Chapter 1: Devil

Posted on 11th Sep 2021 by Yue

The City of Po Suo was set ablaze.

Fire billowed towards the sky with waves of flames blanketing the night to cover the moon. Sparks and dust drifted together and flew out half a kilometer1 away, sound resembling scorching human flesh crackled, and an acrid of burning oil mixed with a dry overburnt smell penetrated straight into one’s nose.

Cheng Wei’s stomach churned violently and the bulge in his throat rose and fell as he held himself back, not daring to let his expression of wanting to vomit show. He was afraid that if he showed a shred of cowardice, he would lose his life to the Devil.

Fortunately, the Devil2 himself did not look back at him. Distinctively long jointed fingers lifted to clasped around a teacup, seemingly taking hold of an enjoyment from this sight of fear.

The tea had gone cold for half the night and yet no one dared to refill it.

Cheng Wei opened his mouth and was shocked to realized that he had lost his voice. Both his hands and legs were minutely trembling and it was after much difficulty that he could only manage to let out his voice, breaking the silence3.

“M-My Lord.”

The minute trembling had eventually made his legs go soft before his voice started to tremble as he said, “Pi-Pi-Ping Wang4 has already died for his crimes, h-h-how about stopping… Stopping the city from…” The word rolled around hesitantly at the tip of his tongue until it dissipated into thin air as his knees dropped down with a sound the moment the Devil raised his teacup.

A light chuckle came.

The Devil eased the narrow collars of his navy blue robes with his fingertips, baring a glimpse of his nape that was white as ice. He let out a clear, chilling chuckle. With his back still facing Cheng Wei, he called in a low voice, “Lord Cheng.”

Cheng Wei hastily crawled closer.

“What do you think about Xin Zhenxiao’s death?”

He had even dared to call Ping Wang by his given name, something Cheng Wei wouldn’t be able to bring himself  to do even if he was beaten to death.

One after another, cold beads of sweat dripped down Cheng Wei’s forehead. He was too afraid to answer but was even more afraid not to so he could only surrender himself to fate as he stammered, “Re-Rebelling is a grave capital offense. Ping… Ping Wang had pa-passed a lit-little too comfortably…”

“Does that mean he did not die properly?”

Cheng Wei’s voice cracked into a cry as he said, “N-N-No, pro-proper, he died properly.”

A soft hiss sounded from the Devil and the teacup on his fingertips was flung onto the tray, rolling off and breaking right beside Cheng Wei’s knees. “He may have died a proper death but not in the way I had wanted him to. As soon as I arrived outside of the city, he had set fire without even sparing to look at His Majesty’s imperial edict. So, until I have the final say, his death does not count as anything.”

“The-Then…” Cheng Wei started to sweat profusely as he got more anxious, unsure of how to answer him. This person was notorious in court for having an unpredictable temper so he did not dare to speak carelessly.

“How about this,” the Devil smiled, “Lord Cheng can pull him out of the fire so we can kill him once more.”

Cheng Wei froze still completely, colors draining from his face as he cried, “My-My Lord, Ping Wang is sti—still a descendent of the imperial family, i-if His Majesty investigates……” The two Imperial Bodyguards5 standing by the side strode towards the fire, dragging along Cheng Wei’s obesely round body. Horrified, his whole body became a trembling mess as he cried until his nose ran. He hurriedly begged, “M-My Lord! My Lord is absolutely right! My Lord, please spare me, spare me……”

The Devil turned a deaf ear to his pleas, looked at his own spotless fingertips and sighed, “Since Lord Cheng served as a patron6 of Ping Wang, how could you abandon the lord to escape by yourself?”

Cheng Wei was dragged off with his mouth gagged. The illustrated magistrate of Po Suo City, a rank four government official, was frightened to the point where he had finally fainted. Xie Jingsheng’s eyebrows furrowed, waving his hand to signal for people to quickly drag him far away so as to not be a nuisance to the eyes and out of his lordship’s sight.

The Devil stayed seated and as if recalling something, he turned to look at Xie Jingsheng. His cold narrow eyes were half-raised as the ends of his lips curved to reveal a smile and asked him, “Where is that person?”

Xie Jingsheng bowed, answering, “Inside the tent.” Ping Wang had burned himself and the City of Po Suo so they were unable to enter the city and could only resort to setting up camp outside.

The Devil stood up. The navy blue satin robes perfectly fitted his tall statue in such a way that when he stood, it had accentuated his long legs. A rank one crown with seven ridges7 was worn without a flaw in place. And even though his face has always had a very outstanding appearance, concealed in his alluring eyes however were fragments of such cold hostility that continuously emit danger.

