“Greetings, Master Qingyun.” Though these old scholars carried themselves with great importance outside, they couldn’t help but lower their heads in Master Qingyun’s presence. Despite his white beard and hair making him appear like a kindly immortal, these men were advanced in years themselves and naturally knew far more about Master Qingyun than the younger generation. Some were even his former students.
Master Qingyun smiled and said, “No need for formalities. You’re all busy men – what brings you to this humble mountain retreat?”
The group hastily demurred, feeling both reverence and admiration for Master Qingyun before them, while harboring hints of envy and jealousy. If anyone in the world could be said to have the best fortune, Master Qingyun would certainly rank among them. Not only had all his children and grandchildren achieved greatness, but Young Master Qingchen had made a name for himself across the realm in his youth. The Fourth Young Master Xu became a regional governor before twenty-five, and even the Third Young Master Xu, who abandoned scholarly pursuits for military ones, had achieved outstanding merit in the Mo Family Army. Most importantly, he had a granddaughter who became the King’s consort. With all this, the Xu family could easily prosper for another hundred years. Master Qingyun naturally enjoyed complete leisure, unlike them who had to carefully calculate every move for their family’s prosperity.
Master Qingyun instructed his serving boy to bring tea, and everyone sat down on stone benches in the bamboo grove to drink, momentarily silent.
After drinking tea for a while, and seeing Master Qingyun sitting serenely without speaking, someone finally couldn’t stay quiet.
“Master Qingyun, we’ve come to disturb you today because we have a matter to request.” One of them stood up and said respectfully. Master Qingyun raised his eyes to look at the speaker, his aged eyes surprisingly calm and clear. He smiled faintly and said, “You are… Zhao Zhefang? Did you study at Lishan Academy? It’s been… nearly twenty years since we last met, hasn’t it?”
The speaking man, now approaching sixty himself, quickly smiled and said, “Master Qingyun is correct. I did indeed study under your guidance back then.” Master Qingyun had also achieved fame in his youth, and though he was less than twenty years older, he was already a great scholar when Zhao studied at Lishan Academy. Though not one of Master Qingyun’s disciples, by custom, he should still conduct himself as a student before Master Qingyun. This left Zhao Zhefang, who had viewed himself quite highly for most of his life, feeling somewhat awkward.
Master Qingyun paid it no mind and smiled, “What did you wish to say?”
Zhao Zhefang hurriedly said, “Now that His Highness the King has pacified all directions, he should rightfully ascend the throne as Emperor to comfort the common people. Establishing an empress, taking consorts, and restoring the court would put everything in its proper place, with officials secure in their positions, to settle the hearts of the common people. However, when we submitted a memorial to His Highness yesterday about taking consorts, he flew into a rage and refused. We wondered if Master Qingyun might persuade the King’s consort. She has great merit with the King’s household, and when His Highness ascends the throne she will naturally become Empress, but if she is determined to monopolize His Highness alone, I’m afraid… it may damage both her and the Xu family’s reputation.”
Master Qingyun pondered for a moment, then looked up with a smile and asked, “Is this everyone’s opinion?”
The group exchanged glances before unanimously saying, “We ask Master Qingyun to consider the realm’s greater good. The Xu family is the model for scholars across the land and will surely handle this matter appropriately.”
Master Qingyun looked at the people before him and shook his head somewhat regretfully. These people were not young, some barely younger than himself. Yet were they so desperately pursuing fame and fortune that it had blinded them?
“You’ve been in Licheng for some time now. How do you find the governance of the Northwest?” Master Qingyun asked leisurely.
“This… His Highness is truly an enlightened ruler. The people of the Northwest live in peace and prosperity, truly showing signs of a golden age.”
Master Qingyun shook his head and smiled, “Talk of a golden age is somewhat excessive, but peace and prosperity are indeed true. These past ten years, the King has not claimed the throne, yet the Northwest under his rule has lived in peace and prosperity. It seems… whether he claims the throne or not has no direct relation to the realm’s stability.”
“This… but, the King not claiming the throne means his position lacks proper legitimacy,” someone said anxiously.
