The disappearance of a nation’s sovereign in broad daylight was no small matter. The entire capital and palace were under martial law, with searches being conducted in every household. Those in the palace who knew the inside story were in a state of panic.
The Empress Dowager, who had long since retired to the inner palace and no longer concerned herself with worldly affairs, had emerged. Present were also the Empress and Noble Consort Liu. The Commander of the Imperial Guards, the Chief Eunuch who attended to the Emperor, and Prime Minister Liu, who had been the last to have an audience with the Emperor, were all kneeling before them. The Empress Dowager’s face darkened as she berated them: “Half a day has passed, and the Emperor has vanished without a trace. What use are any of you? Why does the imperial family even keep you around?” None dared to argue, only repeatedly begging for mercy. Among them, Prime Minister Liu felt most wronged – he had merely sought an audience with the Emperor to discuss some matters. What did the Emperor’s disappearance have to do with him? Yet since he was the last person to see the Emperor before his disappearance, he naturally couldn’t escape scrutiny.
“Search thoroughly for this old woman! The Emperor must be rescued safely! As for your lives, we’ll discuss that after the Emperor returns!” the Empress Dowager commanded coldly. Everyone repeatedly acknowledged her orders. Having vented her anger, the Empress Dowager turned to Prime Minister Liu, who remained kneeling, and asked, “Prime Minister, what did His Majesty discuss with you during your last meeting?”
Prime Minister Liu replied, “Reporting to the Empress Dowager, we only discussed matters of state governance, nothing particularly noteworthy.” How could the Empress Dowager not see through Prime Minister Liu’s evasive words? Her gaze darkened as she said coldly, “Tell me in detail.”
Prime Minister Liu hesitated before saying, “Due to matters from the morning court session, His Majesty expressed some anger, but didn’t say anything significant, only that we would continue discussions at tomorrow’s morning court.” It wasn’t that Prime Minister Liu intentionally wished to hide anything from the Empress Dowager, but the matter concerning the Xu family was confidential. Unless the Emperor had issued an edict, it absolutely could not be revealed, otherwise their Liu family would be the ones in trouble.
The Empress Dowager scrutinized Prime Minister Liu with suspicion, while he maintained a composed and sincere expression under her gaze. How could an old fox who had navigated court politics for a lifetime show any flaws when trying to conceal something?
Finally, the Empress Dowager dismissed everyone in frustration. After everyone had left, the elderly maid serving at the Empress Dowager’s side carefully asked, “Your Grace, regarding His Majesty’s situation…” The Empress Dowager closed her eyes to rest, saying indifferently, “This old woman has long retired to the inner palace, how can I manage so much? These matters are for the Empress and court officials to worry about. Where is Prince Li now?”
The elderly maid replied softly, “After His Highness Prince Li agreed to a ceasefire with His Majesty, he promised to return to the capital this year for Your Grace’s birthday celebrations. By my calculations, His Highness should be on his way now.”
The Empress Dowager nodded, “Very good. Send word to Prince Li to hasten to the capital. Also, that person Prince Li left in the capital… Ye Ying, wasn’t she with child?”
The elderly maid nodded and said, “As Your Grace says, Consort Ye has borne Prince Li a son, the child is nearly one year old now.”
“Have someone keep watch over them,” the Empress Dowager instructed, waving her hand to dismiss the elderly maid. Thinking of her two sons, the Empress Dowager’s expression darkened. Others said she was fortunate – in the previous Emperor’s harem where children were scarce, only she had borne two sons, with her eldest becoming Emperor, and she elevated to Empress Dowager through her son’s status. But who knew that this eldest son of hers was so suspicious by nature that he even guarded against her, his birth mother, fearing her power would threaten him? If not for this, she could have been content as Empress Dowager – why would she need to scheme against the Emperor with her younger son? During these years in the palace, she appeared supremely honored but it was merely a facade. The Emperor would even dare to contradict her, his mother, over a favored consort, and she couldn’t touch even a fraction of power in the inner palace. How could the Empress Dowager, who had spent a lifetime navigating palace intrigues and thought she could finally have smooth sailing, be content with this?
After bidding farewell to Noble Consort Liu, the Empress returned to her palace, her previously calm face showing traces of worry and confusion. She waved away the palace maids and elderly servants following behind her and pushed open the door to enter her chambers. Walking into the room, the Empress looked at the quiet chamber before her, sat down at the table, and said softly, “Come out.”
