Chapter 92: The Free and Easy Young Marquis (25)
When the Imperial Astronomers delivered the calculated auspicious date to the Princess’s Manor, Princess Jin’an’s face turned green. Marquis Huo, on the other hand, was relatively calm. It wasn’t exactly that he could easily accept his son marrying a male wife, but rather that he could see that the way Huo Xian looked at Huo Yuan was exactly how he himself had looked at the Princess when they first met.
The auspicious date was set for a month and a half later, on the twenty-eighth day of the third month—right when the spring flowers would be in full bloom.
Unfortunately, even though a year had passed, Huo Yuan was still only seventeen. Huo Xian, possessing the soul of a modern person, felt a slight pang of guilt.
However, in ancient times, marrying at fifteen or sixteen was perfectly normal; dragging it out until the capping ceremony at twenty was what was rare. He wasn’t in a hurry; Huo Yuan could marry him first and live in the same room legitimately for a year. After a year, Huo Yuan would surely be grown taller and have filled out a bit more.
Of course, Huo Xian had not been completely blinded by love. Xiao Jinchi might be more suited for the throne than Xiao Jinli, but his scheming was unfathomable. Setting aside his ability to govern, the mere fact that he could use a “Golden Finger” to manipulate people’s hearts made him dangerous.
Huo Xian wasn’t obsessed with the throne. If Emperor Haoyuan intended for him to be the Emperor, he wouldn’t reject it, but being an Emperor came with many restrictions. If he could have his freedom, he would naturally prefer it. Therefore, he was making preparations for both scenarios. If Xiao Jinchi proved he could do a good job as Emperor, Huo Xian would peacefully take Huo Yuan away to focus on development elsewhere. If Xiao Jinchi proved to be incompetent, he would not stand idly by.
Soon enough, Huo Xian realized that the person in question was unreliable.
Before even ascending the throne, Xiao Jinchi ordered the renovation of the Imperial Palace. That wasn’t all; he also wanted to demolish and rebuild two palaces within the grounds: the Crown Prince’s Eastern Palace and Consort Yan’s Yongning Palace. As it turned out, there was no money available. Not only was the national treasury empty, but Emperor Haoyuan’s private treasury was also picked clean.
During the natural disasters of the previous years, Emperor Haoyuan had emptied the national treasury for disaster relief and then dipped into his private funds. Simple repairs were barely manageable; rebuilding was pure fantasy.
So, this youth who was not yet the Son of Heaven directly committed a fatuous act—he raised taxes.
Naturally, such a decree could not pass through the imperial court. Although the late Emperor and the current one had held the empire for thirty years, the world was still far from peaceful. If it were, Black Wind Stronghold wouldn’t have been able to occupy a region and grow to the point of nearly rivaling the court.
With low social productivity and rampant natural disasters, the court had been reducing taxes year after year just to lessen the burden on the common people.
Yet Xiao Jinchi was doing the opposite. Before he had even officially taken charge, he was already thinking of extortion. Was he just looking for trouble because he had too much time on his hands?
Xiao Jinchi wasn’t angry when he was rejected. Instead, he sought out the court officials one by one for “heart-to-heart talks.” The result of these talks was that, a few days later, the majority of the officials changed their tune. Those who remained were left staring in shock, fuming with rage.
With a satisfied smile, Xiao Jinchi prepared to have the Secretariat draft the decree.
“Wait.” A voice rang out from the entrance of the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
The newcomers were the Duke of Wei, Chang Daoyu, and the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, Tu Zhang. Both were founding heroes of the dynasty, and their seniority was higher than anyone else in the court. Upon seeing them, Xiao Jinchi’s eyelids twitched violently, and a bad premonition rose in his heart.
He decided to strike first. Entering the Hall of Supreme Harmony while the court was in session was considered a sign of disrespect to the Emperor. After slapping that label on them, he summoned the guards to drag them away.
However, the two veterans stood as unshakeable as mountains. Their ability to enter wasn’t just about their status; the key was that the Duke of Wei held an “Immunity Medallion” in his hand.
Xiao Jinchi’s face twitched heavily as he ground his teeth. It’s Huo Xian!
At the same time, Emperor Haoyuan, who had not attended court for a long time, actually walked slowly toward the Dragon Throne, supported by Huo Xian. In the span of half a month, he had filled out slightly and his complexion was ruddy. At least in this regard, Xiao Jinchi hadn’t intended to leave any room for criticism—provided that Mind-Bewildering Grass wasn’t added to every meal.
