Chapter 87

After being reminded by the emperor, Empress Xiao Shen felt her face burn with embarrassment.

She quickly lifted her foot, and when she saw the glaring footprint on the dragon robe, she did not care about etiquette and bent down to brush off the dust.

“It is all right. The empress is wearing such a beautiful phoenix crown today. Do not bend down, lest you disturb the hairpins.”

Nie Qinglin saw that she disregarded decorum again and was about to lose composure in front of the court officials, so she hurriedly held her hand gently and spoke softly.

Empress Xiao Shen felt her cheeks suddenly blaze with heat.

Your Majesty! How could you be so tender!

She recalled a few days ago when Concubine Jing and Concubine Yi chatted idly, and it seemed they mocked His Majesty with contempt.

Their meaning was that the emperor was nothing but a “soft spear,” yet he had complained before the ministers that the harem was not abundant enough, not even matching the display of wealthy gentry households.

They scoffed that although the emperor was said to be “waste,” why was he still so intent on expanding the harem?

Those two concubines always spoke with sharp tongues.

She herself did not understand what “soft spear” and “waste” meant, but after returning from this sacrifice she was determined to consult Eunuch Ruan about matters of enriching the harem.

How could her husband be compared with petty landlords! By next year, she vowed, her emperor must have three thousand beauties in the harem and countless sons and grandsons!

Eunuch Ruan, seeing the empress suddenly dazed, was about to lower his head and dust off the robe.

Unexpectedly, Qiu Mingyan, who stood beside the emperor, moved faster.

He drew out a piece of white silk and crouched down to wipe away the dust from the dragon robe. Nie Qinglin never thought that the usually proud Prime Minister Qiu would do such a thing, and he wondered, why is the grand minister, who normally looks at me as though he had swallowed gunpowder, being so attentive today?

Qiu Mingyan quickly brushed away the dust.

As he stood up, he saw the young emperor looking at him with a faint, half-smiling expression.

His face tightened, and he said, “Your Majesty, please proceed quickly so as not to miss the auspicious hour.”

Nie Qinglin nodded.

As she lifted her foot to move on, she suddenly found Qiu Mingyan’s large hand firmly gripping her.

“Beloved Minister Qiu, is there something urgent you must report to Us?” Nie Qinglin asked warmly and unhurriedly.

Qiu Mingyan’s lips moved, as if he wanted to speak, but in the end he said nothing.

Slowly loosening his grip, he lowered his head, pressed his lips together, and after a moment of silence, he said, “Your servant overstepped. May the emperor walk slowly, and take care… of your steps.”

The Grand Tutor had originally planned to accompany them as well.

Unexpectedly, just after he rose from bed, he received an urgent dispatch from the Prime Minister’s residence.

It contained intelligence about the northern frontier, hinting at movements of the rebel Ge Qingyuan, which had only arrived at the Prime Minister’s office the night before.

The Grand Tutor always took the northern frontier seriously, and upon seeing Ge Qingyuan’s possible involvement, immediately set aside everything to study the report, which caused his delay.

Because the emperor was coming to offer sacrifices, heavy guards had been stationed around the new granary since the previous night, and soldiers filled the surrounding streets.

After the emperor alighted from his carriage, several high ministers followed behind, then officials from the Bureau of Astronomy carried ritual vessels with both hands.

Just as Nanny Shan was about to follow them inside, Qiu Mingyan quickly stepped forward and blocked her way.

“During the emperor’s sacrifice, no one but the officiants may enter.”

The sacrifice was a matter of national importance and could not be handled carelessly.

Fearing accidents while the emperor was outside, the Grand Tutor had specially ordered Shan Tiehua to come along as well.

If it had been anyone else blocking her, she would not have listened.

But considering that the granary was guarded day and night, and yesterday the Prime Minister himself had sent men to inspect it, and knowing that Qiu Mingyan was highly respected in the army and careful in his work, she judged that there should be no mistake.

After a brief hesitation, she did not insist.

Still, Qiu Mingyan glanced at her again, puzzled as to why a nanny of the princess had followed the emperor.

