Deposed 4

Chapter 4. The Youth and His Master

At the same time, on the road to the imperial capital, the Marquis of Dingbei, Wei Zhao, reclined in a silver-white archer’s robe in his carriage, his phoenix eyes half-closed, listening to a secret guard’s report on the situation in the capital.

This time, Emperor Changping had summoned him back to the capital. Ostensibly, it was to oversee military and political affairs, but in reality, it was to secretly investigate the long-hidden “Diting.”

He did have some connection with this assassin organization, which was single-handedly established by Emperor Wu.

It was during the reign of Emperor Wu. The current Emperor was still the Prince of Anshun, enfeoffed in the southwest. Every year during festivals, he would send cartloads of annual tributes and local specialties to the palace. One year, during the Dragon Boat Festival, there was heavy rain across the country, and when the specialties arrived at the palace, five out of ten boxes of colorful rice were moldy. If someone with ill intentions saw this, it could be construed as cursing the dynasty, a serious crime of disrespect. Fortunately, there was an inside contact from the Prince of Anshun’s residence within the palace. They secretly intercepted the goods and immediately informed the Prince of Anshun.

The Prince of Anshun was very anxious after learning of this. He immediately gathered everyone to discuss a solution. After much deliberation, they decided to send Wei Zhao, who was highly skilled in martial arts, with a cart of newly harvested rice to sneak into the imperial capital. He would coordinate with the inside contact in the palace to discreetly swap the moldy rice.

The inside contact was reliable, and the swap went smoothly. But just as Wei Zhao was about to sneak out of the palace, he was unexpectedly ambushed by “Diting.”

“Diting” was established by Emperor Xiao Wu with a great deal of manpower and resources. The assassins they trained were all elusive and unfathomably powerful. Wei Zhao was caught off guard and seriously injured. He fought his way through the palace, eventually falling into a courtyard.

At that time, a young man in white was practicing swordsmanship under a pear tree in the courtyard. Seeing someone suddenly fall from the wall, he widened his eyes and stared at him in surprise for a while. Then, he ran over and, while the eunuch guarding the courtyard wasn’t looking, dragged him into the house.

It was a very desolate and cold hall. The steps were covered with fallen leaves and overgrown weeds. The beams were covered with cobwebs and dust. The window paper was tattered and served no purpose. At night, the cold wind blew straight in, making it as cold as an ice cellar. Apart from an old eunuch with a limp who came to deliver meals three times a day, no one else visited.

To avoid drawing attention, the youth pretended to have cut his hand while practicing swordsmanship and asked the eunuch for some bandages and medicine for external injuries. He then skillfully bandaged and medicated Wei Zhao’s wounds. At night, he even shared the only thick quilt with him.

Wei Zhao tried to probe the youth’s identity. After all, although the courtyard was desolate, it was not a place an ordinary person could live in. The youth said that the place was called Jing Si Yuan, a remote cold palace. He was a scion of a noble family who came to the palace to study with the princes. He was confined to the hall to reflect on his mistakes.

Every year, the Emperor would select scions of noble families with excellent character and learning from all over the country to serve as companions to the princes. Although the youth was young, he had a noble air about him and was as beautiful as jade and snow. He truly looked like a pampered scion of a noble family, so Wei Zhao did not doubt him.

Having eaten and stayed for free for so long, and even troubled a child to treat his injuries, Wei Zhao felt very bad. He asked the youth what he wanted in return. The youth initially said he didn’t want anything, but then he hesitated and said, “Can you be my master and teach me martial arts?”

Wei Zhao: “…How did you know I know martial arts?”

The youth retorted, “The palace is heavily guarded. How could you have gotten in without any skills? And fallen from such a height.”

“…..”

Wei Zhao could summarize 180 different sets of experience in training soldiers, but he had never been anyone’s master before. He could only brace himself and agree. At first, he was just going through the motions, casually teaching the youth some self-defense moves he had created. But as he taught, he started to develop genuine feelings.

Especially when the little fellow tugged at the corner of his clothes and called him “Master” in his soft, sweet voice, it was like honey water, melting his heart. He also learned for the first time that the little fellow was so clingy and particularly timid. For example, every time it thundered, he would secretly climb into bed and snuggle into his arms…

Later, when they parted, the youth was reluctant to let go. He split his ancestral dragon-shaped jade pendant into two, giving half to the youth as a keepsake. After that, the rebels besieged the city, Emperor Wu passed away, he followed the current Emperor north to his rescue, was enfeoffed as a marquis and appointed as a general, and was stationed in the northern frontier… He had thought about finding the youth who had risked his life to save him and repaying his kindness. Unfortunately, despite years of searching in the palace, there was no news. The Jing Si Yuan in the palace had also burned down in a fire many years ago.

Gradually, he gave up.

Wei Zhao suppressed the faint trace of melancholy that rose in his heart and asked the secret guard, “What about the Crown Prince? What is his reputation in the court these past two years? Has he made any unusual moves?”

Diting was absolutely loyal to Emperor Wu. To investigate Diting, one could not overlook Crown Prince Mu Yun. Because if Diting still existed, the only person they would likely contact was the little Crown Prince, the blood of Emperor Wu.

“This…”

The secret guard did not know Wei Zhao’s thoughts. Hearing his lord suddenly mention the Crown Prince, he immediately looked troubled and conflicted.

