Silent Crown

by Feng Yue

  “Fine. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Since this is the court, then I’ll follow the court’s rules.” He waved at his men. “Dismissed.”

  Then his expression turned ugly. He pointed at Ye Qingxuan’s chains. “These must be taken off. Now! This is a serious political case. Mr. Translator, tell that guy pounding the hammer up there that if he can’t give a proper explanation, the Aurora Empire will view it as humiliation from the Sacred City! Manners, does he understand?!”

  The priest responsible for interpreting froze. He glanced at Ye Qingxuan and his face turned green when he saw the chains. Running over to Borja, he murmured something.

  Borja furrowed his brows and loudly said, “I don’t care who this Easterner is. This is the Sacred Court and I am the judge. I make the decisions!”

  “…What is that barbarian saying?” The eunuch was confused and looked to Mr. Hu.

  The man was helpless. “He said that he’s judging the trial. He’s the biggest.”

  “Preposterous!” Eunuch Zhao’s face changed. He walked over to the podium, got onto his toes, and yelled at Borja, “The trial?! Huh? You? You’re qualified?!”

  Mr. Hu buried his face and wished he could disappear.

  “What is he saying?” Confused, Borja looked at the eunuch who was yelling with spittle flying.

  “He’s insulting you! Don’t mind that. I’ll explain later but please get rid of the chains!” The interpreter wiped at his sweat. “Otherwise, it really will become a diplomatic problem.”

  Borja was stunned. His face darkened. “This is my courtroom! I don’t have to listen to others. If he wants to interfere, then give me the Pope’s order. Otherwise, I won’t listen!”

  The interpreter’s face darkened as well. His job meant being yelled at from both sides. Since Borja refused to listen, he would not hold back anymore. He awkwardly returned and told the eunuch, “Judge Borja is judging the case now and refuses to retract his order.”

  “How dare he!” The eunuch was furious. He pointed at Borja, roaring, “What right do you have to judge him? Do you think that you’re the minister of the Cabinet? Why don’t you barbarians understand the rules?! Even if he has committed a crime, he should be prosecuted by us. Who do you think you are?”

  The interpreter rolled his eyes. He skipped the insults and just said, “According to the second amendment, the Sacred City should not interfere with a country’s matters! According to the law, nobles should be judged by their own ruler. Ye Qingxuan’s identity is sensitive. Judge Borja, please consider your decision carefully!”

  Now, the confused Borja finally felt something was wrong. There was a hint of fear but he could not back out now. He could only keep going. “As far as I know, the suspect is a musician without a nationality. There is no identity that the Sacred City recognizes. The law is inapplicable to him…”

  “No, no.” After hearing the interpretation, Eunuch Zhao chuckled. “Ye Qingxuan is the heir of the Ye Dragon Bloodline. He was born with the status of a duke. How can he be judged like a nobody? Thankfully, I hurried over quickly. If anything happened to you, would you be able to take responsibility?”

  Under everyone’s eyes, he took out a rosewood box and opened it. He took out a yellow scroll and unfurled it, revealing the stamp left by aether. It was the national seal of the Eastern Aurora Empire. The unique alchemy mark was impossible to forge.

  “Before coming, my emperor wrote this personally.” He glared at Borja and stated, “The Ye family has inherited the Dragon Bloodline for thousands of years and is hereditary nobility. Today, Ye Qingxuan of the Ye family is of age. He is now given the title of Marquess Changyu with six thousand fiefs!”

  The silence was deathly. Everyone stared at Ye Qingxuan in shock. Even Ye Qingxuan could not wrap his mind around this.

  Ye Qingxuan…Marquess Changyu…Six thousand serfs… How did he suddenly…become a duke? This had been arranged at birth?

  Marquess Changyu? Why did this name sound so weird? Was it a joke? It did not seem like a random title thought up by the country either and was an official title recognized by the Sacred City?

  What?

  Eunuch Zhao held the scroll and smiled without speaking.

  When the nine dragon bloodlines transformed music theory as something inheritable centuries ago, Deva’s blood began existing in the world. Those born with it were noble. The Nine Dragon Bloodlines were the general term for the nine noble families with Deva’s blood! As the sole survivor of the Ye family, Ye Qingxuan had not felt it but he became the heir at birth!