Nie Qinglin led Empress Xiao Shen into the granary.

Once the ritual officials placed the vessels in order, they unrolled a scroll of the sacrificial text and began to read aloud.

At that moment, from one corner of the granary floor, several thin wooden tubes quietly extended.

Wisps of colorless and odorless smoke rose slowly.

After reading only a few lines, Nie Qinglin felt dizzy.

Looking up, she saw that several elder officiants had already fainted.

Knowing something was wrong, her mind went blank, and she remembered nothing more.

The floor shifted open, revealing a hidden tunnel.

Several men leapt out, caught the emperor as she fell, and quickly retreated into the passage, restoring the floor so smoothly that no trace remained.

Qiu Mingyan and the court officials waited inside for a long time, calculating that the sacrifice should be finished, but the emperor and the officiants still did not emerge.

Nanny Shan, worried, rushed into the granary and saw the old officiants lying unconscious, while Empress Xiao Shen also appeared fainted.

At once she shouted sharply for the guards and ordered a thorough search.

Qiu Mingyan reacted quickly, speaking calmly.

He said the emperor was about to go up the mountain with the empress to consult a Zen master, and he urged the accompanying ministers to depart first.

The unconscious ones were carried out.

Soon, they discovered the underground passage beneath the granary.

But when men were sent down, a tremendous explosion thundered through.

The entire tunnel collapsed, destroyed by hidden firestones.

When the Grand Tutor arrived on horseback, the main granary had already caved into ruins.

Everyone present saw the Grand Tutor’s face turn extremely grim.

Regaining some reason, he snatched an axe from a guard and began pounding the ground around the granary.

The others quickly understood, he was searching for tunnels that had not collapsed.

Soon, about sixty paces away, a hollow sound was heard.

It was an intact section of tunnel.

After it was opened, they discovered the exit led into a tailor’s shop by the street.

The shopkeeper and his family had already been dead for days, and the notice on the door “Closed temporarily, returned to hometown” had been blurred by wind and rain.

Under the Grand Tutor’s furious gaze, Qiu Mingyan reported, “Grand Tutor, for them to dig such a tunnel beneath the newly built granary, there must be forces in the capital involved.

After the previous Ge Qingyuan rebellion, we have already purged the capital several times. No force alone could manage such a deed. It must be collusion, linked with emissaries of several feudal princes. Most likely, Lu Feng.”

The Grand Tutor forced down his anger and said, “Qiu Mingyan, you oversee all movements in the capital. How could Lu Feng make any move without your knowledge!”

Hearing the Grand Tutor call him by name instead of “Yanjing,” Qiu Mingyan knew the Grand Tutor was truly enraged.

He dared not conceal anything and quickly revealed all that he knew.

“Lu Feng and his men often conspire in the Ludi Guild Hall here in the capital. Though I had men keep close watch, I did not wish to startle the snake. I truly did not expect Lu Feng to have such audacity as to attempt to seize the emperor…”

His words were not yet finished when the Grand Tutor had already vaulted onto his horse and, together with Lu Yuda and the others, ridden straight to the guild hall.

When they arrived, the Grand Tutor kicked the door open and caught the men who were packing to leave red handed, but Lu Feng was nowhere to be found.

He pressed a blade to the throats of several officials, and after beheading three men in front of the envoys, someone finally panicked and confessed their plot in full.

The Grand Tutor, impatient, cut him off.

“Where is the emperor?”

The man was stunned by the question.

His voice trembled as he replied, “That Lord Lu said we were to wait an hour until we left the city before acting, but someone must have leaked the news. The Grand Tutor, you came suddenly. The emperor should still be in the palace. Why would he come with us? Actually, this is all Lu Feng’s scheme.”

Hearing this, Qiu Mingyan’s mind turned over.

In fact he had known of this traitors’ plan early on.

He had intended to turn the scheme against them, to let the rebels seize the emperor so they would be caught in the guild hall with the evidence.

