From CEO to Concubine-Chapter 171: Heart to Heart
"And from then on, the liege never attended morning court again1."
Liu Yao smiled and stretched languidly before rolling over onto his side to tuck Yan Zheyun more firmly against his side.
"Ah Yun’s accusations wound me. This sovereign is on leave today."
Despite the satiated ache ingrained deep in his muscles today—or, to put it more crassly, the feeling of having been well and thoroughly fucked the night before—Yan Zheyun had to chuckle at that. ’On leave’ was a phrase that Yan Zheyun had unintentionally taught him, a little modern-day workplace colloquialism that Liu Yao had grown very fond of for some reason. Yan Zheyun had used it that one time without thinking when he’d first heard that court officials only took a break from morning court once every ten days. He’d asked whether the emperor’s ’employees’ were allowed to take leave and go on holiday.
The concept was apparently rather novel. The only sort of leave that was commonplace was sick leave. Hence, Liu Yao didn’t grasp the concept.
"You’re not on leave," Yan Zheyun murmured, tucking his face into the warm crook of Liu Yao’s neck and inhaling the faint scent of cedar and pine incense that clung to his skin. "You’re just on a rest day." There was no concept of a weekend either.
A hand slid up the curve of his waist, so hot that Yan Zheyun’s thought process, already hazy from a lack of sleep, was temporarily derailed. He shot Liu Yao a reproachful look. "I have to get up." Earlier on, Xiao De had very apologetically mentioned that the other concubines had already arrived at Aiyun Palace for the harem assembly. Yan Zheyun was very much not ’on leave’ and it wasn’t his weekend either. He could, of course, choose to dismiss them now but the news that His Majesty was still in his bedchambers whilst everyone waited for him outside was hardly going to be a secret.
"I am starting to see the allure of an early abdication." Despite his token struggling, Liu Yao kept him firmly in place, fingers deftly massaging the sore muscles of his waist. "Think about it, we won’t have to stay in here anymore and there’s so much more out there to see."
Liu Yao’s tone was deliberately light-hearted but the longing in it did not go unnoticed. Yan Zheyun felt his heart clench. So many people envied Liu Yao his position but he knew that given the chance, this was not the life Liu Yao would have chosen for himself.
He cupped Liu Yao’s cheek. "The little prince is still young," he said softly. "Can Your Majesty bear to put such a burden upon his shoulders this early on?" He knew his husband. Liu Yao was too kind to do that to a child.
Liu Yao’s expression turned solemn though, piquing Yan Zheyun’s interest. He was well aware that he really ought to stop stalling—no doubt Hua Zhixuan would have a lot of gossip about him to update him on afterwards—but it felt like Liu Yao had something important to say.
"I agree that Liu An still has a long way to go before he will be ready," Liu Yao said at last. "But...it is perhaps time to make my intentions known."
Yan Zheyun met his eyes. "You intend to announce it this early on?" He couldn’t conceal his worry. Coming from an era and a background where the biggest troubles children had to face early on was integrating into society one tentative foot at a time through their school years, he naturally didn’t have the heart to push tiny Liu An forward this soon. He knew that Liu An’s circumstances were vastly different even from the other kids of his age in this world, let alone the siblings, nephews, and nieces that Yan Zheyun used to dote on, but it was hard not to want to keep Liu An tucked under his wing for a little while longer.
"One cannot expect to snare the wolf if one cannot bear to risk their child," Liu Yao said with a sad smile. "I don’t wish to push Liu An into the lion’s den and I have never enjoyed turning against my kin but because he is Number Nine of the Liu Clan, because if he doesn’t fight alongside me now against our common foe...Ah Yun, if I were to die, what do you think would happen to him?"
Yan Zheyun covered his mouth so frantically as though he was trying to smother the words back down Liu Yao’s throat. "Don’t speak of such inauspicious things. You’ll live to a ripe old age."
"Old enough to grow white hair with you," was Liu Yao’s suave reply but his gaze was sincere. "That’s all I want to work towards now."
Yan Zheyun sighed. "I understand the logic, it’s just that he’s so young."
"He’s a son of the imperial family. Letting him grow up early is kinder than allowing him to stay wrapped up in blissful ignorance." An unpleasant thought seemed to occur to Liu Yao. His face darkened as he added, "This sovereign has failed in the role of older brother. I’ve been lenient for too long, it seems, so much so that certain individuals have started to take liberties with my indulgence."
He didn’t have to name any names. Acquainting themselves with officials, growing their own faction...these were the barest minimum of what Yan Zheyun had heard. After the fourth prince had news of an impending heir, he had grown even bolder.
"It won’t be hard to bait him," Liu Yao muttered.
Yan Zheyun rolled Liu Yao over onto his back before pillowing his head on his husband’s chest. It looked like he was going to have to cancel the assembly today after all.
"Ah Yun knows that saying? That an elder brother can be likened to a father?" The hand carding through Yan Zheyun’s hair was gentle but Liu Yao’s eyes were hard as agates. "It is as much this sovereign’s duty to protect my beloved younger brothers as it is to mete out discipline when they are deserving of it."
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The recent inexplicable deaths in the capital meant that the night curfews were being enforced even more strictly than before. Of course, there was always important business to be had. Hence, special permits were issued and stringent security checks for all sedans and carriages that had to roam at night were carried out with a newfound diligence. A gloomy fog settled onto the empty streets, the dim lantern lights of the passing guard patrol the only thing that could be seen, the eerie glow like ghost fire from the legends the old storytellers in the taverns liked to spin tales about.
