Character Index
Wei Guang: Imperial Edict Bearer and head of the Hanlin Academy, he served as the teacher and "moderator" for the previous generation of princes, and has recently become Kayla/Wenyuan's godfather.
Imperial Princess: Mother of Zhao Wenyuan and sister of the current Emperor, she was a magical researcher involved in groundbreaking discoveries, and further involved in extensive investigations into the crimes of the Grand Duke.
Hu Weizhi: Minister of Public Works and a member of the neutral faction, he was the head of the traditionalists and was unwilling to cooperate with Kayla until Wei Guang's intervention.
Hu Qing/Liang Hongfei: Younger brother of Minister Liang and rightful heir to the Liang clan, he was formerly responsible for doing the dirty work for the Liang clan, and later the Seventh Prince's faction under Liu Boyue's orders. He now works for Kayla.
Chen Caichun: A young woman recruited by Kayla, currently serving as a Chamberlain in the Court of Judicial Review.
Sun Ruhui: A former county-level official who was recruited by Kayla, served as Chamberlain before being promoted to Left Secretariat of the Ministry of Justice.
Qu Boyong/Xiang Daozong: Son of the Princess of Chu and General Xiang, he formerly worked as Kayla's servant while undercover in the Zhao household. He has now embarked on his revenge plot against the Grand Duke, pretending to flee the capital in order to confuse his enemies and distract them from his new plans.
Xianchun: Seventh Prince, one of the primary contenders for the throne. Has yet to learn of the Grand Duke's murder of his mother, and thus is not yet the ruthless and bloodthirsty man he was in the original timeline.
Feng Yi: A broke merchant who was conned into spying on Kayla. In truth, he was meant to be caught and killed, in order to distract them from the actual spies. Sent by Liu Boyue, he was released by Kayla and Hu Qing, the latter of which proceeded to save his life when Liu Boyue tried to silence him.
Liu Boyue: Right-hand man and strategist of Xianchun, he is the prince's most trusted friend, advisor, and confidant. He has been secretly making moves behind Xianchun's back to further the prince's standing, which Kayla knows of and is now making use of.
Tao Qian: One of the men on Kayla's payroll who was brought in by Hu Qing.
Chujiao/Jing Shuyou: Cousin of Qu Boyong/Xiang Daozong, she was sent to infiltrate the Zhao household as a child and fell in love with Wenyuan, her only source of safety and comfort. Currently being kept "under protection", in truth to serve as a hostage against Qu Boyong.
Zhao Wei: Minister of War, one of Wenyuan's many uncles.
Zhao Ke: A low-ranking official, one of Wenyuan's many uncles and the son of the Grand Duke's youngest "cousin", in truth the Grand Duke's biological brother. (Remember that the Grand Duke was formally adopted as his uncle's son even though both his parents were alive)
Zhao Yuanji: A mid-ranking official, one of Wenyuan's many uncles and the son of one of the Grand Duke's "cousins".
Zhao Yihui: One of Wenyuan's many uncles and the son of one of the Grand Duke's "cousins".
Fifth Uncle: One of Wenyuan's great-uncles, the biological younger brother and legal "cousin" of the Grand Duke. Fifth [in truth, the sixth if you count the Grand Duke] son of the Grand Duke's "uncle"/biological father. He's called Fifth Uncle here since none of the younger generations would ever address an elder by his given or courtesy name.
Lady Xu: Mother of Zhao Ke and spouse of Fifth Uncle, she hails from the little-known Xu family.
Liu Hongyu: Former Secretariat Director, died after being found guilty of lese-majeste.
Zhao Ling: One of Wenyuan's cousins, the epitome of a useless rich young master. Not particularly evil or even malicious, just useless.
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The carriage pulled to a stop at the Wei household. Kayla got off first, turning back to help Wei Guang down as well. The steward and Wei Guang’s head of security hovered nervously at the gates, anxious looks on their faces. An assassination out in the open, right within the household, was hardly something that could be brushed under the table. But Kayla had only involved the Court of Judicial Review and not the City Guard. No soldiers had arrived to make arrests, no guards had arrived to question them. The lack of response unsettled them more than anything else.