After a moment, Feng Zhiyao emerged from behind the bed curtains and silently gazed at her. The Empress’s fine brows furrowed slightly. Before she could speak, Feng Zhiyao said, “I came to retrieve something, and will leave immediately.” The Empress started, asking confused, “Retrieve what?” Feng Zhiyao replied, “A white jade box that Mo Jingqi entrusted to you eight years ago.” The Empress pondered for a moment, then raised her head to look at him and asked, “Did you kidnap His Majesty?”
“Yes,” Feng Zhiyao admitted, “Do you want to call someone to arrest me?”
The Empress quickly walked up to him and said, “Kidnapping the sovereign? Your audacity is truly too great! Now the capital and palace are completely sealed off – I’d like to see how you plan to resolve this!” Feng Zhiyao raised his sword eyebrows and smiled faintly, “If I could get in, naturally I can get out. Besides… Mo Jingqi’s life is still in my hands.” The Empress glared at him angrily and shook her head, “Have you lost the ability to think for yourself after following Prince Ding all these years? Do you believe everyone hopes for His Majesty’s safe return? I fear not a few people hope you would kill him.”
“I indeed wish to kill him!” Feng Zhiyao said hatefully.
“Nonsense!” the Empress scolded in a low voice, “Kidnapping His Majesty certainly wasn’t Prince Ding’s idea. What did you come back to do this time?” Feng Zhiyao paused before saying, “By order of the Princess Consort, to retrieve the Falling Jade Flower.”
“Falling Jade Flower?” The Empress frowned. She did not know medicine and naturally didn’t know what the Falling Jade Flower was for. She gave Feng Zhiyao an irritated look and said, “If it’s important enough for Prince Ding’s consort to send you back, couldn’t you have sent word and let me help you look for it? Are you only happy now that you’ve caused such chaos?” Feng Zhiyao snorted lightly and said, “Without such chaos, no one would be able to find that thing. Mo Jingqi guarded the Falling Jade Flower extremely closely. In all these years, neither the person who gave it to him nor his most favored Noble Consort Liu knew about it – how would he tell you? Moreover, if he learned that you were inquiring about the Falling Jade Flower’s whereabouts, you wouldn’t be able to escape involvement yourself.”
The Empress sighed helplessly and asked, “So you now know where the Falling Jade Flower is?”
Feng Zhiyao nodded, “Mo Jingqi said he gave you something half a year ago. Do you remember a white jade box?”
The Empress lowered her head in thought for a moment, then nodded and said, “I remember now, wait a moment.” She turned and went inside. Soon after, the Empress indeed emerged carrying an exquisitely carved white jade box. Handing the jade box to Feng Zhiyao, she asked, “Is it this?” Feng Zhiyao took the box and carefully opened it. Inside was indeed a pale green flower that resembled a peony. Though it appeared like jade, when one’s hand lightly touched the petals, their softness was evident, along with a faint, strange fragrance. Though this flower had been picked long ago, it showed no signs of withering or decay, truly appearing like a jade flower. Feng Zhiyao mentally compared it to the description of the Falling Jade Flower that Master Shen had told him about, and determined that what was contained in this white jade box was indeed the legendary Falling Jade Flower.
The Empress said softly, “Take it and go, release His Majesty quickly, and return to the Northwest.” Feng Zhiyao put away the box and gazed deeply at the Empress, saying, “Do you truly want to spend your whole life in this palace?” The Empress smiled faintly and said, “If I don’t spend my life in the palace, where else could I go? Hurry and leave, be careful.” Feng Zhiyao stared at her, “Aren’t you afraid I’ll kill Mo Jingqi?” The Empress shook her head with a slight smile, “You won’t do that. His Majesty’s death would bring no benefit to Prince Ding’s household now. Though no one has spoken up yet, I’m sure there are already quite a few in court who suspect Prince Ding’s household. If His Majesty truly doesn’t return, whether or not Prince Ding’s household did it, those people will still push the blame onto Prince Ding in the end.”
Feng Zhiyao gave a dissatisfied snort but couldn’t deny the truth in the Empress’s words. He turned and said, “I’m leaving!”
The Empress nodded, “Be careful on your way.” After walking a few steps, Feng Zhiyao turned back with a smile and said, “Do you know what your Emperor has done? He plans to confiscate everything from the Xu family!” The Empress froze, and by the time she came to her senses, Feng Zhiyao had vanished. She could only sigh softly, a bitter smile appearing on her beautiful face.
