Doing Something

Internal strife was not something exclusive to sects. In a sense, the struggles within the imperial court were far more intense. Because Great Yan was vast—the court's foundation was far greater than that of any single sect, and its entanglements of interest were infinitely more complicated. In recent years especially, unrest in the court had arrived in one wave after another. In Xu Yuan's memories, his most direct impression of this came from the Music Bureau. Starting five years ago, the top courtesans at the Music Bureau had essentially rotated out every month in rapid turnover. Today a censor's wife would appear; tomorrow, a vice minister's daughter. On his return to the Imperial Capital this time, Xu Yuan figured he would likely see quite a few exorbitantly priced new courtesans in the Music Bureau. Because three months ago, the homes of the previous Minister of War and Minister of Revenue had been raided and their estates confiscated. They were the highest-ranking ministers to have their households seized in recent years. Xu Yuan did not know the insider details at present, but he knew that over the decades since the Emperor ascended the throne, through the combined efforts of the Emperor and his old man, most of the stubborn old guard from the previous reign had been purged. In other words, the high-ranking ministers currently in court were essentially all the Prime Minister's or the Emperor's own people. Yet now, the heads of the two most critical ministries—War and Revenue—had had their households seized outright. In the past, officials of this rank were usually reassigned at most, or at worst forced to retire and return home. Even when internal struggles flared, they were kept within controllable bounds, and those who died were merely petty functionaries down the ladder. Now, their homes were raided directly. This was playing for keeps. As a former playboy, Xu Yuan didn't know which faction those two officials had privately belonged to. But whether they were aligned with the Chancellor or the Emperor, it clearly demonstrated that the court's internal conflict was steadily escalating. These men served as warning signs for the Chancellor's Manor. With the sheer size of the Chancellor's Manor today, there was no such thing as relinquishing power peacefully over cups of wine. At this stage, one had to advance or be forced backward—and a single step back was an abyss of ten thousand fathoms. Silence followed his words. A faint, irrepressible wavering surfaced in Xu Xinyao's lovely eyes. Though he had been explaining it to Ran Qingmo, she knew that much of her third brother's words were meant for her. To shatter the lingering wishful thoughts in her heart. Beside them, Ran Qingmo had not overthought things the way Xu Xinyao had. After a brief silence, she asked, "If you are bound to draw blades against each other, why arrange an engagement?" Xu Yuan pondered for a moment, then chuckled and shook his head. "This engagement is a roundabout sort of covenant." Doubt showed in Ran Qingmo's eyes. "Is that kind of covenant useful?" "Useless." Xu Yuan denied the binding power of the marriage agreement without hesitation. "A covenant that only papers over conflicts is signed solely to be torn up later." If peace marriages could truly resolve tensions, the dynasties and nomadic peoples of his past life wouldn't have fought so many wars. Pausing, Xu Yuan added, "Yet both the Emperor and my old man need it." Ran Qingmo looked at Xu Yuan, blinking her eyes as though trying to puzzle out the logic, but in the end she still couldn't make sense of it. She did not understand why they would go through so much trouble for something that possessed no binding force. Xu Yuan met her gaze. "Over the past several decades, the friction between the Emperor and my father has grown bit by bit. If things continue like this, it's very likely to erupt. But right now, neither side can afford to drop all pretense; they still need each other's strength. "With this marriage, under present conditions, whenever friction arises, both sides can use it as a channel to communicate. No matter how you look at it, the commandery princess and I are direct kin of both heads. Until ties completely rupture, they will show some restraint, more or less. "You can see it as a signal, a symbol—a sign that both sides wish to seek reconciliation." Hearing this, Ran Qingmo glanced down at the ink sword in her hand. "Oh." Xu Yuan noticed her expression. "What is it?" Ran Qingmo shook her head. "Nothing." Xu Yuan's eyes curved with a faint smile as he leaned close to her ear. "What, feeling uneasy?" "..." Feeling his proximity, Ran Qingmo raised her cool, quiet eyes to glance at him, then lowered them again. "...A little." "..." Xu Yuan froze, his steps faltering instinctively. Without waiting for him, the two women continued toward the county yamen's main hall, their slender figures drawing farther away. After a long silence, the corners of Xu Yuan's lips curled up slightly, but he immediately sighed and hastened his pace to catch up. "Actually, you don't need to feel uncomfortable." Ran