Character Index
Chuluo Khagan: Khagan of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate, Ashina's father and Kayla's father-in-law. Asked for reinforcements to fight against the Western Turkic Khaganate, which is attacking under what appears to be the leadership of Shegui Khagan.
General Yan: General stationed in Xiazhou, he is an experienced fighter in the North. Reluctantly allied with Kayla.
Heli: The fifteen year old chieftain of the Tongluo tribe (one of the Tiele tribes), he is currently consolidating his hold with Kayla's support, having previously had his position challenged by his significantly older nephew.
Tabuyir: A Senior Investigator of Khitan heritage, he sent his nephew Yilie into Kayla's household as a "ward", but the boy is a de facto hostage.
Zhou Kuang: The Third Prince, one of the primary contenders for the throne. Treading more cautiously now that he sees victory in sight.
Zhou Yunqi: The Fifth Prince, supporter of the Third Prince. Sitting out from politics due to his awkward position.
Wei Guang: The Imperial Edict Bearer and Minister of the Office of Censure. Kayla's godfather and a supporter of the Third Prince.
Zhou Hong and Zhou Yong: The First and Second Princes, the only princes who were born of an Empress. Were deposed and exiled after the Emperor crushed the Gongsun clan.
Qiu Jinwei: Yunqi's strategist, a man with a unique personality.
Zhou Xianchun: The Seventh Prince, one of the contenders for the throne. Currently allied with the Empress Dowager, uncomfortably so for both.
Zhang Wuxian: An Attendant Censor with no background to speak of, he was promoted due to Kayla's reforms. Friends with Lin Jie, who warned him that Kayla chose the two of them precisely due to their lack of background, which makes them suitable scapegoats if things go wrong.
Lin Jie: An Attendant Censor with a bad arm. He was recruited to investigate a potential conspiracy by Hu Qing on Kayla's behalf after receiving treatment for his arm. He has a clear perspective of his position despite the rapid rise in rank he's seen in the last few months.
Hu Qing/Liang Hongfei: Vice-Censor of the Office of Censure and Lord of the Liang clan. Kayla's close friend and supporter, he attained his position with Kayla's backing.
Xie Rengui: Hu QIng's retainer, a farmboy who was recruited due to his sharp intellect (and also because Kayla noted that his name was similar to that of a real-life general of the Tang dynasty).
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The capital waited with bated breath as the Khaganate’s envoys approached the capital. Zhao Wenyuan somehow managed to talk both the Emperor into providing a fully armed escort for the Turkic delegation and the Khagan into accepting it, effectively cutting off any possibility of contacting the diplomats before they reached the capital.
General Yan’s appointment was kept quiet, the official announcement pending until the Turkic delegation had arrived. After all, the request hadn’t even been made to the Emperor yet. It wouldn’t do to seem overeager.
The innermost circle of the court knew it was set in stone, but speculation continued in the outer circles and amongst the officials.
“It looks like it’ll be General Yan then. Duke Zhao’s monopolized access to the Turkic delegation, and he’s the Khagan’s son-in-law. It’s obvious whose candidate they’d back,” an official remarked as he walked to his office. His coworker scoffed.
“The Duke’s walking a little too close to the Khaganate, isn’t he? The delegation hasn’t even arrived yet but they sent a messenger ahead–not to petition the Emperor, but to greet him and his wife. And his dealings in the North as well, they’re all that the capital is talking about these days,” the coworker said. “Especially that youngster who usurped his nephew–what was his name? The Pugu chieftain?”
“I think it was the Qibi chieftain, wasn’t it?”
“No way, it wasn’t the Qibi.”
“Yes it was! The tribe with the really young chieftain, wasn’t it?”
“That wasn’t the Qibi, it was the Pugu!”
“Whatever, it doesn’t matter! What matters is the decline of morality in the state–even the princes would be viewed with scrutiny if they fostered clientele in such a politically sensitive region, but a Duke is praised for it instead?” The official shook his head in disbelief.
“What is this world coming to?” His coworker muttered. Continuing to grumble, the two of them entered the building and headed to their desks.
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The Empress Dowager sat in the Emperor’s personal quarters, feeling strangely out-of-place. It used to be that the Emperor would voluntarily seek her out. Now, he avoided her beyond the basic formalities and shows of filial piety. The familiar rooms in which her son resided had not changed much, but everything felt different. Perhaps it was her that had changed.
