Chapter 345: In the Beast's State of Mind

September is Ji Ge's birthday; according to tradition, even if there is no nationwide celebration, at least a grand banquet will be held in Chang'an to spruce up the façade.

For a man over sixty, especially one who is wealthy and well‑versed in the world, wealth and riches have become utterly meaningless.

The current Ji Ge no longer cares about the desire fulfillment brought by wealth and jewels, no longer cares about the sensual stimulation of beauty, and no longer deliberately pursues such luxurious displays.

Whether the whole world celebrates with him or not, Ji Ge doesn't care!

In early September, the court ordered that this year's Saint's birthday celebration would not be held in Chang'an but moved to Huaqing Palace.

Then Right Prime Minister Li Linfu would act as regent in Chang'an, handling ordinary state affairs.

At the same moment the imperial edict was issued, a detachment of the Shen Ce Army escorted Ji Ge to Huaqing Palace for recuperation, accompanied by Grand Justice Zheng Shuqing of the Dali Temple and Cao Yong, a physician of the Imperial Medical Institute who hailed from the Zhao Wu Nine Surnames and gained a reputation for practicing medicine in the Western Regions, among the few officials.

In September, Huaqing Palace was already quite cool, truly comfortable and pleasant.

That evening, after the imperial carriage arrived at Huaqing Palace, Ji Ge rushed into the hot‑spring pool, leaning comfortably against its edge with a contented expression. Beside him, Zheng Shuqing and Physician Cao, who were attending, were drenched in sweat, their faces faintly anxious.

"Cao, my minister, can this strange disease truly be cured by a hot‑spring bath?"

Ji Ge asked lazily, feeling quite comfortable now; the hot springs should suppress the condition, but whether they could completely cure it was not what Ji Ge hoped for.

Sure enough, Physician Cao carefully clasped his hands in salute and replied slowly, "Saint, a hot‑spring bath can indeed suppress the illness. However, this disease is extremely fierce; relying solely on the bath, it is unlikely to be cured completely."

Physician Cao did not exaggerate; he gave a rather pessimistic conclusion.

Hearing this, Ji Ge frowned slightly, waved his hand gently to signal the physician to withdraw. The conclusion was unsurprising, yet it still filled him with disappointment.

And an uncontainable fury!

"Your servant takes leave."

"Hmm, stay here in Huaqing Palace; I will summon you, my dear minister, at any time."

Ji Ge's face, calm yet suppressing anger, made Physician Cao dare not meet his gaze. After Cao left, Ji Ge turned to Zheng Shuqing and asked coldly, "How is the investigation progressing?"

"Your Majesty, we have already uncovered considerable leads. Indeed, many court officials have had affairs with the Yang sisters, and some of them are even wealthy merchants."

"I have also discovered that Princess Du, the Crown Princess, appears to have contracted the disease, possibly transmitted by her lover."

"However, the Crown Prince is believed never to have been intimate with Princess Du; reports from the Eastern Palace say the Crown Prince has not contracted this strange illness."

Zheng Shuqing answered with a slight hesitation.

"Hmph, cheapening that damned beast!"

Ji Ge let out a cold snort, not particularly surprised.

Prince Li Chang now has only Wei Sanniang in his heart; aside from the two offspring he already has, no other children have been born.

Simply put, Wei Sanniang is no longer a woman who has passed away; she is Li Chang's spiritual pillar.

The prince's mood can be summed up in three characters: "unsettled grievance!"

"Saint, among these infected officials, some are imperial clan members, others are deeply entangled with aristocratic families. To annihilate three families would be too drastic and would easily lead people to suspect something is amiss on your side."

"In my humble opinion, it would be better to execute only the individuals and their spouses and children. If we were to annihilate three families, few officials would remain in Chang'an."

Zheng Shuqing knelt on the ground, kowtowed several times, and pleaded as he did.

According to the Western Han "Great Dai Ritual Records", "Three families" refer to the paternal clan, maternal clan, and spouse's clan.

The Tang bureaucracy is tangled like roots; for example, the renowned "Xue × Tong" family has several brothers serving as Inspectors, whose wives are daughters of other official families. If we were to apply this standard, even Zheng Shuqing himself would have to be executed!

How, then, can this "annihilate three families" order be carried out?

"If we do not annihilate three families, I cannot vent the hatred in my heart!"

Ji Ge, fists clenched hard in the hot‑spring water, declared, his face ferocious!

"Saint, if this decree is to be executed, I too would be beheaded, so I beg you to show leniency.

Or appoint someone else to carry it out."

Zheng Shuqing knelt on the ground helplessly, pleading.

"Fine, fine, I understand!"

Ji Ge waved his hand impatiently and sighed helplessly.

Often, what one thinks in the heart is one thing; when it comes to execution, it's another.

The policy of annihilating three families is best left as talk, especially in Tang, where the bureaucratic class intermarried; the network of relationships is extremely complex, a single hair can move the whole body.

