The Road to Glory

Chapter 245: "But My Lord's Actions Were Not Entirely Without Merit..."

All court officials present, regardless of their private allegiances to Wen Yu, were now overcome with grief. The Empress Dowager collapsed into the arms of her elderly maid, so overwhelmed by sorrow and rage that she could barely breathe or speak.

Tong Que immediately declared, "His Majesty has consumed excessive elixirs, causing mineral toxicity that clouded his judgment. Summon the physicians at once!"

King Chen's entire neck was drenched in blood, the pooling liquid already forming a small puddle beneath him.

Only after Tong Que's shout did Imperial Guards muster the courage to approach and staunch the wound on his neck, while others brought a stretcher to carry the king away.

But King Chen's pupils had already begun to dilate, clearly beyond saving.

Soon, physicians from the medical bureau arrived in haste to attend to King Chen and the ministers he had wounded.

The Empress Dowager, too distraught and shocked to remain standing, was escorted to a side chamber in Zhanghua Hall to await news of the king's treatment.

After entrusting A Li to the Azure Guard for strict protection, Tong Que also hurried to Zhanghua Hall. From a distance, she observed ministers waiting anxiously outside the main hall.

Rather than approaching directly, Tong Que positioned herself beneath the corridor eaves. Palace maids emerged carrying basins of bloodied water, each pausing to curtsy respectfully as they passed.

Tong Que acknowledged them with a nod. The last maid in line glanced up at her as she passed, subtly shaking her head.

Physician Fang was among those treating King Chen, and this maid was their planted informant relaying his message.

Tong Que thus knew the king was beyond recovery.

She didn't linger, turning instead toward the side chamber.

The attendants guarding the side chamber listened respectfully but distantly when Tong Que requested an audience with the Empress Dowager, asking her to wait while they announced her arrival.

Maintaining outward composure, Tong Que thanked them and waited in the courtyard, though her clasped hands were slowly growing damp with sweat.

She had attributed King Chen's frenzied actions today to mineral toxicity from consuming Five Minerals Powder-laced elixirs, hoping to dismiss his absurd statements as delirium.

But the Empress Dowager had witnessed her son's death firsthand, and heard his final words that pierced her heart. Tong Que couldn't be certain the Empress Dowager would remain aligned with them.

If the Empress Dowager, in her grief, refused to further tarnish her son's reputation by maintaining the fiction that his madness stemmed from excessive elixir consumption in pursuit of immortality...

Then based solely on King Chen's suicide, doubts about A Li's origins would inevitably arise later.

Only if the Empress Dowager stuck to their original account—insisting the king went mad seeking longevity—and with Consort Jiang and her son's "deaths" as evidence, could they permanently eliminate suspicions regarding A Li's background.

Before preparing for the worst, Tong Que wanted to personally ascertain the Empress Dowager's stance, hoping to persuade her to remain on their side.

After all, Chen Kingdom currently faced internal and external threats, sustained only by Wen Yu and support from Liang to prevent outright rebellion.

If the Empress Dowager could still consider the bigger picture, she would know what choice to make.

A Li was the sole link connecting Chen Kingdom to Liang. Only by ensuring A Li's safety could Chen's officials and people return to Liang territory together.At this point, if one still fails to grasp the situation and attempts to reselect a royal heir from the Chen imperial clan, it would be no different from digging one's own grave.

Moreover, the Empress Dowager had always wanted a "descendant of the Jiang Family" to inherit the throne. Consort Jiang and her son were officially declared "dead," and the child of Consort Jiang had his little finger severed by the Empress Dowager's own order. Even if he were found, he could never be established as the royal heir.

All hope now rests on A Li.

Side chamber of Zhanghua Hall.

The Empress Dowager seemed to be suffering from a severe headache. She lay on the soft couch with her eyes closed, a plain white cotton cloth draped over her forehead. Her usually authoritative face now showed unmistakable fatigue and pallor.

After the palace attendant below announced Tong Que's request for an audience, the Empress Dowager remained silent with her eyes shut.

The elderly matron attending to her wrung out a fresh cotton cloth from the basin held by a maid and, glancing at the attendant, said, "You may leave."

Having fulfilled her duty of reporting, the attendant dared not linger and withdrew with a curtsy.

As the matron replaced the cloth on the Empress Dowager's forehead, the latter finally spoke with her eyes still closed: "The King resents me."

