The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  “That… Actually, we aren’t acquainted with one another.”

  After hesitating for a moment, Wang Chong decided to answer King Song’s question honestly.

  “However, I can tell Your Highness that this person will be of extreme importance to Great Tang in the future.”

  “Oh?”

  King Song and Lu Ting glanced at one another after hearing those words. Unable to comprehend the meaning behind Wang Chong’s words, they could see a sliver of doubt in each other’s eyes

  They couldn’t understand why Wang Chong had such a high opinion of Zhang Munian. However, after Yao Guang Yi’s matter, none of them dared to view him as a mere fifteen-year-old boy anymore.

  “I don’t know what you’re up to, but as long as he isn’t an unpardonable criminal, as long as it isn’t against the empire’s law, as long as it isn’t damaging to the interests of the empire, I am willing to help you. Wait for my news, I will settle this matter for you.”

  King Song said.

  Those words weren’t just directed toward Zhang Munian’s matter. It was also King Song’s warning toward the intelligent Wang Chong.

  Intelligence should be used wisely for good, not for evil!

  Moreover, the Wang Clan was a powerful clan of ministers and generals!

  “Wang Chong thanks Your Highness for your teachings!”

  Wang Chong understood the intentions behind King Song’s words, so he bowed and thanked him.

  “Hehe, alright. It’s about time. Academic Lu, let’s return!”

  King Song said to Lu Ting, and the both of them prepared to return to their residence. For some reason, this trip to the Four Quarters Embassy made him extremely fatigued.

  “Your Highness, let’s go!”

  Lu Ting smiled and gestured for him to proceed first.

  “Wait a moment!”

  Seeing that the two of them were about to leave, Wang Chong exclaimed.

  “Hm?”

  The both of them turned around and stared at Wang Chong in shock.

  “Wang Chong, is there anything else you need?”

  King Song smiled at him with the tenderness of an elder. Somehow, he was exceptionally magnanimous toward Wang Chong.

  “That…”

  Wang Chong hesitated. He had already made up his mind to advise King Song on the matter of Consort Taizhen, but now that it was time, he found himself unable to speak, and he didn’t know where to start from either.

  The Consort Taizhen incident wasn’t really a huge matter, but it was a matter regarding the principles and responsibilities of a subordinate.

  King Song had just told him that intelligence has to be used correctly. If he were to bring up the Consort Taizhen incident now and persuade King Song to change his mind, it was clear what King Song and big uncle would think of him.

  All of the good impression that took him so much effort to rake up would disappear in an instant. Not only so, King Song and big uncle would even think that he was an immoral person who had put profit above principles albeit his young age.

  This wasn’t an easy matter to speak of!

  Wang Chong even felt that it was even harder to resolve than the issue of the regional commanders.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Just as Wang Chong was panicking, not knowing how he should bring up the topic, King Song and Lu Ting grew even more curious at Wang Chong’s silence and urged him on.

  “Indeed, Chong gongzi. There isn’t anything that is inappropriate to speak of before King Song.”

  Lu Ting smiled.

  He had always felt that this little lad was a bold person, especially after the matter with Yao Guang Yi. Thus, he was extremely surprised by his hesitance to speak.

  This wasn’t how he remembered the star of the Wang Clan!

  “If I may be audacious to bring this matter up… Your Highness, are you worrying over the matter of Consort Taizhen?”

  Wang Chong struggled internally for a long time before deciding to speak.

  Weng!

  The moment Wang Chong’s words escaped from his mouth, the atmosphere around the fake hill and bamboo forest changed. It was as though a tornado was raised, and the skies abruptly darkened.

  Wang Chong could only hear the howling of the wind. Lowering his head, he saw King Song’s robe shaking violently.

  “What are you intending to say?”

  King Song’s voice grew sharp. All along, he had been assuming the appearance of an amiable elder, but at this moment, his complexion was dark to an extremely fearsome point.

  Even Lu Ting’s face darkened as well. He had a good impression of Wang Chong all along, but at this moment, he chose to remain silent.