Li Linfu has so many sons‑in‑law; if any of them had slept with Yang Yuyao, could that even kill this Tang Right Prime Minister?

The answer is obvious.

Even Zheng Shuqing, who is handling this case, cannot protect himself under the annihilate‑three‑families policy, let alone others.

"Fine, then we'll do as you say."

Ji Ge hesitated for a long time, then let out a long sigh and said. At this moment, he also felt that imperial authority is not omnipotent, being heavily constrained.

The emperor's orders require subordinates to carry them out; if the subordinates refuse, then so‑called "imperial authority" is no more than a sandcastle on the beach—any big wave can topple it.

"My condition, you have not leaked, have you?"

Ji Ge asked softly, an invisible murderous intent instantly enveloping Zheng Shuqing.

"No, no, absolutely not! I swear on the hair on my neck, even now I keep my mouth sealed while sleeping."

Zheng Shuqing knelt on the ground, trembling, saying he dared not even lift his head to look at Ji Ge, who seemed to have everything under control in the hot‑spring pool, not even for a glance.

Regarding the old Zheng's humble attitude, Ji Ge was very satisfied; he nodded slightly and said, "This matter concerns the safety of our Tang; it must not be spread. If I learn that rumors have leaked, you understand the consequences. My servant is old; once this is settled, you will become the Tang Chancellor, and I will not break my word."

"Please, Saint, rest assured! I know what I am doing; nothing untoward will happen!"

Zheng Shuqing quickly rose, pounded his chest in assurance, then saluted and took his leave, exiting the hot room. Once outside, the early‑autumn night wind blew, and he felt a shiver, as if he had just wandered around the Gate of Ghosts.

Accompanying the ruler is like accompanying a tiger; the ancients truly did not deceive me.

"Saint, your moods are capricious, your cruelty ungracious; disaster for Tang is not far off!"

Zheng Shuqing couldn't help but mutter softly.

He has already sent his nephew, taking the soft belongings from a residence in Chang'an, to slip away quietly; the words just now were only to comfort Ji Ge. This matter could never be kept secret, at the very least it could not be hidden from Li Linfu.

However, it would be best to stall even just one more day.

Stalling is sometimes a high‑level tactic. Ji Ge is still angry, and if this news spreads, Zheng Shuqing's life will certainly be in danger.

But if we can stall longer, until it can no longer be concealed, then the leak becomes irrelevant.

Zheng Shuqing concluded that Ji Ge still needs him to do the dirty work; he won't discard him so quickly.

Scraping by one day at a time is a kind of survival wisdom… right?

……

"Your Highness, please save me; I'm about to die…"

Du Shi's face was covered with festering sores, and she was running a relentless fever. She shed tears of remorse and begged Li Chang.

"One who loves oneself is then loved by others; it's already this late—what good is pleading for rescue now? It's clearly an incurable disease."

Li Chang let out a light sigh, shook his head, and said.

In earlier days, Crown Princess Du Shi had constantly indulged in the carnal pleasures offered by various lovers to drown the sorrow of her family's ruin. Inevitably, she fell ill with the same strange disease that afflicted Yang Yuyao and others.

"Your Highness, among Du Shi's lovers, one was also a lover of Yang Yuyao and had already died of the illness."

Cheng Yuanzhen whispered in Li Chang's ear.

Hearing this, Li Chang remained expressionless, gave a slight nod, and gently waved his hand, signaling him to withdraw.

After Cheng Yuanzhen left, Li Chang approached Du Shi, shook his head and sighed: "Rest assured, I'll tell them you died of wind‑cold, so you won't leave this world with a bad reputation. Though you were promiscuous and brought me shame, I still forgive you."

"Your illness has no cure; that's not my fault, nor is it the fault of the lover I hired, right?"

Li Chang said softly, his expression calm—no anger, no sorrow, and no glee at disaster.

At that moment, a flash of light suddenly burst from Du Shi's eyes. She reached out to touch Li Chang, but he deftly evaded her. The hand she had extended fell instantly onto the bed, and she collapsed, lifeless.

It's unknown whether, at the brink of death, she…

"Attendants, the Crown Princess has died of wind‑cold; commence the mourning rites now!"

Li Chang crossed his arms in salute, bowed three times before Du Shi's corpse, and then shouted.

"Your Highness, the mourning arrangements can wait until after the Sage's birthday."

Cheng Yuanzhen entered, looking puzzled, and said he didn't understand why Li Chang was being so 'considerate' toward the lowly Du Shi.

Now the mourning coincides with the Son of Heaven's birthday—while the Emperor holds a birthday banquet, the Crown Prince conducts funeral rites. The resulting impact and external speculation are obvious without asking.

A person's death is ordained by Heaven and cannot be delayed; however, the timing of the mourning can be 'adjusted.' For example, after Eastern Wei Chancellor Gao Cheng died, his brother Gao Yang kept the mourning secret until he had secured all the mountain strongholds, only then announcing Gao Cheng's death.

