Chapter 38: King of Luyuan

"Your highness, please quell your anger," Lin Yingqing called out, hurriedly urging the subordinate he'd brought with him to kneel on seeing Jiang Changbai's demeanour.

Jiang Changbai calmed her expression, yet looking towards the person kneeling by Lin Yingqing's side, she felt some familiarity. Only after considering it for a great while did she think of the answer, and asked, "You're named Sheng Yunxing?"

Only hearing this did Sheng Yunxing raise her head, replying in a tone neither servile nor supercilious, "Responding to Bixia, this minister is."

Jiang Changbai looked over her carefully once more, the events of the past unable but to rise in her mind. Though the face of the Sheng Yunxing of now had the marks of time, she still had bright eyes and white teeth. In her youth, Jiang Changbai had heard Sheng Yunxing's name, and knew that she was both beautiful and a literary talent, the formerly most well-known female talent in the capital. Although her father was only a seventh rank scribe, before she'd reached a marriageable age, her family's threshold had already been trod to bits by matchmakers. Her elders had long since arranged a marriage for her, and it was only a wait until both parties had grown to the age of marriage to be wed.

But when she came of age, the elders in her husband's family passed on one after another. In order to observe the mourning period, naturally they couldn't get married, and so this wedding had been delayed. After, delaying and delaying, a few years' time passed, and no one remembered that Sheng Yunxing had once been the foremost female talent in the capital, merely saying that her Eight Characters weren't fortuitous, and she'd brought bad luck on her husband's family.

Though Jiang Changbai had lived in the corner of Prince Ling's residence, her eyes and ears had covered the entire city. So, she knew that that husband's family had had quite a lot of veiled criticisms for her, and had known that Sheng Yunxing herself had wanted to break off the marriage, but had been obstructed time and time again by her own elders. But then afterwards, Song Juguang had raised an army to revolt, and all of Jiang Changbai's plans turned to seeking an opportunity for herself in the chaos, and so she hadn't paid any more attention to the news about her.

Only once Jiang Changbai had ascended the throne, and Xie Qianbing and Shen Yanyi and the others had entered the court did she hear that Sheng Yunxing had, for a rare turn, been stubborn, and as she'd announced breaking the marriage, she'd broken off relations with her family. Alone, she'd knelt before the gates of Xie Qianbing's home, requesting she give her a duty. Xie Qianbing hadn't had the intent to groom aides and advisers, and of course, she couldn't do so with her official's salary. But she couldn't bear to harshly chase her away either, and so for a while, hadn't been able to decide, and so had sent a report directly, asking Jiang Changbai to decide for her. By chance, at that time, the Ministry of Revenue had still had some empty positions, and so Sheng Yunxing had been able to be promoted to fill one of those.

However, though Jiang Changbai had heard of Sheng Yunxing's name early on, in all these years, she'd only met her once in the Flower Appreciating Banquet that the previous empress had arranged. Now, meeting once more, there was actually a degree of feeling that things had changed with the passage of time.

The position of Emperor pulled at Jiang Changbai to calm her, and outwardly, she merely sat on the xumi seat, looking at Sheng Yunxing, and said asked unhurriedly, "Tell me carefully, where do these words stem from?"

"Understood," Sheng Yunxing replied, and repeated everything she'd seen in Luyuan engagingly and at length.

Actually, when she'd been still about a hundred li from Luyuan, she'd been warned by the proprietor of an inn that that region was dangerous; if there wasn't a pressing matter, it was best to avoid it. That proprietor had gentle brows and kindly eyes, yet when mentioning Luyuan, they grew hateful. But afterwards, no matter how Sheng Yunxing had questioned, she wasn't willing to divulge a single word.

But, as she'd drawn closer to Luyuan, Sheng Yunxing had understood the implications in the proprietor's words more and more. Luyuan laid along the sea, and from the time the state had been established, it had been the most important merchant region, and the merchants and travellers had been quite plentiful. The Great Li's officials' salaries were meagre as well, and lower-level, minor officials could barely manage to scrape by, and so even if there were those with the courage to set up stops to charge fees in the region, the authorities would largely turn a blind eye.

But along the her way, the stops Sheng Yunxing had passed through had been multitudinous, and they'd made her feel as if she weren't going to Luyuan, but to another state. Furthermore, each of the guards of the stops had been imposing and grand, as if these stops weren't set up by them individually, but rather that they'd been set up with the Emperor's command.

The further she went, the stranger it became, and she'd hidden her own identity, disguising herself as a commoner. What was comical was that even without setting bait, there were people who would bite the hook, and Sheng Yunxing took advantage of the darkness, trussing up the person following behind her and dragging them into the forest.

