In just a single month, over twenty thousand people had come to Daxing to enlist in the new army, and this filled the Emperor’s heart with boundless joy.

Even he himself might not have fully understood why he could feel so happy, why his entire being radiated a kind of vitality at every waking moment.

But even the eunuch attendant at his side, Zhen Xiaodao, could see it clearly — the Emperor had changed, and it was because he had turned his intentions into action.

Before all of this, no one had ever been able to bring about such a transformation in him.

And so Zhen Xiaodao said that Her Majesty the Empress must surely be a celestial being.

Perhaps in the Emperor’s own heart, he thought the same — for when he looked at the Empress, the light in his eyes was that of a man gazing upon an immortal.

An immortal who could save him.

Though they had met so late. Though they had known each other for such a short time. Yet the Emperor knew — she had already become the thing he cared about most in his heart.

On that day in the heavy rain, the Emperor had seen the Empress standing beside him, letting herself be soaked alongside him. He had also seen that group of brocade-robed nobles sheltering beneath the eaves.

The Emperor had rushed over, refusing to let her stand in the rain.

And so he had also seen those brocade-robed nobles — watching the Empress under the eaves.

Thus the Emperor sought out Duan Hen — at this point, one of the very few martial world experts he could still call upon.

There had once been many such experts in Daxing willing to serve the Emperor, but they were gone now, some having left, others having died.

Duan Hen was a man of rough, untamed origins. When he had been in the Southern Frontier, he was no pirate — yet he had killed far more people than any pirate had.

When he served under the great bandit Li Xionghu, even Li Xionghu was wary of his fearsome reputation and dared not give him real authority, so he sent Duan Hen to Daxing to die instead.

Li Xionghu’s reasoning at the time was simple: if this beast of a man could kill the Emperor of Dachu, it would be the most profitable transaction in the world — so no matter how much silver Duan Hen demanded, Li Xionghu would pay it, and pay generously.

Duan Hen could not be called a particularly clever man. People with no moral floor, or those with no principles at all, are rarely all that clever.

After arriving in Daxing, he had indeed intended to assassinate the Emperor, for he had taken a great sum of silver to do so.

But later, he became the Emperor’s man — not out of fear, but because he had come to realize that Li Xionghu had sent him here to die.

He was an evil man, but he despised being used.

The Emperor looked at Duan Hen and asked, “What else do you want?”

Duan Hen thought about it. He already held the military rank of Grand General and the title of First-Rank Marquis. What more could he lack?

He replied, “What I want, Your Majesty may not be able to give.”

The Emperor said, “Do you know why I have come to you?”

Duan Hen was not particularly clever, but he could probably guess. So he nodded and said, “This subject knows, Your Majesty.”

The Emperor slowly exhaled, “Since you know, then you should understand — as long as you can do what I need done, I can give you anything.”

Duan Hen looked at the Emperor before him and, for the first time, felt that the Emperor was not so far removed from him. And so he found the Emperor a little ridiculous.

For the sake of a woman, the Emperor had actually come to beg someone of such lowly origins as himself. It was amusing, and it was entertaining — so he wanted to play.

“Your Majesty is truly willing to give anything?”

Duan Hen asked again.

The Emperor nodded, “Just say it.”

Duan Hen this time spoke without even pausing to think, because he had already thought of it just moments before. He had been thinking to himself: if the Emperor could agree to this, then he would truly be the most remarkable person in the world — no one else even close — and just imagining it made him proud.

“Your Majesty — would you be willing to swear brotherhood with me? I am older than you, but you are the Emperor, so naturally Your Majesty would be the elder brother.”

After saying this, Duan Hen looked the Emperor directly in the eyes.

The Emperor froze.

“You have extraordinary nerve!”

The Emperor rebuked him sharply.

Duan Hen shrugged his shoulders. “Your Majesty knows — a man like me, it’s not wrong to call me endlessly greedy, because back then I had nothing, so I wanted everything. But it’s also not wrong to say I’m without desire, because now I have everything.”

