The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  Without a doubt, Zheng Yuan was also one of them.

  “Those darned men! I had treated them well, yet they repaid me with such ingratitude!”

  King Song clenched his fists tightly and indescribable wrath warped his face. He was by no means a skeptical person, but King Qi had to been going around to persuade those around him to his side.

  Upon seeing that the odds were in King Qi’s favor, those around him chose to switch allegiance. Under such circumstances, King Song had no choice but to doubt the loyalty of his subordinates and aides.

  “It was a pity that I had falsely doubted Wang Yan over this matter despite his loyalty toward me.”

  King Song felt guilty.

  “Your Highness, there is no need for you to blame yourself. Yao Guang Yi is a confidant of King Qi and Wang Yan’s action of meeting him secretly in the Vast Crane Pavilion at such a moment was indeed suspicious, it was normal for Your Highness to cast doubt on his loyalty. However, it is still too early to tell whether the Wang Clan is truly innocent or not. The children of the Wang and Yao Clan might have had a conflict in the pavilion, but it is too early to tell whether they were simply going to the extremities to hide their alliance! ——Surely Your Highness haven’t forgotten about the affair with Zhou Chang back then?”

  The old butler spoke impassively.

  Weng!

  Hearing these words, King Song’s face darkened. The matter with Zhou Chang happened in the era of the previous emperor. Due to this matter, many of the officials in the royal court had been demoted. In fact, even King Song’s father was implicated and he was imprisoned in the Imperial Prison for three months straight, almost staying there for life.

  The heritage of King Song was almost stripped of the nobility due to that incident!

  Thus, King Song had an extremely deep impression of that matter!

  “You’re saying that…”

  King Song’s face twitched. A frown returned to his face and he fell into contemplation.

  “Your humble servant isn’t hinting at anything. Your Highness is a magnanimous person, and if the Wang Clan is truly loyal, that would be for the best. However, Your Highness should still remain guarded against them. After all, a human’s heart is unfathomable. If the Wang Clan was truly framed for this matter, Your Highness could simply make amendments to them then. However, it wasn’t wise to come to a hasty conclusion at this moment.”

  The old butler continued impassively.

  King Song was magnanimous, but as the butler of the King Song Residence, he had served several generations of King Song. He had seen too many schemes and ploys in the royal court.

  Friends do not last forever, only profits do. As the butler of the King Song Residence, he was only loyal to King Song’s profits.

  “Hehe, isn’t it an easy task to uncover the truth?”

  After a moment of silence, King Song suddenly chuckled.

  “Your Highness is speaking of Academic Lu?”

  The old butler seemed to have guessed what he was thinking about.

  “Un, didn’t Academic Lu head to the Vast Crane Pavilion along with Bao Xuan? The truth would be clear after we ask him about it.”

  King Song nodded his head solemnly as a look of respect appeared on his face. He had already received news that Lu Ting was waiting outside.

  “Paying respects to King Song.”

  After a moment, a figure walked in. Lu Ting was dressed in a white scholarly robe, and he bowed deeply to King Song, who was sitting at the top of the main hall.

  “Academic Lu, I have heard that you have gone to Vast Crane Pavilion as well?”

  King Song asked. There was a single person in the royal court that he would not doubt, and that was Lu Ting. It was not only because Lu Ting was honest, righteous, and would not betray him.

  More than that, Lu Ting had once saved his life.

  Back then, he wasn’t King Song and he didn’t have the standing he had now. Back then, due to an incident, he was suspected of organizing a rebellion.

  At that moment, Duke Jiu was being deployed at the borders to deal with the Turkic Khaganate. Back then, the war was currently heated up and he was unable to divert his attention to other matters. On the other hand, in the royal court, no one was willing to speak up for him for fear of being implicated into the matter as well.

  Yet, Lu Ting, who was just promoted an academic then, despite the risk of angering the new emperor and being framed as one of the rebels, admonished the emperor and tried to persuade him otherwise through logic.