Qingmo shot him a sidelong glance, her eyes still a bit downcast. "Oh." Xu Yuan thought for a moment and lowered his voice: "I'm serious. Because to me, you are special." "..." Ran Qingmo halted in her tracks, her eyes widening slightly as they blinked, staring at him. Beside them, Xu Xinyao, whose mind had been in turmoil, instinctively looked over as well. Putting her complicated feelings aside for the moment, curiosity surfaced in her eyes as she watched the Sword Sect's prime disciple and her third brother. Xu Yuan glanced at her and waved his hand, gesturing for her to scram. Xu Xinyao pouted, but showed no intention of walking away. Seeing this, Xu Yuan let her be. Emotions rippled through Ran Qingmo's lovely eyes, but in the end they lowered once more, and she quietly walked forward. "..." Xu Yuan. Xu Xinyao poked Xu Yuan. Xu Yuan looked back at her. Xu Xinyao mouthed: *Aren't you going to comfort her?* Xu Yuan rolled his eyes at his fourth sister and said, "It's useless." "..." Xu Xinyao looked rather speechless and let out a sigh. The corner of Xu Yuan's eye twitched. Though Ran Qingmo could be airheaded about certain things, she wasn't stupid. More importantly, the deflection tactics and sweet talk from his previous life had virtually zero effect on bluffing her. Xu Xinyao didn't press the matter with Xu Yuan either. Quickening her steps, she walked alongside Ran Qingmo, whispering softly to her. *** Inside the county yamen's main hall. Colonel Wang had already shed his armor. Dressed in brown cloth robes through which blood faintly seeped, he was rubbing the space between his brows with force. Standing beside him, an adjutant was reporting in a low voice on various affairs within the city: "...The roster of fallen brothers has been tallied. Here is the list: five thousand three hundred and sixty-nine confirmed killed, two thousand seven hundred and sixty-five missing..." "...We temporarily conscripted corvée laborers in the city to clear the rubble and corpses from the streets, but progress is still far too slow..." "...The city's medicinal reserves have hit rock bottom. It's estimated that many will not survive tonight..." Matter after matter was reported. The adjutant's tone suddenly grew slightly heavier: "Also, the martial apprentices among the merchant caravans and chivalric bands have started acting up." At this point, Colonel Wang, who had kept his eyes closed, lowered his hand. His voice sounded somewhat exhausted: "Explain in detail." The adjutant paused briefly upon hearing this, then whispered, "The city walls on the west and south sides were destroyed, and a huge swath of residential area over there has been reduced to rubble. Now that the demonic beast tide has receded, many commoners have gone home to retrieve their money and valuables, but some martial apprentices beat them to it and plundered their belongings. Clashes broke out, and several commoners have already been silenced. "More importantly, the merchant caravans are gradually pocketing the beast cores and materials left behind by the demonic beasts outside the city." "..." After a moment of silence, Colonel Wang suddenly slammed a palm onto the desk before him. The desk shattered in two under his strike. "Those wretched bastards! When it came to defending the city, they were more trouble than they were worth, yet now they pop right up! How dare they?!" With that, Colonel Wang exhaled a long breath and sneered coldly: "No matter. Keep them appeased for now and make them hurry to clear the corpses in the city. As for the demonic beast cores and materials, let them take them—let them take as much as they want. Once reinforcements arrive, they'll spit it all back out with interest! If they don't, not a single one will leave this city!" The adjutant cupped his fist in salute. "Understood, General." Colonel Wang pondered for a moment, then added, "Remember, we are only turning a blind eye. Do not reach any official agreement with them." "Understood." "Is there anything else?" The adjutant thought for a moment, then murmured, "General, Physician Cheng sent word just now that the Cleansing Powder is completely exhausted. If this goes on, a plague will likely break out very soon." Colonel Wang mused briefly upon hearing this, then said in a low voice, "Then have men transport the corpses out of the city as quickly as possible." The adjutant shook his head gently. "General, Physician Cheng said merely hauling them out might not be enough. They must be burned." "Burned?" Colonel Wang frowned. "..." The adjutant glanced around, leaned in close to Colonel Wang's ear, and whispered, "Set up firebreaks within the city, then set a blaze to incinerate all the corpses in the south and west." Hearing the adjutant's words, Colonel Wang only asked, "If we burn them, is it guaranteed to stop a plague from breaking out?" The adjutant shook his head. "It only reduces the chances." Colonel Wang lowered his gaze, his calloused palm lightly tapping the armrest of the chair. After a long while, he said quietly, "Go organize the men to clear out a..." "General Wang!" The adjutant interrupted Colonel