Emperor Yang Jing had come to Shu alone. On the surface, he seemed to warm quickly to the Shu officials around him — but once Pei Qi left and the door closed and Yang Jing was the only one in the room, the terrible sense of loneliness hit him with a force he found difficult to bear.

Even at his loneliest in Da Xing City, there had always been familiar people around. But now, he truly had no one close to him at all. The moment the door shut, he felt as though he no longer existed in this world.

Yet almost immediately, a voice arose in Yang Jing’s heart.

What is it you’re really after? a voice asked him.

If what you cling to is so-called family, so-called friendship, so-called reunion — then why did you struggle all those years?

Yang Jing jolted upright and looked frantically around the room, trying to find who was rebuking him in secret.

But there was no one else in the room. The voice was not coming from within the room — it was coming from within him. And the one rebuking him was not someone else. It was himself.

Dimly, Yang Jing seemed to see a vision: himself, robed in golden dragon silk, glowering at the Yang Jing sitting before him.

When you were an imperial prince, you schemed for the crown prince’s position for the sake of this empire. When you were crown prince, you schemed for the Emperor’s throne for the sake of this empire.

The one you were always trying to save was never yourself. It was Chu. It was the Yang family’s realm.

Yang Jing took a long, slow breath, and said to himself: I’m sorry.

I can abandon the seven emotions and the six desires. I can abandon my friends and family. But I cannot abandon this realm and its people.

In this moment he forced himself calm.

Because he understood clearly: in Pei Qi’s hands, he was only a chess piece — exactly like Yang Xuanji before him.

Why had they chosen Yang Xuanji? Because he bore the Yang name. For the great clans with so much at stake, the empire hadn’t changed its surname — only the man on the throne. They could accept that. They could still extract their wealth from the world as before, still oppress those common people like cattle.

Now Yang Xuanji was gone, and Yang Jing had taken his place. Wasn’t that even more fitting?

Yes. The man they had once sought to overthrow had now become the most suitable candidate.

Such is the way of great lords — moving between destroying dynasties and restoring them with perfect ease, as lightly as they please.

One moment they shout about toppling the tyrannical Chu and building a new world; the next they shout about loyalty to the imperial house and sparing no cost to restore Great Chu.

Yang Jing knew his position. What he needed to do was: while being used by Pei Qi and his kind, find a way to use them in return.

But in this moment Yang Jing felt his loneliness again. He had no one to consult.

If only Yu Wenli had come along… How had he forgotten?

Yang Jing thought: if he had said to the King of Ning Li Chi — if you want Yu Jiuling back, let Yu Wenli leave with me — surely Li Chi wouldn’t have cared. If he was willing to let Yang Jing himself go, would he really bother over one Yu Wenli?

Just then, a soft knock came at the door. Yang Jing quickly composed himself, arranged a warm smile on his face, and called out: “Come in.”

The door swung open. A young woman entered — she looked young and very beautiful.

“Your Majesty.”

The woman bowed shyly, and when Yang Jing saw her face clearly, his eyes went wide.

This woman — she looked uncannily like the late Empress Yu.

“Who are you?!” he asked urgently.

The woman bowed again and answered softly, “Your Majesty, my name is Yu Rou. The Jiedushi sent me to attend to Your Majesty.”

The Emperor’s mind snapped clear in an instant. This woman who resembled the Empress so closely was nothing more than one of Pei Qi’s tools for surveillance and control.

A vicious tactic.

So Yang Jing immediately called out: “We require no one’s attendance. Get out!”

Yu Rou’s expression immediately turned pitiful and pleading. “If Your Majesty sends me away, the Jiedushi will surely punish me… I… I am a physician, trained in medicine since childhood. I am here only to tend to Your Majesty’s injuries…”

The Emperor stared at that face. And suddenly, unbidden, the image of the Empress Yu as she lay dying rose in his mind.

He had thrown himself through the palace gates with every last ounce of his strength — in that moment he hadn’t thought of the empire at all, hadn’t even thought of his own life. He had only wanted to protect the woman he loved most. But what he found was an already-cold body.

His woman, who had died in a difficult labor trying to give him an heir. Her face had been full of longing — for this world she was leaving, for the child she had never gotten to meet, and for him.

“Your Majesty…”

Yu Rou stepped forward. “Let me change Your Majesty’s dressings.”

Yang Jing opened his mouth. The words to send her away — they never came out.

—

Jiedushi’s residence.

Pei Qi sat sipping his tea, listening as his subordinate reported back.

“My Lord, Yu Rou has been placed with him.”

Maying’s Third Senior Yuan Official, Yan Caihe, bowed and said: “Yang Jing made only a token show of refusal, then let Yu Rou stay.”

Pei Qi smiled. “He couldn’t refuse.”

Yan Caihe said, “My Lord, if Han Feibao goes to Yong and doesn’t return for at least a year… in that year…”

He looked up, gauged Pei Qi’s expression, then ventured: “Should we employ more methods to ensure Yang Jing is content to stay here and enjoy this life?”

Pei Qi nodded. “I’ve entrusted this matter to you. Handle it at your own discretion.”

