Within the imperial palace, the imperial study seemed particularly deserted now that the hour of the Dog had arrived. The eunuch at the door had no choice but to steel himself and offer a third reminder: "Your Majesty, please have your evening meal first. It has already been reheated three times."
The emperor looked up with a frown and was just about to impatiently order him away when a familiar woman's voice came from outside. "You may withdraw."
The emperor froze, then hurriedly set down his brush and rose to greet her himself.
The newcomer wore a palace gown of scarlet silk gauze, embroidered with five phoenixes in gathered gold thread, and a matching set of elaborate, thousand-petaled gold peony ornaments. Every branch and leaf was entwined in gold and scarlet. In the entire imperial palace, only one person was entitled to such attire.
"What brings you here, Empress?" Before she could finish her formal greeting, the emperor stepped forward and took her hand, even taking the food box from her.
"Because I heard Your Majesty was being willful and refusing to eat, even at this late hour." The woman rolled her eyes at him. Though she was over forty, nourished by the Golden Crow Bloodline, she looked at most like a young married woman of thirty. With her magnificent, regal attire, she truly seemed to have remained at a woman's most beautiful age.
The empress stepped forward and deftly put away the memorials, brushes, and ink on the desk, then took the dishes out of the food box one by one. Most were meat, prepared in simple, hearty ways: beef fragrant with sauce, roast chicken, and oysters from the North Sea, along with a jar of sweet pickled garlic to cut through the richness. The sight made the emperor's mouth water, though he had not felt particularly hungry before.
He hurried forward, opened the jar, picked out a clove of garlic, and put it in his mouth. Then he washed it down with a mouthful of strong liquor and let out a satisfied breath.
The Xiao Household had risen in the north. Although he had also established his capital relatively far north, the food here had become as light and delicate as Jiangnan cuisine to accommodate the tastes of the great lineages.
It was not bad, exactly. It simply lacked the flavors he remembered from North of the Passes.
"Did you just pickle this sweet garlic yourself, Empress?"
"I knew you liked it. How long have you been craving it?" Sitting beside him, the empress watched this ordinarily decisive and vigorous sovereign with a gentle expression, yet chided him as an ordinary wife would her husband. "Eat slowly. Just look at your table manners. You're an emperor now, yet you're not afraid of being laughed at."
"Heh, with only you here, Empress, who would laugh at me?" Having eaten more than half the beef, the emperor gave a small, satisfied burp.
"The crown prince came to see me just now."
The emperor's expression immediately soured. "So that's why! Fine wine, good meat, and pickled garlic-you came to put in a good word for someone!"
Looking at his expression, the empress said in amusement, "When a child makes a mistake, who else can he turn to but his mother?"
"His conduct was utterly improper!" The emperor's face darkened. "The crown prince of all people, secretly meeting a minister's daughter! If word got out, the imperial family would lose every shred of dignity!"
"Oh my, didn't a certain someone set that example? Wasn't someone climbing walls to court a respectable young lady back in the day?"
"How... how is that the same?" The emperor's face instantly went from dark to red. "That's ancient history! Why are you still bringing it up?"
"Our son said he truly likes that girl from the Yang Household."
"Even if he truly likes her, he can't behave like that..." With his old history brought up, the emperor's imposing presence had noticeably weakened. Eating his meat, he said, "No matter what, he won't escape a beating!"
"Yes..." The empress covered her mouth and smiled, knowing he was conceding out of consideration for her. "When a father wishes to discipline his son, how would I dare stand in his way?"
"Hmph..." The emperor ate sulkily.
If there was anyone in the world who could still persuade him, it was the woman before him. And to be honest, he could not bear to punish the crown prince severely himself. His first two legitimate sons with the empress had both died in battle. How could he not favor this last one a little?
Had it been a child of any other consort, he would have broken his legs!
"Your Majesty, why not rest at the Palace of Earthly Tranquility tonight?"
"Ah?" The emperor froze, even dropping the meat in his hand.
Seeing his foolish expression, the empress said irritably, "What? Can't bear to part with that newly arrived Lady of Talent?"
"Not at all, not at all..." The emperor chuckled and rubbed his hands. "I was merely indulging in something new. How could any of them compare to you? I'll stay at the Palace of Earthly Tranquility tonight. The Palace of Earthly Tranquility it is!"
Vermilion Bird Gate:
Several figures hurried up to the palace gate, putting the guards on duty at Vermilion Bird Gate that day in a difficult position.
In principle, entering the palace late at night was against normal practice. They had to report to their superiors before letting anyone inside, yet these people insisted that the situation was urgent and demanded immediate entry!
