No Regrets Once Played

The night gradually deepened. Beneath the moonless night, the lights of Di'an City flickered and sprawled, while crowds brushed shoulder to shoulder through the crisscrossing streets of the temple fair. Red cangyang tasked with patrolling the streets took off and landed at the drill grounds of the Exotic Beast Bureau in the four corners of the outer city. Farther away beneath the night sky, flying beasts of the City Defense Bureau on perimeter patrol trailed faint streaks of azure light, signaling the status of Di'an's outer reaches. The bustling prosperity of the capital seemed to have stirred the heavens above; as a nocturnal breeze swept past, wisps and flakes of white quietly drifted down to the mortal realm. Snowflakes dusted the fiery-red ancient city with a touch of purity, lending the bustling streets a quietude unique to winter. Tracing the sea of lanterns upward to the deepest recesses of the Imperial City and Palace City, a towering pavilion stood amidst the nocturnal shadows atop Mount Jiulong. The light radiating from the pavilion's peak was like a pair of eyes quietly watching over the tapestry of splendor unfurling across the ancient city below. As the freezing wind whistled, a snowflake fell from the dark sky, slipping through a seam in the window lattice into the pavilion, where it was gently caught by a wrinkled hand. Watching the translucent crystal slowly melt in his palm, a touch of chill spread through his skin. The hand tightened into a fist, evaporating the melted snow into nothing. Leaning against a bed couch beside the window, Li Yaoxuan gazed out at the swirling snow. An inscrutable emotion flickered in his cloudy eyes. "Has this snow still not stopped?" The light within the pavilion was dim, cast by only a few flickering candles. In the shadows of the room, another figure stood faintly visible. Clad in a bestowed python robe, Eunuch Nie stood respectfully at the side. Hearing the murmur, he raised his gaze to gingerly read the Emperor's expression before speaking in a low voice: "Your Majesty, with the burdens of state upon you, please prioritize your imperial health. Come the start of spring next year, this snow ought to cease." "We know." Li Yaoxuan's low voice was faint, carrying a subtle wisp of frailty. "Yet Our time runs short." Eunuch Nie parted his lips, but nearly a century of accompanying the Emperor compelled him to swallow his words. The Emperor did not need pity, much less hollow wishes for ten thousand years of life to offer comfort. The elegant, dim pavilion fell into silence. Accompanied by a few dry coughs, the hunched silhouette cast against the wall appeared somewhat frail. Stowing away a bloodstained silk cloth, Li Yaoxuan seemed to recall something and asked, "A few days ago, We sensed a sword beyond the city walls. What did the Imperial Shadow Guard find in their investigation?" At this, Eunuch Nie stepped forward briskly, bowed before the couch, retrieved a secret letter from his sleeve, and presented it with both hands: "When the Imperial Shadow Guard went to investigate, the traces of battle had already been wiped clean, leaving only a ruined expanse of farmland. Before this servant could look further into it, the Third Prince approached me of his own accord. "His Highness stated that it was his doing—that he wished to capture the Princess of Sien before departing for Dongying." "That does sound like something the Third would do." Without the slightest surprise in his eyes, Li Yaoxuan reached out, took the letter, and unfolded the folded Xuan paper inside. "And his connection to the Prime Minister's Manor—how did he explain that?" "In reply to Your Majesty: before Xu Changtian was assassinated and killed, His Highness had lent him his personal attendant," Eunuch Nie answered softly, bowing his head. "This time, he called in that favor to request aid from the Prime Minister's Manor." Li Yaoxuan's gaze shifted up slightly as he skimmed the paper. "Mm? The one the Crown Prince gave him?" "Yes, and that attendant perished." "Is that so..." Lowering his eyelids once more, Li Yaoxuan said in an unhurried voice, "That favor is indeed substantial enough, but it likely still wouldn't move Feng Jiuxuan. Which means the sword We sensed that night belonged to the eldest of the Xu family." As he spoke, Li Yaoxuan had already finished reading through the thousands of words detailing the findings. The flame of the burning paper illuminated his aged face, which was tinged with a faint aura of death, though a hint of a smile crept into his words: "The Xu family remains as shameless as ever. Having agreed to help the Third, they went ahead and took her away afterward anyway. Though considering that, in all likelihood, they found what they wanted on that Princess of Sien." Saying this, Li Yaoxuan gently rubbed between his brows and glanced out the window. "Right now, Xu Yinhe happens to be hosting a private banquet at his Chancellor's Manor. Send someone over to demand an explanation on the Third's behalf." "Demand the person directly?" Eunuch Nie asked with slight hesitation. "Demand the person, or demand other things. In short, the Prime Minister's Manor must provide an accounting." Li Yaoxuan gave a slight shake of his head. "The Third reported this to you precisely because he wanted Us to stand up for him, did he not?" Hearing this, Eunuch Nie understood. Officially, the Princess of Sien was a foreign envoy stationed at the Court of State Ceremonial; the Prime Minister's Manor unlawfully imprisoning her broke the rules. Personally, this undertaking had been spearheaded by the Third Prince; for the manor to turn the tables and detain her also broke the rules. Rules were a fine thing. The Chancellor's Manor's might allowed them to play rogue and refuse to hand her over, but if they truly did so, the imperial Li clan could turn around and do the very same to them in other matters. However... "Your Majesty, are we to go tonight?" "Do you deem it unwise?" "Tonight is the final day of the Chancellor's Manor's grand banquet." Eunuch Nie stole a glance at the old man on the couch. Over the decades, the Prime Minister's Manor's grand banquet had developed its own set of conventions. The first few days were a mixed assembly—the imperial faction, the Sect Alliance, and rising talents and new elites, serving as a platform for Great Yan's nobility and dignitaries to converse and seek common ground. The final evening's banquet, however, was entirely different. The Chancellor's Manor would activate its protective grand array, severing all contact between the inside and the outside world. Those permitted to attend the evening banquet were, without exception, the true upper echelon of the Chancellor's Manor. To go demand an explanation at such a time... "We know." Li Yaoxuan's voice was placid. "Thus, not only must we go, but we must do so openly and aboveboard." "..." Eunuch Nie understood what the Emperor intended. The imperial family rarely took part in this year-end banquet of the Chancellor's Manor. Their ambiguous attitude of turning a blind eye was easily recognized by observant people as a symbol that the ties between the Crown and the Chancellor had not yet fractured. Sending someone tonight to demand an explanation on behalf of the Third Prince was merely a pretext. Even without this matter, the Emperor would have found another reason to send an emissary. This was sending a signal. After a brief silence, Eunuch Nie murmured, "Your Majesty, a move once played cannot be undone..." "..." Silence. The freezing wind wailed, the stillness eerie and terrifying. Li Yaoxuan offered no reply to Eunuch Nie's words. "This servant obeys. I shall make the arrangements at once." Eunuch Nie drew in a breath, bowed deeply, stepped back several paces, and turned to leave. The cold wind seeping through the window lattice fluttered the candlelight and toyed with the old man's withered white hair. He gazed in the direction of the Chancellor's Manor for a long time, then let out a faint sigh: "A stone once placed cannot be taken back... yet that is better than hovering forever in indecision."