Chapter 4: Bringing a Coffin to Court, Begging the Emperor for Death

What?

An audience—with a coffin?

Wasn’t that a little excessive?

Honestly, Li Xuanzhen had felt no particular anxiety when the eunuch outside began announcing the arrivals. But the words “bearing a coffin” made his heart lurch.

He had never imagined his grandfather, a man in his sixties, could be this bold.

Everyone in Tai’an knew the old duke, Li Zhenbei, had retired to enjoy his remaining years at home, taking no part in court affairs.

Now that same old man was bringing a coffin into Zichen Hall.

Li Xuanzhen’s eyes shifted as he worked out the reason.

His grandfather had come to back him up.

Warmth spread through his chest.

In his previous life, he had been an orphan. No father, no mother, no family at all.

In this life, he had acquired a second chance for nothing—and a whole family willing to risk their lives to protect him.

The bonds of blood were never something a person could disregard.

Emperor Jingyuan’s face was cold, his mood foul.

Events were straying further and further from his expectations.

He had only intended to make an example of the Duke of Liang’s household, killing a chicken to frighten the monkeys and reinforce imperial authority.

Now, before he could kill the chicken, the monkeys were jumping out one after another.

Chancellor Zhang was here. Three dukes were here. Even the old duke had arrived with a coffin.

But with everyone already outside the hall, he could hardly refuse to summon them.

He grunted. “Let them enter.”

Soon Chancellor Zhang Wenzhen and the Dukes of Lü, Chen, and Wu, accompanied by their sons, entered Zichen Hall.

Zhang Wenzhen led the way. A senior statesman who had served two emperors, he had few wrinkles, but his temples were silver and his steps measured.

Once inside, he showed no haste to take sides. He simply stood to one side with his eyes lowered, looking more like someone who had come to listen.

The three dukes wore different expressions, but the anger beneath them was much the same.

Li Zhenbei came last.

Behind him, eight Imperial Guard soldiers carried a large black coffin high between them.

All eight were deathly pale and streaming with cold sweat, placing each foot with extreme care.

Neither the Duke of Liang nor the emperor was someone they could afford to offend.

It must have been sheer bad luck that had put them on duty today.

Since Great Li’s founding, no subject had ever brought a coffin before the throne. Mishandle this task, and at best they would lose their heads. At worst, their whole families would die.

A miserable assignment indeed.

Emperor Jingyuan looked past everyone else and fixed his gaze on Li Zhenbei.

“Your Grace, what is your intention in bringing a coffin here?”

Li Zhenbei stepped forward and cupped his hands.

“Your Majesty, the late emperor granted me special permission to appear at court in armor and bearing a saber.”

Emperor Jingyuan frowned.

The late emperor had indeed bestowed that honor on the Duke of Liang. Permission to wear armor and carry a saber, however, was not permission to bring a coffin.

“I have not come today to plead for my grandson,” Li Zhenbei continued.

“Even an emperor who breaks the law should bear the same guilt as a commoner. How much more so a legitimate grandson of my household?

“I ask only that Your Majesty grant me one favor.”

The emperor’s frown deepened. “What favor do you seek? Speak freely.”

Li Zhenbei saluted.

“My grandson is unruly. His ill repute is known throughout this great city of Tai’an.

“My failure to discipline my household deserves punishment.

“That said, unruly though he is, he is the treasure in my palm, the flesh of my heart.

“I do not intend to beg Your Majesty’s mercy for his crimes.

“For one simple reason: I still have some pride.

“But before you kill my grandson, I beg Your Majesty to issue one edict.”

“What edict would you have Us issue?” the emperor asked.

For some reason, a faint unease had begun to stir within him.

Li Zhenbei straightened his back and answered solemnly.

“I cannot bear to bury a grandson before my own time has come. I beg Your Majesty to grant me death.”

Utter silence fell over the hall.

Chancellor Zhang, the three dukes, and the six vice ministers who had remained after court all felt a jolt.

