Shu Shenhui escorted the imperial retinue back to the palace. After entering through the main gate with the Emperor, he stopped at the dismounting bridge.
The young Emperor continued inward, passing through three palace gates to enter the inner palace. According to protocol, he first went to pay respects to Empress Dowager Lan and Imperial Dowager Consort Dunyi. When he emerged, the sky had completely darkened. Instead of returning to his sleeping quarters, he turned toward the Imperial Ancestral Temple, walked through the halberd gate, passed the front side halls on both left and right, the incense burners, and finally saw a human figure standing below the steps before the main hall.
It was the old eunuch Li Xiangchun. He was slightly hunched over his aged body, motionless, as if he were not a living person but a stone pillar that had grown in this place. Finally, he moved. This old eunuch approached the young Emperor like a ghost, silent and soundless. Drawing near, he bowed in greeting, then said in a flat voice: “His Highness the Regent Prince awaits Your Majesty inside the hall.”
Shu Jian continued walking toward the great hall ahead. Though bright fires burned before the hall, that light seemed so weak that everywhere remained dark and gloomy, with heavy shadows surrounding him. From his earliest memories, the woman who was his mother consort had loved seeking divine protection and worshipping Buddha. Her palace was filled with incense smoke from dawn to dusk. Once night fell, everywhere seemed haunted by ghostly affairs. So, from childhood, he had disliked the imperial palace and only wanted to escape outside. And this place was what he considered the most sinister location in the entire palace. The princes and ministers in the side halls, his ancestors in the main hall, and those spirit tablets of unknown identities in the rear ancestral shrine—all were ghosts.
He raised his hand and slowly, with some effort, pushed open the heavy golden nanmu wood door at the entrance to the main hall that seemed tall enough to reach the heavens. The door hinges emitted a creaking sound. Though not loud, in this tall, spacious place that was as silent as death, it was particularly jarring. He crossed the threshold and walked inside, his footsteps growing slower and slower until finally, he saw light ahead again, with a human figure within that light.
Seeing this familiar silhouette that he deeply trusted, he finally let out a complete breath of relief. As if invisible things had been following behind him all along, only now did he finally dare react. Almost like fleeing, he broke into a run toward that figure, his boots striking the hard ground and producing loud footsteps. In the echoing sound of his footsteps reverberating through the four corners of the great hall, he finally rushed to the front.
However, just as he was about to arrive, Shu Jian suddenly slowed his pace.
That figure had his back to him, both knees fallen to the ground in a kneeling position. Opposite were the spirit seats of ancestors. That kneeling silhouette was fixed and still, like a statue, as if he had been kneeling this way for a very long time.
With some trepidation, Shu Jian looked at this kneeling figure in the light and continued moving toward him, approaching bit by bit. Finally reaching behind him, he stood silently for a moment, then said in a weak voice: “Third Imperial Uncle, the fault is mine… it has nothing to do with you… You need not punish yourself… please rise—”
“Kneel!” Shu Shenhui didn’t turn around but suddenly shouted sternly.
This was an unprecedentedly severe and angry command. At this commanding voice, Shu Jian’s knees went weak, and with a “thud,” he knelt.
“Kowtow!” The command rang in his ears again.
Shu Jian immediately pressed his forehead to the ground, producing banging sounds as his forehead struck the floor. After completing the kowtow, he didn’t dare rise and remained prostrate on the ground.
“You say you were wrong? Wrong in what way?”
Shu Jian didn’t dare delay, hurriedly saying while prostrate: “I shouldn’t have doubted Third Imperial Aunt’s abilities, shouldn’t have been suspicious, and especially shouldn’t have used such methods to test her! I was too foolish! I was wrong!”
After Shu Jian finished admitting his fault, he heard no response from ahead. His heart pounded like a drum without stopping. After waiting a moment, he hurriedly added: “If what Jian’er said is incorrect, please feel free to discipline me, Third Imperial Uncle!”
“I dare not discipline you. You are the Emperor. But since I accepted the late Emperor’s deathbed entrustment, I will be bold enough to speak directly.” Finally, that cold voice rang in his ears again.