"Gu-nainai, gu-nainai,^[1] spare my life!" That person put on airs, snivelling and crying as he begged for his life. He clearly hadn't anticipated that he'd be unable to match up to Sheng Yunxing, a woman who looked to lack the strength to even truss up a chicken, not even having put on a coat. By chance, these past few days, the border of Luyuan had been continuously overcast and rainy, and having been dragged along by Sheng Yunxing, it was as if his entire person had rolled around in the mud.

Sheng Yunxing shot him a glance, feeling that this person's craven and cowardly ways were exceedingly revolting. So, she didn't look at him any further, only minding herself as she wrapped the remainder of the rope a number of times more around the tree trunk, and only then told him, "Whatever I ask, you answer."

"Of course, of course, of course, I won't leave anything out." If not for the fact that he'd been tied up, the guard was nearly about to fall to his knees and kowtow. "Gu-nainai, spare my life, spare my life!"

"Along the way, I came across a dozen or so stops; don't your superiors pay any mind?"

The guard startled, and then smiled broadly. "Ah, they do, how could they not? The three of our stops here give back to a single relay station's head official. Of what we earn from tolls, we have to pay him half."

"Head of the relay station?"

"Ah, yeah, there's also a senior official above the relay station head, but I can't remember too clearly what he's called. Paying one level after the next, and then in the end, we pay to our King of Luyuan."

Sheng Yunxing's brows furrowed, and she asked, "King of Luyuan? How come I haven't heard of that?"

"Ah, you must not have come to Luyuan in the past few years," that guard said, still smiling flatteringly. "The one known as the Governor of Luyuan outside, Lian-daren Lian Zhigao."

---

Jiang Changbai laughed coldly, saying disdainfully, "Training private soldiers, setting up private toll stops, calling himself a king—this Lian Zhigao truly is planning to revolt."

Sheng Yunxing added, "So, this minister hurried through the night to return to the capital, fearing that this news would come late."

"What of that guard? What did you do to him afterwards?" Jiang Changbai asked, watching Sheng Yunxing.

"Afterwards, this minister, hearing there were the howls of wolves, hurried to head towards a place with more people. By the time this minister returned, I only saw a corpse which had been gnawed to an unseemly state." When Sheng Yunxing spoke, she was still somewhat hesitant, fearing that Jiang Changbai would think she had been too ruthless, and would mete out a punishment.

But unexpectedly, Jiang Changbai didn't say anything, and even looked at her with something like praise in her gaze. "That's good, then; the information won't travel by rumour."

Although Sheng Yunxing's expression didn't change, her mind was still alarmed. Since Jiang Changbai had ascended the throne, with bold and decisive reforms, the officials who'd had their residences searched and their possessions confiscated were around a dozen or so. On the streets, it was said that this new Emperor was ruthless and ferocious, her mind vicious. But Sheng Yunxing had never believed it, and had even felt that Jiang Changbai's character was quite benevolent. If nothing else, merely because, when she'd been alone and had no prospects, she'd been willing to agree to break the established conventions and allow her to be an official. But now, meeting her, she began to doubt her own previous opinions somewhat.

Just then, the sound of footsteps came from the doorway; Jiang Changbai raised her head to look, and saw Song Juguang hurriedly making her way in. She didn't know why, but the instant she saw Song Juguang, the breath Jiang Changbai had been holding in her mind let out halfway in a flash. But her expression remained calm, and she merely nodded faintly towards her.

Song Juguang had originally been in the barracks in the suburbs of the capital; although Wei Xiren and the others were nominally her subordinates, in actuality, saying they were her disciples wouldn't be an exaggeration. The group had learnt their abilities from Song Juguang, and as a result, naturally needed to receive Song Juguang's inspection at regular intervals.

Just then, when Lin Yingqing had brought Sheng Yunxing in, it had only been to converse, and Jiang Changbai had had Xun Zhu send someone to summon Song Juguang. But Song Juguang, seeing the messenger covered in dust and travel-worn, had assumed that some great incident had occurred in the Palace. So, even though reason told her that there wouldn't be any great incident in the Palace, Song Juguang had still hurried so quickly she'd nearly flown, such that she hadn't even had the chance to change out of her training attire.

Coming in, Song Juguang saw that the room had two other people, and so wasn't as carefree as before. Rather, she called out a respectful "Bixia", and made obeisance like the other ministers, only rising once Jiang Changbai had called her to do so.

"You came just in time," Jiang Changbai said with a smile, and then looked towards Sheng Yunxing once more. "Explain what happened to the Regent as well."

Sheng Yunxing obediently repeated what she'd explained just before once more, but once she finished speaking, Song Juguang was still dazed and unspeaking. Jiang Changbai couldn't help but speak, asking, "A Guang, what do you think?"