He said with a laugh, “I happened upon an Emperor such as Your Majesty, so those soldiers who have bled for the Emperor cannot become Grand Generals, yet I could. Those generals who fought to the death for the Emperor could not be ennobled, yet I am already a First-Rank Marquis.”

The Emperor felt his face burning.

In that moment, he finally understood how many wrongs he had committed in the past — to be mocked so openly by a man of the martial world, and of the lowest, most disreputable sort at that. What the Emperor felt in his heart at that instant was easy enough to imagine.

“Why won’t Your Majesty agree to me?”

Duan Hen continued, “Your Majesty has already given me a generalship and a marquisate. I’ve been bragging about it to everyone, but it’s already lost its novelty — people are tired of hearing it. But if Your Majesty were to swear brotherhood with me, I could boast about that for a very long time. After all, there is only one of me in all the world. Your Majesty probably doesn’t know this, but why have I killed so many people? It’s because I love to brag in front of others — and when I brag, no one dares not to listen.”

The Emperor asked, “And if I refuse?”

Duan Hen said, “Her Majesty the Empress is truly beautiful… truly. Your Majesty is blessed beyond measure in love. I have seen so many women in my time, yet not a single one could stir the heart the way Her Majesty does.”

“You deserve to die!”

The Emperor erupted in fury and reached for his blade — but the Emperor wore no blade.

Duan Hen did.

Duan Hen unsheathed his blade and laid it on the table, sliding it toward the Emperor. “Your Majesty, this subject has a blade — but can Your Majesty kill this subject? If Your Majesty can, then Your Majesty can protect the woman you care about yourself.”

The Emperor’s hand had already reached out — but then stopped in mid-air.

In his heart, the Emperor asked himself: why did I come here?

Because he had no choice. He truly had no choice.

He still had the Imperial Guard Commander Hui Chunqiu, and he firmly believed in Hui Chunqiu’s loyalty — but the Imperial Guards might not all be loyal.

Of the guards under Hui Chunqiu’s command, how many had actually been planted there by those factions? Who could say?

Perhaps whoever was scheming against the Empress in secret might be someone inside the palace — perhaps one of Hui Chunqiu’s guards, or perhaps a eunuch under Zhen Xiaodao.

Those people were everywhere.

“I… agree.”

The Emperor’s hand came down hard on the table with a heavy slap. “I agree!”

“Ha ha ha ha ha…”

Duan Hen burst into loud laughter, then swept his robe aside and knelt to the ground. “Paying respects to my elder brother the Emperor! Ha ha ha ha ha — Elder Brother above, receive this younger brother’s bow!”

From that day forward, a figure who seemed thoroughly repugnant appeared at the Empress’s side.

He was truly repugnant — he made no effort whatsoever to conceal his admiration for Her Majesty the Empress, and no matter how many people were present, he would stare at her with shameless, unrestrained eyes.

Every one of the palace maids attending the Empress was afraid of him — afraid to the bone — and whenever they saw him, they would hurry out of the way.

For they all knew: Duan Hen was a genuinely evil man.

The Empress could guess that this was the Emperor’s arrangement, and she could guess why the Emperor had made it.

So no matter how much she disliked Duan Hen, no matter how much she found him repulsive, she did not refuse — because she knew that if she refused, the Emperor’s heart would never be at ease.

The Emperor had worked so hard to build this new army. He had worked so hard to earn its absolute loyalty. He had worked so hard to rouse himself and resolve to turn the tide. She could not allow him to be distracted.

How shameless was Duan Hen?

Out on the training ground, with the Emperor drilling the new recruits, the Empress stood in a row of thatched sheds, bending over a pot of congee she was cooking for the soldiers.

And Duan Hen leaned against a pillar, staring openly and without the slightest concealment at the Empress’s waist and backside.

One of the palace maids, a girl called Zhu’er, could bear it no longer and stepped forward to rebuke him loudly. Duan Hen merely smiled, glanced at Zhu’er, and sauntered away.