  He even followed the new emperor all the way to his Back Palace and knocked his head on the pillar so as to show his sincerity, nearly killing himself in the midst of doing so.

  It was precisely because of Lu Ting’s persistent admonishment, to the point of even giving up his life for it, that the emperor paid great importance to the matter and conducted another trial, thus cleansing King Song of his blame and saving his life.

  As that incident occurred in the Back Palace, not many people knew of it. Also, Lu Ting did not go around bragging about the matter, not even speaking of it before King Song. In fact, King Song only knew of the matter when the new emperor told him of it.

  After that, King Song had alway been highly respectful of Lu Ting and often listened to his advice openly!

  “Un, Bao Xuan invited me over. Not only did I go there, I even witnessed an interesting affair occurring. Even if Your Highness were not to ask me about the affair, I would also speak of it.”

  Lu Ting smiled.

  “Oh? Tell me about it.”

  A gleam flashed across King Song’s eyes and his interest was suddenly piqued.

  He knew of Lu Ting’s personality, and for the righteous academic to describe something as interesting, the matter was definitely extraordinary!

  “Your Highness should be aware that the Wang Clan siblings and Yao Clan’s Yao gongzi had a conflict at the Vast Crane Pavilion, right?”

  Lu Ting chuckled.

  “Un, I know of it. However, I am not too clear of the happenings. Could it be that they are involved to the matter Academic Lu is going to talk about?”

  King Song was curious.

  Initially, he intended to call Lu Ting over to ask him about the matter regarding Yao Guang Yi and Wang Yan. Yet, after hearing Lu Ting speak of the children of the two clans, he forgot about his primary motive.

  Lu Ting didn’t hide anything and spoke of everything that he had heard about the two siblings outside the Vast Crane Pavilion. Especially the conversation between Wang Chong and Bao Xuan, he elaborated on it with great details.

  On the other hand, he simply brushed through the matter with Wang Yan that King Song was concerned about.

  At the very start, King Song was only slightly interested in the matter and treated it as just a pastime. But eventually, he was entirely absorbed into his story.

  “That is to say, Bao Xuan had also betrayed me for King Qi.”

  King Song’s complexion darkened tremendously. He had intended to ask about Wang Yan’s matter, but he didn’t expect to hear about Bao Xuan betraying him instead. Without a doubt, this was a blow to King Song.

  “Hehe, there is actually no need for Your Highness to be overly concerned with the matter about Bao Xuan. Bao Xuan wasn’t the first one to betray Your Highness, and he wouldn’t be the last either. Since that’s the case, why be bothered by it?”

  Lu Ting smiled faintly. He wasn’t as vexed as King Song was:

  “When the tree falls, the monkeys will scatter. What that should go will eventually go, it is a futile attempt to try to retain them. On the other hand, those who should stay will not leave in the end.”

  “Those who left for King Qi would be a potential threat even if they were to stay here. If so, why not just let them leave. It is just like how the Wang Clan’s Third Young Master Wang Chong put it, ‘The one who laughs in the end is the winner’. The match hasn’t come to an end yet, so why should King Song feel disheartened? These are also
the words I would like to convey to King Song for my journey here.”

  “Despite Your Highness having so many subordinates beside you, in my opinion, their experience and worldly view may not be able to match up to the fifteen-year-old Wang Chong.”

  Hearing Lu Ting’s words, King Song couldn’t help but chuckle. Even the old butler, whose face was tensed up previously, relaxed slightly. Somehow, they felt goodwill toward the young man whom they had yet to come into contact with.

  “‘The one who laughs in the end is the winner’ Heh, well said! Academic Lu, what you said is true. Not just Bao Xuan and the rest, even I am far from a match for him. Wang Yan sure has a good son!”

  King Song chuckled. Somehow, despite having yet to meet that linguistically adept fifteen-year-old young man, he had borne a good impression or him. Under such a situation, with those beside him betraying and leaving him, to be able to hear words of support from a seemingly immature young child was somehow relieving.

