Chapter 16: The Young Emperor
Tang Thirty-Six strode into the hall and demanded of Chen Changsheng, "What exactly did you mean by that?"
Chen Changsheng replied, "Exactly what the words say."
Tang Thirty-Six paused, taken aback, then asked, "Why?"
Chen Changsheng said, "It suddenly occurred to me that his view might be correct."
Tang Thirty-Six waved his hand emphatically. "We discussed this before by the lake—youth is always right!"
Chen Changsheng said seriously, "That statement itself is incorrect."
Tang Thirty-Six retorted angrily, "So is what you said correct?"
Chen Changsheng was silent for a moment, then said, "I was somewhat angry at the time."
Tang Thirty-Six said, "So you spoke in anger?"
Chen Changsheng replied, "You could put it that way."
Tang Thirty-Six said, "Since it was said in anger, naturally it doesn't have to count."
Chen Changsheng asked earnestly, "Why is that?"
Tang Thirty-Six said, "We're human. Human anger is like flatulence—words spoken in anger are just hot air. How can you take hot air seriously?"
Chen Changsheng said, "Flatulence has a smell; anger doesn't necessarily."
Tang Thirty-Six said, "Whether it has a smell or not, it certainly doesn't carry that unpleasant old-person stench they have."
Chen Changsheng recalled that Su Li had once said something similar to him.
"We need to find a way to rouse the believers outside the Li Palace," he said, setting aside those thoughts. He turned to Tang Thirty-Six. "Do you have any good ideas?"
Tang Thirty-Six said irritably, "You're the one who tied the bell around the cat's neck. Why should I have to think of a way to untie it?"
Chen Changsheng said, "I'm not good at these things."
Tang Thirty-Six looked around and asked, "Where's Xu Yourong?"
Chen Changsheng said, "She's gone to the Imperial Palace."
Hearing this, Tang Thirty-Six's expression shifted slightly.
Chen Changsheng asked, "What's wrong?"
"She only returned to the capital yesterday, and today she's already seen Prince Chenliu, then Mo Yu, and now she's going to see His Majesty," Tang Thirty-Six said. "Why is she meeting so many people? Don't you find that strange?"
...
...
The Emperor of the Great Zhou was very young, very low-key, extremely inconspicuous, and often forgotten by the world.
To this day, his existence was still like a thick fog to the people of Great Zhou. Very few knew his given name was Chen Yuren.
By now, Shang Xingzhou rarely voiced opinions on matters of state. In fact, he spent most of his time not in the capital but at the Changchun Temple in Luoyang. Everyone knew he was preparing to return full authority to the Emperor—provided, of course, he first resolved the issue of the state religion. But until that day arrived, he remained the most powerful man in Great Zhou.
As for the important personnel matters of the court, they were controlled by the Chen princes and nobles like the Tianhai family.
The only thing the young Emperor did was review the memorials sent into the palace from the various prefectures and ministries.
He rarely summoned ministers to the palace. Even Mo Yu, whom he had personally recalled to the capital by imperial decree, had only entered the palace three times.
Many believed this was because the Emperor was cold, eccentric, and unwilling to see people.
Why was this? Because he was disabled.
He could not speak. One eye was blind. He was missing an ear. He was lame in one leg. One hand was crippled.
Such severe disabilities could easily be called a deformity.
But this deformed man had become the Emperor of Great Zhou.
Because of Shang Xingzhou, no one dared to speak out against it, much less oppose it. But people's opinions could not be changed.
Since Yuren ascended the throne, countless rumors had spread both inside and outside the palace.
Some said he was cruel and violent, that he took pleasure in beating palace maids to death with clubs.
Others said he was timid and withdrawn, that he spent his days being ridden by palace maids in his chambers.
But these people forgot one very important thing.
The young Emperor only reviewed memorials and lived deep in the palace.
Yet in just three years since his ascension, he had quickly stabilized the chaotic situation left by Empress Tianhai.
Government decrees flowed unimpeded. Politics grew increasingly clear. The situation was stable. Harsh laws were abolished while lenient regulations remained strict. The people's lives grew better day by day.
The current Great Zhou could truly be described as a time of peace and prosperity.
How could such an Emperor be a cruel and tyrannical fool? How could he be a timid and mediocre weakling?
Many important figures, including the White Emperor, understood very well that this Emperor's governing ability and wisdom were far from ordinary.
Indeed—the only biological son of the late Emperor and the Saintess Tianhai, the vessel of Shang Xingzhou's lifelong ideals—how could he be an ordinary man?
...
...
Xu Yourong certainly did not believe the young Emperor was as the rumors described.
She was also very curious about what kind of person he truly was.
Before the young Emperor had returned to the capital to ascend the throne, she had already heard his name many times.
In those conversations, the young Emperor was referred to as Senior Brother, or Senior Brother Yuren.
In the snow temple and the tomb within the Zhou Garden, Chen Changsheng had mentioned his senior brother many times.
Back then, Chen Changsheng did not yet know she was Xu Yourong, so he had no reason to hide or conceal anything.
From those conversations, she had sensed absolute closeness and trust.
Even though he had left Xining Town for years and the capital for three years, Chen Changsheng's trust in his senior brother remained unchanged.
Even though the two brothers had not seen each other since that night at the Tian Shu Ling.
But the question was—did people truly never change?
Xu Yourong did not believe it, especially since she understood very well the power of that chair.
The very chair Yuren now sat on.
A man like Emperor Taizong had become so cold and cruel for that chair, killing his brother and forcing his father.
The Saintess had been the same.
The young Emperor was a descendant of the Chen family, the Saintess's own son. How could he be someone who believed in feelings?
Xu Yourong felt uneasy.
Many of the things she needed to do were built on Chen Changsheng's trust in Yuren.
So she had to see for herself what kind of person this young Emperor was.
The eunuchs and palace maids escorted her to the hall's entrance, then bowed and withdrew.
Xu Yourong noticed that the eunuchs and maids looked at the light deep within the hall with eyes full of reverence and affection.
She had frequently entered and left the palace since childhood. There was still a palace here that belonged to her. She was very familiar with this place. But she was very unfamiliar with that kind of look.
Such a look did not belong in a place as deep and shadowy as the Imperial Palace.
The light deep within the hall came from a night pearl embedded in a vermilion pillar.
The old floor was polished so brightly it could serve as a mirror, reflecting a person's silhouette.
The young Emperor sat behind a desk, reading a memorial.
He wore bright yellow robes. One sleeve hung empty.
His hair was combed perfectly smooth, without deliberately letting it fall to cover his blind eye.
Xu Yourong walked to the desk.
The young Emperor looked up.
His expression was gentle. His gaze was calm. But it gave one a sense of firmness and clarity.
Xu Yourong felt he looked somewhat familiar, and then, for some reason, she felt a sense of closeness.
Was it because he was the Saintess's own son? Or because his gaze and expression seemed cast from the same mold as Chen Changsheng's?
Xu Yourong understood Tianhai Saintess very well. She also understood Chen Changsheng very well.
Without needing words, she could tell what the Saintess and Chen Changsheng were thinking.
At this moment, she also knew what the young Emperor was thinking.
Xu Yourong asked, "Your Majesty, why don't you like me?" (To be continued.)