Chapter 252: Father and Son
After the Beginning of Spring, Shuojing City no longer saw snow; instead, a fine drizzle fell incessantly, dense and endless as if it would never cease.
Within the imperial palace, however, there was no joy or vitality of the new year. Emperor Wenxuan’s illness grew increasingly severe, and the palace attendants wore heavy expressions, casting a layer of gloom even over the spring rain.
The door to the bedchamber opened, and the Fourth Prince, Guang Shuo, emerged from within.
These days, he had been visiting Emperor Wenxuan frequently. The emperor had always doted on this son, so the eunuchs were not surprised. Though they dared not discuss it openly, the palace attendants privately speculated that while Guang Yan was currently the Crown Prince, it was hard to say who would ultimately inherit the throne.
Inside the bedchamber, Emperor Wenxuan lay on the couch, gazing absentmindedly at the bright yellow canopy above the dragon bed.
In recent days, he had asked Consort Lan not to visit him daily. It was not for any other reason but to avoid giving outsiders cause for gossip. Human hearts were unpredictable. In the past, it would not have mattered, but now that he could barely attend court, he feared he could no longer protect Consort Lan and her son as securely as before.
Thinking of Guang Shuo, Emperor Wenxuan sighed inwardly.
Guang Shuo was exceptional—virtuous, talented, and filial. Setting aside other considerations, if he possessed just a bit more decisiveness and detachment, he would be a rare and wise emperor for Great Wei. Yet it was precisely his kindness and soft-heartedness that made Emperor Wenxuan regard him differently—for such a Guang Shuo truly resembled his own son.
Unfortunately, even so, Emperor Wenxuan could not change the heir apparent at this critical juncture and hand the throne to Guang Shuo. If he did so, the court would inevitably descend into chaos. Given Guang Yan’s temperament, it was likely that a bloody confrontation among the imperial family would erupt in the grand hall.
If he were still in his prime, he could have suppressed all of this, but he was already old. Over the years, court officials had aligned themselves with either Guang Shuo or Guang Yan, each harboring their own ambitions. He could no longer manage so much, nor could he control the situation.
Yet... a resolution had to be reached eventually.
A faint sound came from the outer door. Emperor Wenxuan was startled, thinking it was a palace attendant. Then, Guang Yan’s voice rang out: “Father... are you asleep?”
It was actually Guang Yan.
He carried a redwood basket in his hand. Seeing Emperor Wenxuan attempting to rise from the couch, he hurried forward, helped the emperor sit up against the headboard, and called out “Father” once more.
“...Why have you come?” Emperor Wenxuan asked, startled by the unusual hoarseness of his own voice as soon as he spoke.
“Upon hearing of your illness, Father, I was filled with anxiety...” Guang Yan seemed somewhat nervous. “After much thought, I mustered the courage to enter the palace to see you. Is your imperial health well?”
Guang Yan had always been arrogant and domineering, yet this was the first time he displayed such a fearful and helpless expression. Emperor Wenxuan looked at him and suddenly sighed.
Ever since Xu Jingfu’s incident, Guang Yan had rarely come to the palace. Emperor Wenxuan knew well that Guang Yan had been close to Xu Jingfu in the past and was now deliberately avoiding attention for fear of being implicated. Emperor Wenxuan was also angry with Guang Yan and, indeed, found him particularly detestable because of his association with Xu Jingfu.
But Guang Yan was, after all, his son, and he did not have many sons.That is why Guang Yan remains safe and sound to this day. It is because the officials of the Dali Temple received an oral decree from Emperor Wenxuan, and in all cases related to Xu Jingfu, Crown Prince Guang Yan was completely bypassed.
Seeing Emperor Wenxuan staring at him, lost in thought, Guang Yan grew uneasy. Subconsciously, he lifted the lid of the redwood basket and took out a small bowl of soup.
"Father, this is ginseng soup I had the imperial kitchen prepare," Guang Yan said nervously. "Please have some."
Emperor Wenxuan looked at him and, for some reason, suddenly recalled Guang Yan's childhood, before Guang Shuo was born, when he had only this one legitimate eldest son and had genuinely cherished him. Back then, Guang Yan was only four years old, not as cruel and heartless as he is now, but a tiny child barely knee-high.
Empress Zhang had given Guang Yan a bowl of sweet soup. Reluctant to eat it himself, Guang Yan had clutched the bowl and run all the way from the Kunning Palace to the imperial study, with his wet nurse chasing after him in a panic, kneeling and begging for mercy. Emperor Wenxuan had lifted Guang Yan onto his lap and asked with a smile, "Why have you brought this bowl to me?"
