Chapter 168 The End

Chapter 168 The End

The Imperial carriage had not yet returned from the imperial mausoleum. As Xue Ye led troops to surround the mansions of Prince Yong, Duke Ding, and others, public sentiment in the capital once again boiled over. By the next day, the streets and alleys of the capital were abuzz with phrases such as "Prince Yong failed in regicide and was executed on the spot," "The brothers of Duke Ding rebelled and were captured," and "The Emperor dispatched troops to wipe out the five thousand rebels of the Northern Camp."

Regardless of how the common people discussed these events, Qingyang's focus had already shifted to new matters of state. The Censorate and the Court of Judicial Review were tasked with thoroughly investigating Prince Yong's rebellion.

Although Yong Kang had already recounted the entire process of Qin Liang's attempts to win her over in front of the Emperor and the civil and military officials, she, along with Imperial Son-in-law Fu Kui and Qin Hong—who had visited Deng Shi at Prince Yong's mansion—as well as the three royal couples, had to make another trip to the Censorate. While Qin Hong and the others only needed to clarify the sequence of events, Yong Kang brought an additional piece of evidence.

At dusk that day, Nie Ao submitted the testimonies of the four siblings and their spouses, along with Yong Kang's evidence, to the Emperor.

After briefly reviewing the testimonies, Qingyang picked up the five hundred thousand taels in silver notes Qin Liang had used to bribe Yong Kang. Recalling how her eldest sister had been severely reprimanded twice by their father for accepting bribes of a few thousand taels—an incident even recorded in the dynasty's history—Qingyang smiled sincerely. Turning to the elder official Nie Ao, she said, "Although my eldest sister is greedy for wealth, she has not betrayed our father's final teachings when it comes to matters of principle. If our father's spirit in heaven could see this, he would surely be greatly comforted."

If her eldest sister made mistakes, their father would also lose face. Conversely, if her eldest sister achieved merits, it could compensate for the damage to their father's reputation caused by her actions. Of course, their father might not be aware of worldly affairs, or even if he were, he might not care. But Qingyang was deeply comforted that her eldest sister had firmly stood by her side.

Qingyang was not afraid of betrayal from family and friends, but her heart was still made of flesh. She had always cherished this sibling bond.

In Nie Ao's eyes, the Emperor wore a bright smile reminiscent of the little princess in her childhood. If newly arrived scholars who had just taken the imperial examinations were to see the Tianqing Emperor like this, they might be captivated by the Emperor's beauty or even dismiss her as an ordinary beauty. But Nie Ao understood clearly that the Emperor was willing to chat casually with him out of regard for their more than ten years of shared service in the court.

Nie Ao might have opposed the late emperor's decision to appoint the Crown Princess, but the little princess's talents were evident to all. Nie Ao had never looked down on her because she was a woman. When the little princess became the Tianqing Emperor and personally struck the fatal blow that ended Prince Yong's life, Nie Ao was first shocked, then relieved. The late emperor had understood the Emperor best after all. Both he and Yan Xizheng had worried unnecessarily. With such an Emperor, why worry about instability in the court?

"Your subject believes that the Grand Princess's loyalty to Your Majesty is unwavering. Not only does she adhere to the late emperor's teachings, but she has also long been won over by Your Majesty's literary and military prowess. She deeply understands that Your Majesty is the heaven-ordained second Wise Emperor of Great Qi, which is why she was not blinded by Qin Liang's divisive words."

Nie Ao, known throughout the court for his integrity, was not one to flatter. He spoke nothing but the plain truth. Would a Grand Princess who had once accepted bribes out of greed be a blindly loyal person? Every choice made by the clever or those who consider themselves clever is carefully calculated. If the Emperor had ascended the throne solely due to the late emperor's favoritism, or if the former Crown Prince Prince An had been fully capable of ruling, would the Grand Princess have truly resisted Qin Liang's lure?

Qingyang understood Nie Ao's meaning and also recognized that being too discerning might leave one without followers. The fact that her eldest sister had resisted the temptation of five hundred thousand taels in silver notes and the immense benefit of supporting her own brother in usurping the throne to instead side with her was already enough to please Qingyang.

