Fang Jian Ya saw himself reflected in the Emperor’s eyes, filled with shock and tension. He hesitated before carefully saying, “Perhaps something unexpected happened on the journey…”
“All these years, whatever he wanted to do, We have allowed him. He has the talent of a commander, and there isn’t a more excellent general in the entire Great Liang. But such a blade needs to be held in Our hand, and in the future, it should be held in Prince Jin’s hand.” The Emperor seemed completely uninterested in Fang Jian Ya’s words. He had awakened from his slumber and turned his head to stare at the ceiling, saying coldly, “Songyu’s judgment of people is accurate, and We have never misjudged anyone. Duan Xu is a man indifferent to power with no ambition. Without ambition, but also loyalty.”
After a pause, the Emperor turned his head to look at Fang Jian Ya and asked, “Can such a man be kept?”
Fang Jian Ya’s heart tightened. He immediately rose, walked to the side, and lifting his robe, knelt saying, “Your Majesty, the seventeen provinces north of the border rivers are about to be recovered. Taking action against General Duan now would only please our enemies and allow Danzhi to reap the benefits.”
“The seventeen provinces north of the border rivers…” The Emperor’s laugh was somewhat contemptuous. He said lightly, “Who knows whether those seventeen provinces will belong to the Han family or the Duan family in the future?”
“Your Majesty just said that General Duan is not an ambitious person, I think he wouldn’t…” Fang Jian Ya blurted out urgently, but immediately realized his mistake after speaking only a few words and stopped.
The sun had completely set, and the candlelight flickered. The room was too dim to see the Emperor’s expression. After a moment of silence, the Emperor said quietly, “It seems Master Fang is not at odds with General Duan, and even greatly admires him.”
Fang Jian Ya bit his lip and said, “This servant is thinking only of Great Liang’s dynasty.”
The Emperor laughed softly, then changed the subject to what Fang Jian Ya had mentioned earlier.
“Master Fang previously said that you entered government service to reduce the number of suffering people in the world. Now that you are not in Prince Jin’s faction, it would be extremely difficult to realize your ideals. But with this imperial edict, I grant you, you can rise quickly and fulfill your aspirations.”
“However, I want to add one more condition to this edict. I appoint you as the Marquis of Zhonghe and promote you to Deputy Commander of the Privy Council with policy-making authority. At the same time, when Duan Xu returns to the Southern Capital, as he failed to rescue the Emperor in time and harbors thoughts of negligence and rebellion, you will strip him of his military power and execute him.”
Fang Jian Ya was shocked as he raised his head to look at the Emperor. His mind was in chaos, he disregarded protocol, stood up, walked to the bedside, and said, “Your Majesty… General Duan is not…”
“Does Master Fang intend to be Duan Xu’s shadow for his entire life? He has a family background and lineage, with countless shadows of his own. But your opportunity comes only once.” The Emperor did not reprimand Fang Jian Ya for his breach of etiquette and said calmly, “Master Fang, for the sake of power, even fathers and sons, brothers and siblings slaughter each other.”
Fang Jian Ya stared at the Emperor in a daze. The Emperor’s eyes were deep and black, hiding profound anger.
And deeper than anger was malice.
When Steward Zhao returned with the evening meal, the Emperor also summoned Songyu. In their presence, he wrote this secret imperial edict, affixed it with the imperial jade seal, and handed it to Fang Jian Ya.
Under everyone’s gaze, Fang Jian Ya knelt stiffly on the ground, stretched out his hand to accept the imperial edict, and said in a voice that seemed not his own, “This servant receives the edict.”
The decree that fell into his hands wrote of his glory on one half and Duan Xu’s grave on the other—it was the most vicious curse he had ever seen in his life.
When the Emperor had fallen back asleep, Fang Jian Ya said to Steward Zhao, “The time is not yet ripe. Please keep this imperial edict confidential and do not let any word of it leak out.”
Steward Zhao smiled and said, “Congratulations, sir. I understand and will not speak a single word about this. When you need it, I will come to testify for you.”
Fang Jian Ya bowed and said, “Thank you, Steward.”
He closed the door and walked out with Master Songyu under the eaves of the Buddhist temple. The tree shadows swayed, and all was silent. After turning a corner, he stopped and called out, “Master.”
Master Songyu turned back to look at him. The elderly man had white hair and beard, a face full of wrinkles, and an expression that was always calm and unmoved, just as when Fang Jian Ya had first met him years ago.
In Fang Jian Ya’s true past, there was naturally no so-called tutor. After being sold multiple times, he arrived at Duan Chengzhang’s mansion and was later chosen to impersonate Duan Xu and sent back to Daizhou. When he was fourteen, Duan Xu rescued him and brought him to the Southern Capital, entrusting him to Master Songyu’s care. He was able to stay at Jinan Temple for some time and, naturally, “coincidentally” encountered Prince Pei who came to offer incense.
No one could have imagined that Duan Xu, who did not believe in gods or Buddha, would have a connection with the enlightened monk Songyu. According to Master Songyu, their relationship began when five-year-old Duan Xu threw stones at him on the road, demanding he return his mother to him.
Now Master Songyu looked at Fang Jian Ya and sighed, “Amitabha Buddha. The Emperor is a good friend of this poor monk, and Duan Xu is also this poor monk’s young friend. This imperial edict today, this poor monk will pretend never to have heard of it.”
Fang Jian Ya bowed deeply and said, “Thank you, Master.”
The Emperor’s moment of clarity seemed only like the final flicker of a dying lamp. His condition rapidly deteriorated, and when he awoke again, he could no longer speak, only a breath caught in his throat that he could not swallow.
