Just as Yun Yin stepped out of the hall’s entrance, a somewhat anxious voice finally sounded from inside:
“Yun Yin!”
It was a crisp call, tinged with a unique, slightly hoarse quality between youth and adulthood.
Yun Yin thought to himself that the Little Emperor probably hadn’t spoken much in the past. Otherwise, pronouncing a name shouldn’t sound so clumsy and unpracticed.
Like a newborn kitten, just learning to walk, not yet steady.
He was, after all, nominally the Son of Heaven. When it didn’t harm anything, saving face was necessary.
He stopped walking.
Then, he heard the Little Emperor’s helpless voice:
“…This Sovereign doesn’t know how.”
Even without turning back, Yun Yin could imagine the other’s bewildered expression.
Quite pitiful.
Pitiful, yet still remembers his “rules,” Yun Yin thought carelessly. This must be the most wretched Emperor in Yan Dynasty history, if the Li Dynasty had indeed reached its twilight years.
“You’ll learn by doing,” Yun Yin’s voice was light as air, speaking nonsense without batting an eye. “Your Majesty is divinely gifted and brilliantly intelligent. These are merely simple administrative tasks; I’m sure you’ll grasp them quickly.”
Silence finally came from behind.
Yun Yin hadn’t sought his approval anyway. If he needed agreement on every matter, then, first and foremost, the other man wouldn’t be sitting on this dragon throne.
When Li Zhaoyi didn’t speak, Yun Yin took it as the end of the conversation. He uttered a perfunctory “This Minister takes his leave,” and walked out of the hall. At the same moment, a black-clad figure quickly fell into step behind him.
Yun Yin didn’t stop walking, his tone very flat: “Is everything taken care of?”
The black-clad figure nodded: “Dealt with. The remnants of the rebels have been completely annihilated, no survivors.”
Yun Yin stopped.
Not far away, the overcast, rainy weather of recent days had finally cleared.
He was silent for a long time.
“Good.”
The black-clad figure raised his head, revealing an ordinary but sharp-featured face: “His Highness the Crown Prince’s spirit in heaven will surely feel comforted.”
As if hearing something hilarious, Yun Yin suddenly let out a laugh, but his eyes held no mirth.
“Fratricide,” he said softly. “His own elder brother and younger sister were the ones who died. Do you think he would feel comforted?”
The black-clad figure fell silent.
Yun Yin drew a deep breath, suppressing his churning emotions, and did not continue.
After a moment, he said: “You said complete annihilation just now. What about beside His Majesty?”
“The spies placed near His Majesty have also been thoroughly cleaned out. Only one was His Majesty’s personal Palace Maid.” The black-clad figure said, “I’ve been following His Majesty these days. This morning, he seemed to be asking where she was, but none of the Palace Maids or Eunuchs in the hall answered. Later, His Majesty didn’t pursue the matter further.”
Yun Yin was momentarily stunned.
“Does His Majesty need a new batch of servants?” The black-clad figure observed his expression and asked.
Yun Yin came back to his senses.
“Not necessary,” he finally returned to his usual coldness, saying flatly, “Without sufficient authority to command respect, no matter how many batches of Palace Maids and Eunuchs you replace, the result will be the same.”
The black-clad figure’s expression flickered, and he nodded in agreement.
However, just as they reached the corner, he hesitated for a moment and still asked: “My Lord… are you truly going to let His Majesty get involved in state affairs?”
At these words, Yun Yin shot him a glance. The black-clad figure quickly lowered his head, his expression calm, but his heart was, for once, drumming with unease.
–
Half a month ago, Mu Ke was assigned to serve the newly ascended Son of Heaven, tasked by Yun Yin to monitor the New Emperor’s every move.
He was a Shadow Guard raised by the Yun Clan from childhood, working only for the Yun family.
Although Yun Yin had been busy these past half-month dealing with the remnants of the former court, Mu Ke knew that one of the keys to Yun Yin controlling the political situation was this utterly powerless Little Emperor he was watching.