Li Xuanzhen was shaken to his core.

His grandfather was far too bold!

Emperor Jingyuan’s face turned black.

The old duke’s words seemed simple enough. Consider their implications, however, and they were chilling.

This was no plea for mercy. It was coercion.

Who in Great Li did not know that two generations of the Duke of Liang’s family had shed their blood for the nation?

The duke’s eldest legitimate son, in particular, had died for his country. His body had still not been recovered.

Above all, there were the fifty thousand troops of the Realm-Guarding Army on the northern frontier.

Chancellor Zhang Wenzhen’s brow tightened briefly.

Li Xuanzhen’s offenses could be treated as serious or minor.

If the emperor chose to let the matter go, the court would remain stable, and so would Great Li.

But if he insisted on punishing Li Xuanzhen severely over these two incidents, it would amount to moving against the Duke of Liang’s household.

And if he also granted the old duke death…

Once the hare was dead, the hunting hounds went into the cooking pot.

Would the fifty thousand troops in the north rebel?

No one could say. No one dared say.

Even Emperor Jingyuan could not be certain.

If matters reached that point, the Realm-Guarding Army might fight all the way from the north to Tai’an. Even if Great Li’s three hundred thousand soldiers stopped them, the casualties would be catastrophic.

With no fighting troops left, Great Li would stand wide open.

The six other kingdoms of the Central Plains would be like wolves and tigers scenting blood. They would tear Great Li apart without hesitation.

The peoples beyond the borders would do the same.

Great Li would be shattered. A dynasty that had survived sixteen emperors would perish in Emperor Jingyuan’s hands.

The assembled officials could not help admiring the old duke in secret. What a move. What nerve.

On the dais, Emperor Jingyuan looked equally grim.

He had heard the warning beneath the duke’s words, and understood their deepest implication.

The old duke intended to trade the Realm-Guarding Army’s great services for his grandson’s life.

His achievements could then offset both the boy’s boast about marrying a princess and his banquet on the tenth anniversary of the late emperor’s passing.

But how had events come to this? Emperor Jingyuan could not understand it.

Who had prompted Zhao Ji to lodge the complaint? The six vice ministers had their suspicions, but dared not voice them.

Just then, Zhang Wenzhen secretly raised his eyes, glanced once at the emperor on the dais, and immediately lowered them again.

Having heard the old duke out, the other three dukes raised their hands and began furiously slapping the wayward sons they had brought to the audience.

Their boys had participated in every offense Li Xuanzhen had committed yesterday.

Indeed, the five young men present were the Great Li dynasty’s supreme collection of wastrels.

Li Xuanzhen, of course, stood at their head.

Lü Feng and Chen Tu were concubine-born sons of the Dukes of Lü and Chen.

Wu Zhaoxu was also concubine-born. But the Duke of Wu had only ever had two sons, and his eldest legitimate son had died suddenly of a terrible illness the year before last.

That left Wu Zhaoxu as his only surviving son.

He also had four elder sisters. Two were married; two remained at home awaiting marriage.

But none of that excused the little bastard!

Wu Liujia kicked his son to the floor and landed several hard slaps.

“You ungrateful brat! You never learn anything decent. How many times have I told you to stay away from that disreputable crowd? But you just wouldn’t fucking listen!

“Now you’ve landed yourself in trouble. Just wait till we get home. I’ll skin you alive!”

Wu Zhaoxu begged for mercy, scrambling about on the floor.

Chen Tu and Lü Feng were faring no better.

Ordinarily, these three old dukes met everyone with smiling faces.

Here in Zichen Hall, all three showered their sons with curses, fists, and kicks.

Their language was remarkably crude, too…

Standing silently to one side, Li Xuanzhen felt his mouth twitch again and again.

Disreputable crowd?

Who exactly were they talking about?

On the dais, Emperor Jingyuan frowned and sighed at the spectacle.

