Chapter 5
Chapter 5
The Xie Chengze of the previous life had committed far too much evil.
He took bribes and broke the law. He stole from the national treasury and the imperial treasury. Later, he stole disaster-relief funds and, worse still, military pay.
He treated human life as worthless. He regarded commoners struggling to survive as weeds beneath his feet and soldiers holding the frontier as slaves whose lives were his to spend. Later, he even slaughtered loyal and worthy officials, killing without number and exterminating entire families to tear out every problem by the roots.
He had even colluded with the enemy and betrayed his country. To bring down the Crown Prince once and for all, he formed a private faction and set out to sever the Crown Prince’s strongest supports. Later, he conspired with Northern Di to kill the Eldest Prince who guarded the frontier, allowing Northern Di to exploit the opening and bring catastrophe upon the people of several cities –
Day after day he stood in the imperial court, his scarlet court robes meant to shine as brightly as the sun. Yet beneath that monster’s feet seemed to stretch rivers of blood, while bleached white bones wept out their grief.
Shen Yuan had traveled a long road, rising from a commoner to take his place at court. By the time he drove that sword into Xie Chengze’s chest, too many innocent and loyal men had already died behind him, and too many pitiful commoners had perished in fields of corpses with nowhere to seek justice.
How could Shen Yuan not grieve, not hate, not regret?
Now that he had returned for another life, he would restore peace to the realm, clarity to the imperial court, and safety to the common people – even if his bones were crushed and his body ground to dust!
What did Emperor Jian’s favoritism matter? What did the Crown Prince’s soft heart matter? What did rampant corruption matter?
If no one dared become the abyss awaiting Xie Chengze, then he, Shen Yuan, would become Xie Chengze’s abyss. If no one dared seek justice for loyal officials and innocent commoners, then he, Shen Yuan, would seek it for them!
With a loyal heart, he would pacify a world in chaos; with the sword in his hand, he would steady the rivers and mountains!
Xie Chengze had no idea that the protagonist beside him was in the throes of imagining how best to tear him limb from limb.
He was busy making his wicked little complaint to Emperor Jian. “This son believes that if even someone as foolish as this son knew to donate silver for the relief of the common people, then Fourth Brother may be excused because he is young and ignorant, but Third Brother is the Crown Prince. He failed to step forward and set an example for the ministers. He truly must be punished!”
Xie Chengze did not have many serious faults, but he and the original did share one strikingly similar trait.
Both demanded vengeance for the smallest slight and could hold one hell of a grudge.
Emperor Jian had known perfectly well that the original’s stupidity would offend an honest, unyielding official and leave him with an even worse reputation, yet still made him clean up the Crown Prince’s mess. Fine, then. Xie Chengze would make this father lift a rock only to drop it on his own foot and personally punish his precious son.
It was only half a year’s salary, anyway. If the Crown Prince’s residence had no money, perhaps the Crown Prince would quiet down for a while. Then Xie Chengze could curl up in Chenghuan Hall, lie flat, do nothing, and enjoy the wealthy life of an imperial heir.
To his surprise, Emperor Jian threw his head back and laughed until tears gathered at the corners of his eyes. Slapping the desk, he shouted his approval. “Hahahaha – good! Excellent! We also believe the Crown Prince should be punished!”
Emperor Jian was truly delighted. In the past, little Chengze had openly mocked and disparaged the Crown Prince as well, but always without evidence, barking so wildly that anyone could see he was targeting the Crown Prince on purpose. It was thoroughly unpresentable.
Today, however, his tongue was remarkably clever. He knew to use the officials and common people as shields and had managed to turn the Son of Heaven’s own words against the Crown Prince, making him suffer a genuine loss –
Emperor Jian grew even more curious about what sort of talent the retainer advising Xie Chengze from behind the scenes might be.
“Little Chengze!” Emperor Jian raised a hand and fondly stroked Xie Chengze’s empty little head. “We believe that when the Crown Prince makes a mistake, it is more serious than when a minister does. Half a year’s salary is too little. Why not place next year’s spring imperial examination under your supervision instead? What do you say?”
Xie Chengze jolted in alarm.