Seeing the Empress Dowager in such a state, the matron felt deeply distressed and consoled her: "Since his injury years ago, His Majesty's temperament has always been extreme. Everything Your Majesty has done was for his sake. How could he fail to understand your devotion after all these years..."

Amid her grief and anger, the Empress Dowager let out a bitter or perhaps cold laugh: "He wants to break my heart?"

"Well, I refuse to let him!"

She removed the cloth from her forehead and made to rise. The matron hurried forward to support her.

Gasping, the Empress Dowager said, "Back when Consort Shu enjoyed great favor, to conceive that unfilial son, I sought medical advice and secretly consulted countless renowned physicians—how much suffering did I endure? When giving birth to that unfilial son, if not for my brother risking grave offense by entering the palace and guarding outside the gates, I would have nearly lost my life to that venomous woman, Consort Shu!

"He was mediocre in talent and never received a single word of praise from the late king. It was I and my brother who cast aside all dignity, using our authority to pressure the retired former Chancellor of the Imperial Academy to take him as a student, paving his way and building his influence in the court!

"I and the Jiang Family staked our entire clan's lives on him, yet he resents me for controlling him too strictly. After all these years, he has achieved nothing in either civil or military affairs. If not for me and the Jiang Family fighting for him, he would have died countless times during the struggle for the royal heir!

"Even so, he still resents me, resents the Jiang Family!"

Finding it all bitterly ironic, the Empress Dowager couldn't help but curl her lips into a smile, yet tears fell from the corners of her finely wrinkled eyes: "He became a cripple. Wasn't it for his sake that my brother and I plotted to pass off Yu'er's bloodline as the royal heir? Otherwise, how could he securely hold the throne!"

The matron mournfully called out, "Your Majesty..."

As if deaf to the matron's consolation, the Empress Dowager continued, "But in the end, in his eyes, I and the Jiang Family are merely villains trying to usurp the Chen Family's throne!"

The Empress Dowager wiped away the remaining tear stains with her fingertips. All the grief, heartache, and disappointment on her face vanished as her self-mocking smile faded, concealed beneath the authority eroded by time, her expression hardening once more.

She said, "Go personally and deliver a message to that maid in Zhaohua Palace. Tell her that the young mistress of Zhaohua Palace is my granddaughter."

The matron understood that these words meant the Empress Dowager would affirm A Li's status before the court ministers. She curtsied and left the chamber.

Tong Que had been waiting outside the hall for two quarters of an hour, growing increasingly restless, when the side chamber's door finally opened.Seeing the elderly matron who served by the Empress Dowager's side personally step out, Tong Que straightened her expression slightly.

Before she could speak, the old matron came straight to the point: "The Empress Dowager knows why you have come, young lady. Rest assured and return. His Majesty acted so recklessly today because he lost his senses due to a dan poison flare-up."

With these words from the old matron, Tong Que's heart instantly settled. She bowed slightly and said, "This servant thanks the Empress Dowager on behalf of my princess."

The old matron said nothing more and turned back into the hall.

That night, after the imperial physicians risked their necks to declare King Chen beyond saving, the Empress Dowager, despite her own illness, personally kept vigil for his final moments.

When the eunuch stepped out of the hall to announce King Chen's passing, the ministers outside wept bitterly.

The Empress Dowager summoned several key ministers into the hall. Gazing at the white cloth covering King Chen's face behind the beaded curtains and bed drapes, her expression was numb, as if devoid of grief or joy, and she said, "His Majesty, in pursuit of immortality, became obsessed with alchemy. Over the past two years, he consumed countless elixirs, and his health had long been ailing. Earlier, he heeded slander, using his own son's blood to refine elixirs, which led to the death of the royal heir. Now, deranged, he wounded court officials and took his own life—a scandal to the royal house.

"The frontlines are critical. To prevent unrest among the troops and panic in the court upon the news spreading, His Majesty's passing shall be suppressed for now."

The ministers, led by Qi Simiao, all nodded in agreement.

Tong Que, standing by and listening, finally felt the heavy stone in her heart completely drop.

Returning to Zhaohua Palace near dawn, she immediately wrote two letters, detailing the upheaval in the Chen palace to Wen Yu in far-off Gole City and the ministers in Liang territory.

Liang Territory.

As soon as the letters Wen Yu had sent via the Azure Guard before leaving the royal court arrived, the entire Liang Camp erupted in chaos.