Yan Caihe said, “Then I’ll instruct Yu Rou to make Yang Jing dependent on her as quickly as possible, then have her recommend a few others to serve at his side. That should ensure everything goes smoothly.”

After saying this, he looked at Pei Qi. “About Mo Lili…”

Pei Qi sighed. “Have a cenotaph made for her. I will personally attend the funeral. All Maying officers of rank of Flag Officer and above are to be present.”

Yan Caihe acknowledged the order and was about to leave when Pei Qi asked: “Yu Rou was Mo Lili’s woman — can you be certain she won’t cause trouble?”

Yan Caihe quickly bowed. “Yu Rou believes that placing her close to Yang Jing is to avenge Mo Lili’s death, so there will be no problem.”

Pei Qi nodded once more. “Go.”

Yan Caihe bowed and departed.

Outside the door, Yan Caihe let out a heavy breath. As a fellow Senior Yuan Official of Maying, Mo Lili’s death had left him with unavoidable grief.

Not long after Yan Caihe left, another person knocked on Pei Qi’s door, entered quickly, and secured it shut behind them.

“My Lord, Han Feibao and several of his people are already discussing their return to Yong. There should be no complications.”

This person appeared young — only in their mid-twenties — with delicate features. Dressed differently, they could pass as a woman without raising any suspicion.

“Mm. Sit down.”

Pei Qi poured a cup of tea himself; the young person immediately bowed and received it with both hands.

Pei Qi asked, “Any word from the Sacred Master?”

The young person replied, “They all went to Tai Mountain, but there have been no messages since. Those people — they have never trusted us.”

Pei Qi laughed coldly. “They think they can control everything, even compare themselves to gods. But they forget: the most arrogant people have the most weaknesses.”

He looked at the young person. “They don’t trust you, yet they still expect you to arrange everything for them. They are destined to fail.”

The young person smiled. “There are many who think too highly of themselves, but those who compare themselves to gods — there are only a few of those. It would defy heaven for them not to die.”

Pei Qi said, “Xue Lingcheng, you have handled this matter well. A Senior Yuan Official position in Maying has opened up — it’s yours.”

The young person named Xue Lingcheng immediately rose, stepped back two paces, then knelt. “Thank you for your patronage, my Lord!”

He rose and said, “Those people intend to eliminate the threat at Tai Mountain, but they suspect the King of Ning Li Chi will send men to interfere. So they have asked me to deploy Maying’s most elite forces to set up an ambush at Tai Mountain — as soon as any of Li Chi’s people appear, to surround and annihilate them.”

“I have made all the preparations. Once Li Chi’s people arrive, our Maying forces will withdraw from Tai Mountain.”

Xue Lingcheng looked at Pei Qi. “My Lord, to ensure nothing goes wrong, I have arranged for people to keep watch. If those people somehow still manage to win, they likely won’t come away unscathed — and if Li Chi’s men can’t finish them, our Maying people will step in and deliver the final blow.”

Pei Qi nodded in satisfaction. “Of all the young people, you are the one I trust most. No matter what I hand to you, you see it through without fail.”

He rose, walked to the window, and looked out. The sky was glittering with stars.

“Once those people are dealt with, this realm is mine to control. And for the next step — do you know what it is?”

Xue Lingcheng answered immediately: “My Lord — it is Han Feibao.”

Pei Qi’s lips curved into a smile.

Yes. It had to be Han Feibao.

He asked, “So what do you think is the best moment to remove Han Feibao?”

Xue Lingcheng smiled. “For this matter, our Emperor of ours should be rather skilled. He’s done it before.”

Without giving a direct answer, he somehow made Pei Qi’s smile deepen considerably.

Pei Qi nodded. “Indeed. Our Emperor is quite well-practiced at it.”

In Da Xing City, Yang Xuanji had accepted Yang Jing’s abdication and become the new Emperor, only to be removed — how could Yang Jing not be familiar with the procedure?

Xue Lingcheng said, “Han Feibao cannot die before the great matter is accomplished. Without him, no one else can mobilize the Yong Army. But once the realm is settled and all those men have received their rewards and grown accustomed to the prosperity of the Central Plains, abandoning the hardships of Yong — their loyalty to Han Feibao will count for little.”

“And after that?” Pei Qi asked once more.

Encouraged by Pei Qi’s approval and increasingly animated, Xue Lingcheng spoke more freely, unable to hide his excitement.

“My Lord — force Han Feibao to compel Yang Jing to abdicate, then kill Han Feibao under the pretext of eliminating a treacherous rebel. And between those two events — of course, Yang Jing dies.”

He looked at Pei Qi, a certain gleam in his eye. “With Yang Jing dead, my Lord avenges the Emperor, eliminates a traitor like Han Feibao — the entire court will rally behind you. And then…”

Pei Qi gazed at him with a smile, amusement reaching his eyes.

But it was precisely that smile that made Xue Lingcheng’s heart tighten in an instant. In that moment, he knew he had said too much.

A chill rose within him. It spread quickly until even the marrow of his spine ran cold.

—