"Sir, what is this...?"
At the main gate of the Left Xian King's mansion, Tang Qingci hurried over, out of breath. After the doorkeeper opened the gate and saw Tang Qingci's anxious and flustered appearance, he asked in surprise.
Murong Bole's fears were realized. He had returned to the capital late last night, and after getting only a few hours of sleep at his mansion, Tang Qingci had already come to seek an audience.
"Quick, quick, where is the King? Take me to see the King immediately!" As soon as the gate was opened a crack, Tang Qingci squeezed in and said anxiously.
"Mr. Tang, why the rush so early in the morning? My father was traveling all day yesterday and is currently sleeping." Murong Yie, Murong Bole's second son, who was near the gate, saw the situation and walked over, drawing his sword, and said.
"Alas, Second Young Master, the King... he... what sleep is he still having? The sky is about to fall." Tang Qingci said urgently.
"Oh, please follow me, sir." Although Tang Qingci was a Han Chinese, he was Murong Bole's most trusted strategist. Seeing him arrive in such a hurry, Murong Yie knew something major had happened and said to Tang Qingci.
The two then walked towards the inner chambers, with Murong Yie in front and Tang Qingci behind.
"Second Young Master, slow down, wait for this old man." Murong Yie strode forward with great speed. Tang Qingci tried his best to catch up but couldn't match Murong Yie's pace, so he called out.
Wine and women are truly sharp knives, Tang Qingci sighed inwardly. He clearly had martial arts skills, but they were almost crippled now... he was practically like an ordinary person.
Wine and women had hollowed out his body, and Tang Qingci had almost returned his sect's skills to the sect...
Murong Yie heard him, nodded, stopped, and helped Tang Qingci towards the inner residence of the King's mansion.
.........
"Crack!" Murong Bole slammed a delicate blue and white porcelain bowl to the ground with force, shattering it into pieces and splashing tea everywhere.
"Stupid, foolish! Dumb as a pig!" Murong Bole then roared, "Shixi, why did you take such a foolish person as your disciple? How dare you make decisions on your own? How dare you act so inappropriately? You have ruined my grand plan!"
Sima Ling, Tang Qingci's disciple, had gathered a few people and planned to impeach Empress Murong Qing in the Yan Dynasty court and request her dethronement.
The current situation in the Great Yan was that the Empress Murong Qing's confidantes, cronies, and factions were spread throughout the court. Apart from military power, Murong Qing controlled the state affairs. In such a case, for Sima Ling and his group to try and overturn things would be harder than ascending to heaven. They might lose their heads before their memorial even reached the throne.
Sima Ling's actions would also create a serious consequence: alerting the enemy, causing Murong Qing's faction to act prematurely. Then Murong Bole and his group's plans would fall through. The failure of their plans would be a minor matter; it was more likely that the Great Yan would undergo earth-shattering changes. Therefore, how could Murong Bole not be anxious? How could he not be enraged?
It would be better to first depose Murong Qing's empress title and apprehend her, then cripple her followers, and only then impeach her at leisure.
"Your Highness, do not be hasty..." Tang Qingci said hurriedly, "Sima Ling is eager to make a contribution. I have already ordered him not to undertake such an inappropriate act and to avoid any rash actions."
Murong Bole breathed a sigh of relief and then asked with some concern, "What exactly caused this matter?"
"A few servants from the Right Xian King's mansion intruded into a civilian's home, beat the elder to death, and defiled the woman of the household. The city patrol got wind of it and reported it to the Youzhou prefectural office." Tang Qingci replied.
"Is it just that one person died?" Murong Bole said irritably. "Such a trivial matter, it's not like this hasn't happened before. Can it bring her down? It's utterly childish!"
"Your Highness speaks wisely." Tang Qingci nodded. "I have already ordered Sima Ling and the others not to act rashly and have sent people to guard them. However... however... I am worried that she already knows about this."
"So what if she knows?" Murong Bole mused. "At worst, we can make a sacrifice of a pawn to save the king."
"Your Highness..." Tang Qingci shook his head. "The current state of Great Yan is like a pile of dry kindling. A single spark can ignite a raging fire. Your Highness must make plans for this early on."
"Shixi, you mean...?" Murong Bole asked hesitantly. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
Tang Qingci nodded.
No villain lacks ruthlessness, and no gentleman is small-minded! At this juncture, a decisive move was necessary, yet Murong Bole was still hesitating, torn between difficult choices.
"Shixi, the current plan..." After a long pause, Murong Bole finally spoke. "He has retired from court affairs and rarely shows himself at this moment. I don't even know... I don't even know if he is alive or dead."
"Your Highness, rest assured." Tang Qingci replied after considerable thought. "On that day, he will inevitably leave the palace, and no one will be able to stop him."
.........
