Silent Crown

If Ye Qingxuan kept a diary, the contents of the day’s entry would definitely be very strange:

On the first day of arriving in the East, I broke through the Great Wall, descended from the sky, and fell onto the battlefield. Both sides fired at me at the same time, and I had to cover my face and scurry away embarrassingly. Then, I slammed into the enemy’s headquarters, and the central tent of the enemy collapsed under my weight. No, actually, if I fell slightly to one side, I could have crushed the commander and brought victory to the other side.

Then I climbed out of the pit and saw a goddamn old man.

Bai Heng.

Bai Heng, the Regent.

A treacherous traitor, with wild ambition like a tiger or wolf… His name was always followed by 100,000 titles absolutely unpleasant to the ear, and they were all synonymous to the term “rebel.” If the present ruler had been a man, then other accusations of stealing the sovereignty of the nation, treating his own word as law, and holding the nobles hostage would have probably been spread everywhere.

But for Ye Qingxuan, the affairs of the East had nothing to do with him at all.

As for why he wanted, for a moment, to kill the old man, it was because the latter once took Bai Xi away from him in the Sacred City.

To a certain extent, Bai Heng could be considered to have helped Ye Qingxuan become who he was at the moment. Had he not been provoked by Bai Heng, Ye Qingxuan would probably still be a small musician who was getting by in Anglo, striving to stay away from power and disputes, his possessions constantly being robbed by others.

So, as a thank you gift, how about death by being torn limb from limb while being tied to five horses galloping in different directions?

For the elderly, death by being cut into a thousand pieces seemed a bit too cruel and inhumane. It would be best to choose a sufficiently comfortable method of death. How about ten feet of white silk, a glass of poisoned wine, or the simple and direct way of cutting his head off? Or, even more straightforwardly, blast him into pieces in an instant with From the New World!

Although he arranged countless ways for this “kind old uncle” to die in a flash, Ye Qingxuan did not act recklessly. As for the reason why, the other party knew that it was he who fell from the sky, yet still dared to come forward. Clearly, the old man was counting on something he didn’t know.

What was more, Ye Qingxuan always had doubts about Bai Heng’s true identity. What actually was the Duke of the Dragon Bloodline, the Regent of Aurora, the head of House Bai?

A freak created by humans, or the legendary… Tung Wang Kung?

Before him might be a being of the same status as Hermes, another of the Three Wise Men, that won the final victory by putting an end to the other’s existence after countless years of fighting.

A catastrophe in human skin.

Thinking of it, Ye Qingxuan felt his head aching.

Shouldn’t an old monster of such a high difficulty level walk out of the palace laughing loudly only after I experience countless hardships, defeat the tigers, lions, and elephants blocking my path, and fight various opponents level by level, all the way from minions to the eight pillars of the country [1] and the four heavenly kings [2]?

Why has he appeared right in front of my eyes as soon as I entered Aurora?

At the moment, it is not about what I want to do, but what the other party wants to do.

…

Bai Heng did nothing.

To be exact, he simply reached out and pulled Ye Qingxuan out of the pit, motioning for his servants to leave. He withdrew the troops encircling the young man. Even the scepter musicians hiding in the air were dismissed. It was as if they were uncle and nephew, having a heart to heart conversation.

Smiling, he invited Ye Qingxuan to take a seat opposite him, his smile kind. “Have some tea?” As he said so, he personally lifted the teapot and poured Ye Qingxuan a cup of… mud, full of dust and debris from the roof beam. Bai Heng was momentarily stunned, but for some reason unknown, it was Ye Qingxuan who felt awkward.

Ah, indeed, it’s my fault for falling from the sky… Otherwise, everyone should have started praising the high-quality tea leaves.

“Better not drink it then, just put it here.” Bai Heng shook his head. “It isn’t bad as a decoration.”

So, in a room full of cracks with a big hole in the ceiling, the two sat in the chairs beside the big pit. A stream of sunlight shone through the big hole above, and the wind carried the faint noise of men fighting from afar. Dust fell from the ceiling into the cups in front of the two.