“My lord,” the steward came forward to greet Wei Guang.
“Summon all the servants,” Wei Guang said coldly. The steward shrank back, bowing before scurrying off. The head of security looked between Wei Guang and the steward’s disappearing figure with apprehension.
“I apologize, my lord! This was my fault for failing to prevent it,” the man said in a trembling voice.
“Go and summon all the guards as well,” Wei Guang ordered. The head of security fled as well.
“Godfather, it’s not necessary to stir up such a fuss,” Kayla said.
Wei Guang shook his head. “For such a thing to happen within my household is a complete disgrace! You are my godson, and yet one of my servants dares to make an attempt on your life? It is unforgivable!”
“The culprit is already dead,” Kayla assured him.
“And there’s no telling who might make a second attempt,” Wei Guang replied. “I won’t allow such a thing to happen again.”
Seeing that he wouldn’t be convinced otherwise, Kayla thought better of speaking any further. She followed Wei Guang into the courtyard of the Inner Quarters, where the servants and guards were gathering, whispering among themselves as they were herded in by the steward and head of security. They fell completely silent at the sight of Wei Guang, not even daring to shift or squirm under his unusually stony visage.
“Everyone is here now, my lord,” The steward said. Wei Guang nodded and stepped forward, standing on the steps leading to the courtyard.
“I do not claim to be a man of great virtue, but I have treated all of you with generosity,” Wei Guang said.
The staff members murmured their agreement, increasingly nervous at Wei Guang’s unreadable tone and expression.
“I’m sure that by now, all of you have heard of what happened with my godson,” Wei Guang said.
No one dared to reply. Gossiping was forbidden, but that didn’t mean news spread any slower. In the hour or so since Kayla had left, every single person within the household would have heard of it by now.
“You are all to keep your silence on this matter. If a single word of this becomes known outside of the walls of this household, you will be beaten and chased out of the capital,” Wei Guang continued.
Kayla watched on from the side, taking mental notes for future reference. Wei Guang’s body language did not change, and his expression remained the same, but there was a notable shift that everyone could sense, one that signaled danger.
“To think that such a thing would happen under my own roof, I am disappointed in all of you. Zhao Wenyuan is the son of Her Highness the Imperial Princess and the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. Furthermore, he is my godson!” Wei Guang said imperiously. The cold, calm edge to his anger cut sharper than any knife. He stepped forward, sweeping his gaze across the servants and guards, all of whom shied their eyes away.
“I have no sons of my own, and think of him as my own blood and bone. If anyone were to attempt causing harm or damage to him in any way, shape, or form, if the thought were to even cross your minds, I swear upon the heavens that I will skin you myself!” Wei Guang spat out the words. He barely raised his voice, yet the air was clogged with the fear of his household staff.
Kayla shifted nervously, realizing why Hu Weizhi had caved in so easily once Wei Guang spoke to him.
At least he's on my side.
“I did not think I needed to make this clear through explicit words, but it seems I severely overestimated the lot of you,” Wei Guang said. “Zhao Wenyuan is to be treated as though he were my own son, any attack on him is an attack on me. I will let tonight’s incident slide, but that is the limit of my lenience.”
“We understand, my lord. Thank you for your mercifulness!” The steward said, the rest of the staff members echoing his words with varying levels of relief.
Wei Guang nodded. “Good. Once your words are spoken, even the fastest horses cannot chase it back. I will hold each of you to your promises.”
A chorus of timid “yes” and “I understand” came from the staff. Satisfied, Wei Guang gave a nod.
“That is all. Dismissed.”
The frightened staff quickly fled the courtyard, bobbing their heads in hasty bows toward Wei Guang as they scurried away.
He has eyes and ears in his household, just like everyone else. Does he think this will stop them, or did he say it precisely because it wouldn’t stop them? More likely than not, it was the latter.
Kayla quietly observed Wei Guang’s stony visage, mulling it over in her mind. He really is throwing his full support behind me and making sure everyone knows it. But for what? The Emperor? Wenyuan’s mother? The dynasty’s future?
