The Child Emperor

Han Ruzi met with Left Chief Censor Xiao Sheng at the Chai residence.

One of Xiao Sheng’s nephews was married into the Chai family, which facilitated this meeting. After Princess Hengyang’s death and the Chai family members being allowed to return to the Capital, the Chai family had no reason to remain enemies with the Weary Marquis. To show their gratitude, they offered help, though none of the actual Chai family members made an appearance.

The Capital was in its most chaotic period. Everyone was rushing to declare their positions, though none of these declarations were particularly sincere. Keeping one’s options open by maintaining multiple allegiances was a socially acceptable choice that no one found shameful. On the contrary, people shared experiences and connections to ensure their own positions remained secure.

Under these circumstances, the meeting between Han Ruzi and Xiao Sheng was bound to be awkward.

Neither came alone – Han Ruzi brought Yang Feng, while Xiao Sheng brought the fate seer Lu Congxin.

Among all the fate seers Han Ruzi had met, Lu Congxin was the most taciturn. His gloomy demeanor made him seem less like a pugilist mystic and more like a melancholic swordsman with supreme martial arts. However, Yang Feng had already investigated and discovered that Lu Congxin knew no martial arts – his silence was simply part of his particular school of fate reading.

Xiao Sheng demonstrated through his actions why his high official position was no accident. He came in casual clothes, greeted the Weary Marquis with a smile, politely bowed, and after being seated, appropriately congratulated him on his recent string of victories. Han Ruzi in turn thanked him for not interfering with the grain distribution.

After exchanging pleasantries over tea, Xiao Sheng would not be the first to state his position. Here in the Capital that he knew well, he would not repeat the hasty mistakes made at Divine Hero Pass.

“Let’s speak plainly, Lord Xiao. I need your support,” Han Ruzi made the first move.

Xiao Sheng smiled, took a sip of tea, set down his cup and said, “In that case, I’ll be frank as well. The Weary Marquis has indeed done well. If you had today’s reputation back then, the Empress Dowager wouldn’t have been able to depose you. But unfortunately, times have changed. I won’t say much else, but your status as a deposed emperor is a major problem. Restoring a deposed emperor is too rare, unprecedented in our dynasty. Moreover, reinstating you as emperor would mean that the entire court had made an unforgivable mistake before. How would we explain that to the world?”

Han Ruzi had anticipated this question and prepared an answer: “When an emperor is deposed, it must be because villains deceived both the court and the entire world.”

Xiao Sheng raised an eyebrow, “May I ask who this villain is? Someone capable of such influence?”

“We will surely be able to find one such person. Just one would be enough,” Han Ruzi refused to name names.

Xiao Sheng chuckled but didn’t press further. After thinking for a moment, he shook his head, “Do you believe you can truly hold power after ascending the throne this time?”

“Why not?”

“With the Southern and Northern armies stationed outside the Capital, and the Palace Guards expanding daily, how would a new emperor seize power?”

Han Ruzi glanced at the fate seer Lu Congxin and asked, “Does Lord Xiao believe I specifically cannot hold power, or that no one who ascends the throne can hold power?”

“I certainly wouldn’t single out the Weary Marquis.”

“Then what difference does it make which candidate the officials support?”

“Of course it makes a difference.” Xiao Sheng became serious. “As officials, we have only one goal – to maintain stability in the court and peace in the realm. The new emperor must be someone who can exercise patience. The Empress Dowager won’t live forever, and the Shangguan family won’t control the Palace Guards indefinitely. The day will come for the new emperor to rule personally, but until then, they must accept the status quo. Can the Weary Marquis and Prince Donghai maintain a peaceful relationship with the Empress Dowager? Especially you?”

The Empress Dowager had rejected the Graceful Emperor’s son and instead chosen the former crown prince’s orphan to be emperor. This alone created deep-rooted enmity. At least in others’ eyes, whichever of the two brothers became emperor would not spare the Empress Dowager.

Han Ruzi smiled, “Even if I say that I can, you wouldn’t believe me.”

Xiao Sheng smiled and shook his head, “The Weary Marquis probably doesn’t believe it himself. You just said you’d blame someone for your deposition.”

“Someone must take responsibility for the deposition, but I wasn’t referring to the Empress Dowager.”

Xiao Sheng’s smile instantly vanished as he realized he’d made a simple mistake. The Weary Marquis had only said someone needed to take responsibility – Xiao Sheng had naturally assumed he meant the Empress Dowager without actually hearing him say it. If dealing with a seasoned schemer, Xiao Sheng would have played dumb, but facing a teenager, he kept underestimating him.

Xiao Sheng coldly stared at the Weary Marquis before asking, “If not the Empress Dowager, then who?”

“A superfluous person.”

Xiao Sheng took the lesson and remained silent without pursuing the matter. Han Ruzi added, “Chancellor Yin Wuhai. As head of all officials and the late emperor’s designated Trusted Official, he failed both the Martial Emperor’s and the Graceful Emperor’s trust. When the emperor was deposed in the palace, he remained silent. When the former crown prince’s orphan was installed, he bowed in submission, completely forgetting it was the Martial Emperor who had deposed the crown prince in the first place.”

Xiao Sheng showed genuine surprise, not feigned, “Everything you mentioned was done by all officials, not just the Chancellor alone.”

“As Chancellor, he must bear the greatest responsibility. If he had stood up then, would the deposition and installation have been so easy?”

Xiao Sheng fell silent. The Empress Dowager’s rapid consolidation of power was indeed directly related to Chancellor Yin Wuhai’s permissiveness and passive attitude.

