The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  2. The Emperor is usually proclaimed to live ten thousand years, which in Chinese essentially means 'forever'. By saying that the Emperor will die in one hundred years, the immortality of the Emperor is being questioned.

  Chapter 422: Lobbying (II)

  Chapter 422: Lobbying (II)

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  Yang Zhao was also rather dazed.

  He was also bursting with the desire for authority, or else he wouldn't have entered the capital. He actually didn't mind getting involved in some War of the Princes, but because Consort Taizhen didn't like anyone mentioning matters of the Imperial Palace in front of her, he had never brought the matter up.

  And as time passed, he also began to put the matter aside.

  The recent wave of success and the criticisms from all sides had made him further forget those matters, but Wang Chong's words had suddenly reminded him.

  Just like Wang Chong said, there were some things that would appear eventually, even if one didn't concern oneself with them or get involved with them.

  It would be fine if it were any ordinary matter, but once the War of the Princes dragged Consort Taizhen in, this would affect his own future prospects.

  Yang Zhao suddenly turned his head and spoke to his cousin. "Sister, although I also think that the War of the Princes is no matter that we can lightly involve ourselves in, the words of my sworn brother are not completely without reason. It's impossible to remain completely uninvolved. Perhaps we really should contemplate this matter and decide what to do after discussion?"

  Let alone Consort Taizhen, even Wang Chong was surprised by these words. Yang Zhao's words were far more effective than his own; after all, these two were cousins and had a much more intimate relationship.

  These words that had originally been intended to convince Consort Taizhen had ended up moving Yang Zhao—a rather surprising harvest.

  As expected, Yang Zhao's words finally caused the look in Consort Taizhen's eyes to change. In the capital of the empire, this older cousin was the one she trusted the most and found most reliable.

  "Brother, the matters of the Imperial Palace are difficult to describe and discern. They are not things that you can understand," Consort Taizhen said. Her stance had clearly softened.

  "Moreover, the harem cannot involve itself in politics. This is the custom. His Majesty also does not like it when the women of the harem stick their hands into too many things. If I meddle too much, His Majesty might not be happy. Besides, I really can't see how helping the Fifth Prince will improve my situation."

  Her first few sentences had been aimed at Yang Zhao, but the last one was for Wang Chong.

  "Hahaha!"

  At this question, Wang Chong laughed.

  "Your Majesty, do you still not see it? Amongst the princes and the harem, only His Highness the Fifth Prince and Your Majesty are without any supporters and backing. In the palace, not a single person will help him; none of the consorts or concubines from the Three Palaces and Six Courts will back him.

  "In the harem and amongst the princes, Your Majesty can only truly pull close to the Fifth Prince. As long as Your Majesty treats the Fifth Prince well, the Fifth Prince, as supporterless as he is, will assuredly rely a great deal on Your Majesty and will definitely not think about betraying you. Moreover, Your Majesty is weak within the palace, and it is difficult to clap with only one hand. If Your Majesty has the Fifth Prince's help, the two of you will present a threat to the other consorts and princes and prevent them from rashly acting.

  "More importantly, if, in the future, the Fifth Prince ascends to the throne, he will undoubtedly be extremely grateful to Your Majesty. Even if Your Majesty's status in the future is less than that of the Empress, it won't be by much. Of course, if Your Majesty has other plans, is prepared to harbor the dragon's seed and give birth to a true dragon who will one day ascend to the heavens, that is another matter. Treat these words as if Wang Chong had never said them."

  His head lowered, Wang Chong finished his arguments.

  Consort Taizhen had been earnestly listening at the beginning, but she couldn't help but giggle at the end, amused by Wang Chong's joke.

  "Little thing, what nonsense are you speaking of? Even if I become pregnant with His Majesty's dragon seed, it will be eighteen years until he matures. By that time, the War of the Princes will have already been decided. Where did this plan come from?"

  With this laugh from Consort Taizhen, that aura of sharpness and power suddenly vanished. That charming smile, like thousands of flowers blooming as one, was so beautiful that even Wang Chong was dumbstruck for a moment.