"Father," the child mumbled, struggling to speak clearly as he clumsily raised the bowl to his father's lips, "this is delicious. Father, have some!"
Emperor Wenxuan had laughed heartily. "It's rare for someone so young to think of me in everything. It seems I haven't doted on you in vain!"
The taste of that sweet soup, Emperor Wenxuan could no longer remember. The laughter seemed like only yesterday, yet in the blink of an eye, Guang Yan had grown so much, bearing no resemblance to the child who would cling to his knee and offer him a bowl with sweet affection. He wondered, bewildered, where he had gone wrong over all these years to bring about the situation today.
Emperor Wenxuan suddenly took a deep breath and asked, "Guang Yan, do you have anything to say about the matter of Xu Jingfu?"
With just this bowl of ginseng soup, his heart had softened once more. He still wanted to give Guang Yan a chance.
Guang Yan's heart skipped a beat, unsure why Emperor Wenxuan had suddenly asked this. He replied, "I never imagined that Xu Jingfu, as the prime minister, would collude with the enemy and betray the state... For so many years, Father trusted him deeply, yet he harbored treasonous intentions. Such a crime deserves death!"
Emperor Wenxuan noticed the evasiveness in his gaze and sighed imperceptibly, shaking his head. "When I was young and studied, the books said that a ruler governs his ministers like a falconer trains his hawks, controlling their loyalty through hunger and satiety. They must not be kept too full nor too hungry. If hungry, they lack strength; if full, they turn their backs and fly away. Old ministers like Xu Jingfu in the court are like well-fed hawks—shameless, idle in their positions, content with wealth and comfort. Rewards do not please them, punishments do not frighten them, and they cannot be driven to serve Great Wei with unwavering loyalty."
Guang Yan listened absentmindedly, his eyes fixed on the bowl of ginseng soup. He said, "Your son will heed Father's teachings. Xu Jingfu is truly despicable. I was deceived by him as well. It is all my fault. If only I had discovered Xu Jingfu's disloyalty earlier, those Wutuo People would not have succeeded."
Emperor Wenxuan looked at him deeply. "Guang Yan, blaming oneself is not as good as correcting oneself."
The emperor's originally somewhat clouded eyes now appeared exceptionally clear, as if they could see through a person's very soul. Guang Yan abruptly lowered his head, picked up the bowl of ginseng soup, and offered it to Emperor Wenxuan with a smile. "Father has spoken so much and must be tired. The ginseng soup will grow cold if not drunk soon. Please finish it first, and we can talk afterward."Emperor Wenxuan saw his earnest expression, which was at least less frivolous than before, and thought that the incident with Xu Jingfu had finally brought some growth to Guang Yan. He nodded in approval.
Guang Yan then sat beside Emperor Wenxuan, picked up the bowl, scooped a little with a silver spoon, and brought it to the emperor’s lips.
Emperor Wenxuan was taken aback. “Aren’t you going to test the soup?”
“Test the soup?” Guang Yan looked at him.
“Perhaps it’s been too long since you last served me soup, so you’ve forgotten the rule of testing it first,” Emperor Wenxuan said, though his tone remained tolerant. “Every day when Lao Si brings soup, he always tests it first.”
For a moment, panic flashed across Guang Yan’s face.
It had indeed been a long time since he had served Emperor Wenxuan, so he didn’t know that the emperor, even in such a frail state, still remembered the need to test for poison. Nor had he expected that even the food brought by Guang Shuo could not earn the emperor’s full trust.
But this ginseng soup…
His fingers trembled slightly.
Emperor Wenxuan had only meant it as a jest. Although palace rules were strict, he occasionally did not adhere to every single one. He was about to say it didn’t matter, but when he looked up, he saw Guang Yan’s slightly pale face and the whitened knuckles gripping the soup bowl tightly.
At certain moments, intuition strikes.
The ginseng soup had been steaming hot when it was brought, but after sitting for a while, it had cooled to a warm temperature, emitting a faint fragrance. Yet the person before him seemed far too tense.
The emperor’s gaze instantly turned profound. He spoke slowly, his tone suddenly inscrutable. “Guang Yan, take a sip first.”
“Father… there’s no other silver spoon here…”
“It’s fine. I can have someone fetch another. For now, test the soup.”
Under such circumstances, Guang Yan had no way to avoid it. He could only pick up the soup, scoop a spoonful with the silver spoon, slowly bring it to his lips, and hesitate to take a sip.
