Chapter 871: I, Xu Fengnian, Am Here

White Horse Exits Liangzhou

Today's Great Chu court assembly was somber and bleak, leaving many mid-level officials, who were not yet qualified to enter the main hall, somewhat at a loss. Notably, the three members of the Song family, who had previously been all-powerful in court, were absent. Moreover, it was rumored that over a dozen influential nobles and high-ranking officials, including the Minister of Personnel and the Vice Minister of Rites, had resigned due to illness. The Emperor had ordered Qi Su, the Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guard, who had unexpectedly gained sole authority overnight, to lead troops to various residences and summon these officials to today's assembly. Consequently, these prominent figures, arriving late and appearing together from different factions and backgrounds, drew considerable attention. Most people had heard rumors about yesterday's turmoil in the capital. However, since the incident occurred within the Imperial City and a city-wide lockdown was quickly enforced, the scattered rumors among officials were fragmentary. Yet, it was undeniable that the Prince of Beiliang had caused significant trouble. His final, arrogant declaration, audible throughout the city, had left countless people shocked, bewildered, and enraged. Putting others aside, within and outside the Great Chu court assembly today, even the younger talents of Chu felt immense grief and indignation.

Only after everyone had entered the grand hall did they realize that the Chief Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial had also been replaced by a new face. Furthermore, the Emperor, who typically arrived a bit later, was already seated on the dragon throne, her gaze icy. For the first time, many officials felt the empress's formidable authority.

Key central officials like Yuan Shanhong, the Minister of Personnel, and Guo Xi, the Vice Minister of Rites, who stood slightly to his right, instinctively lowered their heads, unwilling to meet the young woman's gaze.

Previously, nearly all civil and military officials serving in the capital and attending court assemblies shared an unspoken understanding: regardless of the weather—be it scorching summer or heavy snowfall—they invariably regarded the daily assembly as a delightful occasion, never a burdensome chore or an intimidating prospect. The reason was simple: their Great Chu Emperor was not only a young woman in the prime of her beauty but also an unparalleled beauty, one of the four renowned in the Rouge Rankings. Even a fleeting glimpse of Her Majesty, seated high on the dragon throne in her imperial robe, was enough to uplift their spirits. Last year, at the peak of Great Chu's prestige, a refined jest circulated: a young martial general, who had astonished the court with his stellar achievements in two successive battles, defeating the Liyang generals Yang Shenxing and Yan Zhenchun, became completely flustered and speechless, blushing furiously like a lovesick fool during a ceremonial exchange with the Emperor upon entering the capital with his commander Xie Xichui. This drew laughter from the entire assembly. Had it not been for Grand Secretariat Sun Xiji, seated nearby, who quickly intervened to silence them, the laughter might have carried far beyond the hall.

Today's assembly no longer had the easygoing, harmonious atmosphere between ruler and subjects. Most officials in the back of the hall covertly craned their necks, scrutinizing the Grand Secretariat, who sat with his eyes closed, seemingly resting. They hoped to discern some clue from the face of this elderly man, whose official career was perhaps the most extensive in the land. Unfortunately, apart from sitting upright and not leaning back in his chair as he usually did, the old man showed no unusual expressions. Compared to the many civil officials who trod on thin ice, the few military officials in court were relatively calmer. He Taisheng, who had enjoyed a smooth career in Great Chu's officialdom, had disappeared. His family had tried to inquire about him, even visiting the powerful Song family, but the Song mansion remained closed. Another deputy commander, also holding military power, had not returned home last night. However, at least some news had filtered out from within the Imperial City, suggesting he might not lose his post or be imprisoned. In any case, among the military official positions in the capital and the imperial army, there were only about twenty seats of prominence. Two fewer seats naturally meant that many could advance, which was considered good.

To hold a higher office now meant that even if the person on the dragon throne changed one day, and the official titles of Western Chu became worthless, there was a greater chance they could serve as a protective charm or a life-saving talisman. Otherwise, who would care about a minor official like a Six Ministries' supernumerary director, who was as common as dirt? If accounts were settled later, those with insufficient rank or status could be summarily executed without even a word from Lu Shengxiang or Wu Chongxuan to the Zhao Imperial Family in Taian City or the Ministry of Justice.

The Chief Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, who should have proclaimed loudly, "Anyone with matters to report," instead wore a stern face, showing no sign of speaking, despite his usual cheerful demeanor.

