Chapter 1: 1

It was February, and there was a chill in the early spring air. The cold, moist air penetrated into the ground, making it even more frigid. Several jailors heated up some wine and sipped it to warm their bodies, but they didn’t dare to drink too much. The guards in this prison were all criminals, and didn’t dare to be sloppy in important matters.

With wine warming their throats, there must be something to go with the wine for flavor, so the chatterbox was opened. From food and clothing at home to prisoners in the prison, they chatted one by one, and there was no telling who brought up the rumors outside recently.

“Have you heard? Two days ago, there was an abnormal natural disaster. Mount Tai shook and roared like thunder, and some people said it was a punishment from God.”

This matter caused a stir in Beijing. The shaking of Mount Tai was a sign of the country’s fate, and the new emperor was not a direct descendent. His mother was originally a palace maid without any influence, but he was the one who ascended to the imperial throne. Less than a year after being crowned, his reign had not yet been firmly established, and for such a celestial phenomenon to appear, it was feared that the heavens were dissatisfied.

“It’s not good to talk nonsense about this business. Be careful, if it spreads, it will be a matter of losing your head,” one person whispered cautiously.

“Did the emperor go to pray for blessings?”

This was the custom. Whenever there was a change in celestial phenomenon, the emperor would go to the altar and pray to heaven to show his sincerity.

“Why not, he just returned to court yesterday. It’s just that when the big event was done, there were still some aftershocks, which made people panic outside.”

“Then why did the emperor return to court?”

“Because the guoshi[1] had made a calculation that to solve this problem, they needed –” The man lowered his voice as he spoke, and the others quickly moved their heads closer to hear him say in secret: “This issue is too absurd, they actually needed the Deputy Prime Minister and General Yan to……”

Before he could finish speaking, the gatekeeper outside suddenly ran in and announced: “Deputy Prime Minister is here.”

Several people’s faces tensed up, and they quickly hid the jug and looked at the dark entrance with trepidation.

The guard opened the door, a little light fell on the ground, and a pair of white boots stepped through the light to enter the darkness.

The footsteps were neither light nor heavy, but they made everyone present nervous for no reason, fearing that if they breathed too loudly, they would startle this powerful person from the palace.

No one knew the origin of Deputy Prime Minister Zhao Yelan. By the time the world discovered his existence, the competition for the throne had reached an intense stage. Several princes showed remarkable ability, but Zhao Yelan was hiding behind the third prince, helping him defeat the crown prince and other princes. The details of the bloodbath during this time were no longer studied, but the throne that did not conform to destiny had always been stained with blood. It could be assumed that this person had also done many dirty things behind the scenes.

After the new emperor ascended the throne, he made no secret of his favor. He had been promoted to a noble position and been awarded with countless gold, silver, and jewels and was already the most well-known figure in the dynasty.

It should be said that most of the common people just heard about Zhao Yelan’s notoriety and cursed him in private, not having a chance to see the real person, but to these jailors in the prison, he was already an old acquaintance.

The interrogation methods in the imperial prison were varied and cruel, and it could be said that there was torture everywhere. When ordinary people came in, just stepping through the door would make their legs tremble. As it happened, this frail and weak-looking Zhao Yelan knew more about torture than even the prison guards. During interrogations, it was as if the king of hell had come into the world, and even if someone could save their own life, they wouldn’t be able to save their skin.[2]

Before the person approached, a strong fragrance wafted through the cold, humid air. The jailors couldn’t help but want to lift their noses and sniff a few more times, but for fear that doing so would offend their superior, they had to wait in place in a well-behaved manner.

Presently, Zhao Yelan, dressed in brocade, stood in front of them and looked around arrogantly.

A newly arrived jailor was a little afraid. He usually heard a lot of people mention the bad things Zhao Yelan did, counting them by the bucketload. Terrified and curious at the same time, he raised his head to take a fearful glance and his whole person froze in place.

He saw that the visitor had a beautiful face and a pair of eyes like the bright moon, attracting people’s interest for no reason at all, but hiding an inexplicable shadow that made it difficult to approach. Cold and aloof, with an indifferent manner, he was not like ordinary people and was incompatible with this stinking prison cell dimly lit by candles.

He was actually even more beautiful than the first son of the capital, the jailer inwardly slandered.

“Zhao-daren,[3] who do you want to interrogate today?” The prison boss had seen him many times, and approached him respectfully to inquire. The forced smile on his face trembled, and his expression was stiff.