Another time, when the Empress was kneeling by the washing pool and laundering the Emperor’s robes with her own hands, Duan Hen walked over and stood beside her. After a moment of silence, he asked, “Your Majesty, do you know what condition I put forward when the Emperor came to me?”

The Empress paid him no mind and simply kept her head down, continuing to wash.

Zhu’er bravely stepped up, “Leave immediately!”

Duan Hen ignored her and continued speaking to the Empress as though to himself. “I said to His Majesty — if you want me to protect Her Majesty the Empress, you and I will have to swear brotherhood.”

The Empress’s hands suddenly stopped, and her shoulders gave a slight tremor.

She felt humiliated on the Emperor’s behalf — swearing brotherhood with someone like this, and all of it done for her sake.

“Actually…”

Duan Hen let out a long breath. “The condition I had intended to propose at the time was: Your Majesty, if there is a woman you cannot protect, give her to me — I can protect her.”

Zhu’er’s face went white in an instant. “Guards! Where are the guards!”

Hui Chunqiu, the Imperial Guard Commander, who had been training alongside the Emperor in the distance, heard the cry and rushed over immediately.

Duan Hen saw him coming, but gave a cold laugh. “He cannot beat me. If I were willing, I could kill him whenever I chose.”

He asked the Empress, “Do you know — I clearly wanted to have you for myself, yet I told the Emperor we should swear brotherhood instead. Do you know why?”

The Empress rose to her feet. She said nothing — yet she met Duan Hen’s gaze with unwavering eyes. Fearless.

Duan Hen lost.

He did not know why he had lost. So he sighed, turned, and walked away.

That same night, Zhu’er said the evil man could not be trusted at all, so she wanted to stay in the same quarters as the Empress — if that evil man truly harbored wicked intentions, she could at least put up some resistance.

When the Empress had looked Duan Hen in the eye, she had shown no fear — yet in her heart, she truly was afraid. So she agreed.

After all, she was only sixteen years old.

Zhu’er turned to go outside, saying she would bring the bedding over. The Empress would sleep in the inner room, she would sleep in the outer room, and she would be able to hear any disturbance.

But Zhu’er had been gone for a long while without returning. The Empress grew uneasy and brought a few maids along to go look for her.

They were lodging at the training grounds. The Emperor was staying with the soldiers, whose quarters were quite a distance away — understandably, given the concern that new recruits might disturb the Empress and her attendants.

The maids’ room was on the side, not terribly far away — perhaps twenty or thirty paces. Zhu’er should have been back long ago.

The Empress led her maids to the side building and saw the room was lit from within. Zhu’er was laid out across the table, and the evil man was doing something terrible.

One of his hands was clamped around Zhu’er’s throat, leaving her helpless to resist.

“Ah!”

The sight of it drained all color from the Empress’s face. She cried out in shock.

Yet Duan Hen seemed entirely unconcerned — he glanced out toward the window and appeared to even smile slightly.

The Empress fled. She ran as if her life depended on it.

She ran to find the Emperor. The Imperial Guards came rushing to surround the building from all sides.

The Emperor arrived shortly after with his men, encircling the room completely, leaving no way in or out.

Yet Duan Hen was still utterly unmoved. When he was finished, he also strangled Zhu’er, then pulled up his trousers and stepped outside.

In front of everyone, he called out to the Emperor, “Elder Brother.”

Fire began to ignite in the Emperor’s eyes.

But before the Emperor could speak, Duan Hen pointed back toward the room inside. “There was a blade hidden in her bedding. If Elder Brother wishes to investigate, perhaps start by looking into who recommended her for palace service.”

And then he actually smiled. “She wanted to kill Her Majesty the Empress, so she had to die. I made use of her before she died — no waste. I’m scum anyway. I don’t mind that she was dirty. Quite tender, too.”

Then he walked away.

The Emperor sent men inside to search. In the bedding Zhu’er had already rolled up, they found a blade. Inside Zhu’er’s clothing, they found a sealed letter.

The Emperor was silent for a moment. He took the letter and tore it apart — shredded it to pieces.

—