Character Index
Zhou Xianchun: The Seventh Prince.
Zhou Kuang: The Third Prince.
Zhou Yunqi: The Fifth Prince.
General Shu: A general stationed in Xiazhou, allied with Kayla.
Wei Guang: The Imperial Edict Bearer and Minister of the Office of Censure.
Chuluo Khagan: The Khagan of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate.
Zhou Hong and Zhou Yong: The First and Second Princes, deceased.
Li Que: A Senior Imperial Investigator.
Lin Yaoguang: The Grand Duke's money launderer.
----------------------------------------
Xianchun stared at Wenyuan, barely hearing the terms that the young Duke was now laying out before him.
Too many thoughts clouded his mind. Incredulity, disbelief, wonder, and the pull of temptation, all of them swirled about him like troubled waters.
He’s offering me a political platform so fearlessly…where did his usual caution go? It reminded him of a meeting in a carriage months ago, when Wenyuan had first posed a platform to Xianchun, one that he had evidently posed to Kuang as well.
The key to the throne lies with the Emperor’s wishes, not just political support.
Whether it was then or now, Wenyuan looked ahead with a surety that seemed unrooted in anything other than his own conviction.
But it’s feasible. What he proposes could be done.
Across from him, Wenyuan finished relaying Kuang’s offer.
“Do you accept?” Wenyuan asked, a note of hope in his voice.
Xianchun was silent for a long moment. A vision of the future stretched out before him, glimmering with the promise of a better world. A future that Xianchun had never even considered before.
Just what does the world look like from your eyes? Curiosity, and then a strange sense of sympathy filled Xianchun’s mind. Almost out of mercy, he paused, and considered it seriously. The answer formed slowly but surely.
“I will think about it,” Xianchun said.
Wenyuan nodded understandingly.
“Of course, my prince.”
“Leave me, Wenyuan, I need to think,” Xianchun said, not unkindly.
Wenyuan bowed his head and quietly left the room. Demurely, as though he hadn’t tantalized Xianchun with a brilliant specter.
There was no problem with the template itself, but Wenyuan had failed to consider the most crucial factor.
“You’re too idealistic, Wenyuan,” Xianchun said into the silence of the study.
“No one who wants to be Emperor would accept bowing to someone else.”
Cooperation ensured by coercion? That was well and fine. But Xianchun wouldn’t deign to be the one on the yoke. Would Kuang? He was almost certain that the answer was no.
Xianchun closed his eyes, briefly allowing himself to envision such a future. One where he was known as a wise and just Emperor, where everything he wanted to accomplish became possible. One where his brothers were able to live, even able to help him rather than dying ignoble deaths. One where Kuang would–the vision shattered. Kuang could never fill that role. Xianchun couldn’t either. And Yunqi? Gentle, kind-hearted Yunqi. If Kuang had to die, so did he. Xianchun knew all too well what lay beneath the soft-spoken man’s calm demeanor.
Steel. It had to be steel, or Yunqi would’ve been crushed into oblivion years ago.
Someone like that, could I let him live to take revenge?
The answer was no.
And in some deep part of his mind, he knew that Kuang had gone through the same thoughts as him.
What a dream you’ve shown me, Wenyuan. Xianchun sighed, leaning back in his chair. You could never understand how beautiful it was.
Xianchun’s eyes narrowed, taking on a dangerous glint.
Or how cruel.
----------------------------------------
Yunqi watched his brother mow through the paperwork with a blank expression. It didn’t fool him. Even without asking, Yunqi could sense Kuang’s agitation.
Was it Wenyuan’s proposition? That was understandable, given the young Duke’s surprisingly brazen words. It was hardly the first time Wenyuan had foregone propriety to propose a political platform—Yunqi could still remember that conversation in his sitting room from months ago, back when Kuang had still been at the border. What was different this time? Yunqi couldn’t place his finger on it, but he could sense the strange undercurrent to Wenyuan’s words that had stirred at something deep inside Kuang.
“What is it, brother?” Yunqi asked, nudging Kuang’s shoulder gently. The older prince sighed and launched to his feet, pacing the room.
“I think I know how Wenyuan swayed General Shu now,” Kuang said grimly.
Yunqi observed Kuang with a pensive gaze. “Do his words bother you, brother? I thought you would have liked them.”
