Surviving the Succession (A Transmigration Fantasy)

Character Index

Zhao Rong: Kayla and Ashina's son. A two-year-old.

Hu Qing/Liang Hongfei: Commander of the training camp of the capital City Guard. Rong'er's godfather.

Zhang Dingyong: Minister of Justice, likes to stir up trouble.

Yao Gongzhuo: Minister of War.

Chen Caichun: Formerly the Chamberlain of the Court of Judicial Review, now promoted to the Director of a task force.

Zhou Xianchun: An Archduke, brother of the current Emperor. Lost out in the succession struggle.

Yu Bianfu: Formerly a commander in the Imperial Guard and then stationed in the Southwest. She was recalled by Yunqi and married to Xianchun to kill two birds with one stone (tie down Xianchun from marrying anyone else in a political alliance and also removing Yu Bianfu's military influence).

Shegui Khagan: Khagan of the Western Turkic Khaganate. In poor health but hanging on.

Chuluo Khagan: Khagan of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate. Father-in-law to both Kayla and Yunqi.

Magistrate Song: Formerly Secretary Song, a half-Persian young man Kayla took on as a recruiter to develop her patronage network of Persian, Sogdian, and mixed-ethnicity officials.

Bilge Khan: Shegui's son and heir.

Vice-Commander Jiang: Formerly a captain of the Imperial Guard, he has since been promoted to Vice-Commander. Friends with Kayla.

Zhou Yunqi: The Emperor of the Wu.

Zhou Chenqian: Zhou Kuang's eight-year-old son, lives outside the capital with his mother Cao Shuyi near the hometown of the Cao clan.

Consort Li: One of Yunqi's consorts, among the three consorts who the court pressured him into taking into the harem three years ago before he could wed the Royal Consort Princess Halime.

Qiu Jinwei: The Emperor's eccentric but brilliant advisor.

Halime: Princess of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate, Ashina's half-sister and Kayla's sister-in-law by affinity. The Royal Consort.

Li Que: Senior Investigator of the Imperial Investigation Bureau. Loyal to Kayla, but also loyal to the Emperor.

Sir Yang: A senior eunuch who serves Yunqi.

Zhou Kuang: Deceased brother of Yunqi and Xianchun, was very close with Yunqi. Posthumously titled Grand Prince.

Kayla propped up her head with one hand, a pounding headache filling the space between her eyes. The numbers on the desk before her were starting to swim, but Kayla couldn't bring herself to stop staring at them.

Never before had she so missed the modern world as when she had to deal with calculations on paper what Excel would have done for her. It had been two and a half years since the reforms had passed into law, and the accounting skills of the clerks across the country had decidedly not kept up with the drastic increase in trade.

Please someone invent the fucking computer for me, I wasn't built for this, Kayla silently pleaded as she looked at the densely listed figures of import tax revenues.

A team of extremely industrious secretaries had already done the bulk of the work, but Kayla wasn't about to explain a line graph to a bunch of near-sighted middle-aged men who had just done a full week and a half of overtime.

Ten days for a team of ten men, Kayla thought in disgruntlement. Excel would never.

At least they were competent–they hadn't gotten the countries-of-origin wrong despite the names sounding all the same to them.

A much-needed distraction finally came when the door opened. Kayla swiveled her head over with a frown, ready to rebuke whoever was bold enough to come into her study unannounced.

A floating toddler emerged through the partially opened door.

Zhao Rong gurgled and waved his limbs happily at the sight of his father.

"Is that a sufficient bribe?" Hu Qing's voice wafted over, tinged with laughter. He stuck his head in, followed by the rest of him.

"Hu Qing, when did you get here?" Kayla asked in surprise. She accepted the hefty weight of the toddler, patting his fuzzy head as she took him from Hu Qing.

"Just now, from the Ministry of War," Hu Qing said. "My first act was to kidnap my godson, of course. Getting heavy, isn't he?"

Kayla shifted the weight of Rong'er in her arms.

"He still hasn't learned to talk," Kayla sighed. "And he's unbalanced on his feet–it was like this even when he was learning to sit. By the gods, I just hope he'll grow up healthy."

Hu Qing observed Rong'er as the toddler tried to eat his fist, one hand in an iron grip on Kayla's robes.

