The Ugly Empress

Xue Yu’s action of killing the captive prisoners was spread widely into people’s ears. Not only the court officials, but also the common people in the entire capital city, were alarmed by the cruel action.

Common people’s minds were always simple, they didn’t know the politics and elaborate intrigues of the Imperial Court. Therefore, if a subordinate acted a certain way, they thought it was according to His Majesty’s order. 

By the end of the day, Xue Junliang had suddenly become a tyrant who was being scorned by the people…

Xue Junliang understood the ‘good intentions’ of  Marquis Zhenjiang quite well and had to laugh out loud at the audacity. He really had underestimated Xue Yu. This brother of his was no longer a little prince who only wanted to protect his own life, but a tiger who had already grown and now begun thinking about how to hunt and to eat.

Xue Junliang had been already consulting the Empress’ opinions in solving the small county matter and the transportation of army supplies, so now he asked her again about this Xue Yu’s trouble.

However, Teng Yun didn’t want to help Xue Junliang. In the end, he only helped solve Cheng Tian and Zou Zhenying’s attack because it benefitted his purposes; not only he had completely memorized Xue Country’s layout, he also got news about Teng Shang from the front lines. 

But if asked to help regarding Xue Country’s people’s hearts and politics, even if Teng Yun had a way, he didn’t want to tell Xue Junliang; After all, they were still enemies.

Teng Yun said, “Chen-qie only came upon some unusual books and therefore knew a little about military laws and strategies, but if asked about important matters like politics and people’s hearts, Chen-qie really has no knowledge and doesn’t dare to give opinion rashly.”

Xue Junliang was stunned by this ‘modesty’ and realized that his Empress was a master at trading; if the trade would not give her any advantage, she would not help in any way.

Xue Junliang naturally didn’t insist. After all, he only asked for the Empress’ opinion because he was looking forward to whatever surprises she would give him this time. As for the common people’s speculations, he was one to prepare umbrellas even before knowing it was going to rain.

Emperor Xue sent people to the northern border, berating Xue Yu for his recklessness and acting violently without permission and demanded that, within a few days, Xue Yu had to send Zou Zhenying’s body to the capital city.

Now, everyone was puzzled. Zou Zhenying’s head had already been hung on the county gate, and because the weather was harsher in the north, the head would already been severely deformed in just a few short days.

Xue Yu was not in a hurry, he didn’t think it was a big deal. He let people take down Zou Zhenying’s rotten head from the gate and find a body, no matter whose, and then put it in a brocade box and ordered someone to send the body and the head to the capital city.

When Xue Junliang opened the package box, all the ministers present almost vomited right then and there; the rancid smell of rotting flesh filled the entire court hall. 

Xue Junliang put on a mournful mask as if he was regretting the loss of a formidable person and a hero. He arranged a burial ceremony for Zou Zhenying according to Xue Country’s customs. He said that, although Zou Zhenying wasn’t from Xue Country, he had once invaded Xue Country’s territory and therefore considered him a very talented man; an invincible general. Emperor Xue was a person who always appreciated people with talents; if only Zou Zhenying was still alive, Emperor Xue could use his talent and the man’s life would not just end like this.

Xue Junliang also ordered not to kill any of Zou Zhenying’s remaining family members and that the local government would be responsible for providing them support.

People with a deeper mind would think that Emperor Xue’s move was vicious and hypocritical, but it had indeed appeased common people’s heart; letting them think that what happened was not Emperor Xue’s original intention and that he wasn’t as merciless as people thought.

After that, Xue Junliang went as far as introducing a series of regulations, which did not allow the arbitrary slaughter of war prisoners, otherwise they would be punished as crimes of treachery. 

Xue Yu, of course, knew this decree was meant for himself, yet he didn’t care about it. Here in a place so far away from the capital city, added that situations would always change in a battlefield, at some point, the army wasn’t affected much by rules and regulations.

After being busy solving the matters above, Xue Junliang summoned Jiang Yu and said, “I have two orders.”

Jiang Yu kept his head bowed respectfully and waited for Emperor Xue’s orders.

