Duke Tianya (Please Vote for Monthly Tickets)

Xue Ye's funeral was quite the spectacle. Famous figures from across the continent gathered in droves.

On the day Xue Ye was buried, "Xue Qinghe" wept his eyes out. Anyone could see how deep the bond between father and son was!

Jiang Mingyang couldn't help marveling. With acting like that, she could have run circles around the best actors in his former life!

No sooner had Xue Ye's funeral ended than the Heaven Dou Empire's ministers began submitting memorials on every matter concerning "Xue Qinghe's" accession. Their duties were clearly divided, as though they had planned it all in advance.

After discussion, they decided to hold a grand coronation for "Xue Qinghe" on the seventh day after Xue Ye's burial.

A few days later, Qian Renxue ascended the throne without a hitch and changed the reign title to Xuande.

The day after Qian Renxue's coronation, an imperial decree rewarding Jiang Mingyang was issued:

By mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Good governance rests upon upright and conscientious officials who care for the people. Their loyalty shall be taught and their talents encouraged; their reverence is sincere, their conduct honest and generous, and their instruction solemn and exacting. Such a man may set an example for those who follow, embodying the foundations of Xuande. His virtue shall benefit later generations, and his foresight shall enrich the art of governance. By Our boundless grace, We hereby confer upon you the title of Duke Tianya.

The moment the decree was issued, the entire Imperial Capital of Heaven Dou was stunned. Jiang Mingyang could not compare with most of the older generation in either seniority or strength.

Granted, "Xue Qinghe" had shown Jiang Mingyang great affection, but this promotion was far too drastic! Shouldn't he at least have earned some tremendous merit first?

Or they could have waited until Jiang Mingyang was older before promoting him!

Jiang Mingyang was only in his teens. This promotion was outrageous! For a time, opposition among the ministers rose to a clamor.

Inside Qian Renxue's bedchamber

Qian Renxue rested her head lightly on Jiang Mingyang's shoulder. In her hands, she toyed with the Imperial Jade Seal, the symbol of imperial authority in the Heaven Dou Empire.

After playing with it for a while, Qian Renxue frowned and said slowly, "Mingyang, this one doesn't feel as good as yours, and it isn't as big either. Take out your Imperial Jade Seal and let me play with it."

At that, Jiang Mingyang reluctantly withdrew his right hand from the Warm Jade he had been kneading. With a thought, he summoned the Imperial Jade Seal inscribed with "Mandated by Heaven, may it live long and prosper forever."

Jiang Mingyang slowly placed the Imperial Jade Seal in Qian Renxue's soft, fair hands. Then his right hand slipped back

into the Warm Jade...

Jiang Mingyang treasured the Imperial Jade Seal formed from his own blood. In the days after obtaining it, he had spent his time studying how to use it.

After all, it couldn't possibly be useless!

In the end, he discovered that the Imperial Jade Seal seemed to have only two uses:

First, it could suppress enemies with Imperial Dragon Qi.

Its power increased as Jiang Mingyang grew stronger. Generally speaking, the pressure it released was one major realm above his own cultivation.

For instance, Jiang Mingyang was currently a Soul Ancestor, but the pressure he could release through the Imperial Jade Seal was at the Soul King level.

The area covered by that pressure would also expand as he grew stronger, though Jiang Mingyang did not yet know exactly how much.

For now, he could spread the pressure across a radius of a hundred meters.

Enemies caught within it would lose twenty percent of their strength, while Jiang Mingyang's strength would increase by twenty percent. It worked somewhat like a domain on the Douluo Continent, except that this domain did not consume his Soul Power.

Its second use was to speed up cultivation. Through the Imperial Jade Seal, he could cultivate at every moment, much like the Fallen Heart Flame in Battle Through the Heavens, though only at one-third the speed of normal cultivation.

Qian Renxue examined Jiang Mingyang's Imperial Jade Seal with delight. She patted his shoulder and said with a grin, "Now this one is excellent quality! This Emperor is most pleased."

