"He's nothing more than a bamboo grub crawling out from the grass roots—he needs all four limbs just to stand! Why on earth should I read his dossier?!" Emperor Jing cursed inwardly, using the few words of the Power Shaman tongue he had just learned.
Naturally, he could only entertain such thoughts in his heart and could never dare utter them aloud. Yet when it came to cursing, the Power Shaman tongue was remarkably forceful—ten times more satisfying than those refined, roundabout barbs of the scholars.
The disappointment on the King of Jin's face deepened a shade further. He pulled the memorial back from Emperor Jing's hands and marked a red dot upon it. This signified royal approval, instructing the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel to see to its execution. Emperor Jing then signed his name upon it and stamped his imperial seal. Unless a matter was of grave importance, the King of Jin rarely added annotations himself, maintaining an outward display of respect toward Emperor Jing.
Before they knew it, the night had grown deep. Only upon hearing the night-watch drum did the King of Jin set down his vermilion brush. A small stack of unreviewed memorials remained on the desk, left to be dealt with tomorrow. The only reason a portion remained was that Wei Yuan's memorial had cost them time.
After seeing the King of Jin out of the palace, Emperor Jing returned to the Imperial Study. Standing before a silver mirror, he muttered to himself, "What I was thinking inside—surely Father... Imperial Clan Uncle heard it. He should be thoroughly disappointed in me now, which means I ought to be able to enjoy a year or two of breathing room, right?"
He studied his own face in the mirror intently, gradually adjusting his expression and even using his hands to reshape it. As he adjusted, he muttered, "Having been rebuked today, I ought to appear overwhelmed, like someone who needs to vent his frustration... Someone!"
A moment later, a supervising eunuch appeared and said, "What are Your Majesty's commands?"
Emperor Jing spoke expressionlessly. "Bring Our gold-threaded whip, then summon two palace maids inside."
The old eunuch vanished like a phantom. Emperor Jing continued to gaze at his reflection, muttering, "Clan Uncle still has at least several centuries to live, and Empress Mother remains young and beautiful. In case they have another... No! That would defy ritual propriety, so..."
Just then, a knock came at the study door. In an instant, Emperor Jing switched to a different face—ferocious, ecstatic, his eyes flushed crimson. Looking at the two thinly clad palace maids kneeling on the floor, he slowly picked up the gold-threaded whip that had been soaked in cold brine.
Shrill screams echoed throughout the Imperial Study, yet not a whisper leaked outside. This was the Imperial Palace of Great Tang, a sanctum blessed by countless immortal arts across generations, immune to divination and impenetrable to prying eyes.
Late in the night, the study door opened. Emperor Jing tossed his blood-drenched outer robe to the palace maid waiting outside and retired to his bedchamber to rest. Several eunuchs carried two corpses out of the study; on the white cloths covering them, two striking bloodstains formed the shapes of human silhouettes.
***
At the King of Jin's manor in Great Tang, the King of Jin returned to his residence. Rather than retiring to sleep or meditating for his cultivation exercises, he went to the ancestral hall and began flipping through the clan genealogy beneath the lamplight. The genealogy was not long, reaching back only two generations. Any further back, and one arrived at the Emperor of Tang of that era.
The King of Jin's gaze fell upon his grandfather's name. His grandfather had once served as Crown Prince for over a year, but soon committed a grave blunder, losing the crown prince's position to his younger brother and being enfeoffed as King of Jin. The title King of Jin was equivalent to those of the Nine Kingdoms—for the imperial bloodline of Great Tang, this was a step down, an enduring shame passed down through generations.
Just then, faint yet hurried footsteps sounded outside the ancestral hall. It was his attendant's way of signaling that an urgent report had arrived.
The King of Jin returned the genealogy to its place and stepped outside. In a low voice, the attendant reported, "Two corpses of palace maids were just carried out from the Imperial Study, likely whipped to death by..." When referring to the name, the attendant paused, indicating whom he meant by omission. "This is the fourth time this month."
The King of Jin nodded noncommittally. The attendant excused himself and withdrew.
This outcome was well within the King of Jin's expectations. On the surface, he seemed to shower Emperor Jing with affection and guide him with painstaking care; in reality, every minor mistake Emperor Jing made was seized upon and magnified into a matter of high principle. Amid ceaseless rebukes and palpable disappointment, Emperor Jing was made to feel at every waking moment that he was utterly inept—leaving him wondering whether he was truly the late emperor's seed at all.
Furthermore, the King of Jin worked continuously for at least four shichen each day, rested for only a single quarter-hour in between, and then proceeded with another four shichen. Day after day without rest, however long the King of Jin worked, Emperor Jing had to work just as long.
Over time, deprived of any outlet for relief, anyone would naturally twist and warp. The deaths of a few palace maids were nothing, but it was a promising start. Before long, Emperor Jing was bound to make a disastrous mistake. When that happened, any hope of him ruling in his own right and holding sole power would have to be postponed indefinitely.
The King of Jin had not initially intended to do this, but after becoming Regent King, his ambitions had gradually shifted. Though Emperor Jing was of his own flesh and blood, flesh and blood were not unique; more could be sired.