  An intangible pressure appeared in their the surroundings, and it seemed to be directed at Wang Chong!

  “Your Highness, you’re mistaken…”

  Wang Chong hurriedly explained. King Song clearly mistook his intentions.

  “Wang Chong, allow me to warn you as an elder. Ensuring that the emperor remains honorable and virtuous is the responsibility of a subordinate. This is a matter of principles, and it is more important than anything else. If an emperor commits a mistake, even if one will be shouted at, demoted, or exiled, a subordinate must advise him because this is something more important than life itself!”

  “His Majesty is wise and astute, and he is the greatest emperor in the history of our Great Tang. In his hands, the territories of our Great Tang extended far and wide. From Jiaozhi in the south, the Yin Mountain in the north, the East China Sea in the east, to the Pamir Mountains in the West, all belongs to our Great Tang! Our scale is unmatched by any previous dynasties, and this is the age of prosperity of our Central Plains! No emperor before could compare up to him, be it Qin Shi Huang or Emperor Wu of Han!”

  (Jiaozhi -> Northern Vietnam)

  “With wise governance and a strong military, we ushered in an era of prosperity. Without a doubt, His Majesty will become the number one emperor in history! He might be acting out of a moment of folly now, bewitched by the charms of a woman, but as subordinates, we have to guide him! No matter what, we mustn’t allow a single blemish to appear on the reputation of the number one emperor in history!”

  King Song said with a pained look.

  Chapter 110: Another Angle!

  These words were King Song’s warning toward Wang Chong, as well as his true thoughts.

  It wasn’t easy for the Great Tang Empire and the Central Plains to achieve such prosperity. How many thousands of years had to pass before such an emperor could appear in the Central Plains?

  King Song earnestly respected the Sage Emperor, and this was precisely the reason why he couldn’t allow the slightest blemish on his reputation.

  A sovereign claiming the wife of a subordinate, this was immoral.

  The father claiming the wife of a son, this was vile!

  …

  Any emperor who committed this kind of immoral actions was left with a huge blemish on their records.

  The Sage Emperor was wise, astute, and decisive. Great Tang’s prosperity didn’t come easily, and he played a huge part in it.

  That’s why King Song couldn’t allow it to occur to the Sage Emperor!

  Whoever who disagreed with him and supported Consort Taizhen would be his enemy!

  He would have judged Wang Chong wrongly if the other party dared to advise or oppose him on this matter. The more talented and capable such a person was, the greater the harm he would cause in the royal court!

  If Wang Chong truly wanted to stop him, then as long as he was in the royal court, he would never allow Wang Chong to come to power.

  Even if Wang Chong was the grandson of Duke Jiu, the son of Wang Yan!

  Hu!

  In the surroundings of the fake hill, the bamboo trembled slightly under a breeze.

  The atmosphere was extremely heavy, and even Lu Ting had an austere expression on his face.

  Wang Chong sighed. He knew that whatever he said now would
be deemed as wrong.

  But he couldn’t avoid this Consort Taizhen incident.

  This matter was simply too important. It wasn’t just because King Song was the Wang Clan’s backing, Big Uncle Wang Gen would be implicated by this matter as well.

  Furthermore, Wang Chong knew that if he wanted to fulfill his mission of changing the fate of Great Tang and the Central Plains, he couldn’t do without King Song!

  ‘Just like there’s no pure gold, there isn’t a perfect human in the world’. King Song might have such a weakness, but he was the greatest supporter of militaristic policies in the royal court!

  Regardless of whether it was King Qi or the Yao Clan, they didn’t possess the same view as him. Their view was too short, and their eyes were limited to the country.

  The Yao Clan was skilled in scheming and faction wars while King Qi only wanted authority. If King Song were to fall and they became the dominant force in the royal court, it would definitely be a calamity for the Great Tang!

  To deal with the future catastrophe, the royal court needed a person like King Song. The Great Tang needed a person like King Song. The Central Plains needed a person like King Song. And Wang Chong needed him as well.

