The Child Emperor

The Guanghua Tigers only had one day left to capture the assassins. Besides searching the city for people from the pugilist world, they seemed to have no other options. Their efforts yielded abundant results – the prisons were nearly full. Over ten bodyguards at the Weary Marquis’s mansion who were formerly from the pugilist world now didn’t dare to step outside the main gate.

Han Ruzi also stayed home, waiting for news, while Yang Feng alone rushed about outside.

By late morning, Prince Donghai arrived fashionably late. After his wife’s guidance, he wasn’t as agitated as yesterday. He greeted everyone warmly, sat down steadily, casually flipped through some books, and said to Han Ruzi: “Tomorrow Shang-guan Sheng will appear. In at most ten days, the Eight Palace Guard Camps will control the entire Capital. We all know that hunting for the assassin is just an excuse. Shang-guan Sheng’s reach will certainly extend further until it penetrates the Southern and Northern Army camps.”

“That must be so. The Empress Dowager won’t be at ease without dealing with the threat from the Southern and Northern Armies.”

“So we need to have a final plan. We can’t just wait around.”

After a moment of silence, Han Ruzi beckoned with his arm. Prince Donghai immediately stood up and walked over. Han Ruzi said quietly: “First, have both the Southern and Northern Armies come guard White Bridge Town to put some pressure on the Empress Dowager and Shang-guan Sheng.”

“That’s no problem. It’s already in progress. Within five days, the Southern and Northern Armies will be stationed together at White Bridge Town like brothers.”

“When the time is right, I hope the Southern and Northern Armies can have some conflict.”

“Ah? It’s easy to make those fellows fight, but the timing is hard to control. The Southern and Northern Armies are like brothers waiting to divide an inheritance – they could fight at any time.”

“I understand. While the Southern and Northern Armies are deadlocked, if the Empress Dowager and Shang-guan Sheng want to seize power, they might send out the Palace Guards leaving the city’s defenses weak…”

Han Ruzi nodded. Together with Prince Donghai, they could command over a thousand loyal troops – enough to stage a coup to seize power.

After thinking for a while, Prince Donghai asked, “What if the Empress Dowager and Shang-guan Sheng don’t take the bait?”

“Then I’ll have to find a way to escape the Capital.”

“It’s settled then. In at most half a month, we can make our move. The Eight Palace Guard Camps aren’t completely unified either. I’ve already contacted some people who can help when the time comes.”

“Don’t leak any information until it’s time to act.”

“Of course not. Would I make that kind of mistake? Those people all think we’re still competing for the throne. By the time they realize what’s happening, you’ll already be ascending the throne. That’s the good thing about officials – as long as someone sits on the throne, no matter who it is, they’ll obediently kowtow.”

“Also, we need to find a way to contact people inside the palace…”

“My mother is also in the palace. I won’t let the Empress Dowager harm them. In fact, my wife has already contacted some people inside. They say the Empress Dowager is acting even more ‘insane’ now, hiding in the Founding Emperor’s wardrobe room every day to repent, constantly mistaking people’s identities, thinking the Thoughtful Emperor is still alive. Hmph, she acts quite convincingly – the palace people don’t suspect anything.”

They began discussing the details of the plan, both feeling that if Shang-guan Sheng took the bait and left the city, the coup would likely succeed. This was different from the Cui clan’s previous attempted coup – once they captured the palace, they wouldn’t need to avoid the ministers but could count on their support.

One of Prince Donghai’s attendants came running, requesting to see him outside. Prince Donghai went out to talk with him for a while, then returned smiling: “Those scholars are causing trouble again.”@@novelbin@@

“Oh?”

“Was this your arrangement? A group of students from the College of National Scions and the Imperial University are petitioning at the palace’s main gate, hoping the Emperor will immediately issue an edict allowing them to lay down their pens and take up arms to fight the Xiongnu in the north.”

But this wasn’t actually arranged by Han Ruzi – he hadn’t asked Guo Cong and the others for help at all. “So this means Jin Chunzhong and the others have already spread the news.”

“News about the Xiongnu always stirs up controversy in court and among the people. Let’s see how the Empress Dowager handles it.”

More and more news arrived. The Xiongnu envoys claimed that if peace talks didn’t resume, the Great Chanyu would lead his army south. To the Great Chu’s ministers and people, this sounded like provocation and threats. Ever since the Martial Emperor defeated the Xiongnu, the Chu people were no longer accustomed to seeing such aggressive behavior, and all who heard the news were extremely angry.

Years of disasters, an ineffective court, and greedy officials… the Chu people had long harbored a belly full of anger, which was unexpectedly ignited by the Xiongnu’s “threats.”

More and more scholars joined the petition at the palace gates. The common people’s hatred was more direct – they gathered in groups and went outside the city to the guest house, wanting to kill the Xiongnu envoys. ṜÄ₦ỗ𝖇Ɛś

The situation’s severity far exceeded Han Ruzi’s expectations, but Prince Donghai thought all this was arranged by him. Every time news arrived, he would turn to congratulate Han Ruzi: “Impressive! You’ve succeeded again. I had no idea you controlled so many forces and didn’t even tell me beforehand. Haha, let’s see how the Empress Dowager can keep pretending to be mad now!”

