He left all the attendants he had brought behind to protect Kong Qing and Shu Xunzhi as they returned to the capital by carriage. He and Jing Mu, meanwhile, rode on horseback, leading the army ahead.
“We should make it back in time for Jing Shao’s enthronement.” After marching at speed for half a day, Shu Changyu said this to Jing Mu as they stopped outside the city to eat and rest. “The late emperor passed away so suddenly, and there are still many matters left unfinished. Until the late emperor is properly buried, Jing Shao cannot ascend the throne.”
Jing Mu hummed in response.
“It’s just that I don’t understand. He was originally imprisoned, so how was he released?” Shu Changyu frowned. “The witnesses and evidence are all there. His crime of murdering the late emperor has already been established. How could he be released unharmed, and how could he become the Crown Prince?”
Jing Mu curled his lips into a smile.
“Isn’t it because the palace fell into chaos right after the late emperor died?” Jing Mu sneered. “I’m afraid that Empress Jia was driven into a corner. For the moment, apart from that dead emperor, there was no one in the palace who could control her. With the Jia family supporting her and me away from the capital, releasing her son just happened to give her an opening to exploit.”
“Have you thought about what you’ll do afterward?” Shu Changyu asked. “Whenever a dynasty changes hands, there must be a legitimate cause for it. Jing Shao is now the Crown Prince. You not only have to bring him down, you must also have a justifiable reason.”
Jing Mu curled his lips, then bit into the hu bing in his hand before flopping against Shu Changyu.
“There are people of mine beside the empress. Back then, she snatched the imperial edict from the person who had it, but she didn’t dare burn it. She had her most trusted servant hide it.”
At this point, Jing Mu lowered his voice.
“Coincidentally, that person is one of mine.”
The heavy armor pressing against Shu Changyu made him stagger. The next moment, Jing Mu’s arms wrapped around Shu Changyu’s waist, and he narrowed his eyes as he rubbed his face against Shu Changyu’s shoulder.
Shu Changyu cursed him for fooling around, then looked toward the soldiers resting nearby. Several deputy generals under Jing Mu who were closest to them hurriedly turned their gazes away, each putting on an expression of complete indifference that clearly said, I saw nothing.
“They won’t say anything nonsense.” Jing Mu smiled and rubbed himself against Shu Changyu. “Besides, it would be better if they did.”
Shu Changyu frowned and glared at him. “What good would that do?”
“The late emperor’s imperial edict says that I am to succeed him,” Jing Mu said. “I don’t want to clean up his mess anyway. Let him give it to whoever he wants. If rumors of me being a man who prefers men happened to spread, there would naturally be plenty of people in court opposing my ascension. Wouldn’t that be exactly what I want?”
At this point, however, he unhappily gave two little snorts.
“But no, I can do without that empty reputation, but I can’t afford to damage the Grand Tutor’s reputation. If any of them dare say such things about the Grand Tutor, I’ll cut out all their tongues.”
Shu Changyu, however, paid no attention to his nonsense. He froze when he heard this.
“The late emperor’s edict says you?”
Jing Mu hummed nonchalantly.
Shu Changyu frowned. After a moment, he said softly, “The late emperor’s consideration wasn’t without reason. Among your brothers, you’re the only one truly capable of being of great use.”
Jing Mu looked at him. “Does the Grand Tutor also want me to become emperor?”
Shu Changyu looked at him.
“From the perspective of the country’s continued prosperity and the people’s livelihood, naturally I hope so. Your various abilities have been witnessed by both me and the ministers in court. If you can ascend the throne, it would be a blessing for the people.”
He paused, then said quietly, “But I don’t want you to become this emperor.”
Jing Mu’s originally somewhat disappointed expression immediately brightened.
“I knew it.” Jing Mu smiled. “I knew the Grand Tutor couldn’t bear to see me only once a day in court, much less bear the thought of me having three thousand beauties in my harem.”
As he spoke, he moved close again, wrapped his arms around Shu Changyu, and whispered, “I don’t want to be the ruler of this world. Having just the Grand Tutor is enough for me.”
Shu Changyu’s ears turned bright red.
What he had originally been thinking about was something serious. He was worried that the high position would bind Jing Mu, forcing him to operate in the court like a machine for decades, weighing every action carefully and preventing him from acting as he pleased.
He had not expected Jing Mu to be someone who could turn anything into shameless nonsense.
Still, thinking about it this way, if Jing Mu ascended the throne, the two of them would inevitably have to marry other people while secretly maintaining a relationship that could never be spoken of openly. Jing Mu could not accept that, and neither could he.
With that thought in mind, Shu Changyu simply let Jing Mu think whatever he wanted.
——
On the night of the second day, an imperial edict from the capital actually arrived.
That day, they stopped their march and made camp outside the city. One of Jing Mu’s deputy generals had gone into the woods and caught a wild rabbit. Jing Mu was roasting it over the fire for Shu Changyu.
“When we normally march, just eating dry rations naturally isn’t enough.” Jing Mu sprinkled seasoning over the glistening rabbit as he spoke. “In my second year after joining the army, I learned how to roast meat really well. Wherever we went, we could catch a few rabbits or wild geese and eat them. If there were none, we could even roast a few skewers of sparrows.”
Shu Changyu sat beside the fire, watching Jing Mu’s face amid the dancing flames.
The fire before him flickered warmly, Jing Mu’s figure reflected in his eyes, and even his heart seemed warmed by it.
Shu Changyu thought to himself that in his previous life, he had never enjoyed a single day of such simple pleasure. Perhaps it really had been his own foolishness.