"He seems fine to me," Hu Qing said, tilting his head thoughtfully.

Kayla bounced the cooing toddler on her knee absentmindedly, flipping through pages of numbers with her free hand.

"I think he's just fat," Hu Qing said after a long moment. "That's why he keeps toppling over."

Kayla paused to glance at him, and then at Rong'er.

"Well, I guess he's a little chubby," Kayla admitted. "Ibilga was worried about how skinny he was as a baby, so she's always feeding him."

"That just means he's a man of great fortune," Hu Qing said, leaning forward to poke Rong'er on the cheek. "Aren't you, precious?"

Zhao Rong gurgled incoherently at him.

"There's nothing wrong with you, your daddy is just a worrywart," Hu Qing cooed, punctuating his words with pokes to the toddler's cheek. "You just have too much meat on you, huh?"

Zhao Rong's lips wobbled, and he gave a plaintive cry as he buried his round head in Kayla's arms. Hu Qing burst into delighted laughter.

"Good heavens, Hu Qing! Don't bully him!"

"But it's cute!"

"My kid isn't a toy!"

"Noooo, Rong'er, come on now," Hu Qing whined. "Your godfather didn't mean it. I'm still your favorite, aren't I?"

He clapped his hands and held them out to the child, who glanced back at Hu Qing and then wailed all the more pathetically into Kayla's chest.

"There there," Kayla said resignedly, pausing her work to pat the toddler's back. "Alright now, Hu Qing. Leave the baby alone or I'll revoke your godfather privileges."

"Fine, fine," Hu Qing grumbled. He wryly glanced at the mess of scrolls on Kayla's desk. Kayla hadn't even taken her eyes off the paper before her, even with a crying bundle in her lap. Finally, she finished her tally.

Kayla stood up, a frown on her face as she absentmindedly handed Rong'er to Hu Qing.

"I knew there was something strange," Kayla muttered. "What the hell is the regional office doing? This should have been reported when it first started!"

"What?" Hu Qing asked. While he was distracted, Rong'er started trying to eat Hu Qing's finger.

"Hold on, I need to make sure," Kayla said. "I could be wrong." She hung up a piece of parchment on the wall and began drawing a horizontal and vertical axis.

"I think we need to call Zhang Dingyong and Yao Gongzhuo," Kayla said. "Chen Caichun too."

Hu Qing silently pulled out his communication device and went to drop off Rong'er with his nanny.

It didn't take long for the rest of her people to gather. Kayla heard Zhang Dingyong coming from the sound of his gossiping all the way down the hallway. Even if she was barely paying attention to him, his words still forced their way in regardless.

"Well, that's just ridiculous!" Yao Gongzhuo was protesting.

"No, it's true! Archduke Xianchun is taking a laundry maid as his concubine!" Zhang Dingyong eagerly rebutted. "His wife's so upset that she's been turning the household upside down–the laundry maid's an ugly little thing, you see. The only thing she probably has going for her is that she reminds the Archduke of his mother. This can't possibly end well for her."

"In that case, I think it's rather cruel of you to take so much fun in it," Yao Gongzhuo said snippily.

"Oh, I'm not having fun at the girl's expense, it's at the Archduke's! Both the women will hate him at the end of this, especially his wife! The childhood friend of good breeding, spurned, for a maid? And not even a pretty one at that? She's already gracious for not trying to stab the girl! Don't forget that the Archduchess is martially skilled!" Zhang Dingyong said with visible glee. "But I do wonder what on earth she was thinking? Sleeping in separate rooms from her husband for well over a year–is it any wonder he turned elsewhere?"

"Well!" Yao Gongzhuo drew back, offended by the distasteful story, which of course was the reaction Zhang Dingyong wanted.

Chen Caichun smiled blandly, a perfectly polite look she had mastered exclusively for these situations. Silently, she sent a plea of help to Hu Qing with her eyes as the door opened.

Hu Qing raised his eyebrows slightly, bowing his head to the two Ministers.

I can't help you, was the silent message. That's the one who can.

Chen Caichun obligingly redirected her plea towards Kayla.