“Mother, won’t you have some tea?” The Emperor asked. He poured it for her himself as always, having dismissed all the servants at her request.
“Thank you,” she said, fearing that a refusal would sap her strength. She found herself tiring more easily these days.
“The Khaganate’s envoys will arrive soon, I believe they have some gifts in stow for you,” the Emperor said lightly.
“I’m sure they have gifts for Wenyuan as well,” she replied, setting the cup down. The Emperor’s smile didn’t falter, but the gaiety in his eyes faded away to calculation so quickly that it was almost frightening to see.
“As the Khagan’s son-in-law, it’s to be expected,” the Emperor replied.
“I know you tire of my nagging,” she sighed.
“Never.”
The Empress Dowager shook her head. “I have no objections to your choice of commander. General Yan is indeed the best man for the job. But does it not bother you, the role Wenyuan is taking?”
“What do you mean, mother?” His eyes showed that he knew exactly what she meant, and that he wanted her to stop while she was ahead. Swallowing her indignation and exasperation, the Empress Dowager pressed on.
“He has a veritable network of clients now. Between the officials and the Tiele, Wenyuan’s influence in the North is not to be overlooked,” she warned him. “Even the Khitan are currying favor with him now. That Investigator Tabuyir sent his own nephew into the Zhao household! Do you not know of this?”
The Empress Dowager stared at his face intently and drew back, a chill going down her spine.
The Emperor was smiling.
“He does so with my blessing, by my will,” the Emperor said, his tone gentle as if coaxing his aging mother. “If I wish to centralize power, then I need the support of the regions. The peoples who have been overlooked thus far will be more willing to cooperate than those who benefit under the current system. Moreover, the Khagan’s in an alliance with us now, is he not? Smoothing relations in the North will benefit us all.”
The kind smile on his face, the softness of his voice, it all felt like a hammer taking at her skull.
So this is what it’s come to, she thought. Her heart slowly sank, but she couldn’t bring herself to give in before pursuing the fight to its end.
“Does he interfere in the internal affairs of the Tiele by your blessing as well? You allow him too much leeway in courting them,” she argued.
The Emperor shook his head. “Wenyuan made a good point when he said that the Tiele are our Northernmost line of defense. Even if we cannot fully rely on them, at the very least we need to keep them satisfied enough to keep them from defecting at the smallest turn of fortune. They are my subjects after all. Gratitude is a better way to bind them than anything else.”
“Gratitude to who?” The Empress Dowager shot back mercilessly. “To you, or to Wenyuan?”
“Wenyuan acts as an extension of me where I cannot go,” the Emperor replied.
“But will they think that? I do not believe it. Wenyuan will be the one to receive their gratitude and kind feelings, while you go ignored,” the Empress Dowager said.
The Emperor did not argue back, his face stoic. She found that she could not read him anymore. Perhaps she had lost the ability to do so long ago, so as to have overlooked the ambition bubbling beneath his surface.
“My son, I have never wished for anything but your prosperity and success. Take this advice from one who loves you–do not let the leash too long, or neither of you will be left with a way to retreat. No man can withstand temptations, and you would do well not to test that on Wenyuan,” the Empress Dowager said fervently.
The Emperor was silent for a moment. “Thank you for your concern, Mother. I will consider your words of advice, for they are well meant.”
The Empress Dowager sighed, closing her eyes and lowering her head in resignation.
An era had ended, and she was but a relic. A wave of sentiment swept over her, and for the first time, she felt her age.
Her advice would go unheeded until it was too late, and the Emperor had come to suspect his nephew. By then, Wenyuan would have too much power to unroot him without killing him. What then of the princess and the marriage alliance? Or perhaps that unhappy business would be left to Xianchun–more likely, to Kuang. Her own influence had waned, her willpower had faded. She could not help Xianchun now.
“Then since my son has his own ideas, this old woman will not bother him any longer,” she said. The Empress Dowager slowly rose to her feet, waving away the Emperor’s hand as he stepped forward to help her. Her heart heavy and her mind strangely blank, she left the Emperor’s personal quarters with slow steps.
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Kuang slowly paced the room, Yunqi’s eyes following him back and forth.