Before they came, Steward Zhou had repeatedly reminded them not to mention the Crown Prince in front of the Marquis if possible, and not to talk about anything related to the Crown Prince, so as not to upset the Marquis and stir up the old grudge from three years ago.

Wei Zhao saw through his thoughts and smiled wryly, “This Marquis is not a three-year-old child. How could I lose my reason over such a trivial old grudge? Just speak your mind.”

“Yes.”

The secret guard secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He dared not hide anything any longer and truthfully said, “Your Lordship may have heard, these past two years, the Crown Prince’s reputation in the court is extremely poor, even worse than when His Majesty first ascended the throne.”

Wei Zhao frowned. He naturally thought of three years ago, during the current Emperor’s enthronement ceremony. All the officials and envoys from various countries were congratulating the new Emperor. But the little Crown Prince, dressed in mourning clothes, rushed into Chengqing Hall like a madman, saying that Emperor Wu’s death was unjust, and his spirit would turn into a vengeful ghost and haunt the palace, making those who harmed him pay with their lives.

The officials from the Ministry of Rites were so frightened that their faces turned ashen. On such a solemn occasion as the new Emperor’s enthronement ceremony, the little Crown Prince uttered such outrageous and insane words. It was extremely inauspicious.

Fortunately, the current Emperor was merciful and did not lose his temper on the spot. He merely used the excuse that “Emperor Wu’s sudden death caused the Crown Prince to be overwhelmed with grief and lose his mind” to have the eunuchs take the little Crown Prince away.

It was thought that everything would be peaceful from then on. But unexpectedly, after the new Emperor ascended the throne, several unsolved cases of palace servants dying tragically did indeed occur in the palace. The already sealed imperial tomb of Emperor Wu was also inexplicably struck by lightning. An old eunuch in charge of guarding the imperial tomb saw Emperor Wu’s body lying outside the tomb in the middle of the night when he went to relieve himself. The corpse had a terrifying appearance and was covered in whip marks. The old eunuch fainted from fright on the spot.

Rumors spread like wildfire, saying that it was Emperor Wu’s spirit causing trouble. It was only after Empress Ji summoned people to perform several rituals in the palace that the situation gradually stabilized. After that, he was ordered to go to the northern frontier to fight the Hu barbarians, so he didn’t hear about the little Crown Prince doing anything outrageous again.

He heard the secret guard say, “For example, His Majesty, with good intentions and against all opposition, appointed the Crown Prince as the commander of the Imperial Guard, originally intending to temper the Crown Prince. Who would have thought that the Crown Prince would abuse his power and treat the Imperial Guard as his personal army, often using them to vent his personal grudges and satisfy his desires. Just two days ago, because of a few verbal disputes in court, the Crown Prince had the Imperial Guard set fire to the residence of Censor Lin of the Censorate, scaring Censor Lin so much that he ran into the street naked. He still doesn’t dare to go home. And last month, the First Prince merely brushed past the Crown Prince at the palace gate. The Crown Prince insisted that the First Prince broke the green jade brush bestowed upon him by His Majesty and demanded compensation. The green jade brush was a tribute from the Yingzhou Kingdom, and there was only one in the whole country. Where could the First Prince find another one to compensate him? The Crown Prince was relentless and ordered the Imperial Guard to sneak into the First Prince’s residence at night and ransack his study…”

“What’s even more outrageous is that although the Crown Prince holds the position of commander of the Imperial Guard, he is incompetent and neglects his duties. He is late and leaves early two out of three days. He never shows up for drills. He is absent from his night duties several days every month, completely ruining the reputation of the Imperial Guard. Your Lordship, tell me, what is this!”

“…..”

Wei Zhao raised an eyebrow and couldn’t help but ask, “Doesn’t His Majesty do anything about it?”

The Imperial Guard was responsible for the safety of the entire imperial city. For the Emperor to so indulge the Crown Prince’s mischief, wasn’t he placing his own life on a knife’s edge?

Even if the Emperor truly cared about their kinship and was reluctant to punish him, what about the other ministers in the court? They criticize everything under the sun, each one more loyal and virtuous than the last. How come they all pretend to be deaf and dumb when it comes to crucial matters?

The secret guard shook his head, “It’s not that His Majesty doesn’t do anything.” The memorials requesting the Crown Prince’s removal from the Imperial Guard were like snowflakes, almost flooding Chengqing Hall.

“But firstly, there is no evidence. The Imperial Guard is very thorough, and they can’t convict the Crown Prince based on the words of the victims alone. Secondly…”

Speaking of this, the secret guard also felt some sympathy for those ministers, “Although the Crown Prince is incompetent and neglects his duties, since he took charge of the Imperial Guard, the atmosphere within the Imperial Guard has indeed improved. The imperial city’s defenses are also in order, without the slightest flaw. Most importantly, the Imperial Guard, under the Crown Prince’s leadership, has made many great contributions.”

Simply put, although the entire court disliked the Crown Prince, and although they knew that the Crown Prince used the Imperial Guard to do many “bad things,” they just couldn’t get any solid evidence, couldn’t get rid of him, and had to watch as His Majesty rewarded him generously every few days. It was very frustrating.

Thinking of the old fogeys’ helpless expressions, Wei Zhao smiled with an unknown meaning. He found this matter quite novel and continued to ask, “What else?”

The secret guard quickly sifted through his mind, trying to pick the most shocking things to say, “That would be the matter of the imperial fetus.”

Wei Zhao’s hand, which was playing with a tea bowl, paused, “Imperial fetus?”