Chapter 168

Chapter 168

The capital's citizens lined both sides of the streets, welcoming the returning troops. The lively, prosperous scene before them moved everyone who saw it.

The soldiers, still in their armor and covered in travel dust, stood as straight as pines, their sharp gazes sweeping across the cheering crowd. Among the people, an elderly man with graying hair leaned on his cane, lifting his head to look; young children held in their parents' arms watched the generals pass curiously... As countless eyes turned toward them, the soldiers stood even straighter.

Dayuan's soldiers marched through the capital's streets, finally halting outside the palace walls.

The Ministry of Rites and other departments had been preparing for this day for a long time. For the Northern Expeditionary Army's return, the Crown Prince had specifically ordered a palace banquet at Wangyue Pavilion.

"This is different from when we came back before."

"How is it different?"

"I can't say. It just feels different."

This palace banquet reminded the generals of the grand feast that had marked the Emperor's return ten years earlier. But back then, the court's deep-seated ills remained, the shadow of the military pay case loomed over the soldiers' heads, and the court itself was a den of vipers. Yet this time, as they marched through the streets and stopped before the palace gates, the six ministers were waiting there. Every soldier knew that without the tireless efforts of these civil officials, there would have been no steady supply of grain and provisions.

"Marshal Qi." Meng Jinyuan led the officials over to greet him.

Qi Shen dismounted and approached in person. "Lord Meng."

One civil, one military—both commanders and pillars of Dayuan. When the two exchanged respectful greetings, none of the civil and military officials behind them spoke a word. Even the civil officials were struck by the change as they walked forward. In the past, when military generals returned to the capital, their thoughts were consumed by how to strip power from the decorated commanders, how to secure their own positions.

But this time, when they met, they had no other thoughts.

At the evening banquet, soldiers from every region and the officials who had provided supply support entered the palace together. Since the internal turmoil and external threats began, the Crown Prince had banned many court ceremonies. This was the grandest palace banquet in two years—a true celebration of sovereign and subjects together.

When the Crown Prince arrived with the Emperor, all the civil and military officials turned to look at them. Unlike the brief glimpse at the city gates, many of the frontier generals and local civil officials were seeing this Crown Prince for the first time. He wore dark ceremonial robes, simple in design, with only gold-threaded cloud patterns on the sleeves. Jade ornaments hung from his ears. His steps were steady and his gaze warm as he walked with the Emperor to the imperial seat.

His seat was placed beside the Emperor—a privilege granted by the Emperor himself.

All the civil and military officials knew that given the Crown Prince's achievements, he was entitled to such a privilege.

From the rebellion in Western Shu to the end of the Northern Expedition, three years had passed. Dayuan had endured so much, and a single misstep at any stage would have plunged the people into misery. Beginning with the Western Shu crisis, the Crown Prince had personally built the southern grain routes and stabilized the Jiangnan officialdom to secure the southern heartland. Then he traveled to the front lines himself, quelling wars alongside the generals, stabilizing Western Shu, and rebuilding livelihoods. Ultimately, he made the entire southern region a solid rear base for the north.

Only then could the northern front have uninterrupted support.

The Crown Prince before them, though not skilled in martial arts, possessed a broader strategic vision than any general.

Qi Hanzhou sat in his seat, gazing at the Crown Prince on the high dais.

When he had first seen him, at the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet, the youth had stood with robes gathered, his bright eyes deep with ambition. He had thought then: this man is deeply calculating; given time, he will become a threat.

Now, years later, that youth had transformed into someone extraordinary—composed and restrained.

Beneath Ying Fusheng's ambition lay the realm of Dayuan, the masses of common people, never openly revealed.

He was one of those masses, yet he willingly bowed as a loyal subject.

Cheers rose from the officials around them. Within Wangyue Pavilion, sovereign and subjects celebrated together, amid song and dance.

That night, Qi Hanzhou's eyes never left him.

Until the officials withdrew, and the Qi family generals filed out of Wangyue Pavilion.

Song An had been waiting outside Wangyue Pavilion for a while. When he saw Qi Hanzhou, he gave a slight bow. "General, His Highness requests your presence."

Hearing this, Qi Shen turned to look back. The group of Qi family generals around him glanced at Qi Hanzhou, surprised. Qi Hanzhou halted, nodded to Song An in acknowledgment, then gave a formal bow to Qi Shen. Before Qi Shen could ask further, he said, "Father."

Qi Shen seemed about to speak but held back at the earnest look in Qi Hanzhou's eyes.

His brow furrowed, then relaxed. Finally, he waved him off.

Leaving the generals behind utterly bewildered—this was the imperial palace! What business could the Eastern Palace have detaining someone at this hour!?

"The Junior General used to be a Brocade Guard too. The Crown Prince probably has matters to discuss with him, right?"