“Now that General Yan has been selected, we have a common investment with Wenyuan for the long run. Once the envoy makes their request officially at the palace, that’ll be hammered into stone,” Kuang said, sharply gesturing in the vague direction north. “He is a powerful ally, and a good man to have on our side. But Wei Guang’s mention of Wenyuan’s inner fortitude…I cannot make sense of it!”
“Inner fortitude?” Yunqi absentmindedly raised a half-empty cup of tea to his lips and set it down again without taking a sip. “What on earth could that mean?”
“Wei Guang’s words hinted that it was not merely a matter of strength of virtue, that is, the determination to stage a coup if need be. He has the ability to make it happen, and it has nothing to do with his post as Director of the Bureau,” Kuang muttered, frowning in thought. “But what kind of…inner fortitude could he possess that would make Wei Guang give such assurances?”
“Perhaps it’s a matter of inheriting Wei Guang’s connections,” Yunqi pointed out. “Given that neither Father nor Wei Guang had a tiger seal at the time of Grandfather’s death, Wei Guang must have relied on personal connections to cut off access to the palace. A bond strong enough for a commander to risk life and career is not easy to earn, especially not for us. The Imperial Guards are all wary of coming under suspicion by contacting us, and moreover, they are afraid of standing on the wrong side before the final result is clear. If anyone can leverage private connections within the Imperial Guard, it would be Wei Guang and his heir, not us. The same goes for the rest of the palace staff. Save for a few eunuchs loyal to us, who do we have? Wenyuan, on the other hand…”
Kuang considered it. “Your words are sensible, but is that really the extent of it?”
“What else could it be? Surely you don’t suspect our dear cousin to secretly be a martial master or something like that?” Yunqi said jokingly, but the tenseness at the corner of his eyes betrayed his concern.
“Wenyuan, that twig of a man?” Kuang threw his head back and laughed. He sobered after a brief moment of mirth, his eyes growing dark again. “Surely not. But whether it’s connections in the palace or whatnot, it bothers me that Wei Guang pointed it out. Does he think such a thing is likely to become necessary? Or is he trying to preemptively prevent me from courting the Imperial Guard?”
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“Perhaps the latter,” Yunqi said. “Heaven knows how many princes have failed because they came under suspicion for currying favor with the Guard.”
“Perhaps,” Kuang agreed. “But Wei Guang is a difficult man to read. We’re getting close to the end here, Yunqi. We need to be cautious, or our previous efforts will all be for naught.”
Yunqi studied Kuang’s resolute expression for a moment before smiling.
“I think Xianchun is out of tricks, brother. It’s only a matter of time now,” Yunqi assured him.
Kuang shook his head. “Even if Xianchun fails, they could still…no, never mind.”
Yunqi lowered his eyes, knowing what Kuang was thinking.
First and Second Brother are still alive. They can still be reinstated. And then what? They have the highest birth out of anyone as the previous Empress’s sons, and have no political power of their own. Anyone who wants a puppet would jump on the chance to back them, especially now that they see where the reforms are headed.
Qiu Jinwei had told him that there was simply nothing to be done to prevent it, short of killing the First and Second Prince. Yunqi suppressed a shudder.
Would Xianchun do it? Would– He glanced at Kuang and quashed the thought before it could fully emerge.
“If the worse does come to pass, I think we can trust Wenyuan,” Yunqi found his mouth form the words as though it were separate from his mind. But Kuang glanced at him and smiled, and Yunqi smiled back.
“That’s good then,” Kuang said, the words coming out almost a sigh. “That’s good.”
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Zhang Wuxian stretched, tucking his lunch parcel beneath his desk. He glanced around the office, smiling and nodding at the clerks he made eye contact with. Lin Jie wasn’t here yet, but Zhang Wuxian supposed the man had overslept after working late again. It certainly wouldn't be the first time.
Smiling to himself, he set to work. When Lin Jie showed up, he would have to interrogate the man as to how the meat pies tasted as per his wife’s demand.
“You left them behind at home last time and now you can’t even get him to take a taste?! You useless rice barrel!” Her berating from last night still rattled in his eardrums.
What a demanding wife I have, Zhang Wuxian thought with a look of contented smugness that could anger every unmarried man within a mile’s radius. By the blessing of some benevolent spirit, it went unnoticed by the people around him, soon disappearing behind a fresh pile of paperwork.
