't object, because my mother has already been brought to Jianzhang Palace by them. Besides, becoming emperor shouldn't be too difficult, since they handle everything."
He continued, "I have only come to say goodbye. There is a rebellion in the three southeastern prefectures. I have just ascended the throne, and the ministers are advocating that I personally lead the expedition, saying that this will be an opportunity to deter the villains."
Shangguan Jin, who was preoccupied with his own thoughts and hesitant to speak, suddenly became enraged upon hearing the first part of the story. He roared, "They used your mother as leverage to force you to become the emperor who took the blame, and you just obediently accepted it? Do you know how many princes from your family, with their abundant supporters and powerful backgrounds, have already died on this throne?"
Sima Jinyuan was taken aback by Shangguan Jin's sudden outburst of anger and stammered, "But I am, after all, the only bloodline of the Sima family... If I were to refuse again, it would seem as if I were betraying the empire that our ancestors, such as the founding emperor, had worked so hard to build..."
That one sentence dispelled all of Shangguan Jin's anger.
Yes. Whether Sima Jinyuan is willing or not, whether he is capable or not, he is already the last royal bloodline of the Great Huan Dynasty. If he refuses because he is afraid that he cannot do the job and wants to save his life, it would be tantamount to handing over the family business.
Even Shangguan Jin himself couldn't have done it.
Even in the deepest despair, I couldn't do it.
Shangguan Jin's voice softened slightly, but he still roared, "Those people all have ill intentions! You have neither an army nor your own people, yet they want you to personally lead the army, clearly using you as a target to be pushed to the front lines to die! You..."
In truth, Shangguan Jin knew with his eyes closed that all those rebellious officials were trying to use Sima Jinyuan. Some were determined to destroy the last vestige of the Sima family's bloodline to pave the way for their own power, while others were using him as a shield to fight against other forces of similar strength. At best, they simply wanted to use the emperor to command the other lords. When the situation stabilized, Sima Jinyuan would still not have a good outcome. He would be lucky if he could abdicate smoothly and be granted the title of Duke of Anle.
Because all of these things are written in the history of those who came before, and there is nothing new under the sun.
Under the crown of Sima Jinyuan, the smile on his face finally seemed somewhat forced.
He bit his lip, and finally spat out a few words from between his teeth: "That's why I came to see you."
I'm visiting you one last time.
Looking at his uneasy gaze, his panicked and helpless appearance as if he wanted to shrink back into his dragon robe, Shangguan Jin was speechless for a moment.
Sima Jinyuan stammered, "Before... I was too naive. I didn't know the situation was this bad. In the past month, even if I were stupid, I've seen and experienced everything. I feel that, even if you wanted to, I can't drag you down with me."
Sima Jinyuan's gaze was no longer as innocent as before, but instead held a hint of shame.
He mustered his courage and said, "Actually, what I wanted to say was that I bothered you last time I came, and the time before that. No matter how bad the situation is now, it's a matter for the Sima family. I... I wanted to drag you out, which would be tantamount to harming you. Even..."
Sima Jinyuan thought to himself, no wonder even his uncle, the patriarch of the Shangguan family, was wise to protect himself and not get involved in the situation.
Sima Jinyuan concluded by saying, "I'm sorry, I'm leaving! I'll come see you again when I have time!"
He looked around the forbidden area and finally said, "After all, you are the only acquaintance I know in the capital."
Sima Jinyuan back then, in his flustered and hurried state, looked exactly the same as he does now. Only time has brought white hair to the young man's head.
Mo Yi Bi Shuang, kneeling on the ground, stood ramrod straight, the Nine-Dragon Staff he held seeming like a joke to him.
But he overlooked the fact that this was probably the only thing Sima Jinyuan felt he could offer in all these decades, and the most valuable thing he could offer that was worthy of Shangguan Jin.
On that day, Shangguan Jin finally followed Sima Jinyuan out of the forbidden area, and never returned.
After that, Sima Jinyuan remained oblivious to his imperial position, living in constant fear and walking on thin ice. Meanwhile, Shangguan Jin, who had returned from seclusion, first seized military power, and then dealt with the various governors who held military power by either dividing their influence and governing them, or by enticing them with benefits and then eliminating them, or by allying with Wu to attack Wei, or by borrowing a route to destroy Guo, or by making distant alliances and attacking nearby ones. In less than three years, he brought order to the chaotic court.
But he knew very well that the political system, which had been dominated by powerful clans for centuries, was now deeply entrenched in corruption and malpractice. Without a suitable opportunity, and with the Five Barbarian tribes to the north eyeing it covetously, he could not completely reform the political landscape. That would require a bloody overhaul and a complete purge, and the current Huan Dynasty was like a terminally ill patient; if it wanted to prolong its reign, it could not withstand such a brutal cleansing.
Therefore, he respected the Sima family's imperial power and traditions as much as possible in order to create a peaceful and satisfactory political atmosphere for the major aristocratic families. He could not allow any force to feel that the Sima imperial power could be replaced in the short term.
This is why Yanxiu had to marry Sima Yan.
In any more powerful and stable situation, whether the Sima family or the Shangguan family could have absolute authority, perhaps this stance wouldn't be necessary.
Shangguan Jin must use this to demonstrate that the Shangguan family will stand firmly and wholeheartedly behind the Sima family, regardless of whether the person on the throne is the dull-witted Sima Jinyuan or the domineering and willful Sima Yan.
This is for the sake of stability in the world.
If the person on the throne is perceived as strong enough to be replaced, then immediately there will be a rise of heroes and years of continuous warfare.
This is also why, no matter how angry Shangguan Jin was about Yanxiu's death, he could never accept the Nine Bestowments.
During the reign of Emperor Huan, he was a powerful minister, but he would never usurp the throne. This was partly because he did not crave power, but also because he did not want to add another layer of instability to the already precarious Southern Dynasty.
Seeing Shangguan Jin's furious expression, the white-haired Sima Jinyuan could only frantically wave his hand, unable to utter another word, when faced with his question, "Brother Jinyuan, do you understand me so well? Do you know so clearly what I, Shangguan Shisan, want?"
At this moment, Shangguan Jin suddenly realized that something was wrong.
He suddenly withdrew the ice bamboo, his face ashen, and took a step forward to Sima Jinyuan, reaching out to take his pulse.
Rong Yuexian and Mo Yi Bishuang, who was kneeling on the ground, both wanted to stop it, but in the end neither of them made a move.
Sima Jinyuan desperately tried to pull his hand away, but he was unskilled in martial arts and was old and weak. How could he avoid Shangguan Jin's iron-boned and copper-muscled grip, which was as sharp as an eagle's claw?
Upon examining him, Shangguan Jin's expression shifted from fury to disbelief. He exclaimed, "You've been poisoned by the 'Pulling Mechanism' poison? That brat Sima Yan actually poisoned you?!"
Tears finally welled up in Sima Jinyuan's old, cloudy eyes. He held Shangguan Jin's hand and shook it gently, as if pleading with him not to say anything.
Shangguan Jin said, "No wonder you insisted on abdicating immediately five years ago when you were perfectly healthy, both physically and mentally, so that Sima Yan could ascend the throne. Presumably, you had already discovered that Sima Yan had secretly poisoned your food at that time?"
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