Three days later, the snow gathered over a month in Jing manor has been completely swept clean, leaving the estate as new. Aside from a small gathering of snow resting atop the tree branches and roof tiles, Jing manor was no different in appearance than it had been when the Prime Minister was still alive.
At the same time, under Lai Song’s meticulous arrangements, the Southern Wu’s branch of rebels in Lin’an was swept clean. All its local members were captured in a single move, along with some local officials that have been found sympathetic to their cause. The minds of these separatists were in turmoil; how could the Seventh Prince have found them out so quickly? Of course, none of them had realised this was from tracking the names provided by Fang Hui, which had allowed them to find the majority of the Southern Wu separatists hideouts.
Naturally, the credits fell onto the Seventh Prince, and the name ‘Fang Hui’ was mentioned only once as a footnote in the petition before the Imperial Court. The Emperor, who had received the petition, was unnaturally enthusiastic, awarding the Seventh Prince several titles and fiefdoms, causing the Crown Prince’s supporters to fear that the successor of the dragon throne may change.
When Zhou Aimin learned of this, his face was as black as coal. It was evident that with the strengthening of the Seventh Prince’s power, there would be greater fallout from the conflict between him and the Crown Prince. Before the sun had perched, he walked towards Jing Wen’s bedchambers.
Seeing Mingzhu reading aloud scholarly books for the seemingly unworried Jing Wen, Zhou Aimin felt his worries significantly eased. Still, he entered the bed chambers, intending to ask Jing Wen some things.
Seeing Zhou Aimin arrive, Mingzhu hurriedly placed down the bamboo scroll, announcing, “Master, Sir Zhou has arrived.”
Jing Wen could sense the hurried nature in Zhou Aimin’s steps. Gesturing Zhou Aimin to sit on a spare bench, he asked, “Fellow Zhou, what has happened.”
Zhou Aimin quickly settled down as he responded, “His Majesty has decreed to increase the number of households under the Seventh Prince’s control by several hundred… This increase is not merely granting a few titles, it’s capable of severely altering the balance of power in court. Worse still, the Crown Prince is still out of the capital, so we are not able to advise him on taking actions to empower his own positions.”
Jing Wen shook his head and replied, “Hubris is the fall of many heroes. Fellow Zhou, a couple thousand more silver from tax revenue would not change the Seventh Prince’s material situation much. Yet, such favouritism from the Emperor would certainly instil the idea in the Seventh Prince’s head that he is becoming increasingly preferred as the dynastic heir. However, I am familiar with how much grooming the Crown Prince has received from His Majesty - how can he be replaced so easily?”
Zhou Aimin suddenly felt enlightened. Squinting his eyes, he asked, “Is this your doing? Were the identities of those Southern Wu rebels given to the Seventh Prince by you?”
Jing Wen nodded. “Indeed. The information was delivered by someone I arranged beside the Seventh Prince. That intelligence was something also to stabilise the position of him.”
Zhou Aimin looked at Jing Wen silently, his gaze slowly shifting downwards towards the book he had previously been ‘reading’. The text was a classic of stratagems and psychological manevenuring.
Knowing this made Zhou Aimin feel relieved. Jing Wen was like a pearl finally ridding itself of its dust. However…
Zhou Aimin’s expression quickly turned strange as he pushed, “However, how does Fellow Jing know the identity of those rebels?”
Indeed, it was a rather strange matter. Regardless of how powerful and influential the Prime Minister had been, Jing Wen was still a mere captain of an Imperial Guard division. If even the Seventh Prince was unaware of this matter, how could he provide identities of the Southern Wu rebels with such magnanimity and generosity to the Seventh Prince?
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Behind Jing Wen’s figure was a window that presented the scenery past it without hesitation, allowing all to admire it. But Jing Wen’s eyes were not an unglazed window that showed the secrets of his heart. It was blocked by that strip of cloth. Because of this, for Zhou Aimin, Jing Wen was more mysterious than to divulge the will of heaven.
It was before dawn, so the birds had yet to roost in their usual spots. There was only a small gathering of snow atop the untrimmed trees and the red walls that were still cold. Even after intensive maintenance from the new servants, Jing manor still bore a lonely feeling from a month of abandonment.
He ‘looked’ at Zhou Aimin and said, “Because they partook on the assassination of my father and mother.”
Jing Wen had spoken a few words, yet the invisible burden behind them seemed to bore weight upon the branches and tiles. With an overbearing thud, the snow tumbled onto the recently swept tiles, covering them once more.
