As Ning Chen sat there on his bed analysing the situation carefully, he couldn’t help but feel a shudder run down his back.
Fan Lingyue had planned this entire situation well in advance! The whole war with the Buddhist Nation was nothing but a chess piece whose sole purpose was to distract Grand Xia.
All that nonsense about the Mongols suing for peace because of their rousing victory in the Buddhist Nation, was nothing but a misconception on their part, one born out of their own ignorance.
The current situation right now was strikingly similar to that time when the Mongols first invaded. Back then, the Xia Emperor wanted to make use of such external threats to draw out the internal woes plaguing his empire and then wipe them all out in one fell swoop.
Unfortunately, the Xia Emperor ended up overestimating his abilities and, more importantly, underestimating Fan Lingyue. The tiger was brought in to subdue the wolf but then no one had the ability to vanquish the tiger after.
As of right now, Grand Xia’s situation had improved somewhat. Taking advantage of that, the two princes planned to defeat their foe in the interim, and ascend to the throne before finally chasing out the Mongols. Now that the Mongols were willing to negotiate, this way of thinking gained even more traction with the court.
Humans, no matter who they were, always believed in their own ability; there was no avoiding this pitfall. Fan Lingyue knew of this weakness and used it to force Grand Xia into a checkmate time and time again. Most likely, this was another such instance.
There was no stopping it however; even if Ning Chen already guessed her plans, it was too late to do anything about them.
Whether it was the Third Prince or the Tenth Prince, both were on the road of no return and this succession war would only get more heated as time passed.
With that in mind, Ning Chen closed his eyes and leaned back on his bed somewhat listlessly. Fan Lingyue was truly the most terrifying person in the world…
He had done his best already but his best was simply not enough to reverse the deteriorating course Grand Xia found itself on.
Was it any surprise that this was so though? Ever since the start of this war between the two dynasties, Grand Xia had always been led around by its nose. All his efforts did were to prolong what seemed like an inevitable downfall.
Currently, nearly half of the 330 000 Forbidden Guardsmen were under the control of the two princes. These were all the elites of the elites who possessed a combat strength far superior to any ordinary soldier.
In a situation like that, stopping the two princes was basically impossible. Rather, the key laid in how to minimize the costs of their conflict.
One of the princes had to the die. That was the only and also simplest way to solve this problem.
Saying that however, was an easy matter, enacting it was a whole different ball game entirely. Because this war of succession had dragged on for so long, the two princes managed to accumulate a massive army of experts. Adding on their formidable armies, their factions were basically solidified; killing them simply wasn’t as easy it sounded.
Besides, was there anyone in this world who dared to place the executioner’s knife against a prince’s head?
Whether it was Zhang Sun or the Three Grand Dukes, none dared to issue that order.
Outside, the evening sun had begun to set and the night slowly rose to replace it. A palace maid came knocking with a dinner in hand to find an eagerly-waiting Ming Yue sitting by the table, hands scrubbed clean and eyes wide with anticipation.
At the end of the day, all that complicated talk about politics and war had no effect on the little girl. Her thoughts were extremely simple: the bad man had woken up and that’s all that mattered.
Tossing aside the troubles plaguing him, Ning Chen turned to watch the little girl have her dinner.
Feeling the bad man’s gaze on her, she finished the snack in her mouth and turned around. “Aren’t you going to eat?” Asked Ming Yue while flashing Ning Chen a radiant smile.
“I’m not hungry, just go ahead without me.” Ning Chen shook his head as he replied.
He wasn’t, in fact, hungry at all thanks to a bowl of porridge he had in the afternoon.
“Kay.” Ming Yue replied before promptly turning her attention back onto dinner. The cuisine of Grand Xia’s palace was one she thoroughly enjoyed.
Even so, the little girl’s eating posture was admittedly, a pleasure to watch. She was an Emperor after all, her etiquette had to be flawless.
Ning Chen continued watching over her quietly, not saying a word for the longest of times. Only when he watched her did he find himself able to calm down slightly and forgot some of his troubles.
At the end of the day, the future belonged to little Ming Yue and the other kids. All he could do was preserve the peace and pass down hope to the future generations.
Fan Lingyue’s era was destined to be a short one and so was the war she started. No matter who won in the end, the war simply wasn’t one that could be prolonged.
“Ming Yue, I hope you can grow up sooner.” Ning Chen sighed lightly to himself.
A while later, Ming Yue hopped off the chair and jogged up to his bedside, eyes narrowed in satisfaction. “I’m full.”
Smiling, he reached out and straightened the cloth hat on her head before saying: “If you plan on taking a bath, just pull down the blinds, there’s no need to chase the maids away so fiercely. None of them would dare enter without my orders.”
At that, her little face blushed and she swatted the teen: “ You’re a bad man.”
“Hah.” Even a little girl knew how to be embarrassed.
Thankfully she was still a child and didn’t have so many inhibitions yet. Were she a little older, their interactions would have to be a little more reserved.
A short while later, several maids and eunuchs brought in a giant tub meant for bathing and upon filling it with hot water, left with a respectful bow.
Face still red, little Ming Yue set up the blinds as suggested. Though this wasn’t the first time she had done so, she still felt a little embarrassed by the act.
At the side, Ning Chen listened to the soothing splashes of the bath water, lost in the memories they stirred up.
Back then, he had just entered the palace and was scared half to death by an assassin. By some strange twist of fate however, the two of them formed a pact —she wouldn’t kill him and in exchange, he would smuggle her out.
Soon after, he saw the assassin’s face, it belonged to a woman’s, an unnaturally beautiful one at that.
The two of them then spent the following days together looking out for each other in the foreign environment known as the palace.
