Chapter 431: Delivering Gifts to the Palace

Before the Emperor's words had even faded, Wang Zhen felt a heat sear the palm where the yellow talisman clung, while a chill prickled the back of his skull—a strange, ineffable sensation rose within his heart.

For a moment he was dazed, his mind and chest both muddled, utterly unaware of what he was thinking; yet his innate sense of danger made his hairs stand on end, his back grow cold, and he snapped back to awareness, breaking free from that ineffable state.

He hurriedly looked to the Emperor's reaction.

The Emperor was lowering his gaze, tucking the yellow talisman away; his face showed no sign of disturbance. Wang Zhen exhaled in relief, yet still felt uneasy.

Only Cao Jixiang, standing beside him, had witnessed it all.

After the Emperor finished speaking, Wang Zhen stood as if his soul had left him, then the Emperor's expression darkened, his face turning grim.

Cao Jixiang dared not look again after just one glance; only when Wang Zhen stirred did he dare raise his head—and by then, the Emperor's face had returned to normal.

Watching Wang Zhen, utterly unaware, Cao Jixiang lowered his eyes and felt even greater reverence for the Emperor.

The Emperor extended his hand toward Wang Zhen.

Wang Zhen snapped back to himself, humbly offering the talisman still pressed against his palm—though his gaze could not help tracing the talisman's intricate patterns.

The Emperor pretended not to notice his stare, tucked the talisman away, and turned away. "It's late. Go."

Wang Zhen's lips moved, but he dared not utter another word; he bowed low and withdrew with a bent back.

The Emperor placed the two talismans on the table and sat in silence, his eyes lowered.

Cao Jixiang stepped forward to offer tea, dared not speak, gently set down the teacup, and bowed back to stand aside.

This slight movement caught the Emperor's attention; his gaze fixed steadily on him.

Cao Jixiang's heart leapt—he bent his knees and knelt soundlessly to the floor.

The Emperor: "How old were you when you entered the palace?"

Cao Jixiang: "Your servant was seven."

"Do you still remember your family?"

Cao Jixiang bowed his head: "I do. A few years ago, they came seeking me—we recognized each other."

"Where are they now?"

"Tilling the land in our hometown," Cao Jixiang said. "Rural folk, only know how to farm. To have a patch of earth to till is more than enough."

The Emperor stared long at his hair dusted with frost, then said: "Rise."

Cao Jixiang rose from the floor, head still bowed.

The Emperor pulled out the final yellow talisman and asked: "Cao Banban, you know what this talisman does, don't you?"

Cao Jixiang swallowed hard, voice quiet: "Yes. I was serving beside Your Majesty at the time."

"Let us try it." The moment he spoke, the Emperor felt even more certain.

He could not compare Wang Zhen to Empress Qian—they were not of equal standing.

The Empress was his wife; loving him was natural. Wang Zhen…

The Emperor's gaze grew deep; he resolved to find a reference point.

The Emperor seized Cao Jixiang's arm and led him to the window, slapping the talisman into his palm.

Cao Jixiang grasped it fearfully, his hand trembling.

The Emperor, as if unsatisfied with his terror, said: "Do not worry. I have experience. The Moon Immortal told me it pierces illusion and reaches straight to the heart. You need not feign anything—I will know whether you truly love me, or merely flatter me."

The Emperor watched Cao Jixiang's face, waiting for him to grow even more terrified—but Cao Jixiang calmed instantly.

Cao Jixiang's gaze was firm; he held the talisman with the same reverence and obedience as always. "Thank Your Majesty's grace."

In that moment, for Cao Jixiang, being tested by the Emperor for his heart was the greatest honor.

The Emperor's gaze was profound; no one knew what he thought—but he held the master talisman, and addressed Cao Jixiang and the moon behind him: "Moon, moon, tell me—how much of me dwells in his heart?"

Heat seeped into his palm; chill pressed from the back of his skull. Cao Jixiang too entered that ineffable state—he felt his heart peeled layer by layer, revealing emotions he had never noticed himself.

When Cao Jixiang regained awareness, the Emperor had already tucked away the master talisman and was gazing down at him.

Cao Jixiang still held the talisman reverently in both hands; meeting the Emperor's gaze, he sensed the Emperor's mood was favorable, and immediately lowered his head, offering the talisman upward. "Your Majesty."

The Emperor took the talisman and nodded. "You are good."

Cao Jixiang silently exhaled.

The Emperor gathered all the talismans and, under Cao Jixiang's service, returned to Kunning Palace.

Empress Qian helped him change his robes; the Emperor no longer needed Cao Jixiang's service—he waved his hand, dismissing all maids and eunuchs from the chamber.

Cao Jixiang led the others in a bow and withdrew, yet dared not go far—staying just outside the hall, awaiting orders.