“First, ask Jiao Shui to go back to the Empress’ side. I want her to report to me everything the Empress says and does every day. If she dares to miss anything, she could go back to serving Teng-fei.” 

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Second,” Xue Junliang said, “Write a letter to Zhao Lu, tell him to find out every information about the Empress from when she was still living in Feng Country, whether they were important or trivial things, he should report in detail.”

“Yes, this old servant will do as ordered.”

“Wait,” Xue Junliang gestured to Jiang Yu not to leave yet. He smiled, “Has King Feng departed to visit the river?” 

“Answering back to Your Majesty,” Jiang Yu said, “According to Zhao Lu’s reply, King Feng had set off three days ago. It is estimated he will arrive at Ming River in a few days.”

“The matter that this Seat told you about before, how is it going?”

“It has already been done. It has been cloudy and constantly raining in Ming River these days. King Feng would arrive there at the right time.”

Xue Junliang nodded but he was still frowning. Jiang Yu took note and asked, “What is it that Your Majesty is worrying about?” 

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“Your Majesty’s planning is not going to fail.” 

“You go tell those people in Feng Country, tell them to pay close attention to Zhao Lu’s movements. When King Feng leaves the capital city, make sure Zhao Lu stays in the city and fulfill his duties diligently.”

———-

Feng Ming started his journey to Ming River, but announced he was going south. He didn’t want the local government of Ming River to know of his arrival and be prepared in advance, he intended to personally see what was the real situation; he always ordered the river to be conserved, but why did the river flood every year?

Feng Ming didn’t bring Zhao Lu this time; neither did he bring Lu Shichen. He left Lu Shichen to assist Zhao Lu in handling the capital city. 

Before leaving, he especially spoke with Lu Shichen, telling him that not everyone wanted to seek instant benefit so he shouldn’t be too hard on the other court officials and leave them some leeway. A cornered dog could still jump over a wall especially if those dogs were officials more senior than Lu Shichen.

Feng Ming ordered Lu Shichen to discuss matters with Zhao Lu first.

Lu Shichen was very attentive to King Feng’s instructions. He knew very well he himself always hated dishonorable people. This way of thinking was certainly good, but he would not be able to achieve anything if he did it alone without the other officials. Little by little, Lu Shichen started to learn how to tolerate people, he became less strict.

Also, Lu Shichen always admired Marquis Zhulu, so King Feng’s order wasn’t a hardship at all. 

The only problem was… Since King Feng left the capital city, Zhao Lu had been absent from the Imperial Court assemblies due to illness; even the military affairs were presided over by his subordinates instead of Zhao Lu himself.

Among the military affairs that were brought to the court; the ones that could be handled by the military council were handed over to the military council, the more important ones were brought to Marquis Zhulu’s residence by Rui Xue to be reviewed by the marquis first and then handed down to the military council.

Marquis Zhulu’s illness had come to the point where he couldn’t leave the residence. He had called several most qualified Imperial physicians to examine him, but they all said he only caught a common cold added with exhaustion and that he should take a proper rest to recuperate for a few days.

But the court matters could not be ignored and the documents sent to Marquis Zhulu’s residence every day were not a few. This made the marquis’ illness gradually start to worsen until even his servants could not see him for a few days at a time. 

Lu Shichen was very worried about Marquis Zhulu’s condition and came to his residence bringing a physician. But he was stopped at the door and not allowed to come in. Rui Xue said, “Lord Minister is very kind and Lord Marquis really appreciates it. But he says he could not see you because he is afraid he would infect you with the illness. If Minister Lu falls ill, the Imperial Court would be in trouble.”

After all, Lu Shichen didn’t have Zhao Lu’s deep mind. He thought the marquis was right. He thanked Marquis’s kindness and then left.

———–

Inside the marquis’ residence, Rui Xue held a wooden tray covered in yellow cloth and knocked on a door. She said, “Lord Marquis, this is Rui Xue.” 

Pushing the door open, she entered and then closed it firmly behind her.

Rui Xue turned to the inner room but the room was empty. She placed the covered tray on the table and sighed.

The night King Feng departed to Ming River, her master faked an illness and secretly followed King Feng’s entourage in disguise.

