Chapter 2 Cousin Has the Finer Looks

Chapter 2: The Cousin’s Striking Appearance

Yan Weichu burst out of the courtyard, his disheveled robes carelessly gathered, and his hastily retied belt still askew.

The old eunuch waiting outside the gate was about to speak but, startled by Yan Weichu’s appearance, immediately lowered his head.

Yan Weichu’s face betrayed no emotion as he simply ordered, “Let’s go.”

Only after boarding the carriage did Zhao Anfu quietly report the earlier events: it was the Duke of Ning who had invited Xie Xiao to listen to music that night, and it was likely the Duke of Ning who had drugged him.

“The heir of the Duke of Zhenguo has been back in the capital for some time. The Duke of Ning apparently sent him several invitations. Being his elder, the heir could hardly keep refusing and finally came today.”

Yan Weichu listened with indifference, absently wiping his soiled palm with a handkerchief. Zhao Anfu had offered to wipe it for him earlier, but he had refused.

Zhao Anfu continued, “The drug was merely an aphrodisiac, commonly used by nobles in the capital. The Duke of Ning seemed intent on offering him a companion, but the heir was displeased. Once he realized the setup, he got up and left. The drug acted fast, so after leaving, he had no choice but to find himself another quiet courtyard but didn't summon anyone to serve him.”

As it turned out, Yan Weichu, the Emperor himself, had practically delivered himself to Xie Xiao’s doorstep.

Yan Weichu was the current Emperor of Dajing and the younger male cousin of Xie Xiao, the heir of the Duke of Zhenguo.

Of course, this cousin relationship was only nominal.

“That old fool, the Duke of Ning, is getting more and more outrageous.”

Yan Weichu cursed under his breath. It was rare for him to leave the palace, yet he had stumbled upon such a ridiculous affair.

Zhao Anfu glanced up, catching sight of the suggestive marks on Yan Weichu’s neck, and quickly lowered his head again, his heart racing.

By then, the palace gates had already been locked for the night, so the carriage headed directly to Yaotai in the Western Garden.

Yan Weichu had lived there before taking full control of the government and knew his way around perfectly.

Upon entering, he went straight for a bath. Leaning back in the steamy bath, he shut his eyes, and images from before floated up in his mind.

After a long while, he cracked his eyes open again and turned to look at a mirror by the bath. He saw the passion marks on his neck and rubbed them with his fingertips for a moment.

Tsk.

That night was not his first time seeing Xie Xiao. The first time was on the day of Xie Xiao's return to the capital.

Yan Weichu had deliberately waited in a tavern along the road Xie Xiao would take home, arranging an unexpected incident through the Imperial Guard to test his cousin’s capabilities.

At the time, he was seated by the railing on the tavern’s second floor. As Xie Xiao’s procession reached beneath the tavern, chaos erupted.

A vicious dog burst from a narrow alley, barking madly as it charged at the procession, throwing people and horses into disarray.

At the critical moment, Xie Xiao sprang from the carriage, landing steadily atop one of the panicked horses. Clamping his legs around the horse's flank, one hand grabbing the reins, the other snatching the bridle of another horse.

Those two startled, spirited horses neighed and struggled, but he reined them in with astonishing arm strength, forcefully halting their charge.

Recalling the scene, Yan Weichu remembered it vividly.

Especially when Xie Xiao, about to return to his carriage, suddenly looked up toward him without warning.

At that moment, Yan Weichu was holding a pink magnolia flower he had plucked by the railing. A gust of wind blew the blossom down, landing squarely on Xie Xiao’s shoulder before sliding down to his chest.

Unfortunately, Xie Xiao paid it no mind, letting the flower fall to the ground as he led his men away.

The stern and composed Xie Xiao from that day was the same Xie Xiao who had indulged his desires that night.

Truly fascinating.

*

Outside the bedchamber, a eunuch knelt, having waited for Yan Weichu for a long time.

Yan Weichu returned from court and entered directly.

While changing clothes, someone came to report that the person outside was from the Palace of Eternal Peace—Empress Dowager Xie wished to summon him for questioning.

Yan Weichu ignored the request, changed into casual attire, had some snacks, and attended to state affairs until afternoon. Only then did he ask, “Is Empress Dowager Xie’s messenger still outside?”

Upon receiving confirmation, he rose lazily. “Very well, I shall go see her then.”

Zhao Anfu, noticing his unusually good mood and rare willingness to engage with Empress Dowager Xie, immediately arranged for a palanquin and helped him change clothes again.

Empress Dowager Xie had sent for the Emperor early in the morning, but Yan Weichu did not arrive until afternoon.

Upon entering, he watched as the attendants around Empress Dowager Xie performed a full ceremonial bow. Without instructing them to rise, he nodded slightly to Empress Dowager Xie. “I hope Mother is well.”

Though displeased, Empress Dowager Xie could not openly complain. She gestured and said, “Take a seat, my child.”

Yan Weichu casually chose a chair to sit, ignoring the tea and snacks offered by the attendants. Only then did he glance at the still-kneeling servants. “Don’t just stand there. Leave us.”

Him issuing commands so effortlessly in the Palace of Eternal Peace, Empress Dowager Xie concealed her emotions. “I had these sugar-steamed cheese and milk cakes specially made—they’re your favorites. Have some.”

“No need,” Yan Weichu refused outright. “I’ve already eaten my fill.”

Leaning back casually in his chair, he looked at Empress Dowager Xie. “Mother, did you summon me for something?”

Suppressing her irritation, Empress Dowager Xie cut straight to the point, asking about the arrangements for the funeral of the Prince Regent. Yan Weichu gave perfunctory replies. His uncle, the Prince Regent, had been involved in ambiguous relations with Empress Dowager Xie while alive. Now that he was dead, his mother still seemed concerned.

