Echoes of My Heart Throughout the Court

The officials reluctantly continued to shower praise.@@novelbin@@

They all knew who it was for, except the little rascal, who didn’t seem to appreciate it.

[Huh… why does it feel like their compliments for the old emperor suddenly sound stiff? Could it be they’ve run out of words?]

[Mhm! Probably because they haven’t done this in ages. After all, they’re high-ranking officials; buttering up someone every day would be beneath them!]

The Minister of Revenue wore a stoic expression.

Completely wrong. They’re gritting their teeth to keep praising him out of fear that you might realize your inner thoughts are audible to others.

The old emperor grinned through clenched teeth. “Enough, I’m not the kind of emperor who enjoys flattery and praise…”

[Huh? Really? But I remember a few years ago, wasn’t there a prefecture that carved a stone stele commemorating the emperor’s achievements? When the emperor found out, he didn’t give any rewards, but he grinned so wide his gums showed.]

The officials buried their heads, wishing they could find a crack in the rocks to crawl into.

Xu Lang! Please, spare us! Don’t say anymore!

The old emperor forced himself to smile, keeping it up with great effort.

I’m not mad. No, I’m not…

[Oh! That’s the smile! But it seems less joyful than before. It shows his gums, but… it looks kind of… menacing?]

…Fine, I’m mad.

The old emperor slowly withdrew his grin, pretending he had smiled enough.

Suddenly, he exerted strength in his arms, releasing the bowstring. The arrow shot forward with a whoosh, slicing through the air. It struck a barbarian directly in the chest. The man couldn’t dodge in time and fell with a scream. The spiked club he had been swinging at a “wildman” soldier crashed to the ground.

The soldier had been fending off the barbarian’s weapon with his blade. Startled by the scream behind him, he belatedly realized he had been saved—by none other than the emperor himself!

Shocked but moved, the soldier’s eyes reddened. He turned around, shouting wildly, and charged at another barbarian with reckless abandon.

The shouting? That was just a habit from his days as a wildman, used to intimidate beasts and rally morale during hunts.

The old emperor gradually relaxed his arm and bowstring, his gaze fixed on the battlefield ahead.

Yes, he truly acted out of concern for his soldiers, not to find a convenient excuse to stop smiling.

The barbarians were temporarily driven back, but they vastly outnumbered their foes. It wouldn’t take long for them to recover and resume their pursuit.

The wildman soldier leader wiped his face nervously and approached the old emperor. Bowing clumsily, he hesitated before speaking:

“Your Majesty, we must retreat to my tribe’s camp for now. The paths there are hidden, with a narrow entrance that only one person can pass through at a time. Even if the barbarians find it, they won’t be able to enter.”

But if the entrance were blocked, they might find themselves trapped inside as well.

Fearing the emperor might suspect treachery, the leader quickly explained, “It’s not that I’m unwilling to escort Your Majesty out of the mountains. It’s just that even I can’t find the way. The forests here are dense with thorny underbrush, often forcing us to take detours. Sometimes, we stray so far that it takes ages to return to the camp, only to realize we’ve been lost for miles.”

“These trees are also extraordinarily tall. Even in daylight, it’s hard to see the sun. At night, wolves, tigers, leopards, and even bears roam the area, making it even more dangerous. Many of my men perished here when we first got lost.”

“And then there are the ticks… The tribe calls them ‘grass crawlers’ or ‘dog beans.’ They’re sesame seed-sized, bloodsucking parasites. A bite can cause itching, blisters, persistent fever, confusion, and excruciating pain… In severe cases, the victim bleeds from all orifices and dies.”

“These pests are one of the main reasons it’s taken me years to find a way out of the mountains.”

The old emperor glanced at Xu Yanmiao, hearing him pitying the wildman soldiers in his heart for their many losses. The emperor sighed inwardly:

These are loyal subjects of my Great Xia!

He nodded slightly to the wildman leader. “I trust you, my loyal subject.”

The soldier leader’s chest heaved with emotion. “Thank you, Your Majesty! Allow me to lead the way!”

The emperor helped him up, patting his shoulder.

Then, without missing a beat, the emperor cast a subtle glance at the wildman leader’s face.

Come to think of it… which one of my officials is this supposed to be?

The Wildman Tribe

“Your Majesty! Let me serve you some soup!”

Normally, the leader wouldn’t be this enthusiastic. His rank wasn’t high enough to get this close to the emperor.

But, forgive him—he hadn’t seen anyone besides his wildman comrades for years!

And now, the timing was perfect!

The wildman leader stared at the emperor with burning intensity, more fervent than a miser gazing at gold.

The emperor’s disappearance in the mountains would surely spark a search. If the emperor could make it here, an army of 100,000 could surely come to rescue both the emperor and his men!

I’ve had enough of living like a wildman!

And I saved the emperor! I can finally return home in glory!

The soup was chicken soup made from local pheasants. The meat was stringy, but given the circumstances—soaked by rain and pursued by enemies—having hot soup was already a blessing.

Xu Yanmiao slurped his soup while listening to the wildman leader profess his loyalty to the emperor.

“Your Majesty, I thought I’d never see you again!”

“Hmm…”

“Back then, you sent me to the Western Regions to intimidate the 38 kingdoms. I succeeded in fulfilling my mission, bringing them into submission.”

“Hmm… You’ve done well, My loyal subject.”

Xu Yanmiao buried his face in his bowl, gulping his soup while sneaking glances at some gossip from his system.

[Didn’t even recognize him but keeps calling him ‘my loyal subject.’ Truly fitting behavior for an emperor.]

Many officials stole glances at Xu Yanmiao, astonished.

Little Baize actually caught on to the emperor’s perfunctory tone today? Even we couldn’t tell!

The old emperor had no time for Xu Yanmiao right now.

He was racking his brain, searching his memories.

Who is this man? Which of my officials is he?

The 38 kingdoms of the Western Regions were indeed subdued during his reign, a feat befitting his methods. But he had no recollection of assigning such a mission!

Then again, during the early years of his reign, he was extremely busy. This might’ve been something he handled in passing and later forgot about.

The Minister of Revenue blurted out: “But the Western Regions are in the northwest, and Shanhai Pass is in the northeast…”

How did you end up here?