  Only with the backing of a supporter of militaristic policy like King Song will Wang Chong be able to launch this plan without any restraint.

  Thus, regardless of what happens, King Song mustn’t be allowed to fall!

  Be it for his private affairs or for his ambitions, for the Wang Clan or for the Great Tang, Wang Chong mustn’t allow him to fall!

  “Your Highness…”

  With a lowered head, Wang Chong uttered with great difficulty.

  “I don’t have any intention of opposing to Your Highness. However, regarding the matter of Consort Taizhen, why don’t Your Highness try consulting King Shou?”

  Weng!

  Silence! Complete silence!

  Upon hearing the words ‘King Shou’, both King Song and Lu Ting were taken aback. King Shou! King Shou! …

  The two of them had thought of all possibilities, but they didn’t expect Wang Chong to bring up King Shou!

  Without a doubt, King Shou stood at the very eye of the ‘Consort Taizhen incident’ storm. Yet, be it King Song, Lu Ting, King Qi, Yao Clan, or the entire royal court, no one has thought of looking for King Shou!

  ‘A father claiming a son’s wife, a sovereign claiming a subordinate’s wife’, the one who was left in the most awkward situation, as well as the one who was the most ‘hurt’ by this matter, was, indubitably, King Shou, Li Mao.

  As the saying goes, ‘If the emperor wants a subordinate to die, the subordinate has no choice but to die’. If the emperor wanted to claim his wife, what choice did King Shou have?

  King Shou has already been hurt once, and no one wanted him to be hurt once more. Thus, regardless of whether it was King Song, King Qi, or the officials of the royal court, no one tried to pay King Shou a visit to consult him on this matter.

  “The entire royal court is roped into the Consort Taizhen incident, and it isn’t my place to say anything. However, why don’t Your Highness try consulting King Shou on this matter before making a decision?”

  Wang Chong lowered his head.

  Back then, in his previous life, Wang Chong thought that there were too many doubts on this issue.

  Why would a wise and astute king suddenly fall to lust, and despite the objection of nearly half of the royal court, demote a king of the royal family and many other authoritative officials?

  If he was an incompetent emperor, Wang Chong could have understood. Yet, he was publicly acknowledged to be a wise emperor.

  But in the matter regarding Consort Taizhen, his actions was in no way befitting of a wise emperor!

  Just like what King Song said, it eventually left a huge blemish in the emperor’s records!

  The Sage Emperor’s actions were so different from his usual self that it seemed like it came from a completely different person!

  Not only so, Consort Taizhen was also known as the number one beauty of Great Tang. With an appearance that could make a fish sink, a goose plummet, the moon pale, and a flower blush, be it which time-space continuum it was, she was acknowledged as one of the top beauties in history.

  Wang Chong has never seen Consort Taizhen, and he didn’t know how she looked like, but he has seen King Shou before.

  In his previous life, Wang Chong was a renowned profligate scion in the capital, and he often loitered around the streets. After the Consort Taizhen incident, Wang Chong coincidentally met King Shou once.

  At that time, King Shou’s face was glowing and a bright smile was on his face. In no way did he resemble one who had lost the love of his life to his father.

  Even though it was only for an instant—King Shou seemed to notice his gaze and rushed back into his residence—, that momentary glance had left Wang Chong with an extremely deep impression.

  This was the first time Wang Chong met King Shou, as well as his only time!

  Now that Wang Chong had reincarnated, and the Consort Taizhen incident was happening once more, Wang Chong suddenly recalled that coincidental meeting with that smiling and energetic King Shou.

  Wang Chong had a feeling that the Consort Taizhen incident wasn’t as simple as it seemed on the surface!

  “Is that what you wanted to say?”

  King Song stared at Wang Chong, and a gleam flashed across his deep eyes. It was impossible to tell what was going on in his mind.

  “Yes!”

  Gritting his teeth, Wang Chong replied.

  He intended to speak a little more so as to convince King Song to change his mind. However, Wang Chong knew that haste makes waste, and given his current relationship with King Song, it was best for him to stop here.

