“Don’t want me to check on it?” Shen Xihe gave Bu Shulin a teasing glance.
Bu Shulin saw her step forward and hastily shifted deeper into the bed, the movement pulling at his wound and making him grimace in pain.
Shen Xihe let out a light, mocking laugh. “You should be more careful in the future.”
The playful expression vanishing from his face, Bu Shulin’s gaze grew intense. “I was careless. I never imagined His Majesty already harbored the intent to kill me.”
“His Majesty is entering his twilight years, and the princes have come of age with full authority. He will grow increasingly impatient.” Shen Xihe crossed her hands in front, moving with graceful steps and elegant bearing toward the window. Her gaze penetrated through to the bamboo grove outside, the shadows of bamboo swaying in her misty, ethereal pupils, elusive and difficult to capture. “Moreover, His Majesty is far from reaching a point of paranoid urgency. For him to act this way, besides the timing being a rare opportunity, he must also have everything thoroughly planned.”
“Thoroughly planned?” Bu Shulin carefully savored these words, his gaze sharp. “You mean His Majesty has placed spies within the Shunan army, at my father’s side!”
If he were to be killed here, when the news reached Shunan, his father would be devastated. The spy would take advantage of this moment to strike, declaring his father died of grief. Even if someone discovered the truth, the court-appointed officials would arrive immediately to take control, and for the safety of themselves and their families, they would maintain their silence.
What a masterful move of bloodless conquest through subtle manipulation!
“That’s just one possibility.” Shen Xihe reached out her hand, gently brushing the emerald leaves arranged on the windowsill. “Nothing is absolute. It’s not difficult for His Majesty to ensure this strike leaves no evidence, yet he still acted. This means…”
Shen Xihe turned around, her gauze skirt floating with a lustrous glow, her eyes gleaming as they met Bu Shulin’s: “It means His Majesty is not afraid to wage war against Shunan.”
Bu Shulin’s heart trembled: “Where does His Majesty get such confidence?”
Even as an emperor, assassinating his officials first would leave him without justification. Could he command with such authority that the military stationed around Shunan would heed his orders to encircle them? Wouldn’t these forces fear the domino effect and grow suspicious of the emperor?
“His Majesty never intended to use the surrounding forces to suppress Shunan.” Shen Xihe’s gaze grew somber. “His Majesty has secretly built a special force over the past five or six years. Now that this force has grown formidable, His Majesty naturally won’t be restrained by others. He truly just needed a good opportunity to test its edge, using this to intimidate all directions.”
“His Majesty secretly built a special force?” Bu Shulin had only just learned of this, her face changing dramatically with shock.
To build an army, and maintain it for five or six years without arousing suspicion, was no easy feat even for an emperor.
Funding was one issue, but the most difficult part was manpower. A special force could range from hundreds to thousands of men. For such a large number of people to disappear without anyone reporting or investigating meant local officials were covering for His Majesty, indicating His Majesty had absolute control over the regions where he recruited talent.
“His Majesty has ruled for twenty years, sweeping away the decline from his predecessor’s reign. Over these years, apart from his extreme self-interest, he neither heavily employed sycophants nor pardoned corruption. He is considered a wise ruler in the hearts of civil and military officials, and is deeply supported by the common people.” Shen Xihe reminded him.
This time Bu Shulin had suffered such a great calamity, that he had no choice but to swallow this bitter pill. Without evidence, there was no way to expose the emperor’s ruthlessness.
Emperor Youning was a ruler who had almost no flaws except for his emphasis on power and reputation. He wasn’t obsessed with women, was diligent and upright, brave and clever, and appointed people based on merit – if he had been a legitimately succeeding emperor during peaceful times, it would surely have been an era of perfect peace and order.
But the timing was wrong. His childhood was full of hardships – Emperor Youning had fallen on hard times in the Northwest, received support from the Shen family and gratitude from the Gu family, and had an elder brother who completely overshadowed his brilliance.
He successfully ascended to the throne, but his brother’s death remained shrouded in mystery. Many suspected he was responsible, countless eyes watching him. Whenever he showed the slightest weakness, people would sigh about Prince Qian’s early death, saying if Prince Qian had ascended to the throne, things would have been different.
In his early years, he was constrained by the noble families. The Gu family occupied half the court’s power, many imperial orders were rejected by the Secretariat, and local military power was everywhere tied to family connections, all scheming for their princes. The Northwest was powerful. He could truly be said to have had sleepless nights.
He learned to be patient, gradually took down the eunuchs, dismantled the noble families, and was just one step away from becoming a legendary enlightened ruler. Only by concentrating military power would this realm truly and completely become his realm.
“I don’t understand why His Majesty is so suspicious?” Bu Shulin sighed lightly. “My father and your father only want to protect their people. As you said, His Majesty is worthy of being called an enlightened ruler. Forget about us not having thoughts of rebellion – even if we truly did, we couldn’t find any pretext.
As long as His Majesty doesn’t lose virtue, even if we committed acts of great disloyalty, the common people wouldn’t accept it.
We could have been rulers and subjects in harmony, creating a golden age together. Yet His Majesty cannot tolerate us.
If our Bu family and your Shen family fall, can His Majesty directly govern both regions? When his trusted subordinates are sent with great authority, so far from the capital, how can they not develop their ambitions?”
“Removing eunuchs, suppressing aristocrats, concentrating military power.” A cold smile appeared at the corner of Shen Xihe’s lips. “These are legendary achievements. If His Majesty succeeds, we will all be treacherous ministers who abused our master’s trust. How history records it will be up to His Majesty to decide.”
“Just for this empty reputation?”
Sometimes Bu Shulin didn’t understand His Majesty either. Over these years in the capital, His Majesty never delayed court meetings due to illness, was strict with himself, set an example for all officials, and deserved praise for his diligent governance and love for the people. If she weren’t the heir to Shunan, just an ordinary subject of His Majesty, she would certainly praise and sing His Majesty’s virtues.
Such a ruler – Bu Shulin couldn’t believe he didn’t know that the Shen family and Bu family, and even the previously exterminated Gu family, had no ulterior motives.
Yet he particularly lacked this measure of tolerance.
“It’s not just about reputation.” Shen Xihe was very rational. “His Majesty has his position. It’s not that he doesn’t trust us, but as emperor, he cannot only look at the present. Today, my father and brother have no thoughts of rebellion, and you and your father wish to be pure subjects.
But what about the future? Will my brother’s descendants still be willing? Can you guarantee that your Bu family’s future generations will remain loyal?”
Bu Shulin opened her mouth but couldn’t say the word “can.”
“You can’t.” Shen Xihe said with certainty. “His Majesty doesn’t want such calamities to appear after his death. The Shen family’s roots in the Northwest are too deep, and your Bu family is the same. When His Majesty replaces people, he doesn’t need them to be loyal forever, because for these people to take root, to become the second Shen family or Bu family, requires an extremely long time – long enough for his heir to defend against.”
No one had ever spoken to her like this before. Bu Shulin was shocked internally. As a lady of the Shen family, who was also suspected and marked for elimination by the emperor, Shen Xihe could be so impartial, without resentment, anger, or bias. Bu Shulin was full of admiration: “Youyou, you have the breadth of mind of an emperor.”