"The Qi estate hasn't been cleaned in a long time. We should get it cleaned up for the General when we return," said Ye Xuanqi.

Ye Xuanjiu grabbed his ear and yanked the blockhead aside. "If the Junior General goes in there tonight and comes out of the Eastern Palace, I'll eat my hat!"

Ye Xuanqi: "?"

The generals perked up their ears.

Qi Shen waved his hand, dismissing them. He mounted his horse and rode away without looking back.

...

The night was deep. In the Eastern Palace, only candles remained lit in the darkness. When Qi Hanzhou walked in, he saw Ying Fusheng at the desk. He had not yet changed out of his court robes, looking just as dignified as he had in the pavilion. Yet standing there, he seemed subtly different. Hearing the footsteps, Ying Fusheng turned and came over. He set down the memorial he had been reading halfway through. When he stopped before Qi Hanzhou, he tilted his head up slightly to look at him.

"I missed you," Qi Hanzhou said.

Those simple words conveyed all the longing of their time apart.

A year apart, with official duties set aside, they were just ordinary men. Suppressed feelings of love, the pain and companionship shared before national vengeance—all had slowly condensed over time into a bond belonging only to them. Restrained affection had become desire slowly spilling over. Qi Hanzhou lifted his hand and gently touched his face. The longing he had not dared to acknowledge became the beloved before his eyes.

He traced his features, every subtle change not escaping his notice. From cheek to the corner of his lips, over the bridge of his nose—bit by bit, little by little, the fine texture beneath his fingers coalesced into the person of Ying Fusheng. Unlike the Crown Prince revered by everyone in the pavilion, here before him, Ying Fusheng was simply Ying Fusheng.

He was a subject, yet he did not wish to be only a subject.

To cross the line, to touch... to draw closer to him.

When Qi Hanzhou touched him, it was with gentle care. His rough, calloused fingertips reached his ear, where the jade ornament swayed, making a faint, soft sound. He gently raised his hand, tracing the cool curve of his ear, gradually warming it with his own body heat. Caressing him as if cherishing a treasure, he finally removed his earring.

Ying Fusheng allowed his touch, his eyes filled with nothing but indulgence.

Qi Hanzhou gently slipped off the heavy dark ceremonial robes, revealing the thin inner garments beneath. The faint scent of medicine lingered in Qi Hanzhou's memory, and in that moment, he truly felt that he had returned from the north, back to this person's side. He embraced him, lifted him up, and walked step by step to the bed in the bedchamber.

Outside the Eastern Palace bedchamber, Song An had sent everyone away.

The candles elsewhere in the hall were extinguished, swallowed by darkness.

A faint light remained in the bedchamber, leaving only the two figures behind the curtains. Ying Fusheng's fingertips hooked around the jade belt at Qi Hanzhou's waist. The belt slid away, as if shedding the past, and they truly possessed each other. He touched the scars on Qi Hanzhou's side, on his back and waist—wounds never mentioned in battle reports, scars he had not wanted to worry anyone with.

"When did you get this?"

"When I entered the royal court."

"And this one?"

"The Northern Barbarian King's final counterattack before his death..."

For every scar Ying Fusheng touched, he asked about it.

Qi Hanzhou answered honestly each time.

These scars, unseen by others, he laid bare before his beloved, allowing him to touch them. He no longer concealed anything. He noticed Ying Fusheng's silence. Qi Hanzhou squeezed his hand, then turned to embrace him, stroking his back. "When will you let yourself heal?"

Gain some weight, and heal a body worn down by years of toil...

Bearing scars and ailments, they never spoke of their pain—neither of them mentioned it. Their suffering pales in comparison to the world's, and on the road to peace and prosperity, some things are trivial. Yet when they touch each other, feeling the other's anguish, their hearts ached with a sourness that threatened to overflow—an irrepressible ache of deep affection.

Ying Fusheng vowed, "I will bring peace to the realm."

"You already have." Qi Hanzhou kissed the corner of his eye.

From the time the Secret Faction was uncovered to the present, internal strife had been resolved, and external threats eliminated.

The road ahead was his clear path—and Dayuan's as well.

"Qi Hanzhou, I will have no heirs, and no one else either."

Ying Fusheng's hand gradually climbed his back, intimacy turning into whispered confessions against his ear, "From now on, I have only you..."

Before he could finish, the obedient wolf showed him otherwise.

"I have only you too." Qi Hanzhou propped himself above him, his hair falling onto his beloved's neck as he looked at him.

Ying Fusheng raised an eyebrow slightly, his eyes filled with determination and unguarded love.

Qi Hanzhou leaned down and kissed his temple, murmuring, "We promised to grow old together."

Ying Fusheng yielded, guiding his hand to touch him, replying, "We vowed to grow old together."

