The sky remained overcast and gray. Last night’s battle had devastated many neighborhoods across the city, leaving untold casualties among the soldiers and commoners alike. Fortunately, before the fighting could spread further, the commanders of both armies sounded the retreat. After a night of heavy snowfall, the scars across Di’an were blanketed in white—though only temporarily.
The armies answering to the imperial clan and the Chancellor still held their ground across the sprawling capital. The clash of arms had ceased, but the standoff had only just begun.
Divided along the axis of Tianshui Street, with the imperial clan occupying the north and the Prime Minister’s Manor holding the south, the vast city was split in two. Both sides had pulled back two li from this boundary line, erecting checkpoints and fortifying outposts.
The palace city atop Nine Dragons Mountain had fallen entirely under the control of the Black Scale Army during last night's battle. Under strict military orders, however, they had not ventured deep into this imperial sanctuary. Most troops remained along the periphery, holding the northern palace walls to oversee and guard against the Imperial Guard and Crown Prince Yuan’s remaining No-Return Army further north.
Meanwhile, the Chancellor’s Manor, which had borne the brunt of the imperial assault last night, was now strewn with ruins. Its administrative center, Ink Shadow Pavilion, had been burned to the ground. In such a critical hour, no one suggested rebuilding, though some did propose moving straight into the Golden Throne Hall. Xu Yuan ignored those voices for now, establishing their council chamber down in the subterranean Black Prison.
And so the situation in Di'an remained frozen at this delicate impasse.
The two sides had engaged in multiple contacts, but practical complications consistently bogged negotiations down halfway through, bringing talks to a standstill.
Across the Prime Minister’s Manor, discontent simmered over the current state of affairs. Many were dissatisfied with Xu Yuan, and equally so with the empress in the northern city who was poised to ascend the throne.
Taking up arms in Di’an to cross blades with the imperial Li clan, they had all prepared themselves either to triumph and reap the glory of aiding a new dynasty to power, or to fall and be branded traitorous rebels. Yet right now, the stance at the very top had once again turned ambiguous.
Of course,
that was merely the view of a small faction within the manor. Far more harbored grievances against Li Qingyan.
They had not let dreams of kingmaking cloud their judgment.
They knew full well the might of the imperial clan and the Sect Alliance, and they understood that this was no time for open rebellion. The resources the Young Master had brought back from the secret realm truly granted the manor the means to throw off the imperial shackles, but converting resources into actual fighting strength took time.
From start to finish, the purpose of overthrowing Li Zhaoyuan was to install a ruler more sympathetic to the Prime Minister’s Manor, buying that precious time. Yet after seizing power, the edict Li Qingyan issued to the realm provoked nothing but anger among the manor's ministers.
By their reckoning, an empress raised up by the Young Master should have formally branded Li Zhaoyuan a rebel who had seized the throne through forged edicts. Instead, what they received was a murky, noncommittal declaration:
Crown Prince Yuan had passed away from illness.
It was perfunctory in the extreme, an unmistakable stalling tactic.
Beyond that, the mutiny of that night—one that could undeniably be classified as an outright revolt—continued to brew repercussions within the Prime Minister’s Manor.
Four days had passed since the night of the mutiny. Two white-haired, bearded elders walked side by side down a gloomy subterranean corridor, conversing about recent matters as they made their way toward the depths of the Black Prison:
"Old Hua, how is the evacuation going with your Tian'an Chamber of Commerce?"
Hua Hong pondered for a moment before replying slowly, "Everything remains within manageable limits. The problems we've encountered are the usual ones."
Jiang He chuckled softly. "Seizing the opportunity to balance the books, are they?"
"And your Institute of Natural Philosophy hasn't?"
"We have, and quite a lot, too. Nearly a fifth of the funds and provisions allocated by the Chancellor back then were divided up among those parasites. Honestly, if the Young Master hadn't ordered a thorough audit during this organized relocation, this old man would still be kept in the dark."
Hua Hong was not surprised and let out a faint laugh. "Aside from the fact that you never managed such matters closely, that figure is actually within an acceptable range."
"That's not my point. What I wanted to say is that the Young Master placed his attendant into my institute to manage the accounts."
"The one surnamed Su?"
"Lou Ji claimed that one. It's the one surnamed Luo."
"Luo?" Hua Hong stared blankly for a second, then took a while to realize before chuckling. "Luo Xiran? She's no attendant of the Young Master, merely a retained elder—someone he recruited outside as his own confidante."
Jiang He curled his lip, his tone slightly displeased. "Isn't it all the same?"
Hua Hong paused in silence for a moment, then murmured, "Old Jiang, we've worked together for decades. It's not my place to preach, but the direction the Young Master is leading us has already been set. If you moderates want a good ending, you had best keep pace with him."
At that, Hua Hong paused again and added in a low voice, "You should also count yourself lucky, Jiang He, that the person he placed in your Institute of Natural Philosophy is Luo Xiran. Her attainments in formations and alchemy are extraordinary, so at least you won't have an amateur ordering professionals around. Besides, you gave the Young Master the excuse yourself."
