Love Lock

Chapter 229 Emperor Jing's Wrath

Capital City, Imperial Palace.

The autumn morning light pierced through the thin mist, gilding the glazed tiles of the Golden Palace with a layer of gold leaf.

Inside the hall, the fragrance of sandalwood rose gently from the bronze dragon-shaped incense burner, only to be torn apart by the autumn wind that suddenly swept through the hall.

Li Jingyao, the Minister of Rites, held a jade tablet made of mutton fat, and the peacock pattern on the insignia of his black official robe flickered in the light and shadow.

As he bowed, the gilded belt buckle at his waist struck the jade pendant, the clear sound particularly noticeable in the solemn hall.

"Your Majesty, the Imperial Observatory observed the stars last night and found that the Imperial Star in the Purple Palace Enclosure is bright. The 18th of next month will be an auspicious day for offering sacrifices to Heaven, a day that only comes around once every ten years."

Li Jingyao's voice carried the composure of years of hosting ceremonies, but a hint of tension was revealed at the end of his words.

"Your Majesty, according to regulations, three pure black sacrificial animals and nine pairs of each of the six domestic animals are required. The ritual vessels should be thirty-six ancient bronze pieces from the Imperial Ancestral Temple. In addition..."

His Adam's apple bobbed, and the edge of the jade tablet pressed a red mark into his palm. "A cypress platform nine zhang nine chi five cun high needs to be built, wrapped with silk cloth soaked in cinnabar..."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chengsi, the Minister of Revenue, looked up abruptly, beads of sweat rolling down his hat.

He nearly tripped over the hem of his robe as he hurried out of the ranks, the fish-shaped pouch at his waist flapping against his side with each rapid step.

"Your Majesty, I have a memorial to present!" His voice, filled with urgency, cried out in desperation. "The northern passes have been ravaged by war for years, and much food and silver have been spent. The soldiers at each pass still haven't received winter clothing, and Jingzhou has suffered from severe flooding; the breached sections of the dikes are still submerged..."

His hands trembled as he held up the Ministry of Revenue's yellow register, the grain ration coupons tucked between the pages almost falling to the ground. "If more funds are drawn for the sacrificial ceremony, I fear... I fear the border's grain and provisions will run out next month! Your Majesty. Perhaps we should wait until next year..."

"absurd!"

Before Zhang Chengsi could finish speaking, Emperor Jing's expression darkened. His eyes, beneath his sword-like eyebrows, were like black jade tempered with ice, and wherever his gaze fell, even the palace maid holding the spittoon held her breath.

"The coronation ceremony was already hastily completed, and now even the sacrificial ceremony to Heaven has to be rescheduled?"

As Emperor Jing sneered, the white jade tassels hanging from his crown swayed violently.

"I think we should abolish the dragon throne as well. Wouldn't that be more economical?" Emperor Jing said with displeasure.

He stopped abruptly, then grabbed the jade paperweight from the table, but put it back down heavily when he caught a glimpse of the engraving of the late emperor's reign title.

"Weren't the taxes from various prefectures and counties just delivered to the Ministry of Revenue a couple of days ago? The sacrificial ceremony to Heaven is crucial to the fortunes of the nation and must not be altered. Let's use this tax revenue for the expenditure."

The emperor was furious, and Zhang Chengsi quickly knelt down, touching his forehead to the ground, his graying temples showing through the crooked corner of his official hat.

"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Revenue is truly struggling! Jingzhou suffered a disaster, and most of the relief funds have already been used up. Furthermore, the tax revenue from Cangzhou is not coming in..."

"Why can't we collect the money?" The Minister of Revenue kept complaining about being poor, and Emperor Jing's tone became even colder.

Zhang Chengsi raised his head, his face contorted with bitterness. "Your Majesty, Cangzhou has not paid taxes to the Ministry of Revenue for three months. I have sent several messengers by carrier pigeon to urge them, but I have yet to receive a reply from Prefect Sun!"

"Then send another urgent message every 800 li!" Emperor Jing suddenly roared, slamming his hand on the armrest of the dragon throne, making his hand ache.

That damned Zhang Chengsi made all sorts of excuses to refuse, clearly indicating that he didn't want him to hold the sacrificial ceremony to Heaven.

