The Ugly Empress

[T/N : Heey! Sorry for the long gap between updates. I was busy making lemonades, LOL. I know I"m slow, as readers have been kindly pointing that out, but I"m very thankful to you who keep sticking with me despite that. So, this chapter is dedicated especially to you!]

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Zhao Lu and Feng Ming hadn"t been with each other in for about half a year; being together with Feng Ming like this, Zhao Lu"s reservation was out the window and he had to do it with Feng Ming again and again.

When they were done, Feng Ming couldn"t even lift a finger and had to lie down with his head on Zhao Lu"s lap.

It was still raining outside, but the rain seemed to be getting lighter and about to stop soon; the pitter-patter sound of the rain wasn"t as loud as before.

Listening to the sound of the rain, Feng Ming suddenly smiled and said, “In a situation like this, I still feel very content.”

Zhao Lu felt the irony. If the other person wasn"t Feng w.a.n.g, maybe their relationship would not have to be this complicated.

Lu Shichen heard about Ming River"s dam collapsing and immediately sent people to reconstruct the dam and control the river water, while also sending people to search around Ming River for Feng w.a.n.g.

Feng Ming was trapped in Ming River for two days before finally Lu Shichen"s people found him and escorted him back to the Palace.

Zhao Lu hid from Lu Shichen"s people, he couldn"t be seen and couldn"t go back with them. After making sure Feng Ming was alright, he rushed back to the capital city ahead of Feng Ming. Waiting for his return in Marquis Zhulu"s residence was Rui Xue. She was still a very young woman; having to maintain Zhao Lu"s pretended illness by herself was quite a hard work. When she saw her master finally returned, she almost burst into tears.

A few days after Zhao Lu"s return, Feng Ming"s entourage arrived and was welcomed back into the Palace. Although Rui Xue didn"t say anything, she could see that the two men had actually reconciled.

When Feng Ming came back, he had a slight fever. Zhao Lu sent Rui Xue to the Palace to visit and take care of Feng w.a.n.g. Feng w.a.n.g said he himself didn"t remember most of what had happened, but Rui Xue could see that, though Feng w.a.n.g was having a fever, overall he looked more energized. Seemed like his spirit was restored.

The flood incident, and that Feng w.a.n.g almost drowned, scared Lu Shichen to his very core. How come a river"s dam be so easily broken like a block of tofu?

Feng Ming thanked Lu Shichen for his loyalty even in this kind of situation and let Lu Shichen take charge investigating the flood and the reasons the dam was broken.

Rui Xue kept silent. She felt anxious but she also knew she wasn"t allowed to say anything. She was almost sure Xue w.a.n.g had dug the river somehow and divert the river water to the Ming River city. Right now, people hadn"t know yet, but if investigated carefully, people would soon find out. A dug river left traces that would not disappear in a matter of one day or two. People would definitely connect it to Xue Country.

Sure enough, not a few days later, Lu Shichen had already found out and reported his findings to Feng w.a.n.g in the morning court.

All the other court officials were all stumped. Some people suggested sending troops to Xue Country as retaliation. Xue w.a.n.g"s action was really too deceitful, if it wasn"t pursued, then how would the other country view Feng Country"s dignity?

However, some people also thought that, since Xue w.a.n.g dared using this method, it was clear he wasn"t afraid of being discovered and was prepared in advance. If they recklessly sending troops to Xue Country, who knew what evil trap Xue w.a.n.g had prepared? They would only suffer a great loss.

Feng Ming asked for Lu Shichen"s opinion.

Lu Shichen said, “This subject also thinks we must not rush into sending troops. Firstly, let"s not forget that Xue Country"s military power is very strong. Also, there is still Her Highness the Grand Princes in Xue Country… If Xue w.a.n.g arrests her and uses her to his advantage, this could pose a problem.”