Kayla didn't even see it. She hadn't spoken with her guests at all save to greet them with such brevity that Zhang Dingyong had quieted down without any prompting. Instead, Kayla glanced repeatedly between the number on her desk and the dots she was drawing on a piece of parchment hanging on the wall. Yao Gongzhuo gave Hu Qing a questioning glance, receiving a turn. He settled back in to watch on expectantly as Kayla connected various sets of dots into different lines.

After swiveling her neck back and forth till it was starting to creak, Kayla stepped back to stare at the figure with a frown.

"My lord, what is that?" Yao Gongzhuo asked.

"The line on top is monthly sales tax revenue from Lingnan, right?" Zhang Dingyong interjected.

"That's right," Kayla said.

"Then what about the line beneath?" Hu Qing asked.

"That's sales tax for imports and exports from west of Persia," Kayla replied. "Notice–from six months ago, it hit a plateau despite the total tax revenue continuing to grow. And from three months ago, it started declining–a small decline, but a decline nonetheless. I wasn't sure yet until just a little earlier, but I wanted to talk this through with you guys before I presented it to the Emperor. I don't like to present problems without potential solutions."

"Have they found a rival port?" Zhang Dingyong asked. "There are plenty of people willing to take great risks to earn more money–they could be smuggling goods out to sell them tax free offshore."

"No," Kayla said quietly. "I don't think that's the case. This is only for merchants who self-identified as coming from countries west of Persia–excluding some parts of Rome. Hu Qing, the map please."

Hu Qing obligingly unfurled a map, tacking it to the wall. Anything west of Persia was badly scaled, but Kayla had done what she could to make at least the names as accurate as she could manage.

"See here," Kayla pointed out Persia, then traced her finger westwards. "Western Persia. Rome. The Umayyad. Al-Andalus–and places even further west than that. I didn't draw it on the figure, but even overland merchants from these areas have sharply decreased. But it's only these places. If there was a rival port somewhere, merchants from Persia and Tianzu would also decrease, wouldn't they? Yet they hadn't. That would mean someone is smuggling at an enormous loss to sell goods west of Persia, or…"

Kayla paused.

"War," Chen Caichun supplied in her absence. "They're preparing for war."

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

"Civil war, yes," Kayla said.

"Why civil war? It could be that Rome and the Umayyad are finally clashing for good," Yao Gongzhuo objected. "Or that this Al–al–I can never pronounce it! But you know what I'm talking about."

"Al-Andalus," Kayla offered.

"Yes, that it has rebelled? After all, the people there are of a different faith than their rulers, are they not?"

"That may be the case," Kayla said. "I wouldn't discount that as a possibility until it has been proven otherwise. Nor would I discount the possibility of civil strife within the Umayyad."

Historically though, it should be that, Kayla thought to herself. The Abbasid revolution. I didn't think it would be so soon, but it's what makes the most sense. Especially given the decline of merchants from Iraq and Syria…that was around where the Abbasid Revolution first started gathering its forces, wasn't it? But Persia hasn't even been fully conquered. Good for them, yes, but it makes it hard to tell what will happen. It's too different from my world to be a good reference at this point.

"Whichever one it is, they'll likely pause their conquests in the Western Regions," Hu Qing said. "That'll give Shegui time to recuperate from the war, wouldn't it? Strengthen his forces against Chuluo."

"That would be a boon for us," Yao Gongzhuo said. "Having an ally that's too strong isn't a good thing."

"That would be ideal," Kayla said. "But it would be foolish to assume that the best situation will occur."

"Depending on the nature of the conflict, it could severely impact trade," Chen Caichun said. "Assuming, of course, that there is a conflict. If there isn't, another possibility would be disease. That could be the more dire option, if not properly contained. Canton has a very dense population."

"Of course," Kayla sighed. "I'll add that to the list."

"I think our priority right now should be watching the situation with the Khaganates and with Persia," Zhang Dingyong said. "It may even be possible that Persia will take this opportunity to eject its invaders–if that happens, who's to say Chuluo won't move against Shegui? After all, the Western Turks had attacked Persia before. The same cannot be said of the Eastern Turks."

"The Western Turks have also absorbed a large number of Persian nobles and soldiers," Yao Gongzhuo interjected. "Shegui's very well likely to position himself as an ally."

"Still, the Persians will have their hands full. They wouldn't have time to help Shegui if Chuluo acts," Zhang Dingyong insisted.