Knowing Wei Guang, it was the dynasty’s future that trumped any personal ties. Wei Guang was a highly-educated man, with extensive knowledge of history and an analytical eye far beyond anyone currently in the court, and yet here he was, tying his fate to Wenyuan’s. Even the Empress Dowager considered Kayla disposable to a certain extent, but Wei Guang didn’t seem to agree with that.
It’s not because he finds me particularly likable. Kayla’s periodic guilt-tripping had some effect, yes, but it wasn’t enough to explain his actions. She was well aware that she hadn’t known Wei Guang long enough for him to be doing any of this out of genuine affection or feelings of responsibility as a father figure. She hadn’t instantly clicked with him the way she had with Hu Qing, nor was his fate bound with hers the way Chen Caichun and Sun Ruhui were.
The only explanation Kayla could think of was that Wei Guang placed far more importance on the existence of “Zhao Wenyuan” as the head of the neutral faction than anyone else did.
Someone with his perceptiveness is unlikely to be wrong about such a thing.
Kayla couldn’t help but feel curious.
Why? Is the heir to a clan the Emperor wants to destroy really the only option he has? And if so, what happened in the timeline where Wenyuan was gone?
Wei Guang watched as the last of the servants dispersed before he turned and left, Kayla hurriedly following behind him.
“Thank you, godfather. I apologize for causing you so much trouble,” Kayla said.
“Think nothing of it, if anything, I am the one who ought to apologize for having put you through such an incident,” Wei Guang replied, the last remnants of his cold fury melting away. Seeing this, Kayla directed the conversation away as they walked through the corridors.
By the time Kayla returned from walking Wei Guang back to his room and finishing up their conversation, it was already midnight. She entered the extremely nice rooms Wei Guang had generously set aside for her and came to a full stop.
It no longer surprised Kayla to see Hu Qing lounging alone in dark rooms.
“Can’t you at least light a lamp?” Kayla said at the vaguely-Hu Qing shaped form on the couch. Hu Qing obediently got up and lit one.
“Sorry for letting the servant die,” Hu Qing offered.
Kayla shook her head. “Not your fault, even if you’d noticed earlier it probably wouldn’t have done much. Did you see anyone suspicious among my godfather’s staff?”
Hu Qing shook his head. “No, not at all.”
“That’s one less thing to worry about then,” Kayla said. She sat down in the wooden chair across from Hu Qing, who had once more taken up the entire couch.
“We need to get rid of the Grand Duke as soon as possible,” Hu Qing said.
“I know, you’ve said that many times. But how?” Kayla asked.
Hu Qing shrugged. “We can only find a crack to insert a needle, you can’t give a concrete timeframe for these things.”
“Can we use magic?” Kayla asked.
“Cursing someone is taboo, and from a professional standpoint, it also doesn’t really work,” Hu Qing pointed out. “It’s difficult to use, easy to track, and basically does nothing.”
“I just find it hard to believe that there’s not a magical option available,” Kayla said.
“If anyone would know, it would be your mother,” Hu Qing suggested. “She was a magical researcher, wasn’t she? Your godfather might know.”
Kayla briefly considered asking him before abandoning the idea. “If there was such an option, he would have suggested it already.”
As disappointing as it was, she simply had to come to terms with the fact that there wasn’t a magical option that would be any more efficient or subtle than hacking at the Grand Duke with a blunted axe.
This fucking sucks. We have time magic and soul magic but nothing for assassinations?
“Could we hire someone?” Kayla suggested.
Hu Qing shook his head. “Absolutely not. The Grand Duke’s prepared against things like that, so if we want to hire an assassin, we’ll have to silence them afterward. And if they’re skilled enough to get past the Grand Duke’s defenses? Well, I’m just going to say that they won’t be easy to eliminate. Inviting a deity is easy, sending them away is difficult. Better not to involve an outsider in this.”
“Good point,” Kayla sighed. “Any other ideas?”
Hu Qing looked her over judgementally. “Well, you would be the best candidate in terms of unexpectedness, but the reason why that’s the case is also the reason why you probably wouldn’t succeed.”
Okay, that’s fair. Kayla didn’t have the experience or the ability to do it.
“But you have nullification magic, you could poison him without setting off his detection spells,” Hu Qing went on. “The problem is, he would never consume anything you gave him even if he didn’t sense any poison.”