Master Qingyun smiled and said, “It’s true that a nation cannot be without a ruler. The King has great ambition to compete for the realm and won’t let it go ungoverned. Now that the King refuses to claim the throne, it must naturally be because the time isn’t right. Why should you gentlemen be so anxious?”
The group looked at Master Qingyun with visible disappointment in their eyes. They had originally thought the Xu family would want the King to ascend the throne quickly. After all, once the King ascended, the Xu family would certainly be the greatest meritorious officials, and once he ascended, future matters would naturally be easier to handle. They hadn’t expected Master Qingyun to truly be so unconcerned.
One of them stood up and said, “Master Qingyun speaks correctly, we shouldn’t speak much of when His Highness claims the throne. But His Highness and his consort have been married for over ten years, and his rear palace is empty with only the consort. This seems somewhat improper. Women should value feminine virtue, and the consort’s behavior seems rather domineering. How can she live up to the reputation of being mother to the realm in the future?”
Hearing this, Master Qingyun’s expression darkened slightly. Just as he was about to speak, a clear voice came from outside the bamboo grove: “This elder’s words are mistaken. The Great Chu marriage system states: A wife is an equal. One who can be equal to her husband is a wife. The King is a heaven-sent talent, unmatched in this age. Besides the King’s consort with her outstanding wisdom and excellence in both civil and military matters, what woman in the world would dare claim to be the King’s equal, who would dare claim to be worthy of the title of King’s consort?”
A young man in blue clothes walked into the bamboo grove, swept his gaze over everyone present, and continued, “Moreover, ancient rites state that the principal wife is the sole mistress of a household. Only after twenty years without issue may concubines be taken. Even then, children born to concubines belong to the principal wife. The King’s consort bore the young heir within three years of marriage, and last year added a pair of dragon-phoenix twins. What is wrong with the King not taking more concubines? Since the ministers speak so much of propriety and rites, why don’t I submit a memorial to His Highness about restoring the ancient rites? Though if we did… what of your households’ concubines and illegitimate children?” Xu Qingyan looked at everyone with a smile but said nothing more.
“You… you twist words!” The group’s faces turned red with anger, and several of the elderly ones pointed at Xu Qingyan with trembling fingers. The ancient rites Xu Qingyan spoke of were from high antiquity when rites were first established and customs were simple. From emperors and generals down to merchants and laborers, there was no practice of taking concubines. Thus marriage laws stipulated that only after twenty years without issue could a man take another wife. Even then, children born to the second wife couldn’t supersede the first wife’s position. Later as hearts changed, rules were added stating that those who violated marriage laws to take another wife would receive a hundred strokes and one year’s imprisonment. But as time passed and customs declined, imperial power grew. These rites were gradually twisted rule by rule into today’s common practice of multiple wives and concubines. Now, perhaps only families like the Xu clan still maintained the rule that men could only take concubines after age forty if they had no sons. If the ancient rites were forcibly restored, dispersing the wives and concubines of this group would be the least of it – the beatings and imprisonment alone would leave them battered between life and death until their bones turned to ash.
Xu Qingyan gave a disdainful snort and walked before Master Qingyun, bowing respectfully, “Grandson greets Grandfather.”
Seeing his youngest grandson, Master Qingyun was also very pleased and smiled, “Rise, Yan’er. When did you return? Have you seen your father and mother yet?” Xu Qingyan grinned and said, “Grandson just returned and came to pay respects to Grandfather first when passing by the mountain. I thought Grandfather would be playing chess with Master Su, didn’t expect such a lively gathering.”
Master Qingyun smiled and said, “It’s good that people came to visit Grandfather, you should meet them too. These are all famous scholars and senior officials of Great Chu.” Xu Qingyan glanced sideways and drawled, “Oh? So these are the famous scholars of Great Chu…” He particularly emphasized “Great Chu,” immediately making several of the elders uncomfortable. Though Great Chu had retreated south, it hadn’t yet fallen, and their hurry to curry favor with the King’s household would be seen as disloyalty by others.