  And with this smile, the mood in the hall also warmed.

  Although Consort Taizhen's laugh was bright and clear, Wang Chong could still hear a faint tinge of regret. If one wanted to fight in the light and shadow, and set up roots in the duplicitous confines of the palace, the best method was conceiving a dragon son.

  But Consort Taizhen had just entered the harem; the Sage Emperor's princes were already mature. Even if she had such ideas, it was already too late.

  Nothing could change this, and to Consort Taizhen, it was truly a regret.

  Wang Chong naturally understood this, so he wisely elected to not continue down this line.

  "Wang Chong, can you tell me why you so highly regard the Fifth Prince?"

  Consort Taizhen's smile faded as she returned to her normal self. Her bright and beautiful phoenix eyes peered at Wang Chong, implying some deeper meaning.

  "Your big uncle supports the First Prince. Everyone in the court knows this, and so do you. And yet you insist that I should support the Fifth Prince. What is going on with your Wang Clan? or perhaps you want to become opponents with your big uncle?

  "Also, I've recently heard a rumor that the Fifth Prince encountered some mysterious expert that helped him reform his body, granting him the ability to cultivate, accomplishing the practically impossible. If my guess is correct, that mysterious expert behind the Fifth Prince is probably closely related to you, right?"

  Her phoenix eyes blinked, a sharpness glimmering within them as they sought to pierce into the depths of Wang Chong's soul.

  Wang Chong's mind trembled as he hurriedly lowered his head.

  At the moment, the majority of the Imperial Palace, and all the princes, consorts, and concubines, were trying to find out how the Fifth Prince had suddenly had his body reformed and regained the ability to cultivate. They were also investigating that mysterious person behind him.

  If someone were to find out that it was him playing tricks behind the prince, the entire Wang Clan would probably become the foe of all the princes, consorts, and concubines of the palace.

  Thus, he had done his utmost to avoid meeting the Fifth Prince in public so as to prevent others from finding out.

  And while meeting Consort Taizhen, he had done his best to avoid discussing his relationship with the Fifth Prince. However, Consort Taizhen was clearly not as simple as the outside world imagined her to be. She could not be so easily misled.

  Wang Chong had not even brought up this topic, but Consort Taizhen had already guessed at the truth.

  "Yes!"

  Wang Chong replied without any hesitation.

  One could not overestimate someone, but one also couldn't underestimate them. In the outside world, many people believed that Consort Taizhen had relied purely on her looks to reach her position but was otherwise an ordinary woman who lacked any other redeeming feature. But Wang Chong knew that this was anything but true.

  No normal woman could be like her and endure so many criticisms for so long. A normal woman could never put up such a powerful struggle in the palace and manage to survive.

  Many people, when seeing Consort Taizhen, were liable to focus on Yang Zhao at her side and believe that she relied on Yang Zhao for everything.

  But Wang Chong knew that to think so would be the greatest of errors.

  Before Yang
Zhao had reached the capital, Consort Taizhen had already entered the palace and had even successfully put down roots. With or without Yang Zhao, she was not so soft and incompetent as the average person imagined.

  'A trail of dust spurred by a concubine's smile, and no one knows that lychee is coming'1. Consort Taizhen was not so easily deceived or bullied as people might imagine.

  Anyone who dared to underestimate the supreme beauty of the Great Tang as an empty flower vase would truly be committing a fatal mistake.

  ______________

  1. The quoted line is from a poem by Du Fu. Consort Taizhen, otherwise known as Yang Guifei, was incredibly fond of eating lychee fruit. The enamored Emperor Xuanzong would have these fruits, which were grown in southern China, delivered by his fastest horses. Du Fu is saying here that the horse is so fast that the only thing visible is the trail of dust it leaves in its wake.

  Chapter 423: Lobbying Successful!

  Chapter 423: Lobbying Successful!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  Women had always been the easiest types of people to underestimate.