Therefore, the task of monitoring the New Emperor made perfect sense to him.
However, some of Yun Yin’s recent actions had given him pause.
His question was hesitant, but Yun Yin showed no discomfort, merely saying leisurely: “Yesterday, Grand Tutor Lin submitted a memorial. Guess what was written on it?”
Mu Ke looked up in surprise.
Of course, he knew Lin Ping.
He was the most respected Teacher of the former Crown Prince, Li Zhaoyu.
After Li Zhaoyu’s death, this renowned Grand Tutor had claimed illness. It wasn’t to avoid disaster; he had truly suffered a great shock.
“There weren’t many words on the memorial,” Yun Yin said, gazing into the distance, his tone still casual. “Four words: ‘Be a ruler, ruler; be a minister, minister.’ ” He chuckled softly. “Elder Lin wrote that for my benefit.”
Mu Ke found it somewhat unbelievable: “But Grand Tutor Lin clearly…”
“It’s very normal,” Yun Yin said calmly. “Regardless of the process, once one sits on that position, he is the Son of Heaven. If the Son of Heaven is controlled by others, how can the world be at peace? Elder Lin has the world at heart.”
At some point, a small black slingshot had appeared in his hand. He aimed it into the distance. The toy, meant for children, looked slightly childish in his grip, yet his expression was completely natural.
“He’s endured it for half a month and hasn’t yet cursed me as a Traitorous Subject in a memorial—Elder Lin is already being very polite. Even if the New Emperor’s foundation is unstable right after ascending the throne, half a month has passed. Now that all matters are getting on track, it’s no longer justifiable.”
As his words fell, a bead shot out, and a miserable scream suddenly came from the distance.
In just moments, the Commander of the Imperial Guards appeared hurriedly: “Your Highness.”
“No need for interrogation. Kill him,” Yun Yin said flatly. “Then go receive your punishment yourself. If I encounter this again, your position as Commander of the Imperial Guards is forfeit.”
The man broke out in a cold sweat and went to carry out the order.
Mu Ke also recovered his wits. His face flushed slightly, but Yun Yin stopped him: “It’s fine.”
“You were talking with me,” he said. “It’s normal not to have noticed your surroundings.”
Mu Ke responded quietly in acknowledgment, then thought for a moment: “So… was My Lord’s intention today to let His Majesty have a preliminary contact with court affairs?”
Earlier, using Li Zhaoyi’s lack of focus during the court assembly as an excuse, Yun Yin had ordered him to review and annotate today’s Imperial Memorials. The justification was that becoming familiar with court affairs would help him better preside over the court.
Upon closer thought, although the task was rather demanding, it was indeed the fastest way to get up to speed on court matters.
“That’s not it,” Yun Yin said after a moment’s deliberation.
Mu Ke’s train of thought was abruptly derailed: ???
“I was just teasing him,” Yun Yin said airily.
Mu Ke: “…”
Even with his usually stoic face, he couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his mouth.
~
Yun Yin’s main purpose today was to find Mu Ke. With the important matters discussed, he prepared to leave.
But just before leaving, he suddenly said: “Tell me about this morning’s situation again, in detail.”
Mu Ke was somewhat surprised but recounted it anyway.
The Emperor’s miserable situation was so unprecedented that Mu Ke’s memory of it was still very vivid.
As he spoke, he glanced at Yun Yin’s expression but saw nothing unusual in his features. At the end, Yun Yin asked: “Who was the Eunuch of the Imperial Presence on duty today?”
“The Seal-holding Director of Ceremonial,” Mu Ke said. “Liu Cheng.”
He paused, “The one you promoted a month ago, My Lord.”
“Liu Cheng…”
Yun Yin silently repeated the name, then let out a cold laugh.