Kayla sighed. The dilemma remained that Kayla couldn’t kill the Grand Duke before her own position was solid enough to withstand his fall, but killing him would become difficult once she had reached that point.
“I think I should also get a poison needle anyways,” Kayla said. To her surprise, Hu Qing nodded.
“Why not? If there’s a miracle, that might even work,” Hu Qing said positively.
Kayla gave him a flat look. “Thanks.”
A lot of plans were in motion, but none of them had come to fruition yet.
She had sent out two rounds of letters to the Zhao clan, trying to win them over to her side. Kayla neither wanted nor needed them, the main point was to get them to cajole the Grand Duke into writing a letter of remorse, or something that would suffice as a suicide note. Even if that didn't work, so long as the Zhao clan members were swayed even a little bit, it wouldn’t be long before suspicion took root and started tearing the Grand Duke’s power base apart from the inside out.
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Problem is, who benefits from that the most? It's certainly not me.
“No matter what, we need to keep Qu Boyong and the Seventh Prince occupied. They’re the ones most likely to hound us like sharks that smell blood in the water,” Kayla said darkly. “I’ve tried to distract Xianchun, but it’s hard to say whether it’ll work. Qu Boyong’s more difficult to deal with, he’s in the dark and we’re in the light, how on earth do we track down what he’s doing?”
“Once he makes a move, we can track him down,” Hu Qing promised. “But I don’t know how to deal with the Seventh Prince, that’s up to you.”
Kayla considered it for a moment. She had tossed plenty of kindling into Xianchun’s backyard, it was about time to start a fire.
“How do you reckon Feng Yi is doing?” Kayla asked.
Hu Qing gave a soft chuckle. “Alive, probably, but I doubt Liu Boyue would allow him to stay in the capital. He’ll definitely try to drive Feng Yi out with whatever means possible.”
Kayla smiled. “How do you feel about saving him a second time?”
Hu Qing’s smile widened, his eyes glinting with amusement. “Sounds fun.”
“Excellent. Go and find him tomorrow, I’ll see what use I can make of him,” Kayla said.
Hu Qing nodded. “You need a bodyguard while I’m busy. Tao Qian’s up for the job, he’s one of the men watching Miss Chujiao right now. He owes me, and he’s good enough to keep you safe.”
Kayla considered it briefly before nodding. “Alright then.”
“Great, I’ll bring him to see you tomorrow,” Hu Qing replied.
“Go and get some rest,” Kayla urged him. Hu Qing nodded and flipped through the window, disappearing into the night.
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Moonless nights when the wind was high were perfect times for murder and arson. And of course, plotting. Halfway across the city, several members of the Zhao clan were gathered in Zhao Wei’s residence. Zhao Ke, Zhao Yuanji, and Zhao Yihui, sons of the Grand Duke’s “cousins”, some of whom were technically his biological brothers, hovered over their reluctant host. Across from them, there was an old woman who had remained quiet throughout the conversation, Lady Xu, wife of the Grand Duke’s youngest cousin and mother of Zhao Ke. Her husband sat next to her, fitfully stroking his beard.
“Cousin, what do you think of this?” Zhao Ke asked Zhao Wei insistently, waving the scroll in Zhao Wei’s face. Zhao Wei shoved the scroll away in irritation.
“I assume you all received the same letter from the young lord,” Zhao Wei said grimly.
They all nodded. It was why they were here.
“What on earth does the young lord think he’s doing? He wants us to convince the Grand Duke to write a letter of remorse?! A public letter?!” Zhao Yihui hissed, his voice dripping with disbelief. “Why doesn’t he do it himself?!”
“I doubt he could, not with how tense things are between them now,” Zhao Yuanji pointed out.
“And he expects our cousin to go instead?!” Zhao Yihui said, offended to the core.
A public declaration of remorse was a way of expressing submission, of admitting they had lost, and as such, the letter would definitely be widely circulated and preserved for posterity by the triumphant palace. It was one of the surest ways to get the palace to ease up on the Zhao clan, but also the surest path towards humiliation. Asking the arrogant and violent-tempered Grand Duke to do such a thing was almost unthinkable, especially when the request came from his grandson.