Li Xun said anxiously, "The princess and the marquis's actions are truly perilous. If the Western Mausoleum barbarians learn the princess is in Gole City, how could they let it slide? With only General Gu's few thousand troops, how can he protect the princess if the city falls?"

Other ministers were equally frantic, their lips nearly blistering with worry: "Tiger Gorge Pass is likely in grave danger too. If Pei Song was indeed released by Yang Shuo, that traitor must have long sided with the rebels! The marquis's venture is like an egg striking a rock. Without the natural barrier of Jiashi Mountain, if the Western Mausoleum barbarians invade, the entire western frontier will fall!"

Chen Wei said, "Earlier, to suppress Bandit Pei, Old Fan led troops westward but was hindered by the cold barrier. After Xiao Jun left the pass, Old Fan, fearing anomalies at Tiger Gorge Pass, has already taken his soldiers there."

He pondered quickly: "If the Western Mausoleum barbarians invade, Old Fan's forces can hold them off temporarily. The Xiao Army, upon receiving word, will surely send troops to the western frontier to rescue their marquis!"

At this, he hurriedly addressed Yu Taifu: "Grand Tutor, I will personally lead thirty thousand troops to rescue the princess. The matter of allying with the Xiao Army to aid the western frontier, I leave to you!"

Yu Taifu, with white hair and beard, his thin frame slightly stooped, remained calm and nodded as if his aged bones could hold up the very sky. He said to Chen Wei, "Go. I will manage everything within the pass."

Chen Wei had only time for a hurried salute before rushing out.

Zhou Sui bowed urgently and said, "I will accompany Lord Chen!"

Yu Taifu nodded in approval.

Zhou Sui turned and strode swiftly out after him.Li Xun gazed at the gloomy, storm-laden sky beyond the wide-open doors and windows, sorrow welling up within him. His eyes reddened as he lamented, "How can our Great Liang... be plagued by such endless calamities!"

Grand Tutor Yu leaned trembling on the desk as he rose. Though his frame was stooped, he stood as firm as a mountain. Following Li Xun’s gaze out the window, he said, "It was only through the princess and Xiao Jun staking their lives in this deadly game that Great Liang has gained this brief respite. Now is not the time for lamentation. We, as subjects, must devote our utmost efforts to protect Great Liang until the very last moment—only then can we live up to the princess’s sacrifice!"

Li Xun fought back his grief and assented.

Just then, an attendant hurried in to announce, "Grand Tutor, Strategist Zhang Huai of the Xiao Army requests an audience."

Grand Tutor Yu’s aged, slightly clouded eyes lifted, and he responded at once, "Admit him promptly."

—

Before long, Zhang Huai, clad in scholarly robes, entered with hurried steps. He bowed respectfully to Grand Tutor Yu, who sat at the head of the room, and said, "This junior, Zhang Huai, pays his respects to the Grand Tutor."

Grand Tutor Yu gestured for attendants to bring a seat and said, "Your arrival is timely, young friend. I was just about to send word to the Xiao Army, wishing to discuss with you the matter of forming an alliance and dispatching troops to the Western Frontier."

After taking his seat, Zhang Huai replied, "To be frank, Grand Tutor, I have come precisely for this matter."

Given the urgency of the situation, Grand Tutor Yu saw no need for circumlocution and asked, "I have long heard of your talent for unconventional strategies. Do you already have a sound plan?"

A trace of gravity appeared on Zhang Huai’s refined face as he answered, "It is a last resort."

Unfolding a map of the entire Great Liang territory on the long table, he pointed to the Western Frontier region and said, "I propose constructing a Great Wall along the Western Frontier border to halt the westward advance of the Western Mausoleum’s iron cavalry."

His words plunged the hall into silence.

After what felt like an eternity, Li Xun sprang to his feet in shock, exclaiming, "Preposterous! This would mean abandoning the entire Western Frontier!"

Zhang Huai responded, "Since the fall of Tiger Gorge Pass, this is the only way left to preserve the Central Plains."

Li Xun was the first to address Grand Tutor Yu, saying, "Grand Tutor, I cannot support this plan! The princess and the marquis risked their lives to protect the people of the Western Frontier. To now build a Great Wall and forsake the Western Frontier—I cannot do it! If the princess were here, she would never agree to this either!"

The other Liang officials present murmured among themselves, and gradually, the voices that rose were unanimously opposed to the plan.