Because his usurpation of the throne was sudden, and in order to secure the throne first, his coronation ceremony was prepared hastily and was not held in a grand manner.

He could accept this, after all, ascending the throne and sitting in this position was the only way to achieve his goal.

But this was his first time holding a grand ceremony to worship Heaven, and the Imperial Astronomical Bureau had declared it an auspicious day, one that wouldn't occur for ten years. Yet this damned Minister of Revenue was utterly uncooperative; how could he not be furious?

Emperor Jing ripped off the dragon-patterned jade pendant from his waist and smashed it on Zhang Chengsi's head, knocking his already slightly askew official hat to the ground.

He glared at Zhang Chengsi and roared, "Tell Sun Wenyuan that he either has to bring the tax money to the capital or bring a coffin to plead guilty! Humph!"

After Emperor Jing finished roaring, he suddenly stood up and turned around, flipping the gilded pen holder on the wide sleeve of his dragon robe.

With a clang, the cinnabar brush flew out, leaving a glaring red mark on the coiled dragon pillar.

Emperor Jing strode away, and Li Zhongxin, the chief eunuch standing beside him, hurriedly shouted, "Dismiss the court!" The last notes echoed for a long time in the hall.

The court officials, bewildered by Emperor Jing's anger, were all too terrified to utter a sound. Seeing him depart, they breathed a sigh of relief, quickly shouting "Respectfully seeing off Your Majesty!" before bowing and leaving the hall.

Emperor Jing stormed over the mess of memorials scattered on the ground, but stopped and looked up as he turned around the screen and passed the plaque inscribed with the words "Reverence Heaven and Follow the Ancestors" written by the late emperor.

He rolled his eyes and whispered to the bronze bells hanging from the eaves, "That year during the Heaven-worship ceremony... the late emperor's crown was adorned with twelve tassels of Eastern pearls..."

The autumn wind swept the withered leaves into the corridor, and the second half of my soliloquy was blown away by the autumn wind...

Emperor Jing walked into the Imperial Garden and looked at the many flowers and plants that had withered with the seasons, swaying in the autumn wind. The desolate scene seemed to mock him for not being able to even handle a grand sacrificial ceremony to Heaven, which made him feel even more depressed.

"Li Zhongxin, go and fetch my precious sword," he ordered coldly.

"Yes!" Li Zhongxin replied, and immediately ordered the eunuch to fetch the sword.

While waiting for the sword, Emperor Jing strolled slowly in the garden, with Li Zhongxin following closely behind him.

"Li Zhongxin," Emperor Jing suddenly called out, "Do you think that scoundrel Zhang Chengsi looks down on me?"

"Uh..." Li Zhongxin paused, then asked cautiously, "Your Majesty, what makes you say that?"

"Other emperors have grand ceremonies when they ascend the throne. Why is it that when it comes to me, there are all sorts of excuses about an empty treasury?" Emperor Jing said, stopping and turning to look at Li Zhongxin. "Did the previous dynasty not experience natural disasters or wars?"

Li Zhongxin, with his back bent and head raised, just happened to see the murderous intent flashing in Emperor Jing's eyes.

A chill ran down his spine, and he quickly lowered his head, saying, "Your Majesty, perhaps the national treasury is just temporarily empty, and it is not that Lord Zhang did it intentionally."

Emperor Jing rolled his eyes at him. Clearly, Li Zhongxin's answer did not please him.

At this moment, a young eunuch came running with a sword. Emperor Jing stopped talking to him and instead vented his anger on the sword.

Emperor Jing drew his sword with a "whoosh!" The blade flashed silver in the sunlight. The flowers and plants in the garden trembled in surprise at the sword's aura.

The sword's edge pierced the air with a "whoosh" sound.

With a flick of his wrist, the emperor created several sword flowers, which then transformed into a rainbow piercing the sun.

His movements were extremely fast and ruthless, as if he were not practicing swordsmanship, but playing chess with an unseen enemy.

The sparrows on the pine branches suddenly fell silent, flapped their wings and flew away, leaving behind a stillness.

Sweat trickled down the emperor's temples, but he seemed oblivious.

