Every April, Emperor Wen would lead civil and military officials to the Imperial Mausoleum located in the western suburbs outside the capital to hold sacrificial ceremonies. Besides paying respects to the late emperor, he would also join Empress Dowager Xia in bringing palace consorts and imperial princes into the Spirit Hall to kowtow before all ancestral emperors, praying for blessings for the state and people.
Since the death of the previous emperor, Xiao Du had never been among the officials participating in the ceremonies, nor had he ever set foot in the Imperial Mausoleum. Ever since that day when Xiao Du had his showdown with Zhao Yan at Zhong Mountain, the situation both inside and outside the palace had become extremely delicate, making the current emperor’s intentions in issuing this edict all the more intriguing.
After the eunuch who delivered the edict left, Xiao Du slowly stood up, gripping the bright yellow silk in his hand, lowering his head in deep thought. When he raised his head, he saw Xiao Yunjing walking up to him, slowly taking the imperial edict from his hands with a grave expression: “Du’er, I’m afraid this is a Hongmen Feast.”
Xiao Du’s eyes flickered, but he quickly resumed a relaxed demeanor: “Father, don’t worry. I know how to handle it.” At this moment, he caught sight of Yuanxi standing not far away with worry written all over her face. So he walked over and took her hand—the icy touch made him frown, and he immediately tucked those hands into his sleeves, leaning close to her ear: “Don’t worry. As long as you’re still by my side, I won’t be afraid of anything.”
Ever since hearing that imperial edict, Yuanxi’s heart felt as if a huge stone had been suspended there, pressing down until she felt restless and uneasy. At this moment, she couldn’t care that outsiders were watching and gently pressed her head against his chest, worrying: “Do you really have to go? Can’t you find an excuse to delay?”
Xiao Du breathed in the long-missed fragrance from her hair, feeling very comforted: “The imperial edict has already been received—how could I casually defy it? Besides, if he truly harbors other intentions, even if this opportunity passes, he’ll think of other ways to deal with me sooner or later. Rather than living in fear every day, it’s better to decide early.” He gently touched her forehead and stroked her face: “Don’t worry, I will definitely return safely. If by chance…”
Before he could finish, Yuanxi had already covered his mouth with her hand, desperately holding back tears that were about to spill: “Don’t say it. I’ll wait for you to come back, no matter how long it takes!”
Xiao Du held her tightly, still smiling with carefree ease: “Don’t worry, I won’t be gone too long. Having just coaxed my wife back, how could I bear to let her guard an empty chamber again?” Yuanxi’s emotions relaxed slightly at his teasing. Xiao Du rested his chin on top of her head and looked up toward the direction of the imperial palace. The clear blue sky that had been fine moments before was suddenly churning with dark clouds, wind and rain approaching. He coolly curved his lips, concealing the shadow in the depths of his eyes.
On the day of the ceremony, Xiao Du stood outside Qianqing Gate in black ceremonial robes with the other officials. He saw the emperor’s dragon carriage slowly approaching from the distance—in front of the bright yellow carriage, a man in flying fish brocade with red armor across his chest rode heroically on a tall steed, clearing the way for the imperial procession.
Xiao Du recognized this as a rising star of the Xia clan in recent years. This person was named Xia Qing, originally an illegitimate son born outside by Xia Mingyuan’s younger brother Xia Mingzhong. It wasn’t until his birth mother was dying when he was ten years old that she knelt before Xia Mingzhong and pleaded for a long time before he finally allowed the boy to acknowledge his ancestry and enter the Xia family gates.
Xia Mingzhong’s legitimate wife was the second daughter of Grand Tutor Zhong’s family. Their legitimate son was about the same age as Xia Qing, and the birth mothers of several other concubine sons also had some background. Originally, he looked down greatly on this bastard born outside, but Xia Qing happened to be exceptionally intelligent and ambitious. He had only become an ordinary palace guard through Xia Mingzhong’s connections, but during a palace fire, he stepped forward to protect the emperor and saved the current emperor’s life. From then on, he gained considerable imperial favor and was promoted all the way to Commander, leading the Left and Right Yulin Guard.