“Great Chu faces both internal and external threats. As Lord Xiao said, after the new emperor ascends, it will take time before he can rule personally. Thus, the realm’s heavy responsibilities fall solely on the Chancellor. If he continues his ‘non-interference’ approach, Great Chu will become critically ill.”

“If the Weary Marquis is willing to coexist peacefully with the Empress Dowager, where would you get the power to remove the Chancellor?”

“If I become emperor again, the Empress Dowager will obviously need to give an explanation to the world. I have ways to persuade her.”

Xiao Sheng fell silent again.

Han Ruzi smiled at fate seer Lu Congxin, “What are your thoughts?”

Standing beside Xiao Sheng, Lu Congxin shook his head, refusing to speak.

Xiao Sheng stood up and said, “Weary Marquis… you are skilled at unusual moves. I admire that. However, governing requires orthodoxy as its foundation. Therefore, I cannot support you. I must say this clearly in person to avoid misunderstandings. This is the main reason I came to see you.”

Han Ruzi also stood and bowed, “Lord Xiao’s adherence to principle makes him truly a pillar of Great Chu. I admire that as well. Please believe that I hold no personal grudges against anyone. Even my view of the Chancellor is born of necessity – I bear no ill will toward Lord Yin.”

Xiao Sheng took his leave. Though the Weary Marquis’s words in this meeting couldn’t be trusted, they had indeed affected him.

As fate seer Lu Congxin followed behind, he stopped beside the Weary Marquis and finally spoke: “We know who the killer is.”

Han Ruzi was slightly startled, “Killer?”

“She’s not in the Capital, nor is she under protection. I’m just informing the Weary Marquis: you’ll never see her again.”

Han Ruzi smiled slightly, “Then I’ll be very sad.”

Lu Congxin left as well.

Han Ruzi bid farewell to the Chai family and returned home, asking Yang Feng, “Will Xiao Sheng be moved?”

“That’s not important. He will spread your words, forcing Yin Wuhai to react and reveal his true position. Right Chief Censor Shen Mingzhi will also be affected.”

By convention, the two chief censors were candidates to succeed the Chancellor. Any change in the Chancellor position would create ripples in their minds. Though Yin Wuhai had promised to retire after the Champion Marquis became emperor, officials wouldn’t fully trust such words from an old fox.

The Champion Marquis was grateful to Yin Wuhai, while the Weary Marquis wanted to hold the Chancellor accountable. It was clear under which emperor the Chancellor position would become vacant.

This was Yang Feng’s plan. So far, the officials’ positions remained unified – they needed to find a way to create a crack. As for specifically using Xiao Sheng to spread the message, Yang Feng had his reasons: Xiao Sheng and the Weary Marquis were at odds, so officials could choose whether to believe his words, and if necessary, the Weary Marquis could completely deny everything.

Yang Feng was like an experienced hunter, using every means possible to pursue his prey – traps, arrows, nets, poison, swords… employing everything available without hesitation or mercy.

Han Ruzi admired him, though occasionally felt a chill in his heart. But now, Yang Feng was his right-hand man, indispensable.

“Why hasn’t the Grand General sent word yet?” Han Ruzi asked. The Capital was in an uproar, and even the Champion Marquis believed Han Xing had completely sided with the Weary Marquis. Yet Han Xing himself hadn’t sent any message, and neither Qu Zixi nor Meng E had returned to the capital.

“He’s waiting to see. If the grain distribution proceeds smoothly, Han Xing will have no choice but to choose you. If it fails, he’ll still have a chance to seek the Champion Marquis’s forgiveness.”

Han Ruzi sighed, “All the court officials are such old foxes. If I become emperor…”

“If the Weary Marquis becomes emperor, you must thank these old foxes and make good use of them.”

“Why? Let them continue to muddle through?” Han Ruzi felt somewhat unwilling.

“Has the Weary Marquis seen completely identical emperors in all the histories you’ve read?”

Han Ruzi shook his head.

“When a new emperor ascends, how many can completely follow their predecessor’s wishes?”

Han Ruzi thought for a moment and shook his head again. On the surface, all new emperors would praise their predecessor’s achievements and greatness, claiming nothing would change. But in reality, everyone made changes. The Graceful Emperor had changed the Martial Emperor’s policies, and the Empress Dowager hadn’t followed the Graceful Emperor’s final wishes…

“Therefore, if all officials were absolutely loyal, the court would cease to exist. They would either strictly maintain the previous emperor’s policies, conflicting with the current emperor, or agree with the current emperor’s ideas, becoming disloyal to the previous emperor. Pure loyalty is impossible and useless. Each emperor is different, like two carts with different wheel tracks. We need people who can smooth things over for the new cart to travel smoothly on the old road.”

Han Ruzi felt Yang Feng’s words made some sense, but they were hard to accept. He had never received support from officials, so he couldn’t truly accept them either.

“It’s too early to discuss this,” Yang Feng said. He needed to help the Weary Marquis deal with the immediate battle. “Lu Congxin didn’t provoke you without reason. He wants to lure you away from the Capital, making you ineligible for the throne. The Champion Marquis has started taking you seriously and regrets bringing you in. So he’ll try everything to push you out. Be careful, don’t act rashly.”

Han Ruzi nodded, “But I need to send someone to notify Meng E.”

“Then you would be falling for their trap.”

Notifying Meng E would indicate the Weary Marquis valued this female guard, but not notifying her meant the fate seers wouldn’t easily let go of this killer of their companion.

Han Ruzi finally understood – the fate seers had presented him with a difficult dilemma.

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