When he glanced over to Lin Jie’s desk again an hour later, it was still empty. Zhang Wuxian frowned, increasingly worried as the day dragged on and the man continued to be absent.
“Attendant Censor Lin still isn’t here?”
Zhang Wuxian started, looking up to meet Vice Censor Liang’s eyes. The young man was friendly enough, and certainly not one for pretenses, but Zhang Wuxian could never bring himself to feel comfortable around Liang Hongfei. For one, Liang Hongfei was Zhao Wenyuan’s man–he had been created a Lord solely by the Duke’s wishes. Some instinct deep inside him knew the young man was entirely different from himself. He was disposable, Liang Hongfei was not. The young man was still there, waiting for an answer.
“Sir, I haven’t seen him yet,” Zhang Wuxian said uneasily.
“That’s strange, perhaps he’s sick?” Liang Hongfei said.
“He would have called in sick,” Zhang Wuxian pointed out. “He’s very diligent.”
A smile flitted over Liang Hongfei’s face. “Yes, he certainly is.”
“Perhaps he’s too ill to send a message,” Zhang Wuxian said, tensing with horror as the possibility grew more solid in his mind. “He lives alone without even a servant, who will take care of him if he has a fever?”
“I’m surprised he doesn’t keep a servant with an arm like that,” Liang Hongfei remarked. Zhang Wuxian noted that the man didn’t seem surprised at all. Lin Jie had mentioned Liang Hongfei’s gracious help in seeking out a healer–somehow, Zhang Wuxian didn’t think Liang Hongfei would have done that before thoroughly investigating Lin Jie first.
That’s probably related to whatever Brother Lin’s been working on, he thought. He mentioned receiving a direct assignment from Liang Hongfei, but it’s not openly recorded anywhere from what I know.
That never meant anything good, but Lin Jie surely couldn’t refuse an assignment, no matter how shady, after accepting Liang Hongfei’s help.
“Perhaps I should check on him,” Zhang Wuxian said.
“I’ll send one of my servants to do it,” Liang Hongfei replied. “We already have one Attendant Censor out today, we can’t afford to have you run off too.”
“Then I’d be very grateful!” Zhang Wuxian said earnestly.
“Don’t worry, I’ll send someone right away,” Liang Hongfei said, patting Zhang Wuxian on the shoulder. The young man went off to send a message to his servants, and Zhang Wuxian relaxed minutely, turning back to his work.
It didn’t take long before Liang Hongfei came sauntering back, the same casually disaffected air about him as always.
“Attendant Censor Zhang,” Liang Hongfei called. Zhang Wuxian blotted his ink, turning his attention away from the paperwork.
“Is Attendant Censor Lin alright?” Zhang Wuxian asked. Liang Hongfei waved a hand at him.
“Goodness, you’re impatient, aren’t you? I haven’t heard back from my servant yet. Nevermind that for now, we need to head over to a meeting on the Minister’s behalf. Orders from the Bureau,” Liang Hongfei said. Blinking in confusion, Zhang Wuxian obediently gathered his things. He raised his hand to hail a clerk over, but Liang Hongfei caught it in a firm grip.
“Just us,” Liang Hongfei said. “Leave the clerks at it.”
Zhang Wuxian felt a stir of unease at the back of his mind, but quietly followed Liang Hongfei out the building from the side door.
“We’re taking my carriage instead, faster that way,” Liang Hongfei said, gesturing at the plain carriage without an emblem. Zhang Wuxian’s unease grew stronger as he got in.
“Sir, what’s happened?” He demanded. Liang Hongfei’s gaze flicked over to him, scanning Zhang Wuxian carefully as though coming to a decision.
“How well do you know Attendant Censor Lin?” Liang Hongfei asked. His tone was so carefully casual that it made Zhang Wuxian’s body tense up.
“Why? What happened? Is he alright?”
“I asked you a question, Attendant Censor Zhang.”
The wave of dread came crashing down. “Well enough, I suppose,” Zhang Wuxian said shakily. “But we had separate duties at work so I don’t know much about his current tasks.”
Something’s gone wrong. Is it the investigation? Did he say something he shouldn’t have? Surely he isn’t that careless!