This assassin was the first person he came into contact with when he first came to this world, however, she no longer remembered him.
Ning Chen didn’t know why that was so and had even considered searching for answers himself. However, the situation with Zhang Sun left him too uneasy for that.
He was waiting, waiting for the end of the war between the two dynasties; for Zhang Sun to stabilise Grand Xia, only then did he feel at ease enough to leave and handle his own matters.
Soon, little Ming Yue stepped out of the tub and into sight, all dressed up and with an oversized towel tied around her little head.
“Help me dry me off.” She smiles cheekily as she held out the towel.
“Alright.” Ning Chen took the outstretched towel and wrapped it around her glistening long hair once more, giving it a good rub down in the process.
Her hair was long, suspiciously more so than a boy’s but that didn’t stop her from keeping it anyway. All girls loved to keep themselves beautiful and just because Ming Yue was now an Emperor, that didn’t mean she was no longer a girl.
“There, all done.”
He gave her flowing hair a last, vigorous pat down before promptly nodding his head in satisfaction. Such a beautiful little lady, he mused. She would definitely grow up to be more beautiful than Fan Lingyue.
Roughly an hour later, the last vestiges of moisture finally left her hair and Ning Chen had the bathtub removed. He then gave the little girl’s cloth hat a pat before saying:
“Go get some sleep, we still have to make a trip outside the palace tomorrow.”
“Mhm.” Ming Yue obediently climbed into her own bed and laid down.
It was then that Ning Chen suddenly felt a rush of blood up his throat. Hands shooting up to meet his mouth, he barely managed to stifle the coughs though there was no stopping the blood that dripped between the cracks of his fingers.
*rustle*
Reacting to the noise, little Ming Yue turned around to see what was wrong, only to find him hands covered by a blanket and blood nowhere to be seen.
“I wanna hear a story.” She said with a childlike pout.
“Alright.” Suppressing that heavy feeling in his chest, he started with the tale of Cinderella.
As Ming Yue listened with rapt attention, her petite face smiled ever so beautifully and ever so adorably.
It had to be said that as a Great Khan, her days as a ruler weren’t happy at all. Instead, it was her days with Ning Chen, as a hostage, that truly brought a smile to her face.
By all accounts, a girl of her age would still be the little pearl in their parents’ palm; something to be handled carefully for fear of breaking or staining it. However, little Ming Yue had no parents to speak of, all she had were endless lessons in ruling an empire and a mountain of documents to go with them.
Fan Lingyue knew that she didn’t have long to live so she did her best to pave the way for the little girl. However, that ended up putting even more pressure on the little girl.
Ning Chen on the other hand, preferred a different approach to educating little Ming Yue. He favoured a subtler style, one that used his own actions and words as a role model to teach her, never resorting to direct emphasis.
These were the best years of any kid’s life so he truly didn’t wish for her to be burdened any further. Rather, he hoped that she spent her days happily and not laden with worries.
As the night slowly grew darker, Ning Chen continued his silent ruminations seated on the bed. No matter what, he had to help Zhang Sun across this hurdle!
Throughout all that, the muffled sounds of coughing peppered the otherwise deathly silence, cough after cough, drip by red drip. While he might have survived that trial of death in the Buddhist Nation, the sin of doing so was one he couldn’t escape.
Night soon passed and the sun rose once more. Within Weiyang Palace, the silhouette of a carriage could be seen parked outside though not for long, as the pair boarded the vehicle the to Ning Chen’s new manor outside the palace.
It was a discrete departure but that didn’t stop those with intent from noticing it. On the same day, the Third and Tenth Prince sent their invitation cards.
Gazing at the two nearly identical cards, Ning Chen’s eyes narrowed —they were forcing him to make a choice.
It went without saying that he couldn’t adopt a neutral stance for long. As of right now, everyone of authority had already chosen a side except for the military marquis stationed in foreign lands. As such, he could no longer remain independent either.
He was the only military marquis in the capital right now so the two princes would naturally exert their fullest to sway him to their side.
Military marquis weren’t like the other marquis of nobility. They had in their hands, the power to mobilise a grand army of under 100 000; that was a power even the princes didn’t possess.
However, such power didn’t come lightly. Since the first generation of military marquis, they enjoyed unparalleled prestige but only because the lands of the empire were won through their blood, sweat and tears. It could be said that the blood of a military marquis flowed in every corner of the empire.
Noble titles could be passed on but that of a military marquis’s couldn’t. Every military marquis had to distinguish themselves first with a myriad of battle records. This was so even for the traitorous Northern Marquis –such was the price of their prestige.
It could be said that the authority of a military marquis wasn’t given by the court, rather it was something they won for themselves. After all, without a stellar military record to persuade the troops, the right to mobilise 100 000 soldiers was nothing but a white elephant.
With the cards sent out, it didn’t take long for Ning Chen to pen a reply of his own. The contents were simple, he was under the weather at the moment and couldn’t entertain guests.
Until he came to a decision, these guests were ones he mustn’t see.
Half a day later, another invitation card was sent to the manor. This time, it elicited a frown from him amidst surprise.
The one who sent the invite was none other than the owner of Lingyan Pavilion, Yue Hanyi.
Those who knew of his departure were far and few between —after all, not everyone had spies planted in the palace. Thus it could be concluded that the person behind Yue Hanyi wasn’t an ordinary patron.
Thinking on it for a moment, he flatly refused the invitation as well.
If his hunch was correct, the true owner of Lingyan Pavilion was, in a all likelihood, inextricably bound to one of the two princes.
There was just no way that her invitation was a mere coincidence; it was simply too perfectly timed. Yet not long after he rejected the card, the same invitation found itself on his doorstep once more.
