Chapter 137

Chapter 137

By the time the victory banquet ended, Emperor Xingwu was already drunk—at least he staggered as he stood. Qin Hong immediately called on his second and third brothers to help support their father, deliberately stepping back a few paces to let them take the emperor’s arms.

Emperor Xingwu didn’t seem to care which son was holding him and simply walked out.

Qingyang and her eldest brother followed silently behind the emperor and his sons, while the ministers made their own way out of the Tai Ji Hall.

It was already afternoon. The sky remained a clear blue, the sun warm, yet the winter wind was still biting and cold against the skin.

Qin Hong carried the scent of alcohol too. Truthfully, he disliked heavy drinking as well, but wine was unavoidable at banquets, large or small.

"Uncle drank too much; don’t take it to heart, sister," Qin Hong said, worried that beneath her calm exterior, his sister might still be upset or angered by their uncle’s insistent toasting.

Qingyang smiled, glancing at her eldest brother, then at her second and third brothers who were supporting their father while looking back at her. In a voice loud enough for all three imperial brothers to hear, she said, "Those who respect me, whether kin, friends, or subjects, I will treat with tolerance. Those who insult or belittle me, even if they are family, I will never indulge."

Blood ties were indeed a bond, and Qingyang couldn’t bring herself to sever them completely. So, although she disliked her three imperial brothers’ boisterous and ridiculous behavior that day, she wouldn’t coldly distance herself from them just for that. Similarly, though she detested her uncle’s pushy drinking, she wouldn’t immediately resort to a harsh punishment like “dragging Uncle out for dozens of cane strikes.”

She also didn’t yet have the authority to directly punish her uncle.

But that didn’t mean Qingyang would let it go. She would remember. If her uncle failed to learn his lesson and dared repeat such behavior, she would punish minor offenses lightly and major ones severely. The same applied to her three imperial brothers and any other relatives or friends.

It was best if her three imperial brothers understood; if not, so be it. She had made her stance clear today. If anyone provoked her in the future, they couldn’t claim she hadn’t warned them.

Qin Hong, who had always been respected by his sister, now sensed she was truly angered by their uncle. Qin Bing and Qin Ren, who had often been scolded or glared at by their sister since childhood, saw in her eyes a familiar, if intensified, authority and coldness.

Just then, Emperor Xingwu, supported by his two sons, suddenly burst into laughter. His laughter grew louder and louder until he pushed both sons away and walked forward on his own. Only after laughing his fill did he speak without turning back: "Lin'er and the second prince have just returned from the military campaign. I grant you five days of rest. Resume your duties on the ninth. That is all. You may withdraw. I can still walk by myself."

With that, Emperor Xingwu left his children behind.

Qingyang watched her father’s retreating figure.

She had left the capital in May and returned in December—seven months since she had last seen her father. This was the longest she had been away from him since she began forming memories at the age of three.

Though only seven months had passed, and she was still seventeen—aside from being thinner, tanned, and having gained military merits and prestige—Qingyang didn’t feel she had changed much. Yet her father, still fifty-seven, now had deeper wrinkles, whiter hair, and even a slight stoop, reminiscent of the frailty Deng Chong had shown after a serious illness.

Qingyang wasn’t naive enough to think her father had had an easy seven months.

The uncertain outcome of the northern campaign, the life-and-death risks his children faced on the battlefield—if she had failed, been injured, or killed, her father would not only grieve but also bear the eternal infamy of indulging his daughter and treating state affairs lightly. Even if she succeeded, earning military merits and prestige, her father would only find brief relief, for what followed was the ongoing effort to pave the way for her.

It was a path Qingyang could only strive to qualify for, but one her father had to lay down for her personally. While paving this path, her father would also have to remove her eldest brother, his own son, who already stood upon it. And this was only the first step.

Without another word to her three imperial brothers, Qingyang headed toward the Eastern Palace with Qin Fang, who had come to fetch her.

Qin Bing was eager to return home to see his wife and daughter and to learn from his wife the details behind his eldest brother’s deposition. After bidding farewell to his eldest and third brothers, he hurried off.