Wait, what? Was this punishment for the Crown Prince or for him?
Before he could refuse, Shen Yuan immediately stepped forward from the side and objected. “Your Majesty! You must not!”
“Oh?” Emperor Jian took no offense at Shen Yuan’s sudden interruption. Instead, he looked at him with keen interest. “Boy from the Shen family, what makes you say that?”
“His Highness the Second Prince is far too ravishingly beautiful. He may distract the scholars and disturb the atmosphere of the examination compound!” Shen Yuan lowered his eyes and spoke coldly. “May Your Majesty reconsider!”
Emperor Jian glanced at Xie Chengze.
No one knew a son better than his father. He knew that nothing Xie Chengze hated more than being praised as “beautiful.”
It seemed little Chengze was about to bear a grudge against the Grand Tutor’s grandson.
To his surprise, Xie Chengze turned with clear eyes. His bright, upturned phoenix eyes fixed on Shen Yuan for a moment before he turned back and asked Emperor Jian shyly, “Father, was he praising this son for being pretty? How embarrassing~”
Emperor Jian: ?
Shen Yuan: ?
…
Shen Yuan felt as though something had gone wrong.
In his previous life, nothing angered Xie Chengze more than someone saying he was beautiful. After they had become enemies in earnest, whenever Shen Yuan raged at Xie Chengze’s deeds yet could do nothing to stop him, he would pile up every ornate phrase he could find to “praise” Xie Chengze for beauty rivaling a woman’s, provoking him into a towering fury.
Shen Yuan knew better than anyone where to step on Xie Chengze’s tail to hurt him most.
Yet now, looking at Xie Chengze’s blushing, bashful face, Shen Yuan felt a chill crawl up his spine, cold and nauseating.
He suspected more strongly than ever that Xie Chengze had also been reborn. Perhaps the sword that killed him in the Golden Throne Hall had finally sharpened his wits, teaching him to conceal his weaknesses before his enemies.
He stared fixedly at Xie Chengze, trying to find some trace of the man from his previous life, only to grow more alarmed the longer he looked.
Xie Chengze… was too good at pretending.
The way he looked at Shen Yuan appeared utterly natural, without the slightest hint of vigilance or fear, as though Shen Yuan had never killed him at all. Shen Yuan refused to believe that a man like Xie Chengze could acquire such flawless acting the instant he came back from the dead.
Or had Xie Chengze been reborn earlier than him – perhaps even returned to childhood – and learned to hide his strength and endure in silence, all so he could catch the Crown Prince off guard and make him suffer today?
No. That was not right. Shen Yuan had returned to the capital yesterday and sent people to make inquiries. Xie Chengze was plainly the same Xie Chengze as before, still overbearing and impulsive.
Yet Shen Yuan could not rule out the possibility that Xie Chengze had deliberately created that false impression. After all, if Shen Yuan could guess that Xie Chengze might have been reborn, then Xie Chengze could just as easily guess the same about him.
Perhaps, at this very moment, they were testing each other.
Whoever revealed himself first would lose.
Shen Yuan did not want his rebirth exposed. It was the advantage that would allow him to eliminate Xie Chengze early, the path to life that could save countless loyal and worthy men from Xie Chengze’s hands. He absolutely could not let Xie Chengze discover it.
Drawing a quiet breath, Shen Yuan folded his hands before his chest and said earnestly, “Your Majesty, the spring imperial examination draws a large and disorderly crowd. Although the scholars of our dynasty are learned and courteous, possessing both virtue and talent, there may still be scoundrels among them who would use the Second Prince’s appearance to create distasteful talk…”
The Jian’an Dynasty had liberal customs, and its scholars had always spoken freely. Even love between men was treated as commonplace and could be discussed at length without reserve. If someone as beautiful as the Goddess of the Luo River appeared at the examination ground, he would practically be inviting vulgar verse and willingly offering himself as inspiration for popular storybooks.
As long as Xie Chengze still cared about that, he would no longer demand the right to supervise the spring imperial examination.
Emperor Jian’s gaze, full of interest in the spectacle, slid back toward Xie Chengze.