Ignoring the godd*mn environment, they both pretended that they were sitting opposite each other in an elegant and clean tea room.

It was extraordinarily awkward.

“So, by the looks of it, you have finally rebelled?” Ye Qingxuan looked to his side, at the sand table that was half smashed by his weight, the half of which was also overturned and crushed by the air pressure as a result of his fall, and his expression became mocking.

“The way I phrase it, you may not believe me.” Bai Heng’s expression was weird. “Actually, it was Her Majesty who rebelled.”

“…” Ye Qingxuan was silent and speechless. He had never seen such a brazen person.

“It’s true, or rather, I should say that I am the one who has been working hard to pick up the pieces for her all along. Otherwise, how could Her Majesty get rid of all the deep-rooted evils in the short period of slightly more than ten years?”

Bai Heng sighed and shrugged. “Unfortunately, I have too much power and influence, and Her Majesty cannot tolerate my existence anymore. Otherwise, it would have become a much-told tale of a praise-worthy relationship between a ruler and her courtier.”

“Ha, you can boast all you like.” Ye Qingxuan snickered, “Rebel against herself, is the empress really that dumb?”

“Yes.” Bai Heng nodded, and his smile became odd. “Can you guess what Her Majesty did?”

“What did she do?” Ye Qingxuan had a bad feeling.

“Everyone knows that the present empress has promoted the status of plebeians and commoner musicians… That’s alright, but the main point is…” Bai Heng was silent for a moment, then lamented, “It is very troublesome to explain the various initiatives to you, but only a few months ago, everyone finally knew that her real intention was to abolish the establishment of the nine families of Dragon Bloodline. Mhmm, yes, she intends to completely abolish the enfeoffment system of the nine families of Dragon Bloodline.”

“…” Ye Qingxuan was silent. He went through stages of confusion, stupefaction, puzzlement, surprise, then finally shock. As if he saw the lords and ministers pole dancing in front of him, he widened his eyes and looked at Bai Heng.

Friend, what did you say?

“Ah, you didn’t hear me wrong.” Bai Heng said calmly, “Her Majesty has high ambitions. She is not targeting my House Bai specifically, but also House Liu, House Yuan, House Changsun, House Yunlou, House Ye in one go. Even House Lou and House Qin, which have disappeared to God knows where a long time ago, with her own royal family, all will be abolished together.

“Truly a ruler of unparalleled wisdom, how very admirable.”

Ye Qingxuan didn’t have to look in a mirror to know that, at the moment, he must have looked as if he had seen a ghost.

Indeed, as Bai Heng said…

Her Majesty has rebelled!

Others have rebelled against the throne, but she actually wants to rebel against herself!

What is going on in her mind!

“In short, now all the nine families of the Dragon Bloodline are on my side.” Bai Heng’s fingers tapped the teacup. “Now showing is the advance of the army of the coalition of the six feudatories to the capital to ‘serve the throne’ and ‘rid the empress of evil ministers’ [3]. How is it? Do you like the show?”

Like… your *ss! What the hell!

I’ve come over with the intention of keeping a low profile and bringing my cousin back to Anglo, why have I run into such a goddamn situation!

“Speaking of which, it’s all thanks to the fragment of the Wheel of Balance that I brought back.” Bai Heng said calmly, “I didn’t expect Her Majesty to use the Wheel of Balance and the Great Wall to completely block Aurora off from the outside world in one night. I’m afraid that no one outside can guess what’s going on here?”

No, only the devil would be able to guess what has happened here!

And everyone thinks that you are the fella who has launched a coup!

In the end, you’ve actually become the empress’ scapegoat?

Ye Qingxuan felt complicated.

The treacherous traitor is actually maintaining the orthodoxy…

That being said, the orthodoxy is a pretty awful one after all.

However, what on earth is Her Majesty thinking of when she just abolished the nine families of the Dragon Bloodline that have existed for centuries?

Disregarding the ridiculousness Ye Qingxuan felt in his heart, as if he had f*cked a dog, Bai Heng tapped on the teacup, humming a melody. He glanced at Ye Qingxuan, half smiling.