  It was precisely because he understood this principle that Wang Chong made no attempt to deny, not even showing the slightest hesitation. Any action that he made because he believed he was too smart would just end up with him being too smart for his own good.

  "It really is you?"

  Yang Zhao and Consort Taizhen were both flabbergasted by Wang Chong's response. Not even Consort Taizhen had expected Wang Chong to so easily confess.

  "It's me!" Wang Chong once more confirmed.

  "Why?"

  Consort Taizhen was suddenly very curious. The Wang Clan had already joined the First Prince's faction, and if nothing out of the ordinary happened, the First Prince would be the future heir.

  Ever since ancient times, the elder had been favored over the younger, and the son of the first wife was favored over the sons of concubines. This was not some baseless saying.

  Amongst the princes, the First Prince assuredly had the highest chance of inheriting the empire. Consort Taizhen did not understand why Wang Chong would take such a large risk. He didn't even seem to mind being at odds with his big uncle to help the weak Fifth Prince, who was not only of no help to the Wang Clan, but also a serious liability.

  What is this Qilin son1 of the Wang Clan thinking?

  As Consort Taizhen's eyes measured Wang Chong's body, a strain of intense curiosity suddenly appeared within them. She could put aside an ordinary person, but the person in front of her was Wang Chong.

  There was the graceful and outstanding talent displayed in the 'Song of Purity and Peace', his inconceivable success in changing King Song's mind to support her, the trembles he sent through the court and the world in the Regional Commanders incident…

  Even the Supreme Venerable of the Nine and Five2, the Emperor that she revered as a god, was full of praise for this teenager.

  No matter in which aspect one investigated, this youth before her was no ordinary person and could not be assessed using common sense.

  Consort Taizhen suddenly wanted to know what was driving this wondrous youth to put aside his clan's standpoint, to put aside the excellent First Prince, and run off to her Yuzhen Palace to recommend to her the obscure Fifth Prince.

  How did he get this sort of idea?

  "This is…"

  Wang Chong glanced at the mysterious white-clothed beauties standing at Consort Taizhen's right and left. Consort Taizhen understood, and at a slight raise of her white wrist, the two immediately and respectfully withdrew.

  The only people left in the room were Consort Taizhen, Yang Zhao, and Wang Chong.

  "It's very simple. It's because my thinking is different from my big uncle. I believe that the future heir will not be the First Prince, but His Highness, the Fifth Prince!"

  Once the two beauties retreated, Wang Chong immediately proclaimed his thoughts. Wang Chong also did not hide the secret he had discovered on the Fifth Prince's body.

  Consort Taizhen and Yang Zhao had already been stunned when they heard Wang Chong say that the Fifth Prince would be the future true dragon, the Son of Heaven, but when they heard that Li Heng had been taught a supreme technique that manifested the image of a five-clawed true dragon, the pair were so shocked that they couldn't speak.

  Even Yang Zhao, who was utterly clueless about the struggles within the palace, knew what a five-clawed true dragon symbolized. If the secret Wang Chong had revealed were to leak out, it would overturn the palace, reshaping the landscape.

  The princes already had a burning desire to kill Li Heng once they discovered that he could suddenly practice martial arts. If they knew that the Sage Emperor had passed down to him a supreme technique manifesting a five-clawed dragon, they would even risk punishment from the Sage Emperor to kill him.

  For a moment, the cousins looked at the youngster in the hall like they were seeing a ghost. This was no ordinary news or intelligence report. In fact, this was an enormous secret that could alter the entire War of the Princes.

  Although still young, Wang Chong had managed to get ahold of such an astonishing fact. Such a feat would even stupefy the most formidable of spymasters.

  The great hall was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.

  Wang Chong said nothing, but his mind was in turmoil. 'One can't catch a tiger without entering the tiger cave.' In normal circumstances, he would have never told anyone about the Fifth Prince's secret.

  But if the Fifth Prince wanted to force his way through his current predicament, he needed Consort Taizhen's help. And in order to truly obtain her help, some secrets had to be told.