Whether or not Xu Qingyan meant it that way, that’s how it sounded to the elders’ ears. Being needled by a wet-behind-the-ears youngster, even if he was a Xu family young master, was intolerable. One of them sneered, “I hear the Fifth Young Master Xu holds a high position at such a young age – Master Qingyun is truly blessed.”
Xu Qingyan acted as if he completely missed the speaker’s implied meaning and said cheerfully, “Elder need not envy Grandfather. I’ve returned this time to request people from the King and his consort. I hear the elder’s sons are all outstanding – why not come serve the King’s household in the North with me? I’m still young and could work under your sons.”
The speaking elder’s face immediately stiffened. If they had tried to needle Xu Qingbai, there might have been something to say. But choosing to needle Xu Qingyan was truly a miscalculation. Everyone knew the Xu family’s Fifth Young Master had gone north with the Fourth Young Master to lead common people in farming when he was barely in his teens. Now that the Fourth Young Master had gone to Xiling, the Fifth Young Master remained in the North alone. These self-proclaimed scholarly elites who considered themselves above all others, how could they be willing to let their children and grandchildren mix with crude commoners? They only complained that the positions the King’s household gave their sons weren’t prestigious enough!
The Fifth Young Master’s tongue was certainly the sharpest among the Xu family’s young masters, truly inheriting the style of the Second Master Xu in his youth. But his sharp tongue wasn’t due to superior debating skills, but rather because his words were toxic, cutting, and merciless. Before long, he had needled the group of scholars all over fifty until their faces turned ashen and they hurriedly took their leave.
Watching them leave, Xu Qingyan snorted disdainfully, “These people have nothing better to do than make trouble – what business is it of theirs whether the King takes concubines or not?”
Sitting nearby, Su Zhe shook his head and smiled, “How could the Fifth Young Master, being clever, not know? How is this just about taking concubines?” More importantly, once the King ascended the throne and took consorts, these people would become royal in-laws, and if they bore sons and daughters, they would naturally become incredibly noble.
“Truly not afraid of death,” Xu Qingyan muttered under his breath. With the King’s personality of killing people without consequences, would he allow these self-important old scholars to manipulate him?
“Men die for wealth as birds die for food – it’s always been so,” Su Zhe smiled.
Sure enough, those elders who had visited Master Qingyun hadn’t even settled back in the city when word came from the King’s mansion of his orders. The King commanded that Young Master Qingchen be appointed Right Chancellor, Zhang Qilan, Lu Jinxian, Yuan Pei, and Leng Huai be made Grand Generals, and naturally the various commanders under the Mo Family Army received rewards. More importantly, all important positions of third rank and above were filled exclusively with people under forty years old. For example, Feng Zhiyao, Leng Haoyu, Han Mingxi, and others all held high positions without exception. Even the King’s consort’s guards were elevated – Qin Feng was appointed Qilin Commander of the Mo Family Army and granted the title of General Minglie, putting him on equal footing with commanders like Murong Shen who led hundreds of thousands of troops. As for Zhuo Jing, Lin Han, and Wei Lin, they also received official positions, assigned respectively to the Ministries of Personnel, Justice, and Revenue. And He Su, with his outstanding military achievements, was naturally appointed Grand General as well.
The King’s sudden move left countless people dumbfounded. Those so-called highly respected elders of noble families mostly received only empty honorary titles. But faced with the King’s arrangements, no one could say a word. Because the Xu family’s Xu Hongyu and Xu Hongyan similarly received only honorary positions. The Xu family had worked hard for the King’s household these past years, and this time with both the King and his consort campaigning abroad, such major events occurred midway – if not for the Xu family members maintaining order, how could the Northwest have stayed peaceful? If they showed no dissatisfaction, these idle people who had been kept in comfort had no face to complain.
But the King’s attitude couldn’t help but make all the noble families anxious. The people the King employed were all old hands and confidants from his household and the Mo Family Army. He would rather use the consort’s guards than employ sons of noble families – this was a warning from the King to them. Moreover, the imperial examination system in the Northwest had gradually matured these years, greatly reducing opportunities for privileged sons to directly enter court. No matter what noble family they were, without someone speaking for them at court, they would only decline – how could they not be anxious?