  When Ye Qingxuan officially became the family leader, he could become a duke. He would be at the same level as the other kings and second only to the emperor!

  When the Dark Age ended and the golden era arrived, after the countless changes and wars, there were only two emperors other than the Pope, who ruled the Sacred City, who were recognized by all countries.

  One was the Eastern emperor. The position rotated through Nine Dragon Bloodlines. The other was the Asgardian emperor but the position had been empty for sixty years. Other than those, the rules of Anglo and Burgundy called themselves ‘emperor’ but they were not recognized by the other countries. At most, they were archdukes.

  This meant that, if Ye Qingxuan went to the East and was tested by the Dragon Bloodline path, he would become a duke. His status would immediately rise. Other than the Pope, the Eastern emperor, and the Asgardian emperor which did not exist, he would not have to care about anyone else.

  When he finally understood this, he was a bit shocked.

  Ye Qingxuan looked up at the eunuch and coughed awkwardly. “Uh…Sir, of age is twenty, right?” he asked quietly. “I’m only eighteen…”

  “Duke, you must have remembered incorrectly,” the man replied with a smile. “The birthdates of the members of the Dragon Bloodline are all recorded carefully. There aren’t any mistakes.”

  Ye Qingxuan could only remain silent. Not only was he suddenly a duke, he also gained two years. This entire thing felt weird but if he could give the Sacred Court a taste of their own medicine, Ye Qingxuan definitely would not correct them.

  After the Church verified the scroll, Zhao sneered at Borja. “Please tell your decision. Even if the Marquess Changyu of Aurora committed anything, it should be decided by our emperor. The Sacred City isn’t qualified!”

  Borja’s face darkened and he did not reply.

  Within a few minutes, notifications from the various ministries arrived. The Cardinals had sent a command as well. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs even expressed that if Borja could not take care of this well, he would have to shoulder all responsibility. Now, his actions of throwing away all pretense of justice and leaning toward the prosecutors looked like a joke. Not only did he destroy his image, he had to endure the mocking eyes too.

  If people heard of this, the Amnesty Ministry would not let him remain as the judge anymore. Of course, he could continue insisting that Ye Qingxuan’s identity was unclear and refuse to let him go. But if this became a foreign affair crisis, all the countries would probably support Aurora. At that time, if someone decided to use this chance to revise the third amendment, he would have to pay for it as the initiator. The lightest punishment would be being exiled to the Dark World or spend the rest of his life in the Judgement Tower. Or someone may nicely give him a cup of poison…

  But now, what could he do?

  What to do?

  What to do?!

  426 Troublesome Duke

  Just as Borja was sweating and spacing out, Ludovic’s voice sounded in his ears. After hearing it, Borja’s expression changed drastically. After a long while, he opened his mouth and rasped out, “Due to Ye Qingxuan’s status, this case will be handed to the Aurora Empire in accordance to the third amendment.”

  The gavel pounded. He rose with a defeated expression and left quickly without looking back.

  The spectators seemed to be stunned by this explosive news and had not processed it all yet. When they
finally did, they looked at Ye Qingxuan strangely. What was with this guy? In their eyes, Ye Qingxuan looked like bad luck in human shape. Wherever he went, there were problems. Whoever he met would run into trouble.

  When he arrived at Avalon, there was a political earthquake. When he arrived at Auschwitz, it was invaded by a natural catastrophe. The Ministry of Information lost all dignity before he even arrived at the Sacred City. Now, the Sacred Court was affected as well.

  The ones that met him and had better luck would lose their reputation and image. The unfortunate ones would die or completely disappear… The human-shaped natural catastrophe that the Easterners spoke of was probably him.

  Hearing the discussions, Ye Qingxuan’s expression grew troubled. He even heard a bishop tell the men beside him, “Be careful in the future. Don’t interact with this guy, you hear me?”

  Ye Qingxuan wanted to die.

  Now, Maxwell’s expression was troubled as well. Thankfully, he had experienced worse things. This was sudden but he could still bear it. Looking at the awkwardly standing Mr. Hu, he said, “I can’t believe that you were not just comforting me earlier.”

