Empress Jiang knew perfectly well that they were staging a coup.
Yet they had managed to cloak their actions in the most respectable of justifications.
Emperor Qingping was now incapable of issuing any further decrees. He could not even utter a single word. The imperial edicts he had issued in the past had become the Xu family’s most convenient shield.
Now, Chancellor Xu had backed her into a corner, while the Xu family’s troops stood arrayed outside Chang’an. Their intentions were obvious: they wanted to put the Fourth Prince on the throne. Yet the excuse they presented was that they were merely upholding Emperor Qingping’s imperial decrees.
Emperor Qingping had effectively become their puppet.
They held military power in their hands and shamelessly occupied the moral high ground.
For a time, Empress Jiang was left speechless. Even the officials belonging to Chancellor Jiang’s faction could find no argument to counter them. All they could do was watch helplessly as the officials of the Xu faction escorted Xue Yunhong out of the inner palace and surrounded him, pushing him toward the throne.
The only thing Empress Jiang managed to do was issue an order in her capacity as Empress: Noble Consort Shu was to be confined within Mingluan Palace. No one was permitted to enter or visit her, and Empress Jiang herself would take responsibility for providing all her food and necessities until she safely gave birth to the imperial child.
She knew this was the only way she could protect Noble Consort Shu and the child in her womb.
However, neither Xue Yunhong nor the Xu family cared about this in the slightest. After all, the situation had already reached the point where he was practically sitting on the throne. The inner palace was forbidden from interfering in state affairs, and Emperor Qingping had become little more than an invalid. Who could possibly wield greater authority than him now?
Even if Noble Consort Shu were allowed to give birth safely, even if the child turned out to be a prince, there was no longer any possibility of him competing with Xue Yunhong for the throne. When that time came, whether the child lived or died would depend entirely on Xue Yunhong’s mood.
Xue Yunhong did not object to Empress Jiang’s decree. Surrounded by the assembled officials, he took his seat on the imperial throne for the first time and presided over the morning court.
Today’s court session was vastly different from those of the past.
Only yesterday, the Xu family had been a group of disgraced officials teetering on the brink of ruin, liable to be punished by the Emperor and have their entire clan exterminated at any moment.
But now, the Xu family had become the maternal relatives of Crown Prince Xue Yunhong—the most powerful and influential imperial in-laws in the realm.
After the officials had dealt with the major affairs of state during this morning’s court session, the hall fell silent.
However, the silence did not last long before an official broke it.
He belonged to the Xu faction.
Kneeling in the middle of the court, he declared that there were certain unclear aspects in the case involving the prefect of Shandong’s embezzlement of disaster-relief funds and grain supplies.
The official explained that the prefect had claimed to be in contact with certain ministers in the capital, who had supposedly instructed him to embezzle the grain. Yet the identity of the minister in question had never been established. Perhaps the prefect had simply been trying to shift the blame onto someone else to reduce his own punishment, arbitrarily dragging a capital official into the case.
For this reason, the case needed to be reinvestigated.
Which official present could fail to understand what he was doing? He was clearly trying to absolve Chancellor Xu of guilt.
How could a mere newly appointed local prefect have dared to withhold supplies approved by the Emperor himself? He had obviously been acting under someone’s orders, with the intention of obstructing the imperial commissioner overseeing the affairs of Jiangnan.
And why had the identity of the capital official involved never been established? Was it not because Emperor Qingping had yet to make his final decision, leaving the matter unresolved for the time being?
Now that Emperor Qingping was unconscious and the Fourth Prince had taken the throne, their very first task was to whitewash the Xu family’s misdeeds.
Yet before any courageous official could raise an objection, Xue Yunhong smiled pleasantly.
“In that case, there is no harm in investigating it again,” he said.
The assembled officials could only watch as he appointed the officials who would conduct the new investigation.
They were Chancellor Xu’s own trusted subordinates.
From that point onward, the morning court became little more than an exchange of self-serving remarks between the Fourth Prince and the ministers of the Xu faction, each talking as though no one else mattered.
