Chapter 839: with translation of chapter title

This old minister is terrified!

Yan Yan ultimately still forcibly suppressed the anger in his heart.

Now is not the time; this face cannot be torn apart completely yet.

Yu Qian saw Yan Yan lower his head, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly, and said, "I know Yan Xiang also labors for the affairs of the court, but this matter need not be overthought; I see it very clearly."

He sincerely wanted to thank Chen Wuji.

Thanks to Chen Wuji, he finally got to feel what it's like to be emperor.

He really liked Yan Yan's appearance just now.

Very pleasing to the eye, very delightful.

"Come here, take this whatever envoy away, execute him by five horses tearing his corpse apart, to warn others—just looking at him makes me sick!" Yu Qian glanced at Yan Yan and issued the order in a low voice.

Yan Yan did not move, nor did he obstruct.

A Liao, seeing this, immediately flared up: "Yan Xiang, you promised me? Why have you suddenly become like this?"

Yan Yan didn't even glance at A Liao, merely bowed low to the emperor: "Your Majesty, this old minister suddenly feels unwell; I will take my leave first!"

"Yan Xiang, you're old enough; you should rest properly. There's no need to worry so much about state affairs, and it's time to give the young some opportunities." Yu Qian said gently.

"Yes."

Yan Yan flicked his sleeve forcefully, turned, and left the hall.

This damned place—he didn't want to stay another moment.

If he stayed longer, he'd surely be angered to death.

A Liao rushed over, grabbed Yan Yan's calf in one hold, and said, "Yan Xiang, you can't just leave like that; you also agreed to my king's intentions—"

Before he could finish his sentence, Yan Yan kicked him away: "Stop spouting nonsense."

He didn't want to lose the Shendu King as an ally, but today it was inadvisable to completely break face with the emperor.

Since the emperor became like a mad dog, his previous coercive tactics no longer worked; forced argument would only make the emperor more reckless, affecting his situation.

However, it's fine—just killing a few envoys isn't enough to affect his friendship with the Shendu King. As long as he sends troops and then finds another way to benefit the Shendu King, the matter will pass.

Yan Yan ignored A Liao's shouts and strode away from the Tianlu Pavilion.

Having won a battle, Yu Qian laughed especially freely, his mood excellent.

Chen Wuji is a good person.

It's a pity that this subject appeared at the wrong time, in the wrong place, and this emperor of his also…

Setting aside his unrealistic thoughts, Yu Qian began to consider what reward to give Chen Wuji; since the words had already been spoken and Chen Wuji had achieved such merit, a reward was certainly necessary.

Two guards entered and dragged the still-weeping, pleading A Liao out.

Dealing with ministers like Ruan Yuchang and Yan Yan, Yu Qian is now utterly helpless, but executing a foreign envoy by five horses tearing his corpse apart is still something he can do.

Even if there are no warhorses in the palace, that pitiful hundred guards could still tear him apart with five horses by manpower.

"What sort of reward should that brat get?" Yu Qian listened to the wailing outside, stroked his chin and muttered to himself, "Why not just make him a marquis? I don't know how long I can remain emperor; using that marquisate as a condition, let him protect the third brother…"

Having thought this, Yu Qian shook his head violently: "No, can't do that; Chen Wuji is obviously ambitious, and although this fellow spouts flowery lies in his memorials, he's no honest man—if the third brother were sent over, he might get beheaded the moment he turned around."

"But… Yan Yan this fellow already harbors rebellious intent, and the second brother is getting that close to him…"

Yu Qian suddenly became torn, rose, and spun around in confusion on the spot.

Since he learned that his imperial uncle also coveted the seat beneath him, Yu Qian now has no one to consult about matters, and he dares not lightly seek advice on such things.

After turning irritably in circles around him, Yu Qian suddenly made up his mind.

Send!

This person must be sent!

"The eldest is just about to kneel and acknowledge Ruan Yuchang as his father, the second is getting that close to Yan Yan, and this third spends all day hiding in the palace pretending to be a turtle; I should also leave an heir…" Yu Qian said this, and suddenly his eyes lit up.

"I'm really muddleheaded—why not give Chen Wuji this lad a marriage? Can't I marry him off to a princess?"

Yu Qian excitedly clapped his hands, his vision suddenly clearing, and at the same time he felt a sense that perhaps he still had a chance to remain in this position longer and even turn things around.

Although Yu Qian's age is actually not that great, he is already at the age of thirty.

But princes marry early, and his good-for-nothing eldest son who acknowledges a thief as his father is already twenty.

Yu Qian had an idea, quickly returned to the desk, and began personally drafting the imperial edict.

Enfeoff Chen Wuji as Marquis Zhenyuan, with the fief of Yunan County.

Bestow the Elder Princess in marriage to Chen Wuji.

After these two edicts were written, Yu Qian flexed his sore wrist, then added another edict for Chen Wuji to march against Shendu, and by manipulating the means he moved the date of the edict forward three months.

"Will this brat keep going out to fight in the future?" Yu Qian muttered after finishing the edict.

"If so, just write a few more and send them off to the Buddha in the west."

Anyway, he's already come this far as emperor; Yu Qian feels no regret, so he simply prepared several more edicts in one go, so that Chen Wuji will have legitimate pretexts to use when attacking the Uyghurs, Xiongnu, and other foreign lands in the future.

Yu Qian wrote nearly ten edicts without sparing effort, only then setting down his brush with satisfaction.

Looking at the edicts nearly covering the desk, Yu Qian felt a great sense of accomplishment.

If he weren't emperor, he could probably become good friends with Chen Wuji.

There are really too many things they could talk about.

This is the realization that suddenly occurred to Yu Qian while he was writing these edicts.

The eunuchs attending nearby were all dumbfounded.

The last time he saw such a scene was the previous time.

Moreover, the recipient of these edicts was still the same person.

If he didn't know what was going on, he would really think the emperor doted on Chen Wuji to the heavens.

However…

Now it seems about the same as well.

Although the Emperor's favor toward Chen Wuji has some preconditions, who says that isn't genuine favor?

……

On the fourth morning after Yu Qian finished writing the imperial edict, two young women, under the eunuchs' cover, hid beneath the ox cart that delivered vegetables to the palace and quietly left the palace.

Outside the palace, even the Feather Forest Army are now Yan Yan's people.

Even princes and princesses, if they wish to leave the palace, the Emperor's orders are useless; they must gain Yan Yan's permission.

Although power is now divided among several factions at court, regarding Yan Yan's approach, the others had no objections and unanimously reached a consensus.

After all, keeping the Emperor under their control benefits them all.

What Yan Yan truly controls is only the periphery of Palace City; the military authority elsewhere is not wholly in his hands.