One even exclaimed indignantly, "Could it be that this Zhang fellow does not wish to rescue his own marquis, and that is why he proposes such a vicious scheme?"

Grand Tutor Yu listened to the discussions below without comment. After studying the route of the Great Wall that Zhang Huai had sketched on the map with charcoal, he asked, "Young friend, on what basis do you claim this is the 'only' way?"

Zhang Huai’s gaze fell on the map beyond Tiger Gorge Pass as he explained, "The marquis, with a few thousand Wolf Cavalry, barely held off thirty thousand troops from Western Mausoleum. If Yang Shuo, the defending general of Tiger Gorge Pass, has already sworn allegiance to Pei Song..."

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "With tens of thousands of troops and the natural defenses of the pass, the marquis cannot enter Tiger Gorge Pass.

"If the Western Mausoleum army occupies the pass and continues eastward, there are no more natural barriers or fortified cities in the entire Western Frontier to stop them. Reinforcements entering the region would need time to adapt to the cold barrier on the frozen plains. Engaging the Western Mausoleum forces under such conditions would be nearly hopeless—it would only mean throwing away lives."

Zhang Huai opened his eyes, his gaze unwavering as he faced the assembly. "Therefore, I believe the only way to break this deadlock and preserve the Central Plains is to construct a Great Wall along the Western Frontier as a boundary, allowing our troops to rest behind it and await the enemy, ready to strike."

Li Xun, overcome with emotion, retorted, "Your marquis went to block the Western Mausoleum army for the sake of Great Liang’s people. Are you now disregarding his life and death?"Zhang Huai said calmly, "If it were possible to rescue our lord, I would spare no effort even if it meant exhausting the entire Northern Border's strength.

"But knowing it would be futile, to send all our soldiers into the territory to die in vain for momentary pride—that would be my failure to fulfill our lord's trust."

Li Xun retorted, "The princess is using herself as bait in Gole City, holding back the Western Mausoleum's reinforcements heading to Tiger Gorge Pass. Our Liang Camp troops previously sent into the territory are now rushing toward Tiger Gorge Pass with all their might. If we can recapture Tiger Gorge Pass before the next wave of Western Mausoleum troops arrives, we can resolve this great crisis. How can you call this a vain death!"

Zhang Huai countered, "How long can a small city like Gole hold against the Western Mausoleum's fierce assault? Once the city falls, the Western Mausoleum will surely dispatch more troops to Tiger Gorge Pass. Tiger Gorge Pass currently has twenty thousand defenders—if they have all surrendered to Pei Song along with Yang Shuo, these twenty thousand defenders alone could ensure that the Liang troops who entered the territory never return! Not to mention the thirty thousand Western Mausoleum troops currently advancing toward Tiger Gorge Pass!"

These words successfully silenced the previously arguing ministers.

Everyone's expressions were unprecedentedly grave.

How long Gole City could delay the Western Mausoleum's troops depended entirely on how long Wen Yu could hold out there.

If Wen Yu left early, the Western Mausoleum would lose its most important bait and would inevitably send reinforcements to Tiger Gorge Pass ahead of schedule, doubling the pressure on Xiao Li and Tiger Gorge Pass and rendering all previous efforts futile.

But if Wen Yu held out until the city fell, the full force of the Western Mausoleum army would crush down, leaving her no chance of survival.

In the letter Wen Yu sent back to Liang territory, she had already arranged all her final affairs.

Yet all the ministers tacitly ignored that nearly inevitable outcome, deceiving themselves as they continued making deployments to defend the Western Border and rescue Wen Yu.

Li Xun was the first to turn away awkwardly, unwilling to let others see the uncontrollable redness in his eyes. Many other ministers were also secretly wiping their eyes with their sleeves.

Zhang Huai looked at Yu Taifu and said, "The Changlian Wang lineage truly lives up to the saying 'The Son of Heaven guards the nation's gates, the ruler dies for the altars of soil and grain.'

"But our lord's actions are no less worthy."

As he spoke, Zhang Huai's jaw tightened slightly, as if struggling to suppress some emotion.

"As a strategist, I must make this final plan for our lord. If the Western Border cannot be held, I shall guard the Central Plains in our lord's stead. The eternal infamy of abandoning the Western Border—I am willing to bear it alone. I only ask that the Grand Tutor lend me troops to jointly build the Great Wall!"

Author's note: Sorry to keep you waiting, dear readers. Red envelopes for everyone in this chapter too~