Li Chang cannot control Du Shi's date of death, but he can postpone the mourning until after Ji Ge's birthday feast without affecting the overall situation at all!

"Proceed with the mourning; a person's death is paramount. Notify my brothers to come to the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace for the funeral."

"As for the Sage, no need to bother. It's normal that I don't invite the Sage; inviting him would only raise suspicion."

Li Chang shook his head, unwilling to listen to Cheng Yuanzhen's nonsense.

Now that it's like this, does he still need to worry about what Ji Ge thinks?

Moreover, Li Chang intends to use this funeral as an opportunity to convey a matter to the ambitious princes.

Time passed quickly; in the blink of an eye, three days elapsed.

Du Shi's body was dressed in mourning garments, displayed in the hall for three days, then interred in the noble cemetery south of Chang'an City. Crown Prince Li Chang accompanied the entire process, ensuring every proper rite was observed.

A funeral procession of hundreds, countless accompanying burial objects, and the ceremony was personally overseen by the Minister of Rites—truly a grand spectacle.

Du Shi found little joy after marriage, but in death she received extravagant honors, just like the nobles of Chang'an City.

She lived in a haze of material excess and spiritual emptiness, only to be taken away by a lavish funeral, leaving nothing but scattered feathers.

However, Du Shi's death did not surprise outsiders, because she was a person destined to die—she should have been killed alongside her father and brothers years ago. She survived only because Ji Ge deliberately disgusted Li Chang and kept her by his side.

This matter is almost universally known, so many speculate when Li Chang will be stripped of his title.

Yet the major issue some people focus on during Du Shi's funeral is the mourning ceremony itself.

The Crown Princess is not merely a woman; she is also part of the Tang state apparatus, or rather a component of 'Tang ceremonial.'

When the Crown Princess dies, imperial princes generally come to pay their respects.

They may come in person or send envoys. A person's death is paramount, and Ji Ge can't easily prevent this. After all, he has already gone to Hua Qing Palace; aside from having Gao Lishi command the Shen Ce Army to tightly monitor the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace, he has shown no further action.

He didn't even send anyone to feign 'comfort' for Li Chang; his stance is cold and indifferent, not even bothering to pretend.

Now everyone in Chang'an City knows that Crown Prince Li Chang is at odds with the Emperor, and the Emperor wishes Li Chang to die soon. Li Chang remains Crown Prince only because he serves as a live target to attract ministers and other princes.

With Li Chang shouldering the pressure, Ji Ge need not worry about 'who is the Crown Prince, who will succeed.'

At this moment, the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace was draped with white banners, presenting a solemn scene. Eunuchs and palace maids bustled in and out, handling affairs for the deceased, performing for the living.

Li Chang's eyes were vacant as he watched the many guests arriving to pay respects, feeling profound sorrow.

Feeling sorry for Du Shi?

No, no, no—Li Chang feels sorry for Wei Sanniang!

When Wei Sanniang was wrongfully killed, he longed to give her a grand funeral. But Ji Ge forbade it; it's a disgrace, and the fewer who know, the better.

Wei Sanniang was hastily buried, denied even a mourning ceremony; the tomb itself was dug by Li Chang and his men.

Aside from Wei Sanniang's family and Li Chang, no one else in Chang'an City knew of this wonderful woman, who thus perished unnoticed.

Those who deserved proper burial were treated harshly; yet Du Shi, who had driven him mad with betrayal, received extravagant honors after death.

Li Chang suddenly found the world absurd: the condemned never die, and earthly justice cannot be served.

He thought the problem lay not with his own thinking but with the Tang itself.

It had become a great problem.

"Crown Prince, please restrain your grief. Women like Du Shi are everywhere in Chang'an. Without her, there are better ones."

While Li Chang was dazed, a flippant voice sounded behind him—it was Prince Yong Li Lin!

He and Li Chang are openly at odds, known to all, and politically opposed as well.

Thus, although Prince Yong's words are off‑key, they are fitting.

"A person's death is paramount; Prince Yong still accumulates a bit of virtue."

Li Chang sternly rebuked Li Lin.

"Hmph!"

Li Lin let out a cold snort, said nothing more; Li Chang didn't break his guard, leaving him a bit disappointed.

Suddenly, Li Chang passed by his side, appearing to go greet the mourners who had come to pay condolences. But as the two brushed past each other, Li Lin felt that he now had an extra slip of paper in his hand.

He suppressed his inner surprise and looked toward Li Chang, but saw the other party leave without looking back. If it weren't for the slip of paper in his hand being real, Li Lin would truly suspect he was hallucinating.

Li Lin quietly found a secluded, deserted spot and opened the slip of paper in his hand.

He saw that sixteen characters were clearly written on it:

The sage's hidden illness has no cure; time is short, you may do as you wish.

(End of chapter)