The officials all knelt to pay their respects to the Son of Heaven. Xiao Jinchi’s face turned a mottled shade of blue and white, but he was forced to kneel and perform the salutation. However, as he knelt, a smile actually played on his lips. Did Huo Xian think that bringing his Imperial Father here made everything foolproof? He didn’t realize that his father was now nothing more than a pawn in his hand. No matter what happened, the Emperor would only stand by his side.
Unfortunately, Xiao Jinchi soon found he could no longer smile.
The moment Emperor Haoyuan arrived, he singled out the tax increase proposal and unleashed a furious scolding. He cursed the officials who had agreed to it until they were drenched in a “bloody head of soup.” Xiao Jinchi was stunned, and the berated officials were equally dazed. After finishing his tirade, Emperor Haoyuan ordered the guards to distribute medicinal soup to the civil and military officials in the court. Those with smaller hearts thought the Emperor intended to grant them death, and their legs went weak with fear. However, the majority were rational; if the Emperor poisoned all his officials in the middle of the hall, the world would soon descend into chaos.
“Your Majesty, this medicine is…?” The Duke of Wei was given a bowl. He wasn’t afraid and knew Emperor Haoyuan meant no harm, but that didn’t stop him from asking.
Emperor Haoyuan said flatly, “I see that you ministers have been living too well and haven’t experienced the hardships of the common folk for too long. Your heads are overheated; you need to dispel some fire and cool down.”
Huo Xian couldn’t be sure exactly how powerful Xiao Jinchi’s “Golden Finger” was. However, it required the assistance of drugs, and the fact that Emperor Haoyuan’s consciousness had remained clear after taking the antidote prepared by Du Hanxu suggested that the effect might be limited. Furthermore, he knew that people with strong wills were not easily hypnotized. Since Emperor Haoyuan could be the Emperor, his will was inevitably strong. People like the Noble Consort and Xiao Jinli had specific desires and were not mentally healthy to begin with, making them easy targets for Xiao Jinchi’s psychological suggestions when they were unguarded.
Whether the officials’ wills were strong or not was uncertain, but drinking some of Medical Immortal Du’s medicine to detoxify if there was poison—or just to clear the bowels and “brainwash” them a bit—wasn’t a bad idea.
“Imperial Father…” Xiao Jinchi called out. At this point, he couldn’t care less about exposing himself. His intuition told him that if he didn’t stop his father, he might regret what came next.
However, Emperor Haoyuan did not look at him as he had many times before upon hearing his voice. Instead, he said in a deep voice: “I have come to court today to announce one more thing—I am advanced in years and lack the strength to handle state affairs. Therefore, I abdicate the throne to my nephew, Huo Xian.”
The moment these words were uttered, the entire court exploded.
It truly exploded.
Since ancient times, there had indeed been instances of an Emperor abdicating to a new one, but they were very, very rare. Most Emperors only saw a successor after their passing. Not to mention that Emperor Haoyuan was only in his forties; while he couldn’t be called “in his prime,” he was far from being “advanced in years.” More importantly, if he were to abdicate, even if it weren’t the Fourth Prince, he should have chosen someone from the imperial clan. Why would he choose an outsider like Huo Xian?
The entire court became as noisy as a wet market. Only a very small number of officials remained silent, most notably the Duke of Wei and the Grand Secretary Tu Zhang. Their expressions were so calm it was as if they had just heard that the weather was nice today.
Amidst the arguments, a segment of the officials gradually began to show looks of hesitation.
The imperial bloodline was not flourishing. Prince Ji and his heir were both useless—especially Prince Ji’s heir, the capital’s number two dandy, a piece of rotten wood that couldn’t be carved. He clearly couldn’t be the Emperor. Huo Xian was the son of a princess who had married out; his surname was Huo. Even if he carried the Xiao family blood, he was technically “from another family.” Yet, he happened to be the “Qilin Son” in Emperor Haoyuan’s words. The officials who had interacted with him, including his mentors, all praised him highly. He indeed deserved the title of “Qilin Son.” So the issue was still his surname—if only his name weren’t Huo… if only his name were Xiao…
Xiao Jinchi watched as the arguments in the court grew quieter and the officials’ gazes began to move back and forth between him and Huo Xian. The unease in his heart grew increasingly intense.
No, he couldn’t just sit and wait for death. He was at fault regarding the tax issue, so he would admit his mistake. He was still young and could have the chance to correct himself. The urgent priority was to stabilize people’s hearts—he absolutely could not let Huo Xian sit in that position!