That would prove to the Grand Tutor that keeping this emperor would become a disaster in the hands of those with ill intent.

It would have been killing two birds with one stone.

But he had not expected Lu Feng to fail to return the emperor.

It was obvious Lu Feng had double-crossed his own co-conspirators.

Realizing this, Qiu Mingyan began to panic.

If the emperor had indeed been taken out of the capital, the situation would be dire.

The Grand Tutor’s face darkened.

He ordered large numbers of guards to search beyond the city for suspicious vehicles and boats.

No route by land or water was to be missed.

Chaos erupted in the capital.

The gates were sealed, soldiers conducted massive searches, and the city descended into turmoil.

Still, Lu Feng’s group seemed to have vanished without a trace.

News of the emperor’s disappearance was tightly suppressed.

The Grand Tutor sat gloomily in his study, studying a map of routes around the capital.

Seeing the Grand Tutor’s expression, Qiu Mingyan gathered his courage and spoke quietly.

“The faction of Prince Qilu harbors treacherous intent. If they have captured the emperor, they will use him to coerce the world. The Black Banner Army has already assembled near the Qilu fief according to your prior orders. Why not use the granary explosion as a pretext to declare that agents sent by Prince Qilu assassinated the emperor? We could act first, crushing the Qilu faction lawfully. At the same time you would marry Princess Yong’an and ascend the throne. Would that not be taking advantage of events?”

The Grand Tutor listened without expression.

Then he suddenly asked, “Why did you stop Shan Tiehua from entering the main sacrificial granary? With such a large plot by Lu Feng, were you truly unaware of any rumor?”

Qiu Mingyan knew that Wei Lenghou would not tolerate a single grain of sand in his eye.

Since Wei Lenghou asked in that tone, he had sensed something.

He gritted his teeth and knelt.

“Grand Tutor, you are deceived by the emperor’s appearance. I watch and worry. I did hear a little of Lu Feng’s plan in advance, but only so I could warn you and prevent such a weakness from being exploited. Yet I did not imagine Lu Feng would manage to spirit the emperor out of the capital. That result is beyond my expectation. But would it not serve our purpose? Grand Tutor, my loyalty is to heaven and earth. Do not remain deluded. Marry the princess quickly.”

Before Qiu Mingyan finished, Wei Lenghou, who had been sitting, suddenly sprang to his feet and lashed out with a brutal kick at his trusted commander’s chest.

Qiu Mingyan flew up like a leaf in an autumn wind and smashed through the study door.

Lu Yuda and Shan Tiehua, who stood guard at the door, stared in shock.

Lu Yuda hurried forward to help him up and found him foaming at the mouth and barely conscious.

At that moment Wei Lenghou had already seized the ceremonial sword from the wall and charged out with murderous intent to finish Qiu Mingyan.

Lu Yuda knew something had gone terribly wrong.

Seeing that the Grand Tutor had lost all reason, he rushed forward and gripped him tightly with both iron-strong arms, shouting, “Old bitch, drag Qiu Mingyan away!”

Shan Tiehua reacted with lightning speed.

She scooped Qiu Mingyan up with one hand and hurried through several palace gates.

“Stay at the forward camp outside the city for a few days. Do not come back, or the Grand Tutor will mince you into paste.”

Once they were outside the palace and out of earshot, Shan Tiehua threw Qiu Mingyan roughly onto the ground and said with a flat face.

She had heard Qiu Mingyan’s loud declaration outside the study and burn with anger at it.

If she had not feared the Grand Tutor might kill the man in a fit of rage, she would have been glad to see the traitor properly punished.

Being beaten mercilessly by the Grand Tutor for acting without permission was not undeserved.

“You think I was wrong, General Shan? You are in the palace and see these things more clearly than I do. Will you stand by while the Grand Tutor wallows in lust and the emperor toys with him? What wrong have I done? I refuse to be silenced. Even if the Grand Tutor kills me with his own hands, I will demand the truth.”

He staggered to his feet and looked ready to rush back in and die for his cause.

Shan Tiehua did not mince words.