“So fond of playing mute, then give them the opportunity.” Yun Yin said flatly, “Transfer a few men from the Eastern Depot to the Imperial Presence. Replace Liu Cheng and his people. Tell them it’s by my order; the men from the Eastern Depot will know what to do.”
Mu Ke hastily agreed.
After Yun Yin left, he returned to his designated post.
Once he found a comfortable position on the ceiling beam, he looked down. The first thing he saw was the focused profile of the Little Emperor.
–
To be fair, setting aside the dynastic changes in the royal family, Mu Ke held no ill will towards Li Zhaoyi.
He had always followed Yun Yin, so he naturally knew Li Zhaoyi’s background.
An Imperial Prince abandoned by the royal family, cast into the Cold Palace since childhood to fend for himself. That he had survived and grown up safely was already a miracle. Compared to his elder brothers and sisters, he was so clean and harmless that it was hard to dislike him.
Furthermore…
Mu Ke watched Li Zhaoyi inside the study, holding his brush for a long time, not daring to make a mark on the paper, and rubbed his nose.
Furthermore, he was just so beautiful.
Having grown up among men, Mu Ke had seen very few women. The only one he could call stunningly gorgeous was perhaps the Foreign Princess he had once escorted on her journey to the Yan Dynasty for a political marriage.
But even that strikingly exotic beauty, with such impactful allure, could not erase the shock he felt upon first seeing Li Zhaoyi.
It was an exquisite and delicate face, like a doll’s. Curling eyelashes, a small, delicate nose, and a pair of clear black-and-white eyes, tranquil like a lake. When he looked at people, his gaze was always direct, innocent and pure.
Mu Ke couldn’t understand how someone could look like this.
From this angle, he could perfectly understand the most secret and scandalous rumor currently circulating among the court officials about Li Zhaoyi—
The New Emperor possessed a stunning beauty. The reason he had survived the deadly struggle for the throne unscathed was simply that he was a pet bird kept in the palace by the Regent. The so-called Throne was, from the very beginning, nothing but a pure gold cage meticulously crafted for this delicate bird.
Unfortunately, the reality was that his Lord was an unromantic fool. During the first court assembly, because the officials were all distracted by Li Zhaoyi’s appearance, he simply and brutally had a curtain installed in front of the Emperor, adding with incomprehension: “Have you never seen a man before, or never seen an Emperor?”
Afterwards, during the few mandatory meetings they had to have, Yun Yin had repeatedly tested the other party, even though the man seemed even more harmless than the cat raised by a noble lady in the rear courtyard.
Mu Ke shook his head.
Jokes aside, he knew just how many people wanted to pull Yun Yin down from his position. Therefore, he couldn’t afford to let his guard down.
He crouched on the beam, quietly observing Li Zhaoyi’s back.
…But after watching for just a few seconds, he couldn’t help grumbling inwardly.
Testing was one thing, but he figured there was a bit of a difference between testing and teasing, wasn’t there?
His master was simply cruel. An honorable Son of Heaven, teased on a whim. To Yun Yin, it was just a casual remark, but Li Zhaoyi had never dealt with state affairs. How could he possibly review and annotate the memorials?
Mu Ke had a rather poor tolerance for frustration. Putting himself in the other’s shoes, he felt he would be cursing up a storm.
But Li Zhaoyi seemed not to realize that this was pure and simple harassment.
The entire afternoon, he sat in his seat, unmoving. Mu Ke could see that he was reading with great difficulty, even exuding a faint sense of impending breakdown and anxiety from the effort. Yet he remained seated, motionless, diligently reading every single Imperial Memorial, occasionally writing something cautiously on the paper beside him.
Whether he still held some expectation of Yun Yin or not, he would also occasionally look up towards the doorway.
Mu Ke watched him for a while, shifting his own position eight times himself. Finally, he sighed inwardly, glanced at the sky’s color, gritted his teeth, and silently slipped out of the hall.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Li Zhaoyi picked up the eighth Imperial Memorial he had looked at today, his gaze already somewhat unfocused.