Qin Hong and Qin Ren, each lost in thought, went separately to the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Rites.

.

At the Eastern Palace, as Qingyang passed behind Chongyuan Palace, she felt an unprecedented silence within.

Her gaze lingered on the walls of Chongyuan Palace before sweeping over Jinghe Palace, where her second brother had once lived, and Chengming Palace, where her third brother resided. Her older sister’s palace wasn’t in this area, so she couldn’t see it even if she tried.

But Qingyang still remembered that after she moved into Jiu Hua Palace, close to her three imperial brothers, she had gone to her eldest brother’s place for meals, teased her second brother for waking up late, and visited her third brother even more frequently.

After her second and third brothers moved out of the palace one after another, her eldest brother became the one who stayed with her the longest. After her princess estate was built, Qingyang had even imagined her eldest brother and sister-in-law holding Zheng Geer’s hand to see her off when she left the palace. But now...

The vast Eastern Palace was left with only herself.

This was what she had wanted, but at this moment, what Qingyang felt most was loneliness.

Suddenly, several figures emerged from Jiu Hua Palace. Leading them was her mother, Consort Li.

Qingyang smiled and ran directly toward her mother, who had been waiting for her for a long time.

Consort Li had once welcomed the Emperor clad in battle armor and had been discomforted by its hardness and smell. Fortunately, it was now the twelfth month, and her daughter’s armor carried only the dust of the journey, not sweat. Yet, having experienced the inconveniences during the southern tour, she felt deep heartache for her daughter.

"Come, the hot water is ready. Go bathe first. After changing clothes, we can have a heart-to-heart talk."

Qingyang had longed for this bath for a long time. Her last proper bath had been before leaving Jizhou. On the march back, she could only use hot water for a quick wipe every other night, and she had washed her hair only three times. The tent was too cold, and each wash increased the risk of catching a cold. Since she wore her helmet during the day anyway, Qingyang preferred enduring physical discomfort over falling ill and giving the soldiers reason to look down on her as "the frail princess."

But even the helmet couldn’t keep out the dust swept by the northern winds. Qingyang decided to wash her hair first.

Consort Li personally helped her daughter wash her hair, changing the water four times before her daughter’s long, black hair was thoroughly clean and fragrant.

Three bathtubs had been prepared. Wrapped in a towel and stepping out of the first tub, Qingyang’s face was as red as her body, scrubbed vigorously by her mother. By the time she left the second tub, she felt much better. Sinking into the third tub, Qingyang let out a long sigh and finally began to enjoy the soak.

Consort Li was exhausted. Sitting on a brocade stool, she leaned her upper body against the tub edge, gazing intently at her daughter, who once again looked like a fairy.

As she gazed, Consort Li blinked, and two lines of tears rolled down.

Qingyang wiped her mother’s tears away. "Why are you crying, Mother?" If it was out of heartache for her, she should have cried enough earlier.

Consort Li sobbed softly. "I feel heartache for your father. Since your older sister was punished, he has never summoned me again. It was only because you returned that I saw him once more in Qian Yuan Palace. Just one month, and he... has aged so much. Mother is heartbroken... When someone is ill, they need someone by their side to care for them. Why won’t he let me go to him?"

When the Emperor was young, she had wished to avoid his favor and stay in Qian Yuan Palace less often. Now that he was old, she wanted to stay there long-term to watch over him, but the Emperor was avoiding her.

Qingyang sank into the water, emerged after a few breaths, wiped her face casually, and comforted her mother: "Everyone knows Father dotes on you alone. Father must have realized that eldest brother truly intended to resign, and Father wanted to grant his wish. If you were by Father’s side during this time, outsiders might suspect you of facilitating eldest brother’s deposition. So, Father avoiding you is for your own good."

Consort Li was stunned for a moment before tears streamed down again. "It’s been over half a month since this happened. Why does he still refuse to see me?"

