From CEO to Concubine-Chapter 128: A Friendly Reminder

"Your Majesty, it’s late," a coy voice purred before their owner gave up at Liu Yao’s unimpressed glare, the lilting seduction immediately replaced by a hearty chuckle.

The candlelight flickered. At this hour, the standing lanterns of the emperor’s study in the imperial villa were already alight, the long tails of the pale blue luminescent wings of the moon moths fluttering like trails of pale silk in the night wind as they drew closer and closer to the irresistible flame.

"Close the window behind you if you’re not going to learn to use the door," Liu Yao admonished. It shouldn’t bother him; no emperor should be so soft at heart as to feel pity for the death of moths, of all creatures, even if such death were equally senseless. But lately, he’d developed a weakness for delicate, beautiful things that required no deep searching of his soul to understand.

Yao Siya let out another laugh. "Your Majesty is in a dour mood tonight," he remarked. "Could this be because the beloved Imperial Concubine Yue is already in bed at this ridiculous hour and Your Majesty has no choice but to settle for the subpar company of Gracious Consort Yao?"

Liu Yao did not doubt that if there were a spare divan around, Yao Siya and his irritating penchant for the dramatics, would choose this moment to swoon onto it. As it were, Weisong Study was filled to the brim with many ornamental shelves, book and scroll holders, and lavish rare collections of paintings but there were no spare seats to be had as a result of the lack of space. Liu Yao had underestimated his dear imperial father’s love for the ostentatious and had forgotten to ask the villa servants to clear out all this unnecessary clutter before taking up residence for the summer.

"This sovereign sees that you’re aware of just how lacking your company is," was Liu Yao’s calm retort but there was little heat in it. "Have your men returned with anything substantial to report?"

A while back, a new rumour started circulating in the capital, that the Xuanjun Emperor had lost all his good sense at the sight of a male beauty and wished to grant him the long-vacant position of empress. Liu Yao had an inkling of just which ministers of his were involved in its dissemination but it had suited his purposes just fine.

The key to a well-spread rumour was to include hints of truth, after all. And there was truth in this one; Liu Yao had every intention of making Ah Yun the first male empress of the dynasty. Whether this was in memory of who Ah Yun might once have been or his feelings for Ah Yun now did not matter anymore.

Liu Yao was more than happy to go along with their plan since it suited his purposes just fine. But that didn’t mean he was going to relinquish control of the situation that easily.

Seeing the conversation take a turn to matters of importance, Yao Siya shed his whimsicality like it was but a cloak and dropped to a one-knee salute.

"In response to Your Majesty’s query, the brocade guard has followed your instructions and obtained an outcome that has been favourable for our stance so far." The stance he was referring to was, of course, Liu Yao’s shocking decision to take a man as his lawful first wife. Even if Liu Yao had been a commoner, this would have caused quite a stir amongst their social circle; the southern wind might be a fashionable breeze blowing through the kingdom at the moment but this didn’t absolve a man of his responsibilities to his ancestral name.

Of the three unfilial acts, not leaving behind a descendant was the greatest violation (1). Hence, even if the love between males was romanticised amongst the literati and indulged in by many men who had the leisure to pursue their passions, it was rare that any, if at all, would take another for their legitimate wife. No, Yao Siya thought wryly. This would only put succession obstacles in the way of the female mistresses and the children they bore, as these offspring would automatically be considered bastards.

And yet, the one man who could not afford to have such a scandal happen, whose family matters were scrutinised by an entire nation, was choosing to defy all the traditional obligations that kept him shackled firmly upon his seat of power.

Liu Yao knew that Yao Siya had reservations about whether they were truly doing the right thing. He was not such a tyrant that he could not listen to well-meaning advice either but this was the one issue in his life that he would put his foot firmly down on.

His Ziyu had deserved more than compromise. His Ah Yun did too.

"Your Majesty delegated this task to the brocade guard to oversee but the methods employed required the assistance of the artisan and the beggars to really take hold."

