Chapter 42

Dawn arrived amid turmoil.

The Ren Emperor awoke from his coma, listening to those chaotic reports.

He draped his robes and leaned against the bed, his pale face revealing no expression; after a long while, what first surfaced in those eyes was actually a trace of bewilderment and absurdity.

Dead?

All dead?

How could this be... how could they all have died so easily? In just this single day and night?

Didn't Ling Ke move troops? The Empress even dared to open the armory, so why did Ling Ke never move troops? Those so-called "Ling Family Army" who gradually knew only Ling and not Us are clearly right outside Chang'an City! As the Great Qian sovereign he held the winning hand; Ling Ke could have resisted stubbornly to the end and then died in true desperation... shouldn't it have been like that?

Why sever an arm, why die in such an abrupt manner?

Why? Why?

The Ren Emperor asked again and again in his heart; this questioning grew increasingly urgent, even angry, yet there was no one left to answer him, and he desperately needed an answer he could accept.

Before Zhu Zhi and the others who had rushed over could speak, Yan Xiangguo said with a solemn expression: "Your Majesty, after Marquis Changping rescued the Crown Prince, he knelt long outside the palace gate, severed one arm, and begged Your Majesty to see the Crown Prince once; until death he never showed any intention of moving troops——"

"Therefore this minister believes that Marquis Changping led his imperial guards to Xian Tai Gong to rescue the Crown Prince because he truly believed the Crown Prince suffered a grievous injustice and was unwilling to let sovereign and minister, father and son, be instigated by treacherous men into shaking the dynasty's altar of the soil and grain——this was a measure forced by circumstances, not a rebellious heart; we beseech Your Majesty to judge clearly."

Zhu Zhi looked at that ever-neutral, cold Yan Xiangguo, suppressed the sinister gleam in his eyes, and bowed his head to the Ren Emperor: "Your Majesty..."

Zhu Zhi was just about to speak when he saw the Emperor suddenly sweep his sleeve, knocking an object off the bedside table, his voice deep to the extreme: "Forced by circumstances, not rebellious? Then what is this!"

Dead, all dead... dead, all dead!

It was his order — kill without pardon anyone who approached the palace gate... it was his personal order!

Dead, all dead; does he mean to tell the world that the sovereign wrongly killed Ling Ke?

"He knew himself guilty of subordination; even if he moved troops there was no chance of victory... this so-called arm-severing was merely a ploy to still make Us lower Our guard!"

The Ren Emperor seemed to be proclaiming to the crowd, yet also seemed to be convincing himself; he had finally found an "answer": "He secretly colluded with the Xiongnu, and taking advantage of Our illness, covertly conspired with the Crown Prince to harm Us with witchcraft... seeing the plot exposed, he still dared harbor the vile delusion of placing himself in a death ground to survive!"

Yan Xiangguo picked up that secret memorial, his eyes trembling slightly: "Your Majesty, what is written above may not be true..."

The Ren Emperor braced one hand on the table, closed his bloodshot eyes, and spoke word by word: "True or false, We have Our own judgment and will investigate clearly!"

Inside the hall, many officials secretly glanced at the secret memorial in Yan Xiangguo's hands; beyond the shock in their hearts, each also gained a few parts of clear realization.

Marquis Changping was already dead; at this moment of the Son of Heaven's fury, amid the dynasty's turmoil, silence seemed the wisest choice.

But people's hearts and positions differ, their weighings and trade-offs differ.

Those crying injustice for the Crown Prince, the Ling Empress, and Marquis Changping are still not few.

Investigation, suppression, some were thrown into prison, some exiled; most of Ling Ke's confidant generals were also exiled.

The only thing that let most courtiers breathe a sigh of relief was that the Ling Family Army unexpectedly showed no large-scale mutiny or unrest; this well-trained elite force overall maintained their silent loyalty.

Some ministers, while rejoicing, praised that this displayed the Son of Heaven's awe; the dynasty's army is naturally still more loyal to Your Majesty.

Others believe it is because Marquis Changping died so suddenly and "timely"; this turmoil ended with abnormal speed, many people had not yet reacted, and so there was no time to trigger wider waves, while the court's swift and severe actions simultaneously awed those soldiers still in bewilderment.

Listening to the ministers' words, the Ren Emperor remained silent.

And Liu Qi repeatedly relived in his dreams that night talk on Tianlang Mountain with his uncle; also present that night were three of his uncle's confidant generals.

A conclusion without mutiny or strife always carries a relatively controllable price.

All this can already be called overly smooth, yet the gloom between the sovereign's brows grew heavier day by day.

This one night, the copper bell hanging before Weiyang Palace suddenly rang out.

The Ren Emperor was startled awake; Guo Shi hurriedly withdrew outside the hall to demand who had struck the bell without cause, yet even as no one claimed the crime, that copper bell actually rang again on its own with a humming sound.

Inside Weiyang Palace a momentary panic arose; some privately speculated this was the Ling Empress's vengeful ghost making mischief.