"I don't think a diplomatic intervention would be enough to stop my father-in-law if that's the case," Kayla said.

Yao Gongzhuo shook his head. "In that case, my lord, I fear you won't have much good news to give to the Emperor."

Kayla heaved a sigh, turning her eyes to the ceiling.

Fuck.

"Director Chen?" Kayla turned towards Chen Caichun, her last hope.

The newly appointed task force director of a few months' tenure grimaced.

"Even if Chuluo Khagan moves against Shegui, we would still have plenty of ways to intervene," Caichun offered. "After all, we helped in the war and we mediated their treaty. We have some degree of leverage there. The real problem is…"

"What?" Kayla asked warily.

"If Shegui dies," Caichun said. "If Shegui dies, the situation will be extremely difficult to handle."

Kayla drew in a sharp breath.

Right. If Shegui dies, they can always claim that his heir isn't obeying the terms of the treaty and attack.

And no matter how much Kayla tried, she would never learn of Shegui's death before Chuluo did. On one hand there was the geographic proximity, and on the other, Chuluo was ruthlessly efficient in eliminating her agents. Of the dozens of intelligence officers she had sent into both Khaganates, there were few left alive–and it almost felt as if they were being left alive as a consolation to her. Needless to say, she certainly didn't get anywhere with local recruitment.

No one wanted the unhappy task, and Kayla had turned to dangling the promise of freedom before death row convicts like a third-rate corrupt government official in a generic action movie. She had done several internal investigations already, trying to figure out just where the information leak was happening from, if there was one. Some rather interesting results had emerged from that, but nothing that could explain how Chuluo was sniping her agents with such accuracy.

"What a headache," Kayla muttered. She drew a deep breath. "First off, we need to figure out just what is happening in the west. Director Chen, I'll leave that to you and Magistrate Song. Minister Yao, we need to adjust the military budget and personnel, please handle that for me."

"Yes, my lord."

"Of course," Yao Gongzhuo nodded firmly.

"What about me?" Zhang Dingyong asked.

"Oh trust me, I'll be needing your help." Kayla's eyes landed on Hu Qing, who had remained silent.

"Commander Liang, what do you think?"

"I don't know anything about what's happening out in Persia or what that might mean for us. But I have some experience with Chuluo Khagan, and I don't think he'll attack when Shegui dies," Hu Qing said.

Kayla tilted her head quizzically. "No?"

"No. He's…impeccable at manipulating situations to his advantage, both in terms of international relations and on the battlefield," Hu Qing said. "I have seen the evidence of that over and over again during my time in the North. There's a reason why the last war ended rather quickly–it wasn't as though Chuluo was facing insurmountable resistance. But he stopped just before he could become enough of a threat to allow the Western Turks to unite in the face of danger."

"You think he'll manufacture a succession crisis?" Chen Caichun asked.

"Shegui Khagan has crowned his heir as his second-in-command and ordered all his men to swear an oath to Tengri to uphold Bilge Khan as the next Khagan," Yao Gongzhuo objected. "After the mess during the last war, he's already taken every possible precaution against a succession crisis."

"Our information is limited, but we currently have no real reason to doubt that the Western Turk nobles will chafe at Bilge's rule," Kayla said.

"Yes, but I did tell you before that Chuluo Khagan treated prisoners of war very well. He even made gifts to them when releasing them," Hu Qing said. "I can't help but feel that there's something there that we need to watch out for."

"We need to increase surveillance on the districts where Turkish merchants gather," Kayla said. "And also in the Northern cities as well–look out for any tribal tensions that Chuluo may seek to exploit. Lord Liang, if anything else comes to mind, let me know right away. I'm off to the palace."

Hu Qing inclined his head slightly.

When Kayla got to the palace, it was mired in an atmosphere of barely suppressed chaos.

"Vice-Commander Jiang," Kayla said in surprise as the man rushed towards her.

"Oh thank heavens, Duke Zhao. If you hadn't came I would have sent for you," Vice-Commander Jiang said, a harried look on his face as he rushed Kayla deeper into the Inner Palace.

"What happened?" Kayla asked.

Vice-Commander Jiang glanced about, lowering his voice.

