Chapter 58: Choice

One's journey through life is invariably fraught with numerous choices.

Every single choice implies stepping onto a distinct path, revealing a landscape entirely different from the last.

Perhaps resplendent with blooming flowers, or perhaps stretching into boundless desolation.

This is what one might call destiny.

When Chen Xiaofu first arrived in this world, his sole ambition was to remain in Lin'an for the rest of his days, lingering in the Huaxi Courtyard as an idle slacker for a lifetime.

He had no desire to concoct countless inventions to amass a fortune and become the richest man under heaven, because being the richest man was far from easy!

His efforts to build a blacksmith's workshop, open mines, and erect the perimeter wall of Huaxi Courtyard stemmed entirely from a craving for inner security—

He firmly believed that Pan Bufou would never dare dispatch troops to assault Huaxi Courtyard; he assumed Pan Bufou's most likely recourse would be hiring assassins from the martial underworld!

Now, it appeared his understanding had been overly narrow.

The civilization here was still rather barbarous, lacking any meaningful semblance of order.

Qian Shilin's words held profound truth!

Without the shelter of Granny, Pan Bufou could genuinely fabricate some pretext to openly deploy troops and trample Huaxi Courtyard into the dust!

The common folk of Lin'an City would watch,

would be shocked,

would rejoice,

and would gloat maliciously:

"Just look at that little scoundrel Chen Xiaofu, putting on such a civilized facade, only to be secretly in league with bandits!"

"Fortunately, His Excellency the Left Chancellor is wise and insightful, having seen right through his treacherous schemes. Otherwise, that brat might have led those bandits to conquer Lin'an City itself!"

"It is merely a pity for Miss An, who was deceived by Chen Xiaofu's honeyed words and ended up as a sacrificial pawn."

Framing an ordinary person with a crime might require some effort, but for a man like Pan Bufou, it was effortless.

For the very first time, Chen Xiaofu realized profoundly that a transmigrator was not omnipotent!

He might be matchless under heaven when it came to poetry, lyrics, and prose, but in the face of power and the machinery of the state, he was utterly worthless!

He and An Xiaowei and the others departed from Qing Garden.

He had given Qian Shilin a satisfactory choice!

Inside the returning carriage, An Xiaowei's gaze fell upon Chen Xiaofu's somewhat solemn countenance, and she gently said:

"Perhaps Old Man Qian spoke with a degree of exaggeration. Jian'an, if you dislike serving as an official, we simply shall not be one."

"I... in truth, I also harbor no wish for you to enter officialdom."

"As for the threat from Pan Bufou that Old Man Qian mentioned, I shall set off for the Imperial Capital tomorrow. Once I obtain an audience with Her Majesty the Empress, I will recount the entire affair of Lin'an to her."

"Since Pan Qingyun was in the wrong from the outset, we shall ask Her Majesty the Empress to dispense justice for us. Presumably, Pan Bufou would then not dare to act rashly."

A smile appeared on Chen Xiaofu's face.

He shook his head and looked at An Xiaowei:

"Ultimately, this treats the symptoms rather than the root cause... Her Majesty the Empress is already thirty-seven years of age by count; inevitably, her steps will precede ours."

"As for the affairs of the imperial court, I am presently completely in the dark... My point is that while I am unclear who is most likely to inherit the throne, Pan Bufou assuredly has someone he supports!"

"If the imperial prince he backs ascends the dragon throne, by then I would have no opportunity left to latch onto a powerful patron."

"The Great Zhou will afford no refuge for us; we would likely have no choice but to flee to some distant foreign land."

Liang Jingru, seated opposite, interjected at this moment:

"Tell me, aren't you two overcomplicating things?"

"After all, nothing has actually happened yet, and you are already frightening yourselves into such a state of dread. Is there truly any necessity for this?"

Chen Xiaofu did not refute her.

It was not because Liang Jingru's words made sense, but rather because he saw no need to argue with her over such a matter.

Though he had never served as an official in his past life, he had nevertheless heard tales of certain things.

He was acutely aware of the ruthlessness inherent in political struggle.

With Pan Qingyun having been beaten, how could Pan Bufou easily swallow such a bitter humiliation!

The dignity of the Left Chancellor's estate could not simply be cast aside like that.

"How many children does Her Majesty the Empress have?"

An Xiaowei spoke in a low voice: "Only three imperial princes."

"The First Prince, Chen Yu, was born in the second year of Changle, and is now twenty-xiu years of age. Three years ago, he was enfeoffed as the Prince of Ding, with Luoyi as his fiefdom..."

"Luoyi is said to be exceedingly fine; Her Majesty the Empress even constructed an imperial villa there, named the Zywiec Palace."

"The Imperial Capital refers to it as the Eastern Capital. Over the past two years, Her Majesty has traveled to Luoyi at the beginning of April to reside in the Zywiec Palace for two months, ostensibly to admire the peonies of Luoyi, though another rumor suggests Her Majesty does this to make amends for the... regrets concerning the First Prince's early childhood."

"When the First Prince was born, he was not yet the First Prince."