When he mentioned this point, everyone else was a bit peeved. When the previous Feng w.a.n.g had been alive, he very much doted on the Grand Princess. Now, she was Xue Country"s Empress, but she was also a hostage in Xue. People had feared someday it would be a rope binding their hands, restricting them from freely taking action. But Da w.a.n.g was adamant in his sending the Grand Princess to Xue Country, so the officials didn"t dare voicing their objections.

Feng Ming didn"t comment after Lu Shichen"s opinion. But people who knew him, knew that Feng Ming felt he might have been dead now because of Xue Junliang"s plot. Feng Ming was a volatile king; he might not attack if he wasn"t attacked first, but if someone sent him a written war challenge, he would definitely and gladly accept.

Zhao Lu"s official seal was gone, so for the time being he used his own personal seal. People of Feng Country had got used to Marquis Zhulu"s dictatorial ways, although he"d been somewhat better this year; still n.o.body dared saying anything regarding him losing the official seal and using his own personal seal.

Feng Ming thought Zhao Lu"s seal was lost when Zhao Lu was in River Ming saving him from drowning, so he ordered the people made another seal for Marquis Zhulu and didn"t blame Zhao Lu at all.

But of course, the seal wasn"t gone. It had fallen into Xue Junliang"s hands.

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That day, Xue Junliang didn"t offer further comments about Xue Houyang"s excuses, but he didn"t blame him either. He only ordered Xue Houyang to return to his residence to rest and take his time thinking carefully about this concubine matter.

However, Xue Houyang"s refusal did give Xue Junliang quite a lot of doubts. At first, he had thought maybe he should give applause to Teng Shang for influencing Xue Houyang. With Teng Shang"s brain that was full of tactics and strategies as a civilian minister, added with Teng Yun"s bravery and capability as a military general; a king could"ve so easily conquered many lands.

But Xue Junliang never would have thought that his own brother really did have genuine feelings towards a man.

Xue Junliang might have noticed it since the first time, but he never really believed it. Teng Shang was indeed an exceptional figure and a fine-looking person. But he was still a man with an independent temperament. This peculiar specimen of a man, how come Xue Houyang was so h.e.l.l-bent on him?

Xue Junliang, for the life of him, could not understand. But one thing he was very certain was that he couldn"t let his younger brother like such person. If Teng Shang was sincere towards Xue Houyang, then it was another matter. If Teng Shang was using Xue Houyang"s infatuation like a Qi piece for his own gain, then choosing a concubine from the Triennial Selection for Xue Houyang was a decided thing.

The Triennial Selection was not an event held and done only in a matter of one or two days. After all the partic.i.p.ants entered the Capital City, they had to line up outside for half a month before they could enter the Palace Gate. The partic.i.p.ants were so many; the officials in charge had to select them, and then His Majesty himself would also select them; therefore the selection wasn"t only done once, but many times. Partic.i.p.ants that were handed sign-plates were allowed to leave the capital city and go home, and the partic.i.p.ants who didn"t receive the sign-plate would go to the next round.

The king wasn"t only choosing the young ladies for his own, he also had to choose concubines for other royal members and n.o.blemen. Not only he had to look at the partic.i.p.ants" appearance, their social backgrounds and family statuses had to be well-matched, too. The entire process was a taxing activity.

Xue Junliang was busy with Imperial Court all day, yet could not neglect his selecting duty, so he would only saw twenty partic.i.p.ants a day. After seeing twenty partic.i.p.ants, he would no see no more, therefore this Selection could take a very long time.

Xue Junliang had just finally finished seeing today"s twentieth partic.i.p.ant. He had gave all twenty of them sign-plates and allowed them to go home. He was ready to go to Yunfeng Palace and see the Empress, but Jiang Yu approached him with an untimely report.

Noting the sour expression on Xue w.a.n.g"s face, Jiang Yu pulled all his courage to say, “Your Majesty, the guards sent a report, said there was someone yelling at the Palace"s entrance and making a ruckus.”

Xue Junliang didn"t respond for a long time, then he said, “Then capture and kill that person.”