Just then, a soldier came to report that someone had arrived from the north. He was dressed in the robes of a palace eunuch and was requesting an audience, saying that he had an imperial edict to proclaim.
“An imperial edict?” Shu Changyu frowned. “The late emperor has only just died, and the new emperor has yet to ascend the throne. Where would there be an imperial edict to proclaim?”
As he spoke, he looked at Jing Mu.
Jing Mu was concentrating on turning the rabbit over. Fat sizzled loudly as it dripped from the meat. He casually pinched up some seasoning and sprinkled it over the rabbit.
“Bring him here.”
When the eunuch was led over by the soldiers, Shu Changyu looked up.
The eunuch had evidently endured a long journey by carriage and horse. He was covered in dust, and his clothes were somewhat disheveled. Yet his expression was extremely arrogant. He stood before Shu Changyu and Jing Mu with both hands holding the imperial edict.
Jing Mu glanced at him.
“Read it.”
He did not move at all. His hands continued roasting the rabbit.
Shu Changyu looked at him, then at the young eunuch.
The eunuch immediately felt humiliated and frowned.
“Second Prince, you should receive the edict.”
Jing Mu did not move.
“Let you read it.”
The eunuch folded his hands around the imperial edict and said arrogantly, “Second Prince, this is His Majesty’s imperial edict. As a subject, behaving improperly when receiving an edict is a grave offense of disrespect.”
Jing Mu slowly gave an “Oh.”
Then he raised his eyes and gestured toward the soldier who had escorted the eunuch over.
The soldier understood. He seized the eunuch’s arm with one hand and kicked the back of his knee, expertly forcing him down onto his knees.
The imperial edict fell to the ground with a slap and rolled toward the fire.
Two drops of grease fell from the rabbit meat, sparks immediately flew up, and landed on the imperial edict, burning two small holes into it.
The nearby soldiers hurried forward, picked up the edict, and handed it to Jing Mu.
He did not hurry to take it. Instead, he removed the rabbit from the fire and picked up the dagger beside him, using it to poke and tear off a piece of meat and put it into his mouth to taste.
Then he said, “The late emperor hasn’t even been buried yet. I wonder where this new emperor came from, and when he ascended the throne? Sending an imperial edict at a time like this… It seems the new emperor is rather too anxious.”
He chewed thoughtfully.
“Mm. It’s done.”
As he spoke, he tore off one of the rabbit’s legs and handed it to Shu Changyu.
Shu Changyu accepted it.
“Let’s see what the imperial edict says.”
Jing Mu hummed and put the rabbit back over the fire.
He picked up the imperial edict, which had nearly caught fire, and deftly unfolded it.
After roughly reading through it from beginning to end, he smiled and handed it to Shu Changyu.
“Grand Tutor, have a look too.” He smiled. “I said before that Jing Shao was too anxious. I didn’t expect him to be this impatient, unable to wait even a moment. He must really have a guilty conscience.”
Shu Changyu accepted the imperial edict and saw that it was unmistakably written in Jing Shao’s own handwriting.
It stated that he had already brought peace throughout the realm, and that if Emperor Qian Ning knew of this from the underworld, he would surely be unable to rest easy. Therefore, Jing Shao intended to ascend the throne before Emperor Qian Ning’s burial. Once the situation in court had stabilized, he would then bury Emperor Qian Ning. He claimed that only after allowing Emperor Qian Ning to see from within his coffin that the situation in court was stable could the late emperor rest peacefully in the earth.
As for Jing Mu, he was to retain his original title of Prince Dunqin and immediately lead his troops back to the capital to assist the new emperor.
Shu Changyu carefully put away the imperial edict and smiled.
“Well, Prince Dunqin, are you going to hurry back to the capital immediately?”
Seeing his expression, Jing Mu smiled as well.
“Of course I have to go back. But simply going back like this wouldn’t be appropriate.”
Shu Changyu bit into the piece of rabbit meat Jing Mu had handed him.
The meat really was delicious. The seasoning and sesame oil had seeped deep into it. The rabbit was crisp on the outside and tender inside. One bite was slightly crunchy, followed by springy, tender meat.
Meanwhile, Jing Mu continued, “Before, I was thinking that suddenly returning to the capital to stop him from ascending would leave me without a legitimate cause. But now the opportunity has practically been delivered into my hands. Grand Tutor, why don’t I write a declaration condemning that evil empress, Jia, for falsely transmitting an imperial edict, throwing the court into chaos, and attempting to install the Third Prince—who plotted to murder the late emperor—on the throne? That way, I’ll have a legitimate cause, won’t I?”
Hearing this, Shu Changyu narrowed his eyes with a smile.
“Yes. Why not spread the word first? Once the rumors have stirred up the entire capital, then release the declaration and make it public throughout the realm. By then, I fear Jing Shao will face opposition from all sides if he wants to ascend the throne.”
Jing Mu nodded, then asked, “Grand Tutor, is the rabbit good?”
The abrupt change of subject left Shu Changyu stunned for a moment.
“Mm. It’s good,” Shu Changyu replied.
“That’s why I never make empty promises.” Jing Mu smiled. “If I say I can do something, then I’ll certainly do it. Grand Tutor, don’t you agree?”
Shu Changyu could not help recalling everything Jing Mu had done in the capital over the past three years. Thinking of it, he unconsciously nodded.
Jing Mu took advantage of this and said, “So, since this concerns the change of the imperial throne, Grand Tutor, it wouldn’t be convenient for you to participate too much. Just leave everything to me with peace of mind, all right?”
Shu Changyu had not guessed what Jing Mu was actually worried about. He merely thought this little rascal was showing off again and fishing for praise.
Hearing this, he nodded without a second thought and smiled.
“All right,” he said.