The days grew warmer.
Mid-May, Qiu Che’s figure on horseback appeared in a small city a hundred li outside the capital.
Occasionally wearing armor at the frontier, more often wearing local attire there—now returning to Central Plains, he resumed his original appearance.
Black clothing, a bamboo hat, a sword, a horse.
Coming alone, leaving alone.
Jianghu knights—over time, always lonely.
Qiu Che’s face bore one more scar than before. Originally stern-looking, now with added fierceness not to be trifled with.
He didn’t care about appearance, just worried Ximian would feel guilty toward him, seeing it and overthinking. Plus he didn’t want to return to the capital to accept that so-called reward—Qiu Che was extremely impatient with such nonsense.
After returning from the frontier, Qiu Che wanted to go directly to Jinling.
Rushing there now with full effort would still make it. After Jinling, then to Dulan.
This trip would take very long again.
Having drifted long, unaccustomed to being confined in the capital, also having his own matters to handle—next visit would be quite some time away. Ximian’s health poor now—him disturbing less was good.
Qiu Che touched the Wuliang Sword at his waist. After a long while, he pulled the reins and turned the horse around.
“Let’s go.”
***
As the frontier situation clarified, the smell of gunpowder in the capital gradually grew richer too.
The back-and-forth confrontation between Regent Prince and young emperor—in just a few months, many died in the capital, mostly the Regent Prince faction’s followers.
Ying Jingjue finally freed his hands. On one side, he dealt with the First and Third Princes who’d competed with him for power back then—First Prince demoted to commoner, Third Prince confined to his manor. On the other side, he showed no mercy to investigated corrupt officials either.
Of those dragged down and executed, five or six out of ten could be connected to the Regent Prince.
These people—lightly, house confiscation and exile; heavily, implication of nine clans, beheading. For a time at the execution platform, all day the blood on the stage stayed warm—because people were continuously executed.
The scales of power gradually tilted toward Ying Jingjue.
Almost everyone thought Lian Shenwei now couldn’t sit still, must be overwhelmed—yet he himself felt completely unhurried.
Even in rather good spirits.
Ying Jingjue was rapidly growing into a qualified emperor.
Lian Shenwei closed his eyes for a brief rest on the rocking chair. Actually he wasn’t asleep.
Weather warmed. Unlike when cold before, Tian Nan and Ming Zhu no longer controlled him, forbidding him from coming out. Now instead they approved him coming out more to sun himself.
Heard various flowers in the courtyard had bloomed—faint floral fragrance very pleasant.
Lian Shenwei discovered he couldn’t smell scents two days ago. Along with it, food eaten—flavors also dulled considerably.
Fortunately, not like deafness—an impossible-to-conceal symptom.
Just some regret. Later returning to Jinling, unable to smell Jinling’s spring flower fragrance, Phoenix Pavilion’s fine wine flavor—also unable to taste it.
Aside from this, every day he felt unable to sleep enough—waking later each day, very drowsy, body also weak.
These months he ate supplements intermittently, always tired—didn’t know if related to this.
In time fast or slow, he tangibly felt his life draining away.
Like incense burning—not knowing how long until reaching the end.
Can’t hear, can’t smell, can’t taste—his ties to this world seemed slowly erased by a hand. Only a pair of eyes still good, letting him see this world.
So heaven toward him wasn’t too cruel after all.
He still possessed some things.
Mustering some energy to spar with Jingjue, then revealing some openings for him to grasp—placed in sword dueling, this was called feeding moves.
Those corrupt officials previously in his hands, now removed one by one—might as well help this kid establish authority.
When he’d leave the capital depended on when Jingjue planned to strike at him. This strike—not the current clash that to him resembled playing house, but truly deadly intent.
He certainly wouldn’t stand here stupidly letting that brat kill him.
The First and Third Princes long ago ceased to pose a threat, but only if the ‘Regent Prince’ didn’t completely fall would Ying Jingjue’s imperial power not be completely consolidated.
At that time, he could leave the Regent Prince’s manor, shed the identity of Lian Shenwei, and return to Jinling.
However, another matter troubled him. Since the frontier war began, the Northern Yi spies in the capital had gone silent—he couldn’t find half a clue. Hidden truly tightly.
Several places on the map he’d circled as suspicious—now all under watch—still no movement.
He once suspected the people the Northern Yi hid in the capital had already left.
Constantly thinking about these matters consumed too much energy. Before long, drowsiness surged and he fell into a hazy sleep.
***
Deep autumn.
The retrieval of the Black Armor Guard symbolized the Regent Prince’s power weakened to the extreme.
The tiger had its wings and claws cut off. In just one year, the Regent Prince’s manor gates became utterly desolate.
Meanwhile, great frontier victory. Li Ningfeng returned triumphantly to court half a month before Ying Jingjue went to Foquan Temple to divine an auspicious day for Emperor Jingcheng’s entombment in the imperial mausoleum.
Author’s Note:
Time-skip technique.
Second update same as yesterday—tiny bit. Sleepy, everyone good night.
PS: Regarding Great Sheng Dynasty’s deceased emperor burial process, written about one-third into Chapter 108.
Author made it up—don’t research it. Generally emperors’ remains lie in state seven days. Longest was Kangxi, reportedly lying in state 10 months.
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Bye_Bye On AVL Chapter 20