A night like this robbed many of their bravery but Wu Zhong had seen enough of this world to know that many a time, humans were far scarier than the monsters that lived in the myths.
It didn’t take long before he was proved right again.
The body in the alleyway was maimed beyond recognition but from what Wu Zhong could tell, it belonged to a young man. The tattered remains of his attire revealed that he was probably of the scholar class but just like all the other bodies that had turned up when no one was looking, there were no other identifying markers on him although come morning, distraught relatives would approach the constables in search of their missing son or brother.
The most disturbing feature though, was the gaping hole in his chest, in place of where his heart ought to be.
A man of lesser mettle might have fled the scene. But Wu Zhong merely knelt next to his discovery, careful to avoid the puddle of blood that was seeping into the dirt underfoot.
Behind him, Xiao Er wrinkled his nose in distaste but didn’t appear too perturbed otherwise.
"It’s a strange sort of time we live in," Wu Zhong heard him say softly, with a theatrical flair that he was slowly getting accustomed to in the ever-smiling man. He gave Xiao Er a pointed look but didn’t engage him in conversation. He didn’t have to anyway. The waiter was more than capable of talking for two. "These days, it’s more dangerous for lovely young men to be out on the streets than fair little ladies."
"The blood is still fresh." Wu Zhong examined the wound more thoroughly. "Very fresh." He was no coroner1 but some things didn’t require too much expertise. The corpse wasn’t even fully cold to the touch yet.
The corners of Xiao Er’s mouth finally flattened out. "How is that possible?" he asked, his eyes, usually crinkled with an easy amusement, now narrowed with the gravity of the unspoken implication. "What you’re suggesting is no mean feat, Boss."
Wu Zhong agreed. It was already a shichen past the start of curfew. Apart from guards and those with special permits, only the city herald, responsible for sounding the gong that told the time, was allowed to be out with an escort. Of course, this didn’t exclude the possibility that other people were wandering about under the noses of the patrols just like Wu Zhong and Xiao Er were doing right now but Wu Zhong was well aware that he had this much free reign because a particular captain of the brocade guard had pulled some strings to ensure that all the right people turned a blind eye to Wu Zhong’s presence at the right time.
So either someone out there was alarmingly skilful at sneaking around undetected or...
He lowered his gaze. His Majesty was not going to be pleased with the suggestion that the guards responsible for the safety of the citizens of the capital had also become so deeply infested with rats.
"What do we do now?"
Wu Zhong straightened up. "Send an anonymous report to the magistrate. We should not linger."
Xiao Er sighed dramatically. "This is the third poor fella we’ve seen in a week. I can’t help but feel like we’re building up to a grand finale somehow."
The deaths had become more frequent as of late. Sometimes they were missing a heart, sometimes they were missing their intestines. Wu Zhong was newly assigned to this mission but he had the good fortune to hear Xiao Er describe the one memorable time he saw the unfortunate corpse that only had half a brain left.
The rumours that spread through the capital were frightening too, a paranoia seizing at its inhabitants as they fretted about whether they or their loved ones were going to be next in line. Some people blamed the increased number of foreigners in the capital because of the upcoming Festival of Longevity. Others said that it was a spurned lady out to get revenge on unfaithful male lovers.
Yet others spoke of demons and malevolent spirits roaming the mortal realm in search of their next meal.
What was concerning, though, was the odd voice or two that spoke up in nondescript corners of the inns and teahouses, saying whilst shaking their heads, "All this happening around that individual’s birthday is...so portentous, do you recall the legend of Nu Wa sending a fox spirit to punish a licentious ruler that disrespected her1? Perhaps..."
To the ignorant masses, this might seem like a fair thing to believe. But to the trained ear, it was now more than obvious that all this violence, all this fear, was for no good reason other than to further someone’s selfish political ambitions.
Xiao Er was right. A grand finale was coming. Probably in a handful of days too; what better day than the Festival of Longevity to bring forth the disgrace of an emperor?
If the city guards could no longer be relied on, it begged the question of whether the imperial guard still maintained its integrity. This was not a matter for Wu Zhong to determine, he simply had to pass the message along.
But as Xiao Er and he slipped back into the shadows of the night, a beautiful face haunted his mind, the smile on dainty lips tranquil as its owner picked up a brush and patiently rewrote the strokes of Wu Zhong’s name over and over again.
Was he going to be safe? Was he even safe now?
Somehow, he had a bad feeling about this.
The coroners in ancient times, as far as I can tell from articles online, were low social class individuals, often also undertakers, who had interest in the anatomy of their, uh, clients. They were often not medically trained but would work closely with the judges, who often were very knowledgeable in forensic medical practice too. A famous poem by Tang Dynasty poet Bai Juyi about a ruler so captivated by beauty he started to ignore his court duties. The beauty in question was Yang Guifei, one of the four great beauties of China and the noble consort of Tang Xuanzong, one of the emperors of the Tang Dynasty. The legend actually involves Su Daji (1076BC - 1046BC), a historical consort of King Zhou of Shang. She was so cruel and hedonistic (she reportedly enjoyed watching torture and games where the daughters of young nobles were forced to participate in mass orgies) and King Zhou of Shang indulged all her whims and fancies. As a result, she was depicted in later fiction as a nine-tailed fox spirit sent by the goddess Nu Wa to bring about the downfall of the Shang Dynasty (King Zhou is the last emperor of Shang as rebels finally ended his reign). In the legend, King Zhou visited Nu Wa’s temple and fell in love with her beautiful statue. As a result, he wrote a lewd poem about her on the wall and angered her.