“Imperial Father…” He flipped his robe and knelt, intentionally raising his volume to make Emperor Haoyuan look at him.
Emperor Haoyuan did spare him a glance, but before he could speak, the Emperor said: “Establish Xiao Chengxi, the son of the late Crown Prince Xiao Jinhan, as the Crown Prince.”
The court fell into an instantaneous, pin-drop silence.
Even the composed Duke of Wei and the Grand Secretary became a bit unsettled. Huo Xian was to succeed as the new Emperor, yet the biological son of the former Crown Prince was to be established as the Crown Prince? Then what would become of the new Emperor’s own children?
Facing the expressions of the officials which practically screamed, “Do you uncle and nephew have some sort of brain disease?” Huo Xian felt quite helpless in his heart. Originally, he had thought that as long as Xiao Jinchi didn’t become the Emperor, he could support the Crown Prince’s son and perhaps serve as a Prince Regent. At least in name, he would be a Prince Regent, without so many complicated twists. As it turned out, Emperor Haoyuan was stubborn and insisted on abdicating to him. And the reason he gave was one Huo Xian couldn’t refuse: if he became the Emperor, his wife would be the Empress. With Huo Yuan becoming the Empress, he would be the first male Empress in all the dynasties. Who in the world would dare to gossip then?
Thus, Huo Xian calmly accepted his impending new identity.
What was even more extreme was that Emperor Haoyuan had the Imperial Astronomers calculate an auspicious date for the enthronement: the eighteenth day of the third month. In other words, ten days after becoming Emperor, he could hold his grand wedding with the Empress in his capacity as the Emperor.
Court Officials: [???]
On the surface: “Our Majesty is so impulsive, we really don’t know where to start advising him.”
In private: Old tears streaming down faces, wanting to resign.
The one who found it most difficult to accept was naturally the Fourth Prince, Xiao Jinchi. He couldn’t understand why. He had spent so much effort planning for so long. He had walked a hundred steps, then a thousand. Why did a problem arise at the very last step? Why did Emperor Haoyuan suddenly escape his hypnotic control? Why was he sentenced to death because of one tiny mistake?
Why?
Based on what?
Xiao Jinchi couldn’t understand it. He really couldn’t understand it.
He remained standing motionless in the hall long after the court was dismissed and Emperor Haoyuan was helped back by Huo Xian, and even after all the officials had left.
A long time later, he heard a drifting, seductive voice ring out: “Unwilling? Then let go and do it. Kill Huo Xian, and the throne will be yours.”
“Who are you?” Xiao Jinchi was not easily fooled; instead, he asked calmly.
“I am your inner demon. I know everything about you. You covet that position, and now there is a stumbling block in front of you. Kill him, kill Huo Xian, and you can ascend to the supreme position of the Nine-Five.”
Xiao Jinchi didn’t respond, but that voice continued to tirelessly seduce him.
A long time later, a strange smile appeared on Xiao Jinchi’s lips. “I’ve found you…”
After leaving the palace, Huo Xian’s left eyelid jumped, then his right eyelid jumped. After the right one jumped, the left one jumped again. They jumped so much that even Huo Yuan could see it clearly.
“Yuanyuan, I have a somewhat bad premonition.” Huo Xian couldn’t explain where this feeling came from. Emperor Haoyuan was more decisive than he had imagined; in front of the civil and military officials, he had directly let the Grand Secretary read the abdication decree, leaving himself no way back. Huo Xian was also impressed. But he also knew that Xiao Jinchi had plotted for so long only to fail at the end—what if he had other “Golden Fingers”?
“Hmm…” Huo Yuan pondered for a long while. He reached out, tore off two small corners from the red paper used for padding snacks on the low table, smeared a bit of water on Huo Xian’s eyelids with his finger, and then stuck the two small red corners onto his eyelids, one on each side.
Huo Xian: “…??”
“What are you doing?” He raised his hand to touch them.
“Don’t move!” Huo Yuan stopped him, looking serious. “There’s a maid in the manor who has a folk remedy from her hometown. When your eyelids jump, disaster is coming. There’s some saying about ‘left for wealth, right for disaster’ and ‘men on the left, women on the right.’ If you stick a piece of red paper or wood when they jump, the disaster will all dissipate.”
Huo Xian: […] Who would have thought that my little ancestor was actually superstitious?
Translator’s Note:
Qilin Son (麒麟儿 – Qílín ér) is a traditional Chinese term for a brilliant, talented child. Also, the “Nine-Five” (九五) refers to the status of the Emperor, derived from the I Ching.
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