After nearly two weeks of fighting in the Southern Capital, Prince Su finally prevailed and captured Prince Ji alive. He announced that the Emperor had died and passed the throne to him, then hastily executed Prince Ji, his army, and his advisors on charges of treason.
Songyu sent news to Prince Jin, who took advantage of Prince Su’s carelessness to secretly take the Emperor away. Fang Jian Ya was finally able to leave Jinan Temple and return to his residence.
The once-prosperous streets of the Southern Capital were in ruins, permeated with the smell of burning vegetation. Blood stains remained unwashed on the ground, and bodies still lay scattered. The formerly leisurely and elegant people of the Southern Capital now walked the streets hurriedly, with worried expressions, never lingering.
Fang Jian Ya was somewhat surprised to encounter Duan Jingyuan on the road.
She was wrapped in a cape with her maid, hurrying along the road. Seeing him, she also stopped in surprise.
“In the current situation, how are you still out walking!” Fang Jian Ya couldn’t help but exclaim.
Duan Jingyuan removed her hat, revealing her pretty face with a light pink complexion amidst the gloom. She pressed her lips together and said, “We ran out of rose water, and I had to come out to buy it. No one else knows how to choose the good ones, only I can pick the best.”
“You…” Fang Jian Ya didn’t know what to say to her.
“Besides, Prince Su has won now. Prince Su is the person father supports, so the situation is favorable to us.” Duan Jingyuan paused at this point and asked with some hesitation, “But you… will you be in any trouble?”
Fang Jian Ya rubbed his temples and urged her to go home quickly. But the string of her cloth bag loosened, and seeing that the bottles inside were about to fall to the ground, Fang Jian Ya hurriedly caught them, put them back in the bag, tied a knot, and instructed her not to go out again recently.
Walking on her way home, Duan Jingyuan looked down at the cloth bag in her hand, which had a neat six-petal flower knot tied on it. She tugged at the flower knot and said softly, “He knows how to tie this knot too…”
She had thought only her third brother knew how to tie it.
Prince Su soon convened a court assembly. Dressed in imperial robes and crowns, he sat on the dragon throne with an imposing presence, his face beaming with joy. Fang Jian Ya, wearing red court attire, stood among many officials in the court. Many officials still wore anxious expressions—a new emperor’s ascension usually meant bloodshed, but it remained unclear who would be the first victim.
As Prince Su’s confidant was still speaking platitudes, a commotion suddenly erupted outside the hall. The young Prince Jin walked at the front, with many servants carrying a sedan bearing the dying Emperor into the great hall. The court officials immediately erupted in chaos, and Prince Su was also greatly shocked.
Prince Jin made an impassioned speech accusing Prince Su of attempting to imprison the Emperor in the palace to harm him and usurp power. Without giving Prince Su a chance to rebut, he directly asked the Emperor in a loud voice, “Imperial Father, is what your son said true? Who intended to imprison and kill you?”
The Emperor was even weaker than when he had left Jinan Temple. With some difficulty, he raised his hand and pointed at Prince Su.
“Father, do you want your son to execute this traitorous official for you?”
The Emperor slowly nodded.
“Nonsense! Complete nonsense! Father is deceived by villains—it is you, Prince Jin, who has abducted Father!” Prince Su, with a deathly pale face, shouted from the throne, ordering his men to seize Prince Jin. Prince Jin did not yield; his hidden forces began fighting with Prince Su’s men, and the court officials screamed as they scattered to avoid the conflict. Fang Jian Ya fled with the crowd, taking shelter behind a pillar from where he looked at the Emperor on the sedan. The Emperor, long tormented by illness, lowered his raised hand and, with tired and clouded eyes, slowly closed them.
He had held on until now just for this moment. Those who become emperors generally want to see their arrangements come to fruition.
However, in the chaotic court, curtains were torn, blood flowed like rivers, and bodies lay strewn. No one noticed that the Emperor had already breathed his last, or perhaps someone did notice, but at this moment, it was not the most important matter.
Someone cried out in alarm. Fang Jian Ya turned to look and saw Prince Su’s body falling heavily to the ground in a twisted posture. Blood spread from beneath him, engulfing his crown that had fallen not far away. This crown that Prince Su had worn for barely half an hour was now stained with his fresh blood.
Prince Jin and his subordinates were shouting something, but Fang Jian Ya paid little attention. He only looked at Prince Su, who died with his eyes open, his gaze directed toward the Emperor.
Fang Jian Ya felt his heart beating noisily, with emotions of shock and melancholy entangled within him as he witnessed the filthiest chaos in the most dignified place in the human world.
—For the sake of power, even fathers and sons, brothers and siblings slaughter each other.
Just then, a clear shout broke through the chaos and bloodshed.
“Report!”
The soldier who leaped into the hall seemed bewildered by the scene before him, but he still dutifully completed his message.
“Victory report! Great Liang has won! Youzhou has been captured!”
Amidst the noisy discussions, Fang Jian Ya stood frozen in place, feeling his heart settle and finally able to exhale a long breath.
In the third month of the fifteenth year of Tianyuan, Great Liang annihilated thirty thousand enemy troops at Youzhou, occupying the entire territory of Youzhou, while also successfully capturing Fengzhou. The Emperor passed away, and the Southern Capital was in chaos for two months, with Prince Ji and Prince Su both perishing.
In the fifth month of the fifteenth year of Tianyuan, Prince Jin ascended the throne and changed the era name for the following year to Xinhe.
In the ninth month of the fifteenth year of Tianyuan, the Great Liang army captured Qingzhou, and Danzhi sued for peace.
In the eleventh month of the fifteenth year of Tianyuan, the Emperor summoned the Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Forces, Duan Xu, back to the Southern Capital, and Duan Xu responded to the summons.