“But… This old servant heard the offender was yelling things about Her Majesty the Empress, so… this old servant decided to be so bold and report it to Your Majesty. Also, there were too many people at the Palace Gate, if the offender was left yelling loudly there, this old servant thought it would be unwise.”

Xue Junliang laughed, “Since when did your skill in speech become this good?”

Jiang Yu smiled, “It is all thanks to Your Majesty"s influence, also thanks to Her Majesty the Empress" teachings.”

Xue Junliang knew it was all merely Jiang Yu"s sweet talks, but it actually did work in appeasing him.

Whatever it was, if there was any connection to the Empress, Xue Junliang"s mood would be greatly improved. Did this mean he was starting to fall for this clever Empress?

If the Empress kept herself in check and continued to abide by the rules, also was willing to severe her connections to Feng w.a.n.g, Xue Junliang felt he could really give her his sincerity. Then, who knew, maybe he could have a daughter with her.

Jiang Yu saw Xue w.a.n.g"s obviously giddy smiles and had to cough with all his might before saying, “Da w.a.n.g, the offender has been caught, do you want to see him?”

Xue Junliang came back to himself. He cleared his throat as he tried to surface from the daydream. He then said, “Then bring him here. Gu wants to see what kind of person he is that he dares causing ruckus at the Palace Gate.”

Soon, the offender was taken to see Xue w.a.n.g. He was pulled by He Zhong, He Ren and He Yi. The three brothers were wearing Imperial Guards" uniform; three thick and burly men pulling an offender whose hands were bound tightly behind him.

The offender was actually a scholar with a rather pretty face. He was tied tightly and his mouth was stuffed with a balled piece of cloth as if preventing him to talk. But the offender looked calm instead of panicked like how a captured criminal would.

The three He brothers, after being recruited by the Empress, were not willing to be officials. Instead, they opted for Imperial Guards" position and devoted themselves to protect the Empress.

Teng Yun liked talented people, so naturally he didn"t want to let go of these three brothers. Xue Junliang cherished the Empress, so naturally he didn"t want to deny what she wanted; this way, the three He brothers were put under the Empress" name as her subordinates.

Xue Junliang took in how three strong men treated the scholar ruthlessly and said, “What are you three doing? Don"t let people see you and say Gu‘s Imperial Guards are abusing the weak.”

Hearing this, the three brothers laughed out loud. But after laughing, they remembered to pay respect to Xue w.a.n.g, so they immediately lowered themselves to the ground and kowtowed. The three burly men"s expression was so honest, Xue Junliang decided not to berate their rude behavior.

However, the offender didn"t kowtow. He Zhong lightly kicked the offender behind the knee. The offender"s pained shout was m.u.f.fled by the cloth as he fell to his knees. Apparently the offender was not only a pretty-faced scholar, but also a person with no strength at all.

Xue Junliang said, “Why are you stuffing his mouth?”

He Ren said, “Your Majesty doesn"t know, but this little kid has supernatural power. As soon as he opened his mouth, he could hypnotize and confuse people who listened. Us three brothers almost allowed him to go.”

“Oh? Is there such a thing? But Gu doesn"t believe in supernatural powers. Let him breathe a bit easier.”

Because Xue w.a.n.g said he didn"t believe in supernatural powers, the three He brothers loosened the tie binding the offender and pulled off the cloth stuffing his mouth. The offender then stood up and dusted his knees, but still didn"t kowtow to pay respect to Xue w.a.n.g.

Jiang Yu shouted, “How dare you not kowtowing!”

The scholar sneered and said, “I am not a Xue Country people, why should I kowtow to him?”

Xue Junliang didn"t show any anger; still smiling amiably as usual. He slowly played with his thumb ring and smiled, “Then which country are you from, and what are you doing in Xue Country?”

[T/N : Thumb ring? I didn"t know he was wearing a thumb ring, I"ve been imagining him wrong. My whole life is a lie!]