“First, regarding today’s actions—you say you were foolish? Simply foolish beyond measure! Do you think you were only provoking one woman, Jiang? You were destroying our imperial family’s marriage alliance! Have you considered what Jiang Zuwang would think if your actions today reached his ears? The current Emperor humiliated and offended his daughter to such a degree! Where would that leave his dignity? How could he feel secure in trusting the court’s sincerity in this marriage alliance? Throughout history, when border generals and the court develop mutual suspicion, even those who support bandits for self-preservation are considered loyal and important—what results in this heavy situation will lead to, I need not elaborate further, need I? Let me tell you again, Emperor—never mind that you discovered nothing today, even if the Jiang family daughter’s reputation was falsely claimed through stolen credit, so what? Do you know why I married her? Was it to marry a female general? What I wanted was her father’s and the army that obeys his commands’ absolute loyalty!”
His stern rebuke echoed among the dark crossbeams above the great hall, producing a buzzing echo.
The young Emperor’s back broke out in hot sweat as he lay motionless on the ground: “Yes, yes… I was wrong…”
“What you did wrong is far more than just this matter itself!” His Third Imperial Uncle mercilessly interrupted his confession.
“Last autumn’s trip to Huguo Temple—just because of your reckless behavior, that little attendant beside you who was forced to wear your clothes and crown nearly had his head chopped off by the Empress Dowager on the spot. I thought you would reflect on this, but unexpectedly, you continued acting as you pleased. Today, you concealed the truth from Jia Xiu and others, ordering them to attack the Princess Consort. If nothing happened, that’s fine, but if she had suffered an accident, who would be held accountable? Would it reach Your Majesty, the Emperor?”
“I won’t even mention those grand principles about putting people first or loving the people like one’s children—just think for yourself! What are trusted arms and confidants? These people around you, though lowly in position and subject to your power of life and death, are those who stay by your side day and night, seeing you more frequently than even your birth mother and me! It is precisely these people you pay no attention to who are your true arms and confidants! When necessary, they are the ones who must risk their lives to protect you! Yet you treat them so carelessly, regarding them as worthless as grass! Emperor, when the day comes that you need them, who will willingly risk their lives to protect you? On my wedding night, when I was attacked, if those below hadn’t guarded and protected me closely, would I still be able to speak with you here now?”
“Furthermore! On the Worthy Prince’s wife’s birthday, at such an occasion, you caused trouble! Do you have even half a measure of respect in your heart? No reverence for elders above! No consideration for those below! If you continue like this, do you truly want to become a lonely ruler in this world? Even though you are called the Son of Heaven, the weight of all under heaven, the vastness of the realm, countless millions of people—never mind that you are but one mortal person, even if you had three heads and six arms, could one person shoulder such responsibility?”
“Emperor! You are not three years old!”
Shu Jian’s heart pounded wildly. The layer of hot sweat that had broken out on his back earlier now turned ice cold. He remained prostrate, not daring to move recklessly, only repeatedly saying: “Yes, yes, I’ll remember… I was wrong…”
“When exactly will you truly be able to do what you should do?”
After this question, silence finally fell around his ears.
For a long time, everything remained completely quiet. Just when Shu Jian thought he might have abandoned him and left, suddenly that voice rang out again: “Rise, the ground is cold.”
He heard this voice seemed to carry some weariness and desolation after the anger had passed, no longer as stern as moments before. Slowly raising his head, he saw that the person not far ahead had risen from the ground and was standing.
“No, no, Jian’er won’t rise. I should kneel!” Shu Jian still didn’t dare get up. After speaking, he prostrated himself on the ground again.
He also didn’t force him further, slowly turning around and lowering his head to look at his nephew.
“As Emperor, if you do not follow propriety, how can you make others submit? When the Son of Heaven abandons himself, who can prevent rise and fall! Your tutors and I have repeated such words countless times before. Today I don’t want to lecture about this. Tell me, what are you thinking?”
Perhaps because his voice had become gentler, Shu Jian slowly raised his head from the ground again, meeting that gaze directed at him. After hesitating for a long time, he finally said quietly: “Third Imperial Uncle, then… I’ll speak… Third Imperial Uncle, don’t you ever feel that this imperial palace is terrifying, and like a prison?”