Liu Yao nodded. The brocade guard was the only division of the emperor’s personal resources that were known to the public, often mistaken for the dogs that did the bidding of the power-hungry eunuchs of the Eastern Depot.

But in reality, the emperor’s reach was far longer than that. The wealthy and influential of the capital might suspect that Liu Yao was capable of finding out what went on in his civilians’ everyday lives through the use of eyes and ears but to date, they had yet to guess that the romantic tale told by the storytellers about the tragic nobleman’s son, who had at a young age been doomed through no fault of his own, had nonetheless retained his honour and used it to defend his lover and liege against a nefarious plot to rebel against the emperor and seize the throne.

"Popular opinion of Your Majesty has been high ever since your achievements as crown prince," Yao Siya continued. "Hence, although there have been some small pockets of dissent, mainly by the older and more traditional intellectual factions, the response to this story has been mostly to Imperial Concubine Yue’s advantage."

Liu Yao nodded. This was to be expected; at least to the common folk, Great Ye was prospering and the less disturbance to their peace the better. They cared not for the politicking of the upper class, were unconcerned with who their emperor wished to have in his nuptial bed—unless it made for a spectacular story like this latest one he had so carefully crafted for the storytellers in taverns, the whores in the flower streets and willow alleys, the beggars as they chatted raucously in-between asking for copper coins.

When the ex-Grand Protector Li had attempted to poison Liu Yao, he probably hadn’t thought that Liu Yao would be brazen enough to announce to all and sundry that he had indeed nearly been killed by an official. He could say with confidence that the old man had definitely not intended to give Liu Yao the opportunity to manipulate his scheme into an achievement for a concubine who would one day outrank his granddaughter.

The Zhongyuan Festival was coming soon (2). It was forbidden for unscheduled rituals to be performed within the imperial palace but Liu Yao was emperor. He was certain he could get away with burning some joss paper as thanks for the assistance, despite it having been wholly unintended and would no doubt cause more anger than appreciation should ex-Grand Protector Li receive word of it from wherever his ghost now resided in the underworld.

"You’ve done well," Liu Yao murmured, waving Yao Siya to his feet. "This is just the beginning."

Yao Siya rose but remained standing firmly in front of his emperor, spine straight and hands tucked behind his back like a soldier presenting before a general for inspection. "In this subject’s opinion, Your Majesty’s greatest challenge when it comes to the neutral masses will be the older generation of literati, who are firm upholders of tradition."

Liu Yao was well-aware of it. These would be the same people who would oppose his plans to allow Noble Lord Hua back into court...or Ah Yun’s startling but promising idea of allowing women to take the imperial examinations.

He leaned back in his seat and let out a quiet huff. "This sovereign does not disagree with you," he said. "Except, Siya, are you sure these old fools could still be considered neutral?"

Of course, they couldn’t. Everyone who was even remotely educated in the ways of the capital was aware that the noble families had sullied the once-clear waters of the literati so thoroughly that the roots of the court factions extended all the way out of the high gates of the imperial city and back to the schoolyard.

"We’ll get there," was Liu Yao’s eventual reply. "Setting that aside, did you manage the other task that this sovereign set out for you?"

At this, a funny look flitted across Yao Siya’s face. "This subject tried his best to trace the remnants of the ancestral hall of the Yan Family but...after the ex-Prime Minister’s estate was searched and the property and its possessions within confiscated, the tablets in the ancestral hall were destroyed as per the laws relating to the execution of all nine generations..."

Liu Yao let out a slow, heavy breath. "But this sovereign never gave that particular order..." he started before trailing off into a mirthless smile. What did it matter? During those first few hectic months of his reign, he had been barely able to keep afloat, let alone keep track of who was pulling what strings behind his back. It had been the late emperor to issue the warrant of arrest for the Yan Family and the kingdom’s repossession of all their belongings but...