The Great Chu Empress sat there, and where she usually seemed somewhat restless, at this moment she appeared utterly commanding, like a monarch whose authority had grown profound from years of governance.

She spoke directly, cutting to the chase: "Since I ascended the throne, I have listened to too many words from you. Today, you will listen to me. You need not say anything."

Some officials had already begun to shrink their necks and swallow nervously.

So much so that everyone forgot to kneel in the grand hall.

The Vice Minister of Personnel, standing just behind Minister Yuan Shanhong, happened to notice the Minister's legs trembling due to his lowered gaze. Was this still "Yuan Lianhua," renowned as the foremost debater of Jiangzuo? Was this still the Minister of Personnel who always exuded vigor in court, even daring to challenge the frontline commander Xie Xichui?

Jiang Si, the first female emperor in the history of the Central Plains, looked down upon the array of civil and military officials—a room filled with high caps and purple-yellow robes. Outside the main hall, some officials, who had knelt and then realized they should stand to conform, gazed blankly into the hall at her, before quickly lowering their heads under her piercing stare.

She stated in a deep voice, "He Taisheng, Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guard, has been executed for capital crimes. Gu Sui, former Deputy Commander, has been reassigned as Deputy General of the Southern Imperial Army."

He Taisheng was dead.

Although the high-ranking officials at the front of the court had already made some conjectures based on various clues, they were still filled with surprise and fear upon hearing the actual news. It was hard not to feel a sense of shared misfortune. It wasn't the life or death of He Taisheng, the brute, that mattered, but what it signified: the Song family, which had held immense power throughout Great Chu, had truly fallen. If even the Song clan, with its three generations of high-ranking officials, had completely lost power, then who in this court could hope for "a hundred years of life"? Most terrifyingly, the Grand Secretariat, who had always been close to the Song family, seemed unfazed, still keeping his eyes closed. The Gu family, though slightly less prominent than the Song family, remained a deeply entrenched powerhouse within Great Chu. Former Deputy Commander Gu Sui was the eldest grandson of Gu Yang, the current Right Grand Minister of the Chancellery. However, the Gu family's main criticism stemmed from Gu Sui's elders: three members from the Gu family's first and second branches had been climbing the official ladder in Liyang for years, though their careers in Jiangnan Province were not smooth. Moreover, when Western Chu was restored, not a single one of these three Gu family members, despite their insignificant official ranks, was willing to return home. They even quickly wrote letters disowning their family, leading Gu Yang himself to remove them from the family genealogy. At the time, many officials viewed the Gu family's disgrace as a joke. But when the Liyang army launched its four-pronged encirclement, everyone suddenly understood.

Hearing that his eldest grandson had merely been transferred to be Deputy General of the Southern Imperial Army, Gu Yang kept his head bowed, his expression unreadable.

But the young Emperor's next words were like a thunderclap.

"Song Wenfeng, Left Grand Minister of the Chancellery, is hereby granted death."

Gu Yang, who had just felt a sense of relief, was startled. What if the word "Left" had been "Right"? Amidst his horror, he couldn't help but ask himself: if he, Gu Yang, had been explicitly condemned to death, what would he do? What would become of his entire family?

After an exchange of bewildered glances, a renowned civil official of the third rank immediately stepped out of the ranks, holding his jade tablet, and bowed his head, stating in a deep voice, "Your humble servant dares to ask Your Majesty, why must you grant Lord Song death?! Furthermore, what is Lord Song's capital crime?"

After these almost impudent questions, the minister, who had marital ties with the Song clan for generations, simply raised his head, fixed his gaze on the Emperor's face, and continued, "Your humble servant has one final question: The late Emperor once bestowed upon the Song family an Iron Certificate of Exemption, publicly promising that the Song family could share the realm with the Jiang clan of Great Chu for generations!"

Following this minister's open defiance of the imperial decree, almost all officials in the court began to nod vigorously, their indignation evident.

He took another step forward, completely disregarding his claim of a "final question," and swiftly posed a fourth, speaking with righteous indignation: "Dare I ask Your Majesty, are you not of the Jiang clan of Great Chu? How then dare you defy the late Emperor?! If your humble servant is not mistaken, that Iron Certificate of Exemption grants the Song family's descendants immunity from death up to four times!"

At this moment, no one paid attention to whether Grand Secretariat Sun Xiji's eyes were open or closed.

The old man, seated in his chair, gripped the armrests with his withered hands, breathing with difficulty.

