Volume 2, Chapter 100 – The Truth (2)

In Yujing, once you passed through the wide, crisscrossing streets, in a blink you came upon an inner ring river.

Dozens of arched bridges spanned the inner ring river, their entire bodies carved from white jade. Beyond the bridge, countless white-jade trees were planted in scattered clusters, stretching all the way to the tall city tower ahead… whose exterior was, astonishingly, also inlaid with white-jade bricks and tiles.

This was the “Qianyu Palace”.

The very center of power in all Great Yu.

A certain minister came riding hard, stopping from afar at the river’s edge, then dismounted and hurried into the palace, handing a petition of remonstrance to the eunuch guarding the gate.

That eunuch quietly leaned in close; the two of them almost brushed shoulders. The minister’s face twitched, and he fished a small gold ingot from his sleeve and pressed it into the eunuch’s hand. Only then did the other man break into a broad smile and wave him through.

He hurried along, passing through many gateways and archways, catching sight of hundreds of beautiful maids, all decked in gold and silver, their whole bodies wrapped in silks that glittered with splendor.

Especially when they walked, their silk sashes drifted behind them, and together with the white-mist spray devices installed in the floor, the whole Qianyu Palace looked like a mortal fairyland, a place that should only exist in the heavens.

This man was none other than “Xu Shilin”, a member of the Central Court of Great Yu, one of the current chief ministers. Some time ago, he had been appointed as touring inspector, sent to Chilong to carry out the Imperial House’s will and see things for himself.

He came in a rush, clearly looking like he had urgent matters to report. When the palace maids saw him, they all covered their mouths and laughed softly, standing in pavilions and along long corridors, pointing over at him.

Xu Shilin paid them no mind. He really was in a hurry, and what he had to report was truly important.

He stopped before a white-jade arch gate, and seeing yet another layer of obstruction ahead, couldn’t help saying, “Let me through, quickly. Didn’t Eunuch Lu tell you?”

After quite a bit of dawdling and fuss, he finally gained entry to the garden behind. Led by a maid at the front, he took turn after turn, circling around for half the day, until at last he caught a hint of dampness in the air.

“Hahahaha…”

Laughter rang out ahead. The white mist in front parted, revealing a middle-aged man in white robes, seated in an open-air pavilion. A dozen beautiful women attended at his side, and in the pool behind him two palace maids were stretching their bodies, as though performing some kind of water dance.

“Your Majesty!” Xu Shilin, seeing this, immediately stretched out his right arm to wave, calling, “Hey—Your Majesty!”

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“Mm?” The middle-aged man turned his head at the sound, and when he saw who it was, a look of surprise crossed his face.

“Isn’t this Xu Shilin. Go on—bring him over here.”

A short while later, most of the palace maids had withdrawn. Only two remained, standing behind the man, kneading his shoulders and fanning him. The man himself held the petition of remonstrance Xu Shilin had just presented, his brows faintly furrowed as he read.

“…What is this supposed to mean?” After reading, he frowned at Xu Shilin. “This is the result of what I told you to do? You let the New Affairs faction end up as their support? Their stepping stone?”

“Your Majesty, forgive me!” Xu Shilin immediately fell to his knees and knocked his head on the ground. “This minister deserves to die a thousand deaths!”

As an old minister of the Central Court, he knew all too well how to deal with the man in front of him.

All of Yujing knew that the Imperial House cared about face, but few understood to what extent he cared about face.

When being called to account like this, the best response was to admit defeat and guilt straight away, completely placing the power of life and death in the other party’s hands. That way, there was a high chance of pleasing him. Not only would you avoid much punishment, you might even receive a reward afterward.

But if you dared to prevaricate—even if what you said was the plain truth—then on top of your original offense, your crime would be doubled. If your luck was bad, you might lose your head.

“All right, all right…” The man showed a look of impatience. “You serve me this routine every day. Who taught you all this? How is it that not one of my ministers has a shred of backbone? So soft and limp the moment they face blame?”

“This minister only speaks the truth.” Xu Shilin stayed prostrate on the ground, refusing to get up. “This is a virtue Your Majesty has taught us…”

“That’s enough.” The man’s expression was starting to crack, and in the end he couldn’t help but burst out laughing, obviously very pleased by the flattery.

“Mm…” He pondered a moment, giving the petition a little shake.

“So you want me to immediately issue a decree, send the armies of the three provinces into motion at once, and swiftly pacify the southern rebellion?”