With Mu Qingcang secretly providing protection, and Feng Zhiyao being highly skilled, they managed to leave without incident despite the palace’s strict security. The two returned to where they had hidden Mo Jingqi, where Leng Haoyu was sitting in the room watching Mo Jingqi while waiting for news. Seeing them enter, Leng Haoyu quickly stood up and asked, “Did you get it?” Feng Zhiyao raised the box in his hand and said, “We got it, but whether it’s genuine needs His Majesty’s confirmation.”
Mo Jingqi’s face darkened as he said, “You’ve already taken what you wanted, what more do you want?” Feng Zhiyao smiled and said, “I’m a very suspicious person. I hear this Falling Jade Flower isn’t just a miraculous medicine, but an extraordinary cure for injuries. They say just a little bit can make wounds heal instantly – I wonder if that’s true?” Mo Jingqi started, staring intently at the dagger Feng Zhiyao was flourishing, and asked, “What do you intend to do?” Feng Zhiyao flashed him a malicious smile and said, “Naturally, I want to ask Your Majesty to test the efficacy of this Falling Jade Flower. We’ve gone to such trouble to obtain this item – wouldn’t it be embarrassing if it turned out to be fake?”
Mo Jingqi gritted his teeth and said, “I guarantee it’s genuine!”
Feng Zhiyao shook his head and said, “Your Majesty’s guarantee is worthless.” Without hesitation, he stabbed the dagger into Mo Jingqi’s shoulder. Mo Jingqi screamed in pain as blood immediately began flowing profusely. A flash of pleasure appeared in Feng Zhiyao’s eyes as he happily flourished his dagger at the Falling Jade Flower in the white jade box and said, “How should this be used? Ah, I heard the medicine powder needs to be scraped off with a knife. Such a beautiful flower would be worthless once scraped – let’s try scraping the bottom and see.” Mo Jingqi quickly said, “You can’t use a dagger – the Falling Jade Flower must be kept in a jade box to maintain its medicinal properties. Similarly, it must be cut with a jade knife.”
“Oh, thank you for the instruction.” Feng Zhiyao flipped his hand to put away the dagger, carefully returned the Falling Jade Flower to its box, and secured it, then said to Leng Haoyu, “Do you have any wound medicine? Put some on him.”
Leng Haoyu raised an eyebrow and silently took out some wound medicine, carelessly sprinkling some on Mo Jingqi’s wound. Mo Jingqi’s face turned pale with pain as he glared fiercely at Feng Zhiyao and said, “We will not let you get away with this!” Feng Zhiyao sneered, “Rather than waste time threatening us, you’d better think about how you’ll return to the capital. From what I know, there are quite a few who don’t want you to return. I hear the Empress Dowager has already sent word to Prince Li, asking him to rush to the capital. It seems our Emperor is loved by neither father nor mother.”
“You!” Mo Jingqi was struck at his weak point, but being at their mercy, he could do nothing about it.
Feng Zhiyao had no interest in Mo Jingqi’s feelings. Satisfied with securing the Falling Jade Flower, he jerked his chin at Leng Haoyu and said, “He’s yours to handle now. No need to rush sending him back – we don’t want any trouble before we’ve left.” Leng Haoyu smiled and said, “Don’t you trust me to handle things? Go take care of your business.” Feng Zhiyao nodded, glanced at Mo Jingqi, and smiled, “Since Your Majesty has been so cooperative, how about I give you some free information?”
Mo Jingqi coldly watched him, clearly not believing he would kindly give him any information.
Feng Zhiyao didn’t mind, smiling as he said, “News about your trusted minister Lord Tan. They say Lord Tan’s original surname is Lin, given the name Yuan. He’s a descendant of the previous dynasty’s royal family. Your Majesty, can you guess what this ‘Yuan’ means? Surely it’s not wishing for Your Majesty’s eternal prosperity and boundless fortune?” With that, Feng Zhiyao let out a loud laugh and walked out, leaving Mo Jingqi’s face alternating between shades of green and white.
