Marquis of Taining was no fool either and simply said, "Since that is the case, then please invite the young His Highness out so that ...
Marquis of Taining was no fool either and simply said, "Since that is the case, then please invite the young His Highness out so that I can see him." Marquis of Taining knew that the late Crown Prince had entrusted an orphaned child to Yan Wushuang. However, people had only ever heard his name and had never seen him, so they thought he was fake.
Yan Wushuang waved his hand and told Qiu Dashan, "Invite His Highness Jing1 Wang forward."
Qiu Dashan had everyone cleared up a path, and they saw a young man in silver armour ride forward on horseback. The young man respectfully called out to Yan Wushuang, "Uncle."
Yan Wushuang told the young man, "Take off your helmet." Zhou Jing had always served in the army, though, of course, he had used an assumed name there.
Zhou Jing had no objection and immediately took off his helmet, holding it in his hands.
Marquis of Taining stared at Zhou Jing. Zhou Jing looked no older than fifteen or sixteen. He was strikingly handsome, with rosy lips, white teeth, sharp sword-like brows, and a pair of slender, captivating peach-blossom eyes. There was nothing more enchanting than peach-blossom eyes. When they looked at you, brimming with endless tenderness, you might find yourself completely captivated without even noticing.
Yan Wushuang introduced him: "Zhou Jing is fifteen years old this year and is the posthumous child2 of Crown Prince Zhou Kang." The reason why the Crown Prince's posthumous child2 had ended up in Yan Wushuang's hands was not explained.
Zhou Jing looked very much like the late Crown Prince Zhou Kang, especially with his peach-blossom eyes, which were identical. In addition, Zhou Jing's age posed no problem either. Yan Wushuang was twenty-eight this year; sixteen years ago, he had only been a twelve-year-old boy, so he could not possibly have fathered such an old son. Therefore, once Zhou Jing appeared, no one doubted his identity.
Marquis Taining's eyes showed signs of struggle.
Yan Wushuang tugged at his horse's reins and said to Marquis Taining, "I have given you the opportunity. As for what choice to make, I believe you have already come to a decision." The palace walls were sturdy and easy to defend but difficult to attack. If they launched a forceful attack, they could still take it down, but they would have to pay a heavy price. If Chen Yu were to lay down his weapons and surrender, it would save both time and effort.
Marquis Taining stepped forward and replied, "I will try, but my son may not necessarily listen to me." Chen Yu was already a man of thirty; he couldn't obey his father in everything.
Yan Wushuang smiled. "I believe you, Marquis of Taining, will certainly be able to persuade General Chen." If Chen Yu were unwilling to compromise, the result would be the same even if the others did.
Standing below the city wall, the Marquis of Taining called out, "Yu-er, lower the hanging basket. I want to talk to you." For a man of his stature to stand below the city wall and call for his son to surrender would be a remarkable display of shamelessness.
Gripping the long sword tightly, Chen Yu instructed, "Lower the hanging basket." He knew he could not blame his father because his father had to consider their entire clan, not just one person.
Marquis of Taining went up onto the city wall, looked at Chen Yu, and said, "Yu-er…"
Chen Yu shook his head and cut off the Marquis of Taining's words, "Dad, Yan Wushuang is a man who does not keep his word. Back then, he promised His Majesty that he only wanted revenge. He said that as long as he was allowed to kill the Song family and avenge himself, he would return to Liaodong. And what was the result? He murdered His Majesty." Yan Wushuang claimed that the Song family had not been completely wiped out, so he did not return to Liaodong. Of course, the Emperor also wanted to weaken Yan Wushuang's influence in the army, so he turned a blind eye to Yan Wushuang's actions.
Marquis of Taining asked, "Then do you know why he was able to assassinate His Majesty successfully?" Whenever the Emperor went out, he always had many guards by his side. Ordinary people could not get near him at all. However, there is a saying: one may steal for a thousand days, but one cannot guard against thieves for a thousand days3. Yan Wushuang simply seized an opportunity and murdered the Emperor.
Chen Yu answered, "I did not know before, but now I do. Eunuch Fu, the second chief steward of the Imperial Household Department, should be one of the late Empress Yan's people." Empress Yan was also an exceptionally shrewd and capable woman; otherwise, she could never have held her own against Song Guifei for more than twenty years. Unfortunately, she married a muddle-headed ruler. Since he was a muddle-headed ruler, he acted without rules and entirely according to his own preferences, paying no mind to what others thought.