Before people could recover their senses, orders from the King’s mansion came one after another, leaving these old gentlemen dizzy and confused. First and foremost was a strange decree issued by the King: from now on, under the King’s household, except for the principal consort’s family, relatives within three generations of secondary consorts and concubines’ families were forbidden from holding official positions. Moreover, this decree would be permanently effective and could not be violated.
When this order came down, the clan leaders who had been planning to send their daughters to the King’s household immediately vomited blood. What did being forbidden from officialdom for three generations mean? It meant giving your enemies enough time to grind you into the mud, never to rise again. More importantly, this decree was permanently effective! This meant that those hoping to rise quickly through marriage connections could dismiss such thoughts.
If these announcements could be considered warnings to them, the final decree was a bright and clear statement that the King’s will must not be defied. The final order stated that from now on, the King’s household would no longer continue Great Chu’s noble privilege system – all officials must pass the imperial examinations or receive personal approval from the King or his consort. Most importantly, scholars taking the examinations must have served at least one year of military service. The noble families who had previously dismissed the Northwest’s so-called mandatory military service for adult males were suddenly shocked. Not only could their disciples not enter officialdom through hereditary appointments, but they didn’t even qualify to take the imperial examinations through normal channels.
At once, the number of people seeking audiences at the Xu mansion increased significantly.
In the King’s mansion, Xu Hongyu, Xu Hongyan, Xu Qingchen, and others were present. Mo Xiuyao lazily sat in the main seat with Ye Li, looking at everyone with clearly excellent spirits. He had been quite angry at those old pedants a few days ago, but couldn’t just kill them randomly. No matter – when Mo Xiuyao wanted to deal with someone, he had plenty of ways to make them wish they were dead. So His Highness the King paid no mind to how his dropped bombs had thrown all the noble families of the realm into chaos, just sat in his mansion holding Ye Li and watched the show with great pleasure.
Xu Hongyu looked at him and shook his head, saying, “Does Your Highness truly intend to drive these noble families to extinction?” Sometimes these self-important noble families were irritating, but sometimes they couldn’t do without them. Moreover, if pressed too hard, these people might all defect to Jiangnan – that wouldn’t be good for the King’s household’s reputation.
Mo Xiuyao raised his eyebrows and said, “Since they claim loyalty to me, they must follow my rules! Or does this king need to accommodate them? As long as they understand their place, I’ll naturally give them a way out. As for those who were originally wavering, I don’t care about them. These past days must have caused Master Hongyu much trouble.”
Master Qingyun was far away at Lishan Academy and couldn’t be seen whenever one wished. But Xu Hongyu was right here in Licheng, and as the current head of the Xu family, he was naturally the primary target for various family heads to curry favor with and sound out.
Xu Hongyu shook his head to indicate it didn’t matter. Now that Xu Qingchen was the Right Chancellor, second only to one person and above ten thousand others, Xu Qingbai was a regional governor, and Xu Qingze and Xu Qingfeng similarly held important positions, the Xu family was already too prominent. The older generation naturally didn’t need to entangle themselves in these matters anymore – they just needed to pave the way and protect the younger generation at appropriate times.
Xu Qingchen raised his eyebrows and looked at Mo Xiuyao, asking, “Your Highness is keeping the Left Chancellor position open – who are you trying to bait?”
Mo Xiuyao raised his eyebrows and smiled, saying with complete sincerity, “I’m not baiting anyone. There’s already a candidate for Left Chancellor, they just can’t take up the position yet.”
“Master Xiuting?” said Xu Qingchen. In terms of status, ability, and reputation, Master Xiuting was undoubtedly a very suitable candidate. While his Western Territory background might draw criticism, it would undoubtedly make it easier to win over the hearts of the Western Territory people. After all, now a third of the King’s household’s territory was taken from the Western Territory. Having a Western Territory scholar as chancellor would greatly help win people’s hearts.
