Coercion

Half a month later. The Imperial Capital, Mount Jiulong. Here was a picturesque landscape of clear waters and verdant hills, azure pavilions, and vermilion palace walls. The shade of the trees was lush and serene, sheltering a winding path. A man clad in a gray python robe, his waist girdled by a jade belt inlaid with purple pearls, walked ahead, leading the way for the middle-aged man in a black dragon robe behind him. His voice was thin, rising and falling in lilting cadence: "Chancellor Xu, His Majesty threw quite a terrible temper last night. He even smashed his favorite Duantian jade~" "..." The middle-aged man paid no heed to his words. The man in the python robe turned slightly to cast a sideways glance at the person behind him, then fell silent as well, quickening his steps in short, hurried strides. After walking several dozen paces further, a whole new world opened up within the woods. A babbling stream flowed into a vast lake of shimmering emerald ripples. Resting quietly on a rush mat by the shore, an old man clad in an imperial dragon robe was fishing, with an empty rush mat set beside him. Seen from afar, the scene was tranquil and leisurely. The man in the python robe led the middle-aged man briskly toward the elder, hurrying forward and disregarding the clean fabric of his python robe to kneel directly upon the damp, muddy lakeshore, bowing in greeting: "Imperial Sire, Chancellor Xu has arrived." The old man did not acknowledge the man in the python robe either, remaining with eyes closed as he fished. Sensing this, the man in the python robe tactfully backed away several paces, shot a glance at the middle-aged man, and turned to leave this royal lake. Birdsong echoed crisply through the woods. The middle-aged man walked slowly to the old man's side and stood beside the rush mat without sitting, gazing at the water in silence. Right then, ripples suddenly stirred across the calm surface of the lake. A bizarre roar, neither dragon nor tiger, sounded from the depths, startling several birds that had been frolicking in the treetops into taking flight. Soon after, however, the lakeshore returned to peace. The gray-haired elder sat quietly on the rush mat, while the middle-aged man stood silently beside him watching the water, neither of them speaking. Silence. Silence could convey many things, especially between the two of them. After an unknown amount of time had passed, the elder coughed softly as if catching a chill. Exhaling a breath, he did not turn his head, his voice carrying an ambiguous smile: "Saint Xu, you refuse to sit. Do you wish for Zhen to look up at you?" Xu Yinhe remained motionless, standing where he was as he watched the lake, and spoke calmly: "My official duties are pressing. If I sit, there will not be enough time." Silence fell once more upon his words. After a long while, the elder clad in the imperial robe slowly braced his knees and stood up from the rush mat, brushing nonexistent dust from his legs. "Then I might as well stand. It's not as though anything would bite anyway." There were no fish in this lake—only a strange beast. As he rose, the elder turned around. Xu Yinhe saw his face, his composed brow furrowing slightly. The elder's face was aged yet remarkably hale, bearing faint traces of his handsome, magnificent youth. Yet several purplish-black veins branched out from his neck, nearly covering his entire face, and the sclera of his left eye had already turned half-black. After locking eyes for a breath, the elder smiled, bent down, and began packing up his fishing gear: "Does that look of yours mean you think Zhen has grown old?" "Zhen has indeed grown old. We haven't seen each other in three years. Come, accompany Zhen to the pavilion on the island in the lake to sit for a while, if only to catch up on old times." Xu Yinhe followed, though he made no move to help carry the fishing tackle, and the elder in the imperial robe, knowing this well, carried it himself. The two strode across the water, heading straight toward the island in the center of the lake. After walking several paces in silence, Xu Yinhe suddenly spoke, his voice low: "Have your injuries reached such a state?" The elder's voice carried a smile, sounding thoroughly at ease: "Are you not well aware of my injuries? It is already a blessing that I am still alive. But then again, could it be that you don't wish for me to die?" Xu Yinhe neither denied nor agreed. After a brief silence, he looked into the distance and spoke leisurely: "Not many from back then remain." The elder shook his head. "Indeed, not many are left." Pausing, the elder glanced sideways at Xu Yinhe and gave a low chuckle: "It seems you have encountered some good fortune recently. In quite a fine mood, aren't you?" Having known each other since youth and shared decades of camaraderie, many things could be understood with a single word or a single glance. Li Yaoxuan knew this old friend was not one to lament the past. Xu Yinhe did not answer him. Understanding dawned on the elder in the imperial robe. Carrying his fishing gear, he remarked leisurely: "A happy event that makes you smile can only be a catastrophic disaster for Zhen." As he spoke, the elder retrieved an imperial memorial from his Sumeru ring and casually handed it to Xu Yinhe. "Have a look." Xu Yinhe accepted it, but did not read it. The elder asked, "Not going to read it?" Xu Yinhe cast his gaze down at the memorial in his hand. "It is nothing more than the matter of the Wanxiang Sect." The elder smiled, his expression profound. "Indeed. Mobilizing private troops to assault a county town and a sect enfeoffed by the imperial court—such a crime is sufficient to exterminate nine familial relations." Xu Yinhe looked back at him. "What talk is there of private troops, and what talk of assaulting a town? Has the Wanxiang Sect not already clarified that this incident was merely them entrusting my Chancellor's Manor to assist in drilling their soldiers?" The elder lowered his eyes with a smile, pivoting the