“No man knows the future. Even the best divinators have their limits,” Kuang murmured. “The wise and the learned can predict certain patterns of human behavior and societal change, but who can claim to have concrete knowledge of what happens? It is the mark of a great man who can know what will happen within a hundred year’s time. It is the mark of an arrogant man to think he can know what happens a thousand years later.”
Yunqi nodded slowly, realization dawning in his stomach.
“You think he was speaking of the future? But he speaks of the Great Qin, from a time that goes back to the Han Dynasty,” Yunqi pointed out.
“Wenyuan did not speak of the past,” Kuang said with certainty. He glanced back at Yunqi, his confidence tempered by discomfort. “I know it sounds strange, almost as if I was nitpicking at him on purpose. But I know what men look like when they speak of future events with certainty because they know what will happen—usually when they have a hand in it. That was not the look of a man reminiscing of a distant past, Yunqi.”
“Then you believe he knows what will happen next?” Yunqi asked, looking at Kuang in confusion. He hesitated for a moment before continuing in a low voice. “Is he conspiring something?”
Kuang paused and mulled it over for a moment before shaking his head. “No, not like that.”
“Then what?”
“It’s hard to explain, Yunqi,” Kuang sighed. “But if he knows something, then so does Wei Guang. And for that matter, so does Chuluo Khagan. It’s normal for people to act with a long-term plan in mind, but there’s a difference between planning for predictable developments and planning against a predestined future. And I see the latter at work here, for all of them.”
Yunqi considered his brother’s words. He had never had the same innate sharpness of insight as Kuang did. Any discernment that Yunqi did have, he gained from painful experience and cautious observation. In the face of Kuang’s words, he began carefully rifling through the pieces, both of what he knew of those men and what he knew of his brother.
“And especially for Wenyuan, I suppose?” Yunqi asked.
“I wonder,” Kuang muttered. He heaved a sigh. “Perhaps it’s time we had a proper talk with Wei Guang.”
“With Wei Guang?”
“Remember how he hinted to me that Wenyuan would be willing to support us, even through…extreme circumstances, and that Wenyuan had the means to do so?” Kuang asked. “He spoke with such strong conviction back then, perhaps it’s time to figure out exactly what he meant.”
“Do you think he really knows the future? But it is just as you say, even the most skilled of divinators can only see so far,” Yunqi pointed out.
“We need to know what he knows,” Kuang answered. “Perhaps it’s nothing. Perhaps it’s simply my own suspicions getting the better of me. But the future of this country, of its people, of everything that we’re responsible for, if there’s even a chance that we can learn it, then we must do so at any cost.”
Yunqi nodded. “It certainly isn’t knowledge that can be left in the grasp of one or two powerful officials alone,” he said. “Both for their sake and for ours.”
“Then let’s not wait any longer,” Kuang said. He reached for the communication device on the desk and waited for Wei Guang to answer.
“My prince,” Wei Guang greeted him as the call connected. Yunqi remained to the side, just out of sight.
“My good man, I wished to ask you about Wenyuan’s recent proposal,” Kuang said cheerily. “Quite an interesting concept, is it not?”
A strange look passed over Wei Guang’s face. “Indeed, my prince. Perhaps a little idealistic, but not impossible to achieve.”
“It impresses me how well-read my younger cousin is, truly,” Kuang said. “Do you know of where he found these texts on the Great Qin? From what I know, our records are scarce.”
“Perhaps it is a foreign text,” Wei Guang replied. “His mother was also in the habit of collecting books from foreign traders, it’s hardly a surprise that he shares the same habits.”
“Interesting,” Kuang said in a voice that indicated he was not convinced in the slightest.
“Indeed,” Wei Guang murmured.
He doesn’t know either, Yunqi noted. But he does know that Brother’s getting close to figuring something out.
A thin thread of clarity connected the pieces. He’s waiting for Brother to figure it out, Yunqi realized. He’s waiting for Brother to ask!
Wei Guang didn’t have to wait for long. Kuang hesitated for a moment, weighing his baseless convictions against the solidness of Wei Guang’s support.
“I’ll just open the door to the mountains, Wei Guang. Is there something I should know about Wenuyan, about this country’s future?” Kuang asked.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
There was a brief pause of shocked silence from the other end of the device.