Marquis of Taining nodded. "The appearance of His Highness Jing1 Wang means that before the late Empress and the Crown Prince died, they gave all the resources and connections they had to Yan Wushuang." The Empress had once been the mistress of the Inner Palace. It would have been very easy for her to plant a few nails4 in the inner palace without anyone noticing. And as the heir apparent, the late Crown Prince had also cultivated many talents.
Back then, anyone who had even the slightest connection to Empress Yan or the Crown Prince was either k!lled or exiled by the Song family. However, the Song family only eliminated those who were openly tied to the Empress and the Crown Prince. They knew nothing about the hidden forces operating behind the scenes.
Chen Yu nodded. "I had already guessed as much." When Zhou Jing appeared, Chen Yu realised how Yan Wushuang had managed to send assassins into the palace. People like Eunuch Fu could not be corrupted by money or wealth.
Marquis of Taining stated, "Son, if you do not agree, your mother, your two sons, I, and more than three hundred members of the Chen clan will all lose our lives."
Chen Yu replied, "Dad, I do not want to live in humiliation." If he submitted to Yan Wushuang, he would never be able to lift his head5 for the rest of his life. He was unwilling to live in such disgrace.
Marquis of Taining did not force Chen Yu. "Have you already made up your mind and will not change it?" Marquis of Taining was deeply conflicted. On the one hand, he hoped his son would compromise, which would save the Chen family and prevent his son from losing his life. But, as a father, he also did not want to force his son to commit regicide. Therefore, the Marquis of Taining's feelings were extremely complicated.
Chen Yu responded, "Dad, there is no need to persuade me anymore. My mind is made up."
Before the Marquis of Taining could speak, Chen Yu ordered the guards beside him to escort the Marquis of Taining down from the city wall. With tears in his eyes, Chen Yu spoke, "Dad, take care."
From beginning to end, less than a quarter of an hour had passed, but the Marquis of Taining seemed to have aged by more than ten years. Just by looking at him, Yan Wushuang knew that the Marquis of Taining had failed to persuade Chen Yu.
Only then did Yan Wushuang call out loudly, "Chen Yu, are you truly so stubborn and unenlightened that you would lead more than eight thousand imperial guards to their deaths?" The Imperial Guards were under the Emperor's direct control, so Yan Wushuang had been unable to interfere with them.
Chen Yu drew his sword and retorted, "Yan Wushuang, His Majesty had first cleared the injustice done to the Yan family, then later conferred upon you the title of Duke. His kindness to you could be called a favour as heavy as a mountain6. And how did you repay His Majesty? You k!lled him, and now you have come to attack the palace. Yan Wushuang, you ungrateful, disloyal, unfilial, heartless, unrighteous scoundrel! What right do you have to demand my surrender?"
Yan Wushuang still had a smile on his face, but a bloodthirsty light flashed in his eyes. Chen Yu was the first person to ever point at his nose and curse him7 like this.
Yan Wushuang raised his long sword and shouted, "Attack the city!" After saying this, he personally took the lead and was the first to charge forward.
Chen Yu led the Imperial Guards in resisting for a full three shichen8. In the end, unable to hold out any longer, they retreated into the palace halls, where Yan Wushuang's men surrounded them.
Turning to the dozen or so remaining Imperial Guards, Chen Yu spoke, "My brothers, forgive me. Today, you'll have to die alongside me."
One of them wiped the bloodstains from his face and cried out, "To be able to die together with Shizi9, I have no regrets in this life."
Outside, Yan Wushuang called out loudly, "Chen Yu, come out! As long as you are willing to surrender, I can give you one more chance."
As soon as these words were spoken, the palace doors opened. Chen Yu emerged, covered in blood, followed by more than a dozen people. He said to Yan Wushuang, "Many years ago, I heard that you were accomplished in both literature and martial arts. If you can defeat me, Yan Wushuang, I will consider joining you."
Yan Wushuang shook his head and declared, "You cannot defeat me." Never mind that Chen Yu was injured now; even if he were not and were at his peak strength, he still could not defeat him. Moreover, as the commander of an army, the most important things were to remain calm and to ensure one's own safety. If someone could goad Yan Wushuang into a one-on-one duel that easily, people would laugh if they heard about it.
Chen Yu raised the sword in his hand and shouted, "Then come!"
Yan Wushuang countered with a smile, "Since you want to die so much, I will grant your wish."