A year's worth of unspoken confessions, buried in tender whispers, became steadfast vows. Silent solace became lingering waves, quietly enveloping the space within the bed curtains, seeping into skin and hair, entwined and inseparable. Their surging emotions were hard to contain, rising to a peak of ecstasy, murmurs scattering like starlight.

So it was—never parting until their hair turned white.

...

Countless eyes watched the Eastern Palace. After the palace banquet concluded, courtiers came as usual to discuss state affairs.

That day, after a long wait, the gates of the Eastern Palace finally opened. But instead of the Crown Prince, they saw Qi Hanzhou emerge from the bedchamber in casual robes. His reputation as Deputy Chief of the Imperial Guard was well known, and after returning from the battlefield, his killing aura was even more pronounced. When he led his troops back to the capital yesterday, court officials dared not look him in the eye.

Today, he was dressed plainly, as if he had just woken from rest.

He carried the ceremonial robe from yesterday's banquet and turned back toward the bedchamber, making it clear he had not left the palace all night.

This scene, witnessed by civil and military officials alike, struck them like a bolt from the blue. But the attendants of the Eastern Palace were used to it. Song An smiled and offered the officials a cup of cooling tea to beat the heat, saying, "His Highness is a bit tired today; you've all waited a long time."

The officials stood there, holding their cups.

Even though it was summer, a chill ran down their spines.

When they realized the nature of the relationship between the Crown Prince and Junior General Qi, civil officials wanted to remonstrate, but just as the words reached their lips, Meng Jinyuan stopped them.

The Emperor knew the Crown Prince had no heirs and had long since informed these key ministers. The many court petitions urging the Crown Prince to marry had all been intercepted by the Emperor—the message was unmistakable.

Meng Jinyuan looked away, choosing not to see.

That day, when he left the Emperor's presence, he was anxious, but his colleague Liu Yunshi chided him for being pedantic and rigid.

Among all the princes, none could compare to the Crown Prince, and no one dared question his achievements.

That Qi Hanzhou could remain in the Eastern Palace—such a relationship could not be hidden from the Emperor.

Not stopping it was tacit approval.

And today's display, with the Eastern Palace making no secret of it, was the Crown Prince's explicit declaration.

The Crown Prince needed no marriage, no courting of courtiers; with his abilities, capable ministers would serve him devotedly. The other was the Junior General of the Qi family, a capable minister who had quelled troubles in both the north and south alongside His Highness. After this northern campaign, once Marshal Qi passes away, the Qi family's military power would rest in his hands.

Memorials of remonstrance sent to the Qianqing Palace disappeared without a trace.

When the Empress Dowager heard the news in the Cining Palace, she remained unmoved, enjoying a tranquil afternoon with chilled fruits sent by Ying Fusheng, who knew her appetite was poor. In earlier years, she had hoped her Xiao Liu could be a carefree prince, but later her Xiao Liu shone brilliantly, beloved by the people, and with his frail body, he brought Dayuan to its current state.

She knew then that Xiao Liu had his ambitions, and descendants have their own blessings.

At Huguo Temple, Master Liaozhi passed by and saw Empress Xu reciting sutras in the Buddha hall. Since the northern victory was announced, she had rarely returned to the palace. Her enemies were executed, the chaos had ended, her vengeance was fulfilled—what remained was the karmic debt of the Xu family.

Royal secrets, the Xu Faction's turmoil, all manner of crimes—these were unspeakable.

News of the Crown Prince would come from afar, and between her and the Crown Prince, only the title of mother and son remained.

But that alone had eased her regrets.

The Xu family was the origin of court unrest; for the rest of her life, she would only pray for peace and good health.

"Your Grace, have you found peace?" Master Liaozhi asked.

Empress Xu personally lit a longevity lamp and said softly, "I have let go."

"May my son live a long and healthy life."

In the twenty-sixth year of the Taiyuan Dynasty, the Emperor, after a prolonged illness, held court for the first time in days to reward military and civil officials for their merits.

Ritual officials carried a long scroll of ennoblements into the hall, conferring upon Qi Shen the title of Grand Marshal of the Northern Pacification, with all his subordinate generals rewarded and promoted.

Old General Chen of Jiangnan was made Grand General of the Southern Pacification, stationed in Jiangnan, with his subordinate Chen Shoude promoted to Commander-in-Chief of the Southern Region of Western Shu, and General Lu as Commander-in-Chief of the Northern Region of Western Shu. Beneath them, led by the Liangzhou Army of Western Shu—those who had once been rebels but later submitted to the court—the soldiers of the Western Shu Defense Force were all ennobled, some succeeding as garrison commanders of Western Shu prefectures, others having their merits offset their crimes... all found their resolutions.