Zhao Wenyuan was, technically, their nephew. But they had barely ever interacted with the young man since he was born, and had no lost love for their kin. The heir of the Zhao clan had been on a different plane of existence from the rest of them since the very start. Unlike the other children of his generation, Zhao Wenyuan had been raised in solitude, interacting with the palace much more than with his paternal relatives. He was also, at a ridiculously young age, in the closest proximity to the faction’s power center, the Grand Duke.
Those who understood what kind of person the Grand Duke was knew that this was not necessarily a good thing, but which fool would stick out their own neck for a mere puppet? Zhao Wei had protested once, when the Grand Duke began sending Wenyuan to drinking sessions with Liu Hongyu, but had quickly backed off upon realizing that it wasn’t worth the trouble.
From what everyone had seen in their scant sightings of him at family reunions or at court, Zhao Wenyuan was cowardly and incompetent. Though they had no idea where his sudden reservoir of courage came from, they could easily deduce that it had something to do with the palace.
“Do you think this is a plot from the Inner Palace?” Zhao Ke asked, not daring to directly point out the Empress Dowager’s involvement.
Zhao Wei broke his silence, cutting off Yihui and Yuanji before they could respond. “It’s hard to say, but what’s certain is that something big is about to happen, and Zhao Wenyuan knows what it is.”
“If the Grand Duke writes the letter of remorse, then you’re done for!” Zhao Yihui shot back. “He might still have a way to get us out of this, we could be cutting off our own backup route!”
“But think about it, the Grand Duke never tried to help any of his allies, not even Liu Hongyu! And heavens know that he values Liu Hongyu far more than any of us,” Zhao Yuanji hissed.
“He even made Cousin Wei resign, and he was the Minister of War!” Zhao Ke chimed in. “He’s given up on Cousin Wei already!”
Zhao Wei shook his head. “It was actually the young lord’s idea to have me resign.”
“And now he has the face to write to you?!” Zhao Yihui screeched in disbelief.
“I always thought he was just a shriveling coward, but it seems his skin is thicker than an elephant’s hide!” Zhao Ke jumped in.
“If it were the Grand Duke, he would have sacrificed me to salvage the Ministry of War if there was even the slightest chance it would work,” Zhao Wei said flatly. “I know him all too well, he would’ve fought on without regard for the cost. The fact I was allowed to maintain some dignity is probably by the intervention of the young lord.”
“That doesn’t mean he’s any more reliable than the Grand Duke, don’t forget that he’s the reason all of this is happening in the first place!” Zhao Yuanji shouted.
“Wrong.” Everyone turned to Lady Xu, who spoke for the first time since her arrival.
“Mother, what do you mean by that?” Zhao Ke asked.
“How many times have I warned you that this clan is headed towards ruin? When a family does too well, then it’s certain to face decline, if not a bloody end. The Grand Duke has refused to temper himself, and you all have never restrained yourselves either, how long did you think all this could last?” Lady Xu sighed, looking around the room. “It’s drawing to a close now, and I would much prefer it be at the hands of the young lord than at the hands of the Zhao clan’s enemies.”
“Fifth Aunt, the young lord is also an enemy of the Zhao clan!” Zhao Yuanji protested.
“You fool, he’s the only one doing what’s sensible! Look at the powerful officials of old times, how many of them met a good end? Li Si, the Lu clan, and Huo Guang’s clan, do you all wish to meet their fate?” The old woman demanded.
The occupants of the room shuffled uneasily.
Li Si, the prime minister of the Qin dynasty who held a position above millions and was only subordinate to a single person, had nonetheless been mutilated and then bisected by the waist in the public market, with his family exterminated to the third degree.
Empress Dowager Lu had been the wife of the first Emperor of the Han Dynasty, ruthless and powerful enough to dominate court politics for two generations while murdering her way through her step-sons, but still had her clan exterminated to the last person once she died. Even her body had been desecrated in the ensuing chaos.
Huo Guang was just as powerful as the other two and had enough control over the court to depose and enthrone Emperors as he pleased, and yet his family had been helpless to withstand Emperor Xuan’s wrath once Huo Guang was dead.