The Emperor laid the three talismans side by side, then placed the master talisman alone in the row below, and sat in his chair, staring at them.

Empress Qian hung up his outer robe, fetched an empty teacup, poured him warm water, and seeing him staring again at the talismans, gently urged: "Your Majesty, these are all heretical arts. You may play with them, but must not become obsessed."

The Emperor snapped back. "Do you know what these talismans are?"

"I do not. But the incantation you chanted sounded like children playing house—it may be a game, but should not be believed."

The Emperor: "Didn't you yourself say that holding the yellow talisman gives a strange feeling—as if your heart had been stripped bare and laid open to view?"

Empress Qian: "Who knows if some hallucinogenic drug clings to the talisman? Even if it were true sorcery, this method must never be used often, let alone trusted fully."

The Emperor: "Why?"

Empress Qian: "I know no grand principles, but I know my ancestors were wise and far-sighted. If governance could be achieved through sorcery, how could Emperor Taizu, Emperor Taizong, or Emperor Renzong have exhausted themselves?"

"Moreover, people change," Empress Qian said. "Take me: the me today is nothing like the me before I entered the palace. I believe the me today will differ from the me ten years from now. How can you judge the me of ten years hence by the me of today?"

"If today's me cannot represent tomorrow's me, how can it represent the me of ten years hence?" Empress Qian said softly. "Your Majesty has countless ministers and countless subjects—can you use this talisman daily to judge their loyalty?"

"And…" Empress Qian paused.

Seeing her fall silent, the Emperor seized her hand. "Between husband and wife, what is there we cannot say? And what?"

Empress Qian clasped his hand in return. "And governance cannot be equated entirely with loyalty."

Empress Qian said: "I read little, but my father once said governance lies in how Your Majesty employs men."

"Whether good or bad, capable or incompetent—it depends on whether Your Majesty places them where they belong. Some positions matter not for loyalty, but for ability."

The Emperor pondered silently.

Empress Qian did not press further, asking neither who else had received the other two talismans nor what results they yielded.

She could sense the Emperor's mood and knew the test results must have been poor—at least one was terrible, or he would not be so displeased.

Zhu Qizhen was indeed very displeased.

Before handing the yellow talisman to Wang Zhen, he had prepared himself, but he had never expected such a result.

This yellow talisman was truly intriguing: when he asked Empress Qian how much she loved him, the reply filled his heart with the vast majority of her affection, leaving only the edges for her father, brothers, and other kin;

But when he asked Wang Zhen, his heart seemed peeled layer after layer in his mind. At first, he felt he occupied a large space—he could sense his position in Wang Zhen's heart.

Yet after layer upon layer of his heart was peeled away, Zhu Qizhen instantly "saw" a series of images from the yellow talisman.

After countless layers were peeled away, the underlying color revealed was always Wang Zhen himself.

In that moment, Zhu Qizhen suddenly wondered: if the Emperor were not him, but someone else, how much loyalty would Wang Zhen still show him?

In that moment, he instantly received the answer from the yellow talisman.

Exactly the same!

That meant Wang Zhen did not rely on him—he relied on the Emperor. So if another man became Emperor, he would behave the same.

That was why the yellow talisman had peeled layer after layer in his mind, revealing beneath all layers only Wang Zhen himself.

He loved himself most, occupying the vast majority, while the edges were crammed with his wife, children, clan, and relatives…

And he, Zhu Qizhen, stripped of his surface pretense, occupied only a sliver of those positions in Wang Zhen's heart—no more than the space beneath a fingernail.

In contrast was Cao Jixiang.

!. Read

Yet he was only slightly relieved—not truly happy.

He understood Empress Qian's warning, and if it had been any other civil or military official, he might have accepted it.

But eunuchs were different.

What could they offer him but loyalty?

Especially Wang Zhen.

He had treated him as a teacher, a confidant, a second father—and yet, when peeled open, his heart revealed this.

Zhu Qizhen rolled up the yellow talisman on the desk and clenched it tightly, his heart growing heavy.

A faint chuckle sounded beside his ear; the Emperor froze, then snapped upright. "Who?"

Empress Qian, who had been making the bed, startled and turned quickly. "What is it?"

Zhu Qizhen turned, snatched the sword hanging on the wall behind him, stepped swiftly to Empress Qian's side, and shielded her, his gaze sweeping the entire hall like lightning. "Who dares break into the palace at night?"

Empress Qian grabbed his sword-wielding arm and pulled it toward the desk. The bedroom was empty, utterly silent. She was speechless, then punched his arm lightly. "You scared me again."

Zhu Qizhen began to doubt himself. "Did I imagine it?"

Empress Qian punched him again. "You scared me again."