  “I understand.”

  Saying so, King Song’s harsh expression alleviated.

  “It’s hard to explain the matters of the royal court easily, but it’s good that you’re paying attention to these affairs. However, there are many things that you will only understand when you grow older.”

  After saying so, King Song left with Lu Ting. In just a short moment, the carriage started moving, and hong long long, it left the Four Quarters Embassy and headed eastward.

  “Sigh!”

  Staring at the back of the departing carriage, Wang Chong sighed deeply. He could tell that his words were in vain.

  King Song didn’t take in his words at all.

  Even so, Wang Chong wasn’t surprised by this outcome. If King Song could listen to the opinion of a teenage child under such a situation, he wouldn’t be the King Song he knew.

  In fact, it was already beyond Wang Chong’s expectations for King Song to say those words after hearing Wang Chong’s piece.

  Even so, Wang Chong didn’t feel disheartened.

  While King Song completely disregarded Wang Chong’s words, Wang Chong knew that it won’t be long before that matter happens, and by then, King Song would be forced to reconsider his present situation.

  “… In any case, I’ve already done all that I can do. I can only leave the rest to the will of the heavens!”

  Wang Chong thought.

  Wang Chong wasn’t too worried about Big Uncle Wang Gen, and he didn’t intend to advise him on the matter either. Big uncle and King Song were in an alliance, and if he could convince King Song, the latter would surely be able to convince big uncle.

  In any case, if he didn’t convince King Song, it would be impossible to change big uncle’s mind.

  Because that would be equivalent to getting him to betray King Song!

  And Wang Chong knew that big uncle changing his mind might not necessarily be a good thing…

  Turning around, Wang Chong walked toward the Erudite Pavilion.

  …

  “Your Highness, should we pay a visit to King Shou?”

  At that same moment, oblivious to Wang Chong, on King Song’s carriage, a conversation was taking place.

/>   “You mean…”

  Surprised, King Song turned to Lu Ting and frowned. Even though Wang Chong had amazed them by accomplishing deeds beyond that of his age, in the end, he was still only a fifteen-year-old boy.

  King Song didn’t expect Lu Ting to take Wang Chong’s words for real.

  “What that child said isn’t completely wrong. Besides, meeting King Shou wouldn’t detrimental to us anyway.”

  Lu Ting said.

  Even though Lu Ting didn’t think that King Song should give in for the Consort Taizhen incident, he didn’t think that Wang Chong was spouting nonsense.

  Contemplating over Lu Ting’s words, King Song was silent for a moment.

  “Forget it.”

  But eventually, he shook his head.

  “The Consort Taizhen incident is a difficult matter for King Shou to speak about. He has already been hurt once, and our actions would be equivalent to tearing apart his healing wound and pouring salt on it.”

  “Besides, King Shou has been holing himself inside his residence ever since the incident, so meeting him won’t be easy. I think it’ll be best not to trouble him on this matter.”

  King Song rejected Lu Ting’s suggestion.

  Lu Ting sighed. He didn’t push on, knowing that King Song was reluctant to trigger King Shou’s wounds.

  While it was true that King Shou was confining himself to his residence, turning down all guests, but given King Song’s standing as his imperial uncle, if he were to insist on the matter, how could the latter dare refuse him?

  King Song was just unwilling to do so.

  “I’ll follow Your Highness’s will.”

  Lu Ting replied.

  …

  “With an appearance that could make a fish sink, a goose fall, the moon pale, and a flower blush, be it which time-space continuum it was, she was acknowledged as one of the top beauties in history.”

  He is referring to our modern world. In our modern world, Consort Taizhen (Yang Taizhen or Yang Yuhuan) is known as the Four Great Beauties, and there is an idiom (fish sink goose plummet moon pale flower blush) to depict their beauty.

  Chapter 111: Yao Clan’s Father and Son!

  After King Song left, the military and academic officials, as well as the old master’s ex-subordinates, followed suit, and the Four Quarters Embassy finally quietened down. At this moment, the sun had already set.