“I want you to listen calmly, Attendant Censor Zhang. My servant found Attendant Censor Lin in his home. He’s…well, there’s no way around it. He’s killed himself.”
Zhang Wuxian stared at him blankly.
“That’s not–that’s not possible.”
“Possible or not, that’s what the situation is,” Liang Hongfei said mercilessly, his face a grim mask. “Now what I want you to do is to take a look at the scene and tell me what you see. Do you understand?”
Zhang Wuxian found himself unable to nod or shake his head.
“Listen. Right now you have two choices. The first is that I drop you off somewhere and let you have the day off, the second is that you get off the carriage with me and see if you find anything suspicious,” Liang Hongfei said. The undercurrent of urgency in his voice was was stronger now.
“What did you make him investigate?”
Liang Hongfei’s brow creased. “What?”
“What did you–what did you make him investigate? He said he was on the verge of uncovering a terrible truth, one that could shake the nation,” Zhang Wuxian said in a trembling voice. “He took home the meat pies my wife made last night and now he’s dead–what did you make him do?”
Liang Hongfei’s face was unreadable. “I want an answer, Zhang Wuxian. Will you take a look at the scene or will you not?”
Zhang Wuxian clasped his trembling hands together in his lap. “I’ll take a look.”
“Good.” Liang Hongfei reached out and opened the carriage door. Without Zhang Wuxian having even realized it, they had reached the backdoor of Lin Jie’s residence. A tall young man with a boyish face was standing at the gate, his face creased with worry. Zhang Wuxian found himself noting the young man’s callused hands and dusty shoes as though he were observing from a different plane of existence.
A farmer, not a trained martial artist, he thought to himself.
“My lord, thank the heavens you’re here! I found him like this,” the young man said, a desperate note in his voice. Liang Hongfei turned to Zhang Wuxian expectantly. With great effort, he got his feet to move. He got off the carriage and stepped into the gate. He froze there, an instinctive horror stopping him from moving forward.
“You can still change your mind,” Liang Hongfei said. The words seemed to physically prod at him, and Zhang Wuxian forced himself into the house, step by reluctant step. Finally, the door, and then the dark room with its curtains still drawn. Lin Jie hung from the rafters, feet dangling above an overturned chair.
Zhang Wuxian let out a wail and dropped to his haunches, face buried in his hands.
“Attendant Censor Zhang,” Liang Hongfei’s worried voice came from above. Zhang Wuxian shook with muffled sobs, hunched on the ground. Liang Hongfei’s hands hovered over his shoulders, but Zhang Wuxian didn’t wait for them to land. He swallowed a hiccuping sob and wiped his face, shakily getting to his feet.
“I knew that the court devours people, but I never thought that it would be him,” Zhang Wuxian said in a small voice. “He’s always been the sensible one–he’s always been careful.” He slowly brought his eyes to the forlorn figure in the center of the room, vision blurry with tears.
“What do you think?” Liang Hongfei asked. There it was again, an urgent undercurrent in his voice that confirmed Zhang Wuxian’s suspicions.
“This is a murder,” Zhang Wuxian replied without hesitation. “He wouldn’t have hung himself.”
“My thoughts exactly,” Liang Hongfei said. “Xie Rengui, any signs of entry or exit?”
“I couldn’t check the roofs, but there’s nothing to be found anywhere in the house or the yard,” Xie Rengui replied. “But the noose was tied to be exact. The height is exactly right for where he would have been able to reach from the chair, had it been standing.”
Zhang Wuxian stared, unable to tear his eyes from the body.
“Then that’s proof enough,” he found himself saying. “The knot, it’s a double-handed one. The height isn’t right for him to have used his teeth.”
“His right arm,” Liang Hongfei said in realization. “He couldn’t lift it above his shoulder!”
“He couldn’t have tied the noose, then he couldn’t have killed himself,” Zhang Wuxian concluded, his voice breaking as he spoke. “Can’t we just get him down?”
“If it’s a murder, then not yet,” Liang Hongfei replied apologetically. He reached out, gently squeezing Zhang Wuxian’s shoulder before turning to the servant. “Xie Rengui, escort Attendant Censor Zhang back to the carriage. I’ll call this in.”
“Let me stay, I can help! I know this place as well as I do my own home, I can point out any abnormalities in the crime scene,” Zhang Wuxian pleaded.