“If my guess is not wrong, you are here to look for Bai Xi?”

“Why?” Ye Qingxuan’s gaze turned cold. “Are you afraid that I’m here to avenge Hermes?”

“Well, kinda.” Bai Heng nodded. “We are presently within five steps of each other. Anyone can deal as much damage as that dealt by the forces of an entire country under such circumstances. I heard that you have stirred up a lot of trouble in the outside world. If you attempt to assassinate me now, I will most probably meet an unfavorable outcome, won’t I?”

“Rest assured, even if I wanted to kill you, it has nothing to do with Hermes.” Ye Qingxuan kept his eyes low. “If he hadn’t wanted to die, you couldn’t have killed him.”

Bai Heng was silent for a moment and slowly nodded. “You are right.”

“So, where is Bai Xi?” Ye Qingxuan looked at him. “I’ll put an end to the grudge between us someday later, but now I want to take Bai Xi with me and leave.”

“Unfortunately, Bai Xi is not here.” Bai Heng shrugged. “You see, I have rebelled. As a hostage to the imperial city, Bai Xi must have been taken captive immediately.

“But rest assured, Her Majesty the Empress also likes her very much, and she knows that it is useless to kill her. Bai Xi is still alive. Perhaps there’s meat at her table for three meals a day, and she may even have gained a pound or two.”

The sound of metal colliding burst forth from the air, and a harsh noise sounded.

Sparks flew in front of Bai Heng.

The incorporeal blade was barely an inch away from the Regent’s neck.

“As you can see, although I am a member of the nine families of the Dragon Bloodline, actually, I am not even a musician.” Bai Heng sighed. “Lacking any ability for self-protection makes one extraordinarily afraid of death. So, it is also normal for me to have some kind of precaution in place, am I right?”

The sparks went out and the incorporeal blade disappeared.

Indifferent to the cold look on Ye Qingxuan’s face, Bai Heng smiled happily and leaned forward a little, placing himself right in front of Ye Qingxuan. He looked at him with an exceptionally kind gaze.

“Ye Qingxuan, look, I can make the decision to give you Bai Xi’s hand in marriage, how about that? As a dowry, I will give you the fief of House Bai as well, and help you rebuild House Ye.”

Ye Qingxuan wore an indifferent expression. “I’m sorry, I have no interest in rebuilding House Ye, and I don’t want to get involved in the war between you and the empress.”

“What are you even thinking about!” Bai Heng’s expression turned unhappy, as if he felt that he was underestimated. “Bai Xi is my daughter. Do I seem like the same type of person as Yunlou Qingshu, who uses his daughters to seek allies for himself?

“Furthermore, why on earth would one let his son-in-law go into battle? I can’t hope for anything more than a long and lasting marriage for you two. If anything happens to you, Bai Xi couldn’t even be a grass widow, could she? ”

He looked at Ye Qingxuan seriously, his expression solemn. “I am willing to marry my daughter to you, and of course, it’s because you love each other. Ye Qingxuan, what makes you think that I’m not capable of helping others to fulfill their cherished hopes?”

Ye Qingxuan rolled his eyes.

Ha. Ha.

Which punctuation in your sentence should I believe in? [4]

Helping others to fulfill their cherished hopes?

Is this phrase even in your dictionary?

If word gets out, will anyone in the world who has a brain believe it?

[1] Eight well-known generals of the Western Wei dynasty.

[2] Four gods in Buddhism.

[3] Subtle ways of saying “stage a coup d’état,” or more precisely, the staging of a coup that, if successful, would result in the ruler losing power yet maintaining a ceremonial role. For it is the belief of the ancient Chinese that the emperor could do no wrong, hence, any regrettable decisions he made must have been the results of the persuasion of “evil” ministers, who would become the scapegoats in such a coup.

[4] Adapted from a Chinese meme that literally translates as “One can’t even believe in one punctuation out of the sentences a man has said,” which means, usually in a humorous way, that men cannot be trusted.