398: Chapter 10 Orthodox 398: Chapter 10 Orthodox “I once said that if you could return alive from the northern hunt…
I could tell you a secret.”
The Little Emperor sat up straight, struggling to muster a semblance of authority.
He was Emperor Da Chu.
Although…
currently only a puppet.
But feigning idiocy was just an act, compliance too was just an act.
He wanted to break free from the Holy Empress’s control, wanted to prepare for his true ascension to the throne, and for that, this momentum was indispensable.
Unfortunately.
The person he faced was Xie Xuanyi.
“Your Majesty.”
Xie Xuanyi spoke casually, “If I’m not mistaken, you want to tell me…
that you are a woman.”
The Little Emperor was taken aback.
“You you you…”
The Little Emperor stood up, still trying to maintain the emperor’s authority, forcibly keeping his composure and sweeping his sleeves, but his voice trembled uncontrollably, “What nonsense are you spouting!”
“I knew it when we last met.”
Xie Xuanyi chuckled lightly, picked a winter jujube, and gently bit into it.
The Emperor’s food really was different from that of ordinary people.
This jujube was large, plump, crisp, and juicy.
He paused for a moment.
Xie Xuanyi’s gaze lingered on the Little Emperor’s Jade Ring, he had realized last time that this Little Emperor had much to do with Chen Jingxuan…
This Jade Ring could conceal the Divine Soul’s presence and also alter one’s voice.
Such a method should deceive most people.
But it couldn’t deceive him.
The Little Emperor looked a bit flustered, gritting his teeth, “Did Mr.
Chen tell you?”
“Do I need him to tell me such a thing?”
Xie Xuanyi threw away the jujube pit, laughing, “With the Holy Empress’s methods, for you to live until now…
you can’t rely on just playing the fool.”
These ten years.
The Little Emperor had played his role well.
But no matter how well he played it, could he escape the Holy Empress’s eyes?
After all, just a child.
The Holy Empress stayed her hand from killing him simply because this puppet was useful…
and there was one very important reason beyond that.
This puppet emperor was a girl.
If the Holy Empress ever wanted to depose her, she just needed to reveal her background, and the young Emperor Chu would abdicate on her own.
Legitimacy, legitimacy.
How could the identity of a girl carry on the ancestral legitimacy?
“…”
The Little Emperor slumped into the chair at the Red Pavilion, her expression complex, biting her lip, the air of imperial authority she had earlier completely vanishing.
“Rest assured, I will not divulge this matter.”
Xie Xuanyi picked up another jujube, speaking slowly, “This secret naturally must be kept for a lifetime, is it Chen Jingxuan who wanted you to tell me?”
“…
Yes.”
The Little Emperor spoke with grievance, “Mr.
Chen asked me to meet with you after the northern hunt and reveal the truth.”
These days, Chen Jingxuan seemed to be very busy.
Xie Xuanyi toyed with the jujube, lost in thought.
Such a great disturbance had been caused by the northern hunt, and Chen Jingxuan had not shown himself from beginning to end.
He hadn’t received any greetings from Chen Jingxuan since he traveled south from the northern border…
He must have been entangled in some troublesome issue.
“To rectify the disorder and restore legitimacy.”
Xie Xuanyi thought back to what the Little Emperor had said earlier, sighing softly, “The message you want to tell me, it must be more than just this one, right?”
Chen Jingxuan was behind the Little Emperor.
These ten years.
The Book Tower had been secretly supporting this tender, young emperor, which was not good news…
Chen Jingxuan was a clever man, he knew very well the outcome of doing so and the enemies that the Book Tower would face: the Holy Empress and the powerful Great Chu Royal Family with their rich foundation.
This was a profoundly serious war.
A slight misstep could lead to total ruin.
Under such circumstances…
the Little Emperor that Chen Jingxuan was supporting was still a girl.
The situation was dire to an extreme.
“I have a younger brother.”
The Little Emperor took a deep breath and revealed this earth-shattering secret.
“My mother was an unnamed palace maid within the Great Chu Imperial Palace.”
“Before my father met with disaster, she was pregnant…
Due to her lowly birth, this matter was concealed, and almost no one knows of it.”
She said with self-mockery, “My brother and I should have been sent out of the palace together.
But fate intervened, and so I stayed, becoming the emperor of Da Chu.”
Fate played tricks, destiny absurd.
Xie Xuanyi really hadn’t expected such a story on the Little Emperor.
His expression complex, he asked, “Your younger brother…”
“He was fortunate and was sent outside the palace.
So far, his existence hasn’t been noticed by those of Great Chu.”
The Little Emperor composed herself, her face showing no joy or sorrow, and said indifferently, “For either of us to be safe and sound is already a kind of fortune.
My staying here is certainly better than him staying.”
Indeed.
If it were that brother who possessed the “legitimate right of succession” who had stayed in the palace.
The current situation would have been even more tense.
Perhaps a few years ago, the “Little Emperor” would have encountered an accident and unfortunately died.
This position was not enviable.
In some ways, being a girl was somewhat better than being a boy.
“Where is he now?” Xie Xuanyi raised an eyebrow.
“He was sent to the Da Li Dynasty.”