“Your uncle worked tirelessly for the state, ruining his health. After your father passed away, it was only thanks to him that we, a widow and an orphan, managed to survive. Now that he is gone, we should show our appreciation. Perhaps his funeral could be held to a higher standard…”

“Uncle was already a prince,” Yan Weichu interrupted expressionlessly. “How much higher should it be? Buried with imperial rites?”

Empress Dowager Xie frowned. “Of course not. But he was different from other princes—he was your Prince Regent uncle, with merits to the state.”

Staring into Empress Dowager Xie’s eyes, Yan Weichu said dismissively, “Mother, Uncle died from a fall during a hunting trip—not from overworking himself for state affairs, as you claim.”

Empress Dowager Xie’s fingers tightened slowly. She had assumed Yan Weichu would avoid this taboo topic, but he clearly had no such reservations.

An accident? Hah.

She had clearly misjudged him.

Yan Weichu was merely the son of a merchant’s daughter—a concubine’s child. If her own son had not died young, the throne of Dajing would never have fallen to Yan Weichu.

Yet it was this illegitimate son she had looked down upon who not only ascended the throne but had now grown wings and slipped from her control.

Yan Weichu had ascended the throne at seven and was kept under house arrest in the Western Garden by Empress Dowager Xie and the Prince Regent, acting as a puppet emperor for ten years.

The two never took him seriously, attempting to mold him into a useless wastrel who knew only indulgence. Yan Weichu indeed seemed to comply, never leaving the Western Garden, spending his days drinking, amusing himself, and frolicking with eunuchs and attendants.

He even formed a polo team of several dozen members, consisting of eunuchs, cooks, grooms, and laborers from the Western Garden. Empress Dowager Xie paid it no mind—until Yan Weichu led these very men in a successful coup.

That night, Yan Weichu persuaded several commanders of the Imperial Guard in the Western Garden. Taking advantage of Empress Dowager Xie’s stay there to escape the summer heat, he unexpectedly surrounded her ceremonial palace.

During the standoff at Empress Dowager Xie’s bedchamber, Yan Weichu personally shot and killed a Commander of the Imperial Guard loyal to the Prince Regent, framing him for treason.

Empress Dowager Xie still remembered Yan Weichu's appearance at that time—his face stained with blood splattered from the earlier killing, his expression almost ferocious in the firelight.

He informed her word by word that the regent had fallen from his horse while hunting in the Nan Yuan (South Hunting Park) that evening, succumbed to his severe injuries, and that several imperial guard units had conspired to rebel. The Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guard had slain his superior and, under imperial decree, led the Imperial Guards to take over the Five-City Capital Police Department. The nine city gates were now sealed, and the entire capital was under martial law to hunt down the rebels.

Empress Dowager Xie did not know how he had managed to contact the outside world to accomplish all this. The moment she heard of the regent's death, she collapsed to the ground, knowing her cause was lost.

Yan Weichu retrieved his imperial seal and finally cast a contemptuous, mocking smile at Empress Dowager Xie, saying, "Mother, do try to see things from my perspective."

It was the first time Yan Weichu had used this term for himself in front of Empress Dowager Xie.

Empress Dowager Xie came back to herself, her heart filled with anger, and she couldn't help saying, "The circumstances of your uncle's fall from his horse were suspicious. If it really was an accident, that would be one thing…"

"Their actions have nothing to do with Uncle! Your uncle was not that kind of person!" Empress Dowager Xie's face changed dramatically. If Yan Weichu were to falsely accuse the regent of rebellion as well, all the nobles in the capital would be implicated, and the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion would not be spared. She refused to believe Yan Weichu had the audacity to do so so soon after seizing power.

Yan Weichu simply watched her in silence, and after a moment, inexplicably smiled again—the exact same smile he had given that night.

"Suppose it wasn't then," he said lightly. "Mother certainly knows her brother-in-law well."

A flicker of embarrassment and resentment passed through Empress Dowager Xie's eyes, quickly concealed as she changed the subject. "I've heard that the Duke of Zhenguo's heir and the primary duchess have been back in the capital for some time. I haven't seen Yun Niang in ages and would like to summon her to the palace for a visit."

"Although your late father never issued an explicit decree, your marriage to Yun Niang was verbally agreed upon long ago. Now that you have taken personal control of the government, the matter of appointing an empress should be handled as soon as possible, so you may early continue the imperial bloodline and stabilize the foundation of the state."

Yan Weichu lowered his eyes and remained silent.

The Xie clan had been an empress-producing clan for a century—only women from the Xie clan could become empresses of Dajing.

Previously, Empress Dowager Xie had been unwilling to let him appoint an empress and produce a crown prince, suppressing the matter entirely. Now that she had lost the upper hand, she seemed to be turning her attention to his descendants.

After all, even if he had temporarily gained the upper hand, he still had to follow ancestral tradition and marry a woman from the Xie family.

Seeing his silence, Empress Dowager Xie spoke earnestly, "Son, Yun Niang is your cousin. She has been gentle and refined since childhood, with a lovely appearance. As the daughter born of the principal wife of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, she is the only one fit to be your empress."

After a moment, Yan Weichu suddenly cocked his head and asked ambiguously, "I heard Cousin and her brother are twin brother and sister. Between her and her brother, who is better looking?"

Empress Dowager Xie was taken aback, seemingly not expecting Yan Weichu to ask such a question.

Yan Weichu said with a hint of a smile, and answered his own question, "In my opinion, it must be her brother who is better looking."

"…?" Empress Dowager Xie was suddenly speechless.

Author's Note:

Empress Dowager Xie: I'm speechless.