What if I’m wrong? What if Brother’s guessed wrong?
Yunqi held his breath, carefully watching Wei Guang’s expression for the onset of confusion and then doubt before the polite arranging of facial features back into neutrality.
Instead, Wei Guang smiled.
“I have been waiting for that question for a long time, Your Highness,” Wei Guang said, his voice thick with emotion. “I would be honored to say that the answer is yes.”
Kuang drew back, unable to hide his surprise. The look of shock quickly faded into realization, then a confident smile.
The prince leaned forward, folding his fingers together on the desk. “Tell me everything,” he ordered.
“Gladly, my prince.”
----------------------------------------
Kayla cleared her throat. She stood before all the Investigators assigned to the hostel raids in the crowded meeting hall.
All these men…then again, better to be overstaffed than understaffed for these things. Even back in my world, didn’t they send like twelve armed men to break down my neighbor’s door only to arrest a single stoner?
Then again, that was in an overfunded police state.
Well, this is far more people we’re dealing with. We should have at least this many. The senior staff has all gone over the numbers, we all agree on this. She dispelled her doubts and turned her attention to the Investigators before her.
“As you all know from your team briefings, we will be conducting raids on the hostels in the Shengwen Road area tonight,” Kayla said. “I hope that you have all finished the handover procedures for your colleagues to take over your other duties for the night. Make sure to ensure they have all the information they need, since some of them aren’t from the capital, but also make sure to protect confidentiality.”
“The recent murders of the deceased First and Second Princes is a devastating loss, and an outrageous offense against the state, the Emperor, and the law itself. We, as the ones tasked with guarding the Imperial Family and the court’s security and upholding their honor, cannot let this offense go unanswered, or it would be a smear on our name and pride.”
She paused, letting the murmurs of agreement fill the room for a moment.
“This is not an easy task, to find a few suspects amidst so many people, and under such conditions as well. But you are all well-trained and highly skilled, and I can’t think of better men for this job. That being said, there are a few things that must be kept in mind.”
Kayla drew a deep breath.
“I do not want any complaints about violence or the overuse of force against civilians!” Kayla said, raising her voice. “Don’t go around demolishing the place or wrecking their possessions, don’t use force where it's not necessary, don’t break any bones that don’t need to be broken, and do not, I repeat, do not kill anyone. Am I understood?”
A chorus of “yes sirs” sounded out. She nodded to Li Que and stepped back to let him take over.
“Remember the procedure–two healers with each team, and one Investigator on standby with a communication device open at all times. Healers and standby investigators are not to engage unless necessary. If someone runs, you leave it to the team outside. Don’t give chase unless you can tackle them within twenty feet,” Li Que said, rattling off each of the guidelines.
“You can arrest the hostel owners if they refuse to cooperate or on the grounds of engaging in illegal business practices, but keep the wife and the female staff members separate from the rest if there are any–avoid any unnecessary physical contact with them. And if the healers encounter anyone with serious or underlying health conditions, they are to be referred to medical treatment regardless of whether or not they were injured. We won’t be having anyone pass away a few days later and pinning it on us,” Li Que continued.
“We’ll have an open line with the Ministry of Personnel and with the City Guard, so the identity checks shouldn’t take more than a few hours at most,” Kayla added on. “Make sure to issue the tracking talisman and the restriction talisman to each and every person we detain, and make it clear to them that they are not to remove either one of them or leave the city without further notice. They’ve got to understand that if they leave or remove the talismans on their own, they will automatically become wanted criminals, and their information and physical descriptions will be sent out to every guard and checkpoint in the surrounding regions. The tracking talisman, well, that’s self-explanatory. The restriction talisman, and make sure they understand this! It will automatically send us an alarm if they remove either talisman or if they leave the capital.”
“It may sound like a grand undertaking, but we reckon it shouldn’t take very long,” Li Que said. “If the information check finds anything unusual, we can arrest the suspect by the end of the night. Even if we don’t find them right away, the follow-up background investigations will turn up anything suspicious. Anyone who doesn’t want to be found will have to run, and then we’ll be ready to catch them.”
“The time is set for the first hour of the morning,” Kayla announced. “Secure any residential records and bookkeeping from the owners or managers, and if they don’t have any, arrest them for tax evasion. That’s all.”
