“For whom?” Qin Chang Ge set down her tea cup, gazing at the three slightly red tea leaves floating slowly in the jade-colored cup. The tea leaves were deep crimson in color, yet the tea brewed an oddly blue-green hue like distant mountains reflected in celestial waters. This was the “Red Feather Green Robe” tea from Nanmin that she had loved to drink in the past, and she couldn’t help but become slightly lost in thought.
Back then, to indulge her preference, Xiao Jue had once issued an imperial decree ordering people to infiltrate Nanmin and dig up entire tea trees to transplant in Xiliang. Who knew the tea trees would not adapt to the new soil and water, dying completely. Xiao Jue was furious about this and wanted to punish the eunuch in charge of the imperial garden. It was she who had persuaded him: “Those who rule as kings must embrace the world in their hearts and cannot harbor too many private desires, much less harm the public for personal gain. Since ancient times, enlightened rulers have mostly set aside their personal likes and dislikes. You must know that indulging preferences leads to many troubles, while harboring dislikes breeds resentment. Therefore, abandon likes and dislikes, maintaining an empty heart as the vessel of the Way. It’s merely tea leaves—if you can drink them, drink; if not, let it be. Why generate anger? If you carry this anger into the court when deliberating with your ministers, how can you maintain composure to assess situations and decide matters of great national importance? You must know that a single word from you can determine the life, death, safety, and security of all people under heaven. If you lose the Way of the Emperor, how detrimental that would be! Furthermore, if news of your preferences spreads, there will surely be petty people who scheme and toil to seek out such things to win your favor. In this way, the common people will inevitably suffer. If everyone follows suit, it will certainly bring hardship and disaster to the people. At that point, how much of your reputation as a wise and enlightened emperor will remain?”
At that time, Xiao Jue listened seriously, and after a long moment sighed: “Such small tea leaves contain such profound reasoning, yet I had never thought of these many aspects. The Qianjue Sect, masters of the supreme arts of kingship, have assisted generations of emperors, all achieving outstanding merits. This reputation is truly not gained in vain. I have truly been enlightened.”
He bowed deeply to the ground: “Without you, this generation’s virtuous empress, how could I achieve being this wise ruler?”
A generation’s virtuous empress…
Not even bones remain.
A wise ruler…
Suspected of killing his wife.
“Ruthlessness is the way of imperial households.”
The Qianjue Sect takes saving the world as its mission, cultivating talents for governing the country as its mission, and assisting wise lords and enlightened rulers as its mission. But unless faced with chaotic times, unless the world is in great turmoil and people cannot make a living, they would never easily dispatch disciples into the world. This is because they deeply understand that it’s easy for emperors to share hardships, but difficult to share prosperity—when the cunning hares die, the hunting dogs are cooked; when the birds are gone, the good bow is stored away. Throughout history, disciples of Qianjue Sect, though they became generals and ministers with deep authority and power, those who maintained honor and favor throughout their lives and lived peacefully to old age were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns, few and far between.
Therefore, sometimes the gates of Qianjue Sect would remain closed for a hundred years.
Knowing well that serving a ruler is like accompanying a tiger, in order to gain the emperor’s trust and protect their disciples, Qianjue Sect also established iron rules: any disciple who enters the world, no matter how high their official position or noble their rank, must not covet the throne or aspire to imperial power, otherwise they would be punished by heavenly law.
What is heavenly law? No one has witnessed it, as disciples of Qianjue Sect, influenced by their sect’s teachings, have never had anyone attempt to touch the supreme position.
The tenth-generation Qianjue Sect disciple Ouyang Suguang served successively as Grand Marshal of All Forces Under Heaven, Grand Minister, and National Preceptor. His power was so great it nearly toppled the court. When countless sycophantic officials petitioned to grant the National Preceptor a royal title and the Nine Bestowments, and the emperor hinted he was willing to abdicate, saying the throne should be occupied by the virtuous, Ouyang Suguang angrily refused, removed his cap and left his seal behind, and departed, wandering to unknown destinations.
The twelfth-generation Qianjue Sect disciple Dong Shuxuan simply helped the young emperor ascend the throne, eliminated all ministers with ulterior motives, appointed loyal ministers as regents, then retired successfully without accepting any official position. He lived in a thatched cottage with bamboo fences in the outskirts of the capital, farming and feeding himself. If the emperor personally came to seek counsel on state affairs, he would give his wholehearted guidance, but he would never enter government service, remaining a commoner imperial teacher for life.