His swordplay grew increasingly rapid, and fine cracks gradually appeared on the blue bricks beneath his feet. Each of his moves carried a whistling sound, as if he were trying to sever all the pent-up emotions in his chest.

A cluster of golden chrysanthemums was swept by the sword energy, and the petals fell one after another, as if they had been torn apart by an invisible hand.

"His Majesty!"

Two dark figures appeared like ghosts behind the artificial hill. Emperor Jing's sword was still poised, the tip of the sword stopping just three inches from the throat of the first guard who had spoken.

The guard knelt on one knee, his Adam's apple bobbing beneath his black mask.

"Speak." Emperor Jing sheathed his sword and took the silk handkerchief handed to him by Li Zhongxin to wipe his sweat.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that the hems of the robes of the two guards were covered in mud, and the soles of their boots were still covered in undried red clay, the red soil unique to the Cangzhou area.

"Your Majesty, your subordinates have found the whereabouts of the Prince of Jingzhou," a guard reported, clasping his hands in a fist salute. Emperor Jing said impatiently, "Speak."

"My subordinates inquired at the four gates of Jingzhou and learned that the Jingzhou King and his family left the city through the west gate half a month ago and fled towards Cangzhou."

The guard's voice was hoarse, clearly from days of travel and a dry mouth.

"According to the garrison commander, when they questioned him, there were children crying incessantly in the carriage, but the King of Jingzhou ordered them to speed up."

Emperor Jing's fingers tightened, wrinkling the silk handkerchief. He stared at the guard's eyes peeking out from behind the mask and let out a cold laugh.

"Ha! Cangzhou?" His voice suddenly rose. "That desolate and barren place is hardly fit to hide? Since you know where they went, why don't you pursue them?"

The two guards exchanged a glance, their expressions grave.

The guard B suddenly kowtowed heavily, his forehead hitting the blue bricks with a dull thud: "Your Majesty, we pursued them to Tuomugou, ten miles from Qingshui County, but were blocked by... by a fortress and could not proceed."

"What did you say? A fortress?" Emperor Jing's pupils constricted.

He turned around abruptly, the jade pendant at his waist clanging against the scabbard.

The Imperial Garden suddenly became eerily quiet, with only the rustling of the autumn wind through the golden osmanthus trees.

"Your Majesty, please look. This is a sketch that your subordinates drew from a distance."

The guard Jia took out a roll of coarse paper from his bosom and presented it to Emperor Jing. Emperor Jing unfolded it and saw that although the ink on the paper had been blurred by sweat, it was still possible to make out a sketch of a hexagonal fortress.

"What kind of fortress is this? Why have I never seen it before?" Emperor Jing frowned.

Each protruding corner of the drawing is marked with the location of the arrow emplacement, and there are also some circles drawn on it, the purpose of which is unknown.

"Cangzhou! What audacity! Who is it? Cao Xiong or Sun Wenyuan?" Emperor Jing roared, a name suddenly flashing through his mind—Zhao Zun.

Emperor Jing crumpled the sketch into a ball. The ball of paper brushed past the guard's ear and landed among the flowers and plants behind him.

"Why is he building a fortress within the territory of Dajing? Is he trying to defend against the imperial army?" He suddenly raised his voice, startling everyone so much that they all knelt on the ground.

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger!" Li Zhongxin said tremblingly.

The second guard's breathing became noticeably rapid: "The garrison in front of the fortress said... said that they would only let us pass if we had a travel permit from Cangzhou, so we can't..."

With a "whoosh," a flash of cold light appeared. The words of the second guard remained forever stuck in his throat.

As the sword was pulled from his heart, drops of blood dripped down the seven-star pattern on the sword's spine, blooming like red plum blossoms on the blue bricks.

Emperor Jing's hand, gripping his sword, bulged with veins, the tip pointing at the stiffly standing guard: "Useless! What use are you to me?"

As the Dark Guard A looked at his fallen comrade, his face mask was suddenly soaked with cold sweat.

He saw the murderous intent surging in His Majesty's eyes suddenly freeze, replaced by something more terrifying—fear.