As Emperor Wenxuan watched, his heart sank.
In the past, although he knew Guang Shuo was cruel and tyrannical, he never dared to do anything to him. As his own flesh and blood, Emperor Wenxuan had often turned a blind eye to Guang Yan’s conduct outside the palace. Even after the incident with Xu Jingfu, the emperor still wanted to protect him. Just moments ago, before Guang Yan offered the soup, Emperor Wenxuan had thought of giving him one more chance, unwilling to bring up the matter of changing the crown prince until the very last moment.
But he never expected that Guang Yan would attempt patricide and regicide.
“Why aren’t you drinking?” he asked in a low voice, staring at this unfamiliar son of his.
Guang Yan gritted his teeth and was about to lower his head to drink the ginseng soup from the spoon. But at the last moment, as if touching a branding iron, he suddenly flung the soup bowl away and stood up abruptly.
The bowl fell onto the rug before the couch, spilling its contents silently across the surface. Only then did Guang Yan snap back to reality, realizing how foolish his actions had been. Trembling, he looked at his father on the couch.
Emperor Wenxuan’s gaze held disappointment, heartache, and a coldness he had never shown before.
“I didn’t know,” the emperor said, word by word, “that your purpose in coming today was to take my life.”
“No, I didn’t—” Guang Yan instinctively denied it. “I didn’t do this!”
“I only need to summon the imperial physician to examine it, and we’ll know immediately,” Emperor Wenxuan said coldly, rising from the couch and calling out, “Guards—”
“Father!” Guang Yan lunged forward, covering his mouth, and said nervously, “Your son did not do this!”Emperor Wenxuan had been in poor health these past days. With this sudden pounce, he fell backward onto the bed. Guang Yan seized the opportunity to climb on top of him. Catching sight of a cotton pillow on the bed, he grabbed it without a second thought and pressed it firmly over Emperor Wenxuan’s mouth and nose. Only one thought raced through his mind: he must not let the emperor speak!
The man beneath him struggled desperately, but how could an aged and ailing body compare to one in the prime of life? The more fiercely the emperor fought, the more savage Guang Yan’s expression became. He pressed nearly his entire weight onto Emperor Wenxuan, holding the cotton pillow down as if pinning a dying fish. In short, sharp breaths, he muttered, “Don’t shout! I told you not to shout!”
Like a fish thrown from the wetlands into the desert, it thrashed wildly, longing for a sliver of life. Scales flew in all directions until the scorching sun dried its eyes, leaving it utterly lifeless.
After what felt like an eternity, the struggles beneath him gradually ceased. Drenched in sweat, Guang Yan suddenly released his grip and yanked the pillow away.
Emperor Wenxuan lay on his back, his face purplish-blue, pupils dilated. In the dim lamplight of the bedchamber, he looked like a malevolent ghost at first glance.
Guang Yan was startled, tumbling off the bed and onto the floor. He scrambled backward a few steps, and it took a long while for him to regain his senses and realize that this time, he had truly smothered Emperor Wenxuan to death.
The attendants outside had long been dismissed by him earlier. Guang Yan had come today with the sole purpose of poisoning the emperor. He never expected that Emperor Wenxuan would discover the ginseng soup laced with Zhen poison, and in the end, he had ended up killing him with his own hands.
The bedchamber was empty and silent, the howling wind sounding like the wails of evil spirits, sending chills down one’s spine. Suppressing his fear, Guang Yan stood up and walked over to Emperor Wenxuan. First, he picked up the soup bowl from the floor and placed it back into the rosewood basket. Then, he approached the emperor’s dragon bed, helped Emperor Wenxuan lie back down properly, smoothed the emperor’s wide-open eyes shut, and covered him with a blanket.
With his father’s unseeing eyes no longer visible, Guang Yan’s courage grew. A flicker of madness flashed in his eyes as he gazed at Emperor Wenxuan’s corpse. In a low, hurried voice, he whispered, “Father, do not blame your son. Blame yourself for not giving the throne to me. If you hadn’t forced me, I would never have done this… The throne was always meant to be mine, Father… Just watch how your son ascends to this position… Just watch…”
He slowly clenched his fists, abruptly stood up, took the rosewood basket, and turned to leave the bedchamber.
…
Rain began to fall again in the night.
He Yan was vaguely awakened by the sound of rain outside in her sleep. Once roused, she found herself unable to fall back asleep. She turned over and wrapped her arms around the person lying beside her.