Wang, his tone growing heavier. "Even accounting for loss and damage, there are tens of thousands of demonic beast cores and materials. If we sell all of them, it would be enough for Shengshan County to reinscribe our array formations, or even train a new army!" Colonel Wang nodded. "I know." "Then why?" Colonel Wang looked at the adjutant and managed a forced smile. "If the people are gone, that's when Shengshan County is truly lost. With casualties this severe, the imperial court will certainly provide disaster relief. Go and make the preparations." The adjutant did not move. Colonel Wang frowned. "Li Chengqi, do you intend to disobey orders?" The adjutant shook his head gently and lowered his voice. "General, we only have about two hundred men left who can still move. We simply lack the manpower. If we issue an order to do this, the merchant caravans and chivalric bands in the city right now won't agree to it." Colonel Wang grinned coldly. "You think they dare rebel?" The adjutant shook his head. "They wouldn't dare. But they dare to slack off. With only the men we have on hand, we can't possibly finish an undertaking of this scale." "..." Colonel Wang fell silent, ultimately letting out a helpless sigh. "Go on. Leave me alone for a while..." The adjutant stood in place for several breaths, cupped his fist in a respectful bow, and said, "Rest well, General. I shall take my leave." With that, he turned and walked out of the main hall, leaving Colonel Wang sitting alone before the desk broken in two. After a long while, Colonel Wang bent down slightly, picked up the roster of the fallen and missing from the floor, and carefully turned the pages, reading them one by one. The faint rustle of turning pages echoed within the silent hall. Looking at the names—some familiar, some strangers—his fist clenched tighter and tighter. Ever since joining the military, he had always been in Shengshan. Twenty-seven years. From Young Wang to Brother Wang, and finally to Uncle Wang. He had met the people behind every name on this roster. He had crossed paths with many of them: some called him General Wang, some called him Uncle, and some had returned from the market excitedly telling him how they'd found a bargain today and could turn a handsome profit to improve the barracks next year. And now, they had all been reduced to a few sparse words on this roster. Colonel Wang could not view these young men as mere numbers the way those in high places did, because to him, they had once been living, breathing people right before his eyes. Page after page. By the time he reached the final few pages, Colonel Wang's breathing had grown labored. A suffocating heaviness seemed to envelop him completely. "Wanxiang Sect..." A voice that sounded as though it were ground through clenched teeth resonated low in the silent county yamen hall. Veins bulged along the hand holding the roster, yet the burly, middle-aged man still couldn't bear to damage the booklet. Who knew how much time passed before Colonel Wang slowly picked up the writing brush from the floor. Dipping it lightly into the ink spilled upon the ground, he opened the roster and wrote his own name on the very last line of the final page. Having done all this, Colonel Wang leaned back gently against the chair and gave a low laugh—a laugh full of relief. He was going to the Wanxiang Sect to demand justice. Even knowing that going there meant near-certain death, the brothers in the barracks, the slaughtered commoners, and this ruined county seat of Shengshan all needed justice. At that thought, Colonel Wang set the roster down on the floor. Just then, a voice sounded quietly beside him: "Colonel Wang, what are you planning to do?" Colonel Wang's pupils constricted slightly, but he immediately relaxed upon recognizing who the familiar voice belonged to. Slowly rising, he turned his head to look back. "Young Master Zhou, when did you arrive?" Standing behind him was a handsome young master in bloodstained clothes, watching him with a calm expression. Xu Yuan did not answer. Sweeping a calm gaze over him, he slowly stepped forward and picked up the roster from the floor. He opened and leafed through it for a moment, and seeing the name on the final page, he let out a soft sigh. "Actually, you don't need to do this." Colonel Wang said nothing. Xu Yuan looked at him and asked, "You don't believe the court will make a move against the Wanxiang Sect?" Colonel Wang shook his head. "It's not that I don't believe it. I've stayed in Xize Province for so many years; I know everything around here like the back of my hand. Moving against the Wanxiang Sect entangles far too many things. If Shengshan County were truly wiped out, the court might take action against the Wanxiang Sect out of political expediency. But given the current situation, it's very likely they won't. Shengshan County needs disaster relief, needs reconstruction..." Xu Yuan's brows raised slightly, and he sighed softly: "You're right. The court indeed won't move against the Wanxiang Sect." Colonel Wang smiled and looked down at his calloused hands. "So, someone has to do something."