Xie Jingsheng knew that his lordship wanted to have a look so he led the way without any delay. He was formerly an Imperial Bodyguard who had become a dignified Provincial Administration Commissioner. However, in front of this person, he was still significantly inferior.

They stopped in front of a tent guarded by four men clothed in flying dragon carp pattern8. Xie Jingsheng did not dare to enter on the same foot as his lordship so he stepped forward to lift the curtain. After bringing his lordship in, he took a few steps back and solemnly stood outside.

Once he entered the tent, he had instantly spotted the youth with a single glance, huddled right beside the stepping stool, sleeping soundly.

This youth was curled up almost like a snake, thin and small with his clothes in tatters. The side of his arm that was exposed showed slashes of whip marks and was thin to the point of being all skin and bones.

He walked to the side of the couch and sat down, staring at the youth beside his legs for a long time. No matter how calm and unchanging his eyes were, he had still failed to grasp the sort of alarm that an imperial descent who had fallen from grace would have. With just the tapping of fingers against the couch, the youth was immediately startled awake. A pair of bright black eyes wandered around in a panic as he vigorously shrank into a ball.

“Come up to the couch,” the Devil looked at him.

The youth only held himself tighter, retreating into the shadows.

The Devil stared silently at him then said slowly, “You are Yan Wang’s Shizi9.”

The youth’s pitch-black eyes, hidden within his long eyelashes did not turn to look at that man. He stared at the ground under his bare feet without giving any answer.

The Devil also did not need him to answer.

This was because Yan Wang’s Shizi is a mute, something that the whole of Dalan knew.

“I am someone who is here to bring you home.” The tone in his voice was not leaden but was rather, a quietude of composure and placidity. And together with the ends of his lips that might curve into a smile at any time, his words at this moment became surprisingly reliable.

The youth’s shoulders shook as if he had heard something unbelievable. His gaze shifted to that person’s jawline, taken aback by how pale it was. It then continued up that seemingly straight nose before falling into that man’s deep and quietly narrow eyes.

The Devil slightly leaned in with his eyes firmly fixated on the youth’s face, examining every single detail of his features clearly. Then finally, the ends of the Devil’s lips unconsciously let out a smile, sending a chill down his spine.

“You are a devil in the making so there is fate between us.”

58th Year of Hongxing, Autumn, Ping Wang deployed his soldiers to rebel. Flames of war burned from the vassal territory of Shanyin’s Li River and spread towards Dalan. 59th Year of Hongxing, Spring, Ping Wang had trespassed into Po Suo to use them as a means to head southwards. On the 26th day of Summer, after being intercepted and forced into retreating to Po Suo by the Right Councilor10, he had set fire to the city and was executed for his crimes without any mercy.

After that, the name of the Right Councilor resounded throughout Dalan.

On the 30th after returning to the Capital, the Right Councilor was conferred to Ping Ding Wang and was awarded gold taels, a silver imperial decree11 and a decorated Guan Fu12. For this man, having the title13 of a King was only adding another honor to his name, just like being the Right Councilor of the court alongside being the Commander of the Imperial Bodyguards.

For a period of time, there was an uproar in court. The Court of Imperial Sacrifices14, Minister Liu Sheng felt that this was unreasonable and took the lead by sending a memorial to the Emperor. Immediately after, joining in the matter of this political affair was He Anchang and the Court of Judicial Review15’s Minister, Zuo Kai who sent in a memorial to the Emperor together. His Majesty however, did not answer any of them.

Just as all this was happening, the only child left of the deceased Yan Wang, the sixteen years old little Yan Wang, Xin Yi, had returned to the Capital. The people of the Capital calculated and pinpointed that this was the first time that the mute Shizi had returned to the Capital since Yan Wang died in war four years ago in Bei Yang.

Yan Wang had guarded the borders of Bei Yang four years ago with his life and the Shizi of Yan Wang was still young when he died in war so Ping Wang had brought him in to be taken care of. Now that Ping Wang had been condemned to death, as a descendant from the imperial family, it was only right for him to return to the Capital to let His Majesty have a look at him.

However…

“It’s unfortunate that Yan Wang Dianxia16 who had remained loyal his whole life only left behind a mute.”

In a teahouse of the Capital, a bearded old man who was enjoying his tea let out a laugh. He shook his head with closed eyes as he listened to the play on the stage and said, “What do you know? Even if he is a mute, he is still the son of Yan Wang. As long as the people of Bei Yang still calls him little Yan Wang, then he will still be the overlord of Bei Yang’s Sanjin. What’s more, the situation is different now.” The old man took a few copper coins out from his sleeves and neatly stacked it on the table, “Since it was Bai Jiu who brought him back, he will not tolerate anyone laying a hand on him. If I’m not wrong, you should be calling him a devil in the making. The Devil himself together with a devil in the making, this is indeed interesting.” He clapped his hands and let out a hearty laugh.