“Zhao Zun…taxes…bastions…deserters…no wonder that lowly bastard fled to Cangzhou, it turns out he had something to rely on.” Emperor Jing muttered to himself, the tip of his sword unconsciously drawing messy marks on the ground.

Suddenly, as if he had figured something out, he abruptly looked up, his eyes flashing with a sharp light: "Issue an imperial decree! Summon all officials for a meeting immediately! Ring the bell at once!"

"Boom-thump-thump-"

As the Jingyang Bell tore through the air, the civil and military officials, who had just returned home from court, hurried back upon hearing the sudden sound of the palace bell.

Prime Minister Wei had just returned home from court and was in his study using a silver knife to cut open the newly arrived "Official Gazette".

The steward stumbled in: "Prime Minister! The palace gate... towards the palace gate..."

Amidst the aftershocks of the bronze bell, Prime Minister Wei's silver knife clattered to the ground.

Normally, even if His Majesty wants to convene a meeting of ministers, he will send eunuchs to notify them individually. But now the bells are ringing loudly, so something urgent must have happened.

Without a second thought, Prime Minister Wei immediately prepared a sedan chair and returned to the palace. The civil and military officials also quickly returned to the main hall.

Despite it being broad daylight, the Taiji Hall was already brightly lit with candles.

Emperor Jing was still wearing his imperial robes, and the candlelight in the hall illuminated his ashen face.

Civil and military officials lined up on both sides, many of them with their official hats askew, clearly having rushed over.

Suddenly, the palace doors burst open with a loud crash.

Wei Dabao, with disheveled hair, was escorted in by guards; his prison clothes were still covered in bits of grass.

When Wei Dabao knelt down, the chains rattled.

Emperor Jing waved his hand, and the guards immediately removed their shackles.

"Wei Dabao, I ask you again, is it true that Zhao Zun, the Prince of Cangzhou, is stationing troops?"

Wei Dabao pressed his forehead against the gold brick and hissed, "Your Majesty, it's absolutely true! This humble subject saw with his own eyes those deserters move into my house, and they were all incredibly strong..."

Perhaps the time spent in jail these past few days had actually made him more aware. He suddenly remembered something, abruptly raised his head, and his eyes, hidden by his disheveled hair, reflected the candlelight.

“Oh, right! I remember now. I noticed that the plaque of my Yunlai Inn has been replaced with a wooden sign that says ‘New Recruit's Quarter’.”

"Wow!"

The entire hall erupted in a deafening roar.

The Vice Minister of War stumbled and nearly fell, while the Minister of Revenue tore off his court beads.

"Is the King of Cangzhou planning a rebellion?"

"How dare this traitorous minister!"

"He indeed amassed a large army and harbored treacherous intentions."

……

The court officials looked alarmed and discussed the matter loudly, completely forgetting that they were in the imperial court.

Looking at the chaotic court, Emperor Jing suddenly grabbed an inkstone from the dragon desk and smashed it against the dragon pillar.

With a muffled "bang!", ink splattered everywhere, leaving marks on the pillar resembling the breath of a black dragon.

"Cao Xiong's message by carrier pigeon clearly stated that Cangzhou is peaceful and safe! The King of Cangzhou has no disloyal intentions." Emperor Jing's roar shook the dust off the beams. "Now tell me, is Cao Xiong blind, or are you all blind?!"

The courtiers below were so frightened that they immediately fell silent, but their chests were heaving violently.

Emperor Jing continued, “Not only does the Prince of Cangzhou harbor treacherous intentions, but he has also built a fortress at Tuomugou. Tell me, is Cao Xiong deceiving the emperor? Or has he colluded with the Prince of Cangzhou? All of this is happening right under Sun Wenyuan’s nose. What is Sun Wenyuan doing? Is he dead? Why haven’t I seen his memorials?”

The courtiers below whispered among themselves again. Prime Minister Wei looked at his colleagues around him, then at Wei Dabao who was still kneeling on the ground, and suddenly stepped forward.

The ivory tablet in his hand gleamed coldly in the lamplight: "Your Majesty, this old minister dares to speculate... that Marshal Cao and Lord Sun might... be unable to control their own destiny?"

Happy National College Entrance Examination! Wishing all candidates the best of luck and success in the exam!