They agreed to reopen the case to clear the Xu family of its crimes. They also finalized the arrangements for the Fourth Prince to be formally appointed Crown Prince. All that remained was to select the nearest auspicious date, hold the ceremony under the protection of the soldiers from Qinmen Pass, and announce to the realm, in the presence of the assembled officials, that Fourth Prince Xue Yunhong was the rightful successor to the imperial lineage and would assume the position of Crown Prince.
After that, the only person who could dismiss the Crown Prince would be the unconscious Emperor himself.
As for the soldiers from Qinmen Pass surrounding the city, they would remain there until Xue Yunhong had firmly established himself in his position. Only then would they resume their original mission of heading south to suppress the bandits.
For a time, every official in the court who did not belong to the Xu faction wore a troubled expression.
They understood their predicament.
Although the dynasty had not officially changed hands, the situation was no different from a change of dynasty. The “new emperor” had seized power through such despicable means, while the Xu family, which had embezzled enormous sums of silver and gold from the imperial treasury, had now earned merit by helping him ascend the throne.
Not only would officials who had backed the wrong side struggle to keep their positions, if not their lives, but the entire Great Yong dynasty was now in grave danger.
The morning court session finally came to an end amid the silence of officials wearing a variety of expressions.
Afterward, Xue Yunhong specifically kept behind the official appointed to reinvestigate the Shandong prefect’s embezzlement of grain supplies and spoke with him privately.
The two men were alone in the imperial study. No one else was permitted to enter, so naturally, no one knew what they discussed.
Even the Eastern Depot, renowned for its intelligence network and eyes and ears scattered throughout the palace, failed to obtain the slightest information.
Duan Chong rarely looked so anxious. He paced restlessly back and forth across the hall.
He had only intended to let the Xu family suppress Xue Yan’s arrogance a little. He had never expected them to resort to such an all-or-nothing move—and actually succeed.
Xue Yunhong would soon ascend to the position of Crown Prince. When Emperor Qingping, who was unlikely to survive much longer, eventually died, Xue Yunhong would become the emperor.
And who stood behind Xue Yunhong? The Xu family, whom they had spent more than a year helping Xue Yan fight against—the very faction of Lingfu that had harbored deep grievances against them for years.
If that happened, how could the Eastern Depot possibly survive? Would Duan Chong himself even be able to keep his life?
Just then, one of his agents returned to report.
“Are you absolutely certain there hasn’t been the slightest word?” Duan Chong demanded.
The agent replied, “Director, only the Fourth Prince and that official are inside the imperial study. No one else can get in—not even the people bringing tea and water!”
Duan Chong snapped, “Useless!”
The agent lowered his head, too frightened to say anything.
Beside them, Wu Shunhai hurriedly tried to calm him down. “Please calm your anger, Director. The situation inside the palace… really is difficult to handle!”
Duan Chong knew that was true.
But what other options did he have?
Just then, Wu Shunhai cautiously offered another suggestion.
“Director, why not find a way to send a few of our men out of the city?”
Duan Chong looked at him.
Wu Shunhai recognized that flicker of interest and immediately continued, “It only takes a few days to travel from here to Jiangnan. The Fourth Prince’s Crown Prince ceremony will require preparations for the procession and the rites. Even if they choose an auspicious date, it will be at least ten days from now. If the Prince of Guangling can return before then…”
He deliberately let his voice trail off.
Sure enough, Duan Chong’s eyes lit up.
In his panic, how could he have forgotten Xue Yan?
That brat was like a wolf—vicious, overbearing, and utterly ruthless. If he returned to the capital, would he really let the Fourth Prince have his way?
As long as Xue Yan came back, Duan Chong could set aside most of his worries.
As for how Xue Yan would enter the city and confront the Fourth Prince, that was Xue Yan’s own problem to solve.
After all, it was Xue Yan himself who wanted the throne. He would naturally make plans for his own benefit, and even the most desperate, high-risk methods would probably be worth trying.
At that point, the Eastern Depot could take advantage of the opportunity to fan the flames and help push matters along. Their contribution to the new ruler’s rise would then be firmly secured.
With these thoughts in mind, some of the gloom on Duan Chong’s face lifted.
He seemed to have completely forgotten that he himself had been the one to create this obstacle for Xue Yan in the first place. He immediately ordered his agents, “Go. Send several men to find a way out of the city. Have them contact Duan Shisi at once and locate the Prince of Guangling.”