The disciples of Qianjue Sect left behind eternal tales of loyalty, indifference to fame, and wholehearted devotion to the country.
This generation, Qianjue Sect sent out a female disciple. Qin Chang Ge, as a woman, chose the ruler of the world herself. The fortunate one, Xiao Jue, with Qin Chang Ge’s support, resolutely joined the army under Xue Zhengsong, the Pingzhou Military Commissioner who controlled the You, Ping, and De prefectures with the strongest military force, boasting three hundred thousand mounted archers. Through military achievements, he was promoted all the way to become Xue Zhengsong’s top general.
Then she orchestrated the killing of the stubborn and self-willed Xue Zhengsong who had lost the army’s loyalty, taking his place. She consecutively destroyed the forces of various lords, her military prowess striking terror wherever it went, advancing straight to the walls of the Yuan capital. The Yuan capital with its double walls was easy to defend and hard to attack, known as the world’s greatest city that even flying birds could hardly cross and would never be broken. Emperor Yuan was arrogant and proud, believing his city walls touched the clouds and arrows couldn’t reach them. He personally climbed the city walls to observe the battle, only to be shot through the throat by Qin Chang Ge’s prepared divine weapon from her sect, the Wind Feather Crossbow. He died instantly, the army’s morale collapsed, and the capital city was taken without bloodshed.
Later, Xiao Jue was forced to make Empress Jiang’s niece from her maternal family the empress, but he handed over the power to manage the imperial harem to Noble Consort Qin Chang Ge. Later still, the Jiang family was implicated in a rebellion case, and the empress was deposed for “harboring resentment and plotting to harm the imperial heir.” Qin Chang Ge ascended to the empress position, becoming the person with the closest relationship to the emperor among all generations of Qianjue Sect disciples.
Indeed, the ancestral experiences and lessons were never wrong. A generation’s founding famous empress ultimately met the fate of a meritorious minister without a tomb, with deep resentment buried forever.
Qin Chang Ge smiled faintly at her tea cup. The clear tea water reflected her eyes that held vast flowing waves, with a trace of scattered light flickering and fading like fireflies flashing among the brilliant stars of the Milky Way, difficult to perceive and vanishing in an instant.
Qi Fan sat across from her, watching this woman’s expression as she gazed thoughtfully at the “Red Feather Green Robe” tea. For some unknown reason, his heart suddenly tightened, and his thoughts drifted away slightly, recalling that woman from years past who had walked smiling through battlefields, through the court, through the deep palace, and finally into the roaring flames of Changle Palace.
The past is gone, standing in wordless silence, gaining nothing but a desolate heart.
Yet this woman before him was so unfamiliar, yet also… so familiar. So familiar it seemed as if he had known her long, long ago, as if deep within her body was hidden a soul he knew well… a departed soul…
He exhaled silently and smiled self-mockingly. How could that be possible? The empress’s death was something he had witnessed with his own eyes. Talk of supernatural phenomena was not to be believed. At this point, all he could do was avenge the empress.
Taking a sip of tea, he said: “You just asked for whom to seek revenge… I don’t know either. This is precisely the question we urgently need to clarify.”
“In business, there’s no need to fight to the death. Sometimes we can also seek common ground while preserving differences,” Qin Chang Ge smiled. “Rather than mutual destruction, why not coexist and prosper together? Let me try.”
Slightly stunned, Qi Fan didn’t quite understand Qin Chang Ge’s phrasing. After thinking about it, he roughly grasped the meaning and couldn’t help but smile ruefully. He truly was going mad—how could he associate her with the empress? These two people were clearly not the same person! Would the empress have spoken in these strange words that people couldn’t understand?
“Then I’ll trouble you.” Qi Fan made a show of bowing slightly. “It’s already late today. Tomorrow I’ll arrange for you to meet with the other party. If you don’t mind the humble simplicity of my residence, would you please dine and rest here?”
“Certainly,” Qin Chang Ge gently but unceremoniously agreed, walking toward the interior of the room. “It would also be good to bond with my son.”
…
Qi Fan froze at the doorway, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
Your son?
What kind of son is this to you?
You really think you’re his mother?
This this this this… This is our Xiliang Crown Prince, the Crown Prince!!!
[This is a transitional passage, but it’s not written in vain—there are foreshadowing elements, ah, mischievously interesting foreshadowing…]