The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  “Could it be that King Shou is unwilling to go against His Majesty’s will?”

  King Shou was the victim of the Consort Taizhen incident. The pain of having one’s father steal one’s wife wasn’t something that anyone could understand.

  But King Shou was a filial son. It didn’t come as a huge shock for him to advise King Song to not oppose Consort Taizhen.

  “That’s not it!”

  King Song shook his head grimly, refuting Lu Ting’s conjecture:

  “That’s what I thought so too, but the truth isn’t like that. Mao-er didn’t say it directly, but he kept hinting me that the matter isn’t as bad as others put it out to be, and he isn’t as wronged as others thought!”

  “Ah!”

  Lu Ting gasped. This time, he was truly shocked. The Consort Taizhen incident was clearly an act of the emperor stealing his son’s wife, and this was a fact known by all of the officials.

  It was also a well-known fact that King Shou and Consort Taizhen had been together for several years, and they were deeply in love. This was precisely the reason why so many officials were against the Sage Emperor’s decision of inducting Consort Taizhen into the palace.

  On this matter, everyone was sided with King Shou!

  “What does King Shou mean? Is there some hidden secret to this matter?”

  Lu Ting asked in astonishment.

  This storm in the royal court had pulled all of the officials in Great Tang into it, and this included even the minor officials and governors.

  Many people angrily criticized Consort Taizhen, as well as King Qi and the Yao Clan who supported Consort Taizhen, and they sent innumerable letters to the emperor in hopes that he would reconsider the matter as well.

  However, no one considered King Shou’s view for this matter.

  And no one tried to ask King Shou about it either.

  Everyone thought that King Shou was the greatest victim of the incident. No matter how heartless one could be, it would be impossible for anyone to disregard the condemnation of the world to ‘rub salt on King Shou’s wound’ and consult him on this matter.

  If not for the five imperial edicts which had effectively expelled King Song from the royal court, he would have never considered visiting King Shou.

  “I couldn’t have imagined that it would be like that.”

  Perplexed, King Song shook his head.

  “The Consort Taizhen incident should be extremely straightforward. I even went to Mao-er’s marriage banquet and gave him a pair of jade lions. I really can’t fathom what kind of hidden secrets there was to this matter.”

  King Shou’s attitude, as well as his obscure words, seemed to have pulled a layer of mist on this matter.

  “Your Highness, can you tell me about your meeting with King Shou in detail?”

  Lu Ting suddenly asked.

  King Song nodded. Lu Ting was his aide, and if he couldn’t even trust Lu Ting, then there was truly no one he could trust. There were too many strange bits to the matter, and King Song needed to borrow the wisdom of others to make sense of it.

  Thus, King Song explained the happenings during the visit in detail. In the midst, Lu Ting would occasionally interject to raise his doubts, and most of them were about King Shou’s expression and attitude while he was speaking.

  When King Song was finally done recounting the affair, Lu Ting fell into a long silence.

  “Your Highness, we have truly overlooked many details of the Consort Taizhen incident. Even though I don’t know what kind of secret is hidden within, King Shou clearly isn’t as upset as we thought he would be.”

  “That’s right!”

  King Song nodded. This was also his take on the matter.

  “But Your Highness, have you ever thought about this? Since King Shou has said that he isn’t as upset and wronged as outsiders put him out to be, then why doesn’t he step out to clarify the matter? After all, King Shou has always been filial to His Majesty.”

  “If he steps out to clarify the matter, His Majesty wouldn’t have to face so much opposition on this matter.”

  “This…”

  King Song was stunned.

  “You mean to say that Mao-er is lying? That’s impossible! I’ve watched him grow up, he wouldn’t do such a thing!”

  King Song immediately rejected Lu Ting’s conjecture.