On the eighth day of the second month, the Censorate, the Court of Judicial Review, and Zhang Jie—the capital camp commander responsible for investigating the Northern Camp rebels—officially concluded the case. Although Prince Yong and Qin Liang had usually maintained close ties with a group of officials, Qin Liang had only informed a few trusted confidants about the rebellion, including the Deng Kun and Deng Tai brothers, as well as several military officers from the Northern Camp. Even Princess Yong, Deng Shi, was kept in the dark. Qin Liang had merely used the phrase "this is for the good of our entire family" to persuade Deng Shi to willingly make herself gravely ill.

As for the military officers in the Northern Camp who had not participated in the rebellion but had close ties to Prince Yong and his son, Qingyang did not directly dismiss them. Instead, she ordered the Ministry of War to reassess all 45,000 personnel in the Northern Camp through civil and military examinations, selecting officers based on merit. If the old officials promoted by Prince Yong were capable, Qingyang would continue to employ them. Those without ability would naturally step aside. Of course, the Northern Camp's commander and deputy commander were appointed by Qingyang herself: the commander was the former Imperial Guard Commander Xue Ye, and the deputy commander was Guo Cheng, the eldest son of Jizhou Commander Guo Yanqing.

Li Xingyuan, the eldest son of Li Yu who had inherited the title of Marquis of Jining, was pulled out of mourning by Qingyang and promoted to Imperial Guard Commander.

Li Xingyuan was thirty-six years old. In his twenties, he had been sent by the late emperor to gain experience in the border armies. He had always maintained a good physique. Although slightly heavier than Zhang Su, Qin Bing, and other military officers, he had not grown into the kind of obese figure that would attract ridicule from mischievous children like his increasingly negligent father or his idle third brother, Li Fuyuan. Having recently experienced his father's death, Li Xingyuan had lost weight and now appeared even more presentable.

Initially thinking that his father's disgraceful demise would likely prevent the new Emperor from re-employing him, Li Xingyuan was overwhelmed when he learned of his direct promotion to Imperial Guard Commander. He choked up in front of his entire family while receiving the decree at his marquis residence. When he donned his official robes and entered the palace to express his gratitude, he even kowtowed until his forehead was marked with blood, tearfully pledging his loyalty.

Looking at Li Xingyuan's face, which bore a sixty percent resemblance to Li Yu's, Qingyang asked, "Among the Four Capital Garrisons, there are many military officers who have proven their loyalty to me. Do you know why I chose you?"

Li Xingyuan did not know. As early as before the little princess's coming-of-age ceremony, Li Xingyuan had been far away gaining experience in the Jizhou border armies. In his youth, he had no opportunity to be a playmate to the little princess. Even after reaching adulthood, he rarely had chances to impress the little princess or the Crown Princess. Over the course of eight years, Li Xingyuan had only served under the little princess for two or three months when she led troops against East Hu, and even then, he merely followed orders with little chance to speak directly with her.

Qingyang smiled and said, "The first time I remembered your name was when I was five years old. Prince Jing had invited several sons of nobles to play in the palace. Among them was a little fatty named Li Fuyuan, who complained to Prince Jing that he had an elder brother even stricter than his father, who would scold him for waking up late and forbid him from beating or scolding servants at will."

Li Xingyuan: "..."

Five years old—the Emperor actually remembered something from when she was five!

Aside from these small details that amounted to praise, had his third brother ever spoken ill of him in front of the nobles?

Noting Li Xingyuan's reddening ears, Qingyang continued, "After remembering your name, I paid attention to you during the late emperor's martial arts examinations in the following years. I learned that you had twice fought Deng Kun to a draw and occasionally lost only because you had no intention of competing with him. After you were assigned outside the capital, I kept track of every accomplishment you made in the border armies."

The late emperor had always emphasized nurturing new military talents, and Qingyang similarly focused on this matter. Among the sons of nobles, Li Xingyuan's martial arts might not be the most outstanding, but he was one of the few capable of independently leading troops into battle. As for brothers like Deng Kun and Deng Tai, no matter how skilled they were in combat, Qingyang would never allow them to solely command a campaign.

While expressing gratitude for the late emperor's cultivation and the new Emperor's appreciation, Li Xingyuan modestly demurred.

Qingyang said, "During the northern expedition against East Hu, to lure Yelu Chong into a trap, Prince Yong and I once pretended to be at odds. When Prince Yong spoke insolently to me, among more than a dozen commanders, you were the first to draw your sword and rebuke him. At that time, I was merely a princess, yet you dared to defy Prince Yong for my sake. Now that I am the Emperor, I believe your loyalty to me will be even greater than before."