  Standing by the side, Lu Ting also heaved a sigh of relief upon seeing a smile appearing on King Song’s face.

  After serving for King Song for many years, he was well aware of the difficult situation he was undergoing now. He sincerely hoped that he would be able to tide through this difficult time.

  “Hehe, speaking of that Wang Family’s third son, Lord Lu seems to have a favorable impression of him?”

  King Song looked at Lu Ting and chuckled.

  “Indeed!”

  Lu Ting didn’t try to avoid the topic and admitted to it frankly before King Song:

  “It is truly rare for someone of Wang Chong’s age to have such knowledge and an open mindset. His future will surely be bright and unlimited in the future. Perhaps he might even become one of the most powerful officials in the royal court. Given the relationship between Wang Clan and King Song, when another talent emerges from the Wang Clan, King Song will find another great aide beside him in the future. Isn’t this something to be delighted over?”

  “Lord Lu has such a high evaluation of that Wang Clan siblings?”

  King Song frowned. He was truly surprised by Lu Ting’s reaction.

  “Your Highness, if Wang Chong had only seen through Bao Xuan’s disguise, it could only mean that he was intelligent. Even though such talents are not really common, it wasn’t difficult to find them in the capital. Furthermore, even without this matter, if I’m not wrong, Your Highness should have been suspicious of Bao Xuan already.”

  Lu Ting said.

  “There is still some other reason behind it?”

  King Song frowned in incomprehension.

  “Even though it seems like the Wang Clan siblings had wrecked Yao Guang Yi and Wang Yan’s meeting due to the matter with Ma Zhou, somehow, I get a gut feeling that the matter isn’t as simple as it looks on the surface.”

  Lu Ting hesitated for a moment before speaking.

  “What?!”

  King Song was taken aback. Even that placid old butler beside him couldn’t help but frown, revealing his shock. Even though Lu Ting hadn’t phrased it out explicitly, it was clear that if the siblings had intentionally decided to wreck havoc in the Vast Crane Pavilion, the entire meaning of it would change.

  If that was true, Lu Ting’s evaluation wasn’t excessive at all. In fact, it might even be an underestimation of their talents.

  “Academic Lu, why would you think so?”

  King Song sat up and asked with a serious expression. When Lu Ting spoke of this matter, he had been treating it as though a squabble between kids. However, at this point, the tone of the matter had changed completely.

  I translated Lu Ting and Bao Xuan’s position as scribes previously. After some consideration, academic should be slightly more accurate.

  As for the token, it is actually an arrow-shaped token that looks like this.

  Also, I will be dropping all third person method of address, methods of address that makes one seem regal. For example, kings address themselves as (benwang i.e. I, the King) while emperors address themselves as (zhen, just an address they use)

  Some changes I have made to the previous chapter:

  Lu Ting and Bao Xuan aren’t physicians, they are advisors/academics. (The word for the two just happened to be the same. I found it weird and looked into it. I have left a small note explaining it in Chapter 11)

  The Hu Tribe will be just termed as the Hu. Hu is a phrase commonly used to refer to all foreigners so it will be weird to term them as a tribe

  Chapter 15: Opportunity to Strike it Rich

  “I can’t really explain it, it is just an intuitive feeling. Before coming over, I did a rough investigation into the affairs of the Wang Clan siblings and the elder brother doesn’t seem to have a good reputation in the capital. He could be considered as one of the profligate scions in the capital, constantly engaging in morally unacceptable actions. It is even said that he raped a female awhile ago. If all of these are true, then this wouldn’t be a huge matter. However, judging from my contact with him, he doesn’t seem to be such a person.”

  “Also, that Wang Yan is a straightforward person. Your Highness should be aware of his personality as well. He is a military man and he is slightly slow on the uptake on politics. In fact, he could be said to be almost completely oblivious to it. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have gone to meet with Yao Guang Yi at such a timing. On this affair, your humble subordinate thinks that he had been made use of.”