“No, it’s not a prison,” Shu Jian heard his Imperial Uncle say. “This is responsibility. Born into the imperial family, elevated above all people, enjoying glory above ten thousand others, one must bear the responsibility of planning for ten thousand people. While the river remains unclear for one day and the sea remains untroubled for one day, there is no qualification to complain for even one day. You, I—we are all like this. There is no choice.”
Shu Jian fell silent.
“Emperor, I know you do not have the nature of Zhu or Jun—even Yao and Shun could not have trained them. You are not incapable of achieving this, nor do you lack understanding—you simply don’t think about it. You’ve always been accustomed to being supremely arrogant and putting your desires first.” His Imperial Uncle continued speaking.
Shu Jian’s head hung even lower, but suddenly he heard his tone change.
“But it’s not only you. Supreme arrogance and putting oneself first—this is the common nature of imperial family members. Though I respect the late Emperor, I still must say that your imperial grandfather, imperial grand-aunt, and the Third Imperial Uncle before you now, including myself, everyone is like this! Emperor, do you know why?”
Shu Jian hadn’t expected him to speak this way. Startled, he looked up with some alarm, quickly glanced at the imposing spirit seat of Emperor Shengwu opposite, then met his Third Imperial Uncle’s gaze again, mumbling fearfully: “…I don’t know…”
He nodded.
“Let me tell you then. It’s because royal law is imperial law. The Emperor is the Son of Heaven, and the imperial family is the heavenly family. Therefore, naturally, we can override everything. Though nominally, ‘when the Son of Heaven breaks the law, he faces the same punishment as commoners,’ have you truly seen equal punishment? Take the Jiang father and daughter, for example—do you think Jiang Zuwang was willing to marry off his daughter, or that the female general was willing to enter my prince’s residence? No. They were unwilling. But I still achieved my purpose. As for you, you are the Emperor—you can be even more willful. Therefore, the more this is so, the more you must understand the importance of carefully observing propriety and restraining private desires, and never place private desires above the state. Otherwise, what you consider harmless small evils today that you indulge in without consequence will grow into giant beasts in the future. When devouring others is insufficient, it will be the day of self-consumption and destruction! Do you understand?”
Shu Jian was startled and shuddered: “Yes! I understand!”
“If you truly understand, that’s good!” His tone became stern again.
“Third Imperial Uncle, I understand…”
Shu Jian called to him.
Shu Shenhui fell silent again, turning his head to look at a certain place. Shu Jian steadied himself and followed his gaze.
He was looking at his father, Emperor Ming’s spirit tablet, as if recalling something. Shu Jian no longer dared make a sound, holding his breath and restraining himself, fearing to disturb him.
“Emperor,” he spoke again after a moment.
“Your father emperor, was my elder brother. From childhood, I received his care and protection in all things. At age twelve, I suddenly contracted a severe illness. The imperial physicians were helpless. When I was unconscious and my life hung in the balance, finally, the Imperial Physician-in-Chief at that time, the teacher of the current Hu Ming, found a folk remedy in ancient prescriptions. However, the medicine required a peculiar catalyst that was inhumane—it required the blood and flesh of a close relative as an ingredient. I had many brothers then, but your father, emperor, noble as the Crown Prince, upon learning this, immediately took a knife and cut a strip of flesh from his left thigh for my medicine. I later fortunately recovered from illness, but he fainted from blood loss. His leg wound was difficult to heal, and he was tormented by illness and pain for over a year before his body slowly recovered. Later, when he was on the throne, his health was always poor—it was probably due to the lingering effects of that early injury from cutting his flesh…”
He walked before Emperor Ming’s spirit tablet, knelt down, reverently kowtowed, rose, and his gaze once again fell on Shu Jian who was staring at him blankly.
“Emperor, you should also remember that when the late Emperor was gravely ill, the south was suffering floods affecting several provinces, and I went to provide disaster relief. After being away from the capital for several months, I learned his condition had worsened and he urgently summoned me back to the capital. When I arrived, he had already refused food for three days and didn’t even have the strength to open his eyes, holding onto his last breath. Seeing me arrive, he actually pushed away those around him, sat up by himself, removed the jade belt from his body, personally fastened it around my waist, and then passed away…”
He stopped, closed his eyes, then opened them again.