Yan Wushuang looked at Chen Yu and the dozen or so soldiers lying in pools of blood after the battle, then ordered, "Give them a grand burial!" Even if they were enemies, opponents who would rather die than yield deserved respect.
They searched the entire Imperial Palace once, but still could not find the Empress or Crown Prince Zhou Yan. Qiu Dashan reported to Yan Wushuang, "My Lord, the Empress and the Crown Prince must have escaped during the chaos."
Yan Wushuang replied, "Aside from the main gate and the side gates, there are no other exits in the Imperial Palace. Han Shi and Zhou Yan must still be hiding inside the palace."
Qiu Dashan commanded his subordinates, "Search the Imperial Palace again. If we still cannot find them, then we will have to search outside the palace." If the Crown Prince were not caught, he would pose a huge threat in the future.
Qiu Dashan did not want the Crown Prince to return in ten or twenty years to seek revenge on them.
Yan Wushuang said expressionlessly, "Even if you have to dig three feet into the ground10, you must find Han Yuchen and Zhou Yan for me."
Qiu Dashan accepted the order and left.
Once Tie Kui had entered the Imperial Palace, he began plundering its treasures. In the Imperial Palace, precious items such as gold, silver and jewels were no longer counted individually, but instead packed directly into chests.
After emptying several palace halls, the group arrived at the Liuli Palace. Tie Kui's subordinate, Lu Yingyi, walked in, and his eyes widened to the size of bronze bells. He then shouted, "We're rich, brothers! We're really rich this time!" Any random treasure in this palace could be used as a family heirloom.
Before Tie Kui could speak, someone else shouted, "Heavens! The floor is actually paved with gold!" After saying this, the person cursed, "I used to hear that the place where the Emperor lived was paved with gold. D@mn it, it's actually true."
Tie Kui smiled. "Only a few halls in the Imperial Palace have gold-paved floors." Only the halls of the Emperor, the Empress, and favoured concubines would have them.
Lu Yingyi shouted, "General, let's pry these gold bricks up and take them back!" With so many gold bricks, they had to pry them up and take them back; otherwise, it would be a huge loss.
Tie Kui commanded, "Pry them up!" This Liuli Palace was where Empress Dowager Song had once lived. Yan Wushuang hated the Song family the most; even if they tore Liuli Palace down, Yan Wushuang probably would not say anything.
Lu Yingyi did not do it himself; instead, he ordered a group of soldiers to get to work. He then found Tie Kui, lowered his voice and suggested, "General, there are so many treasures this time. Let's keep a little more for ourselves!" This way, they would be able to divide the treasures up more fairly amongst themselves.
Tie Kui's expression immediately darkened. He warned, "Since this is your first time, I will let it pass. But if there is a next time, do not blame me for showing no regard for old ties11 and reporting it directly to the Great General." Whatever one did, one had to follow the rules. If the rules were broken, there would be severe punishment.
Lu Yingyi had also been dazzled by these treasures, but when he heard Tie Kui's words, he immediately came back to his senses. "General, I was possessed by greed and lost my judgement."
Tie Kui nodded. "Do not lose your head again in future. Otherwise, it will cost you your life."
Footnotes Full List
- 璟 （jǐng）— luster of gem. Does anyone remember that Yuchen's husband, the 10th Prince Zhou Chaijin, was also given the title of 'Jing Wang'? However, the Chinese character used to write 'Jing' in his title is different. The character used for him is 敬 (jìng), which means 'esteemed'. The 'Jing' in Yan Wushuang's nephew's title was taken from his real first name: Zhou Jing.
- 遗腹子 (yí fù zǐ) — child born after the father's death
- 只有千日做贼，没有千日防贼的道理 (zhǐ yǒu qiān rì zuò zéi, méi yǒu qiān rì fáng zéi de dào lǐ)—means constant defence is impossible
- 釘子 (dīng zi)—a metaphor for spies or hidden agents
- 抬不起头 (tái bù qǐ tóu) — meaning to live in shame
- 恩重如山 (ēn zhòng rú shān) — means immense kindness
- 指着鼻子骂 (zhǐ zhe bí zi mà) — means to insult someone directly to their face
- 时辰 (shíchen) — 2 hours; 3 shichen means 6 hours
- 世子 (shìzǐ) — an heir of a noble house
- 挖地三尺 (wā dì sān chǐ) — means to search thoroughly at all costs
- 不念旧情 (bù niàn jiù qíng) — means to act without leniency despite past relationship
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