Chapter 70: After the Noble Consort Gained Favor, the Qian Yuan Envoys…

After the Noble Consort gained favor, the Qian Yuan envoys strutted about smugly. The entire delegation ran rampant in Shang Jing, their vulgar manners unchanged. They believed Xuan Jin had backed down and began to push their luck even further.

They punched the Prime Minister’s sole son, spoke insolently at every gathering great and small, and went so far as to harass noble ladies.

Xuan Jin and Qian Yuan were evenly matched in national strength, so they figured the old Emperor wouldn’t flip the table over such trivial matters.

The old Emperor was blinded by beauty, but the officials below were not. Many patriotic men burned with righteous indignation, yet constrained by their positions and factions, they dared not act rashly.

Though Qin Yan had military achievements to his name, the old Emperor had never favored him. With a few words of pillow talk from the newly favored Noble Consort, even his rewards went unapproved—he received only a couple of empty compliments.

But that was fine.

The grain and supplies were in hand.

In exchange, while the Qian Yuan envoy delegation was escorted to Shang Jing, Xue Cheng had already set out from the city with the grain the Old General had urgently demanded time and again, rushing to the frontier.

By his calculations, even if the old Emperor regretted it and tried to chase them down, it would be too late. What went into the belly couldn’t be spit back out.

Incense smoke wafted from the censer as Qin Yan lowered his gaze, silently wiping the long sword in his hand.

…

The Seventh Prince slew envoys on the street, blood splattering the buildings high. The Capital Magistrate panicked and submitted memorials one after another, terrified of shouldering any blame.

The incident happened suddenly. No one expected the Seventh Prince, whom the Emperor despised, to suddenly strike at the delegation. According to onlookers, the two dead envoys had just snatched a pure courtesan from a pleasure house and were parading down the long street with her in their arms, bold as brass.

Due to the government’s recent inaction and the delegation’s arrogance, the common folk mostly took detours, and women hardly dared to go out. The courtesan had cried for help, but after a couple of slaps and no rescuers in sight, she could only despair as they dragged her away.

Who would have thought hooves would thunder, and a tall, slender figure on horseback would charge in? Masked in a ghostly visage, gem-like emerald eyes glinted with chilling menace from beneath. He drew his sword right there on the street, slit the two envoys’ throats, and freed the forcibly abducted girl.

The crowd cheered almost to a man.

It was utterly satisfying!

But trouble followed swiftly.

No matter how gratifying the court officials found it or how they felt the Seventh Prince’s actions were justified—the two dead envoys weren’t key figures in the delegation anyway, and it was a perfect lesson for the arrogant Qian Yuan lot—everyone had their duties and loyalties. The impeachments still had to be filed.

Over the years, the Seventh Prince’s brilliant military exploits had made the other princes restless, and their mothers in the palace equally so. They always schemed for their own sons.

“Rebellion! Outrage!” The old Emperor glared at the pile of memorials like snowflakes on his desk, hurling one down in fury. “Where is that traitorous son? I see he’s gone feral on the frontier! Disaster star, disaster star—wherever he goes, he stirs up chaos for me… Throw him into the imperial prison!”

The capital erupted in uproar until the guards at the city gates reported—

The Seventh Prince, still reeking of blood, had already left the Capital City. At the same time, a secret memorial Qin Yan had prepared in advance arrived before the old Emperor.

Before acting, he had made preparations: one letter to the Old General at the border, and another laying out the stakes plainly on paper.

If the old Emperor wanted to keep his throne steady, he had better weigh it carefully—which was stronger, the three hundred thousand troops at the frontier or the twenty thousand imperial guards in the capital?

With Qin Yan’s current prestige and military authority, it wasn’t impossible to strip the Old General of his post, incite the troops, seize the city, and declare independence.

And thinking back to that heavenly mandate of the lone star of calamity, the inauspicious body whose omens had all come true… Though reluctant, the old Emperor grew afraid.

In the end, he simply retreated to the rear palace to coax the Noble Consort, who had been sulking over the slain envoys.