When the Late Empress was still alive, Emperor Wei showed her exceptional favor, extending his affection to both Yin Gezhi and Nanping more than his other princes and princesses. At that time, Lady Shi was merely a Noble Consort.
Being neglected herself was one thing, but she never expected her son would also fail to win the Emperor’s favor. While the Crown Prince lived in the Eastern Palace from childhood, her Jue’er continued to live with her until adulthood, even having to make do with the Crown Prince’s leftover tutors!
Lady Shi was unwilling to accept this situation. She had been scheming behind the scenes early on, and upon the Late Empress’s death, she devised ways for her brother to help her ascend to the position of Empress. She then exhausted every possible means to elevate Jue’er to the position of Crown Prince.
She had employed every possible strategy, never showing mercy. Having finally reached this point, if the Emperor still harbored thoughts of deposing the Crown Prince, she would have no choice but to take desperate measures!
The women of the imperial harem lived tragic lives, existing solely for their clan’s honor and their status. Especially those who fell from favor – they had long since abandoned a maiden’s romantic dreams, left only with deep resentment and an appetite for power.
Emperor Wei remained oblivious, still brooding over the Crown Prince’s incompetence while simultaneously fearing Yin Gezhi’s capabilities.
With Guan Qingyue in hiding and the truth of the Guan family’s unjust case gradually surfacing, although the Wu State envoys had become more amenable, Emperor Wei remained worried. He constantly felt someone was eyeing his throne covetously, leaving him unable to eat or sleep well. His royal health suffered as a result.
“Royal Father.”
In the Imperial Study, Yin Gezhi stood tall and elegant, holding official documents in both hands and spoke with a calm expression: “In the Guan family’s old case, sixty-eight officials were implicated, of whom thirty still serve in court. Based on their actions, I have determined their appropriate punishments and recorded them along with their crimes for Your Majesty’s review.”
Emperor Wei stared at him with an unsightly expression: “Too many people are involved, Chenzhi. Have you heard the saying ‘don’t punish the masses for collective crimes’?”
“I have never accepted that principle,” Yin Gezhi raised his eyes to meet his father’s, speaking with stubborn determination: “Crime deserves punishment – one person’s crime warrants one person’s punishment, a hundred people’s crimes warrant a hundred punishments. If Your Majesty could execute over a hundred members of the Guan family for one person’s alleged crime, how can you now hesitate to punish these sixty-eight people for their actual transgressions?”
The Emperor choked slightly, coughing again, his expression extremely weary. He slapped the table in anger: “Child, why must you always oppose me?”
“I do not intend to make things difficult for Your Majesty,” Yin Gezhi bowed slightly and continued: “I merely seek justice. The Guan family was innocent, with countless merits yet wronged for three years, their entire clan was executed. How can Your Majesty still consider Guan Qingyue’s escape a crime? If she hadn’t survived, Your Majesty would have lost even the opportunity to grant pardons.”
“Insolent!” The Emperor barked, his face extremely unsightly: “What pardons? I have committed no crime!”
“The Yin Imperial Clan’s ancestral worship ceremony is approaching,” Yin Gezhi continued, ignoring his father’s words: “I have already discussed with the Minister of Ceremonies. To express remorse to the Guan family, I hope Your Majesty will announce to the world during the ceremony that the Guan family was innocent.”
“What?!” Emperor Wei stood up, slapping his armrest, trembling with rage: “You want me to admit my mistake before our ancestors!”
“Is it not appropriate?” Yin Gezhi’s expression turned cold as he looked at his father gravely: “When Your Majesty first ascended the throne, Prince Ming rebelled, and half the court officials defected. It was General Guan who led ten thousand soldiers to protect Your Majesty in Lidu, securing your throne! When Wu State repeatedly violated our borders, while other generals preferred comfort over combat, it was General Guan who fought without hesitation, keeping our Great Wei’s borders peaceful for years! In the Southern Qi War, despite insufficient supplies and troops, it was the Guan family who refused to retreat, defending the city to their deaths, preventing Wu State from taking South Qi City and threatening our Lidu heartland!”
Emperor Wei anxiously averted his gaze, slowly sinking back onto his dragon throne.
Yin Gezhi’s cold voice trembled slightly: “He was a man worthy of respect. In the Pingchang battle, I was wrong. I should have shown more humanity and trusted him more. Had I not sent those letters back to Lidu, perhaps Your Majesty wouldn’t have found an excuse to execute him so quickly.”
But back then, he had been utterly uncompromising in handling matters. Whether it was the illustrious Guan Canghai or anyone else, once evidence of wrongdoing reached his hands, he would handle it impartially. Yet he never imagined that while he remained impartial, others would not. Beneath this filthy imperial power lay murderous intent toward loyal officials!
“I am willing to join Your Majesty in begging forgiveness from our ancestors and apologizing to the Guan family,” Yin Gezhi’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he looked at Emperor Wei: “I only ask that Your Majesty no longer consider the imperial family’s face.”
Emperor Wei listened in silence, his eyes slowly moving left and right. After a long while, he finally asked: “What if I refuse?”
“What Your Majesty loves most is power, isn’t it?” Having anticipated this response, Yin Gezhi smiled lightly, his expression growing colder: “Whether military authority or other great powers, you’ve always kept them firmly in your own hands, never delegating to others.”
Emperor Wei gave a light snort, looking at the imperial seal on the table, tacitly acknowledging this.