It wasn’t that she was always looking for an excuse to take advantage of Xiao Jue—it was just that the weather was cold, and holding someone close made it much warmer. Xiao Jue slept quietly and gracefully, quite unlike her own sprawling and unrestrained posture.
Her movements woke Xiao Jue as well. He looked down at the person who had burrowed into his embrace and was clinging tightly to him, asking softly, “Why aren’t you asleep yet?”
“I was woken up,” He Yan mumbled. “I can’t really fall back asleep.”This was rather unusual. Though years of military life had trained her to remain alert even in sleep, ever since coming to the Xiao residence, she had slept soundly through the nights. It was rare for her to experience insomnia like tonight. For some reason, He Yan felt a sense of unease, as if something was about to happen.
Xiao Jue noticed her restlessness. He paused, resting his chin on the top of her head, and asked, "Do you want to get up and sit on the roof?"
He Yan: "..."
She replied, "It's raining outside."
Xiao Jue: "Just a joke."
He Yan hesitated to speak further.
She couldn't shake the feeling that after Xu Jingfu's death, things were far from over. The struggle between Guang Yan and the Fourth Prince had only just begun. Whether it was Xiao Jue or the Xiao family, their position in this conflict was delicate, and she feared it wouldn't be easily resolved. Still, bringing up such troubling matters in the middle of the night seemed rather disheartening.
Just as He Yan was lost in thought, a sudden knock came from outside. Fei Nu's voice echoed from beyond the door, "Young Master, there is urgent news to report."
She was taken aback. What could have happened for Fei Nu to rush over in the dead of night like this?
Any lingering drowsiness vanished instantly. Xiao Jue rose from the bed and lit the oil lamp in the room, while He Yan wrapped herself in her clothes and got up as well. As soon as the door opened, wind and rain swept inside, instantly chilling the room.
Fei Nu stepped in, his clothes soaked through, his expression grave.
Xiao Jue asked him, "What is it?"
"News from the palace—the Emperor has passed away."
At these words, both He Yan and Xiao Jue were stunned. Xiao Jue frowned. "When?"
"The news just arrived," Fei Nu replied. "Young Master, do you think you should go to the palace?"
After a moment of thought, Xiao Jue said, "I understand. Prepare the carriage. I will head to the palace immediately."
Fei Nu acknowledged the order and left.
He Yan took the oil lamp and stepped forward, her expression unable to conceal her shock. "The Emperor..."
She hadn't expected Emperor Wenxuan to pass away so suddenly. Although rumors had been circulating lately about his poor health, the news still felt abrupt. Her emotions were a tangled mess. While many outside rumors painted Emperor Wenxuan in a negative light, in He Yan's eyes, though he may not have been a wise ruler, he was certainly not a tyrant.
As Xiao Jue dressed, He Yan asked, "Should I accompany you to the palace?"
Fei Nu's words had been brief, and no one knew what the situation in the palace was like.
"No, stay at the residence," Xiao Jue replied. "I will go first to assess the situation."
He Yan nodded. Though anxious, she knew Xiao Jue was right. Her official rank didn't grant her the privilege of entering the palace immediately under such circumstances, and as the young mistress of the Xiao family, she had no reason to go either. Still...
Seeing her worried expression, Xiao Jue turned and patted her shoulder. "Don't worry. I'll return to the residence as soon as I've seen what's happening."
"Xiao Jue, be careful in everything," she urged.
Once dressed, Xiao Jue picked up his sword and left. He Yan had no intention of going back to sleep. She walked to the window and opened it. Fine raindrops, carried by the wind outside, drifted diagonally into the room, instantly coating the table with a thin layer of moisture. The wind brushed coolly against He Yan's face, dispelling any lingering drowsiness and leaving her mind sharp and clear.Though it was not the time to think of such matters, once one thing happened, many others would follow in quick succession. Before Emperor Wenxuan passed away, he had not proposed to change the crown prince. Even though there were endless discussions in the court, if no change was made, then according to the current situation, it should be the Crown Prince who succeeded to the throne.
But what kind of person Crown Prince Guang Yan was, everyone knew in their hearts. Although Guang Yan was not implicated in Xu Jingfu's case, He Yan had asked Xiao Jue, and the Dali Temple had received Emperor Wenxuan's order to secretly protect Crown Prince Guang Yan. Emperor Wenxuan could not bear to move against the Crown Prince because he was his own flesh and blood. However, as the future emperor of Great Wei, a petty man who would invite wolves into the house for the sake of power and profit was utterly unworthy of being a ruler.
The rain seemed endless, and so was the night.
Happy New Year on the first day of 2020!
(End of Chapter)
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