  “Your Highness, there are only two possibilities. It is either that King Shou had lied, and nothing he said is the truth, or that King Shou was speaking of the truth, and the reason why he didn’t step out to clarify the matter is because someone stopped him. However——”

  Lu Ting took in a deep breath. These were words that he was reluctant to speak of:

  “Your Highness, King Shou is a member of the royal family, a king of the empire. Given his noble standing, who could be capable of silencing him?”

  “You mean His Majesty!”

  King Song’s body trembled and his head tremored. Subconsciously, the thought flashed through his head. Li Mao was conferred the title of King Shou from the Sage Emperor. Even though King Song was his imperial uncle, putting aside his seniority, the both of them were actually of the same standing.

  Even he and King Qi would be incapable of silencing him, needless to say the others. There was only one person in the entire Central Plains who was capable of doing so.

  That was the Son of Heaven sitting in the royal palace, the one who possessed unparalleled authority in the Central Plains, the Sage Emperor!

  But even King Song didn’t dare to harbor such thoughts. If King Shou had revealed the truth, the opposition that His Majesty met with could have been reduced. Yet, why did His Majesty stop him from speaking?

  In that instant, the hall fell silent. Neither of them dared to say anything.

  “Chaos, it’s all chaos…”

  Confusion reflected in King Song’s eyes as he gazed at the ceiling. For the first time, King Song felt as though there was a translucent curtain pulled before his eyes, causing him to be unable to see anything clearly.

  “Make some preparations. I want to visit the royal palace!”

  Countless thoughts flew across King Song’s head, and in a split moment, King Song made up his mind.

  “Your Highness, you wish to meet the Sage Emperor?”

  Lu Ting was stunned. He knew that it was impossible for the Sage Emperor to meet him given the current state of affairs.

  “No!”

  King Song’s reply was beyond Lu Ting’s expectation.

  “I want to meet Consort Taizhen!”

  …

  The sky had already dimmed, but King Song acted far swifter than Lu Ting had imagined. That night, King Song’s carriage was already ready to go.

  The gates to the royal palace usually closed upon the onset of night, and today was no different. However, as a member of the royal family, King Song possessed unique privileges. He was allowed to enter the royal palace to meet the emperor even after the gates had closed.

  Even though the carriage was ready to go, King Song didn’t set off immediately. He wasn’t intending to visit the royal palace alone.

  “Yin Shan pays respect to King Song!”

  An elderly figure dressed in a black robe and a straw hat appeared before King Song’s carriage. There was a black veil hanging down from his straw hat, concealing his facial features.

  The elder’s body was bent, and his face was slightly tilted toward the ground, as though he was intentionally trying to hide his appearance from everyone except for King Song.

  At this time, even Lu Ting, who King Song had always trusted, was shoved to one side.

  “Mister Yin Shan, I apologize for troubling you. Back then, my father promised to not bother you for any normal matter, but I’ll have to trouble you to go on a trip with me to the royal palace today.”

  The doors to the carriage opened, and King Song stood respectfully by it.

  “Hehe, Your Highness, there’s no need for you to be so formal with me. Regardles
s of whether it is the old King Song or Your Highness, you are both trustworthy men. The previous King Song had only asked for my assistance for a couple of occasions, and it is already six years since you last asked for me.”

  “Given that Your Highness has a need for me, how can I remain idle?”

  Mister Yin Shan chuckled. His voice was deep and hoarse, and there was an inexplicable eeriness to it.

  King Song nodded as he walked to the side. With a lowered head, Mister Yin Shan slid into the carriage silently as though a bundle of shadow.

  King Song didn’t know much about ‘Mister Yin Shan’, he only knew that the other party was a talented personnel of his father.

  His father was extremely respectful to Mister Yin Shan, to the point that respectful seemed like an understatement. The old King Song had once advised him that unless necessary, do not bother Mister Yin Shan easily.

  If not for the five imperial edicts, the fact that the Consort Taizhen incident implicated the entire royal court, and the bizarre words of King Shou…

  King Song would have never troubled Mister Yin Shan.

  “Let’s set off!”