In recent years, the Yulin Army trained by Xia Qing had repeatedly achieved military merit and gained considerable prestige among the twelve palace guard units, becoming the personal troops the current emperor relied on most. Thus, Xia Mingzhong also increasingly valued this concubine son he had originally ignored. It happened that his legitimate son Xia Zheng was quite unambitious—a few years ago, he reportedly got into a dispute over some courtesan and was beaten into paralysis. The real culprit disappeared without a trace after the beating, while Xia Zheng had become almost a waste. None of his other concubine sons could surpass him either. With Xia Qing holding military power over the palace guards and becoming Xia Mingzhong’s only son to rely on, he could be considered outstanding even among the talented peers of the Xia family.
Xia Qing sat proudly on his horse, and a sideways glance from the corner of his eye made many attending palace maids blush. Though Xia Qing’s achievements were remarkable, his reputation in the capital wasn’t very good. He was said to constantly frequent pleasure quarters with an unrestrained personality. Though his household was full of concubines, he had always refused to take a wife. For this, Xia Mingzhong had almost asked matchmakers to propose every noble family’s daughters in the capital to him, but he laughingly threw out all those portraits and declared that if he were to marry, he wouldn’t care about family background or appearance—as long as he found her pleasing to the eye. This troubled the matchmakers greatly. This Commander had seen countless people—who could say what kind of woman would catch his eye? By this year, Xia Qing was already twenty-eight with not even a legitimate son. Even Xia Mingzhong had become disheartened and simply let him cause trouble as he pleased. After all, with the Xia clan’s current power, they only needed to wait for others to seek their favor. If marriage alliances were needed, there were other sons to fill the role first.
The emperor’s carriage stopped in front of Qianqing Gate, waiting for the auspicious time to play music and leave the palace. After Xia Qing arranged the Yulin soldiers guarding beside the carriage, he led his mount back around and actually stopped in front of Xiao Du. With a light leap, he stood on the ground: “This must be the famous Marquis Xuanyuan.”
Due to his identity, Xiao Du was quite wary of him and only looked up with a faint response.
But Xia Qing seemed very interested in him, standing beside him without leaving: “I’ve heard that the Xiao family army led by Marquis Xuanyuan is brave and skilled in battle, unmatched both inside and outside the passes. I wonder how they compare to my Yulin Army.”
Xiao Du’s expression didn’t change as he said indifferently: “The Xiao family army only knows battlefield conquest, dealing with blood-drinking barbarians. How could they compare to Commander Xia’s Yulin Army’s daily hardships and merits in guarding the imperial city?”
His words clearly mocked the Yulin Army for only serving as palace guards—how could they compare to the Xiao family army that had bled on the frontier battling fierce foreign tribes? But Xia Qing wasn’t angered either. Seeing the auspicious time approaching, he mounted his horse but smiled quite boldly and whispered to Xiao Du: “If there’s a chance, I’d very much like to witness the power of your Xiao family army.” The deep meaning hidden in these words made Xiao Du suddenly narrow his eyes. He hadn’t expected this person to dare provoke so blatantly, making him increasingly feel this ceremony would be anything but simple.
At this moment, music and drums sounded beside them. The emperor’s carriage began moving slowly but suddenly stopped again. Zhao Yan lifted the carriage curtain and smiled very warmly at Xiao Du: “Chong Jiang, come up too. It’s been a long time since We rode in the same carriage.”
Xiao Du raised his eyebrows but made no hesitation, supporting himself on a young eunuch’s shoulder as he boarded the imperial carriage. The officials outside only thought the current emperor and Marquis Xuanyuan had always been close, casually discussed a few words, then got into their own carriages to follow the imperial procession.
The vast procession left the palace gates and headed toward the Imperial Mausoleum in the suburbs. What should have been stifling early summer weather somehow brought a fierce wind from nowhere, sweeping flowers and leaves in a stealthy assault all the way, making the carriage doors buzz loudly.
