These sudden refugees were not a major matter in themselves, but given the timing, they demanded serious attention. Even so, once the decision was finalized, Qin Yuan set down the docket and walked out of the county yamen alongside Yi Kui.
For a county-level administrative division, four hundred thousand remnants would usually make for a bustling populace, but the new city's streets were bleak and desolate. Aside from a few armored riders patrolling back and forth, not a single pedestrian could be seen—a lingering continuation of their customs from the underground palace.
As the two walked, they discussed the various affairs of the city.
In the past, whenever something significant happened underground, the few divine officials among them would gather to discuss it. Now Li Xing was dead, the Chief Arbiter was far away at the young master's side, and the burden of these four hundred thousand divine people fell entirely on the two of them.
"...Tian'an Chamber of Commerce stopped supplying us last month..."
"...Grains, flour, and oil are fine. The granaries and warehouses are full. If the ordinary divine people are kept on the rations from the underground palace, lasting until the end of next year shouldn't be an issue. What matters is the medicinal herbs and mineral supplements you need for drilling the new army. At our current rate of consumption, they'll be completely drained in a month at most..."
"...Also, the Black Scale Guards reminded me yesterday that the divine people managing the storehouses seem to have sticky fingers. When releasing supplies, they secretly pocketed several thousand jin of meat..."
"...The divine people transporting supplies have also been abusing their authority over ration distribution to privately trade for mating rights..."
"...Now that we've left the underground palace, the custom of communal mating will eventually have to change. Furthermore, far too few among the divine people are literate, and even fewer understand arithmetic. If it doesn't affect the bigger picture, we'll leave it be for now..."
"Mm... we'll do as you say. How is the drilling of your new army going?"
"Not well."
"...What? Two years have passed since the young master came to the underground palace."
"...We lack manpower. Far too few are literate, so even if they have the talent for cultivation, teaching them is dreadfully slow..."
"...After assigning a batch to that prince, we only have a little over thirty-two thousand martial apprentices left. What's more, most are low-rank martial apprentices of the eighth and ninth ranks. Those who could actually hold their own against Great Yan's elites number a single army corps—ten thousand men—at most..."
"Didn't you say troops would be deployed soon?"
"...Ready or not, we have to march. Only by winning can the divine people gain a firm foothold in Great Yan, and only then will we have a future."
"...Striking the unprepared with careful planning, there will always be a chance..."
"..."
By the end, both fell silent.
To preserve their people, aside from the divine officials raised in the shrine from childhood, the underground palace had practically eliminated any middle class. In a desperate domain surrounded by aberrant ghosts, the less one knew, the less one's mind would wander. Yet now that they had arrived in Great Yan, this system that had endured for countless years had become shackles instead. Even if they could legitimately initiate reforms under the young master's mantle of 'Heavenly Father,' that would still take time—and right now, no one would grant the crypt remnants such a reprieve.
Between vast heaven and earth, the crypt remnants were like mayflies, struggling just to survive.
The situation of the crypt remnants was precarious—precarious in every sense of the word. From within lay the shackles of ten thousand years; from without lay the hostility of the officials of the Prime Minister's Manor; and further still lay a bloody, mandatory battle to establish their clan.
Only by winning this war, taking those two mountain passes for the Prime Minister's Manor, and proving their worth could the crypt remnants have a future.
Walking along the deserted, snow-swept street, their footsteps left two trails upon the white expanse. After a long silence, Yi Kui trod across the snow-covered lane, lifted her gaze toward the white specks drifting from the heavens, and asked softly:
"Striking the unprepared with careful planning... But besides the young master and the lords of the Prime Minister's Manor, doesn't that imperial princess know of our existence as well?"
***
Word of what had occurred during the morning court soon rippled through every corner of the palace. Even if the vast majority of eunuchs and palace maids had no idea what had actually taken place inside the hall, seeing the strained expressions on the senior head eunuchs was enough to guess that something momentous had happened. As the tension filtered down through the ranks, the idle chatter and laughter of ordinary days vanished, leaving the entire imperial palace draped in chilling austerity.
Yet at the source of it all, inside the hall of Jinluan Hall, silence still reigned.
Sitting upon the golden steps, Xu Yuan looked at the woman standing before him. He did not speak, only meeting her gaze in tranquil silence.
Their reunion after separation was hardly harmonious.
Her gallant, dashing ease remained as captivating as ever, but in this moment, he was in no mood to admire her beauty.
He was trying to divine her intentions.
And she, too, was sizing him up with an appraising eye.
Draped in a crimson cloak, looking down at him from above, her thoughts remained entirely inscrutable.
After a long while.
Li Qingyan bent forward, smoothed her hem, and seated herself atop the low table before the golden steps. Resting both hands against the tabletop, she stretched out her slender, fair legs, narrowed her eyes halfway, and spoke with casual ease:
"Your audacity is as grand as ever. Slaying someone in open court and forcing through a new law... but after today, I fear the court assembly will become nothing more than a joke."
Xu Yuan pondered for a moment, his voice echoing through the hall:
"What court assembly are you referring to? If you mean a place where the laws of the realm and the moral order under heaven are decreed, don't pin that blame on my head. The ones who ruined the court assembly in the first place are those two."
Due to the existence of extraordinary power, the game of political rule in Great Yan differed greatly from Xu Yuan's previous life, yet the court assembly functioned much the same.
It was an arena where those in power followed established procedural rules to deliberate on the division of interests among factions. But since Li Yaoxuan ascended the throne, through a series of major criminal cases and regional wars, the inner court had risen while the sects were suppressed and sidelined. Those established rules and procedures were gradually abolished, turning the court assembly into a stage dictated solely by the Emperor and the Prime Minister.
The force of authority could never match the authority of force.
No matter how fiercely ministers argued or how heated debates grew in the imperial court, so long as either the Emperor or the Prime Minister nodded, it became new law.
Whether the sects respected the law, of course, was another matter entirely.
Nevertheless, the so-called court assembly had long since been cleaved in two, existing in name only, held together by nothing more than a thin veil of decorum. What Xu Yuan had done today was merely tear that veil to shreds.
Li Qingyan tilted her head in thought, her red lips curving into a smile:
"Had this palace intended to reproach you, I would not have assisted you. Mm... rather, this palace wished for you to do so. A hollow sham like that should have been discarded long ago."
Xu Yuan curled his lips slightly and sighed:
"If your Imperial Father were like you, or even if your Imperial Brother were like this, why would I have needed to do what I did today?"
Hearing this, Li Qingyan stared at Xu Yuan without answering immediately. After a brief pause, she suddenly asked:
"If this palace's imperial brother were as you wished, would you—or rather, the Chancellor—commit regicide?"
"..."
Xu Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly.
What did a crown prince need to ascend the throne?
It was terribly complicated, yet terribly simple: the old Emperor merely had to die.
Yet now that Li Yucheng was dead set on stepping off the stage, discussing such things was meaningless. Thus, Xu Yuan did not answer the question. Instead, gazing at the breathtaking woman before him, he smiled and said:
"Qingyan, I just realized you seem to have changed your form of address back."
Li Qingyan raised an eyebrow.
On their return to the capital from the extreme north, she had stopped referring to herself as 'this palace' in front of this man.
Changing it back now was already an implicit declaration of her stance.
For this fellow to suddenly lay it bare...
Curling her lips, Li Qingyan spoke with a touch of helplessness:
"You dislike this palace referring to herself as such?"
"No."
Xu Yuan shook his head, stood up from the golden steps, and turned sideways.
Looking obliquely at the dragon throne atop the golden steps, he said:
"I mean... why don't you simply refer to yourself as Zhen?"
Chapter 734