The palace gate petition received no response, nor did anyone come out to disperse the crowd. The diplomatic guesthouse outside the city was in grave danger. The head of the guesthouse personally appealed to the people, arguing that envoys shouldn’t be killed even in wartime. This convinced some to leave, but he couldn’t handle the growing crowds that kept coming.

At dusk, Marquis Piyuan Zhang Yin came again to see the Weary Marquis, this time bringing a small group of Xiongnu envoys disguised as Chu civilians.

The guesthouse supervisor knew he couldn’t hold the crowd back much longer, but he also couldn’t let the Xiongnu envoys die in the guesthouse. So while he tried persuading the crowd at the front gate, he secretly asked Marquis Piyuan to escort the Xiongnu envoys out through the back door.

Having few relatives or friends, and not daring to stay at his own residence, Marquis Piyuan brought them to the Weary Marquis’s manor.

The dozen or so Xiongnu envoys all looked panicked. Jin Chunzhong was also terrified, never having imagined the news he spread would cause such turmoil.

Prince Donghai, who hadn’t left yet, strongly advised Han Ruzi against sheltering these people: “You lit this fire – why draw it to your own house? Find them an inn. If they can stay hidden, good. If not, let them fend for themselves. Either way, it won’t affect you. Even if you want peace talks with the Xiongnu later, the Great Chanyu won’t care about these few lives.”

But Han Ruzi kept them anyway.

As one of the few steadfast advocates for peace talks, he didn’t want complications. This wasn’t about dealing with distant enemy to the west, but because he had witnessed too many internal troubles and knew that Great Chu couldn’t withstand another large-scale war.

Marquis Piyuan breathed a sigh of relief. To prove he wasn’t a coward, he also stayed at the Weary Marquis’s manor, sharing a small courtyard in the back compound with the Xiongnu envoys.

After dark, shortly after Prince Donghai left, Guo Cong arrived with several scholars from the College of National Scions. This time they weren’t coming to show support, but to question the Weary Marquis about his stance on the Xiongnu.

As Yang Feng had said, the biggest difference between scholars and fate seers was that scholars held firm principles, one being that a civilized nation must never bow to barbarians.

Han Ruzi swore to heaven he would never cede an inch of land to the Xiongnu: “Every piece of land, every city of Great Chu is like Shattered Iron City to me. As long as I live, I won’t back down. Whether I command a million troops or stand alone, I will remain on the city walls.”

Guo Cong and the others were satisfied. Han Ruzi seized the moment to say: “Great Chu is the superior state. We’ll meet force with force. If the Xiongnu want war, fine – there are vast battlefields beyond our borders. The Xiongnu envoys are in my manor. Not only will I shelter them, I’ll lead troops to escort them back beyond the frontier to tell their Chanyu that the Chu army awaits.”

What impressed Guo Cong’s group wasn’t just this declaration, but also the Weary Marquis’s performance at Shattered Iron City. He had proven himself an unyielding Northern Protection General, making his words more credible.

Han Ruzi didn’t mention peace talks or the western threat. While a military man like Marquis Piyuan could understand these matters, scholars like Guo Cong who had devoted themselves to classical texts would find them hard to accept.

As the group left, Guo Cong lingered behind to quietly tell the Weary Marquis: “Master Qu has sent word. He’s gone beyond the passes and is lobbying the prefects in the east, strongly recommending you to them.”

Han Ruzi bowed in thanks. Guo Cong continued: “Like a fish leaping the dragon gate, everything depends on this one struggle. I hope the Weary Marquis perseveres and doesn’t disappoint the realm.”

Though Guo Cong had once advised the Weary Marquis to withdraw from the succession struggle, once he deemed him worthy of support, he became his most steadfast backer.

Near midnight, Yang Feng returned. After rushing around all day, he had found no new leads: “I’ve had people ask all the notable martial artists in the Capital, but none have hosted any young bandits in recent months. I couldn’t keep the news secret any longer and informed Lian Danchen at noon. He questioned the prisoners but got no leads either.”

Though exhausted, Yang Feng remained tense. After sitting and thinking briefly, he said, “I think we made a mistake.”

“Please explain.”

“There’s no use just focusing on the assassins. We need to find those fate seers.”

“The fake fate seers? They’re the Empress Dowager’s people – either hiding under her protection or already silenced. How can we find them?”

Yang Feng shook his head. “You told me Prince Ying’s assassination really shocked Yuan Zifan. Do you think that reaction was also fake?”

“Hmm… I think Yuan Zifan’s shock was genuine.”

“So perhaps Yuan Zifan truly didn’t know about the assassination. Seeing Prince Ying killed, he’d be terrified and more likely to flee than seek the Empress Dowager’s help.”

“That makes sense. Can we find him?”

Yang Feng sighed wearily. “Let’s have Shang-guan Sheng search first. The places he overlooks are where we should focus. If he finds the person first, we’ll need another plan.”

“Our original plan?”

Yang Feng nodded and was about to speak when there was suddenly a tapping at the window – not the door, but the window. The sound was soft, just loud enough for those inside to hear.

Han Ruzi and Yang Feng exchanged glances without speaking. Yang Feng stood and opened the door to check. Seeing who it was, he clearly startled, stepped back, and held the door to invite the visitor in.

Meng E’s brother Meng Che entered. Standing before Han Ruzi, he spread his arms to show he carried no weapons, then said: “I come with a message from the Empress Dowager.”

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