The scholar didn"t even use a respectful tone when he said, “I used to be a Teng Country people, later I moved to Feng Country. But then Ming River was drowned, I had no choice other than fleeing Feng Country, and therefore I came to Xue Country.”

“Oh…” Xue Junliang didn"t show it in his face, but inwardly, he was quite shocked. Looked like this person had something to say to him so he waved a hand, signaling everyone else to withdraw.

Jiang Yu, fearing the offender would a.s.sa.s.sinate Xue w.a.n.g when there was no one, would not withdraw even if an arrow was pointed at him. But then, Xue Junliang indicated Jiang Yu should leave, too. Xue Junliang carelessly allowed the three He brothers to stand guards, and ordered the rest to withdraw from the flower garden for the time being.

When everyone else had left, Xue Junliang said, “You are smart, Gu can hear what you"re implying… But still, Gu has doubts. You said Ming River was drowned, but then why did you come to Xue Country? You coming to Xue, what is your intention?”

The scholar said, “I can see that someone who dared diverting the flood to drown the entire Ming River city, though wasn"t so gentleman, clearly was a very clever strategist and had tremendous courage. Unfortunately, I also can see that, although around that person were many brave military commanders, he had no subordinate who was expert in civilian affairs. So, isn"t it a good opportunity for me?”

Xue Junliang didn"t respond, so the scholar continued, “I came to Xue Country because I want to express my aspiration. As I had said earlier, I originally came from Teng, but Teng Country"s king was muddleheaded and incompetent, he preferred subordinates who were crafty and proficient in fawning him. The Imperial Princes who rebelled and wanted to usurp him were too many to count. He was a total disappointment. Under a pretended ident.i.ty, I went to Feng Country but at the most, I could only climb to a small county magistrate"s seat. If I"m being honest, that was Feng w.a.n.g"s own loss.”

“You dare saying these things, you must be so blunt.”

“That is my personal strength.”

“Then bluntly tell Gu,” Xue Junliang said, “What are you yelling about at the Palace Gate?”

The scholar smiled and said, “I was yelling that Her Majesty the Empress" life was in danger!”

“Disgraceful!” Xue Junliang slammed a hand on his armrest and sat straighter in his seat, “Where did you get the courage to say malicious words about the Mother of this Nation!”

The scholar didn"t look afraid as he said, “It"s not about courage, it"s a fact. The Empress" lifetime is coming to an end, her deadline is nearing. You should try consider this fact.”

The scholar"s words made Xue Jinliang speechless for the first time in his whole life. At this time, Jiang Yu rushed to him and said, “Your Majesty, Her Majesty the Empress requests an audience.”

Xue Junliang glanced at the scholar and then turned to Jiang Yu, “Tell the Empress to wait at the front hall, Gu will see her there in a moment.”

Jiang Yu grimaced and said, “Your Majesty… Empress said she wanted to see the offender who claimed himself as imperial strategic adviser, Jiang Ziya.”

[T/N : Jiang Ziya was a famous strategic adviser during the reign of kings Wen and Wu of Zhou dynasty. He was a real person, but in popular culture, he seemed to be partly mythical. I recommend you google him, he was.. wow!]

Hearing that, Xue Junliang realized that the Empress must have heard the news, he had no other way to hide this matter. Well, the Empress was clever and had sharp mouth, maybe she could put this arrogant scholar in his place.

As soon as the Empress arrived, she was surrounded by her three guards. Xue Junliang ordered Jiang Yu to bring a chair, but before Jiang Yu could reply, the three He brothers had brought one; they looked at the Empress as if worshiping an eldest brother…

Xue Junliang waited until the Empress sat down before turned back to the scholar, “Continue talking.”

The scholar boldly looked directly at the Empress and said, “Every word I speak is true and justified. I don"t speak empty words.”

He paused for a moment before continuing, “After the drowning of Ming River, Feng w.a.n.g would order people to investigate it. When he finds that all the evidences point to Xue Country, he will definitely find reasons to send troops. Not sending troops would be unreasonable. However, the drowning of Ming River alone is not a sufficient base for sending troops, Xue w.a.n.g could just say he is framed by a third party. So, if Feng w.a.n.g wants to send troops, his best excuse is the Empress.”