“In that case, forgive my boldness,” Yin Gezhi nodded slightly: “Since learning of the Guan family’s wrongful case, I had already decided that if Your Majesty remains obstinate, I would have no choice but to wage war against you.”
“Oh?” Emperor Wei smiled coldly, eyeing him: “You’re merely a prince, while I am the Son of Heaven. What do you plan to fight me with?”
“It’s simple,” Yin Gezhi lowered his gaze: “Before coming here, I discussed with Wu State’s Crown Prince. In exchange for allowing my return to Wei, I can lead troops into battle. We will join Wu State in resisting Song. They have only one condition for allying with Wei – that I take command.”
Emperor Wei’s heart tightened as he frowned. He had personally discussed with Wu State’s envoys, and this was indeed their condition.
“Does Your Majesty wonder why I was able to return after just one year?” Yin Gezhi gave a low laugh: “If I weren’t confident, I wouldn’t dare challenge Your Majesty. If this alliance between Wu and Wei fails, Your Majesty knows well what fate awaits Wei.”
Qi State was already eyeing Wei covetously. If they provoked Wu State as well, Wu and Qi might unite to swallow Wei first before resisting Song – achieving multiple objectives at once. Wu State had other options, to begin with; their willingness to ally with Wei already spoke to Wei’s deep heritage.
Somewhat angry, Emperor Wei said: “Aren’t you afraid of dying here first?”
Even tigers don’t eat their cubs, but he was human, and human hearts could be far more frightening than tigers.
Yin Gezhi’s expression darkened slightly, but his back straightened even more: “Does Your Majesty plan to kill me using these palace guards?”
Remembering his son’s terrifying martial arts skills, Emperor Wei felt somewhat insecure, though he maintained a composed expression to save face. Inwardly, however, he grew cautious.
If he moved against Yin Gezhi first, it would give him justification for rebellion. Leaving aside the numerous court officials who supported him, even among the palace guards, Commander Chen came from the Eastern Palace. Though generally loyal to the Emperor, faced with Yin Chenzhi, his obedience would be questionable.
Growing anxious, Emperor Wei softened his tone: “Blood is thicker than water. You’re my son – how could I bear to harm you? But Chenzhi, you shouldn’t take advantage of my soft heart to pressure me like this.”
“Five years ago, Wei’s strength could still match Wu’s, even slightly surpass it,” Yin Gezhi frowned slightly, his tone heavy: “In just five short years, Wei has made enemies everywhere, with constant warfare. The people suffer, citizens flee, farmlands lie to waste, and national strength steadily weakens. Has Your Majesty never considered the reason?”
“How could I not have thought about it?” Emperor Wei responded somewhat indignantly: “I’ve constantly held court officials accountable, but capable people grow scarcer by the day. I spend five hours daily reviewing memorials, but what good has it done?”
“Is it truly because the ministers are useless?” Yin Gezhi shook his head: “It’s because Your Majesty acts arbitrarily, refuses to delegate power, dispenses rewards and punishments inconsistently, cannot distinguish right from wrong, and promotes officials based on personal preference. This has led to the loss of talent and the prevalence of incompetence in court!”
Emperor Wei raised his eyebrows: “How could I be as muddleheaded as you describe!”
“Is it not so?” Yin Gezhi sighed: “Take Zhao Xu as an example. He was merely a Lidu scholar with some reputation in calligraphy and painting. Because Your Majesty loves calligraphy and painting, you broke protocol to make him an internal official. Because he was good at flattery, within two short years you promoted him to Grand Commander! Your Majesty, Grand Commander is one of the Three Excellencies – how can such a position be given so carelessly?”
Feeling somewhat guilty, Emperor Wei coughed lightly and didn’t respond.
“And later, when corpses were discovered in his mansion, how did Your Majesty handle it? You told me not to investigate and said he was wronged! May I ask Your Majesty, did you have any connection to the female corpse in the Grand Commander’s back courtyard?”
“Outrageous!” The Emperor stood up, slamming the table in rage: “What connection could I have? When I visited his residence, we only discussed calligraphy, nothing else!”
“Then why did Your Majesty show him such favoritism?” Yin Gezhi’s eyes held mockery: “Just because his calligraphy pleased you?”
“You don’t understand!” Emperor Wei said anxiously: “Few people nowadays can settle their hearts to practice calligraphy, let alone achieve his level of mastery in the Yan style – his name will go down in history!”
Laughing at this, Yin Gezhi shook his head: “Just for this reason, Your Majesty could overlook his murder – isn’t this failing to distinguish right from wrong?”
Emperor Wei was speechless, remaining stiff for a long while before finally bowing his head in reflection.
“My insistence on reopening the case and having Your Majesty acknowledge wrongdoing before our ancestors isn’t to shame you, but to make a final attempt to save Wei. To restore righteousness to the court, honor the blood of loyal ministers, and preserve their loyalty. Only then can our Great Wei hope to regain its strength!”
This was the second time Yin Gezhi had made this point. The first time, Emperor Wei didn’t believe him, but now he had no choice but to listen.
The Imperial Study remained quiet for a long while. The sand clock had nearly run out, and just as Yin Gezhi was beginning to despair, thinking Emperor Wei would refuse to repent, he spoke, his voice weary.
“Very well,” Emperor Wei said: “If it means admitting mistakes and acknowledging wrongdoing, so be it. For Wei’s future, I will heed your counsel.”
Pleasantly surprised, Yin Gezhi looked at him unexpectedly: “Does Your Majesty truly mean this?”