Jiang Mingyang smiled. "This Emperor? Qianqian, if you rise to wealth and power, don't forget me!"

Qian Renxue's eyes lit up as an idea struck her. Smiling, she said, "Mm. You're so important to me that it's best to keep you close at hand. You'll need a position of great power too, so I'll make you chief eunuch!

Aren't I good to you?" She put on a look that begged for praise and gazed smugly at Jiang Mingyang.

Jiang Mingyang could only say helplessly, "Oh, yes, yes! You're the best!"

After a moment's thought, Jiang Mingyang added, "The court's making quite a racket over me becoming a duke. What are they doing? They're questioning you! Qianqian, when an emperor's wrath falls, a million corpses float in its wake. How can you allow anyone to question you?"

Qian Renxue gave Jiang Mingyang a fresh look. "Tsk, tsk. You really do have a talent for becoming a treacherous minister. Not bad... not bad."

Jiang Mingyang hurriedly said, "Not at all! Listen to me. Because my reward was so great, everyone started questioning me. Over the past two days, those doubts have begun spreading to you! Once people start questioning things, their imaginations run wild. Some ministers have even started suspecting there's something between us!

You have to stamp out doubts like that. Once it happens a first time, there'll be a second!

Otherwise, I'm afraid even more ministers will begin to suspect our relationship in the future!

We have to snuff out the rumors before they spread!

Your identity is especially sensitive. You can't afford to let anyone question you!"

But Qian Renxue focused on something else entirely. She glanced at Jiang Mingyang and asked slowly, "Then what do we do? Are you going to stop coming here? Or are you planning to seduce me and then abandon me?"

At her barrage of questions, Jiang Mingyang shot her an exasperated look. "Is that what I said? Don't change the subject! I'm talking about putting an end to the rumors!

I'm doing this for your sake! If you're exposed, we're done for!"

Qian Renxue glanced at Jiang Mingyang again. A cold glint flashed in her eyes as she asked slowly, "So you are planning to seduce me and then abandon me?"

Jiang Mingyang thought for a moment, then explained, "Do you really think I'm that kind of person? I mean we need to make our visits to each other seem reasonable, so no one suspects you. We can put an end to the doubts about you at the same time."

At those words, the coldness in Qian Renxue's eyes vanished, replaced by warmth. "Oh, that? I've already thought of it. The best way to resist suspicion is to confirm it.

Tell me, can the ruler of Heaven Dou have a taste for men?"

Jiang Mingyang froze. After thinking it over, he said, "That... makes sense!"

A few days later, word spread from who knew where that Emperor Xuande, Xue Qinghe, had a taste for men—and that his male lover was none other than Duke Tianya.

The news set the whole Heaven Dou Imperial City buzzing. Yet the upper ranks of the Heaven Dou Empire fell strangely silent. This... this made perfect sense!

Why else would His Majesty grant him such a lofty title for no reason? Even if he had the Emperor's favor, that would hardly warrant such an important title all at once.

The only explanation was that he enjoyed the Emperor's intimate favor!

And so the objections to Jiang Mingyang's excessive reward vanished. The potential for future suspicion over his frequent nighttime visits to Qian Renxue's bedchamber vanished with them.

The origin of the phrase "passion of the cut sleeve":

Book of Heaven Dou · Biographies of the Favorites: "Mingyang was beautiful and delighted in his own looks. When Emperor Li saw him, he was charmed by his appearance, and his affection for him grew by the day. When the Emperor went out, Mingyang rode beside him; when the Emperor went in, Mingyang attended him. He often lay down with the Emperor. Once, as they slept during the day, the Emperor wished to rise, but Mingyang had not awakened. Unwilling to disturb Mingyang, the Emperor cut off his sleeve and rose. Such was their affection."

Thereafter, "cut sleeve," "joy of the cut sleeve," and "passion of the cut sleeve" came to refer to male lovers.

History of Heaven Dou · Biography of Mingyang: "Mingyang was a young boy. Emperor Li loved him, and they shared the joy of the cut sleeve."