Maybe Master trusted Rui Xue too much that, without saying any more detailed instructions, he left her to deal with people asking for him. Although Rui Xue was happy for His Majesty; that Master still had feelings for His Majesty, she still thought Master was a bit mean. She was only a maidservant yet had to fend off important people… 

But even if Master disregarded her feelings, Rui Xue would never betray him because he had done her a great favor. She had followed Zhao Lu for quite some time, but she still couldn’t understand her master’s devotion to his home country. She only knew that Feng Ming was a great person; Feng Ming was the one who loved Zhao Lu the most. No one could surpass Feng Ming’s feelings, not even Rui Xue herself.

In fact, Zhao Lu, though he had a sharp mouth, actually had a soft heart. As soon as Feng Ming left the capital city, Zhao Lu couldn’t sit still even for a second and had to go and follow Feng Ming.

———

When Feng Ming left, from the capital city he went south first where he was welcomed by the local officials. The very next day, he left again and this time, they changed their route and went all the way to Ming River. 

The area around Ming River had constant rain for a few days straight and the dam could not withhold the volume of rain water. The local government could only repair the dam when it wasn’t raining, but even when they did repair the dam, the dam was useless. Once there was heavy rain, the dam would break again and the river would overflow.

A rainstorm occurred in the middle of the night and the governor was still asleep. Because his house was located in slightly lower terrain, the water had reached and seeped-in through his door. The servant knocked on his bedroom door and had to call out loudly for the governor and his wife several times before they woke up.

The governor quickly put on his official attire and ran to the river bank.

At this time, many local officials had already arrived at the dam. The heavy rain had toppled down the makeshift river watchtower. People were wearing oiled coats. At the beginning, when it was still slightly windy and drizzling, their servants had been holding oiled umbrellas for them. 

But now, the umbrellas were already ruined; the paper was soaked, leaving only the bamboo bones.

The oiled coats were not very useful either, they were not big enough to protect them and their clothes underneath were already wet, and even their official hats were blown away.

When the governor arrived at the river dam, he started yelling curses. But it only ended with rain water pouring into his open mouth, and the wind was too strong; drowning his voice and making his soaking-wet hair sticking to his face. His bedraggled appearance completely cancelled out any of his prestigious presence.

Even money would not be able to instantly cover the broken parts of the river dam. The governor thought about organizing people to repair the dam right now. The rain was too heavy; it was an emergency. 

Feng Ming had arrived at Ming River the day before but ordered his boat to stop at a distance from Ming River, in case the local officials found out and made superficial efforts to hide any ugly truths. He then got off the boat with several of his aides and went to Ming River to check the dam.

It rained heavily tonight, his aides originally pleaded with Feng Ming to delay going to Ming River; after all, King Feng’s health and safety was the most important. If something happened to him, even their death would not be sufficient as an apology.

However, Feng Ming was determined to go, so they could only follow His Majesty’s order. Rain water pooled on the roads and made them impassable, but the aide knew he could never change His Majesty’s mind. He could only knelt and requested to be allowed to follow King Feng to Ming River. This is the difference between Kings and officials.

When Feng Ming arrived at the riverbank, people were shocked. 

The governor realized it wasn’t the time to yell at people. He quickly flopped down on his knees and shouted ‘Long Live the King’. The rain added with overflowing river water had already passed above people’s knees but no one dared complain and not kneel. Compared to King Feng’s expression, the flood looked friendlier.

Feng Ming swept his gaze at the hasty repair people had done to cover the broken dam and almost exploded in anger. His aide berated the governor and the governor could only kowtow on the ground repeatedly.

Feng Ming smiled warmly and said, “How nice of you all to do a makeshift repair. The money this Seat gave, could only pay you all to do this? Every year, many people have died. Maybe tomorrow you all should die too just to see how it feels.”

The governor was dizzy for kowtowing repeatedly; but he didn’t dare saying anything and could only keep kowtowing. 

Feng Ming coldly said, “Get lost! When no one comes here to inspect, maybe you’re all too busy wasting your officials’ salary. You don’t need to be officials any longer. When the day is clear, throw these people into the river to feed the fish!”

