The Human Emperor

That night, Consort Taizhen lost sleep.

Lying inside the tent, Consort Taizhen rolled around her bed, and all that filled her mind was the ‘Song of Purity and Peace’. Never had she seen any poem that could strike the depth of a woman’s soul and move a woman’s heart in such a manner.

Even those illiterate old nannies could sense the extreme beauty of the poem.

Holding the letter tightly, Consort Taizhen suddenly understood why the palace maid of the Clothes Incineration Section would be so daring as to secretly keep this letter and poem despite the risk of decapitation.

It wasn’t because she was brave or ignorant, but because she couldn’t bear to incinerate it despite knowing the risks involved.

What that Consort Taizhen was unable to wipe from her mind was that this Song of Purity and Peace was labeled as the first. There might be a second one and a third one…

The first song was already so beautiful, so how would the second one and third one be like?

Thus, Consort Taizhen was unable to sleep.

…

While Consort Taizhen’s heart was in chaos over the ‘Song of Peace and Purity’, at the same time, another storm was brewing in the royal court.

King Song had been banned from the royal court for consecutive days under the orders to the Sage Emperor in the name of resting at home. This matter had angered the officials, and their opposition grew even more intense.

The fight between the supporters and opposers intensified.

At this moment, an official raised the idea of working together with King Song to gather the names of over ten thousand officials throughout the Great Tang Empire for a petition to stop the Sage Emperor.

However, at this crucial moment, the unthinkable happened. The most fervent opposer to the ‘Consort Taizhen incident’, as well as the de facto leader of the crowd, King Song, suddenly chose to remain silent.

This abrupt change caught everyone off guard. Given King Song’s personality, no one thought that he was scared.

Some of those who were familiar with King Song paid him a visit, and from him, they heard an astonishing news.

Initially, King Song was adamant on preventing Consort Taizhen from entering the palace. But recently, King Song stumbled on some new information. Even though his words were vague, the meaning of his words were clear:

There was a hidden story to the Consort Taizhen incident. It was very likely that the truth wasn’t as everyone thought it out to be.

In an instant, everyone was shocked.

Everyone knew King Song’s personality; he wouldn’t lie over such matters. Furthermore, given his identity as a king of Great Tang, there was no need for him to lie either.

This was precisely the reason why King Song’s silence had shocked the entire royal court. No one knew what the hidden story was, but this single action of his caused a huge wave among the officials.

Initially, everyone was determined. Even if they were sentenced to death, they had to stop Consort Taizhen from being inducted at all costs so as to prevent this blemish from leaving a mark on Great Tang’s history.

But at this moment, the officials hesitated.

And this hesitation was more than enough than reverse the entire situation.

The slightest hesitation in one’s heart would cause one to be unable to oppose as fervently as they did before. All of the sudden, the voices opposing to Consort Taizhen on the royal court was reduced by more than half.

No one could have expected such an abrupt twist in the situation! …

…

Yuzhen Palace.

“Hahaha, this calls for a celebration! Seems like your wedding is around the corner! …”

Dressed in a white robe, Yang Zhao walked toward a red tent with a memorial in his hand. A bright red glow was on his face, and he couldn’t help but laugh heartily at the current situation.

“Our greatest enemy, King Song Li Chengqi, has suddenly changed overnight! Not only did he not oppose to us, he even started speaking up for us!”

Yang Zhao laughed delightfully. This was the happiest news he had heard in the past few days.

“What!”

In the red tent, Consort Taizhen abruptly stood up and walked to the edge of the tent. She was also surprised by this sudden change.

Without hiding anything at all, Yang Zhao spoke of everything that happened in the royal court.

“Little sister, you really couldn’t have imagined it. Without King Song, all of those opposing us are unable to raise a storm anymore. Now, the future before us is bright!”

Excited, Yang Zhao gestured wildly.

“Hmph, what future before us is bright? Isn’t this obviously King Song’s attempt at reconciliation after experiencing His Majesty’s determination first-hand in this matter?”

Consort Taizhen contemplated for a moment before harrumphing coldly.

King Song had offended the Sage Emperor, and as a result, the latter sent five imperial edicts to him. Consort Taizhen knew of this matter, and in her view, King Song was obviously trying to make peace with them after realizing that he was in a bad position.

“Hehe, you can’t really put it that way. Even though he had been demoted, his influence still remains. If he were to make a stand, many officials will still stand by him, and that will be detrimental to our situation. His silence is the best news to us.”

Yang Zhao said.

Consort Taizhen harrumphed, but she had to admit that her Cousin Yang Zhao was right on this matter.

The Sage Emperor could ignore the officials and adamantly induct her in as his consort, but being criticized by the entire royal court wasn’t a pleasant affair. If she could enter the court safely and silently, that would be for the best.

After all, if she wanted to climb higher in the royal palace, she couldn’t disregard the opinions of the officials.

“Hm? Little sister, what’s that you are holding?”

Through the veil of the tent, Yang Zhao suddenly noticed that Consort Taizhen was holding something in her hands. From what his sharp eyes caught, it seemed to be a letter.

“Un?”

Yang Zhao’s heart skipped a beat and he immediately realized that something was amiss. In the capital, his cousin had no kin other than him. Who would write a letter to her?

“Little sister, can I take a look?”

Stretching a hand in, Yang Zhao asked.

Consort Taizhen hesitated for a moment. Knowing that her Cousin Yang Zhao was the type of person who would persist until he achieved his aim, she reluctantly handed over the ‘Song of Purity and Peace ‘1’’ over.