Xiao Du listened to the howling wind outside the carriage but calmly picked up the teacup in front of him and took a sip. Zhao Yan’s gaze circled around the hand holding the teacup, smiling: “Chong Jiang seems quite at ease with Us.”
Xiao Du set down the teacup: “If Your Majesty truly wanted this minister’s life, this minister would already be dead. Since Your Majesty doesn’t let this minister die, it shows keeping this minister’s life is still very useful. Why should this minister worry that Your Majesty would resort to such underhanded methods?”
Zhao Yan laughed heartily: “Indeed, Chong Jiang still understands Us best. However, the charges you had people arrange for Xia Wenbo are each enough to condemn him to death, which truly gives Us quite a headache.”
Xiao Du also laughed: “Your Majesty overpraises this minister. Actually, if Your Majesty is determined to protect him, no amount of charges could take his life.”
Zhao Yan sighed: “He is, after all, the nephew Mother Empress loved most in her final days. After all these years, he finally struggled to the position of Vice Minister of Revenue. If We don’t even leave him a way to live, I’m afraid it would sadden Mother Empress.”
Xiao Du’s face took on a mocking smile: “That depends on whether Your Majesty wants to be a filial son or a wise ruler.”
Zhao Yan smiled without answering, but a flash of sharpness passed through his eyes. At this moment, the hoofbeats slowed, and the carriage finally stopped in front of the Imperial Mausoleum gates. Zhao Yan and Xiao Du got out and gazed into the distance—distant mountains rose hazily, green trees flourished, and emperors, empresses, and noble consorts of the Great Mu Kingdom throughout the years were all buried here. The entire Imperial Mausoleum was built spaciously with imposing grandeur.
Zhao Yan led the ministers slowly into the Imperial Mausoleum amid the ceremonial officials’ chanting and music. They walked across the white jade stone bridge, paid respects at the Sacred Virtue Pavilion, then prepared to enter the Spirit Hall to worship their ancestors. The officials all knelt outside the stone gates to wait. Just as Zhao Yan was about to step onto the stone steps, he suddenly turned and swept his gaze over everyone’s heads, declaring loudly: “Marquis Xuanyuan has fought many campaigns, protecting our dynasty’s people from the suffering of war. Today We specially permit him to accompany Us into the hall for worship, together comforting our ancestors.”
Xiao Du’s heart jumped, his gaze uncertain and suspicious, yet he didn’t move for a long time. At this moment, Xia Qing had already separated through the crowd to Xiao Du’s side: “Marquis Xuanyuan, please enter the Spirit Hall.”
Xiao Du knew that having reached this point, he could only take things one step at a time. So he straightened his back and walked behind Zhao Yan, following him toward the Spirit Hall. But they had only walked halfway up the stone steps when commotion suddenly arose among the Yulin Guards stationed on both sides, with someone shouting in alarm: “Your Majesty, be careful! Assassins!”
Hearing this, the officials below the steps immediately panicked and fell into chaos.
At this moment, several black figures killed their way out from among the Yulin Army, charging straight toward Zhao Yan’s direction. Xia Qing’s face turned iron-gray as he drew his sword and stood before the greatly shocked Zhao Yan, shouting to the Yulin Army: “Don’t panic! Protect the Emperor first! Remember to capture them alive!”
Thus, the solemn Spirit Hall exterior rang with the clashing sounds of weapons. All the Yulin soldiers surrounded Zhao Yan, protecting him as they moved inward. Only Xiao Du remained motionless, coldly watching those desperately fighting black-clothed figures, thinking with cold laughter: Today the Imperial Mausoleum is heavily guarded inside and out. With Xia Qing’s capabilities, how could he possibly let assassins penetrate to the Spirit Hall’s vicinity, even reaching before the emperor?
Just then, a cold gleam stabbed straight toward him. Xiao Du’s heart jumped in alarm—for a moment, he couldn’t tell whether this cold gleam came from the black-clothed assassins or the guards beside him…