subject: "The funds the imperial court must disburse for disaster relief in Shengshan County will likely be substantial. Yet the state treasury is empty..." He stopped there, letting the point linger. Xu Yinhe showed no intention of evading it either: "Upon hearing of this, the president of the Tian'an Chamber of Commerce took pity on the common people and volunteered to donate thirty million taels in coin and grain." At those words, the elder in the imperial robe waved his hand. The memorial in Xu Yinhe's grip spontaneously burst into flames, ultimately reducing to ash that sank into the deep waters. In the space of just a few sentences, the elder and Xu Yinhe had crossed a thousand meters to reach the island in the center of the lake. A terrace pavilion was built here, adorned with vermilion pillars and emerald tiles, luxurious to the utmost. As they stepped into the pavilion, the eunuchs and palace maids standing in attendance on either side immediately dropped to their knees to pay their respects. The two made their way up to the top floor and took their seats. The man in the python robe, who had vanished earlier, reappeared to brew and serve tea for them. A gentle breeze lightly ruffled the imperial dragon robe behind him as the elder gazed out over the shimmering expanse of the lake. "That third boy of Zhen's went to the Wanxiang Sect." Xu Yinhe's motion of raising his teacup paused slightly. "Is he dead?" He asked as though inquiring about the most mundane of matters. Hearing this, the grotesque veins on the elder's face seemed to twist into a smile. "That brat has been fast on his feet since childhood." Xu Yinhe resumed sipping his tea and remarked, "The Third Prince is quite remarkable." This time, the elder laughed out loud with teasing amusement: "The third boy is indeed quite remarkable—far better than your own third son. Unfortunately, he has never harbored any ambition for this seat of mine. Though, of course, it is also possible that Zhen simply failed to see it." Xu Yinhe's face betrayed neither joy nor anger as he said, "Perhaps. The Third Prince shares a deep brotherly bond with Yucheng. By not contesting, he may yet meet a good end." Li Yucheng was the reigning Crown Prince. Hearing that, the elder fixed his purplish-black pupils on Xu Yinhe for several breaths, then suddenly asked with a smile: "Yinhe, who do you think I should pass this seat to? The Crown Prince?" Confronted with a topic concerning the succession to the throne, Xu Yinhe's voice remained deep and calm: "Why must you ask me about such a matter?" "Your power overshadows Zhen's court. Naturally, I must consult your view," the elder said with a chuckling tone. "..." With a sharp clack, Xu Yinhe set his teacup down. The sound was not loud, yet it echoed distinctly across the quiet top floor of the pavilion. "Your lifespan has not yet run out. What is the rush?" The elder coughed twice, gesturing toward the trace of blood at the corner of his mouth and the pallor of his face. "Do you think this looks like someone whose lifespan has not run out?" At those words, the corners of Xu Yinhe's lips curved slightly, marking his first smile. His hawk-like gaze swept slowly across the formations concealed in the sky, past the man in the python robe standing beside them, over the emerald expanse of the lake, and finally rested once more on the elder's face. His voice was unhurried: "If you truly had little time left, Yaoxuan, I would not have come here." The elder narrowed his eyes, then shook his head in resignation and sighed: "Before you, Zhen truly has no imperial majesty left at all." Xu Yinhe shook his head. "Everything today originated from our shared vision back then." The elder spoke as if making idle chat: "That vision cannot be realized in a single generation." Xu Yinhe asked, "So you compromise?" Bang! The tea table before them instantly shattered into splinters. The violent blast of Source Qi billowed outward, whipping their robes into a furious flutter. Atop the pavilion, absolute silence reigned. Deprived of the table, the elder's hand hung suspended in midair. The two old friends locked eyes with impassive expressions, while the man in the python robe continued to stand in attendance with lowered eyes. Soon, the silence was broken by a fit of rapid coughing. The elder hacked up a large pool of dark blood. The man in the python robe moved to step forward, but the elder raised a hand to wave him back. "Xu Yinhe, if we act now, the realm will only plunge into greater chaos. At the very least, we must first eradicate the foreign tribes along our borders." Xu Yinhe's tone remained calm and measured: "The sects will not give us that opportunity. Don't tell me you have yet to receive the reports from the north." The elder wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with a white cloth, the atmosphere freezing as if turning to ice. Xu Yinhe rose slowly, stepped over the splinters on the floor, and walked to the window, turning his back to the elder. "The campaign in the north is about to fail." His voice was even, yet laced with an enigmatic undertone. The elder was left speechless for a moment. Xu Yinhe turned around to look at his old friend. "Li Yaoxuan, the sects will not stand idly by and watch us eliminate the foreign tribes on our borders. Wuyuan sought to slay the foreign king of the barbarians, but she is now besieged by that very king at Mount Dali, cut off and without aid." "..." The elder casually tossed the bloodstained cloth onto the floor. "What are you trying to say?" Xu Yinhe lightly rested a hand on the smooth sandalwood windowsill. "Zong Qingsheng is near the Dingman River." The Dingman River lay merely three hundred li from Mount Dali. Hearing this, the elder gave a soft laugh. Staring at the old friend before him, his gaze gradually turned cold. "Xu Yinhe, are you trying to force Zhen's hand?" Xu Yinhe straightened his sleeves and bowed deeply to the Emperor of Great Yan before him. "If that is how Your Majesty understands it, then so be it."