Feng Zhiyao, carrying the Falling Jade Flower, also retrieved the imperial edict left by the founding Emperor from the location Su Cuidie had revealed before her death, then vanished silently from the capital. Besides those close to him, outsiders didn’t even know Feng Zhiyao had returned to the capital. Leng Haoyu was equally ungenerous, keeping Mo Jingqi locked in a dark room for exactly three days. Only on the morning of the fourth day, hearing that Prince Li was about to enter the capital, did he have the sleeping Mo Jingqi stuffed in a sack and dumped near the city gate during the gloomy pre-dawn hours. From start to finish, Mo Jingqi never knew where he had been taken. Neither Feng Zhiyao, Leng Haoyu, nor Mu Qingcang were people Mo Jingqi could remember, so this time he had suffered a complete loss.
Under everyone’s varying gazes, Mo Jingqi returned to the palace in a towering rage. Ignoring the consorts and court officials who came to welcome and curry favor with him, he furiously issued several imperial edicts in succession. First, to hunt down the rebels who dared to kidnap him, dead or alive. Second, to thoroughly investigate all court officials with close ties to Tan Jizhi and his activities over the years, and to arrest Tan Jizhi. Third, to confiscate the property of the Imperial Censor Xu’s family in the capital, the Xu clan in Cloud Prefecture, and their relatives in Li Mountain, and to immediately arrest Imperial Censor Xu’s entire family and throw them into the imperial prison.
While the first two edicts were somewhat reasonable, the third stirred up a hornet’s nest. Prime Minister Liu had just left the palace gates with the edict and officials for the confiscation when there was an uproar at the palace gates. Hundreds of scholars knelt in unison, crying out for justice for the Xu family. Looking out, Prime Minister Liu saw that among them were quite a few who already held official positions. Though he knew the Xu family was foremost among the empire’s scholars, he hadn’t expected them to command such popular support. Less than half an hour after the Emperor’s edict was issued, so many people were already kneeling at the palace gates – who knew what it would be like in a few more hours? He felt both jealous and resentful. Unfurling the edict in his hand, Prime Minister Liu began reading it at the palace gates. But even the Emperor’s golden rules couldn’t silence these scholars, who spoke up one after another to argue against it.
It wasn’t that these scholars were fickle, but rather that the Emperor’s edict was truly difficult to accept. It neither clarified what crimes the Xu family had committed, nor specified who exactly was guilty. Originally, whether an imperial edict could convince people didn’t matter much, as basically, no one dared to defy an emperor’s edict. But the problem was that the Xu family’s influence was simply too great. The Xu family had produced great Confucian scholars for generations, and while they might not be called the Greatest Sage and Teacher, they could be said to have taught half the scholars since the founding of the Great Chu. Scholars were a peculiar type of people. They seemed extremely soft, unable to lift or carry heavy things, but sometimes the pride in their bones could be surprisingly hard and stubborn. Prime Minister Liu knew things would go badly as soon as he saw so many people kneeling at the palace gates. The guards behind Prime Minister Liu were also helpless. While it would have been easy for them to deal with these scholars given their martial skills, these were not people they could casually manhandle. Without the Emperor’s explicit command, who would dare to move against so many scholars? At that point, half the empire might be thrown into chaos.
Looking at the people kneeling before him, continuously kowtowing and pleading for justice, Prime Minister Liu had no choice but to send someone to quickly report to the Emperor.
When Mo Jingqi heard the guard’s report, he nearly fainted from anger. Disregarding the wound on his shoulder, he hurriedly headed to the palace gates with Noble Consort Liu. In this world, people were divided into scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, with scholars being first among them. Simply put, throughout history, kingdoms were governed by these scholars – if this group had any problems, the country wouldn’t be far from destruction. By the time Mo Jingqi reached the palace gates, though only about half an hour had passed, the number of people at the gates had more than doubled from the previous hundreds, and more people seemed to be continuously joining.
Seeing the Emperor emerge, the kneeling crowd became even more agitated, crying out en masse for the Emperor to show mercy, to investigate clearly, that the Xu family was wronged, and so on, making Mo Jingqi’s already weakened body, from the fear and anxiety of the past few days, feel dizzy.
“What is the meaning of this?!” Mo Jingqi raged.
A young man kneeling at the front called out loudly, “The Xu family has served Great Chu loyally since its founding, and generations of Xu ancestors have wholeheartedly educated and nurtured talent for Great Chu, their contributions lasting for thousands of years. May we ask Your Majesty, what crime has the Xu family committed to warrant the confiscation of their entire family’s property?”