  “To be honest, I’m not so sure about this either.” Mr. Hu sighed. “I just reported Ye Qingxuan’s situation to the emperor. I hope Anglo won’t think that I’m butting in.”

  “Anglo can’t change Ye Qingxuan’s identity. He is Deva’s blood, after all,” Maxwell said. “As an official of Anglo, I hope we won’t have anything to do with Aurora but from a personal level, I think it’s a good thing.”

  “Thank you for understanding.” Mr. Hu smiled and bowed slightly.

  “And I, you.” Maxwell nodded. “I still have a question that I hope Mr. Hu will clarify for me though.”

  “Yes?”

  Looking at him, Maxwell enunciated slowly, “How will Aurora judge this case?”

  -

  “Marquess Ye.” Eunuch Zhao pulled Ye Qingxuan to the side and told him, “The Majesty has another order for you.”

  “Oh.” Ye Qingxuan nodded. However, Zhao’s face was completely serious and did not seem to be going to open his mouth. Suddenly understanding, Ye Qingxuan nodded. “Uh, I need to kowtow, right?”

  “The Majesty said to follow your customs,” Zhao said. “Do as you would to your king.”

  Ye Qingxuan lowered onto one knee and lowered his head.

  Eunuch Zhao nodded and pulled out a palm-sized box. As the gears cranked, the springs trembled and the sounds converged until it finally became the cool voice of a woman.

  “Ye Qingxuan, I know about your situation,” the voice from the box said indifferently. “Because you are young and ignorant, and seeing as this is your first offense, I shall take four-hundred serfs and that will be all. The world may be interesting but home is where you should be. As a member of the Ye family, you cannot always be wandering through the countries. Come back after two years. You must inherit what belongs to the Ye family. That is all.”

  The voice stopped.

  “That’s it?” Ye Qingxuan asked, looking up.

  Eunuch Zhao nodded. “That’s it.”

  “What now?”

  “What now? Now you can do as you wish, Marquess.” Zhao shrugged. “I must return to report to the Majesty. Would you like to come with?”

  “Uh…can I not?”

  “Oh, look at you. Would I force you?” Chuckling, Zhao handed him a piece of jade. “This is your proof. Do not lose it. I will stay in the embassy tonight. If you change your mind, come find me at any time.”

  He really seemed to have just come to act as the good guy. After bowing, he left. When Ye Qingxuan finally processed everything, the eunuch was already gone.

  Then he heard Mr. Hu’s voice behind him. “Can we talk?”

  He nodded.

  -

  Behind the Sacred Court, there was a quiet courtyard. Ye Qingxuan walked through the greenery with the scholar dressed in white.

  “I still haven’t thanked you, Mr. Hu,” Ye Qingxuan said. “You must have done a lot for me.”

  “I just hope you won’t mind me butting in. To be honest, I didn’t think it would turn into this.” Mr. Hu scratched his head, feeling a bit awkward.

  “Even if I didn’t do anything, you would have been fine. Today was only the first trial. Maxwell has many cards hidden even deeper… I haven’t met him many times but I think that the man probably still has things that no one knows about.”

  Ye Qingxuan chuckled but did not reply.

  “In a few days, I will return. After all, I came to the West in the beginning with the mission to find Ye Lanzhou.” Mr. Hu sighed. “After all these years, I couldn’t find him but found his son. I should go back now… I’m sure many people were unhappy that I was wandering around outside.” As he spoke, he pulled out a thick notebook. “These are the music scores that I have been collecting for you. Jiu Xiao Huan Pei is a very good instrument. Do not let it down.”

  Ye Qingxuan accepted the sheets. He did not know what to say and just felt emotional all of a sudden. All this time, he had learned much from Mr. Hu. His advice had helped Ye Qingxuan break through the Barrier of Knowledge. He had even helped collect the rare Eastern music scores. The notebook was thick and almost all were handwritten. Mr. Hu probably had started preparing this long ago.

  “When are you leaving?” Ye Qingxuan asked. “I’ll see you off.”

  “No need. You are a marquess now. It would not be right.” Mr. Hu shook his head. “If the East hears of it, those people will probably be able to write books of complaints. It’s the thought that counts.”