Teng Yun smiled and said, “Me?”

“Xue Country"s Empress was Feng Country"s Grand Princess, the connection is unmistakable. If Feng Country were to send troops just like that, the Grand Princess" situation would restrict their arms. But if the Grand Princess is a.s.sa.s.sinated, the situation would be drastically different and they could use it as an excuse to send troops.”

Xue Junliang glanced at the Empress. After all, the scholar had just said that Feng w.a.n.g, her own younger brother from the same mother, was going to harm her.

Teng Yun"s expression showed nothing, but inwardly he let out a deep sigh. Sure enough, every country was all the same; flesh and blood relations didn"t matter, everything could be used to achieve glory. Then, Xue Junliang was one peculiar example for treating Xue Houyang sincerely for so many years.

Xue Junliang said, “Then what is your intention is saying this? Aren"t you just saying frightening words to scare people? Then you"re just soiling Jiang Ziya"s great reputation.”

The scholar knew Xue w.a.n.g was only baiting him. If any other king heard him spouting rude words, they would have already ordered him to be beaten to death. This Xue Junliang, on the other hand, was able to keep to his cool.

Admitting Xue w.a.n.g had pa.s.sed his test, this time the scholar spoke again in a respectful manner, “This lowly subject is not spouting nonsense, only wishing Your Majesty would consider this fact seriously and forgive this lowly subject for speaking impetuously… This lowly subject has a plan to prevent dangers threatening Her Majesty the Empress" life, but this plan is quite treacherous.”

As the scholar turned to act more respectfully, Xue Junliang"s tense expression eased. He said, “You can speak.”

The scholar said, “This lowly subject"s surname is Chen, given name Yi. Originally, this lowly subject was from Teng, had served as an official for two years, but the political situation in Teng Country didn"t allow this lowly subject to stay there for much longer. This time, if Feng w.a.n.g wants to use the Empress as a p.a.w.n to send troops, Xue w.a.n.g could use Teng Country to help making sure the Empress" safety.”

Although Teng Yun was knowledgeable, he could not understand what Chen Yi meant.

Chen Yi continued, “Teng Country has been suffering chaos internally for a long time now. There is a Lady w.a.n.g, who is one of Teng w.a.n.g"s favorite wife. Although she had given him a son, the son is abandoned by Teng w.a.n.g. It is a known fact that abandoned children would bear a grudge. Sure enough, Lady w.a.n.g"s son, although very smart, is immature, cowardly and could not make himself into someone worthy of respect. The eldest son, Teng Xin, has started to move his military power to rebel since half a month ago.”

[T/N : Lady w.a.n.g, or w.a.n.g Furen. w.a.n.g is her surname, and I translated Furen (夫人) into Lady to reduce the number of confusing pinyin.]

Hearing the news, Teng Yun felt like he had been doused with ice water. Eldest brother, Teng Xin had always been loyal and honest person. Whenever one of the princes acted rebellious, he would send his soldiers to help suppressing the rebellions. Teng Yun never would have imagined that Teng Xin himself would rebel.

But Teng Yun knew that Teng Xin might have been forced to. Lady w.a.n.g was very beautiful and charming. Although she was no longer very young, her means and tricks were still countless. She used to be very pampered by Teng w.a.n.g. Now that Teng Qianyi had been sent away to Xue to marry, no one could compete with her ever again. Lady w.a.n.g had plotted the death of Teng Country"s Empress, and now she wanted to establish her own son to become the Crown Prince.

Chen Yi said, “At this time, Your Majesty could send troops to Teng w.a.n.g to a.s.sist him in subduing the rebellions. After that, Teng w.a.n.g would feel extremely grateful to Your Majesty. Teng w.a.n.g would also be in a constant fear another rebel would emerge, so Your Majesty could say that you have a solution to keep Teng Country safe and peaceful, that is for Teng w.a.n.g to surrender and pay allegiance to Xue Country. Because Xue w.a.n.g could effortlessly took over Teng Country, Feng w.a.n.g would not dare act rashly.”

