Chapter 243

Just and honorable? Long Xuan heard Long Xiang say these words, and was suddenly left a little absent-minded. [1]

“Brother,” Long Xiang didn’t notice the change in Long Xuan’s expression, and asked, “The Northern Yan wants to harm Luo Wei, so why did they implicate imperial grandmother too?”

“Why do you think father caused a scene in his visit to grandmother today?” Long Xuan asked Long Xiang.

“I don’t know. I don’t know what they were arguing about.”

Long Xuan sighed and shook his head.

Long Xiang thought for a while, before stammering to Long Xuan, “No, they weren't, they weren’t-” He repeated several times in succession, but he couldn’t bring himself to say the rest.

“They were arguing about Luo Wei.”

“Impossible!” Long Xiang shouted on the spot.

“What are you shouting for?” Long Xuan hurriedly said to Long Xiang, "It won't take long for the truth of this matter to come to light. Can’t you be more mindful of father's affairs?" 

Long Xiang stood there, staring blankly at Long Xuan. 

"Go sleep," Long Xuan felt uncomfortable being watched by Long Xiang. He wanted him to leave.

"Actually," Long Xiang said to Long Xuan at this time, "Actually, think about it, father is really kind to Luo Wei, he treats him even better than the crown prince. Brother, maybe Luo Wei is really- really our younger brother?"

"Father is kind to him?"

"Of course," Long Xiang said, "Everyone in the palace says that father was overjoyed when tenth brother was born. When Luo Wei held him, tenth brother cried a bit, and Concubine Li got worried and scolded Luo Wei. Since then, father has never gone to see Concubine Li again, not even tenth brother."

"Let me think about it carefully.” Long Xuan waved his hand at Long Xiang, "My mind is a mess right now, I need some quiet."

"I'm going to find father," Long Xiang said.

"What do you want with Imperial Father?" Long Xuan hurriedly asked.

Long Xiang said, "Regardless of whether Luo Wei is the emperor's son or not, dad cannot send him to the Northern Yan!"

"Father hasn't made a word about this matter public yet, are you running to get Li Hou killed?" Long Xuan stroked his forehead and said, "It will be addressed officially tomorrow, so don’t act hastily." 

”Brother, what about you?" Long Xiang asked Long Xuan, "What are you going to do?"

"I," Long Xuan said, "I'm the same as you, I don't want Luo Wei to die."

Long Xiang scratched his head and said, "Maybe we’re just worrying for nothing. Imperial Father dotes on Luo Wei so much, how could he send him away?"

"That's right," Long Xuan smiled at Long Xiang, "We'll talk tomorrow if you have anything else to discuss. Go back and rest now."

Long Xiang was a kind-hearted person. Thinking of the favor Emperor Xingwu had shown Luo Wei, he stopped worrying so much. He promptly left Long Xuan's Hall of Literary Transcendence and went back to his own place to retire for the night.

Long Xuan was sitting alone in the study. He had expected Li Hou to come to him. Finally, they had a chance to get rid of Luo Wei – how could these people let it pass by? Long Xuan did not believe that the prince had gone to Fengyi Hall to meet the empress. The prince was at the Eastern Palace [2], hearing what his father-in-law had to say about Luo Wei. Whether Luo Wei was the emperor's son or not was not important to the maternal relatives of these princes. Their priority was to do everything in their power to drive Luo Wei out of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Fu Yun came in panting and reported to Long Xuan: "Your Highness, Third Young Master Luo has entered the palace."

Long Xuan's eyelids twitched, "Did my father summon him?"

"Your Highness, His Majesty must have, otherwise Young Master Luo would not have been able to enter the palace."

"I understand," Long Xuan said, “You may go."

"Should we still keep an eye on Changming Palace?" Fu Yun asked.

"No need," Long Xuan said, "From now on, our people from the Hall of Literary Transcendence are prohibited from approaching Changming Palace." 

"Yes, I will give the order now." Fu Yun received the instructions and retreated.

Long Xuan blew out the candles on the table and plunged himself into darkness. As soon as Northern Yan’s treaty proposal was announced to the public, Luo Wei was summoned to the palace. This showed how in the mind of his father, the country still weighed more than Luo Wei, after all. Being in the palace in some ways protected Luo Wei from the rumors about him being the emperor's son, but it can also be said to prevent Luo Wei from escaping overnight after learning the news that he was going to be sent as a hostage.