With a sweep of her broad palm she struck Qiu Mingyan hard across his pale face, the smack sending him crashing back to the ground.

“If I were prime minister, I would crawl into a hole and hide. Spare us your public shame. Who is the Grand Tutor? His parents cannot command him, yet you dare arrange a future without sense.”

After harshly scolding him, Shan Tiehua glanced around to make sure no one was nearby, then half-squatted by Qiu Mingyan’s ear and said, “Since when did the Grand Tutor indulge in lust for men? And you still pride yourself on being clever—can you not see that the emperor and the princess are actually the same person? The Grand Tutor has lived this long, and in his whole life only once truly gave his heart to a woman. Yet the bride he was about to marry was seized away by villains because of your meddling! If I were you, I would either hurry and search for the princess’s whereabouts, or else go find a solid wall and bash my head to death against it!”

After finishing, Nanny Shan spat at Qiu Mingyan, turned, and walked back toward the palace gates.

Qiu Mingyan lay dumbstruck on the ground, his round eyes wide open, the red mole between his brows seeming as if it were about to burst open.

The emperor and the princess were actually the same person? That young sovereign, who was so shrewd and composed, leisurely and graceful, and who had entered his dreams many times, was in fact a woman in disguise.

At this moment, he could no longer deceive his own heart.

These past days, everything he had done, rather than for the Grand Tutor’s sake, was more for cutting off his own inner demons.

He could not allow his proud self to harbor such a strange infatuation with the son of a foolish ruler who had ordered the slaughter of his entire family.

Even more intolerable was the thought that this elegant youth had willingly fallen into the Grand Tutor’s embrace.

Only by eliminating him could he quell his inner demons…yes, that must be it.

Such obsessive thoughts gradually corroded his reason, leading him to commit this disastrous, irreparable mistake.

What exactly had he done? His hands pressed to the ground trembled violently, while fresh blood mixed with salty tears dripped onto the bluestone outside the palace gates.

Fifty miles north of the capital, a convoy of carriages sped swiftly forward.

This was the convoy carrying the emperor’s gifts of consolation to Princess Shaoyang of the northern frontier.

Ever since she had left, Nie Qinglin would write her letters every month, along with exquisite objects to soothe her homesickness.

A royal convoy like this, bearing official plaques, would pass even border checkpoints with only perfunctory inspection—it was practically unobstructed all the way.

Lu Feng lounged leisurely in one of the carriages, holding a cup of tea and sipping lightly, feeling utterly at ease.

This time, he had thoroughly toyed with the Grand Tutor, the feudal lords, and the royalist faction.

After capturing the emperor in the granary with his trusted men, instead of heading to the planned assembly point, he slipped out of the capital at high speed under the cover of his own spies before the Grand Tutor could react.

He then linked up with agents embedded in the northern convoy and secretly hid both himself and the emperor among them, swaggering under the imperial banner toward the northern frontier.

With this uproar, Prince Qilu and the other feudal lords could hardly escape responsibility.

With envoys detained and tensions mounting between the princes and the court, the Central Plains would soon be thrown into chaos.

When that happened, his lord would reap the benefits.

Thinking of soon seeing “him,” Lu Feng’s heart surged with excitement.

It had been so long since they last met, he wondered if those heroic eyes were still as deep as before.

Back in the capital years ago, he had by chance met the eldest young master of the Ge family, and they quickly became inseparable friends.

Perhaps his own gaze upon that handsome man had burned too hotly, for Ge noticed it.

On the eve of the imperial exams, Ge invited him to drink freely in the peach orchard of the city.

Normally reserved, Ge seemed carried away by wine and confided the unspeakable hardships of his childhood, cursing the late emperor’s incompetence, the rise of treacherous officials, and the suffering of the people.

Those impassioned words aligned perfectly with the youthful ambitions burning in his own chest.

How could a man so full of concern for the nation not inspire devotion? Lu Feng was deeply moved by Ge Qingyuan’s tragic fate.