“Master Xiuting agreed?” Xu Qingchen said, “But others don’t know yet.” Others didn’t know, so many would eye the Left Chancellor’s position hungrily – Xu Qingchen didn’t believe Mo Xiuyao hadn’t planned to make something of this.
Mo Xiuyao smiled and said, “Of course, he agreed, but Master Xiuting is busy with Western affairs and needs at least two or three months before he can come to Licheng to take up the position. As for what happens in between… that’s not my concern.”
Everyone couldn’t help but twitch their mouths – anyone trying to play tricks under the King’s nose must have forgotten to burn incense in their previous life.
Seeing everyone’s expressions, Mo Xiuyao paid no mind and waved his hand, saying, “Don’t worry about these trifles for now. They should quiet down for a few days after this. Let’s talk about… Lin’er and Xin’er’s first birthday celebration.”
Everyone’s expressions grew serious. Xu Qingze calmly said, “The invitations have all been sent out – Northern Tribes, Great Chu, Western Territory, Southern Zhao, and the Western Regions countries – all who should be invited have been. The guest houses are also being prepared. The Northern Tribes envoys are already in Licheng, and as for the others, they should arrive in about half a month. However, at that time… Licheng’s safety…” Xu Qingze frowned. Although the realm’s situation had largely stabilized, this made things more dangerous. Whether from the Northern Tribes, Western Territory, or Great Chu, there were probably quite a few people secretly wanting Mo Xiuyao’s life.
Mo Xiuyao thought for a moment and said, “I’ll transfer additional troops to the garrison around Licheng then. Also… Qingfeng’s Qilin troops can temporarily station in Licheng as a backup.” Beside him, Ye Li nodded in agreement.
Mo Xiuyao asked curiously, “Who will come from the Western Territory?”
Xu Qingchen said leisurely, “If I’m not mistaken, it should be Lei Tengfeng.”
“Lei Tengfeng?” Mo Xiuyao frowned – he hadn’t taken Lei Tengfeng seriously. However, if Lei Tengfeng came personally, it indicated the Western Territory’s internal situation was relatively stable.
Xu Qingchen nodded and said, “Sorry to disappoint you, but Lei Tengfeng and the Western Emperor haven’t fought. When news of Lei Zhenting’s death spread, the Western Emperor immediately appointed Lei Tengfeng as the new Pacifying South King. The Western Emperor has no sons – if things go smoothly, Lei Tengfeng will be the next Western Emperor.”
Neither the Western Emperor nor Lei Tengfeng were as foolish as they had imagined, so their hopes of profiting from their conflict would likely be disappointed. Mo Xiuyao didn’t mind, waving his hand and smiling, “No matter. I’d be disappointed if Lei Tengfeng finished so quickly. Lei Zhenting’s death should help him grow – this time, I want to see how far he can grow.”
Xu Qingchen nodded and said, “Lei Tengfeng’s coming should be to negotiate with the King’s household.”
Mo Xiuyao lowered his eyes in thought and said, “Let Murong Shen and the Southern Marquis continue fighting – there’s no need to negotiate until they’re pushed back to the original border between the Western Territory and Great Chu.” Xu Qingchen pondered for a moment and said, “If Lei Tengfeng wants to stabilize things and recover strength, he might voluntarily withdraw.”
“That would be best,” Mo Xiuyao smiled. “No matter how he wants to negotiate, the Western army must withdraw to the original border with Great Chu.”
Xu Qingchen nodded in agreement with Mo Xiuyao’s view, then frowned and said, “The Northern Tribes envoy wants to speak with you or Li’er personally.”
Mo Xiuyao looked at Ye Li in confusion and asked, “Who did the Northern Tribes send as envoy?”
Young Master Qingchen was speechless – Mo Xiuyao had been back for almost half a month, just how unconcerned did he have to be to not even know who the Northern Tribes envoy was? Even if the Northern Tribes and Mo Family Army had just fought a battle, they were still envoys of a nation. As King, even if just for show, he should display some semblance of diplomatic courtesy.
“Yelü Hong!”