“It’s a poem?”

Yang Zhao was stunned. He had considered all possibilities, but never in his dreams did he expect for it to be a poem.

“Un.”

Consort Taizhen nodded.

“Return it to me after you’re done. Don’t crumple it!”

Taken aback by Consort Taizhen’s words, a sliver of astonishment flashed across Yang Zhao’s eyes. Glancing at the paper, he started browsing through the contents.

Yang Zhao didn’t possess any aptitude toward poetry, and he would much rather be rolling dices at the gambling den instead. Even so, despite his laziness and lack of education, he could tell that this poem was a masterpiece.

“Good poem! This is indeed a good poem. Even an oaf like me can tell that this is a poem complimenting a lady. Who wrote this?”

Yang Zhao commented perfunctory as he casually asked.

“King Song Li Chengqi!”

“What?!”

As though a bolt of lightning had struck Yuzhen Palace, Yang Zhao’s eyes widened and his lower jaws nearly fell to the ground.

“King Song? Li Chengqi? How is this possible! ——”

Yang Zhao stared at his younger cousin with a look of disbelief. This news was truly unimaginable for him, and he felt as though a giant mountain had crashed into him.

“Do I need to lie about this? This letter was sent a few days ago!”

Consort Taizhen replied coldly.

“Ah?”

Yang Zhao was unable to understand this matter. A few days ago? But why didn’t he hear about this matter?

“But why would he send this letter? What is he up to?”

Calming down, Yang Zhao asked in confusion.

“Hmph, I was also perplexed over this, but after hearing your words, I think I can guess roughly guess his intentions. Just like what I said before, Li Chengqi is scared. He is intentionally expressing his goodwill to fawn on us.”

Consort Taizhen replied coldly. Remembering all of the injustice, insults, and criticisms she had suffered, she still felt deep resentment toward King Song.

“I didn’t know that it was King Song who sent this over before, but wouldn’t it be bad to keep this?”

Yang Zhao read through the letter once more and a deep furrow appeared between his eyebrows.

“Even though I don’t understand poetry, I can sense nostalgia from the poem. Little sister, it will be bad if this letter falls into the hands of the Sage Emperor. Why would King Song send you such a poem?”

“Big brother, you’re thinking too much into the matter. Look at the words on it, do you think that handwriting belongs to King Song?”

Consort Taizhen smiled coldly. Indeed, if this poem came from King Song, it would be a huge scandal.

However, Consort Taizhen was certain that this wasn’t King Song’s handwriting.

“I see, so this isn’t King Song’s handwriting.”

Looking at the letter once more, Yang Zhao smiled awkwardly. He had already noticed earlier that even though the poem was well-written, the words were squiggly. In fact, it wasn’t wrong to say that they were awful.

However, he had just arrived at the capital and the royal court was something new to him. As such, he thought that the handwriting of the Great Tang kings were like that.

“Hmph, even though it isn’t written by King Song, his seal is on it. At the very least, he has browsed through the letter, so it can represent his intentions as well. Thus, there is no mistake that he is expressing his goodwill through this method.”

Consort Taizhen rationalized.

If it was in the past, it would be impossible for her to understand politics and governance. Such things were simply too far away from her. However, the criticisms and insults from others, as well as the slanderous remarks from the officials of the royal court, had become a tonic which helped her to grow swiftly.

Even though she wasn’t skilled in politics yet, she was no longer the pure and ignorant lady she once was.

“Little sister, if King Song is expressing his goodwill, then… this is actually good news for us.”

Yang Zhao spoke slowly and carefully.

He could sense that his cousin was dissatisfied with King Song, and he could understand it as well. However, Yang Zhao had a different view from her. Having grown up in gambling dens, Yang Zhao was already an expert in interpersonal relationship.

Li Chengqi was a king of Great Tang, and he possessed immense authority. Even though His Majesty had demoted him for the moment, his standing as king was still there.

The two siblings had just arrived at the royal court and they didn’t have any backing. Even though King Qi and the Yao Clan were supporting them, based on Yang Zhao’s investigation, the reputation of the two wasn’t good. It was very likely that they were only helping them out of political convenience.

Thus, if they could receive the backing of a Great Tang king like King Song Li Chengqi, then the plight of the two siblings in the royal court would improve significantly.

Who is the one who earned the most money in the gambling den? The banker!

Why?

Because regardless of who the banker is gambling with, he will be able to win the money of everyone else!

In Yang Zhao’s perspective, King Qi and the Yao Clan were too dangerous. By pulling King Song onto their boat, they would be able to strike a balance between the both of them. This would also be the ideal situation for the two siblings.

“Hmph, I have suffered so much because of him, and I was almost killed by him on numerous occasions. I really can’t accept letting him off just like that.”

Consort Taizhen was reluctant to let this matter go.

“Little sister, what do you intend to do then?”

Yang Zhao asked carefully.

“Big brother, help me write a letter saying that I have received his letter, and ask him ‘Lord, why has modesty replaced your arrogance?”

Consort Taizhen said contemptuously. If she didn’t vent her anger through insulting Li Chengqi back, she would never be able to let this matter go.

Hu!

After hearing Consort Taizhen’s words, Yang Zhao heaved a sigh of relief. At the very least, given how his cousin was willing to send King Song a letter, this meant that she wasn’t prepared to turn against King Song completely yet. There was still hope for reconciliation.

“Alright!”

Yang Zhao answered. Then, he left to settle the matter as Consort Taizhen instructed.