Ink Burns

Chapter 256 Not giving in
"Why am I crying? Does the Emperor really not know?" The Grand Princess Jing'an raised the corners of her mouth slightly.

She rarely smiled, and her smiles only deepened the lines around her mouth—which was not good. She was so old, while Helang remained forever twenty-four, and one man after another, resembling Helang in both appearance and spirit, grew younger each year: twenty-five, twenty, eighteen, sixteen.
Men, like power, are fascinating, rejuvenating, and exhilarating.

Power is like the currency of the Nine Provinces, which can buy one man after another, and men are like her spoils of war, demonstrating her supreme status.

She had first tasted this wonderful feeling when she helped Cui Bainian take down the Su family, then sent the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Wuning into the palace to compete for the emperor's favor, gradually controlling her brother, and taking advantage of the situation to arrange for people to belong to her in the court. Yes, she could not enter the court, but she could be like the troupe leader behind the screen of a shadow play, manipulating one obedient shadow puppet after another. She could tell them what to say, and they would say it; she could tell them to jump off the high platform, and they would fall to their deaths!

Of course, the most important thing is to restore the gentry.

This is Helang's ideal, and therefore it is also her ideal.

She simply experienced the pleasure that men have enjoyed throughout history—the pleasure of wielding power—while realizing Helang's ideals.

What a pity.

Her health is really not up to par.

She was exhausted, she was panting, she was powerless. The nourishment of power could only make her feel refreshed, but it could not prolong her life.

"I'm afraid your body won't make it past next winter." Sun, an old acquaintance of hers, carefully chose his words to tell her the truth after taking her pulse.

"What if it's ginseng? Ginseng that has taken a thousand years to mature, cordyceps from snow-capped mountains, shark glue from the seabed. You know, as long as you can name it, I can definitely get it!"

She was somewhat flustered, grabbing Sun Yuanbu's hand, trying to rekindle his confidence with his past achievements: "Back then, I asked you to make a poison that could restrain everyone, and you always said it wouldn't work. But didn't we find the 'Trapping Grass' outside the Great Wall? Don't be afraid of difficulties from the start; you have to try! You have to try!"

Sun Yuanbu looked troubled.

She proposed a new approach: "Medicine won't work. What about witchcraft?! Cui Bainian said that the Tatars outside the Great Wall have been consuming the blood of young boys for years to maintain their health? Is the blood of young boys effective?"

She posed the question, but she didn't need Sun Yuanbu's answer. She replied to herself, "Let's catch a bunch and try it out!"

Her fingernails dug into the flesh of Sun Yuanbu's hand, almost breaking through the skin.

Sun Yuanbu winced in pain and said repeatedly, "If medicine is ineffective, we can try Buddhism, Taoism, the sorcery cult, feng shui, the I Ching, talismans, and even folk remedies!"

This was beyond his scope, and naturally, he no longer needed to deal with the Grand Princess's fear and mania before her death.

She saw through Sun Yuanbu's attempt to shift the blame, and her heart blazed with rage, but her fingers gradually lost their strength.

"You've practically taken all my men, haven't you?"

Princess Jing'an had a faint smell of blood on her body. Whether it was self-suggestion or not, she was more relaxed and clear-headed than usual these past few days: "Songjiang Prefecture, Suzhou Prefecture, Zhenjiang Prefecture, Liu Hezhou, Han Chengrang, Zhao Tingguang, oh, and the Xishan Camp—Your Majesty, I am crying because I have been scheming for twenty years and almost lost my leg and breath."

Xu Quyan was not surprised by his aunt's frankness—choosing to kneel in the ancestral temple was already a desperate move.

Xu Quyan lowered his gaze and raised his eyebrows, repeating Jing'an's words: "Let's just hand over the lands of Songjiang Prefecture, Suzhou Prefecture, and Zhenjiang Prefecture to the gentry of Jiangnan to continue the glory of the previous dynasty!"

“That’s not necessarily a bad thing,” the Grand Princess Jing’an replied casually. “The carriage of power is moving too fast, and those of humble origins can’t keep up. You can’t blame me for that.”

"Your Majesty, when establishing a dynasty, the first thing you must do is employ talent without being bound by convention. You have to admit that the old aristocratic families from Jiangnan, with their profound family learning and constant exposure to classical texts, have a greater understanding of the court, a greater capacity for knowledge of the past and present, and a greater ability to cite classical texts than those from humble backgrounds. Not to mention their ability to advise on governance and their insights into ruling the world—Your Majesty, think about it carefully, can a child who herded cattle since childhood compare to an aristocratic son who mastered ancient texts at the age of five and passed the imperial examination at the age of eight!"

Xu Quyan quietly looked at Jing'an: "Rank and emolument are bestowed from birth; before the umbilical cord is cut, one is already ennobled. The Three Dukes are all guests of the same surname; who will ultimately protect the common people? The tragedy of the blood-stained edict is still fresh in our minds; the founding emperor..."

"Emperor Taizu... Haha, Emperor Taizu!" Jing'an laughed, tilting his head back. "Don't mention Emperor Taizu! A thousand years have passed, in the old stories of the previous dynasties, Yan-ge'er! Auntie asks you—how many groom emperors were there!? Huh? How many barefoot immortals were there!? Huh!?"

"Emperor Taizu has exhausted all the heroic spirit of those from humble backgrounds!"

Jing'an's laughter gradually subsided. He reached out to stroke Xu Quyan's temple, his eyes filled with the loving kindness and tolerance of an elder: "Yan-ge'er, it's not shameful to admit that you want to take back your supreme power."

Xu Quyan stood obediently, letting Jing'an stroke him, like a respectful and humble junior: "Since Aunt knows, why are you blocking the way?"