  “While Wang Yan’s straightforward personality prevents him from peering deeper into such matters, the Wang Clan siblings seem to be aware of the matter. Even though the matter at Vast Crane Pavilion seems to be directed toward Yao Feng, somehow, I get a feeling that they were there for their father, Wang Yan. Yao Guang Yi is well-known for his political schemes and he probably would have never imagined that his ploy would be seen through by two kids. Of course, this is an assumption on my part, it is still too early to say for sure.”

  Lu Ting said.

  The main hall was completely silent. For the first time, King Song appeared grave.

  Even though Lu Ting said that it was an assumption on his part and that it was just an intuitive feeling, King Song was too aware of his personality. If he wasn’t confident on the matter, he wouldn’t have brought it up before him in the first place.

  However, Yao Guang Yi was a formidable character.

  For two kids to see through the ploy of this old wily fox…

  How was that possible!

  King Song and the old butler traded gazes. The master and servant saw disbelief in each other’s eyes. If that’s true, then that Wang Clan siblings were truly monsters!

  “…Your Highness, putting aside the matter whether he was able to see through the ploy of Yao Guang Yi or not, the words he said afterward, ‘The one who laughs in the end is the winner’, your humble subordinate thinks that he is directing it toward Your Highness. For a person uninvolved to peer into truth when the people involved were unable to, his wits, experience, means and knowledge cannot be rivaled by any ordinary strategists. Furthermore, he is only fifteen-year-old!”

  Lu Ting was impressed.

  In the end, he revealed the reason why he had such a high evaluation of the young man. It was because he was too young!

  After hearing those words, King Song was silent for a long moment. He had to admit that Lu Ting’s words had left him shocked. The Song and Wang had close ties, but Wang Yan wasn’t the only descendant of Duke Jiu.

  Given his standing and identity as King Song, it was difficult for him to notice a child who was still in his teens. However, if the child was really as capable as Lu Ting put him out to be, then he wasn’t someone King Song should overlook.

  “Lord Lu hopes for me to meet this child from the Wang Clan?”

  After a long moment, King Song lifted his head.

  Initially, he had summoned Lu Ting here to question him on Wang Yan’s loyalty. However, this was no longer important. Without a doubt, Lu Ting was sided toward Wang Yan on this
matter and believed that he was innocent.

  “There’s no need to.”

  Contrary to his expectations, Lu Ting shook his head and denied King Song’s words:

  “Your Highness have forgotten that it would be Duke Jiu’s seventieth birthday soon. At that point, all descendants of the Wang Clan would be present. It isn’t too late for Your Highness to meet him then. After all, this all is just an assumption on my part and the truth is still unconfirmed.”

  “That’s fine as well.”

  King Song smiled:

  “It is rare for Lord Lu to have such a high opinion of someone. Furthermore, I can’t help but admire his words, ‘The one who laughs in the end is the winner’. Butler Zheng, prepare some items from the warehouse for me and send it over to Wang Yan’s residence.”

  “Yes, your humble servant will obey your commands!”

  The old butler stood up and said respectfully.

  “Wait a moment!”

  For some reason, King Song seemed to have thought of something and hesitated for a moment before saying, “It is already late, so let’s push back the matter a little. Send the items over tomorrow.”

  Lu Ting saw suspicion flashing across King Song’s eyes and sighed. He immediately understood that King Song still wasn’t completely convinced on Wang Yan’s loyalty. However, Lu Ting didn’t say anything.

  ‘Only with a long journey will one know the stamina of his horse, and only with time will a person’s heart show through’, whether Wang Yan had betrayed him or not, whether the Wang Clan was colluding with King Qi and what had happened in the Vast Crane Pavilion… Everything would be revealed with the passing of time.

  “…As for Bao Xuan and Zheng Yuan, despite my generosity, they chose to backstab me at such a timing, betraying me for King Qi. Toward such ungrateful rogues, it will be hard to quell my anger if I do not punish them! I might not be able to deal with a King Qi, but that doesn’t mean that I won’t be able to deal with a mere Bao Xuan and Zheng Yuan!”