The youngster beside the old man shook his head, sighing, “As unruly as the minister is, as difficult as it is to see eye to eye with17.”

That’s right.

Currently, Bai Jiu holds the court in the palm of his hands that even if His Majesty wants to put a leash on him, it would be difficult. It would not even be an exaggeration to call him a minister so unruly that he poses a threat to the throne.

Just that… Out of nowhere, what exactly did he bring back a mute Shizi for?

For what exactly?

The author has something to say:

This is an old work so there are general mistakes, incompleted relevant details, changes no longer to be made according to the agreement and even if there is a bug*, it will also not be edited. If you are here based on recommendation, I suggest you not to have too high of an expectation. Trash writing and brainless pampering.
Thank you.

* bug here refers to plot holes, inconsistencies, unexplained parts, etc.

Notes:

1. 里 (li) was the term used. It is a traditional Chinese unit of distance. 1 li is equivalent to 500 meters or 310 miles.

2. 阎王 (yan wang) was the term used. It refers to the King of Hell who judges the dead and presides over Hell. I used Devil because we have another Yan (different chinese character) Wang here and both are recurring terms so this is to avoid any confusion as well. I am sort of iffy about this word usage (╯•ᗣ•╰) Also I don’t find Satan, Lucifer, King of Hell, Hell King or Death God that fitting ; ;

3. 公鸡打鸣 was the term used which translate to rooster crowing. It is an old saying used to indicate that the sound of a rooster crowing announced the sun was rising, ending the night. I used “breaking the silence” here which I thought was a better fit context-wise.

4. 王 (wang) translates to King (King of Princes) but the term is also used when referring to a Prince. This is not to be mistaken for the Emperor who rules over the Kings collectively.

5. 锦衣卫 (jin yi wei) was the term used. They are government and military secret service agents who are in charge of arrests, investigation and interrogation among other tasks such as protecting the Emperor.

6. 恩客 (en ke) was the term used. It refers to benefactors or even main patrons usually used for prostitutes.

7. 一品七梁 (yi pin qi liang) which translates to rank one with seven ridges, is a type of Liang Guan (Ridged Crown) first worn by scholars and afterwards by government officials. There are a few types of crowns under Liang Guan and the crown mentioned here refers to the Jianxian Guan (進賢冠). In the Ming dynasty, the crown was ranked from 1 – 9 with a set number of ridges in terms of rank and status. For example, rank one with seven ridges, rank two with six ridges until rank nine with one ridge. The rank one with seven ridges crown holds the highest rank.
It looks something like this with variation in designs.

8. 飞鱼纹 (fei yu wen) or also known as flying dragon carp pattern is a traditional pattern on clothes in the Ming Dynasty. They are given by the Emperor in recognition of service.
It looks something like this with variation in colors and designs.

9. 世子 (shi zi) is the title of a firstborn prince through the lawful wife (who are not concubines) and the one among the princes set to inherit the throne.

10. 右相 (you xiang) is an official position. There are 2 ministers beside the Emperor, the Left Councilor and Right Councilor. The Right Councilor holds slightly more power compared to the other but the difference in power varies depending on the dynasty. They are the highest ranking ministers in the Imperial Chinese Government.
The position that Bai Jiu has is the position of 右相國 (you xiang guo) which translates to Grand Councilor of the Right. Earlier, I have used Right Minister because I thought it would go well with the title but I will be using Right Councilor instead.

11. 银册 (yin ce) is a a type of official document. The Emperor’s degree is engraved on a silver plate that serves as a certificate for those who will be receiving it. It is used when conferring concubines titles, prefectural lords among other titles.

12. 冠服 (guan fu) is a type of clothing worn by officials.

13. 異姓王 was the term used. It refers to people who are not members of the imperial family conferred with the title of a King (Wang). Before, this can only be given to those with blood ties to the imperial family.
Extra: During the Warring States Period, when the government system was becoming more powerful, the Emperor conferred some ministers and officials with the title of a King. After the establishment of the unified Han dynasty, the highest title a minister and official can get is Marquis. Those given the title of a King were made a special case only for a small handful of important ministers.

14. 太常寺 (tai chang si), also known as the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, are in charge of conducting major state sacrificial ceremonies according to ritual regulations.

15. 大理寺 (da li si), also known as the Court of Judicial Review, are in charge of reviewing judicial proceedings and singling out cases for retrial by officials or even the Emperor.

16. 殿下 (dianxia) if you read tgcf you will know means Your Highness.

17. 恣睢之臣，恐难相与 was the sentence used. It implies that because the minister does what he wants as he wishes, it is difficult to come on terms with him. I hope I manage to get the meaning across.