Jing'an's smile gradually faded: "If it weren't for me, anyone could have ascended the throne."

"But the one sitting on the dragon throne now is me."

“It doesn’t have to be you.” Jing’an’s gaze was light and fleeting as she turned her head to look at the wide-open main gate of the Imperial Ancestral Temple. Dusk was falling, and a few stars were peeking out from the thick clouds. “The people in the Jiangnan officialdom are at your disposal. I’m willing to accept defeat and pay my dues. As for the people in the capital officialdom, you are not allowed to touch a single one. Since Xue the Mad Dog has discovered the ‘Tethering Induced’, you should know that the person afflicted with the ‘Tethering Induced’ will never speak. If he does speak, not only will he not get the antidote to prolong his life, but his relatives and children will also not get the antidote. They will all die!”

"They won't say anything, so we might as well tell them to release them."

Jing'an turned around and said, "If you really want to vent your anger, then demote them a bit, and that will make up for it."

"Otherwise what?" Xu Quyan asked calmly, looking at Jing'an. "What if I insist on continuing the investigation?"

"Then don't blame me for being ruthless!"

Jing'an raised her eyes, her gaze blazing with fierce light: "Just as I put you on the throne, I will bring you down in the same way—the emperor's edict is an oral decree. If I change my story and claim that I was coerced by Empress Ji into agreeing on the same terms, how will the historians record you? No matter how great your achievements or how high your reputation, you will not escape the mark of usurpation in the annals of history! When future generations talk about you, Emperor Yongping, they will not say that you were virtuous and diligent, but they will only point their fingers at you and curse you as a cunning and illegitimate thief!"

"I don't need to do anything more. The Prince of Qin in Lingnan, the Prince of Shan in the Northeast, and the Prince of Zhengxian in Xiling are all princes of the same clan as the Xu family! Once the reputation of your illegitimate accession spreads, the princes will definitely start to have their own ideas—Emperor, oh Emperor, one wave after another, how many times can your small body withstand it!?"

This is Jing'an's deadly move, revealing his true intentions.

This was her life-saving trick; a trick can only be used once, and she was willing to use it on "Qingfeng," who followed her.

A person lives for their pride, doesn't he?

She does her best to protect others who do things for her; that is true loyalty.

Jing'an was confident: she knew Xu Quyan would definitely agree; when it came to matters concerning his life and death, no monarch would disagree.

as predicted.

Xu Quyan slowly raised his head, his hands, which had been tucked into his sleeves, struggling to open as if they had touched something dirty before slowly closing again: "But at the Xishan camp, I want to personally select someone to replace Chang Lin. Aunt, is this request too much?"

Jing'an pressed her advantage: "Very well. You make the arrangements, Commander; I will suggest the adjutant."

On the chessboard, when the enemy retreats, I pursue; when the enemy pursues, I attack; when the enemy attacks, I retreat. Luring the enemy deep into the game often requires me to enter the game myself.

Xu Quyan laughed and countered with a white piece: "Aunt, do you know that Cui Bainian, the Marquis of Wuding, who is on good terms with you, has shady ties with the Tatars?"

Xu Quyan's sudden words startled Jing'an.

“Fight, of course we must fight.” Xu Quyan’s face was a mixture of light and shadow, indistinct in the flickering candlelight of the ancestral temple: “Fight with you, fight with the vassal kings, fight with the powerful ministers, fight with the military generals—this is the wonder of the high court. Where there are people, there is struggle. This is the norm.”

"aunt."

“Cui Bainian has crossed the line.”

Xu Quyan had a straight nose and a pale face. He never showed his emotions, unlike his usually stern aunt. He was unfazed by the lines on his lips and always wore a gentle, calm smile: "Close the door, you fight and I fight, and this country will still belong to the Xu family; Cui Bainian colluded with the Tatars to interfere in internal affairs. If he succeeds, will this country still belong to the Han people? Will it still belong to the Xu family?"

Jing'an's feet went cold: "He actually dared to do that!"

Xu Quyan tilted his head and glanced sideways, his high nose bridge instantly casting a dark gray shadow on his smooth profile: "Still? It seems Aunt knows."

How could Jing'an not know!

The Su family's final move was made with the help of the Tatars!
They cannot transport 32,000 taels of silver out of the pass from Jiangnan or the capital! It would be too conspicuous! It would be extremely easy for them to be caught red-handed!
The 32,000 taels of silver buried under the old Su family mansion were smuggled in from beyond the Great Wall by the Tatars! The person in contact with them was Cui Bainian, and the person who received them was Chang Lin, who was now living a life worse than death—all of this was done behind her back. By the time she found out, it was too late to turn back, and she could only watch helplessly as the Tatars and Cui Bainian established a dirty and secretive connection!

She reprimanded Cui Bainian!
Cui Bainian said that this was a one-time thing, and that after he took over the Northern Frontier Army, he had already repaid the 30,000 taels of silver with 10,000 military horses.

Recently, when she heard that the Tatars were attacking, she had some doubts, but Cui Yulang, her good son-in-law, wrapped in blood-stained gauze, lay weakly on his sickbed and made a solemn vow to her.

Jing'an was caught off guard.

Xu Quyan, however, had already lifted his wide, simple, indigo-colored coarse linen robe and walked straight out, raising his chin and saying loudly, "Ancestors above, Aunt should kneel down and cry properly to pay for Cui Bainian's treasonous act of surrendering to the enemy—that is what you should cry about."

As for the Western Hills camp…

Xu Quyan paused, his back to the ancestral tablets gleaming with a faint light, and said in a voice from his chest, "I will not yield an inch."