“Exactly!” Xu Shilin knocked his head on the floor again.

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The man raised his brows. “And your reason?”

“You should know why I raised that fierce tiger in the south. Now that he has made his move, there is no room left for retreat—sooner or later he must die. What are you in such a hurry for?”

“This minister remonstrates for the sake of the common people of the eight circuits, and for Your Majesty’s name as a benevolent ruler!” Xu Shilin said in a deep, muffled voice. “Since the crimes of Yao Qingyuan have already been set, we should strike like thunder and excise the danger! We absolutely must not allow him to continue running rampant, or the common people of the eight circuits will suffer heavy casualties!”

“Heavy casualties?” The man’s face suddenly turned cold.

He fell silent, rose to his feet, and paced back and forth in the pavilion. During this time, Xu Shilin didn’t dare say a word, only waiting for him to resume speaking on his own.

“It’s not that I don’t consider the people.” The man stopped and spread his hands toward Xu Shilin.

“Ever since those two circuits were assigned to him, he has done nothing but indulge in breeding over there, and when the grain wasn’t enough he even had the nerve to come begging from me! And now you use this kind of reason to ask me to speed up the campaign—this is really—”

The man flicked his sleeve. “Sigh!”

The implication being that, in the two provinces and eight circuits, there were some people who shouldn’t exist in the first place?

Xu Shilin felt a stab of sorrow. He wasn’t sure whether this was the man’s true thinking, or just pure “childish temper”.

“I’m asking you.” The man sat back down and pointed at Xu Shilin. “Has the situation gotten out of control?”

Xu Shilin was stunned. “It has not, but…”

“Since it has not, then we follow the plan.” The man waved his hand. “Hasn’t Qiyun Circuit gathered three Divine Fetus realm experts? Surely you don’t doubt the loyalty of the three Dao Masters, think that they would betray me too?”

“But, Your Majesty…”

“Even if Yao Qingyuan captures the lands of two provinces, he won’t be able to hold them.” The man said darkly, “He’s simply lost his mind! Doesn’t know what’s good for him!”

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“He’s doomed to lose!”

“This minister understands…”

Xu Shilin bowed to him again, his tone completely changed from when he had been remonstrating.

He understood.

Those words at the end were also meant for his ears.

“Lord Xu, anything else?”

The man suddenly turned amiable. “Care to stay and play with me for a while? It’s rare that the weather is so fine today…”

“This minister is ailing in body…”

“All right, all right, it’s the same excuse every time.” The man’s face changed in an instant as he waved his hand.

“Hurry up and get out of my sight. Don’t be an eyesore in front of me.”

Nothing is secret before the Qianyu Palace.

Less than half an hour after Xu Shilin left the palace, the report that he had charged in full of bluster and left with his head hanging low was already laid out on many desks.

Yuming Dojo.

Liang Yu sat upright in the Dao Master’s seat, picked up the report and quickly finished reading it, then closed her eyes in thought.

After a while, her phone vibrated. She pressed to answer, and the steady male voice that had previously been tempting her sounded at once. “What did Xu Shilin go in there for?”

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“He should have gone to urge Qianyu Palace to speed up the deployment of troops,” Liang Yu said.

“Xu Shilin may be pedantic, but he still has a sense of the greater good. He ought to have gone to remonstrate on this matter.”

“The old geezer’s instincts are pretty sharp.” The male voice commented, “But it’s too late. Even if he agrees, it’s too late.”

Liang Yu raised a brow. “I don’t recall telling you the result of his remonstrance.”

“Do you really have to ask?” The man laughed. “Who could possibly know him better than I do… Vain as can be, ignorant and incompetent, spending all day buried in jade-carving murals. I say he’d be better off going out and becoming an artist.”

“When do we move?” Liang Yu asked him, her tone turning gentle and steady.

“…” The other side paused for a moment, then said, “Right now.”

“Not waiting any longer?”

“There’s been a small development in Chilong Circuit… Previously, Chai Jingyuan failed and didn’t manage to drive in the wedge. The ‘Blood Sea’ is short one spring. We have to speed things up.”

“Everyone thinks you’re trying to rebel, to fight for the realm that should have been yours.” Liang Yu said mildly. “They never considered that all you want is to destroy everything.”

“…Destroy everything he thinks he can seize for himself.”

The other side paused, adding one line of rebuttal.

“The lands of Ze and Qi—he thinks he can take them back whenever he pleases.”

“I’m going to make sure he, and this whole world, understands that some things, once done, come with a price.”