No matter how much one sweeps, as long as the heart is frozen, it will be covered once more.
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A thousand li (500 kilometres) away from the capital, Hua Quanfu looked at the dark sky and smiled. The weather was far more temperate than the frigid North Sea. The recent chill had forced tribes to the line between life and death. Even newborns had to rest in the carcasses of a recently slaughtered goat to prevent a premature end.
Winter was indeed terrible, but it is far better than its alternative.
Looking at the girl beneath him, who had a pampered and lovely body unique to the Zhili region, he cupped her face and said, “Today is a good day.”
The girl was slightly startled, but her expression remained unchanged as she removed Hua Quanfu’s hand away. She asked calmly, “What do you mean?”
Hua Quanfu changed into a clean set of clothing, leaving the bed suddenly devoid of a person. He said, “The Lin’an branch of the Southern Wu rebels has been eliminated.”
It was unknown what means he managed to procure this information, yet he appeared wholly confident of its accuracy.
The girl found his words even less coherent. She massaged her temples with her thin fingers and said scornfully, “Hua Quanfu, have you finally lost your mind? Don’t forget you are a Southern Wu person.”
Hua Quanfu did not answer the girl’s question. He took the incense holder resting next to the bedside and dumped the ashes leftover from last night. Seeing the powder slowly settling onto the ground, he said, “They were originally useful idiots, but now they’re plain idiots. Since we don’t need them, we can dispose of them. Their activities will only serve to unify the Imperial Court and prepare for future incidents. The court was aware of this, but the Seventh Prince is too reliant on his instincts. Now that the rebels have been removed, Lin’an will sink into a mood of celebration and passivity. As long as the two princes remain ambitious, the Zhu Dynasty will be plagued by instability. It would just be like Southern Wu twenty-eight years ago.”
The Southern Wu had been the final state that the Great Zhu had conquered to unify the lands beneath the heavens. Its lands were abundant in rice and fish, controlling the prosperous provinces of Yuezhi, Nanyue and Nanwang with countless tributary states that kept its coffers overflowing. Its navy was unrivalled among its contemporaries, and its army was not lacking in capable generals. By all means, it was a vastly influential and successful state that may have been capable of unifying the lands beneath heavens were it not for the presence of the Great Zhu.
Yet as the Great Zhu rose, it had fallen into petty squabbling between the princes and generals. It’s plentiful resources wasted in internal conflict. It had no capacity to resist the marching armies of the Great Zhu. Even separated by countless mountains and rivers, it fell in a remarkable two years.
Since the twenty-eight years of Southern Wu’s vanquishment, its’ former territories was renamed to Lingnan, and it’s capital, Huajing (华泾) was reduced to a mere district of the new capital of Lingnan, Nanhai (南海). The younger generations, including Jing Wen, bear no memories of it aside from gossip in the capital. Just like the ashes remained from the incense the previous night, it was reduced to nothing more than dust that would be blown away by the wind of time.
The girl frowned, her eyes appearing as dark as the night sky above the caravan. These eyes greatly complemented her ordinary yet strangely pampered body that seemed to belong to a maid from a wealthy household than a woman from the North.
“If they became plain idiots, that is the fault of the master. They could have been used resourcefully.”
Hua Quanfu was silent for a moment before he moved his hands back to tie his hair. After inserting a jade pin bearing a snake carving into his bun, he said calmly, “Perhaps they could have been utilised in a better manner… but that does not matter. In the end, it is impossible to change the past. What they’ve done will be reduced to a footnote in the history books, or forgotten altogether.”
The girl raised her head and looked at Hua Quanfu. Her plump lips raised to form an arc as she said coldly, “The past is the matters of our ancestors and the future is the matters of our descendants. The present matter is what belongs to us. Do not over-emphasis on the history books.”
Hua Quanfu looked at the rising sun through the window and fell silent for a long time. Without turning towards the girl, he said, “Do not worry. I will get you your revenge.”
The girl wrapped herself with the blankets and walked next to Hua Quanfu. She was curious as to why he was looking at the sunrise for such a long time. After all, it was an event that occurred endlessly.
After looking at the sunrise for a long moment, she could not find anything different from when she had been in Lin’an. Shaking her head, she stepped back, moving towards the makeup table. As she sat down, she saw in the reflection of the mirror that Hua Quanfu bore a rather foolish smirk.
She shook her head, thinking that the men from Lingnan were truly strange men lost to time.
How could she be aware that before Hua Quanfu’s eyes, there were two suns in the sky?