Mo Jingqi choked for a moment, his inner rage growing stronger, “The Xu family has committed treason, their crimes worthy of death! You, as subjects of Great Chu, dare to plead for these traitors?”
Another person in the crowd raised his head and said, “The Xu family is accused of treason – where is the evidence? Please, Your Majesty, show us!”
Hearing this, all those kneeling at the palace gates cried out in unison, “Please, Your Majesty, show us!” The meaning was clear – if the Emperor could truly produce evidence of the Xu family’s treason, they would have nothing to say.
How could Mo Jingqi have any evidence? Even initially, he hadn’t charged the Xu family with treason. It was only when these scholars caused an uproar that Mo Jingqi, overcome with anger, disregarded everything else and placed the most serious charge on the Xu family. Moreover, if he were to say the Xu family was colluding with Prince Ding, Prince Ding’s household already had a reputation among the common people no weaker than the Xu family’s, and that would likely cause another wave of chaos.
“Insolent! Withdraw immediately, and I shall forgive your crimes!” Mo Jingqi declared.
“The Xu family is innocent – please, Your Majesty, investigate clearly!” These people who dared to come petition at the palace gates would hardly be deterred by a few words from Mo Jingqi. The palace gates were in an uproar, and even many common people came after hearing the news, almost making the entire palace gate area impenetrable. This made it even more difficult to take forceful action.
“Your Majesty! What crime has the Xu family committed that you would confiscate their property?” Just as the chaos continued, a suddenly loud voice rang out. The crowd parted to make way, revealing the white-haired Old Duke Hua leading a group of people in a mighty procession. Mo Jingqi’s face turned black as ink as he stared at Old Duke Hua striding forward like a dragon or tiger, silently cursing the old man who wouldn’t die. Duke Hua stepped forward, lifted his robes, and knelt, saying, “The Xu family is loyal and righteous, and Master Qingyun’s name is renowned throughout all nations. What crime has the Xu family committed to anger Your Majesty so? Please show us.” Behind him were various upright officials from the court, including imperial clan members, nobles, and some of the previous Emperor’s old ministers who had retired, all of whom had good relationships with Master Qingyun and the Xu family. They all joined in asking the Emperor to give a clear answer.
Mo Jingqi struck in anger, “The Xu family has committed treason! Does Duke Hua wish to harbor these traitors?”
Duke Hua raised his head and declared loudly, “If the Xu family has truly committed treason, this old man is willing to be the vanguard to arrest them personally, submitting to whatever punishment Your Majesty deems fit. But Your Majesty, where is the evidence?”
Mo Jingqi said, “The Xu family is the maternal family of Ye Li, Mo Xiuyao’s wife. Mo Xiuyao now occupies the Northwest, clearly opposing the court. How can the Xu family not be confiscated?”
Duke Hua didn’t give an inch, proclaiming loudly, “Whether Prince Ding opposes the court remains to be seen. What everyone can see is that the Xu family has never had overly close relations with Prince Ding’s household, nor have they ever spoken a single good word for Prince Ding. Your Majesty wants to confiscate the property of the Xu family, who have nurtured countless talents for Great Chu, merely because of Prince Ding – this is truly difficult for people to accept!”
“Duke Hua, you are being insolent!” Mo Jingqi’s chest heaved continuously as he pointed at Duke Hua, unable to speak for a long while. Noble Consort Liu, standing beside him, quickly reached out to support him. Mo Jingqi took several deep breaths and was about to speak when a somewhat shrill voice of a palace servant suddenly came from within the palace gates, “The Empress Dowager arrives! The Empress arrives!”
Before he could turn to look, another announcement came from the end of another street, “Princess Imperial Fuxi arrives! Princess Imperial Zhaoyang arrives!” As if heaven hadn’t made things chaotic enough for Mo Jingqi, just as they saw the processions of Princess Imperial Fuxi and Princess Imperial Zhaoyang slowly approaching, the sound of galloping hooves came from another street, and it turned out to be Prince Li Mo Jingli, who hadn’t returned to the capital for a long time. They saw Mo Jingli dismount in one fluid motion and quickly walk to the palace gates with his people, arriving even slightly before the Princess Imperial.
“Your subject brother greets Imperial Brother, and your son pays respects to Imperial Mother,” he completed the formal greetings, then rose and smiled, saying, “Why is it so lively at the palace gates? Imperial Brother, Imperial Mother, Imperial Sister-in-law, and so many others – what are you all doing?”