"The Way of Governing, obtaining the Way brings great peace, one is; a ruler, without losing the rule in roundness, without losing the standard in squareness, without losing the wood in the root, governs without losing the Way, and all things can be accomplished; founding and preserving, civil and military are both employed, two is; the Way of civil and military, each according to its time, is taken, preserved, each has its suitability, civil and military are like a person's two feet, neither can be lost or be uneven; many difficulties strengthen the nation, ease leads to ruin, three is. Being prepared in times of peace, having foresight, four is. As the Book of Changes says, do not forget danger in times of peace, do not forget ruin in times of existence, do not forget chaos in times of order, only then can one's person and country be preserved. To hold fire in a pile of firewood and sleep on it, the fire has not yet ignited, so one calls it peace, this is complacency. How is the current situation any different? The small spark, with a finger, can be extinguished. But when it rages like a prairie fire, even the waters of rivers cannot save it. The young swan, not yet hatched, can be peeked at from below. But when it soars among the clouds, even the most skilled cannot capture it..." Inside the Yan Imperial Palace, Empress Murong Qing of Great Yan slowly said to her own son, Murong Yi, the King of Gan Quan of Great Yan.
"Eji, what you say is much better than the scholar's." Murong Yi, though he barely understood the elaborate speech, felt that his mother was learned and said happily.
"Yi'er..." Murong Qing smiled slightly. "I told you not to call me Eji, but Mother Empress, understand?"
"Oh, Eh... Mother Empress, but... Mother Empress is a Han title." Murong Yi said.
"So what if it's a Han title? The principles I just spoke of, Mother Empress learned them from Han books. Yi'er, don't you like Han books? I heard you also like Han clothing?" Murong Qing said with a smile.
"Heh heh, Mother Empress knows?" Murong Yi said with a cheeky grin. "I... I will deal with them later. They must have told Mother Empress."
"Yi'er, no joking in the imperial court." Murong Qing admonished. "For those who are in authority, they should be magnanimous in virtue, and守之以恭者；荣；守之以俭者，安；守之以卑者."
"Your son obeys Mother Empress's teachings." Murong Yi lowered his head and said.
In the magnificent hall, capable of accommodating hundreds of people, only the most powerful mother and son of Great Yan spoke. The hundreds of eunuchs and palace maids serving in the hall held their breaths, as if they were wooden sculptures, and everything appeared solemn and majestic.
Empress Murong Qing governed far better than Murong Xi, but because she was a woman, many people were dissatisfied.
After a long while, a middle-aged Xianbei official tiptoed into the hall, glanced at Murong Qing, and then stood in a corner of the hall, waiting to speak with her.
Great Yan had an office called "Jin Ci A La," which held considerable power. Its duties were twofold: first, it was responsible for guarding the palace; second, it was responsible for intelligence gathering, surveillance, and apprehension. Guarding the palace was one thing; it was merely wearing imposing attire and standing in court, mostly to intimidate. However, intelligence gathering, surveillance, apprehension, and judicial matters were where its true power lay. It was responsible for monitoring officials, the military, and the common people for the emperor, investigating misconduct, controlling public opinion, and so on. It had the authority to detain first and report later, or to directly report rumors. In extreme cases where the imperial power was threatened, it could even carry out assassinations. Of course, when the imperial power was threatened, and whether it was threatened, was a matter of subjective interpretation, with Jin Ci A La making the final decision.
Therefore, officials and commoners of Great Yan often feared the Jin Ci A La more than the Yan army.
The middle-aged Xianbei official was the commander of Jin Ci A La, named Gu Yin Qi Dan. Gu Yin Qi Dan, as the head of Jin Ci A La, was in charge of the entire organization.
Gu Yin Qi Dan was tall and thin with prominent cheekbones, but his eyes revealed a sinister gleam.
Gu Yin Qi Dan was a household general and former subordinate of the Right Xian King Murong Wang. His position as the head of Jin Ci A La indicated that Murong Qing had completely gained control of Jin Ci A La, and by extension, had control over the court and the country. From matters of treason to trivial personal affairs of officials and commoners, such as marriages and funerals, even to which official or general had taken a concubine and how she was housed and fed, everything was under the purview of Jin Ci A La.
As the saying goes, one does not visit the three treasures without reason. Gu Yin Qi Dan's arrival in the hall without prior announcement indicated that something significant had occurred. However, Murong Qing seemed not to notice and continued to speak with King Gan Quan, Murong Yi.
After a while, Murong Qing finally rose and went to a side hall. Gu Yin Qi Dan followed closely, entering a secret chamber within the hall.
"Go and summon the banner general," Murong Qing instructed a trusted palace maid as she sat in the secret chamber.
After Murong Wang's death, Murong Qing and her younger brother Murong Kang had relied on each other for survival, to maintain their former glory, and to ensure their lineage continued to shine.
After the palace maid left, Murong Qing asked Gu Yin Qi Dan, "Is it about that madman Sima Ling?"
Gu Yin Qi Dan nodded slightly, then shook his head slightly.