Jiang He fell silent for a long time, then asked somberly, "Sigh... Right now, the manor is dancing on a tightrope. Can the Young Master's actions really avoid leading the Prime Minister's Manor to ruin?"
"Shut your mouth. Say another word and don't blame me for getting rough."
"..."
Whether among the court's Chancellor faction or the Xu family's inner ministers, there existed a camp opposing open rebellion. This land, after all, was the realm of Great Yan, and the Prime Minister’s Manor had originally risen to prominence by attaching itself to the imperial Li family. Their minds were inevitably influenced by that heritage.
Opposing the Sect Alliance was beyond question, but rebelling against the Li family's Great Yan was open to debate.
The two elders walked in silence for quite a distance.
The underground Black Prison was vast. Aside from the departments quietly evacuated outside the city, the various internal bodies of the Xu family had each carved out administrative sectors within it.
At the boundary between the Tian'an Chamber of Commerce and the Institute of Natural Philosophy,
Jiang He suddenly spoke up again, asking in a low voice:
"I heard the Young Master released that old man of your Feng family, and that he fought alongside Feng Jiuxuan that night against the Two Saints in the palace?"
Hearing this, Hua Hong’s expression instantly sank like dark water. "Why ask about that?"
Jiang He merely sighed. "There's no need to be so wary of me. Though I have no wish to see the Young Master rebel, my only disciple is his younger sister. At most, an old man like me will just grumble a few words behind his back.
"I bring this up only to warn you:
"without the Chancellor keeping them in check, those among the old Feng family retainers who resent the Young Master are already getting restless."
Hua Hong stared grimly at Jiang He. "Which ones?"
"There are too many at the lower ranks to name, but two of them hold stations roughly equal to yours and mine."
With that, Jiang He shook his head with a sigh and turned to leave.
Hua Hong stood in place for a long time. In the end, instead of heading toward the Tian'an Chamber of Commerce's sector, he walked straight toward the innermost depths.
"Young Master, what on earth are you thinking?!"
While Hua Hong was still weighing his words, a booming roar from the secret chamber at the deepest part of the Black Prison interrupted his thoughts:
"Have you even looked at what that empress you helped elevate has been doing over the past two days?!
"It's true you had those crypt remnants seize Qinlong Pass, but Qinlong Pass isn't the only gateway from the Northern Border into the Capital Region!
"Over these past four days, over a hundred thousand troops of the Beifeng Army have entered the Capital Region by bypassing through Jingbei Prefecture!
"And this secret edict—you must have known about it long ago, haven't you?! Why keep it hidden from us all this time?!
"You ordered our Black Scale Army to rebel, and we threw ourselves in without looking back! Why are you hesitating now?!
"The Black Scale Army needs a clear command right now!"
The shouting ended, followed by a dull crash from inside the chamber.
It was the sound of a fist slamming onto a table.
Recognizing those words and that familiar voice, Hua Hong frowned and hastened his steps, but he was still a step too late.
Just as he reached the entrance of the chamber, he ran straight into an iron tower of a giant slamming the door open on his way out.
Robed like a scholar, Hua Hong looked at the fuming Zong Qingsheng and instinctively started to ask, but the man merely glared at him and brushed past, leaving with brisk strides.
Watching the direction the giant took, Hua Hong could not help feeling a flicker of worry in his eyes.
Right at that moment, a calm voice drifted from inside the chamber:
"Since you're here, Old Hua, come on in."
Entering the chamber, he found a handsome youth in blood-stained robes seated upon the host's chair. The desk before him was smashed in half, splintered wood scattered across the entire room.
The figure in the host's seat seemed entirely unbothered. Holding an untitled tome in hand, he browsed through it while laughing softly:
"It seems the internal troubles of our Prime Minister's Manor are truly not small."
Hua Hong bowed deeply and replied in a low voice, "No matter the power, executing a crown prince on the eve of his coronation would invite no small measure of trouble."
Xu Yuan put down the volume and smiled. "I told Zong Qingsheng to wait seven more days. If Li Qingyan still gives me no answer once those seven days are up, perhaps our Prime Minister's Manor truly will have to be renamed the Xu family."
Hua Hong's heart sank.
Xu Yuan casually changed the subject and asked gently, "You arrived just in time, Old Hua. How are the various evacuation efforts across Di'an proceeding?"
Hua Hong stepped closer to Xu Yuan, lowering his head. "More than eighty percent of all archives, internal documents, and classified schematics have been evacuated. With seven more days, the transfer should be completely finished. However..."
Midway through his sentence, Hua Hong suddenly lapsed into silence.
As he cast his eyes down, he spotted an imperial edict lying amid the splinters of the desk.
[Imperial Edict: Summoning the envoys of the Sect Alliance to court to attend the grand coronation ceremony.]
Instinctively lifting his gaze, Hua Hong stared with hesitation and shock. "Young Master, this is...?"
Xu Yuan replied casually, "A secret edict Li Qingyan dispatched to the Sect Alliance after Li Zhaoyuan died. Counting the time, their delegation ought to have entered the capital in secret by now."
