Chapter Eighteen: Noble Consort Liu and the Empress

Unfortunately, the Prime Minister had already committed every one of the Emperor’s greatest taboos.

The Prime Minister’s travel entourage was more magnificent than the Imperial procession—a taboo regarding wealth. When displaced refugees came to seek justice, he displayed a taboo regarding the people's grievances. Most importantly, the Emperor detested the formation of cliques, yet the officials following the Prime Minister’s lead were numerous beyond measure.

How could he be allowed to remain?

Therefore, even as Consort Liu wept like a rain-drenched pear blossom, delicate and heart-wrenching, the Emperor remained merciless: "Since the Prime Minister has become senile and muddled, it would be a breach of etiquette for me to continue troubling my father-in-law with state affairs. From today on, the Prime Minister shall retire and enjoy his remaining years in leisure."

Consort Liu’s expression turned even more wretched. She wiped the tear tracks from her face with a silk handkerchief, looking as frail and swaying as a willow in the wind, tender and soft, enough to break anyone’s heart.

The beauty sobbed delicately, "My father is indeed senile and muddled, his eyes obscured by those sycophantic villains. Your Majesty, please quell your anger; if you must vent, please vent it upon me."

The Emperor laughed in pure fury: "If I vent my anger on you, upon whom should the people of Nanjiang vent theirs? To whom can they complain about the grievances, the suffering, and the disasters they have endured? I trusted your father, entrusting him with the heavy responsibility of disaster relief and the lives of the people of Nanjiang. And yet, what did your 'good' father do? He emptied my national treasury to decorate his own carriage! I have spoiled you all far too much over these years! To the point that you have dared to bully me and my people!" He looked down at the beauty sobbing at his feet, his face remaining gloomy without the slightest sign of softening. "Is retiring to enjoy one's remaining years somehow mistreating you? Hmm? I would say that not having your father executed is already a mercy!"

Consort Liu was so terrified by these words that she could not utter another sound. Her posture, already unstable, collapsed further until she was sitting on the floor. It was a miserable sight, but as she was a beauty, her plight only stirred pity.

Having vented his rage, the Emperor’s anger subsided somewhat. Seeing the beauty in such a state, he reasoned that this was her father’s fault, not hers, and it was unreasonable to take his anger out on her. A sense of chivalry stirred, and he reached out to help her up, sighing: "The disaster victims of Nanjiang are my people, too. How could I let your father bully them so? I have turned a blind eye to your usual excesses, but the lives of the common people are not a matter for games." Feeling his words lacked weight, he added, "The new top scholar, Luo Yao, said it well: 'The ruler is the boat, the people are the water. The water can carry the boat, but it can also capsize it.'"

Luo Yunyao listened in stunned silence. After a long while, she reached up to pinch her own cheek, sighing, "You aren't thick-skinned enough."

Qin Jinghao was amused by the youth’s expression, though he remained expressionless as he replied, "How could you possibly compare to the hypocrisy of a monarch?"

Luo Yunyao glared at him. "You are the hypocrite. I am clearly being sincere. Even if my skin is thick, it is at least a sincere thickness."

Qin Jinghao’s lips curled up almost imperceptibly.

Luo Yunyao continued to praise with admiration: "Look at that line, 'The disaster victims of Nanjiang are my people, too.' That was well said. Someone who didn't know better would really think he was a benevolent emperor who loves his people like his own children." She then added with disdain, "Bah! He only knows about the disaster victims in Nanjiang now—where was he all this time? Now that he’s been slighted, he keeps harping on about 'the people.' What a convenient excuse. This humble official has truly learned something today."

Qin Jinghao allowed the youth to speak with such reckless abandon in his presence. Thinking that Luo Yunyao still had to serve as a good official in Western Qin, he knew that harboring such resentment toward the Emperor, her direct superior, was not ideal. He comforted her: "It doesn't matter if he isn't a ruler who loves his people like his children, as long as you are a good official who does."

Luo Yunyao nodded as if taking a vow. Recalling that the matter wasn't finished, she asked excitedly: "And then? What happened next? What did Consort Liu say?"

Consort Liu was, after all, a master of palace intrigue—cunning and silver-tongued. Seeing the Emperor’s resolve wavering, she immediately continued in a soft, fragile voice: "I implore Your Majesty to quell your anger; do not ruin your health. If not for your own sake, please think of the people! They still need you." She leaned against the Emperor’s leg, clinging to him like a bird. "This matter is my father’s fault. Whatever punishment Your Majesty deems fit, he deserves. However, Your Majesty knows my father’s character. He is accustomed to being soft-hearted and lacks his own judgment. In my opinion, he must have been misled by the schemes of others. It is fine if you punish my father, but for the sake of the people, shouldn't you also root out these villains? Why not give my father a chance to redeem himself by exposing these people? It would also serve to bring justice to the people of Nanjiang."

With those words, she shifted nine-tenths of the blame away from the Prime Minister, making it appear that all the errors were the fault of his subordinates.