Zhang Wuyong was promoted from the Jiangnan officialdom to Governor of Yingtian, Wang Guanzhi to Vice Minister of Works... The benefits extended to Jiangling Prefecture, with several prefectures, including Western Shu, merged under its jurisdiction. Vice Prefect Xu of Jiangling became Prefect of Jiangling, and all his subordinate officials were promoted. The crimes they could not clear in Jiangling years ago were ultimately forgiven in the eyes of the people, earning them popular support.

At court, the three Ministers—Meng, Hu, and Liu—entered the Grand Secretariat, and Xiao Yan took command of the Three Judicial Offices, enjoying great renown.

Shen Changcun was transferred to the Ministry of Justice as Minister, and his son Shen Yunfei became Deputy Commander of the Capital Guards.

Weng Yanqing, a civil official of the Eastern Palace, was exceptionally promoted to Vice Minister of Revenue. Wu Lao and Chen Xuqiu were appointed imperial physicians, rewarded for their care of the Emperor and Crown Prince, and granted the privileges of medical officers.

Among the remaining princes, the eldest and the Seventh Prince were stripped of rank and exiled to Western Shu. The Third Prince's fief was in the north, and the Eighth Prince's was in Western Shu. Once court affairs concluded and they married, they could proceed to their fiefs, enjoying revenues and permitted household troops, but without military command.

Finally, there was Qi Hanzhou.

Qi Hanzhou, Deputy Chief of the Imperial Guard, was ennobled as General of the Northern Expedition, commanding the central plains.

Those under his command—the Light Garment Guard, the Vanguard Battalion, and others—were all rewarded.

Qi Hanzhou gained fame at a young age, served humbly in the capital, and over the years accompanied the Crown Prince in eliminating the Secret Faction and stabilizing the court. His contributions, hidden between court and country, were immeasurable.

The edict of ennoblement was read for a long time that day, followed by a general amnesty.

Only the Secret Faction and the noble faction were unforgivable. Prince Yongjia and the nobles behind him—those sentenced to death were executed, and those exiled were banished.

As for the Secret Faction, its members were subjected to extreme punishment. On the day of the amnesty, at the execution grounds in the capital, the Secret Faction members, already tortured beyond recognition, were dragged to the place of execution to be reviled by the masses. The people surrounded the execution ground, watching as they suffered a thousand cuts and died a lingering death.

After the executions, the Emperor personally visited the Prince of Pingnan.

The Prince of Pingnan, barely clinging to life, upon hearing that the Secret Faction had been entirely executed, passed away peacefully the next morning, his face relieved, as if he had finally let go of everything and could go to meet his former confidants and generals.

In the 27th year of Taiyuan, the Dayuan dynasty reopened the imperial examinations, bringing together the realm's finest minds.

That same year, Crown Prince Ying Fusheng toured the realm, setting up granaries across the southern territories, rebuilding official roads and dikes, and establishing a special branch of the Ministry of Works in Western Shu, planning to divert the mountain spring waters into the heart of Western Shu and create a reservoir lake. If this project succeeded, the heart of Western Shu would never face drought again.

In the northern territories, the Crown Prince rebuilt the grain transport and official road networks, expanding the Northern Frontier Army's border outpost line across the entire northern region, linking the vast northern lands into one great network. Henceforth, grain and military supplies, transported via the official roads planned by the Ministry of Works, would cut delivery time in half—a boon to the northern people and troops.

In the winter of the 29th year of Taiyuan, the Crown Prince, having toured the realm and brought prosperity to countless citizens, returned to the capital.

The emperor, long afflicted by illness and drained of vigor, witnessed the dawn of Dayuan's golden age and drafted his abdication edict.

In the 30th year of Taiyuan, as spring arrived in full bloom.

The court officials gathered in solemn reverence, music and ritual resounded through the palace grounds, and the procession stretched from the Eastern Palace to the horizon.

The vermilion gates of the palace swung wide open. As Ying Fusheng, clad in the black imperial robes, stepped forth, Qi Hanzhou beside him withdrew to his rear, accompanying him at his side.

The realm's people converged upon the capital, locals traveling from afar, retired generals hastening to the Lingxiao Terrace... There, civil and military officials assembled in full, witnessing the young emperor ascend the stone steps one by one, while ritual officers chanted his countless achievements—rectifying the court, pacifying the Secret Faction... deeds that would echo through the ages, immortalized for eternity.

He reached the summit, and officials and commoners alike prostrated themselves, cries of "Long live the Emperor" thundering to the heavens.

Ying Fusheng gazed down, seeing Qi Hanzhou, and beyond him, the ranks of officials and the masses.

Beyond the Lingxiao Terrace lay the vast mountains and rivers of Dayuan.

Amidst the adulation of the people and the court, Ying Fusheng ascended the throne as emperor, changing the era name to Yongyuan.

For a hundred years thereafter, the world knew peace.

—End of the main text—