Hua Hong’s breath hitched. Such an edict carried grim implications, and his pace of speech quickened: "Why has this old servant received no word of it?"
"Because I suppressed it. You needn't worry about this, Old Hua. I already have a plan in mind."
Xu Yuan let out a soft sigh as he spoke. "I just wonder who leaked this to Zong Qingsheng."
Hua Hong’s thoughts raced for a moment before he followed the Young Master's lead and said in a hushed tone, "It could only be the Black Scale Guards or the Wenshu Academy."
The former was the source of intelligence, while the latter acted as the Xu family’s internal secretariat, responsible for receiving it.
Xu Yuan narrowed his long, slender eyes and murmured, "...Oh? Then in your view, Old Hua, would it be the Black Scale Guards, or the Wenshu Academy?"
Hua Hong opened his mouth, several times on the verge of speaking, only to swallow his words.
Xu Yuan was in no hurry, simply waiting in silence.
In the end,
Hua Hong spoke in a hushed voice: "It should be the Wenshu Academy."
"...Zhou Xianlin, then."
The dim lighting of the secret chamber cast an unpredictable gloom across Xu Yuan’s features.
"What do you think drove the old gentleman? Was it because I wanted to place Bai Muxi into the Wenshu Academy back then, or because of my recent decrees—or perhaps his loyalty to the surname Feng?"
Hua Hong fell silent.
With a soft sigh, Xu Yuan rose to his feet, looking at him with genuine earnestness. "Old Hua, all of you are invaluable treasures my father left me. If possible, I truly would not move against him, nor do I wish to build authority through slaughter. But at this crucial juncture, I truly have no choice."
Hua Hong inhaled deeply, sighing inwardly, and offered without hesitation, "Young Master, let me handle it."
Xu Yuan turned back with a smile and shook his head. "There is someone far better suited."
"Who?" Hua Hong hesitated.
Xu Yuan glanced toward a silhouette seated in the corner of the chamber: "Grandfather, you must have heard by now."
Only now did Hua Hong notice that familiar dark figure in the corner. His pupils shrank violently, and he stumbled half a step backward, subconsciously muttering:
"F-Family Head..."
"Family Head, my foot."
Feng Yuanqin did not get up. Resting his chin in his hand, he drawled, "Young Hua, watch your tongue. The head of the Feng family right now is Jiuxuan, not this old man."
Terror buried deep in his memories of this former tyrant of the Feng family compelled Hua Hong to instinctively bow and acknowledge, "...Yes."
Feng Yuanqin found the reaction somewhat amusing. Rubbing the space between his brows, he said, "At your age, still frightened? Decades of imprisonment have cleared this old man's eyes. I just never expected folks outside would still be remembering me. You're a good lad, and Young Zhou is a good lad too. But since my grandson wants him dead, these old bones will just have to do as told."
Steeling himself against the pressure, Hua Hong said, "That would be all the more fitting. If you make your stance known, it should instantly silence those voices."
Xu Yuan had not anticipated that his grandfather, who was gentle to the point of doting in front of him, would still command such terrifying prestige in the hearts of these former Feng retainers decades later. Seeing the old man Hua thoroughly ill at ease, Xu Yuan had no desire to prolong his discomfort: "You may withdraw for now, Old Hua. I still have matters to discuss with Grandfather."
"Yes, Young Master."
After Hua Hong hurried out, only grandfather and grandson remained in the chamber.
Feng Yuanqin rose, picked up the secret edict from the splintered remains of the desk, dusted off the wood shavings, and spoke slowly:
"Grandson, do you really trust that Li girl so much?"
Xu Yuan fell silent at the question. After a quiet moment, he countered somberly, "Do you think that throne corrupts people's hearts so easily?"
"You shouldn't be asking this old man that."
Feng Yuanqin shook his head and handed the secret edict back to Xu Yuan, lowering his voice slightly:
"From a practical standpoint, however, that Li girl has zero reason to cooperate with you. You should know what kind of fallout executing Zhou Xianlin's faction will bring to the manor, yet if she truly intends to cooperate with you, the imperial loyalists she would need to purge vastly outnumber that."
It was a prophecy identical to the one Li Zhaoyuan had uttered before his death.
Yet as his words trailed off, a trace of a smile surfaced on Feng Yuanqin's aged face:
"Of course, you don't have to mind me.
"After all, this old man was a tyrant once, imprisoned for decades simply because I couldn't comprehend the ideals your parents spoke of."
"..."
Taking the secret edict in silence, Xu Yuan murmured, "You are right. Since what she is doing right now admits two different interpretations in my eyes, I will prepare for both outcomes. If she ultimately disappoints me, then the Great Yan Prime Minister's Manor will simply become the Xu family for good."
As he spoke,
Xu Yuan casually burned the secret edict to ashes. He sat back in the host's chair, his eyes fixed toward the north as they hid in the shadows:
"Seven final days. At most, I will wait seven more days for you.
"I truly have no more time left. I only hope you understand what I meant that night... Li Qingyan."
Chapter 805