  King Song instructed, and the carriage started to move. The sceneries outside flew by and the rumbling of the carriage sounded, but the interior of the carriage was eerily still and silent. Neither King Song nor Mister Yin Shan spoke a single word.

  Right after Mister Yin Shan walked into the carriage, he automatically chose the seat at the corner, melding together with the shadows, as though he had an innate fear of sunlight.

  Eeeeyaaa!

  Soon, with a loud creaking sound, the gates opened and King Song’s carriage successfully entered the royal palace…

  Chapter 119: Origin Energy Might

  As soon as the carriage drove into the royal palace, the group felt an intangible pressure reminiscent of an indomitable mountain weighing on them. The pressure emanated from the center of the royal palace, spreading out in all directions.

  All martial artists, even if one of King Song’s level, would feel a powerful pressure. In the carriage, Mister Yin Shan huddled up tightly in the corner silently.

  Despite the proximity between the two, had King Song not known in advance, he wouldn’t have noticed Mister Yin Shan’s presence.

  The royal palace was where the strongest experts of the Central Plains were centered, and even the phrase ‘the lair of a dragon, den of a tiger’ was far from sufficient to describe it. Clearly, Mister Yin Shan didn’t wish to attract the attention of these experts.

  The interior of the carriage fell even more silent.

  Hong long long!

  After proceeding ahead for a period of time, the rumbling of another carriage suddenly sounded.

  “Is it King Song in front?”

  A sharp voice echoed from behind the carriage.

  “That’s right!”

  “His Majesty has said that he won’t meet anyone today. King Song, I suggest that you should return for now.”

  The eunuch’s voice was calm.

  “Yes! I understand. Gonggong, you should leave first, I will depart from the royal palace soon.”

  After a moment of silence, King Song replied.

  Hearing King Song’s words, the eunuch didn’t think much and left straight away. Hong long long, the carriage slowly disappeared into the distance.

  “Hurry!”

  Listening silently in the carriage, King Song ordered the coach to head to Yuzhen Palace as soon as the rumbling of the other carriage faded into nothingness.

  Even kings required a reason to enter the palace, and requesting for an audience with the emperor was the most convenient one.

  King Song already knew that he would be rejected, but from the very start, his purpose was something else.

  “Mister Yin Shan, we can’t enter too deep or stay too long, or else the attendants of the royal family would be alarmed. I’ll have to trouble mister to take note of this.”

  King Song said.

  To King Song, Mister Yin Shan was an enigma. The only thing he knew about him was that he was blessed with several abilities from birth. Physiognomy, longevity divination, as well as an ability that had disappeared from the world for a very long time:

  Aura peering!

  Legend has it that humans would emanate different ‘aura’ from the top of their head. An emperor would exude the aura of an emperor; a minister would exude the aura of a minister; a youngster would exude the aura of liveliness; an elderly would exude the aura of decline…

  These auras were invisible to the eyes of normal humans, and only seers who possessed the ability of aura peering could see them.

  Mister Yin Shan was unique in the sense that he could determine one’s physiognomy just by peering into one’s aura.

  The carriage rumbled on and soon, from the carriage windows, a crystal-like palace illuminated by innumerable lamps could be seen in the distance.

  “Mister Yin Shan, in front of us is Yuzhen…”

  Just as King Song was about to tell Mister Yin Shan that it was Yuzhen Palace right in front, he was interrupted.

  “I’m done! Your Highness, we can leave now.”

  From the corner of the carriage, Mister Yin Shan’s faint voice sounded.

  Hearing the barely audible words, King Song was taken aback.

  He wanted to tell Mister Yin Shan to hurry up since they didn’t have much time, but it seemed that Mister Yin Shan’s efficiency in aura peering was much faster than he had expected.

  Just by lifting the curtain veil slightly, Mister Yin Shan was already done with it.

  “Yes, mister!”

  Recovering from his shock, King Song quickly replied.

  Hong long long!

  Soon, the carriage left the royal palace as quietly as it came, alarming no one at all.