Li Xingyuan looked up, his eyes reddened as he gazed at the Emperor, and said, "I am deeply grateful for Your Majesty's trust. I pledge to serve Your Majesty unto death, with undivided loyalty for life!"

Qingyang smiled and dismissed him.

In truth, she had several other military officers suitable for the position of Imperial Guard Commander, but in terms of seniority and reputation, Li Xingyuan was the most suitable and would also be the most grateful to her.

While changes were made to the military officers of the Northern Camp and the Imperial Guard, Qingyang issued an order to execute Prince Yong's entire family and the three clans of the Deng Kun and Deng Tai brothers.

When Yuan Zhaoxiong rebelled back then, his three clans were also executed. Qingyang would not show leniency just because the rebel was her uncle. For this case, she only granted one act of mercy to the deceased Founding Meritorious Official Deng Chong, not holding him accountable—for example, by moving his tomb away from the late emperor's mausoleum.

Additionally, Qingyang ordered all civil and military officials, as well as imperial relatives, to witness the execution at the execution ground.

Qingyang did not attend, but she knew that her eldest sister and her husband, the three pairs of elder brothers and sisters-in-law, and their children all lowered their heads at the moment Qin Liang, Deng Kun, and others were executed. Younger generations like Fu Xi and Ying Er would not be greatly affected as long as they avoided the bloody scene. Only Zheng Geer, it was said, suffered nightmares that night, and the nine-year-old even wet his bed.

With the heads of the principal offenders rolling, the rebellion case was thoroughly concluded. Qingyang then proceeded to reward the imperial relatives and officials who had contributed.

Knowing her eldest sister's fondness for silver, but with the five hundred thousand taels in silver notes from Qin Liang now filling the national treasury, Qingyang altered the late emperor's punitive decree against her eldest sister. She restored her eldest sister's annual stipend to five thousand taels of silver and also bestowed upon her niece Fu Xi the title of Junzhu. Fu Xi would also be granted a Junzhu residence upon her coming-of-age.

Yong Kang was very satisfied with this. If her younger sister had directly rewarded her with five hundred thousand taels, it would have made her appear excessively greedy!

.

With the major rebellion case settled, on the thirteenth day of the second month, it was time for the court assembly to resume.

During the hour of Yin, when the sky was still dark, the early-rising Qingyang naturally awoke in Zhang Su's embrace. Almost as soon as she stirred, Zhang Su woke as well. The Emperor and Empress looked at each other—one gazing upward, the other downward—and both smiled.

Zhang Su had to go wait outside the Qianyuan Palace to enter the court with the officials. After helping the Emperor into the dragon robe, he left early. When he arrived outside the front hall, only a dozen or so officials were present.

Zhang Su's official rank was not the highest among military officers, but as the Empress, he stood shoulder to shoulder with Qin Bing at the head of the military officials. On the left, the heads of the civil officials were still Qin Hong and Qin Ren—two on each side, perfectly corresponding.

A quarter of an hour before the hour of Mao, all civil and military officials had gradually arrived. As it had been only two days since witnessing the execution of Qin Liang and others, the area outside the great hall was unusually quiet, so quiet that the gentle rustle of the wind was clearly audible.

As soon as the hour of Mao arrived, the Imperial Guards outside the main entrance of the great hall slowly pushed open the doors.

Zhang Su and the three princes led the two teams of civil and military officials up the long stone steps in orderly steps, filing into the great hall paved with gleaming golden bricks.

Jie Yu was already standing to one side of the dragon throne. Seeing that all officials had taken their positions, as the Emperor's figure emerged from the imperial path, Jie Yu called out in a loud voice, "Kneel!"

The officials lifted the hems of their robes and knelt in unison, bowing to welcome their Emperor.

Upon hearing the new Emperor's clearly softer yet equally steady and powerful "Rise," compared to the late emperor's, the officials rose simultaneously, instinctively lifting their heads to look toward the dragon throne.

The twenty-year-old Tianqing Emperor wore a black dragon robe edged with gold and a twelve-beaded crown. Her jade-like face was radiant, making it difficult to meet her gaze directly.

And there Qingyang sat high upon the dragon throne, face smiling as she surveyed the full assembly of civil and military officials.

Having been on the throne for over a year, Qingyang had long grown accustomed to this scene.

For the Tianqing Emperor, this was merely one of the many ordinary moments in her long reign of more than fifty years.

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