Overcast, light drizzle.
According to Great Yan's ceremonial protocol for imperial processions, an official excursion by the Son of Heaven was an immensely troublesome affair.
Even without counting the escorting Imperial Guard, the outriders, heralds, court musicians, and various banner formations manifesting imperial majesty already numbered over ten thousand.
Once on the move, the entourage often stretched for li.
In addition, coordination was required across court departments, inside and outside the palace, and throughout the Great Yan Imperial Guard, before the plans were finally submitted to the Director of the Imperial Clan who governed the imperial house for approval.
Going through the entire process required at least ten days or more.
Yet that was the treatment meant for ordinary emperors.
As Great Yan's "sovereign of restoration," if one set aside the Chancellor's faction, Li Yaoxuan's grip over the court surpassed even that of Great Yan's founding Taizu back then. Possessing such dominance, he naturally felt no need to honor such ceremonial strictures.
In the autumn of the forty-seventh year of Jiajing,
at the demand of Emperor Li Yaoxuan,
after assembling a simple honor guard of fewer than five hundred men, the Great Yan Emperor set forth on an imperial hunt to the north under the escort of the Second Prince.
Dragon Emperor Forest lay a hundred li northwest of Di'an City.
This unbroken expanse of maple-clad mountains and forests had served as the imperial hunting grounds for Great Yan's royal house ever since the dynasty's founding.
Aside from over a thousand forestry officers who tended it year-round, a qu of the Golden-Armored Imperial Guard was stationed there perennially to drive off poachers who valued money over their lives.
Dawn had not yet broken, the sky barely growing light.
Dyed crimson by late autumn, the maple mountain forest stood secluded and serene amid the dim, misty drizzle.
Along the distant horizon, the imperial procession advanced with grand momentum.
Above in the skies,
countless scouts riding aerial beasts circled, surveilling an area of a hundred li around.
On the official road below,
tens of thousands of heavy infantry marched in formation, their ranks neatly guarding the center: a colossal mobile palace drawn by nine massive earth dragons.
The Great Yan Emperor's terrestrial palace stood nine stories tall, symbolizing the Nine Tripods. Its exterior was adorned with muted, elegant gilding, exuding heavy majesty.
At the pinnacle of this palace, a vast yellow silk canopy shielded against the drizzle along the way, embroidered with five-colored auspicious clouds, golden boughs, and jade leaves, sheltering the sovereign beneath.
And under it,
the three most powerful men in Great Yan sat gathered around a bronze brazier carved with pixiu.
The middle-aged man with graying temples possessed an elegant bearing, kneeling upright with his eyes closed to rest his spirit.
The gaunt, elderly man in imperial robes half-narrowed his eyes, sipping fragrant tea from his cup.
The last burly elder appeared rather leisurely, holding his open hands out by the bronze brazier to ward off an autumn chill that could not truly penetrate his body in the first place.
The palanquin advanced to the rhythmic thud of hooves, yet all was in silence.
Ever since departing Di'an—
no,
more accurately, ever since the three had gathered the previous night, not a single word had been spoken.
Only when they drew right up to Dragon Emperor Forest did Ran Jianli seem unable to hold back any longer, laughing in a rough voice:
"I recall the last time I came to Dragon Emperor Forest was back during the late emperor's reign. At that time, Your Majesty was still just an inconspicuous prince. Time flies like a white steed passing a crevice; in the blink of an eye, several decades have passed, and we've all turned into old relics."
Li Yaoxuan set his porcelain cup down onto the low table before him and replied:
"Imperial Preceptor, the Chancellor's countenance can hardly be counted as that of an old relic."
Xu Yinhe opened his eyes and said flatly:
"Does Your Majesty judge people solely by surface appearances?"
A superficial smile touched Li Yaoxuan's aged face, his cloudy eyes giving away nothing of his thoughts:
"Some people cannot be seen through from the surface."
Having said that, he let the topic drop.
Li Yaoxuan turned toward Ran Jianli at his side and said softly:
"Recently, quite a few rumors have reached Our imperial desk, claiming that the upheaval which brought about the collapse of Zhenxi Manor was masterminded by the Sect Alliance. As the leader of the Sect Alliance, Imperial Preceptor, what is your view on this matter?"
Hearing this, Ran Jianli grinned. He withdrew his hands from warming at the fire, rested his forearms on his knees, and chuckled:
"If Your Majesty had reviewed the memorials, you would know that as soon as word reached Di'an, Ran had already petitioned to dispatch outer sect disciples to thoroughly investigate the matter."