Voice trembling, the governor pleaded repeatedly, “Long live Your Majesty! Long live Your Majesty! Your Majesty… this lowly subject begs Your Majesty to step back, the rain is too heavy and this dam is not safe, please step back!”

Feng Ming said, “How unusual, you actually know this dam is not safe?”

“This subject knows his mistake, this subject deserves death. But please, Your Majesty, step back. This subject had committed a grave crime, if something happened to Your Majesty, this subject would not be able to face the ancestors even if I die!” 

Feng Ming listened to the governor’s seemingly sincere words. Under such heavy rain, the governor had run to the river dam and tried to temporarily repair the dam.

Feng Ming’s angered expression turned a bit warmer and he said, “This Seat knows that this Seat cannot rely on any of you, but the situation has come to this, are you able to say you didn’t steal the river fund? Can you still say there is no money to repair the river dam? Common people pay taxes with their hard-earned money, it is not for raising and feeding leeches. If the river dam is broken, people would drown and die, and then who will pay your salaries?”

Everyone listening to Feng Ming’s speech started to feel apprehensive. Indeed, some people would not be able to understand how desperate and serious a situation was without experiencing it for themselves.

It was actually the effect Feng Ming wanted to achieve and he wasn’t about to dwell too much over it. After all, if he threw all these officials into the river to feed the fish, who else would work for him? 

Finally, after people pleaded again and again, Feng Ming decided to return to the Imperial ship. Since the people of Ming River had all known he was here anyway, there was no reason to stop the ship at a distance away.

Feng Ming hadn’t even turned around when suddenly, an official ran over to him. The official, ignoring a series of formal greetings and etiquette, yelled, “The dam has collapsed! The dam has collapsed! The flood is coming!”

The sound of rain and wind almost drowned the official’s words, but his tone and warning was clear. Everyone instantly panicked. The governor and other officials immediately tried to escort His Majesty towards a higher ground on the hill.

However, the flood came fiercely; in a blink of an eye, the water had flooded the place they had been standing on a moment ago and followed closely at people’s heels. The hill suddenly looked very small in the face of the raging flood. 

Although Feng Ming had stayed in the Palace all year round, he never neglected practicing his martial arts and exercising. The governor didn’t have Feng Ming’s physical strength, and when the others had almost reached the foot of the hill, the governor had to stop to take a breath but only managed to swallow a mouthful of water.

Feng Ming was said to be cold hearted and indifferent. In fact, it was just an appearance; inside he still had feelings. When he saw the governor falling on the ground right by his feet, Feng Ming stopped running to pick the governor up and encouraged, “Let’s go!”

At this time, the governor wasn’t sure he should say he was moved by King Feng’s encouragement. He was already an old man. He didn’t know if the water on his face was either rain or tears.

There was a small temple on the top of the hill, and the terrain was quite high. The small temple had a level roof, barely sheltering them from the falling rain. If it wasn’t such an urgent situation, people would not remember there was a temple here at all. 

After racing to reach the temple, everyone was exhausted. Feng Ming hit his hand severely on a wooden table; the roof had broken in many places and the table was already wet.

The table collapsed under Feng Ming’s smashes. These days, the rain has been falling heavily, but according to the court officials’ report, this year’s rain was less intense than the previous year. Feng Ming didn’t think it was possible for the water volume to be this large.

However, Feng Ming didn’t consider that Xue Junliang might have knowledge of his whereabouts. Xue Junliang had deliberately built a way, connecting the water from Ming River and the flood and making it flow into the city.

Feng Ming stared at the heavy rain outside. Although they were presently safe here inside the temple for the time being, there were many more people still in the city. The river dam had collapsed and soon the whole city would be flooded. This small temple would not be a safe shelter for long either. 

———–

Zhao Lu had been secretly following Feng Ming and his entourage. When he arrived at Ming River, an official near him was yelling that the river dam had collapsed. Zhao Lu’s heart dropped to his feet and he froze. Suddenly, he understood Emperor Xue’s intentions.