Liang Hongfei regarded him for a moment before patting him on the shoulder. “Go wipe your face first, and drink some water. I’ll call for you when the Investigators get here.”
“The Bureau?”
Liang Hongfei nodded.
The Bureau–so Brother Lin’s secretiveness wasn’t just because of confidentiality then. It was to minimize the risk for everyone around him.
“So it was the Director’s investigation after all,” Zhang Wuxian muttered.
It explained everything. The discreet paperwork dispatches to the Bureau, the documents that were sealed every time Lin Jie finished reading them, the lack of official records on what the man was working on.
Liang Hongfei shot him a sharp look.
“Go wipe your face,” he said again, more firmly this time. “And keep your conjectures to yourself.”
Zhang Wuxian palmed the wetness off his cheeks, letting Xie Rengui lead him out by the arm.
Brother Lin was right after all, Zhang Wuxian thought heavily. Duke Zhao chose us because we had no background. Feeding the beast? What does it matter if it still devours us in the end?
Glancing back over his shoulder at the shabby door of Lin Jie’s house, he returned to the carriage and sat in silence until the Investigators arrived.
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Cultural Notes
Tiger Seal: Traditionally, a seal that grants authority on behalf of the Emperor to command the military, but can also be applied to civil affairs via establishing "martial law" under emergency circumstances.
走的有点近/Walking a little [too] close [to someone]: A Chinese saying that means that someone is currying favor with/getting a little too close to a faction/group/person of interest.
Pugu tribe: One of the Tiele tribes that surrendered to the Tang Dynasty. Mentioned in the conversation in the opening scene. Not the tribe that Kayla is interfering with.
Qibi tribe: One of the Tiele tribes that surrendered to the Tang Dynasty. Mentioned in the opening scene, but is also not the tribe that they have in mind.
一知半解/One [point of] knowledge half understood: An Ancient Chinese proverb used to describe someone who has a very vague understanding of a topic, usually in the context of someone who discusses a topic they know very little about. This isn't used in-story, but applies to the officials in the first scene. This reflects the very realistic situation of lower-ranking officials in the capital whose work does not pertain to minority tribes in the border regions having strong opinions about them even when they're not clear on the situation (not too dissimilar to the habits of opinionated middle-aged men all around the globe). The young chieftain they actually have in mind is Heli, chief of the Tongluo tribe, which isn't mentioned in their conversation at all.
以孝治天下/Ruling the country through filial piety: A common practice in Ancient Chinese dynasties, where the Emperor makes overt displays of filial piety as a ruling tactic. This held symbolic significance as a signal of the ruler's virtue, and was especially important in warding off attacks on his character.
Khitan: A historical nomadic people who lived in Northeast Asia, they were caught between the Tang and the Turks during the Tang dynasty, later emerging to form a dynasty of their own in the power vacuum from the collapse of the Tang.
Tiele: A tribal confederation of Turkic peoples, they surrendered to the Tang Dynasty but many of them later migrated from China altogether. Many of them would later become part of the Uyghur Khaganate. Kayla's current overtures of friendliness are also taken in light of that historical knowledge.
人经不起诱惑/People can't withstand temptation: A Chinese saying that is often used to mean that human nature should not be tested by temptation.
时过境迁/Times have passed situations have changed: An Ancient Chinese proverb.
勾结禁军/Currying favor with the Imperial Guard: A serious offense in Ancient China for anyone other than the Emperor to have close connections with the Imperial Guard, especially if that someone was a prince. The Imperial Guard was a military unit under the Emperor's direct command and responsible for his safety, hence it was taboo to attempt to gain influence over them.
前功尽弃/Previous efforts are all wasted/abandoned: An Ancient Chinese proverb.
没用的饭桶/Useless rice barrel: A Chinese insult that means a person is useless but still consumes a bunch of rice (aka wastes food through their existence lmao).
吃人的朝廷/A court that devours people: The term "society that devours people" is primarily associated with modern Chinese thinkers near the end of the Qing dynasty who decried feudal society as devouring its people alive. It is commonly used to refer to power structures that impose inequalities that erode the dignity and prosperity of its people, even to the point of taking away their lives. Modern-day netizens may also use it to refer to capitalist structures, unfair policies, etc.