He let the three dukes carry on a little longer before giving a cold snort.

“Enough! All of you!”

The three stopped at once and saluted toward the throne.

Li Xuanzhen’s mouth twitched again.

They could start and stop their beatings and curses at will. What appalling actors!

With things having reached this point, Emperor Jingyuan knew the matter could no longer be settled lightly. He looked toward Li Zhenbei.

“We understand why you have come, Your Grace.

“Rest assured. Great Li’s laws are strict. They will not wrong an innocent man, nor will they spare a guilty one.

“If Li Xuanzhen is truly innocent, We shall see that he receives justice.”

Li Zhenbei’s expression slowly darkened.

What did innocent mean here?

Even if villains had incited him, Li Xuanzhen had undeniably committed both offenses yesterday.

If the emperor insisted on pursuing them, the boy might avoid execution, but he would hardly escape punishment.

Seeing everyone fall silent, Zhao Ji hurried forward and saluted.

“Your Majesty is wise.”

Li Zhenbei was about to offer another defense of his grandson when Li Xuanzhen stepped forward.

“Your Majesty, I object.”

Every gaze in the hall swung toward him.

Emperor Jingyuan narrowed his eyes. “You object?”

Li Xuanzhen saluted again.

“I have something to say about yesterday’s events.

“Zhao Ji’s incitement was a deliberate provocation. He harbored malicious designs and intended to sow discord among the ducal houses.

“Moreover, the princess is noble and possesses peerless beauty. I am hardly the only man in Great Li who admires her.

“But Zhao Ji had no right to make a joke of this.

“Speaking frivolously of the princess is already a breach of Great Li’s laws.

“As a subject of Great Li and a duke’s legitimate grandson, I had to offer a vigorous response to uphold those laws.

“Such reckless, corrupt behavior must never be allowed to spread elsewhere.

“I am a strategist, willing to enter the game myself. Everything I do is for Great Li.”

To give him his due, Li Xuanzhen delivered that speech without servility or arrogance.

Had Emperor Jingyuan not known about the two incidents, the boy’s performance today might well have fooled him.

Li Xuanzhen drew a deep breath, took in the others’ expressions, and gave a cold laugh.

He was ready to make a bigger play.

His moment to dazzle the crowd had arrived.

He bowed, cupped his hands, and spoke respectfully.

“Yet Your Majesty’s words just now suggest you are shielding Zhao Ji.

“I do not believe that is the conduct of a wise sovereign.”

The air in Zichen Hall seemed to freeze.

The six vice ministers drew sharp breaths in unison.

Zhang Wenzhen’s eyelid twitched violently.

Zhao Ji could not suppress his rising smile.

As far as he was concerned, Li Xuanzhen had found his own path to death.

On the dais, Emperor Jingyuan sat upright.

“What did you say?” His voice was soft, but anger lay within it. “You say We are shielding Zhao Ji?”

Li Xuanzhen raised his head, meeting him openly. His voice rang clear.

“Allow me to explain, Your Majesty.

“Zhao Ji publicly offered ten taels of gold as a prize to goad me into saying I would marry a princess.

“Many at the Imperial Academy heard him with their own ears. I did not invent this.

“Last night at Hundred Flowers House, he used a banquet to lure me in, urging me to feast extravagantly and scatter gold and silver.

“Lü Feng, Chen Tu, and Wu Zhaoxu can all bear witness.

“If Zhao Ji is innocent, so am I.

“If I am guilty, his guilt must be greater.

“Yet Your Majesty summoned me alone to Zichen Hall to answer charges, while allowing Zhao Ji to stand by as a spectator. I dare to ask Your Majesty one question…”

He drew a deep breath and enunciated every word.

“When Zhao Ji complains, Your Majesty believes him.

“When I protest my innocence, Your Majesty doubts me.

“I dare to ask: is that fair?”

Bang!

Emperor Jingyuan slammed his hand down and rose.

Every civil and military official in the hall dropped to his knees.