"I didn't scare you," Zhu Qizhen snapped, dropping even "I, the Emperor." "I truly heard it—someone laughed softly by my ear."

Seeing he was serious, Empress Qian frowned. "Shall I call the Embroidered Uniform Guard to search?"

Zhu Qizhen was about to nod when a cool breeze swept through, lifting the gauze curtains and flinging them straight into their faces.

Zhu Qizhen's heart tightened—he whirled around and saw the window, which had been tightly shut, now wide open.

Empress Qian, however, thought nothing of it. Startled by the gauze brushing her face, she exclaimed, "Why didn't they close the window…"

Before she finished speaking, she realized—her grip tightened instantly on Zhu Qizhen's arm.

A slender youth, broad-shouldered and narrow-waisted, about five feet tall, stepped out from behind the pillar and bowed. "Your Majesty, Empress."

That was the path leading straight to the door and window.

Zhu Qizhen pulled Empress Qian behind him, half-drawing his sword, yet did not shout. Instead, he demanded sharply, "Who are you?"

Pan Yun touched the long beard stuck to his face. "I am a hermit of the outer world. Call me San Shi."

Zhu Qizhen blinked. "What?"

Pan Yun: "San as in one-two-three, Shi as in corpse. Hard to remember?"

Zhu Qizhen's face darkened. He sheathed his sword. "Are you a Daoist Priest?"

Pan Yun denied outright: "No."

"Then why take the name San Shi?" Zhu Qizhen growled. "How did you enter the palace? How dare you enter?"

"I flew in over the roof," Pan Yun said. "I have three treasures to present to the Emperor. Too many corrupt officials outside, and eunuchs extorting the people—I dared not give them to anyone else, so I brought them here myself."

Since this was a one-time identity, Pan Yun spoke plainly, unafraid of angering the Emperor.

Zhu Qizhen was indeed enraged—his face flushed crimson.

For an Emperor, being accused of having too many corrupt officials and eunuchs extorting the people was like pointing at his nose and calling him incompetent and foolish.

The young Emperor naturally bristled, his heart burning with fury.

But he suppressed his anger for now, glaring. "What gifts?"

Pan Yun reached behind the pillar and pulled out two coral trees. "First gift: a priceless, top-grade coral tree."

Zhu Qizhen did not know Wang Zhen's secret chamber held two coral trees, nor did he care these were the very same ones.

After all, Wang Zhen intended to carry the treasures directly into the palace to impress—far more shocking than words, and a stronger statement of his devotion.

But when the treasures vanished mid-transit, Wang Zhen dared not mention them.

So when Zhu Qizhen saw the blood-red, crystal-clear, high-quality coral trees, he paused.

Is this really a gift for me?

Zhu Qizhen's mood eased slightly.

Zhu Qizhen was easily placated—and so was Empress Qian.

Having received a favor, her impression of this young man who had broken into the rear palace at night was no longer so hostile; she gently stroked Zhu Qizhen's arm and soothed him.

Zhu Qizhen set his sword down and asked, "You bring gifts to Us—what do you want?"

Pan Yun stroked his beard and countered, "Why does Your Majesty not ask me what the other two gifts are?"

Zhu Qizhen, restraining his temper, asked, "What are your other two gifts?"

Pan Yun whipped a slip of paper from his sleeve in one smooth motion and said, "A certain amount of grain, a certain amount of cloth, a certain amount of copper cash."

Empress Qian paused, then stepped forward to take the slip, but Zhu Qizhen grabbed her back with one hand; he strode forward himself and snatched the slip away.

Empress Qian hurriedly trotted after him, tugging the Emperor back, afraid Pan Yun might suddenly turn hostile.

Pan Yun folded his arms and leaned against a pillar, speaking very amiably to Empress Qian: "Don't worry, Your Highness. I came into the palace to deliver gifts—I won't harm His Majesty."

Zhu Qizhen scanned the slip at a glance, ten lines at a time, and in a spare moment looked up with a frown at him; seeing him gazing at Empress Qian with such warmth and delight, his brow furrowed even tighter.

Meeting his gaze, Pan Yun even said with a touch of envy, "Emperor, you have a fine Empress. The emperors of your Great Ming are truly fortunate—the probability of producing a worthy empress is the highest."

Zhu Qizhen lifted his chin and said, "Naturally. From Empress Xiaoci down to Our Empress, they are all worthy empresses."

Pan Yun merely smiled and went on speaking with Empress Qian: "I heard every word you just said to persuade the Emperor, and you were quite right—running a country cannot rely on mysticism. Every branch of learning in the world can be applied to governing; all are aids. The true learning of governance lies in the way one uses people, in the direction of the people's hearts."

Only four thousand characters tonight.

(End of chapter)