"There was an assassination attempt against a Consort," Vice-Commander Jiang admitted. "She's alive, but in critical condition. The tea she was supposed to drink exploded onto her face–some sort of acid, it seems."

Jesus Christ. What the actual fuck?

"Will the Imperial Investigation Bureau be mobilized? Or will this be handed to the Ministry of Justice?"

"Certainly the former," Vice-Commander Jiang said. "Consort Li was supposed to drink tea with the Emperor. His Majesty wasn't there only because a meeting delayed him. Though she was the one who took the brunt of it, we believe it is an assassination attempt against His Majesty."

Kayla's heart flip-flopped in her chest.

"What the fuck were the poison testers doing?!"

"They did test the tea," Vice-Commander Jiang said. "They double tested it, as always. But they did so before it was brought into the room. Once inside, no one's quite sure what happened, but…"

"Consort Li, was it? She's only twenty-three, isn't she?" Kayla said sympathetically. "Can her face be healed?"

"We won't know until the healers give their verdict," Captain Jiang said. "I hate to even think it, but it's a good thing that she drank it before the Emperor did."

"Indeed," Kayla muttered.

Yunqi could have been the one to have his drink blow up–how the hell did drinks even blow up? If it was a chemical reaction, how had the substance remained stable long enough to pass inspection? Magic, then?

He could have died. Even the thought of it made her sick to her stomach.

Three years into his reign as Emperor, Yunqi still had no children. He was not a man of many passions to begin with, and nothing was a better turn-off than having a bunch of old men at court constantly screaming at him to have more sex.

Kayla could sympathize, really, but even she was getting antsy. Just in the last month alone, there had been three separate petitions to establish Prince Chenqian as a placeholder heir.

And now there's a fucking assassination attempt.

If not for Yunqi's staunch protectiveness of the Cao clan, Kayla would be sending out orders to take the petitioners in for questioning on suspicions of conspiring against the throne.

Kayla hastened her steps.

Yunqi tried to keep his breathing steady as he stood just outside the doorway of the bedchamber. Inside, healers worked furiously over the thin body of Consort Li. He couldn't take his eyes off her destroyed face, nor could he look away.

You did this. It was almost a self-inflicted punishment, to not look away from the horror he had caused.

This is your palace, your harem. And you let this happen.

He wanted–needed–to look away instead of boring the image into his mind. It wasn't fair to Consort Li, who he would probably never see the same way again. But while Yunqi could move the nation at a single command, he couldn't seem to move his own eyes away.

"Your Majesty!"

The familiar voice filled him with a rush of relief, accompanied by that sniggling of resentment at his own weakness that never quite went away these days.

As always, Wenyuan came when he was needed most. Yunqi finally had an excuse to stop punishing himself. He turned towards Wenyuan, moved at the look of horror on the man's face.

"Your Majesty, are you alright?! Have you been tested for poison or toxic substances? It's possible that the culprit would not have tried just once!"

"The healers have tested me," Yunqi replied. "I am unharmed."

"Thank the heavens! I was so worried when I heard," Wenyuan sighed. Collecting himself, he gathered his etiquette and bowed gracefully. "Zhao Wenyuan humbly greets His Majesty. I'm truly sorry to hear about what happened."

"I'm glad you're here," Yunqi said, meaning every word. Then almost immediately, the voice of his advisor sounded out in the back of his mind, echoing the questions Qiu Jinwei always seemed to have in abundance. Why is he here already? Is the palace compromised? Did his sister-in-law tell him? If so, she would have had to know right after it happened for him to get here now. How did she know unless she was guilty?

Yunqi grit his teeth against the barrage.

"Your Majesty, this is not a matter we can overlook. Your life was endangered! With your permission, I would mobilize the Imperial Investigators to look into this."

"Of course," Yunqi said automatically, because really, who better to rely on?

"I didn't think to bring anyone with me," Wenyuan said apologetically. "I came to make an unrelated report…though it seems it really isn't the right time for that."

There you have it, Jinwei, Yunqi thought wryly.

"If I may, how is Consort Li?"

"The healers are working on her right now. Her serving maid was also injured, but the girl should be fine," Yunqi said. He closed his eyes, the image of Consort Li's ruined face emerging immediately. "By the gods, it's horrible!"

"I'm so sorry, my liege." Wenyuan cast a worried glance past Yunqi into the room within. "Your Majesty, perhaps we should speak elsewhere."