Murmuring, nodding, and complaining amongst themselves, the Investigators shuffled off to their respective posts.
“My lord,” Li Que’s voice interrupted into her observations.
“Li Que, thanks for your help on this,” Kayla said.
“Not at all. We have borrowed one of the Guard Towers overlooking the neighborhood, may I recommend that you oversee the operation from there?” Li Que offered.
Kayla nodded.
If the boss isn’t equipped to handle the task, they should stay the fuck out of it. She knew as much from her own experiences.
“I will be glad to do so.”
“And as for the palace, the Emperor is aware…?” Li Que trailed off carefully.
“Yes, we have his explicit permission and support to go through with this.”
“Excellent, my lord.”
He’s also worried we’ll have done all this for nothing. Well, Kayla could say the same. Lin Yaoguang wouldn’t have given her this lead for nothing–she was sure of it. As for why, she didn’t know.
This will be a terrible experience for the men we detain, no matter what kind of measures I impose for their safety. Putting so many innocent men through the wringer for the chance of grabbing a single guilty one…
A wave of doubt and disgust roiled through her stomach. Why had she gone through with this so easily? Because she needed to. Why? Because otherwise the Emperor’s tenuous favor would snap like a weakened thread.
Just for that? That was more than enough. It wasn’t just her own life on the line here, nor just her own future.
That makes it worth it then? Kayla didn’t know. But the orders were already out, she had already gone through each and every one of the steps that led to this.
I can’t just call it off at this point. I need this. We need this.
A strange fear tingled in the back of her mind, an uneasiness that didn’t stem from fear but something queasier, a cloying sensation that echoed of her childhood.
Please, let me turn up something, she pleaded to whatever gods were listening. Don’t let this be for nothing.
Even as she offered the prayers, cold dread pooled in her stomach. She quashed it forcefully and walked out to join Li Que.
----------------------------------------
Lin Yaoguang waited for the call to connect before bowing his head slightly.
“My lord.”
“Yaoguang, it is good to see you again.” A haggard man greeted him with a smile. He was probably close to his fifties, but looked older with his white-dappled temples. The man had been handsome once, before life had taken its toll on him. The sight of that once-familiar face, now a crumbling ruin of what it once had been, filled Lin Yaoguang with a strange sense of melancholy. There had been another such man, who he had once hoped to see one last time, before those hopes had been dashed by the new Duke Zhao.
The only repose he could take was that the one responsible for his friend’s suffering, the Emperor who had hounded him to this point, now wore a similar countenance from the loss of his sons. As for the one responsible for the Grand Duke’s demise, Lin Yaoguang’s hands were tied.
“Have you been well, my lord?” Lin Yaoguang asked.
The haggard man sighed. “As well as I can be, with all this lying unresolved before me. But I take heart in what is to come. It’s almost over, my friend.”
“Yes,” Lin Yaoguang replied. “I have successfully entered into the Zhao household, just as you wished, and I have given him the lead.”
“Well done! I hope it was not too difficult.”
“No, not at all. But I can’t help but be worried. Will he really fall for it?” Lin Yaoguang said.
“It seems the Imperial Investigation Bureau is conducting raids as we speak,” the haggard man remarked. He caught Lin Yaoguang’s look of surprise and smiled. “Our man inside the Bureau has had some trouble sending us information, but his backup has done his part dutifully.”
“Raiding the hostels…he certainly won’t endear himself to the public by doing this,” Lin Yaoguang said with amusement.
“But it would endear him to the Emperor,” the haggard man said grimly. “Which endears him to anyone seeking to curry favor. But nevermind that.”
“We’re practically enriching him and increasing his influence at this point. It doesn’t sit right with me,” Lin Yaoguang complained.
The haggard man shook his head. “When water fills up it will overflow, once the moon is full it begins to wane, what has made Zhao Wenyuan will be what destroys him someday. In any case, he is not our target, only an obstacle that must be overcome.”
Lin Yaoguang stilled, thinking of his old employer.
“Indeed, by which you rise, so you will fall,” Lin Yaoguang muttered. He let out a sharp sigh, shaking his head.
“I am reminded of another man, another time,” Lin Yaoguang said distractedly. “But the imitation…it can never live up to the original. You’re right, my lord. Let the little Duke have his moment amongst the clouds. He can pose no threat to us.”