Zhao Yelan frowned slightly, took out a handkerchief from his sleeve, and covered his mouth and nose.

The prison boss immediately understood that this man once again disliked the wet, smelly environment. Every time he came here in the past, he always carried a different fragrance on his body. Those who were ignorant assumed he had just come out of a low-grade brothel.

Putting on a show of fanning the surrounding air with his hand, he faced Zhao Yelan as he walked inside: “I wonder if Zhao-daren has brought the token?”

At these words, Zhao Yelan took out the emperor’s token from his bosom: “I’m going to see Yu Junliang. You all wait here.”

Everyone received the order, led him there familiarly, and then retreated in silence.

The person in the cell was lying on the floor, disheveled. When he saw the person outside, he quickly got up, grabbed the bars with both hands, and said through gritted teeth: “Zhao Yelan, you wronged me!”

“Speak prudently, Yu-daren. You and I work together, why would I harm you?”

Zhao Yelan smiled slightly. There was no trace of it on his face, but Yu Junliang was annoyed by his appearance.

Back then, it was Zhao Yelan who came to win him over to the party of the third prince. He promised prosperity and wealth, but now he couldn’t even keep his official position and was charged with treason by Zhao Yelan.

“Where is the emperor, I want to see the emperor! I was wronged!” Yu Junliang shouted loudly, hitting the bars with both hands.

“Yu-daren, why bother? With a bright future ahead of you, how could you be so foolish as to conspire with the former crown prince?” Zhao Yelan said.

“I’m not conspiring! You clearly asked me to visit the former crown prince in Bieyuan!” The veins on Yu Junliang’s forehead were throbbing, and he wished he could rush out and split his mouth. “You villain, how dare you slander me! Wait until I get out, I will definitely not let you have a good death!”

“Let’s see if there is such a day.” Zhao Yelan smiled and tossed a scroll inside. “Take a look, ba. Read the whole thing.”

Yu Junliang squatted down and unrolled the scroll. The crimes he had committed were counted in detail above, but he was not guilty of the ones that were punishable by ransacking his home and exterminating his family.

“What does this mean?”

“Did you think the emperor was ignorant to what you were doing?” Zhao Yelan said.

Yu Junliang’s hands trembled as he looked at the densely packed list of crimes, such as soliciting prostitutes and offering bribes. Even the nonsense he said after drinking was recorded in the scroll. His face was horrified: “You, you……but I never conspired!”

“But you did go to see the former crown prince, and you came back that night and read aloud, ‘Xuanhe Palace, cold smoke and decaying grass.’ Xuanhe Palace is now the emperor’s library, don’t you know?”

“I just drank wine for a while and recited two poems casually! You actually sent someone to follow me to this extent, if you want to condemn me, you’ll just frame me at will! I want to see the emperor!”

“The emperor is busy with other affairs, so he doesn’t have time to come here to see you. If you sign the document now, you will save yourself the pain of interrogation and I will give your family a way out. After all, you have committed a serious crime of the Nine Clans,[4] ah……” Zhao Yelan looked at him condescendingly, carefully appreciating his expression of pain and struggle. A smile slowly bloomed at the corner of his mouth.

After a long time, Yu Junliang said in a hoarse voice: “Where’s the writing brush?”

“I came out in a hurry and didn’t have time to bring my writing brush.” Zhao Yelan walked to the side, casually took a dagger from the torture rack on the wall, and threw it in. “How about this?”

With shaking hands, Yu Junliang drew blood from his fingertip, dripping it on the list of crimes.

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“Zhao Yelan, there is still one thing I don’t understand. Can you clear up my confusion?”

“Speak.”

“I chose to live in harmony with you, so why do you want to kill me?”

Zhao Yelan didn’t answer until Yu Junliang became impatient. He looked at him with a pair of bloodshot eyes, like a desperate mad dog, but he was trapped in a cage, struggling in vain.

Seeing his appearance, Zhao Yelan was slightly satisfied and opened his mouth: “When the late emperor was still alive, he once put forth a charge of treason and punished the entire family of the Marquis of Anqing, involving more than 20,000 people. You were one of the executioners.”

Yu Junliang was shocked: “Are you a descendant of the Marquis of Anqing?”

“No.” Zhao Yelan shook his head and approached to say, “I am your father.”

Yu Junliang was silent for a moment, and then flew into a rage, hurling insults at him one after another. Zhao Yelan listened idly, as if appreciating music. The corners of his mouth curled, and after that voice became hoarse, he reminded: “Time is running out. I didn’t expect Yu-daren to be thinking of me in his last moments, it’s really a great honor.”