The so-called outer sect disciples were the Sect Alliance's armed forces.
The conduct of the Qin family and those secluded sects had infuriated many high-ranking figures within the Sect Alliance.
Some leaders of the alliance were angry at being deceived, while others, though privy to some insider information, were enraged that it had been executed without their prior approval.
Yet in the final analysis, the true source of the Sect Alliance leadership's fury was not the secluded sects' machinations regarding the Western Desert, but rather that those vermin had tried to hog the spoils for themselves without cutting them in—and then failed, allowing the Chancellor's Manor to reap the harvest.
Hearing the Imperial Preceptor's words, Li Yaoxuan showed a perfectly measured touch of surprise in his eyes and said:
"So the Imperial Preceptor has already submitted a secret memorial. Since We have not seen it, presumably some treacherous scoundrels have blinded Our eyes and blocked Our ears."
A soft murmur, gentle words, yet carrying chilling murderous intent.
Xu Yinhe paid no heed to the two playing off each other. He kept his eyelids lowered, sitting upright in silence.
Given the administrative efficiency of the Great Yan imperial court today, a major event like the Western Desert Incident would normally have its official narrative established within a day at most, and corresponding policies would be dispatched to the local levels within three days.
Whether dispatching troops to provide disaster relief or holding forces back to watch, decrees would inevitably be issued. Yet after fermenting for so long, the Western Desert Incident was only now beginning to be brought up at court with increasing frequency.
This was indeed the result of deliberate suppression by the Chancellor's faction at court.
Because the Prime Minister's Manor needed time to swallow Zhenxi Manor whole,
the Chancellor's faction had done everything possible to stall for time at court.
Yet at this juncture, when all pretense of civility was on the verge of collapsing, the reservations everyone once harbored were gradually fading. Even with Xu Yinhe's immense power, he could no longer suppress the voices in the court.
After all, no one wished to see the Chancellor's Manor successfully assimilate Zhenxi Manor.
With the Western Desert Incident serving as the fuse to ignite the powder keg,
the imperial faction demanded a thorough investigation into its causes and consequences.
The Sect Alliance faction, led by the Imperial Preceptor, sought to assist the imperial faction in that investigation.
Unlike in the past—
when memorials were submitted, interests were exchanged in court, an outcome was hammered out through debate, and then they joined forces to resolve the issue—
now, while the various factions publicly denounced one another in court as parasites gnawing at the realm, they were all privately mobilizing troops directly westward.
Both the imperial family and the Sect Alliance.
Both sides had already massed over a hundred thousand troops on the borders of Xize Province, and defying garrison road blockades, they had begun forcibly entering Xize Province one after another.
The imperial clan wanted a piece of the pie, or at least to prevent the Prime Minister's Manor from devouring Zhenxi Manor all for itself.
The Sect Alliance's motive was simpler still:
the secluded sects had already compromised with the worldly Sect Alliance.
They deployed troops to defend against the Prime Minister's Manor and take over the foundation the secluded sects had built in Xize Province over decades.
After a prolonged silence,
Xu Yinhe finally whispered a single name:
"Jin Yue."
Ran Jianli raised an eyebrow. "What?"
Xu Yinhe calmly looked across at the two, then glanced at the mighty military ranks flanking the Son of Heaven's mobile palace:
"A petty official of the seventh rank, the magistrate of Suxi County in Xize Province. He was murdered—wiped out along with his entire household by a cadre of elite armored warriors of unknown origin. And dying alongside him was a qu of the Zhenxi Army stationed in Suxi County."
This internal report had reached Xu Yinhe two days ago.
However, the force stationed in Suxi County was not the Zhenxi Army at all, but rather the Black Qilin Army directly subservient to the Prime Minister's Manor. Nor did they number merely a single qu, but two full detachments.
Relying on the city's defensive formation, they had guarded a key route into Xize Province, yet they held out for less than half a day before being wiped off the map.
Ran Jianli narrowed his eyes, thoughtful.
"Who did it?"
"Unknown."
Xu Yinhe withdrew his gaze and shook his head without expression.
"But it is foreseeable that Xize Province will be plunged into chaos for a very long time."
His words faded into silence.
Though unstated, all three saw the truth as clearly as looking into a mirror. Amid this chilling quiet, the grand carriage and imperial terrestrial palace rolled majestically into the Dragon Emperor Forest hunting grounds.
The civil war belonging to the Great Yan Dynasty
had already drawn back a corner of its curtain along the borders of the Western Desert, ten thousand li away from Di'an.
Chapter 726