The Grand Duke wasn’t half as powerful as any of them and yet had offended most of the Imperial Family. Who was to say what the Zhao clan’s fate would be once the Grand Duke was gone? The old man was still in good health, but he was aging. How much longer would he last?
Unable to bear the nervous tension any longer, Lady Xu’s husband straightened his back, angrily smoothing down his beard.
“That’s just the short-sighted views of a woman!”
Lady Xu scoffed in response. “And I suppose you know better? I told you we should leave the capital and that our children shouldn’t enter civil service, but did you listen? No. And now look at our situation!”
“Oh shut your mouth already!” Her husband harrumphed, growing even angrier with the knowledge that she was right.
“Fifth Uncle, Fifth Aunt has a point,” Zhao Yuanji interjected before the old couple could start arguing. “It’s clear as day that the palace wants to dismantle the Zhao clan’s power base, and how can an arm overpower a thigh? We live on the country’s land and serve in the country's court, no matter how much power we have, they’re the ones who can decide our life and death. The young lord might really be our path to survival.”
“You coward, you would listen to that traitorous little brat?” Zhao Yihui demanded.
Yuanji shot back a retort, Ke joined in on Yihui’s side, and the men began to squabble again.
“Enough!”
All three of them fell silent, turning back towards Lady Xu with cowed expressions. The old woman glared around the room with cold fury.
“The Grand Duke’s like a tiger, you must feed him human flesh and blood in order to keep him satiated,” Lady Xu said severely. “Young master Kangyu served that role, and his son served that role after him. But now, the young lord’s wings have hardened, and he no longer bows his head to the Grand Duke’s authority. And yet, is the Grand Duke no longer a tiger? Does he no longer thirst for blood? Wait any longer, and his fangs will turn inwards on us. We ought to take the path to survival that the young lord has been gracious enough to point out for us.”
She looked around the room disdainfully. “You’re all full-grown men, and yet you can’t come to a decision even when the choice is clear?! Is the Grand Duke so good at training dogs?”
Zhao Wei frowned. “You go too far with your words, Fifth Aunt. But if you insist to this extent, then I’ll try,” he agreed with a heavy heart. “I’ll petition the Grand Duke.”
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The sun was not yet up in the sky, but the Zhao household was already tenser than a bowstring about to fire. The sudden arrival of Zhao Wei, who had left humiliated the other day, had set off alarm bells in the servants’ minds. Everyone who could manage to do so had found an excuse to be as far away from the Grand Duke’s study as they could go.
“What did you just say?” The Grand Duke asked with faux amazement. “I can’t believe my ears!”
Zhao Wei winced. He had expected that the suggestion wouldn’t be taken well, no matter how well-phrased, but it was clear now that the Grand Duke absolutely would not be writing a letter of repentance.
The Grand Duke stared down at Zhao Wei imperviously as the man knelt before him.
“My lord,” Zhao Wei began to say.
“Be silent,” the Grand Duke ordered. “Do you realize what situation we’re in now? Thanks to your incompetence, your position is forfeit. And yet you have the gall to come into my house and ask me to write a letter of repentance?!”
Zhao Wei flinched.
“My lord, I’m just thinking of your reputation,” Zhao Wei replied. “If you express regret for having sponsored me, then surely our clan will take less of a blow. I’m willing to shoulder any culpability for–”
Zhao Wei was cut off by a slap to the face. He looked stonily at the Grand Duke, rage and humiliation bubbling up in his stomach.
“Bastard! How dare you?!” The Grand Duke snarled. “Do you think I don’t know what this is? Wenyuan must have put you up to this!”
Zhao Wei grimaced. “My lord, if you look at the situation in court right now, we should start preparing ourselves to soften the inevitable blow,” he said through gritted teeth. “At this rate, we will all be headed for–”
He was cut off by a second blow to the face. Blood dripped from his nose as Zhao Wei knelt unflinchingly. He had been a martial official for decades. The physical pain barely bothered him at all, it was the humiliation that rankled him.