Great Chu Emperor Jiang Si showed no panic, a half-smile playing on her lips. "An Iron Certificate of Exemption personally bestowed by the late Emperor? Of course I remember. But perhaps you all have forgotten: the Imperial Ancestor once declared that anyone guilty of treason shall be executed without exception!"

The minister, after a moment of stunned silence, burst into maniacal laughter, looking around. "How ludicrous, how utterly ludicrous! Throughout Great Chu's long history of 320 years, no minister granted an Iron Certificate of Exemption has ever been executed. Who would have thought we would be so fortunate, so privileged, to encounter an Emperor who breaks such unprecedented ground!"

The Hanlin Academician, known for his refined demeanor, suddenly raised his jade tablet high and smashed it violently onto the grand hall's floor, where it shattered into pieces.

The sound was like the mournful cry of a dragon and phoenix.

The Hanlin Academician, who had caused almost everyone to tremble, declared loudly, "Such a minister, I shall no longer be!"

Just as he turned to leave the grand hall, the aged Grand Tutor Sun Xiji, in the twilight of his years, slapped the armrest of his chair and roared, "What impropriety! Li Changji, even if you wish to resign your post, you must wait until the assembly concludes before leaving the hall. Otherwise, proceed directly to the Imperial Prison! No interrogation by the Ministry of Justice will be needed!"

The Hanlin Academician froze, then let out a heavy snort. Though completely unafraid, he ultimately did not exit the hall but swaggered back to his place among the officials.

With Li Changji acting as the trailblazer, the civil and military officials, who usually adhered to the principle of subtle cunning while maintaining outward harmony, felt their spines straighten a bit. The young empress's inexplicable madness began to seem like a self-amusing joke.

Indeed, behind the entire court of civil and military officials stood numerous powerful clans and aristocratic families, who flourished regardless of the rise and fall of dynasties. As long as they stood united, why should they truly fear a young woman who no longer had Cao Changqing's backing? Furthermore, it appeared that the Grand Tutor was merely enduring her drastic actions, not supporting them.

Jiang Si glanced at the Hanlin Academician, who resembled a general victorious in a hundred battles, and sneered, "Li Changji, I hear you claim your prose is unparalleled through history, that you can judge its quality merely by its scent, without even needing to read it?"

Just as Li Changji, vexed and angered, was about to retort, Cheng Wen-yu, the Right Sanqi Changshi of the Chancellery, a renowned literary scholar of his generation who had previously harbored the most doubts about Li Changji, unexpectedly stepped out of the ranks. He no longer held his jade tablet with both hands but dangled it by one, and chuckled, "While Master Li's poetry and prose are not entirely without dissent in Great Chu's scholarly circles, does Your Majesty know that even the esteemed Old Master Song of Liyang personally commented on it, saying: 'His writing is like a fierce general deploying troops on the battlefield, relentless in battle; or like a ruthless official handling a case, investigating to the very end, strictly without leniency. Though slightly biased against impartiality, it is undeniably potent!' Your Majesty, setting aside Master Li's political acumen, his literary work..."

Though Cheng Wen-yu did not utter the last half-sentence, his implication was clear: Jiang Si was absolutely not qualified to criticize Li Changji's scholarship and writing. More intriguing than this common scholarly sarcasm—though, of course, history has seen its share of unyielding individuals who dared to directly confront and mock their monarch, they were certainly few—was Cheng Wen-yu's remarkable act, truly worthy of praise and likely to be celebrated by future historians for eternity. Beyond that, what was truly worth contemplating was Cheng Wen-yu's righteous defense of his literary rival. This demonstrated that, even if other officials were excluded, Li Changji, who relied on the towering Song family tree, was no longer fighting alone. Cheng Wen-yu had forcefully pulled the two great aristocratic families behind him onto the Song family's ship, which should have already sunk into the Guangling River. This was no mere embellishment; it was an incredibly solid act of lighting a lamp in a dark room.

As Cheng Wen-yu stepped forward, many officials with questionable pasts, who had been trembling with fear, began to smile knowingly.

Soon, an official from the back rows followed suit, though without Li Changji's boldness or Cheng Wen-yu's lofty integrity. He merely tremblingly advised the Emperor that the Song family had, after all, been a pillar of Great Chu for three hundred years. With a war raging between the two nations, prosecuting the Song family now would demoralize the soldiers on the front lines.

Jiang Si remained impassive.

Sun Xiji turned to look at the young Emperor, his expression a mix of sorrow and plea.