“Don’t let your guard down,” the haggard man warned him. “I speak thus to caution you against focusing too much energy on him, not to goad you to carelessness. Do you not find it strange that he agreed so easily to a magical oath?”
“He must be in need of money,” Lin Yaoguang said. “The Emperor’s graciousness has not extended to money, only to power. In any case, he is under an oath that he cannot harm me, order for me to be harmed, or arrange to have someone else give such orders. There is nothing he can do against me.”
“Even so,” the haggard man said meaningfully. He glanced over Lin Yaoguang’s expression. “Though you seem to have realized that already.”
“He forced a magic oath upon me as well,” Lin Yaoguang admitted.
“What?” The haggard man’s voice lowered dangerously. Lin Yaoguang gulped, hastily raising his hands in defense.
“Just that I wouldn’t give him false leads, my lord. And that I’d get him the money. That’s all.”
The haggard man nodded, the dangerous glint in his eyes dying down. “I see. Well, that’s not so bad.”
“No,” Lin Yaoguang said, quietly relieved.
“In addition to the little Duke, keep an eye on the Princes,” the haggard man said. “If there is any hint of reconciliation between them, we need to take action immediately.”
“I know that Zhao Wenyuan went to visit both the Third Prince and the Seventh Prince very recently,” Lin Yaoguang said immediately. “But I doubt he can mediate between them successfully. This isn’t something that a single man could stop.”
“No, but if the conflict escalates, then we need to safeguard the Fifth Prince’s position,” the haggard man pointed out. “Report to me in detail, as often as you can. We must stay a step ahead if we are to succeed.”
“I don’t understand,” Lin Yaoguang said in confusion. “What does the Fifth Prince have to do with anything?”
“We need him for later on,” the haggard man replied gently, almost as if speaking to a child. “Just keep him safe.”
Lin Yaoguang swallowed his doubts and nodded.
----------------------------------------
Cultural Notes
The Great Qin: The Chinese name for Ancient Rome, while Byzantine/Western Roman Empire was known as Fulin. In Ancient Rome, China seems to have been known as Serica.
开门见山/Open the door to the mountain: An Ancient Chinese proverb meaning to get straight to the point.
蔑视朝廷，蔑视皇上/To look down/make light of/commit offense against the court and the Emperor: A pretty serious charge in Ancient China that could severely damage your reputation if not land you in prison. The problem was, the definition of this often varied quite a bit, so it was a convenient tool for political attacks.
望楼/Guard Tower: An implement in Ancient China, especially the Tang Dynasty, where there were towers dispersed throughout the city that are usually a little taller than their surrounding buildings, from which you could use human security cameras to keep an eye on things and also to communicate via flag or visual signals to other towers. Not so different from modern-day police boxes in cities.
两鬓斑白/Two temples are dappled with white: An Ancient Chinese proverb referring to old age or to premature aging due to stress, exhaustion, etc.
水满则溢，月满则亏/When water fills up it will overflow, once the moon is full it begins to wane: An Ancient Chinese proverb meaning that when something reaches its peak, it will begin to decline, when someone has gotten to the highest point, then they have nowhere to go but down. The second part of the saying is "自满则败，自矜则愚/If you become self-satisfied you will fail, if you are arrogant you will become foolish".
以此兴，必以此亡/By this [you] rise, so by this [you] must fall: An Ancient Chinese proverb derived from the pre-Qin historical record The Commentary of Zuo, where the original line was "君以此始，必以此终/My lord started with this, and thus must end with this". The context was that the Kingdom of Chu was fighting the Kingdom of Jin (both were pre-Qin Chinese kingdoms) but fell into a disadvantage during the battle (due to his own fault). One of his generals led a charge from the right wing, and he sent another general to lead the charge from the left wing, which was under the King of Chu's command. After the battle ended with an incomplete victory, the King of Chu made to get on the same chariot as his right-wing commander, who had performed excellently, but was stopped by his chancellor, who reminded the King that he had started the battle riding in the left wing, and thus must end it riding in the left wing. Honestly, the record for this is a little confusing and all, but the line evolved into a warning that what makes you will often be what brings you down, as people tend to watch out for their weaknesses (provided that they know what they are), but often rely on their strengths without questioning them as much, which means that they actually have more vulnerabilities in that regard if their strengths ever fall through.