***

In the end, following Consort Liu’s words, the Emperor merely suspended the Prime Minister from his duties and confined him to his estate. To the Prime Minister, such a punishment did not cost him a single hair; with such a doting daughter, returning to his position in the imperial court would be no problem at all.

Luo Yunyao never expected that all the arrangements she, Qin Jinghao, Chancellor Lu, and Xiao Limo had made would be blocked by a few tears and soft words from Consort Liu.

She sighed repeatedly: "Women are truly terrifying creatures," completely forgetting that she was one herself.

Hearing this lament, Qin Jinghao felt a stir in his heart: "You think they only have that much ability? Yunyao, you are still too young. You should experience Yue Liuxi; then you will know."

"Hey, General Qin, that’s not very nice. After all, Yue Liuxi loves you deeply." Realizing a moment too late that she had insulted herself, she quickly tried to defend her fellow women: "Not all girls are like that. Some are pure and lovely."

Qin Jinghao listened with a blank face and replied, "Oh? Is that so? I have never met any."

Luo Yunyao’s internal alarm bells rang. Could it be true, as the rumors suggested, that he liked men?

What if... what if he found out she was a woman? Would he immediately distance himself from her?

Luo Yunyao paused and asked with difficulty: "Brother Qin, do you truly not like women?"

Qin Jinghao thought, *I like you.* But he was afraid of frightening the delicate youth, so he pivoted and said, "I have never met one I liked."

Luo Yunyao felt relieved, thinking she still had a chance. She asked, "Then what kind of person does Brother Qin like?" She looked up expectantly at Qin Jinghao: "What about someone like me?"

Although this question stirred his heart, Qin Jinghao was a man who had remained expressionless for years. He looked out the window and said nonchalantly, "You are very good. Yunyao, you suit me well."

Luo Yunyao, whose face had grown thick from training, usually didn't blush easily, but now her face heated up. Just as she was about to act coy, she suddenly remembered that she had just asked another man, while disguised as a man, how she would fare as his partner.

Luo Yunyao froze, terrified that Qin Jinghao would discover her secret. She stammered: "Ah, actually... I have a younger sister... um, she is very cute... and very smart... and she is very well-behaved! Ah, I was just asking for Brother Qin’s opinion, that’s all."

She stuttered through a self-praise and was too ashamed to look up.

The emotionally oblivious General Qin could not possibly see through the problem or grasp the subtext. He expressed his dissatisfaction with the sudden mention of a sister with a vague, indistinct "Hmm."

***

At the residence of Chancellor Lu.

"That woman, Consort Liu, again." Chancellor Lu slammed his teacup down and sighed, "To get rid of the Prime Minister, one must first get rid of her."

Xiao Limo kindly refilled the Chancellor’s tea to comfort him: "We have known of the Emperor’s character for more than a day or two. Why should Uncle ruin his health over this?"

Chancellor Lu looked at his well-behaved nephew and sighed again: "Consort Liu looks too much like your mother. It is a pity your mother died too early to fight for your standing."

Xiao Limo’s hand paused: "Perhaps it is as Father believes—that my birth is what killed Mother."

Empress Lu had died during childbirth. That was why the Emperor could appoint Xiao Limo as Crown Prince, yet feel absolutely no affection for him.

Chancellor Lu patted Xiao Limo’s hand: "What nonsense are you spouting? The happiest thing in your mother’s life was having you. She was overjoyed by your birth. Your uncle will never forget the look on your mother’s face when she watched you leave. She was peaceful and content." He paused, then gritted his teeth, "Your father treats you this way; just wait and see if he can even get a glance from your mother in the afterlife."

Xiao Limo remained silent, dazed, before speaking in a trance: "Uncle always says Consort Liu is favored because she looks like my mother. But when I look at her face, I feel no familiarity at all."

Chancellor Lu felt a pang of heartache for his nephew, who had grown up without maternal love and lacked his father’s care. He comforted him: "Naturally, there is no familiarity. Consort Liu only shares a superficial resemblance to your mother. That Bodhisattva-like heart of hers, she does not possess in the slightest."

Xiao Limo watched the tea leaves rise and fall in his cup, remaining quiet.

Chancellor Lu felt helpless to comfort his nephew further, so he changed the subject: "Although we knew that Luo Yao’s plan could not topple the Prime Minister, it is a pity for this new top scholar to have achieved nothing at all. She is, after all, still young."

The case of Luo Yunyao’s carriage had naturally been reported to the Crown Prince and Chancellor Lu, who shared a common enemy in the Prime Minister.

Thus, the dilapidated state of the officials' carriages that day was the result of Chancellor Lu’s orchestration. Having managed the Six Ministries for years, he was intimately familiar with the machinery of power and held absolute control over the various officials.

Without Chancellor Lu hiding the use of the old carriages from the Prime Minister’s faction, the plan would never have succeeded.

And the refugees the Emperor encountered on the road seeking justice had also been arranged by the Chancellor.

Xiao Limo regained his composure, imagining what Luo Yunyao looked like at this moment, and gave a faint, doting smile: "It seems I must go and comfort Yao'er."