Long Xuan'en's Kill Order weighed heavily on Zhou Ruiyuan. When he stepped out of the palace chamber, rain was still falling in a steady drizzle. His heart felt as though it had been filled with rainwater, so heavy he could scarcely breathe. Wen Chenghuan stopped beside him and said, "This rain came rather suddenly."
Zhou Ruiyuan glanced at Wen Chenghuan, understood the meaning beneath his words, and nodded. "Summer rain is always like this. It comes quickly and goes just as quickly."
"This rain doesn't seem likely to pass so soon," Wen Chenghuan said. "It isn't just Capital City. All across Great Kang, the rains have been plentiful this year. This downpour should slow those rebels' escape. I believe Su Yuchi will catch up with them very soon."
"And what happens when he does?" Zhou Ruiyuan asked.
"Didn't His Majesty just issue a Kill Order?" Wen Chenghuan said. "All fifty thousand rebels are to be slaughtered, not a single one spared."
Zhou Ruiyuan sighed. "Fifty thousand rebels-how many family members do they have? Killing them means making enemies of fifty thousand households. I'm afraid we'll gain hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of enemies afterward."
"Why didn't you explain that to His Majesty just now, Chancellor Zhou?" Wen Chenghuan asked.
"You should understand that reasoning too, Grand Tutor," Zhou Ruiyuan said. What he meant was, Why didn't you say anything? Weren't you just as afraid of offending the emperor in his fury?
Wen Chenghuan shook his head. "In truth, there are only two people His Majesty will listen to now." One was naturally Hong Beimo; the other was Princess Yongyang, Qiqi. She now handled every matter of state, great and small. Had the Imperial Mausoleum not been burned today, the Old Emperor would never have personally gathered these ministers to discuss