“Are you cursing me now?!” The Grand Duke shouted. “I singlehandedly pushed you into this position and you can’t even hold onto it properly, am I to blame that you couldn’t cover your own tracks?!”
Zhao Wei didn’t reply, stiffly staring into the distance.
Singlehandedly? Did he forget that I was in the military for ten years before that?! Zhao Wei was a practical man, he had never been so foolish as to forget that he had only become the Minister of War because the Grand Duke’s son had died. It didn’t matter that Zhao Wei was much more experienced and well-connected among the military officers, he hadn’t even been a potential candidate until the young master had been killed at the border.
Zhao Wei was furious, but couldn’t show any sign of it before the Grand Duke, which only increased his anger.
“If you want to express regret so badly, then take a sword and kill yourself! You’d trouble fewer people that way!” The Grand Duke raged on.
The former Minister of War did indeed want to grab a sword, though it would be turned upon the Grand Duke rather than himself. Instead, he bowed his head to the floor.
“I’ve angered my lord with my incompetence, my sincerest apologies!” Zhao Wei said. “Please quell your anger, your health comes first. I will remove myself from your presence.”
Without further ado, he bowed his head to the floor a second time. The Grand Duke stood over him, still seething with rage. Zhao Wei bowed one last time for good measure before backing out of the room. The Grand Duke didn’t stop him.
Zhao Wei quickly walked down the corridor, his mood worsening as servants balked at the sight of his bloodied face. He had been the Minister of War for years now, and while the Grand Duke had verbally berated him multiple times, Zhao Wei had never been struck before losing his position. His respect and disdain for Zhao Wenyuan increased simultaneously.
How in the heavens did he put up with this?
Why the hell did he put up with this for so long? The two questions overlapped in Zhao Wei’s mind as he silently lamented that Wenyuan couldn’t have either been born ten years earlier or had grown a spine a little earlier in life. If that were the case, the Zhao clan might still have a shred of hope. But looking at the Grand Duke’s actions now, it was clear they were all hurtling towards doom.
At this rate, that guy will really be the only one to survive, Zhao Wei grimly thought to himself. That won’t do.
Zhao Wei headed back to his residence, sending off a guard en route to call another meeting. It seemed that the messenger was unnecessary. When Zhao Wei got back, several of his relatives were already waiting for him, faces full of nervous anticipation. Despite it being a workday, it wasn’t the convening of the court, and many of the Zhao clan members were in idle positions to begin with. Zhao Wei glanced around with exasperation, letting out a sigh.
“Uncle, how did it go?” His cousin’s son Zhao Ling, a good-looking young man in his early twenties, looked at Zhao Wei anxiously.
Zhao Wei looked the young man over. Zhao Ling was a typical rich young master–he had enough ties to the Zhao clan to live luxuriously and act as he liked, with no accomplishments, no position, few skills, and little experience of living in the real world without the protection of his family. His education had been arranged, his marriage had been arranged, and even his concubine had been selected for him. If the Zhao clan were destroyed, someone like Zhao Ling wouldn’t even have the ability to run away.
Zhao Wei let out a heavy sigh, shaking his head ruefully. The surrounding clan members glanced at each other nervously, whispering amongst themselves.
“Did it fail?” Fifth Uncle asked him bluntly, Lady Xu stoically watching his reaction.
“The Grand Duke refused,” Zhao Wei replied. As though the blood on his sleeve and collar wasn’t answer enough. He held back a surge of frustration and gestured for everyone to come inside.
“Then what on earth shall we do?” Zhao Ke asked.
Zhao Wei glanced around, before motioning for all the servants to leave. The room watched him in tense silence, uncertainty clogging their worries and complaints in their throats.
“I will be relinquishing my assets and leaving the capital shortly with my dependents,” Zhao Wei said. “But before I leave, I wish to form an alliance with the young lord.”
A wave of protests and exclamations of shock arose.
“Uncle, why on earth would you do such a thing?!” Zhao Ling screeched. “That guy’s the one who put you into this mess!”
“Be silent! What do you understand, you little brat?! You’re past twenty already, but you can’t even manage your own affairs, much less meddle in such important matters!” Zhao Wei shook his head in despair. “The Zhao clan really has no one useful in the younger generation other than him! Just what the hell did we work so hard for, that at a time of crisis, I don’t even have a single reliable person on hand?!”
