Chapter 284: Xie Tianyao

A vast, sweeping, long dragon of a procession.

Liu Zheng finally saw the Great Carriage of the Emperor. The Longyan Dynasty revered the color golden-yellow, so from a distance, the entire formation of the Great Carriage appeared almost entirely yellow. From the Horse Carriage to the attire of the accompanying personnel, nearly everything was yellow.

Golden-yellow battle armor—it was the Imperial Guard!

Golden-yellow carriage shafts, golden-yellow everything...

Seeing the Emperor's Great Carriage from afar, the people of Liangzhou knelt down with a roar. They knelt on the ground to welcome it from ten miles away, showing just how prosperous imperial power was in the Longyan Dynasty. Even the commoners by the roadside felt deeply honored to be able to gaze upon the Son of Heaven, enough to boast about for a lifetime.

"Long live, long live, long, long live our Emperor!"

"Long live, long live, long, long live our Emperor!"

"Long live, long live, long, long live our Emperor!"

Across ten miles, the shouts from Liangzhou could shake the heavens.

Hearing this earth-shaking, mountain-quaking sound, Liu Zheng could not help but gasp.

Good heavens!

No wonder everyone wants to be Emperor; this majesty is truly overwhelming! As the saying goes, "Under the vast heaven, there is no land that is not the King's; to the borders of the earth, there is no one who is not the King's subject!"

The master of these four hundred million people had finally arrived by his side, and caught up in the atmosphere of the scene, Liu Zheng was truly stirred.

The Imperial procession.

Slowly approaching.

The leader of the Imperial Guard first led his men to line up in two rows along these ten miles to stand guard and protect the Emperor's safety. Liu Zheng took an extra look; those who could become Imperial Guards were the true elite of the Longyan Dynasty, and the look in these people's eyes was different.

Their martial skills were likely quite formidable as well.

Under the protection of the Imperial Guard, the Imperial carriage slowly approached.

In these ancient times, the arrival of the Emperor's Great Carriage was quite elaborate; various musical performances went first, and only then would the Great Carriage carrying the Emperor slowly roll forward.

First, the accompanying Scholar-officials sang praises and extolled virtues—about the arrival of the Great Carriage, the profound imperial will, eternal blessings, favorable weather, the grace of the Son of Heaven, the good fortune of Liangzhou... and so on. In short, it was one message: the Emperor has come, so your region is now blessed by Heaven and will surely enjoy favorable weather and a peaceful, prosperous life hereafter.

And then.

Only then did Grand Eunuch Zhou come forward to read a proclamation, which was on behalf of the Emperor. It began by praising the people of Liangzhou for their endurance and their brave resistance against the plague; though they had encountered a dim-witted ruler, the officials of Liangzhou had been diligent, leading to the order and Ankang of Liangzhou. In short, it was still one message: I have come to comfort you and to be your champion.

After the reading was finished.

Many scholars and commoners were already prostrate and weeping, deeply moved by the vastness of the imperial grace.

It was as if they had suffered some great grievance under the governance of Chen Ping. It was as if, once the Emperor arrived, their future days would truly be much easier.

Liu Dahao was also wiping away tears.

Liu Zheng was stunned.

Could it be that the acting skills of these ancient people were all this good? In any case, it was all a performance; it just depended on who acted better.

The Emperor seemed accustomed to such scenes; he had Grand Eunuch Zhou offer a few more words of comfort before saying they could enter the temporary palace. Then followed the same procedure: the crowd knelt to see him off as he departed for the Liangzhou temporary palace. Along the way, the interior of Liangzhou City had been cleared, for fear that any assassin might startle the Great Carriage.

Upon arriving at the temporary palace, Liu Dahao and the others waited tremblingly at the entrance, awaiting the Emperor's summons.

After the long and arduous journey, one had to let the man rest and wash up, right?

This wait...

Lasted another two hours or so.

Seeing that it was already noon and the sun was quite strong today, the heat left Liu Dahao, that pampered fat man, drenched in sweat, his legs starting to tremble.

Liu Zheng couldn't help but laugh.

That's what you get for living a life of debauchery every day!

A maid kept bringing water and fanning Liu Dahao, but it couldn't stop the sweat from streaming down.

Finally.

At two-thirty in the afternoon, Grand Eunuch Zhou slowly emerged. Seeing this group of people, he let out an "Aiyo" and laughed: "My lords, you have waited a long time, a long time indeed!"

How could the group dare to be negligent? They all cupped their hands in response, indicating it was nothing.

Grand Eunuch Zhou chuckled: "The Emperor has just finished his afternoon nap and summons the Western Regions Commissioner Liu Dahao and Prefectural Governor Liu for an audience!"

The others breathed a sigh of relief.

They had come today to accompany the Prefectural Governor, and hearing that the Emperor only wished to see the two of them was normal, so they dispersed.

Liu Dahao and Liu Zheng hurriedly followed Grand Eunuch Zhou. The former asked nervously: "Grand Eunuch Zhou, are there any taboos for meeting the Emperor? Do tell my son and me."

Liu Zheng nodded as well.

It would be bad if they made a fool of themselves later.

Grand Eunuch Zhou smiled: "You two, we are old friends, why be so formal? Actually, there is nothing to it. Kneel, listen, listen more and speak less, understand?"

The two nodded, deeply agreeing.

This was the way of survival in the officialdom since ancient times!

Capital cities like Liangzhou all had imperial temporary palaces; whether the Emperor came or not was one thing, but the temporary palace had to be prepared. When the Emperor and Empress went on inspection tours, they could stay in the temporary palace.