Zhao Lu knew as a king, one should not be too soft-hearted; a country was built upon piles of bones, why care about some refugees of a small insignificant town? But Zhao Lu had personally experienced the devastating sadness of losing his family and having no home. He also knew that, because of this feeling, he would never be a person who did big things.

There was chaos on the riverbank. It seemed like the officials were escorting Feng Ming and starting towards the hill. Zhao Lu gritted his teeth and finally turned around and rushed back towards the city. 

Maybe Zhao Lu should thank those officials who hadn’t gone to the river side. Zhao Lu rushed into the local government office and showed his official seal. The local officials immediately woke up but weren’t allowed time to formally greet Zhao Lu.

Zhao Lu immediately ordered people in the office, whether they were officials or guards, to all go knocking on every door and urging the city’s residents to run to higher grounds.

When he finished these things, he immediately turned back and went to find Feng Ming.

Feng Ming had drowned in the water. When he woke up, he felt his chest was filled to the brim with water and his throat was burning. He threw up a mouthful of water; almost vomiting his intestines as he did so. 

He looked around for a moment. It seemed like he was in a dilapidated house. There was a person sitting not very far from him. The person didn’t move even after Feng Ming was awake, so Feng Ming thought the person must be asleep.

When Zhao Lu found Feng Ming, the small temple had already collapsed. Everyone else had scattered and fled, but Feng Ming couldn’t swim; he must have fainted after swallowing too much water.

Rescuing and bringing Feng Ming to a safer place was easy. He had changed his countenance but Zhao Lu was still afraid Feng Ming would recognize him. Although a king’s ruthlessness was understandable, Zhao Lu never thought his own actions had almost taken innocent people’s lives. He didn’t have the courage to see Feng Ming again.

Feng Ming’s official attire had long been discarded somewhere, leaving only the white robe underneath. Dirty water and mud had turned the white into grey; people would not be able to know his true identity by seeing his appearance now. 

Feng Ming’s blurry eyes saw the other person in the distance, but he couldn’t recognize who it was. He just said, “You saved this Seat…coughs.. You saved me?”

When Zhao Lu realized Feng Ming didn’t recognize him, his heart started to relax but he still didn’t speak, afraid Feng Ming would still recognize his voice. Zhao Lu only nodded as an answer.

Feng Ming struggled to sit up. His limbs were still numb and he was still weak. He forced himself to sit straight and cup his hands, “Thank you so much for saving my life.”

Feng Ming’s voice grew fainter with each word. His body leaned forward and started to fall to the floor. Zhao Lu got up and caught the man, and laid him carefully back on the floor. He felt too ashamed to touch Feng Ming, Zhao Lu took a few steps back and sat down. 

———–

“Your Majesty.”

Xue Junliang had been less busy these days so he decided to check on the Little Crown Prince Xue Pei’s study. It so happened that Xue Pei was discussing about military arts with Teng Yun.

The Little Crown Prince’s relationship with the Empress has gone quite close but Xue Junliang didn’t mind. He himself admired this Empress, it was only natural the Crown Prince did too. 

When Xue Junliang came, Teng Yun and Xue Pei meant to kneel and greet him, but Xue Junliang stopped them saying there was no need to be so polite. He smiled and said, “Continue with the discussion, this Seat will just sit here and listen.”

Although Xue Pei felt that his Father’s smile was merrier and the light in his eyes were brighter, Xue Pei kept it to himself, and didn’t dare saying it. Compared to Father, the Empress Mother looked a lot calmer which was really admirable.

Jiang Yu didn’t want to disturb Emperor Xue at this kind of time, but there was an urgent military report. If Jiang Yu delayed reporting it to Emperor Xue, he would be punished, so Jiang Yu could only gather his courage.

Xue Junliang saw Jiang Yu fidgeting, so he said, “It’s alright, just say it here. The Empress and the Crown Prince are not outsiders.” 

Even if Jiang Yu had all the courage in the world, he would never dare say the report loudly. His Majesty said those words to show he was trusting the Empress and the Crown Prince, but Jiang Yu still had to be careful.

He bowed to whisper close to Emperor Xue’s ears, “Your Majesty, the spy sent a reply, he reported that Feng Country’s Marquis Zhulu’s official seal was found near Ming River.”