  “Marquess?” Ye Qingxuan chuckled dryly. “To be honest, I can’t accept the fact that I’m suddenly nobility. The name Marquess Changyu sounds weird too. Like the Earl of Glamorgan, it sounds uncomfortable.”

  Mr. Hu smiled. “Wear the hat proudly and pull the gird long. The clean and dirty mix and only a pure nature will not become tainted,” he said. “You must understand what the Majesty means.”

  Ye Qingxuan’s mind was blank. “What does she mean?”

  Blanching, Mr. Hu’s expression grew awkward. He finally realized that this kid had grown up in the West and did not understand classical Eastern language…

  “This is a quote from an ancient essay,” Mr. Hu explained. “It basically means that to wear a tall crown and long accessories. Even if spices are mixed with mud, the purity would not decay.”

  Hearing this, Ye Qingxuan was still a bit confused. “So the Majesty wants me to be a good person?”

  “Something like that.” Mr. Hu said meaningfully, “You must be a good person but who’s good person?”

  Ye Qingxuan was still confused.

  “You must have heard about the East,” Mr. Hu said nonchalantly. “As the Majesty matured, the people have been calling for the Regent to return. The Majesty and the Regent seem amiable but they are actually clashing dangerously.

  “Even the children’s folk songs sing, ‘the emperor is tyrannical; there is Bai Heng. Support the country; distinguish between clean and tainted…

  “Bai Heng has the urge to revolt. If not for the title, righteousness, and that some officials still wish to protect the true leader, he probably would have assassinated the Majesty long ago.

  “There are only six families left of the Nine Dragon Bloodlines. Three have pledged allegiance to the Bai family now. If not for now understanding Bai Heng’s plans, they probably would have prepared the necessary procedures.”

  Mr. Hu paused and studied Ye Qingxuan. “Do you understand how troublesome your position is now?”

  Ye Qingxuan asked, “The Majesty wishes for me to support her?”

  Mr. Hu nodded. “Even if the Ye family is just an empty shell, there are still countless people who know the name. As long as you’re willing to return, you can revive the family no matter what. You can just lie there and make babies for the rest of your life.”

  “To be honest, I’m anticipating the life of just whiling my days away.” Ye Qingxuan c
huckled dryly. “But I think Bai Heng must hate me now.”

  “You just realized? Ever since your news traveled to the East, you became something to get rid of.” Mr. Hu shook his head. “And in his eyes, you are not just the heir of the Ye family.”

  “Huh?” Ye Qingxuan did not understand.

  “I don’t know if telling you now is too early or not but I can only say that Bai Heng’s identity is not just a rebel. In a few years, I think he may…” Here, Mr. Hu stopped. He started again, hesitated, and finally smiled wryly. “Never mind. Speaking of these unsure things can only add more frustration.”

  After a long silence, Ye Qingxuan asked, “So you don’t wish for me to return?”

  “I don’t know.” Mr. Hu shook his head and sighed softly. “After being out here for so long, I sometimes think that the East is just a huge quagmire. Young men like you have nothing to do with it and should live freely. But sometimes, I also think that other places aren’t any better… Look, the entire world is like an overcooked haggis soup. You can’t block the smell even when you hold your nose. So whether you return or not is up to you.”

  427 Problem

  After ending the conversation, Mr. Hu left.

  Lost in thought, Ye Qingxuan was somehow brought to a restaurant. A full-course meal was placed before him and he was sitting there with utensils. He stared blankly and his expression was dazed as if he was pondering the deepest secrets of the universe.

  Who am I?

  Where am I?

  Where am I going?

  Ye Qingxuan usually never thought about questions that had no answer. However, he was now stuck in this ditch and it was hard to climb out. Ye Qingxuan instantly became lost. He did not even know that he had used too much black pepper and did not taste anything different.

  “Is it really okay to give him hot peppers as black pepper?” Abraham looked at Bai Xi.

  Bai Xi glanced at Ye Qingxuan and shrugged. “It’s not like he can tell. Hey, Professor, eat more. Look, the caviar is pretty good. No wonder this is the best restaurant in Sacred City.”