Chen Yi said it all so lightly, but Xue Junliang was doubtful. Taking over a country was not a light matter. Some people of that country might sincerely surrender, but a country consisted of numerous and various people; it might be dangerous in the long run.

Chen Yi said, “Your Majesty must not consider too long. Teng w.a.n.g still has clever strategy advisers. As soon as they hear that Feng w.a.n.g wants to send troops to Xue country, they would be happy to let Xue and Feng Countries fight each other. They might suggest adding fuel to the fire between Xue and Feng. One of the fuel to this fire is Her Majesty the Empress… This lowly subject could guarantee, if Your Majesty doesn"t act immediately, Teng w.a.n.g will send someone to a.s.sa.s.sinate the Empress.”

Teng Yun gazed at the small lake at some distance with complicated feelings in his heart. Previously, Teng Qianyi tried to frame him, and at that time, he was very upset. Now, he heard that his own father might want to kill him. Even though, they had no way of knowing it was him, Teng Yun, inside the Empress" body, but still how could not Teng Yun feel upset? The grievances all knotted up inside his heart, could no longer be untangled.

Teng Yun was a Teng Country people, he knew his father didn"t have many wealth. For so many years, Teng Yun had spared no effort to fight for the country, but then he would be forced to retreat because the lack of army provisions. Even if Teng w.a.n.g finally agreed to send more soldier, it didn"t solve Teng Yun lonely battle. In the end, Teng Yun and his soldiers were defeated and captured.

Teng w.a.n.g was a coward and timid, and would only be too happy to sacrifice his trusted aides to achieve what he wanted. Right now, Teng Yun could not understand how he used to compare Teng w.a.n.g with Xue Junliang. Teng w.a.n.g could never compete with Xue Junliang.

After listening to Chen Yi"s speech, Xue Junliang admitted it all made sense. He immediately appointed Chen Yi an official position and instructed him to live at the Palace as the Crown Prince"s mentor.

Chen Yu thanked Xue w.a.n.g. He hadn"t yet withdrawn when Xue Houyang came in and reported, “Your Majesty, a large number of refugees is crossing Teng Country"s border and into our land.”

Xue Junliang said, “Refugees?”

Chen Yi supplied, “Because Teng Xin mobilizes his soldiers, the commoners are threatened. They have no other choice than seek shelter in Xue Country. Your Majesty must open the border gate, you cannot let them traveling a long distance only to be blocked outside.”

Xue Houyang knitted his eyebrows, “Opening the border gate is not as easy as turning your hand over. If there are criminals and bandits mixed among the refugees, they could cause troubles inside our land.”

Xue Junliang agreed with Xue Houyang, it was what he had thought, too. Opening the border gate for Teng Country people, wasn"t it like allowing the enemy to attack from the inside?

Teng Yun also frowned. He could not bear it if Xue Country didn"t let the refugees come in. But if looked from Xue Country"s perspective, letting the refugees in was risky.

After thinking for a long time, Teng Yun could not help saying, “If you don"t let the refugees in, they would only acc.u.mulate at the gate and then pose a threat to the border guards. It is better to let them in, then concentrate them around food relief centers and send troops to guard these food centers. This way, it would be easier to prevent people creating troubles.”

Xue Junliang knew the Empress was very benevolent. He himself also thought it would be a good opportunity to make Teng Country people feel grateful to Xue Country, so he nodded and said, “But Gu wants Houyang to go handle it. Gu cannot trusted any other people for this.”

Xue Houyang knelt and accepted the decree. He stood up and was about to go when Xue Junliang stopped him, saying, “You can take Teng Shang with you.”

Xue Houyang"s eyes widened in surprise and delight. He knelt once again and finally withdrew to pack and prepare for his departure.

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