"At that time, Her Majesty the Empress was merely an imperial concubine of humble rank, and it is said the days spent by mother and son in the inner palace were far from easy."

"The Second Prince, Chen Qian, was born in the fourth year of Changle, and is nineteen years old. By rights, he should have been enfeoffed as a prince and required to leave the Imperial Capital, yet Her Majesty appears to have no such intention."

"The Third Prince, Chen Kun... he is not the son of the late Emperor."

Chen Xiaofu was startled, and then he heard An Xiaowei continue in a subdued tone:

"Following the demise of the Changle Emperor and prior to Her Majesty the Empress ascending the throne, everyone within the inner palace... and I mean everyone! They were all put to death!"

"The children born to the Changle Emperor's various consorts, along with all the palace maids and eunuchs, were buried alive as funerary companions to the Changle Emperor."

"It was said to be the dying edict of the Changle Emperor... At any rate, ever since that incident, rumors spread that the inner palace was haunted and profoundly unsettled, which consequently led to the decision to relocate the capital to Jicheng."

"This must be a fabrication, especially since Old Man Qian mentioned just now that the relocation of the capital was a suggestion he personally submitted to Her Majesty the Empress."

"When Her Majesty ascended the throne, she was merely in her early twenties. At the inception of her reign, the Great Zhou faced internal rebellion and external threats alike, and Her Majesty was exceedingly busy and exhausted during those years."

"In the spring of the fifth year of Fengli, Her Majesty led a distant expedition to the Northern Desert, driving the wasteland barbarians a thousand miles away. Having resolved the northern threat at a single stroke, Her Majesty finally found a measure of ease."

"In the sixth year of Fengli, the Empress returned in triumph to the capital, and that autumn... Her Majesty conceived a child."

"In May of the seventh year of Fengli, Her Majesty gave birth to the Third Prince, bestowed with the name Chen Kun. He is merely ten years old this year."

Chen Xiaofu asked with curiosity: "Then who is the father of this Third Prince?"

An Xiaowei paused in contemplation for three breaths: "The inner palace presently houses twelve male favorites... yet no one knows who the father of the Third Prince truly is."

So Her Majesty the Empress was likewise unable to endure solitude.

To this, Chen Xiaofu could readily understand.

When a man ascends the throne as emperor, his inner palace boasts three thousand beauties.

When a woman ascends the throne as empress, she maintains twelve male favorites... that seemed entirely reasonable.

"Then who is most likely to occupy the Eastern Capital Palace?"

"The faction of the Right Chancellor, Lord Liao Shikun, supports the Prince of Ding, while the faction of the Left Chancellor, Pan Bufou, supports the Second Prince, Chen Qian... Grandfather says that the ultimate outcome of such matters cannot be foreseen by anyone."

"Although the Prince of Ding resides far away in Luoyi, Her Majesty the Empress has visited there every year for the past two years."

"Yet the Second Prince, who ought to have been enfeoffed as a prince, has remained un-enfeoffed and continues to dwell within the palace... thus the underlying intent of Her Majesty's actions remains inscrutable."

"As for the Third Prince, firstly he is too young, and secondly... his provenance dictates that he has no affinity with the dragon throne."

At this point, Liang Jingru abruptly interjected: "Oh, by the way, I once heard that in the summer of the sixth year of Changle, Her Majesty the Empress also gave birth to another son. Only the struggles within the inner palace were utterly ferocious at the time, and it was said that the child was smuggled out of the palace immediately after birth, and his whereabouts remain unknown to this day."

"If that imperial prince were still alive, he would now be seventeen years old, and he ought to be the true Third Prince!"

"Coursing through his veins is likewise the royal bloodline of the Chen Dynasty, making him eligible to cast a covetous eye upon that throne as well... What a pity, he was likely doomed to an early demise long ago."

An Xiaowei glared at Liang Jingru: "Such baseless fabrication must never be spoken aloud! At that time, Her Majesty the Empress was on the verge of perfecting her divine martial arts; she was not even in the palace, but rather in retreat at the Qinfeng Temple upon Fengming Mountain!"

Liang Jingru adopted a mischievous expression and stuck out her tongue. Chen Xiaofu was momentarily stunned upon hearing the name Qinfeng Temple on Fengming Mountain; Old Huang had mentioned this very place to him on the day he returned from the state of Qi.

So it turned out that when Her Majesty the Empress had still been a noble consort, she had gone to that temple to undertake a period of seclusion and martial retreat.

"Just how formidable is the martial prowess of the Empress?"

Liang Jingru pondered for three breaths, raised her gaze to the heavens, and said: "According to my father, it likely reaches the very zenith of the world!"

"What realm would that be?"

"One surmises it cannot be far from the status of a Grand Master."

"So formidable?"

"Indeed. Therefore, if you truly manage to cling to this towering tree, you really will be able to walk sideways through life without fear!"

An Xiaowei cast a rather worried look at Chen Xiaofu's handsome visage.

Liang Jingru seemed to grasp her unspoken thought and added yet another remark: "Listen here, do not even harbor the notion of becoming a male favorite of the Empress, or you shall meet a most wretched end in days to come!"