Qingyang tilted her head back, closed her eyes, and said, "Because the new Crown Prince hasn’t been decided yet. If either you or I get too close to Father, there will be suspicions of us influencing him."

That was why Father had given her and the second brother five days off. And on the ninth, during the morning audience, Father would make a decision.

.

On the fourth and fifth days of the twelfth month, Emperor Xingwu sent Yan Xizheng to negotiate the terms of East Hu’s surrender with Yelu Chong and his brother. These terms included East Hu’s submission to Great Qi as a tributary state with annual tributes, the quantities of horses, cattle, sheep, and furs to be offered, and the ransom amount for Yelu Chong and others to be redeemed by the East Hu royal court. As for the tens of thousands of warhorses the Great Qi soldiers had brought back from the grasslands, those were Great Qi’s spoils of war, unrelated to East Hu.

Yelu Chong knew his injuries were likely incurable. Faced with a choice between his pride and the lives of his brother’s family, he chose the latter.

Once the terms of surrender were agreed upon, during the morning audience on the sixth day, Yelu Chong, seated on a chair and carried into the hall, reluctantly affixed the East Hu royal seal onto the surrender document. After that, Yelu Chong and his brother’s families were no longer of concern. Once the East Hu envoys, led by Yelu Xu, returned to the grasslands and delivered the ransom, Great Qi would release Yelu Chong and the families of both brothers.

With foreign matters resolved, after Yelu Chong and his brother were taken away, Emperor Xingwu issued an edict ordering the Secretariat to disseminate the earlier edict deposing the Crown Prince to all provinces and counties, announcing it to the world.

As soon as Yan Xizheng and Dai Lun received the decree, Emperor Xingwu leaned back into his Dragon Throne and coughed violently for a long time.

The Emperor’s aging had long been evident. At his age, with such coughing fits and the Crown Prince position vacant, how could the ministers not be anxious?

Thus, civil officials immediately petitioned the Emperor to swiftly select and appoint a new Crown Prince to stabilize the nation.

This was indeed a matter of great importance to the people of Great Qi. All civil and military officers knelt, urging the Emperor to choose a new Crown Prince.

Emperor Xingwu coughed for a while longer, scanned the circle of ministers below—some elderly, some in their prime—and sighed. "I know, I know. This is the Great Qi dynasty I founded. I am more anxious about the Crown Prince matter than any of you. Very well—Yan Xizheng, Dai Lun, Nie Ao, the Ministers of the Six Ministries, and Prince An, Prince Yong, Lv Zan, Zhang Jie, Hou Wanzhong, Xue Ye, Fan Zhong—after the court session, all of you come to the imperial study to advise me."

Prince An was the deposed Crown Prince but also the eldest son. By including him in the discussion of selecting a new Crown Prince, Emperor Xingwu completely cut off any remaining support for Prince An among the ministers.

For a moment, more than half of the ministers turned their gaze to Prince Xian, who stood beside Prince An. Prince Jing was still on leave and hadn’t attended court; otherwise, he too would have faced their scrutiny.

.

After the court session, Yan Xizheng and the fifteen others formed civil and military columns and waited outside the imperial study.

Even before entering, Fan Zhong was the first to state, "Such a major matter—I dare not offer reckless advice. I don’t understand it well either. When the Emperor asks later, feel free to speak up. No one needs to look at me. Anyway, I will ultimately follow the Emperor’s decision. Whomever the Emperor appoints as Crown Prince, I will acknowledge."

Lv Zan, Zhang Jie, Hou Wanzhong, and Xue Ye all expressed the same sentiment.

Prince Yong, who also belonged to the military faction, remarked, "...Then why did His Majesty call you here? Just to let you listen in on the excitement?"

Yan Xizheng responded, "This concerns the fate of the nation. Since His Majesty trusts us, we should speak fairly and honestly later, without harboring too many distracting thoughts or reservations."

The group fell silent. Speaking candidly was easier said than done—supporting the right candidate would be fine, but backing the wrong one would risk offending the new Crown Prince.

At that moment, He Yuanjing came out and asked everyone inside.