Had an ordinary minister made such an unreasonable demand, the guard would have long since ordered his men to drive them away. Unfortunately, the one speaking was Liu Yu, the Duke of Song!
"My lord... this... this is against the rules." Though the military officer guarding the gate came from a bloodline lineage and belonged to the military faction, he could not act tough before this former master strategist. Never mind a junior like himself-even those old dukes were invariably courteous to the man before him.
"The situation is urgent, and I truly have no other choice. General, please let us through. I will bear all responsibility!"
With him having gone so far, the commanding officer could hardly refuse him this courtesy. He could only say, "Then please wait a moment, my lord. Once I have arranged the watch, I will escort you into the palace!"
Liu Yu nodded. After the officer left, Chen Qing cupped his hands behind him. "Thank you for your trust, my lord."
Liu Yu turned to Chen Qing and nodded. "So young, yet so seasoned in your thinking. Even I never considered such a possibility..."
That was indeed the truth. Having experienced the decline and establishment of dynasties, he could be considered widely experienced, yet his thinking had fallen short of this young junior's.
Of course, the young man's conjecture was indeed too incredible. Faced with the disappearance of the crown prince's deputy commanders, this junior had offered an exceedingly bold and novel line of thought, going straight to: could it be possible... that the crown prince had been replaced?
When those words were spoken, even his own first reaction had been to find them utterly absurd!
Though the crown prince was young, his bloodline was pure. Within the emperor's imperial city, how could a mere fiend replace him at will?
Yet on careful consideration, it was not impossible. Only the crown prince could command the deputy commanders, and the person best placed to make all those deputy commanders vanish without a sound was actually the crown prince himself. Moreover, the crown prince had very likely been bewitched by a fox demon. At such a moment, a sneak attack on a man would indeed have its highest chance of success!
This made him regard the young man even more highly. While everyone else's thoughts were still circling among the various women, this young man had already considered another possibility. Indeed, the Thousand-Faced Fox could assume a thousand faces. Who said it could only disguise itself as a woman?
Fei Jun, standing nearby, still found it unbelievable. He looked at Chen Qing. "You heard what the commanding officer said just now. The crown prince entered the imperial palace. If the fox demon really replaced him, why would it dare take such a risk and enter the palace now instead of keeping itself well hidden?"
"There are two reasons..." Before Chen Qing could speak, Liu Yu answered first. "First, it cannot keep this concealed for long. His Highness the Crown Prince has a life tablet inside the imperial palace. If he had been murdered, there would be no way to hide it. Since the life tablet has given no warning, he has most likely been trapped by some means. A situation like that cannot be concealed for very long."
"Then..." Fei Jun immediately grew anxious. "Then finding and rescuing the crown prince should be our priority!"
"The second reason is why we are not rescuing the crown prince immediately." Liu Yu looked at Chen Qing. "Am I right, young fellow?"
Chen Qing cupped his hands, then looked at Fei Jun. "The time the fox demon can keep the crown prince trapped must be limited. Within that limited time, it must maximize its gains."
"By maximizing its gains... could you mean...?" Fei Jun was clever too, and instantly understood the possibility he meant. Disbelief immediately filled his face. "His Majesty?"
"How is that possible?" Before Chen Qing could nod, Fei Jun could not help objecting. "Do you know what sort of existence His Majesty is? Would a mere fox demon dare set its sights on His Majesty?"
Liu Yu also looked at Chen Qing. To be honest, the young man's conjecture was bold, and indeed somewhat unrealistic. There were many reasons the Xiao Household had seized the realm back then, but one point was universally acknowledged: in terms of bloodline strength, the strongest person alive today was undoubtedly the reigning emperor!
Chen Qing lowered his head without speaking. There were things he could not say. He did not know what level the emperor had reached now, but as long as he had not attained the Golden Crow's nine suns united as one, it was not impossible to conquer him.
If the Thousand-Faced Fox had already succeeded in obtaining the crown prince's primordial yang, it might have reached the eight-tailed level. Combined with some strategy, it was not impossible for it to deceive the emperor.
The emperor of the new dynasty was no match for the comparison with Xuanzong in his twilight years back then. As a founding monarch, the abundance of his fortune was absolutely among the highest of the current human race. Once it succeeded, the Thousand-Faced Fox would very likely transform into its final form immediately. At that point, there would be nothing it could not bewitch. Merely approaching it would cause their memories to be altered, and the entire Great Jin dynasty would become a plaything in its hands!
The book has entered the first round of PK. I hope everyone will give it plenty of support so this new book can go further. Thank you, everyone!