Just then, an agent appeared at the doorway to deliver a report.
“…Director!” The agent sounded rather surprised. “Protector Duan has returned!”
Duan Chong was startled.
“Quick! Hurry and bring him in!” he said.
But before the agent could even turn around, Duan Shisi had already walked into the hall.
The boy was in the middle of his growth spurt. Though he was only thirteen, he had grown considerably during the nearly half a year he had spent in the south. He was now almost as tall as Duan Chong himself.
He wore ordinary clothes: a coarse hemp robe, with the sleeves and trouser legs neatly tied back. His outfit was clearly designed to make traveling quickly easier.
The moment Duan Chong saw him, it was almost as though he had seen Xue Yan himself.
“My son, why have you returned?” he asked. “Where is His Highness the Prince of Guangling now?”
Duan Shisi stopped in front of him and simply stared at him in silence. He did not bow.
There was little of the emotion one might expect to see in an ordinary person’s eyes. The boy’s gaze was cold and still, like a wolf watching its prey and waiting for the right moment to strike.
Duan Chong frowned almost imperceptibly.
He hated this feeling of being disobeyed, especially by the person standing before him—his own dog, whom he had raised with his own hands.
“What is it?” he asked, concealing his displeasure.
“This subordinate has returned to carry out a task for the Prince of Guangling,” Duan Shisi replied.
“What task could be so urgent that you cannot even pay your respects to your adoptive father?” Wu Shunhai hurriedly interjected.
Duan Shisi merely glanced at him coolly.
The next moment, the boy’s hawk-like figure suddenly sprang into motion.
A flash of swordlight burst forth as a sharp blade thrust straight toward Duan Chong’s chest.
Duan Chong was sent crashing heavily to the ground by the force of the attack. In an instant, bright red blood soaked through the front of his robe and spread across the floor.
“This subordinate has come to take your life on behalf of the Prince of Guangling,” Duan Shisi said calmly, standing before him with the sword in one hand.
The sword had pierced Duan Chong’s right chest, missing his vital organs.
Duan Chong cried out in pain, then immediately began screaming at the top of his lungs, “Guards! Someone! Guards!”
But the surroundings remained utterly silent.
Duan Chong’s vision began to blur.
He saw that quite a few of his agents were standing quietly nearby. At some point, without his knowledge, they had already become Xue Yan’s subordinates.
The rest had all been restrained by the Jinyiwei, who had appeared out of nowhere. Not one of them could move. Even Wu Shunhai, standing nearby, had been seized by a Jinyiwei officer who had clamped a hand around his throat. No matter how desperately he struggled, he could barely move at all.
Duan Chong met Duan Shisi’s gaze.
“His Highness has ordered that however many times you stabbed my parents back then, this subordinate must return the same number of stabs to you now. Not one fewer,” Duan Shisi said.
The next moment, he withdrew the blade and drove it into another part of Duan Chong’s body.
Again, he avoided the vital organs.
“Seventeen stabs in total. I was three years old at the time. I remember counting them quite clearly,” Duan Shisi said.
The surroundings fell silent. The only sounds were the repeated thrusts of the blade into flesh and bone, along with Duan Chong’s increasingly feeble cries of pain and curses.
The final thrust pierced his throat.
Warm blood splashed across Duan Shisi’s face.
His clothes and hands were already drenched in blood.
Just then, a Jinyiwei officer rushed into the hall.
“Captain, we’ve received a report from the city. An official is leading a considerable number of soldiers toward the Duke of Yongning’s residence!” The Jinyiwei officer clasped his fists in salute.
Duan Shisi turned around.
He was covered in blood, resembling a vengeful demon that had crawled straight out of hell. Blood trickled down his face, making him uncomfortable, so he raised the back of his bloodstained hand and wiped his cheek.
Several streaks of blood immediately smeared across his face, making him look even more ferocious.
“When will His Highness arrive?” he asked.
The Jinyiwei officer replied, “His Highness will reach the military camp outside the city in just a few moments. The Yanyun Cavalry is already fully assembled and ready to march. They are waiting only for His Highness to arrive before entering the city.”
Duan Shisi calculated the timing briefly. It should be about right.
“Let’s go,” he said. “To the Duke of Yongning’s residence.”