Although Emperor Jing's official father had already passed away, making another child from the Empress Dowager improper and illegitimate, if the Empress Dowager could not bear one, an empress could.
***
In Western Jin, at Chunhua Palace, Consort Yuan signaled the maids and supervising eunuchs to withdraw the moment she saw Prince Chu step inside.
Prince Chu shut the palace doors tight. His face suddenly twisted with grief and indignation as he hissed, "Imperial Mother, is that man truly my father or not?! If he really is, why did he prolong that old man's life?!"
Consort Yuan sat composed and unperturbed. "Who told you such things?"
Prince Chu had not wanted to confess, but beneath Consort Yuan's piercing gaze, he could only answer truthfully. "I heard some rumors myself, and then I obtained a treasure capable of eavesdropping on voices. Furthermore, my innate divine ability is telepathy—as long as someone hasn't reached the Dharma Idol realm, there is a chance I can hear their inner thoughts. Having heard enough over time, I pieced it together. Besides, what happened between you... you and that man is no longer a secret."
Consort Yuan asked, "So you hate him for this?"
Prince Chu's expression turned somewhat ferocious. "I am his son—his eldest son! Everything of his should belong to me in the future! Yet in more than ten years, I've only seen him a few times, mostly when I was very small! Fine, I don't blame him for that. That old man was on the verge of dying, and the throne was about to be mine. But he... he actually presented longevity medicine to that old man! Now by the time the old man dies, I'll be in my thirties!"
Consort Yuan said placidly, "If he had not deposed the former Crown Prince and Prince Wei, and had not instructed me to ruin your elder brother, do you think this throne would ever have fallen to you?"
"But... all of that has already happened! According to the way of karmic destiny and reincarnation, this was what I was owed in this life! The throne was placed right in front of me, only to be snatched away! I... I can't accept it!"
Prince Chu suddenly fell to his knees and wept bitterly, throwing himself against the floor.
Consort Yuan sighed, reminded that Prince Chu was still a boy who had not yet grown up. She beckoned him over with a wave of her hand. Overcome with even deeper sorrow, Prince Chu collapsed against Consort Yuan's lap, weeping inconsolably.
Consort Yuan sighed softly. "Do you believe in destiny?"
Prince Chu's sobs gradually subsided. He lifted his still-boyish face and said, "Of course I do. Isn't it explained clearly in the scriptures? Anyone can understand it at a glance."
A trace of helplessness surfaced in Consort Yuan's eyes. "I used to believe in it, but over these past few years, I no longer do."
Prince Chu pressed her to ask why, but Consort Yuan said no more.
Prince Chu wiped away his tears, stood up, and suddenly asked, "Imperial Mother, tell me... I won't die before that man, will I?"
With a complicated look, Consort Yuan replied, "His ascension to immortality is virtually certain, so you will definitely die before him."
A moment later, Prince Chu walked out through the courtyard gates of Chunhua Palace. On his way back to Wude Hall, he suddenly spotted two figures entangled in a side path. One was Prince Fu, and the other was an unfamiliar palace maid.
Prince Fu appeared intent on dragging the palace maid to his side palace, but she refused by all means.
Seeing Prince Chu pass by, the fair-faced Prince Fu had no choice but to offer a respectful salute, while the maid seized the chance to flee.
Prince Chu marched over abruptly and kicked Prince Fu to the ground! He followed with a dozen more kicks in rapid succession, pouring all his strength into every blow. Only when sweat soaked through his robes and Prince Fu's face was bathed in blood did Prince Chu let out a breath, stepping out of the alley to return to Wude Hall.
***
Meanwhile, Wei Yuan had just rushed back to Guantun County and received word that Li Zhi had visited. He tested the array disc, but found no response from it; Li Zhi was likely already far beyond its detection range.
Wei Yuan casually set the array disc aside and began studying the maps around Guantun County to prepare his next steps.
Zhang Sheng asked, "The aura of a Sovereign of Men—you have no interest in it?"
Wei Yuan smiled. "As long as the common people live well, whether I sit in that seat is of no importance. In fact, it is hard to say whether that seat will even exist in the future."
Zhang Sheng remarked, "Signs of a dynastic change have already begun to show. Don't blame me for not warning you."
Wei Yuan laughed heartily. "Even if I could become the sovereign of all under heaven one day, if this Great Dao of Heaven and Earth does not change, I won't ascend the throne. Let someone else have it!"
A faint smile curled at the corners of Zhang Sheng's lips. "Why?"
Wei Yuan said, "Becoming a Sovereign of Men drastically curtails one's lifespan; one might not even last a thousand years. But you are destined to ascend to immortality, with at least ten thousand years of time ahead. If I die, who will accompany you?"
Zhang Sheng was about to say something when Wei Yuan pressed a hand against her lips. He said, "Through the thousands of autumns and myriad ages to come, there will be no other man by your side—only me! So put that notion completely out of your mind!"
Brooking no resistance from Zhang Sheng, Wei Yuan swallowed the smile from the corner of her lips in a kiss. Yet those smiles and radiant joy only multiplied, impossible to ever consume.
Chapter 1013