"Yes, that would be good," Yunqi muttered. He let Wenyuan guide him out of the building and across the courtyard.

"I've summoned Senior Investigator Li Que," Wenyuan reported. "He'll be here shortly."

When had he even done that?

"Your Majesty, I think it would be best to have at least two Imperial Guards with you at all times from now on," Wenyuan said. "At least until we find the culprit."

Indeed, there were already six Imperial Guards in the room with them.

"I think that would be wise," Yunqi agreed.

Wenyuan glanced around, frowning slightly in confusion.

"If I may, where is Advisor Qiu?"

The question wasn't quite directed at Yunqi, who realized now that he did not know. Indeed, where was Qiu Jinwei? It wasn't strange for the man not to be here. He was the polar opposite of Wenyuan, never seeming to appear at the right time.

"I believe he went to the scene of the explosion," Sir Yang said, bowing as he entered the room. "He then left, but where to, I am not certain."

"It would be best to place a guard with him as well," Wenyuan said. "He may also be a target."

Yunqi nodded his approval, and a guard scampered off to give the order.

Who would want him dead? Who would want me dead? Yunqi engaged with the question with detached coolness, the numb horror of the moment slowly fading away to a deeper fear. It didn't require a grudge, or even any kind of personal malice to want the Emperor dead. It was about power–Kuang's death had driven that point home.

Yet the explosion, the intent to destroy, all of it set Yunqi on edge.

"It feels strangely malicious," Yunqi said out loud.

"We'll investigate thoroughly into whether anyone bears a personal grudge against Your Majesty," Wenyuan promised.

"That'll be a long list," Yunqi said.

There were plenty who hated Yunqi with a vengeance, despite all his attempts to be a good Emperor and a good man. From disenfranchised merchants who had lost out to competition with the ballooning of trade, to court officials who had been sidelined for opposing the reforms, to his very own maternal clan, the Shu, who even now were not summoned back to the capital.

Or even–Yunqi crushed the suspicions that threatened to creep up his throat.

I'm not going to be like Father, Yunqi reminded himself. I promised.

Beside him, Wenyuan's frown had deepened.

"Nonetheless," Wenyuan murmured. His voice hardened. "We can't permit anyone to threaten Your Majesty's safety, no matter who it is."

Cultural Notes

暗箭/Arrow in the Dark: From an Ancient Chinese saying, "明枪易躲暗箭难防/A spear in the open is easy to evade, an arrow in the dark is difficult to defend from."

Fortune and fatness: In traditional Chinese beliefs, rooted in its history as an agricultural country where most of the population was one bad harvest or two away from malnutrition if not outright starvation, someone who is chubby is considered to have good fortune. So someone who has a round face or stubby fingers is seen as having a life filled with fortune. Of course, beauty standards changed over time, but even today, many older adults tend to like female stars with more rounded faces than those with sharp cheekbones. Also means if someone is saying that your baby is definitely blessed with good fortune they're calling your baby fat.

Lingnan: A region in Southeast China, contains Guangdong (Canton) and Fujian (Quanzhou).

Rome/Byzantine Empire: When the story says Rome, it is referring to the Byzantine Empire.

Umayyad Caliphate: A Muslim state in the Middle East and Northern African region. Expanded into Persia.

Al-Andalus: A Muslim state in the Iberian Peninsula.

Tianzu: The Ancient Chinese name for kingdoms in the Indian subcontinent.

Abbasid Revolution: A revolution that started in Persia and Syria that later ended up overthrowing the Umayyad Caliphate and establishing the Abbasid Caliphate.

Turko-Persian War: There were two of these, but these occurred when the Turkic Khaganate attacked Persian cities in conjunction with Bulgarian or Byzantine forces.

立储/Naming an heir: Considered one of the most important ways of ensuring political stability for Ancient Chinese dynasties. Emperors sometimes were subject to chronic harassment by their officials if they were perceived as not making sufficiently vigorous efforts to reproduce for the good of the country. In many cases where an Emperor failed to have a son, a young boy of the Imperial family will be adopted as heir. One kid was unlucky enough to get adopted three times by the same Emperor (and disowned again each time the Emperor had a son), but eventually did take the throne.