The Ren Emperor's face was overcast; he urgently summoned the Xian Tai Gong Taoist priests overnight.

One Taoist priest plucked up courage to speak: "This lowly one once heard the National Preceptor say: 'Copper comes from the mountain, therefore copper is the mountain's child'; now the copper bell rings without cause, I fear... I fear it portends a mountain collapse."

A young eunuch at the side, hearing this, still trembled; he thought back and forth but could not say whether the Ling Empress's ghost or a mountain collapse was more terrifying.

The Ren Emperor did not lightly believe that Taoist priest's words, but instead had someone request the National Preceptor to leave seclusion early to judge this strange phenomenon.

But an even stranger thing happened.

Two Taoists were ordered to go request the National Preceptor to leave seclusion; they bowed through the door and explained the reason, yet never heard any reply from within the room.

The two had no choice but to force the door open from outside.

The door was bolted from inside; opening it took some effort, and once opened the two were shocked to see that on the cushion where the National Preceptor sat in meditation only a set of robes and cap remained.

Yet clearly they delivered meals daily; only to avoid disturbing the National Preceptor, the food was passed through a small hidden slot at fixed times, and each time they would take away the previous bowl and chopsticks; every time it was evident the food had been eaten!

The two Taoists searched the spacious quiet chamber but discovered only two plump, glossy-furred black civet cats.

And beneath the National Preceptor's robes and cap there was actually a white bone; on the bone were golden characters in clerical script, like a stele inscription, four lines totalling twelve characters.

The two Taoists tremulously held up those robes-and-cap-and-bone, shouting all the way: "Baili State National Preceptor... has undergone Feather Shedding Ascension to Immortality!"

As dawn was about to break, the Ren Emperor personally saw the twelve golden characters on that white bone:

Heart Departure Arises

Mars Arrives

Heavenly Mechanism Returns

Zicheng Flourishes

——This resembles a prophecy.

"Mars Arrives..." The Ren Emperor's gaze wavered as he turned his head toward the direction of the Weiyang Palace copper bell; so, has a mountain collapse phenomenon truly appeared somewhere?

Ten days later, the Nan Commandery Governor submitted an urgent report to the capital: Dongting Lake waters burst their banks; north of Dongting, within Nan Commandery territory, mountains collapsed for twenty-odd li.

When this spread, inside and outside Nan Commandery quite a few commoners wept; rumors claimed this mountain was precisely Marquis Changping's incarnation — the man died and the mountain toppled.

The Ren Emperor ordered the Embroidered Uniform Guard to strictly investigate the rumor source; for a time a wave of self-endangerment rose again in the capital.

Some courtiers seized the chance to bite political enemies or settle private grudges; because Lu Hou once strongly protected Liu Qi, someone accused Lu Hou of being a remnant of the Deposed Crown Prince, and someone even testified that during the twelfth month last year when Ling Ke returned to the capital, Lu Hou and his wife went out of the capital to privately meet Ling Ke on the pretext of worshipping gods, unknown what they plotted——

Unexpectedly, after all this dragging and pulling, what was finally dragged out was a household matter in Lu Hou's mansion.

Lu Hou was framed in such a manner that he could only publicly declare the matter of his household's daughter Feng Zhu being unexpectedly rescued by Ling Ke.

Before this, the news of Feng Zhu's return to the capital had always been a secret.

The young lady of Lu Hou Mansion, who had long been rumored dead, had actually been found and brought back; this was certainly a strange affair, but it was not enough to cause any waves in the vast Imperial Court.

Only Yan Xiangguo, who had always been steady and solemn, suddenly looked up, fixing his gaze on Lu Hou.

When leaving the palace, Yan Xiangguo could not even mind his walking bearing, striding quickly to catch up to Lu Hou and inquire about Feng Zhu: "Duke Lu, may I ask..."

Lu Hou, however, interrupted his words, only sighing: "Xiang Gong, it is still better not to meet."

The deep spring wind brushed past the Palace Wall, and the late-spring apricot flowers fell rustling down.

When Liu Qi passed by the Xinghua Palace Wall, he quietly paused, watching for a moment.

He dragged a somewhat lame left leg, heading for Weiyang Palace.

All along the way, palace attendants retreated and saluted in succession, holding their breath, not daring to take another glance.

This was the first time since that night's calamity that the Sixth Prince had been allowed to appear before people.

This child seemed to have suddenly turned from a prince into a relic, the relic of those three people.

How should such a relic be arranged?

The Ren Emperor ultimately did not agree to personally see this young son, only saying: "We permit him to say one sentence."

Guo Shi led a eunuch out, conveying His Majesty's words to Liu Qi kneeling outside the hall door.

Guo Shi lowered his eyes expressionlessly, looking at this child.

This one sentence was very important, concerning this Sixth Prince's path, even his life and death.

Good morning everyone~

(Copper Ming Mountain collapse, Nan Commandery mountain collapse of twenty-odd li — this section has historical reference; ancient records have many such strange accounts, but true or false cannot be verified,)

(Chapter End)