Song Juguang seemed to have only come out of her daze now, yet when she spoke, it was only one sentence: "As Bixia says."

Jiang Changbai, hearing this, furrowed her brows, but she wasn't willing to reveal anything else in front of outsiders, and so she could only temporarily press down the helplessness in her heart, and look towards Lin Yingqing once more. "Was Lian Zhigao this egotistical and arrogant in the past?"

Lin Yingqing seemed to be somewhat hesitant, his expression grave, though he didn't speak. Song Juguang stood behind Jiang Changbai, hands behind her back, and she said unhurriedly, "Go ahead and say it; even if others were more powerful, could they be more mighty than the Emperor? If you commit an offence in front of others, there's still the margin of leeway to return, but if you're disloyal to the Emperor, then that's a death sentence."

Jiang Changbai turned her head, casting Song Juguang a glance, and in the corner of her heart, a helpless, faint smile rose. But by the time she turned her head back to look at Lin Yingqing, a tranquil indifference had once more settled on her face. "Go ahead and speak; what is there to fear?"

Yet Lin Yingqing said, "This minister believes that the Regent would understand better than even this minister."

Song Juguang had originally had her arms crossed, watching the scene, and hadn't expected the topic would fall onto her; she was angered to laughter, and said, "You jest; this regent has never had any dealings with Lian Zhigao; where would the word 'understand' come from? But you, Lin-daren, as the Minister of Revenue, governing over the taxes of the entire nation, if you aren't clear on it, then who could be?"

Lin Yingqing, hearing this, fell silent, lips pursed as he bit his lower lip. Only after a long while, as if having made some decision, did he speak. "In the past, the matter of Luyuan being behind on tax payments occurred often as well; it's just that, at the time, the state treasury was well-off, and there were others who concealed this matter from the late emperor for him; as a result, the late emperor never investigated. As for the matter of Lian Zhigao declaring himself as the King of Luyuan, Luyuan is indeed far from the capital, and in the meantime, communication back and forth hasn't been convenient at all. Moreover, this minister has never had a personal relationship with him, and so what he was like in the past or now, this minister doesn't know much of."

Jiang Changbai asked, "In the past, of the people you sent to Luyuan, not a single one reported this back to you?"

Lin Yingqing nodded somewhat heavily. "This is the first time this minister has heard of it as well."

Jiang Changbai laughed in anger, and stood, pacing about. Without needing Lin Yingqing to speak further, she knew which two people had spoken to help Lian Zhigao before the previous emperor. Mu Dongmu was Lian Zhigao's distant elder patrilineal cousin, and they'd always been close. And in the capital, Liu Zihe had always been on good terms with Wu Dongmu. The two of them, one legal and one military, had truly taken the entire court as their personal fiefdom.

Thinking once more of the extravagant expenditures she'd seen in Honghailou by Liu Zihe and his son, she felt that all of the matters had connected in an instant. The salaries of the court were nowhere near enough to support him spending his time in drinking and pleasure, and Liu Zihe wouldn't stand on the same line with him merely due to his relationship with Wu Dongmu.

The relationship between them was nothing more than Lian Zhigao raking in the fat and wealth of the people and sending it to the hands of these two, in order to earn safety. But however much Luyuan owed in taxes in the end, how much of this amount was dropped into Wu Dongmu and Liu Zihe's pockets, these matters Jiang Changbai temporarily had no way to know.

As for him naming himself a king, in comparison to these other matters, it really wasn't that big an issue. After all, if Lian Zhigao wanted to be a king, it would still depend on whether or not he himself could manage it.

Jiang Changbai returned to the ximu seat, her gaze sweeping across Lin Yingqing and Sheng Yunxing. "Who else knows of this matter?"

Sheng Yunxing replied, "As soon as this minister returned, I reported to Lin-daren, and immediately afterwards, I was brought into the Palace by Lin-daren. There is a third person who knows."

Jiang Changbai nodded, and waved a hand to summon Xun Zhu. "Arrange for someone to escort them to their residences. You're travel-worn, and so ought to rest well. If there isn't anything else, don't come out again." The previous sentence was aimed at Xun Zhu, but the latter two phrases were spoken for Sheng Yunxing and Lin Yingqing. In an instant, Sheng Yunxing understood the meaning in Jiang Changbai's words, and her expression couldn't help but change. Yet Lin Yingqing's expression still remained as still as an ancient well, though Jiang Changbai knew he had naturally understood the implication in her words.

Only once the two had gone far did Song Juguang, who'd been silent the entire time, speak. "Bixia, this minister believes that the matter of Lian Zhigao pronouncing himself king has to have occurred in the past few days."

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Translator's notes:

[1]: 姑奶奶, an address for an unmarried woman.