“Uncle!” Zhao Ling protested. Lady Xu cleared her throat loudly, and Zhao Ling slinked into a corner of the room, sufficiently cowed.
“It is not yet time to despair,” Lady Xu said. “Since you have decided, then we should act as soon as possible. Nephew, it’s time we decided the future of this clan.”
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Cultural Notes
骨肉/Blood and bone: A phrase in Ancient China used to refer to one's children.
眼线/Spies: Literally translated to eye lines (no, not eyeliner), but it basically means someone's eyes on you from far away, using spies to know what's going on when they're not here, etc.
见缝插针/Find a crack to insert a needle: Ancient Chinese proverb meaning to take every chance you get, even the smallest ones.
巫术/Witchcraft: When Hu Qing says magic targetting someone to kill them is taboo, he's referring to what is traditionally considered witchcraft, such as cursing someone, using voodoo dolls, etc. If you watch harem dramas often, you'll know that this is a common reason for a concubine getting punished/killed/losing favor. Historically, it really was a huge thing, especially in the Han Dynasty, where Emperor Wu of Han became incredibly paranoid in his later years and ended up murdering large swathes of people when he suspected them of witchcraft against him.
请神容易送神难/Inviting a deity is easy, sending them away is difficult: An Ancient Chinese saying that means asking for someone's help is easy, but dealing with them afterward is hard. When you're desperate, you'll pray with great reverence and make offerings to the deity, but once they've finished helping you and intend on staying, how long will you manage to keep it up? And how can you ask them to leave when you owe them? Often used in the context of requesting military aid from an ally, especially a stronger one, who might just decide to stay on afterward, and there's little you can do about it.
我在明他在暗/He’s in the dark and we’re in the light: A Chinese saying used to describe a situation where your enemy is covert but you are overt, which disadvantages you. They can tell what you're doing, but you'd be hard-pressed to figure out their movements.
后院着火/Backyard catches fire: A colloquial saying for household troubles and internal discord.
月黑风高夜，杀人放火天/Moonless nights when the wind was high were perfect times for murder and arson: An Ancient Chinese proverb.
过继/Adopting Out: A method of legally and socially making your child someone else's kid, commonly seen when you have a sibling/relative without any kids and you have too many. That's what happened with the Grand Duke, whose father ended up with six sons total and so adopted out the Grand Duke to the then-head of the Zhao clan. Hence why the Grand Duke's "cousins" are actually his biological brothers.
上书请罪/Write an appeal asking for punishment: Commonly done by officials and military officers as an act of submission/admission of guilt/declaration of remorse. This usually makes it more difficult for the Emperor to issue harsh punishments than if someone else accused them, since people will think better of your character for actively seeking punishment rather than shirking responsibility.
妇人之见/A woman's view: An Ancient Chinese proverb used to refer to the short-sighted views of a woman. Even though it was within a context where women engaged with the public sphere much less than men did, it is a rather misogynist saying that usually didn't apply even within the context of its times. There were many historical incidents where a man will say this to his wife after she warns him against doing something, goes on to do whatever he wants, and then proceed to meet the fate his wife predicted.
胳膊拗不过大腿/An arm can't overpower a thigh: A Chinese saying that refers to the difference in strength.
以身祠虎/Feed the tiger with your body: An Ancient Chinese proverb that originates from Buddhist texts that gained influence in China throughout the Wei and Jin dynasties and took root in the Tang Dynasty. Often used in various contexts with little connection to the original story of self-sacrifice.
翅膀硬了/Wings have hardened: A Chinese saying meaning that someone's come into their own, like a bird that has grown enough to fly.
后继无人/No one to succeed [us]: An Ancient Chinese proverb that can mean either A) The family/trade/tradition literally doesn't have any young people left or B) There's no one useful in the younger generation, though there are very much young people present. Zhao Wei is using it in the context of B.
危难之时，竟无一人可用/at a time of crisis, I don’t even have a single person to use: Same meaning as above, this is not exactly a proverb but is spoken in traditional form rather than colloquial speech.