“Zhao Yelan, you must die a miserable death!”

“Then I will definitely take the respected wife and young children to visit you in the underworld together.”

Yu Junliang lost his temper.

The jailers waiting outside heard the yelling within and wanted to go in and see the situation, but they also feared that they would be convicted of making a mistake, which was not something they could afford.

While they panicked, the voice inside finally stopped and they heard Zhao Yelan say, “Come here!” They entered in an orderly manner and saw that Yu Junliang had committed suicide in his cell, with blood streaming from his neck.

The prison boss was thinking that Zhao-daren’s kung fu was getting better and better. He didn’t even need to call the person in charge of interrogation, and he killed a person directly through the cell door, which was really high.

After the jailer opened the door, Zhao Yelan walked in and picked up the blood-stained list of crimes. Covering his nose with a handkerchief, he walked outside without looking back: “Clean this up.”

The new jailer glanced at his back in terror. It was a pity that such beautiful hands really killed people invisibly, ah.

It was not much warmer outside than below. As soon as Zhao Yelan walked out, a eunuch came forward to clothe him: “Zhao-daren’s body is weak, don’t catch a cold.”

“I have no further business.” Zhao Yelan coughed twice, and handed over the list of crimes to him. “Take it to the emperor.”

“The emperor is in the side hall, and he called you to meet him.”

“I’ll go back to the mansion and change my clothes. It wouldn’t be good if I offended the dragon.[5]”

The eunuch saw a few drops of red on his shoe, and some wet blood on his hand from the list of crimes. He was wiping it casually with his head down, and with a strange sense of beauty. The eunuch gave a sharp smile: “When you are finished, I will trouble Zhao-daren to make another trip.”

Zhao Yelan smiled calmly. After sitting in the sedan chair, that smile immediately disappeared and he closed his eyes for a while before returning to the mansion.

Although it was the end of the year, the weather didn’t get warmer, and he feared the cold. After returning to his room and washing his hands, he sat by the charcoal stove to dry them.

The servants came in to bring new charcoal and took the clothes he had changed out of to be washed. The sound of footsteps continued, but Zhao Yelan seemed to be in a trance, sitting still as he watched the faint flames struggling to emerge. Yu Junliang’s last words still lingered in his ears – 

“Zhao Yelan, aren’t you afraid? The hound is cooked after it catches the rabbit.[6] I only did a few things for His Majesty, and I ended up like this. How much did you do for him? How much blood is on your hands? Do you think you can live with peace of mind?”

Live with peace of mind?

Zhao Yelan smiled lightly as if mocking himself, and got up and walked to the table. He raised his hand to caress the golden silk item placed on top of it. The brilliant golden light was unique and unmatched. This was an imperial decree.

An absurd decree.

After a stick of incense, the sky was getting dark. He had just changed his clothes and was about to go out when he happened to meet Xiao Gao, a servant who had just returned with a basket in his hand that was packed with freshly picked pears. He hurriedly said: “My lord, you are back. When you went out just now, people from the General’s mansion came and said they wanted to talk to you about getting married.”

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The author has something to say:

Opening the text, la. Long time no see. 66 red envelopes will be given to everyone in the comment area~

【Knocks on the blackboard】

The cuties who pay attention to the correct three views can avoid it first. The characters are like this, don’t abuse the characters and the author. A courtier must act like a courtier, he kills without batting an eye, greedy for power and money. Cruel, merciless, and black-hearted, abstaining from emotion has been his hobby for many years.

Zhao Yelan: Are you polite? ?

(Xuanhe Palace, cold smoke and decaying grass – – From Liu Kezhuang’s “Recalling Qin’e Mei Xie.)

 

 

 

Translator’s Note: Hello, all! This is my first time translating this sort of novel, and the plethora of footnotes are already killing me. But! It’s a lot of fun, and I hope you enjoy the story as much as I am.

[1] The guoshi is the teacher of the state. ⮐

[2] 不死也叫人扒了几层皮: This is an idiom that basically means receiving major harm or a significant loss. ⮐

[3] The suffix -daren (大人) is a title of respect for male members of nobility. ⮐

[4] A crime of the Nine Clans refers to killing nine generations, including the four above and the four below. In ancient times, entire families were wiped out if one member committed a serious crime. ⮐

[5] The ‘dragon’ here refers to the Emperor. ⮐

[6] To cook the hound after it catches the rabbit is to get rid of someone after he has served his purpose. ⮐

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