  Only this way could one obtain her trust.

  The facts proved that Wang Chong's risks had not been a waste. The shock on Consort Taizhen's and Yang Zhao's faces was enough to show that his words had an effect.

  If one said that the Fifth Prince was just a powerless prince at the start, then now, he had unquestionably soared to new heights in the minds of Consort Taizhen and Yang Zhao.

  "Your Majesty, the War of the Princes is not a trifling matter. It's not strange for Your Majesty to not be able to decide immediately. This matter is not of too pressing urgency; Your Majesty still has ample time to consider. But Wang Chong still has something to say to Your Majesty! I hope that Your Majesty will open this and read it once Wang Chong leaves."

  As Wang Chong spoke, he took a letter out of his sleeve. While his words could still have an effect on Consort Taizhen and while the Fifth Prince was still being viewed favorably, Wang Chong took out his last trump card, seeking to strike while the iron was hot.

  Whether or not his words would be effective on Consort Taizhen and fully convince her to side with the Fifth Prince would all depend on this last letter.

  "Wang Chong, what is it that you can't say in front of me? Why must it be written on a letter?"

  As she watched Wang Chong take the letter out of his sleeve, Consort Taizhen had a very strange look on her face. He could clearly say what he wanted in front of her, yet he insisted on taking out a letter. Anyone would find it extremely odd.

  "I can't! Your Majesty will understand once you read it."

  Wang Chong held the letter with both hands as he shook his head. He was abnormally stubborn this time. There were some things that could only be thought, not done, and some words that could only be read, not spoken.

  "I understand. Bring it up."

  "Then Wang Chong will bid farewell!"

  After delivering the letter, Wang Chong quickly left, leaving Yuzhen Palace before the gates of the palace were completely sealed for the night.

  Right when Wang Chong was turning around, Consort Taizhen hesitated for a moment. In the end, she couldn't suppress her curiosity and opened the letter, taking out the sheet of paper covered in squiggly handwriting from within.

  With just a glance, Consort Taizhen's mind suddenly fell into a state of confusion, a look of panic
flashing through her phoenix eyes. But it was only an instant before she quickly hid these emotions.

  Not even the nearby Yang Zhao noticed.

  "Sister, what did that rascal write?"

  Yang Zhao came over, glancing at the letter as he curiously asked. He was truly too curious as to what Wang Chong insisted on writing in a letter over speaking aloud.

  "It's nothing!"

  To Yang Zhao's surprise, the Consort Taizhen who trusted him completely and would share any secret with him elected this time to stretch out her fingers and crush the letter and envelope in her hands.

  Before Yang Zhao had been able to see a single word, this letter had returned to the void.

  Yang Zhao was stunned—such a thing had never happened before. His entire person froze, so caught by surprise he was.

  "Cousin, pass on my decree. Take one of my jade tokens and bestow it on Fifth Prince Li Heng. Just say that the filial piety he expressed with the sword dance he presented to the Sage Emperor deeply impressed me, and that I'm gifting this to him!"

  After giving this order, Consort Taizhen turned and entered the inner hall.

  Behind her, Yang Zhao was dumbstruck.

  Even if one beat him to death, he still wouldn't be able to understand what Consort Taizhen had seen in Wang Chong's letter that left her so flustered. Moreover, Consort Taizhen had clearly been undecided a few moments ago.

  Why was it that upon seeing Wang Chong's letter, she had immediately changed her mind and wanted to bestow a jade token on Li Heng? And she wanted him to deliver the decree! Wasn't this announcing to the entire palace that she would be protecting Prince Li Heng in the future?

  This was the complete opposite of his cousin's initial desire to not get involved in the War of the Princes!

  "Yes, this humble servant will carry out the decree!"

  Yang Zhao sighed and gave a deep bow, then turned and left the hall. No matter what his cousin decided, he would carry it out with all his power.

  But there was one thing he couldn't get over. What sort of bewitching drug had his sworn brother used on Consort Taizhen that one letter could cause such a major shift in her stance?