The Little Emperor looked up and said, “Within the territory of Da Chu, all eyes and ears belong to the Holy Empress, the only place where one could possibly survive by chance is Da Li.”
Xie Xuanyi suddenly had an ominous premonition, “You’re telling me all this, you couldn’t possibly…”
“Yes.”
The Little Emperor enunciated each word, “The reason I tell you this is because I hope you will bring him back to Da Chu.”
No wonder Chen Jingxuan dared not contact me in person…
Xie Xuanyi sighed lightly, looked at the small figure sitting upright before him, and asked helplessly, “Indeed, what’s meant to come will come.
But can you explain, why must it be me?”
Silence fell briefly in the Red Pavilion.
“Why you?”
The Little Emperor sighed as well, “It’s simple…
because there’s no one else at my disposal.”
Behind the Little Emperor stood the Book Tower, and Chen Jingxuan.
But this relationship could not be publicized.
Chen Jingxuan, being in the Imperial City, was watched in every move by everyone.
Heading to Da Li would certainly mean being scrutinized by countless pairs of eyes.
As for the others, such as practitioners of the Yin God Realm like the Snow Master, they too were under the close watch of the Holy Empress.
Although Ren Shou Palace was in isolation, it still maintained tight control over this “pretending-to-be-mad-and-stupid” Little Emperor.
Xie Xuanyi felt a pang of sadness, yet also found it somewhat amusing.
“With just these few people, you dare to plot such a thing?”
He tapped lightly on the table and asked, “Have you never considered, what if I refuse, what if I turn around and betray you, what then?”
“If you refuse, I will simply have to find another way.”
The Little Emperor was calm, “If you betray me, then I will only have death to face.”
Xie Xuanyi scoffed, “You’re not afraid of death?”
“Of course I am.”
Even so, her expression showed not the slightest fear.
The Little Emperor paused for a moment, then slowly said, “If I weren’t afraid of dying, why would I go through all this?”
“Mr.
Chen said that you are a person who can be absolutely trusted.”
The Little Emperor’s tone was tinged with ridicule, “I had no choice from the start, not resisting is death, resisting is also death, distrust leads to death, but trust…
perhaps there’s a chance to live.
If it fails, then at most I would be beheaded.
Could she really annihilate my nine clans?”
The last statement was indeed very ironic.
Xie Xuanyi was at a loss for words.
“Mr.
Chen told me the opportunity is nearly ripe.”
The Little Emperor gazed at the dark-clad youth before her.
Although she did not know why Chen Jingxuan trusted this Xie Zhen so much, it did not matter.
She trusted unconditionally what her teacher had said.
She articulated each word forcefully, “I am here not just to cling to life, but also to witness the moment when the old throne crumbles.
There are more people on my side than you can imagine.
The current Da Chu Dynasty merely needs a spark to ignite.”
Without a doubt, the legitimate heir of Emperor Chu with the authentic bloodline.
He is that very spark that could ignite the night.
After the Little Emperor finished speaking, silence once again enveloped the Red Pavilion.
It was a stirring “speech,” but alas, there was only one listener.
Even more regrettable was the fact that this listener
had almost no ripples in his heart.
“…”
Xie Xuanyi watched the young girl who was the Little Emperor, her hands propped up on the table, nearly on tiptoe, with a complex look in his eyes.
His mind ached slightly, churning with thoughts.
Each sentence exchanged in the pavilion tonight struck Xie Xuanyi as ironic.
But more ironic than the emperor plotting rebellion…
was that the task of finding Emperor Chu’s heir fell on His head.
Who was he?
The “chief culprit” who killed Emperor Chu!
The old emperor is dead, the new emperor wants to rebel, and the assassin who killed the old emperor is being sought to help.
Sometimes.
This world truly seems absurdly boundless.
…
…
“I’m sorry.”
After a long while, Xie Xuanyi sighed deeply, rubbing his forehead, and slowly exhaled a breath of foul air, “I cannot readily agree to this matter.
I need to think it over, think it over carefully…”
“…There’s no rush.”
The Little Emperor sat down again.
Her cheeks were flushed with a hint of rosy color due to the previous excitement.
It was rumored that not only did she have intrinsic deficits, including intellectual impairment, but her body was weak and she often fell ill.
The former was false.
But the latter was true.
After sitting down, the Little Emperor began to cough.
She pulled out a piece of brocade, covered her lips, coughed forcefully a few times, and the pristine brocade was immediately stained with blood.
Xie Xuanyi narrowed his eyes and looked carefully.
This Little Emperor had Black Evil entwining her forehead, infiltrating her lungs, it was truly shocking.
At this rate, she wouldn’t live beyond five years.
“Are you alright?”
“It’s nothing.”
“Xie Zhen…
you can think it over carefully.”
The Little Emperor’s voice was much hoarser, “I know your identity is special, every action is watched by countless people.
But if you are willing to join this operation, I will arrange a suitable opportunity, so as not to arouse suspicion against you.”
She waved her hand, and the wind and snow surrounding the Red Pavilion suddenly gathered, coalescing into a hazy figure that descended by her side.
It was the Snow Master.
“Your Majesty.” The Snow Master spoke respectfully.
The Little Emperor said wearily, “I’m tired, I’ll leave the matter of seeing off the guest to you.”