  Moving along the streets of Chang’an, the carriage stopped only after it was a long distance away from the royal palace.

  (Chang’an is the capital of the Great Tang)

  “Mister Yin Shan, did you manage to see anything?”

  King Song glanced grimly but expectantly at Mister Yin Shan, who was still seated in the corner.

  “No!”

  As though a bird who had just recovered from a fright, Mister Yin Shan abruptly slackened his body and sat upright. However, despite his movements, his presence still felt as elusive as a shadow.

  “… I couldn’t see anything from her aura. Having entered the royal palace, she is protected by the Son of Heaven. The purple aura of the Son of Heaven hinders me from seeing anything. However, there’s one thing that I managed to peer into.”

  “What is it?”

  King Song’s face tightened.

  “The person who Your Highness asked me to take a look at is Consort Taizhen? And she was married to King Shou for a few years?”

  Mister Yin Shan lifted his head and stared at King Song with a deep and profound gaze.

  “That’s right!”

  King Song couldn’t understand what Mister Yin Shan was driving at.

  “Then why did I see the aura of a virgin?”

  “What!! How is that possible?”

  King Song was taken aback. His first reaction was that Mister Yin Shan must be mistaken. After all, Consort Taizhen and King Shou were married for a few years, so how could she still be a virgin?

  “Mister, could it be possible that you’ve seen wrongly?”

  King Song spoke almost instantaneously. However, as soon as those words escaped from his mouth, he realized that he had misspoken. Mister Yin Shan was skilled in aura peering, and it was impossible for him to be mistaken.

  Besides, he had already said that Consort Taizhen was protected by the purple aura of the Son of Heaven. Even if Mister Yin Shan was unable to recognize Consort Taizhen, it was impossible for him to mistake the purple aura of the Son of Heaven.

  “Hehe, Your Highness, do you understand now?”

  Mister Yin Shan chuckled before clasping his fist.

&nb
sp; “Your Highness has instructed me to peer into the aura of Consort Taizhen, and I have accomplished the matter asked of me. Destiny cannot be defied, so I hope the best for Your Highness!”

  There seemed to be another meaning hidden in Mister Yin Shan’s final words. After which, as though a shadow, he slid out of the carriage and disappeared without a trace, just like how he appeared.

  King Song stretched out his hand, only to retract it eventually. Mister Yin Shan had already done all that was asked of him.

  King Song couldn’t have expected that ‘Consort Taizhen’ was still a virgin. No matter how ridiculous the notion was, he knew that it was impossible for Mister Yin Shan to lie.

  “What in the world is going on?”

  King Song’s heart was in chaos.

  “Return to the residence, summon Academic Lu!”

  …

  In the main hall of King Song Residence, King Song, Lu Ting, and the old butler were gathered together, but not a single person spoke.

  “Your Highness, could King Shou be…”

  “Impossible!”

  Lu Ting was intending to say that King Shou was ‘unable to rise’, but before he could finish his words, King Song had already interjected.

  “Mao-er was no longer a virgin by the time he was fourteen! Quite a few people in the King Shou Residence are aware of this matter.

  “Then, could it be that His Majesty intentionally placed her with King Shou to hide her from the crowd?”

  Lu Ting asked again.

  The Sage Emperor had taken Li Mao’s wife for himself, but the latter didn’t seem to mind at all. On top of that, despite two years of marriage, Consort Taizhen was still a virgin. Lu Ting truly couldn’t think of any other explanation as to this bizarre turn of events.

  “His Majesty is the most powerful person in the Great Tang. If he likes a woman, who would dare to oppose him? Would he need King Shou to hide her from others?”

  King Song refuted the claim.

  “This…”

  Lu Ting was stumped as well.

  If the emperor favored a lady, he could just induct her into the royal court openly. There was no need for him to use King Shou to conceal the matter. There wasn’t a single lady in the royal palace who would dare to touch a lady favored by the emperor.