Inside Yan Xiang's residence, the study's doors and windows were tightly shut. Only a solitary lamp flickered on the desk, stretching and shortening the two men's shadows.
Ji Ling's burly frame seemed somewhat cramped in the rather small space. He broke the silence first, asking in a rumbling voice.
"Lord Yan, what exactly has happened?"
"Why all this secrecy?"
Yan Xiang did not answer immediately. He personally filled a cup of tea for Ji Ling, a keen gleam that Ji Ling could not understand flashing in his clouded eyes.
"General Ji, what did you think of our lord's performance today?"
Ji Ling froze for a moment, then praised him without hesitation.
"Does that even need asking?"
"Our lord's foresight runs deep. He saw through the course of the world at a glance, not only breaking us out of our hopeless predicament, but turning the tables and putting Cao Mengde in check!"
"With wit like that, that wretch Yuan Shu isn't even fit to carry our lord's shoes!"
"Indeed."
Yan Xiang nodded and continued along the same lines.
"Our lord not only has the talent to order heaven and earth, but also a benevolent and generous heart."
He let out a long sigh, an expression of bitter anguish appearing on his face.
"Yuan Shu defied all that was right, and anyone had the right to slay him. Yet our lord still refuses to overstep his station and proclaim himself emperor, continuing to honor the Han emperor in Xu Capital. What magnanimity! What benevolence and righteousness!"
As Ji Ling listened, he felt that the words made sense, but he kept sensing another meaning beneath them.
"Lord Yan, what exactly are you trying to say?"
At last, the map unrolled and Yan Xiang's dagger was revealed. He lowered his voice, almost forcing the words through his teeth.
"Our lord cherishes benevolence and his own feathers, unwilling to give others grounds for criticism."
"But his heavenly mandate as the one emperor for the ages was revealed by the sky screen itself. It is ordained by Heaven!"
"If our lord is unwilling to do it, are we, his subjects, simply to watch the mandate of Heaven fall into someone else's hands?"
Yan Xiang fixed Ji Ling with a burning gaze.
"It seems the two of us will have to play the villains."
Ji Ling was no fool. He was merely straightforward by nature.
Now that Yan Xiang had laid it out plainly, he understood at once.
That was right. Their lord cared about his reputation and wanted to be a loyal subject.
But what his subordinates wanted was the merit of placing him on the throne, of following their lord to establish dominion!
Their lord wanted to keep his dignity, so they would handle the undignified business for him!
Once the raw rice had been cooked, even if their lord blamed them aloud, he would only regard them more highly in his heart!
Having worked this out, Ji Ling's breathing grew heavy, and he slapped his thigh.
"Of course we can!"
"Since our lord cares about his reputation throughout the realm, we'll play the villains for him!"
"Lord Yan, tell me what to do. From this day forward, my life belongs to our lord!"
Seeing that he had caught on, Yan Xiang smiled in gratification.
He leaned close to Ji Ling's ear and laid out his entire plan.
The two discussed matters in that secret chamber for a long time, only going their separate ways once the night outside the window had grown deep.
In the blink of an eye, daylight shone bright.
A new day had arrived.
Xu Capital, Yan Province.
Before dawn, Cao Cao was already fully dressed, standing alone in the courtyard with his hands behind his back, gazing up at the gray sky.
His eyes were sharp as an eagle's, filled with anticipation and a barely perceptible trace of agitation.
He would not believe it even if beaten to death. He had campaigned north and south, swept aside the competing warlords, and upheld the Han dynasty, yet the one emperor for the ages favored by Heaven's mandate was actually some obscure slave.
The sky screen must have made a mistake!
Today, he would see what other fanciful claims this sky screen could produce!
Atop Xiapi's walls in Xu Province, Lü Bu held his halberd, Red Hare Horse snorting beside him. His gaze was likewise fixed on the sky, his brows tightly furrowed.
In Ji Province, Yuan Shao sat in the main hall with his advisers, yet no one spoke. All waited with an unspoken understanding.
Xiangyang, Jing Province.
The elderly Liu Biao coughed twice and walked out of his room with a maid's support, raising his head to look at the sky.
In Yuzhou, Liu Bei was drilling troops on the training grounds with his two brothers, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, but he, too, looked up from time to time, his eyes filled with uncertainty and anticipation for the future.
At this moment, the towering figures of the realm seemed to have reached a curious tacit understanding.
They were all looking forward to that screen appearing again.
There was, however, one exception.
Chengdu, Yizhou.
Liu Zhang was pacing restlessly back and forth in his residence, panic written all over his face.
"What do I do? What do I do?"
"Will that sky screen keep talking about me and that slave today?"
"What if... what if I really am no match for him? What am I supposed to do then?"
Now he truly was a little afraid.
With the land of heavenly abundance in his possession, elite troops under his command, and ample provisions, he should have been able to rest easy on a high pillow. Yet the sky screen's appearance had thrown his heart into utter turmoil.
Below him in the great hall, civil and military officials stood in two rows. Seeing their lord so devoid of composure and confidence, they all shook their heads inwardly.
The adviser Li Yan stepped forward and cupped his hands.
"My lord, there is no need to worry."
"That Yang Feng is merely a household slave who seized Huainan by a stroke of luck. Such a man is nothing but a monkey dressed in a crown. How could he possibly compare with you, my lord?"
"Precisely!"
Ma Liang also stepped forward, voicing his agreement.
"The sky screen's words are vague and insubstantial, perhaps the work of sorcery. My lord, you are an imperial kinsman of the Han, a man of exalted status. How can you believe such nonsense and throw your own ranks into disarray?"
Their persuasion did not improve Liu Zhang's mood in the slightest. Instead, it only made him more irritable.
What did they know!
That sky screen could broadcast live!
If it really showed footage of me losing to him, where would I put my face?
Meanwhile, at the center of the storm, in Shouchun.
Yang Feng slowly awoke amid a chorus of lilting feminine voices.
Two beautiful maids were carefully helping him into luxurious robes, while several others waited nearby with golden basins and jade cups.
Smelling the faint scent of cosmetics in the air and feeling the silky fabric against his body, Yang Feng had only one thought.
Decadent. Far too decadent!
But I like it!
Wasn't this a hundred times better than being a corporate slave on Blue Star?
To hell with being the one emperor for the ages or fighting for dominion over the realm.
A wife, children, and a warm kang bed-no, beautiful wives and lovely concubines living in grand mansions. That was life's ultimate goal!
Just as he was enjoying this degenerate feudal life, an attendant hurried in from outside the hall and bowed to report.
"My lord, Lord Yan Xiang has prepared some things at the gate tower and would like to invite you to go there and see them in person."
At this, Yang Feng raised an eyebrow slightly.
The gate tower?
To look at something?
What was that old man up to now?
He was somewhat puzzled, but did not give it much thought. After all, Yan Xiang and Ji Ling were now the right and left arms he relied on most.
Since the man had come to invite him so early in the morning, it would hardly do for him, as their lord, to refuse him that courtesy.
"All right, understood."
Yang Feng waved a hand casually and finished washing with the maids' assistance.
"Lead the way."
With that, he set off with measured, stately strides, heading leisurely toward Shouchun's gate tower.