"Your Highness," Fu Yun opened the door again and walked in. He whispered to Long Xuan, "The man you sent to the palace is back." 

"Reward him," Long Xuan said simply.

Fu Yun retreated again.

Emperor Xingwu had placed strict supervision on the Northern Yan diplomatic mission, fearing that the contents of Sima Qingsha's treaty would be leaked by the foreign envoys. Long Xuan movements were very simple – he had ordered someone to pose as a diplomat involved in the negotiation and spread the news, half-truth and half-falsehood. There were restaurants and teahouses all over Shangdu. As long as there is such a rumor in any one of them, it will soon spread throughout. Long Xuan sat in the shadows. Everything was going according to his plan, but he didn't feel any joy at all. Long Xuan even held some hope that, in this moment, Luo Wei would be able to surpass the Great Zhou Dynasty in the eyes of their father. Long Xuan rubbed his chest, it felt very uncomfortable there. [3]

In an inconspicuous side room of Qingwen Palace, Fu Yun was serving wine to a middle-aged eunuch. He smiled at the eunuch and said, "Old brother, you have really won His Highness' favor this time! If you climb up in the future, don’t forget me!”

"Steward Fu," the eunuch who had been flattered by Fu Yun hurriedly said, "You mustn’t say this again. I’ve only gone and said a few words, how much credit can I get?"

"Whether the credit is big or small, our thoughts on the matter are insignificant," Fu Yun said, holding up his cup, "It’s His Highness who has the final say. His Highness said you should be rewarded, so brother, you have managed to get ahead! Come on, brother, let’s have a toast. If you want to be rich, we must be rich together. After all, brother and I serve the same master." 

"Cheers!" The eunuch and Fu Yun clinked cups. [4]

Fu Yun smiled as he watched the eunuch drink the wine.

The eunuch finished his drink, and picked up his chopsticks to have some vegetables and subdue the taste of the alcohol. As soon as he stretched out his chopsticks, the man slipped from his seat to the floor.

Fu Yun put down the cup in his hand, squatted down, and checked the eunuch's breathing. There was no breath. "Be on your way," he wiped the blood from the eunuch's mouth with a handkerchief, and said to the dead man: "There are countless drugs in the palace that can be used to take a person’s life. This one allows one to pass without any pain at all. The eunuch’s life is cheap. If the master doesn’t want to keep you anymore, you are no longer human. When you are reincarnated in the next life, it is better to be a complete human being and beg for food on the street than to be a half-man or a half-woman serving people in this palace!"

The two little eunuchs heard Fu Yun shouting and walked into the room.

"Clean up," Fu Yun covered the dead man’s face with the bloodied handkerchief and ordered the two young eunuchs.

The two young eunuchs wrapped their dead senior in a roll of straw mat and took the body out of the palace overnight. They waited at the city gate until dawn. After the city gate opened, they transported the body to a mass grave in the southern suburbs and burned it clean.

No one will care if there was one more or one less eunuch in the palace. Everyone's eyes were only fixed on the Changming Palace. The life and death of a nobleman would always be more important than the life and death of a servant.

After sunrise, Emperor Xingwu walked out of the hidden room where Luo Zhijin's portrait was hung. He walked directly in front of Luo Zhiqiu and asked, "Have you thought about it?"

 Luo Zhiqiu slowly knelt down, with a sullen expression on his face. He lowered his head and looked at his hands on the ground.

"I ask you, is there a solution?" Emperor Xingwu urged Luo Zhiqiu in a louder voice.

"Your Majesty," Luo Zhiqiu's voice was very weak, but his words were extremely clear. He only said five words to Emperor Xingwu, "The country is most important." 

Translator Notes:

[1] 光明正大 - Upright, transparent, aboveboard.

[2] Eastern Palace 東宮 is the crown prince's residence, not to be confused with the Eastern Buddha Hall where the Empress Dowager lives. As a reminder, Fengyi Hall is the Empress's residence. 

[3] More specifically, his solar plexus was tight. Means he's stressed.

[4] Originally, 干 gan, short for 干杯 ganbei (lit. dry cup) 

Fun fact, Fu Yun's name means luck and good fortune. 

江山為重 The country is important. As you can see, four words. I believe the simplicity of the chengyu is important here to accentuate the weight of the words. This chapter is simple, you already know what is going to happen from the start. It's so very well written, I'm not sure I make it justice.

I'm thinking of publishing a page on this website where locations and names are compiled; please let me know in the comments if this would be useful.

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