Chapter 29: The Choice

Chapter 29 Choices

The Imperial Study.

The candlelight was dim and murky, the air in the room heavy and oppressive. Yuan Zun sat alone by the desk, his frame imposing, his demeanor stern and cold.

A "knock, knock" sounded at the door.

Soft and slow.

Yuan Zun's sharp eyes lifted. "Enter."

The person outside stepped in.

It was Chief of the Imperial Bodyguard, Yan Bi.

Yan Bi entered the Imperial Study alone and immediately knelt. "Your Majesty, may you be blessed."

Yuan Zun waved a hand to signal him to rise, his thin lips parting slightly as he asked, "Did you catch them?"

Yan Bi rose and stood to the side. "No. The Third Prince has sent word that he could not trace the whereabouts of the iron ore shipment."

"Tsk." Yuan Zun flicked his sleeve. "The third one's still a bit green when it comes to real work."

He looked at Yan Bi standing before him and smiled. "The Administrator of Bozhou Prefecture did deserve to die, but the timing was wrong. If you play with fire, you're bound to get burned. Spread the word—dig up all the dirt on this guy, and remember, use your own men."

"Yes." Yan Bi acknowledged respectfully, then asked, "Should we continue pursuing the iron ore?"

"Why not? Smuggling iron ore—they're trying to stir up chaos, if you ask me." Yuan Zun narrowed his eyes, his right hand idly stroking the wolf-hair brush on the desk. "I'd like to see which of my precious sons has such audacity."

Yan Bi quickly lowered his head, not daring to comment.

"The Crown Prince is in Jiangnan, but he's got a long arm." Yuan Zun closed his eyes as if resting, speaking as though casually.

Yan Bi dropped to his knees with a thud, urgently saying, "I don't dare speculate."

"You're always so jumpy. There's no one else here—why can't I be straight with you?" Yuan Zun pressed his long fingers heavily against his temples, brows furrowed tightly.

Yan Bi remained kneeling in silence.

"There are things I can't figure out, so you need to move faster and help me see the truth." Yuan Zun paused, then suddenly seemed to recall something. "What's the status of the black bear attack case?"

Yan Bi remained kneeling, cupping his hands toward Yuan Zun and reporting, "The Sixth Prince's methods are impressive."

"Oh?" Yuan Zun raised an eyebrow, his tone perking up with curiosity.

"In two days, all five men and three women were reduced to skin and bones and spilled everything." Yan Bi's expression was grave, a hint of unreadable emotion surfacing in his eyes.

Yuan Zun chuckled lightly. "The sixth one's got some skills, huh? What did they confess?"

"They were originally using the mutual trade agreement as cover to scout the terrain along the road through Great Rong. Things went smoothly for most of the journey. They planned to pass the capital and continue south, but the black bear couldn't handle the change in climate and stopped eating and drinking, which ended up causing this mess. Fortunately, Qin Zhonglian, eldest son of the Duke of State Stabilization, sensed something was off and warned Song Xuyan, who's in charge of Chengzhen Street, to keep a close eye on things. Losses were light."

"The Sixth Prince also managed to pry out," Yan Bi lowered his voice, "that these were men under the Xiongnu's King of Daily Pursuit."

"The Old Chanyu has been loyal to our court for years, yet there's been constant friction along the northern border. His sons have been chafing at the bit for a long time and have their eyes on Great Rong." Yuan Zun tapped his knuckles lightly on the desk, his face unreadable in the dim firelight. "What's the Wise King of the Left up to?"

Yan Bi shook his head slightly. "Not sure."

"The Old Chanyu has many sons. For the King of Daily Pursuit to dare reach into Great Rong over the Wise King of the Left—you get what that means, right?"

Yan Bi understood.

The Xiongnu are at odds—another internal conflict brewing.

"Jin Ridun's been a coward his whole life. If his fiery sons took over as their new king, Great Rong and the Xiongnu would be headed for a brutal war."

Yan Bi saw the emperor's grim, worried face and tried to console him. "The Crown Prince is growing more capable every day. He'll surely be able to lighten Your Majesty's load in the future."

Yuan Zun heard this, a faint, enigmatic smile curling at the corner of his mouth. "The Crown Prince..."

He paused for a moment, then did not bring up Yuan Qi again. "Get rid of those Xiongnu."

Yan Bi pressed his lips together, weighing his words. "They're already dead."

Yuan Zun froze.

After a long pause, he said hoarsely, "Yes... just like her, indeed."

He let out a long breath. "Tell the third one to stay a few more months. He can come back after the new year."

"Yes. And the Iron Commissioner post in Pingshuo is vacant..."

"Who do you think's the best fit for the job?" Yuan Zun shook off his earlier gloom and asked in a louder voice.

An emperor's always suspicious—his mind's hard to read.

Yan Bi gave a wry smile. "I'm too dull to guess Your Majesty's intentions."

Yuan Zun seemed to have already made up his mind, unconcerned whether Yan Bi offered the right answer.

"Yuan Rui's young and naive, Yuan Shu's rotten at the core, and Yuan Wu's not up to the task. I've got seven sons, but only a few are worth a damn."

"So Your Majesty's thinking..."

"Come the new year, Yuan Rang's heading to Pingshuo for the post."

————

Guangyang Hall.

Chen Shuoan was sprawled on the Sixth Prince's bed reading a storybook.

After washing up, he'd scrambled onto Yuan Rang's bed like a little thug, rolling around and carrying on like crazy.

The servants were used to this by now. They let Chen Shuoan turn the perfectly neat bed into a mess like Chen Gangpao's doghouse, and nobody dared to try and stop him.

Chen Shuoan flipped through the book in his hands, grinning like an idiot.

This was the new haul Zheng Yuanzhi had brought into the palace today.

Ever since he'd "enjoyed" that afternoon of getting beaten outside the palace walls, Yuan Rang had brought him back to the palace, and he hadn't left since.

These ten days had been tough. The books in the Sixth Prince's room were all about running the country and keeping the peace, or fixing internal problems and handling outside threats—super dense and hard to read, giving him a headache.

Learning without thinking is a mess; not thinking and not learning? That's pure bliss.

Knowledge is dead; as long as you're alive, that's what counts.

Chen Shuoan reassured himself.

The stuff in this book is wildly entertaining—swashbuckling adventures, bloody vendettas, but mostly it's all about romance and love drama between guys and girls.

Chen Shuoan watched the female lead slap the male lead hard, cussing him out, "You heartless bastard, I, Jiao'er, will never believe you again, ever!" He was cheering her on in his head—this jerk who plays with girls' hearts, give him more slaps!

Then Jiao'er spun around and dove into the arms of the waiting maid Biyun, and started making out with her.

Wait, what?

Chen Shuoan's big doe eyes went wide in shock, unable to believe what he just saw.

Totally thrown off, he skipped to the last page of the book.

There it was, plain as day: the male lead and the guard ended up living happily ever after.

What the hell?!

Are you kidding me? Is this a damn fairy tale?!

That damn author actually screwed with me!

Chen Shuoan jumped up off the bed, wishing he could mail the author a box of razor blades right then and there.

The cover said it was a martial arts story, and finding a romance inside was fine—since love is pretty great, after all—but how the hell did it end like this?!

How could it end like this?!

Chen Shuoan gave a dead-eyed smile.

I'm leaving a bad review for this.

The door swung open out of nowhere.

Yuan Rang came in with his hair still wet, frowned seeing a foot as white as jade sticking out from under the bed curtains.

He gave a low cough, and all the servants in the room filed out.

Chen Shuoan was cursing the author out in his head when he felt a sudden warmth around his ankle.

Someone grabbed his ankle.