But it had been Liu Yao who had ordered the execution in the end. Even if his hand had been forced.

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Recreate the tablets for Yan Guozun and his wife," he decided. "As inconspicuously as possible. The craftsman is inevitable but this sovereign does not wish for a fourth person to know about this."

Even if Ah Yun had never once brought up his family, even if he’d never once showed the slightest hint of resentment, Liu Yao couldn’t in good conscience stay silent on the subject anymore. Not when he wanted to marry the son of the man who had sacrificed so much for him.

Yao Siya’s brows furrowed. "Your Majesty..." He hesitated but the troubled look on his face strongly suggested that he wanted to say something and Liu Yao wasn’t so arrogant that he could not listen to the advice of his subordinates.

"Speak."

"Your Majesty is...very invested in this," Yao Siya said at last, his throat dry from a nervousness that he hadn’t felt around Liu Yao for a long while. Emperor Xuanjun might be known for being ruthless, even cutthroat, occasionally, but those closest to him were aware that his temper was hardly as volatile as he often made it out to be.

But he’d also never seen Liu Yao this fixated, not since the death of that beautiful, brilliant man. Perhaps, if Liu Yao had been nothing more than a rich nobleman’s son, a carefree young master with the ability to choose a lifetime away from the capital with the man he loved, this would not be a bad thing.

This was not a choice an emperor could afford to have. Already, for Imperial Concubine Yue’s sake, Liu Yao had set aside the stable decision, the safe bet, to stir up chaos. Certainly, they didn’t affect his people, not yet anyway. But who was to say he wouldn’t take it too far in the future? Would there come a point where he stopped listening to reason?

Liu Yao’s gaze swept up to meet Yao Siya’s, forcing the indomitable captain of the brocade guard to avert his eyes. But the message in them had been loud and clear regardless. It wasn’t surprising to Liu Yao that Yao Siya would be questioning some of the commands he’d issued in recent times. If Yao Siya hadn’t been capable of thinking for himself, Liu Yao would have had little use for him.

Yao Siya could think as much as he liked, as long as it didn’t slip his mind that they were in the same boat. Luckily, Liu Yao knew just how to remind him.

"You’re invested too, Siya."

Yao Siya froze.

"You know what I’m talking about." Liu Yao spoke lightly but there was no need for any harshness for Yao Siya’s blood to run cold. They were both aware of the happenings in Yuyang Palace but had never spoken of it until now. Yao Siya understood Liu Yao well enough to know what Liu Yao’s take on this would be; where any other emperor might behead a subject for daring to even think about one of his concubines, even an unwanted one, Liu Yao wouldn’t care about something like that.

But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t make use of it.

"As your friend, I can understand where you’re coming from." Liu Yao was still talking. Yao Siya felt a bead of sweat trickle down his temple and forced himself to relax the muscles that had tensed up subconsciously. How long had it been since he’d last felt the full weight of Liu Yao’s intimidating aura? Not the one that he put on in court to cow his errant ministers but the one that had the acrid tang of blood lacing its edges, sharp like the blade that Liu Yao had used to run through his enemies on the battlefield.

It had been years since he’d served next to his crown prince on the front.

I was asking for it, Yao Siya thought ruefully. Liu Yao had been the one to pick him out of the gutter, a pretty nobody that had almost been used to service the soldiers back in the camps when the nights became too lonely. Liu Yao had been the one to teach him what he knew about fighting, about war, about the brocade guard. Most importantly, Liu Yao had taught him the value of trust.

He should not have allowed his to waver. Not if he deemed Liu Yao still worthy of his loyalty.

"But as your emperor, this sovereign must warn you; do not forget where your allegiances lie."

Yao Siya dropped to his knees into a full bow.

"I’m showing you my weakness, my liege," he replied. "I beg you, be kind."

Time seemed to stretch on before he heard Liu Yao’s sigh.

"When all this is over," the emperor said tiredly. "This sovereign will grant you both freedom."