“I know you must have some dissatisfaction with me in your heart. You are growing up, yet I still restrict you everywhere. I know I’m annoying. Tonight, when you hadn’t arrived yet, I was reflecting on whether, because I’ve done too much, I’ve instead left Your Majesty with nothing to do, causing you to lose your sense of responsibility and thus act without restraint. Today you certainly made a great error, but how is this not also a great fault of me, this Regent Prince!”
“Now that Prince Gao is dead and the inner court is pacified, I wish to summon all officials to discuss returning governance to you, removing my regent title, and returning to the position of a minister. Hereafter, I will wholeheartedly assist Your Majesty in creating a prosperous era for the Great Wei…”
“No!”
Shu Jian was greatly alarmed, the words escaping his mouth. He crawled on his knees and quickly reached his feet, grasping his leg in a bear hug, his voice already carrying a crying tone: “Third Imperial Uncle! Don’t speak of yourself this way! It has nothing to do with you! And you can’t just abandon me like this! Didn’t you promise the late Emperor? I’m not yet of age! I still need you to serve as regent, Third Imperial Uncle! Jian’er knows he was wrong! Knows it! I was too wayward! Please forgive me, Third Imperial Uncle! I swear that from now on I truly won’t dare again!”
As he spoke, he suddenly let go, wiped away tears, and scrambled up from the ground.
“I know what to do! I’ll go apologize to her right now! As long as she can calm down, I’ll do anything! I’ll kneel to her too! As long as she doesn’t tell Jiang Zuwang…”
He turned around and stepped forward to leave, but was called back by Shu Shenhui.
“Jian’er, come back!”
Shu Jian finally heard him call his childhood name again, which calmed his panic somewhat, and he hurriedly stopped.
Shu Shenhui walked to his side: “She shouldn’t be a narrow-minded person. Rest assured, even if you don’t want to apologize, she wouldn’t go so far as to tell Jiang Zuwang.”
He pondered briefly: “However, since you acknowledge your fault and are willing to apologize personally, that would be best. Just not now. After I return, I’ll convey this to her, see what she says, then we’ll discuss it further.”
“Good, good, I’ll listen to you, Third Imperial Uncle…” Shu Jian nodded hurriedly, then suddenly seemed to think of something and hesitated.
Seeing him looking at himself with an expression of lingering fear and hesitation to speak, Shu Shenhui said:
“What do you want to say? Speak freely.”
“I… at the Worthy Prince’s residence, I felt like Third Imperial Uncle seemed somewhat… afraid of her, and people outside all say so too. She’s so formidable—what if her anger hasn’t subsided… when you return home tonight… she hits you? Or… perhaps I should go apologize right now…”
Shu Jian finally gathered courage, watching Shu Shenhui’s expression and speaking haltingly.
Shu Shenhui was startled, then suddenly laughed and shook his head: “Stop thinking nonsense. How could I be afraid of her? She’s not going to eat people. Just follow my instructions.”
“Alright. I’ll listen to Third Imperial Uncle.” Shu Jian immediately closed his mouth.
Shu Shenhui fixed his gaze on his nephew’s face, seeing he still looked somewhat shaken, paused, and remembering the guard’s account of his refusing to admit defeat and attacking from behind only to be thrown and dislocate his arm, his gaze fell on his shoulder.
“How is your arm? Have the imperial physician examine it again when you return.” His tone had already turned gentle.
Shu Jian immediately felt extremely embarrassed, instinctively covering his shoulder and quickly shaking his head: “It’s fine! She didn’t twist it either! I carelessly hit it myself when falling! She even helped me set it back. It doesn’t hurt at all now!”
Shu Shenhui glanced at the deep night outside the hall: “If it’s fine, then good. Go rest in your sleeping quarters. I’ll also leave the palace and return to the residence shortly.”
Shu Jian knew he would probably still need to return tonight to apologize to that Jiang family female general on his behalf, feeling deeply ashamed: “Third Imperial Uncle, it’s all my fault for making things difficult for you…”
Shu Shenhui smiled slightly: “She and I are husband and wife—what difficulty could there be? Go on.”