His sorrow was for her administering such a potent medicine to Great Chu, a critically ill patient. His plea was for her not to act impulsively. As a monarch governing the state, one could be subtly cunning, capable of framing others without cause, or intentionally fostering factions in court for balance. One could even privately believe that the saying 'water can carry a boat or capsize it' was nonsense. But what one absolutely could not do was become a true 'isolated ruler' or the public enemy of all civil and military officials. After all, when floods raged, those who would share the boat were precisely the high-ranking officials in court. If the one on the dragon throne found herself in a situation where 'all those in the boat are enemies,' then a change of dynasty would truly be inevitable!

Sun Xiji's lips trembled. The old man was too weak to speak loudly, so he could only repeat in a faint, mumbling voice, "Your Majesty, please reconsider, please reconsider..."

Jiang Si said expressionlessly, "Oh? That Old Master Song, whose integrity failed in his later years, said that? I haven't heard. I only heard Cao Changqing say that your Li Changji's writing is full of mere craftsmanship, completely lacking in scholarly elegance or refined grace."

Li Changji and Cheng Wen-yu, two literary giants who commanded respect in Great Chu's scholarly circles, were simultaneously thunderstruck, unsure how to respond.

Cao Changqing.

He had always held the most transcendent position in Great Chu. From the moment he was summoned to the palace to become a chess attendant, he was Western Chu's most cherished figure. Li Mi lost to him on the chessboard, Ye Baikui jested that with him on the battlefield, Great Chu needed no one else, and Tang Jiahe, the master of miscellaneous studies renowned for his omniscience, told people that if he didn't know something, he would ask Cao Changqing.

This was true when Great Chu's territory was intact. It was even more so after Great Chu became Western Chu.

Suddenly, Song Jingde, the Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guard in Great Chu's capital, from an aristocratic family, muttered something, softly yet clearly.

"In times of peril, where is Cao Changqing?"

Unnoticed by others, Sun Xiji, upon hearing this, slumped back against his chair. The old man closed his eyes, his breath shallow.

The entire court of civil and military officials, especially the high-ranking ministers, sneered incessantly, while those in the back rows remained silent as cicadas in winter.

Jiang Si hesitated, full of unspoken rage.

She suddenly descended from the dragon throne, walked to the chair, knelt, and gently held the old man's withered hand, which was trembling so weakly.

Sun Xiji could no longer speak. He struggled to open his eyes, his gaze filled only with the pity and benevolence of an elder looking at a younger family member.

She wanted to speak.

She wanted to say she was sorry.

But the old man, expending his last reserves of energy, shook his head slightly.

The old man seemed to want to tell her, with a smile, that she had done very well, and there was no need for her to feel guilty.

In what was once the orthodox dynasty of the Central Plains, Great Chu, this old man, slowly closing his eyes, had achieved his ambitions at twenty and spent sixty years through glory and disgrace. Now, all was silent.

After the old man closed his eyes, his withered, fleshless hand, covered in age spots, seemed to gently push the empress, as if wanting to send her away, out of this murky court, far away, to the northwest frontier.

Upon witnessing this scene, every civil and military official in court felt a complex mix of emotions.

A soft cough, barely audible, resounded gently above everyone's heads.

No one noticed it, except for Emperor Jiang Si, who suddenly stood up and looked overhead.

She saw a young man, who had been lying asleep on a large beam, sit up and smile at her.

Originally, even if all those in the boat were her enemies, she wouldn't have felt too wronged, nor would she have feared their revealing their true intentions. But for some reason, upon seeing him, she suddenly felt immensely wronged.

She knew she was being unreasonable; in fact, she had always been far more unreasonable than him.

Yet, she just wanted him to know, in his presence, how deeply wronged she felt.

She liked him, so she refused to be reasonable with him.

He liked her, so he had to be reasonable with her.

There was no logic to such a logic.

She shed tears, her face flushed, a little shy. Lowering her head wasn't enough; she turned her face away, afraid to look at him.

The next moment, everyone present froze in astonishment.

Not because of the Emperor's strange behavior.

Instead, a young man, with a war saber at his waist, floated down from above and landed beside the Great Chu Emperor. With one hand, he gently rested it on her head, while his other hand lightly pressed on his saber hilt. Facing all of them, facing the civil and military officials inside and outside the grand hall, he smiled and said, "Cao Changqing isn't here, but Xu Fengnian is."