The scale of the temporary palace naturally could not be small, and it had to be magnificent.

It also had a Yangxin Hall, which was where the Emperor rested.

At the entrance of the Yangxin Hall stood four tall and burly Imperial Guards; even seeing that Grand Eunuch Zhou was leading them, they had to search them first to ensure there were no weapons or the like before letting them enter.

Inside the Yangxin Hall, blue smoke was already curling.

After taking his first step inside, Liu Zheng took a deep breath.

It would be a lie to say he wasn't nervous about meeting the Emperor immediately. Rather than saying the Emperor was summoning Liu Dahao, it was more like he was summoning him... So, how would this Emperor test him?

An old man sat alone in the Yangxin Hall, with a chessboard placed before him.

Liu Zheng stole a glance; this person looked full of authority, and although he was advanced in years, his eyes remained sharp. A dragon robe perfectly set off his temperament.

This was undoubtedly the current Emperor of the Longyan Dynasty, Xie Tianyao!

The two were brought in by Grand Eunuch Zhou. With a gesture from the Grand Eunuch, the two immediately knelt down: "Your subjects Liu Dahao and Liu Zheng pay respects to the Emperor!"

"Long live the Emperor, long live, long live the Emperor!"

Xie Tianyao did not look up, nor did he look at these two people, as if no one had entered at all; instead, he kept his eyes fixed on the chessboard before him, lost in thought.

The scene suddenly became eerily quiet.

Liu Dahao and Liu Zheng did not dare to look up either.

In his heart, Liu Zheng felt as if ten thousand alpacas were galloping past... Why were people of this era so fond of acting profound, and why did they all love playing with chessboards?

Qingyang Shuo was like this.

This Xie Tianyao was the same.

Grand Eunuch Zhou also stood quietly to the side, not daring to remind Xie Tianyao.

"Hahahaha!"

"How is this move of mine, Flying Dragon in the Sky?"

A sudden burst of laughter startled Liu Zheng, who had been kneeling and nearly falling asleep, back to his senses.

Grand Eunuch Zhou reminded them: "He is asking you!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Dahao hurriedly looked up. Without even looking at the state of the chessboard, he loudly praised: "The Emperor is mighty and peerless in the world. Liu Dahao's admiration for the Emperor is like the surging Jiangshui, continuous and unending. The Emperor dominates the world, the Four Barbarians submit, the four seas are at peace, the Nine Provinces..."

The string of compliments flowed off his tongue with ease.

Even someone like Grand Eunuch Zhou, who had seen many such scenes, could not help but smile.

Liu Zheng was even more dumbfounded.

Since when had his old man become so good at bootlicking? Not bad! Facing this situation, this was great wisdom!

Xie Tianyao listened quietly. Throughout this process, he kept his eyes narrowed, smiling as he watched the endlessly babbling Liu Dahao, his gaze occasionally flashing with a complex look...

Only then did he look at Liu Zheng: "What does the Viscount think?"

That gaze instantly became sharp!

Dominant!

For a moment, Liu Zheng felt as if he were surrounded by a powerful aura; this feeling was definitely not imaginary! This was the first time he had encountered such a situation since he had transmigrated.

This was the Emperor!

A true Emperor!

The master of the world, an Emperor with Heaven-Given Imperial Power!

He could allow Liu Dahao to flatter him, but he certainly would not allow him to do the same. Otherwise, why would he have come to Liangzhou in person? Could it be that he really came to execute Chen Ping? Was a mere Inspector worth him coming in person? Therefore, he had come to see him!

If he disappointed him too much, that would not do...

But if he were too brilliant, that would not do either...

To accompany the Emperor is like accompanying a tiger; that is how it is.

Liu Zheng swept his eyes over the chessboard, his heart filled with bitterness. This was a perilous game of Four Snakes Swallowing the Elephant... Xie Tianyao held the white pieces; while the game seemed to be under his control, there were crises on all sides, and it was teetering on the brink... At this moment, Xie Tianyao had played Flying Dragon in the Sky, seemingly with the momentum to turn the tide.

It had to be said that Xie Tianyao's chess skills were truly superb.

This move indeed had the brilliance of bringing the dead back to life, instantly capturing nearly a dozen of the black side's pieces.

However...

The white side still felt a bit overextended and lacking in follow-through.

Of course.

This did not mean the white side was bound to lose, but if he wanted to win, he would likely have to use risky moves, catching the opponent off guard and attacking where they were unprepared. He had to make the black side unable to react and, furthermore, unable to discover the white side's intentions!

Like walking on thin ice!

As Liu Zheng watched, he smiled bitterly in his heart.

So, the Emperor of this decaying Longyan Dynasty was not unaware that this dynasty was already on its last legs, old and withered...

It was just that.

He did not know how to change it.

He did not know how to continue, did not know how to break out of this encirclement of snakes swallowing the elephant, and how to reclaim his own territory and land from the hands of the Nobles and Scholar-officials.

"What do you think?"

Xie Tianyao laughed heartily.

Grand Eunuch Zhou was also signaling for Liu Zheng to answer.

Liu Zheng took a deep breath and said with a faint smile: "Emperor, Flying Dragon in the Sky is certainly stunning, but it is too taxing on the muscles and bones; it is not very suitable for an elderly person..."

As soon as these words were spoken.

Liu Dahao nearly fell face-first onto the ground.

Grand Eunuch Zhou was also scared half to death and hurriedly knelt on the ground.

Xie Tianyao's eyes flashed with a sharp glint: "What did you say?"