Shu Jian responded with an “oh,” turned around, and slowly left. Suddenly hearing another call from behind, he hurriedly stopped and turned around.
“Jian’er, one last matter today,” he said.
“Please speak, Third Imperial Uncle!”
“When you left the prince’s residence today, you were dejected and downcast—anyone could see your mood. You are the Emperor. You may let ministers know your joy and anger, but you cannot let them know your frustration, fear, and helplessness when facing situations, even if you truly feel that way.”
“Showing weakness is a great taboo for a ruler.”
Shu Jian was stunned, then solemnly agreed.
“I understand! Thank you for the guidance, Third Imperial Uncle!”
“Go on.”
Shu Jian respectfully bowed to him and withdrew from the great hall. Outside, Li Xiangchun was still waiting, holding a lantern for him and silently escorting him out.
Walking on the spacious, pitch-black ceremonial path, the young Emperor reflected on all of today’s events—sometimes feeling belated fear, sometimes shame, sometimes regret, sometimes moved. Looking at the old eunuch beside him who was lighting his way, he couldn’t help saying: “Eunuch Li, you’ve been by my Third Imperial Uncle’s side since he was young. There’s something I’d like to ask you, if I may.”
“Your Majesty needs only call this slave by his lowly name. What does Your Majesty wish to ask? This slave is ignorant and may not be able to answer.”
Li Xiangchun remained expressionless, but his tone seemed to have gained a bit more humanity than at the beginning.
“I heard that when Third Imperial Uncle returned from inspecting the borders, he once requested my imperial grandfather to let him serve in the northern territories. Do you know why he didn’t go in the end?”
“Your Majesty, one must do what befits one’s position. How much more so for an imperial prince? When His Highness was young and had no constraints, he indeed once wanted to become a border commandery governor. But not long after his return, Emperor Shengwu ascended to the immortal realm. During the years of the late Emperor’s reign, with Prince Gao eyeing the throne hungrily in court and continuous disasters among the people, the late Emperor relied heavily on him. How could His Highness have been able to leave?”
The old eunuch also spoke patiently in a gentle, soft voice for a while.
Shu Jian was silent for a moment, then murmured: “I thought it was my prison, but perhaps I am Third Imperial Uncle’s prison…”
This seemingly disconnected remark drew a glance from the old eunuch, but he said nothing. Escorting him to the outside of the temple and handing him over to the waiting attendants, he bowed: “Your Majesty, farewell.”
After the young Emperor left, Shu Shenhui stood alone in the spirit hall for a long time. The hall faintly caught the sound of the water clock from the palace bell tower—by the sound, it was unknowingly already the hour of hai (9-11 PM).
He suddenly realized this, his figure stirred, walked before the spirit tablets, bowed down in reverence, performed a salute, then rose and withdrew, hurriedly leaving the palace.
After he escorted the young Emperor back to the palace, the birthday banquet at the Worthy Prince’s residence continued. Jiang Hanyuan only returned after the banquet ended. After bathing upon her return, having consumed wine, she went directly to sleep, naturally, also sleeping on the beauty couch in the outer room.
She had no particular worries. The incident in the plum garden was to her merely like stretching her muscles and bones. Combined with the wine’s effects, she quickly fell into deep sleep. She didn’t know how long she had slept when gradually nightmares attacked again. She tensed her body, extremely uneasy, and turned over.
The beauty couch was narrow, and she was lying on the outer edge, already cramped beneath her. With one turn, half her body was suspended beyond the couch’s edge. Fortunately, her reflexes were extremely quick—though her mind wasn’t fully awake, her body had an instinctive protective response. She subconsciously reached out to grab the bed’s edge, but having extended too far, she couldn’t hold on. Half her body sank at once. In her drowsy state, just as she thought she would surely fall, suddenly her form paused—something seemed to quickly arrive below her, steadily catching her.
She fully awakened, her eyelashes fluttered slightly, and she slowly opened her eyes. Unexpectedly, she met a pair of deep male eyes gazing down at her.
It was Shu Shenhui who had returned—she had fallen into his embrace.
Having consumed some wine, she had slept more soundly and didn’t know when he had returned. From this appearance, he had probably been standing by the couch and had rushed forward to catch her, preventing her from falling to the ground.