In the height of their drunkenness, Ge Qingyuan suddenly clasped his hand and said, “Though I understand your deep feelings, such affection cannot be accepted by the world. But when I hold the realm in my grasp, I will surely stand with you and watch the storms of fate together.”

Looking into those deep eyes brimming with tenderness, Lu Feng, for this one sentence, was willing to give his life for Ge Qingyuan, to face fire and water without hesitation.

Then and there he swore to follow him unto death.

Following Ge’s instructions, he abandoned his bright future and joined Prince Qilu, winning his trust and becoming a secret piece on Ge’s chessboard.

Later, that incompetent emperor of Wei finally died.

But unfortunately, another ruthless man arose..the Grand Tutor Wei—who caused Ge’s family to be destroyed.

Now, receiving Ge’s secret letter, he had been ordered to unite with the princes and the royalist faction, to “rescue” the emperor and deliver him to the northern frontier.

He firmly believed that no matter how glorious Wei Lenghou seemed now, as long as Qingyuan set his mind to something, he would surely succeed.

Then, at last, he could stand at the side of a new enlightened sovereign, no longer needing to fear the judgment of the world, freely giving his whole heart.

The carriage wheels creaked on as they rolled forward.

Amid that sound, Nie Qinglin slowly opened her eyes.

All around was pitch darkness.

When she tried to move, she realized her entire body was bound, her mouth gagged with cloth.

A nameless fear suddenly seized her heart.

Could it be…the Grand Tutor wanted to… No! Impossible!

Nie Qinglin quickly dismissed the thought.

Then…could it be Prince Qilu? At that possibility, her spirit eased somewhat.

That must be it. If so, then Prince Qilu was likely planning to use the emperor to command the realm.

Her life was not in immediate danger.

Surely, the Grand Tutor would soon discover her disappearance and find a way.

Thinking this, she kicked her feet against the floor.

A dull thud of wood answered her.

Outside, it seemed there were people talking, but the language was not the tongue of the Central Plains.

At that moment someone suddenly shouted, “Behave yourself in there! Once we reach the place, you will naturally be let out!”

Nie Qinglin recognized the voice, it was Lu Feng, the same man who had loudly questioned her in court a few days ago.

It seemed her guess had been correct.

She slowly closed her eyes, forcing her heartbeat to calm.

Panic in the face of sudden danger could solve nothing.

She had to think carefully about how she should respond once she was brought out.

As long as Prince Qilu and his men did not discover her secret, she should be able to keep them at bay for a while.

Just then, the sound of wheels beneath her suddenly stopped.

From the distance, countless warhorses seemed to be charging toward her, and the loud cries of “Suoluo” sounded unmistakably like the language of the Xiongnu.

At that moment, she heard someone dismount and walk toward her with heavy steps.

Soon after, the sound of a lock being opened and the creak of a lid reached her ears, and Nie Qinglin realized she was inside a wooden chest.

As the chest slowly opened, what met her eyes was a sky full of unusually bright stars, with the whirling of the wind echoing in her ears.

Suddenly, a torch thrust forward, its flames swaying and flickering above her.

“The emperor has been sleeping on and off for a full seven days. How have you been?”

A deep voice suddenly sounded by her ear.

That venomous tone was one she had heard countless times in her nightmares.

She blinked her eyes, long accustomed to darkness, and gradually adjusted to the leaping firelight.

Before her appeared a handsome face marked by scars, its features overlaid with unfathomable shadows in the dim firelight.

It seemed even darker and more sinister than she remembered.

Nie Qinglin gazed into those eyes, so deep they seemed bottomless.

When the man gently removed the gag from her mouth, her lips trembled slightly before she rasped in a hoarse voice, “Ge… Qingyuan!”

Dressed in full Xiongnu armor, Ge Qingyuan tucked a whip into the tall leather boots he wore, bent down, and placed his hands on the edge of the wooden chest.

Like a man gazing at a rare treasure, his eyes tenderly caressed the sight of the beauty inside dressed in imperial robes.

“Your subject, Ge Qingyuan, pays respect to the emperor. May Your Majesty live ten thousand years.”