02. Concubine (1)
The carriage wheels rolled slowly over the stone-paved road. It had rained the night before, leaving puddles of various sizes scattered across the road. Whenever the carriage passed over them, the wheels made a soft creaking sound.
It was already late, and there were few pedestrians on the streets. But whenever people spotted the Governor's carriage procession approaching from a distance, they immediately moved aside.
Yu Wenjun's journey to the Governor's Residence was completely unobstructed.
Perhaps because there were so few people out, no one found it strange that the Governor himself was entering his own residence through the side gate. When Yu Wenjun caught sight of the courtyard walls, his expression unconsciously became more solemn. He reined in his horse and stopped outside the side entrance, discreetly glancing back at the road they had come from.
Only after the carriage in the middle of the procession had entered the residence did he dismount and slowly walk inside.
At last, they were home.
Many of the people in the procession visibly relaxed.
“This is it, I have wronged you, my lord.“
The carriage curtain remained unperturbed, almost making one suspect that there was no one inside. It was only after a while that a cold, faint voice came from inside:
Yu Wenjun wore a loose, wide-sleeved robe, his hands clasped behind his back. As he walked, his robes fluttered lightly in the breeze, and every movement carried the refined bearing of a cultured gentleman.
When he reached the side of the carriage, he deliberately slowed his pace and lowered his voice.
“We've arrived. I apologize for the inconvenience, Your Highness.”
The carriage curtain remained perfectly still, almost making it seem as though there was no one inside.
After a moment, a cool, indifferent voice finally came from within.
“Governor Yu, you are too polite. I will be troubling you often from now on, so there is no need to be so formal.”
The voice was so clear and ethereal that it was impossible to tell whether its owner was male or female. Yu Wenjun understood immediately.
Although the person inside had spoken politely, those words were actually a reminder that from now on, he could no longer address him as “Your Highness”
At that thought, Yu Wenjun let out a quiet sigh.
This year alone, the dynasty had already changed its reign title twice.
At the beginning of the year, Emperor Mingwu had died of illness. The Prince of Changshan had seized control of the government and, with the support of his political allies, ascended the throne. He changed the reign title from Zhangwu to Guangxi.
The former Emperor Mingwu was the founding emperor. He used to be brilliant and powerful. He fought in the wars between the southern and the northern kingdoms.
However, after the three years of his reign as an emperor, he inevitably contracted the common diseases of emperors before him. He became hedonistic, extravagant, and suspicious.
The late Emperor Mingwu had been the founding emperor. During the early years of his reign, he had been wise and formidable, leading armies on countless campaigns and conquering territory in every direction. But after three years on the throne, he had gradually developed the common faults of emperors.
He became obsessed with pleasure, extravagance, and luxury. He also grew increasingly suspicious and paranoid. The former Crown Prince had once privately made a few critical remarks about Emperor Mingwu's indiscriminate killings. Unfortunately, someone reported those remarks to the emperor.
The Prince of Changshan who was Crown Prince's younger brother by the same mother, seized the opportunity and joined forces with several trusted officials and falsely accused the Crown Prince of having long harbored resentment toward the emperor and plotting rebellion.
Emperor Mingwu was already cruel and bloodthirsty by nature. Upon hearing this, he flew into a rage and ordered the Eastern Palace to be searched.
Sure enough, the search uncovered a handwritten document by the Crown Prince bearing the character “敕.”
The character “敕” was reserved exclusively for the emperor.
Emperor Mingwu immediately stripped the Crown Prince of his position and ordered the execution of all his children.
Within a single day, blood ran through the Eastern Palace.
The only one who escaped the massacre was the Crown Prince's youngest legitimate son, the thirteen-year-old Prince of Langya, Murong Yan.
As fate would have it, Murong Yan had been outside the palace hunting that very day and was therefore spared.
When the Crown Prince's former retainers learned what had happened, they risked their lives to send word to Murong Yan. They then desperately smuggled him out of the capital and concealed him among the common people.
After the crown prince’s subordinates heard about this, they sent a letter to Prince Langya regardless of their life and death, and risked their lives to send Murong Yan out of the capital and hid him among the people.
The Prince of Langya was exceptionally handsome and skilled with a bow. He was quick-witted and talented, and he had been Emperor Mingwu's most beloved grandson.
When Murong Yan was ten, Emperor Mingwu had even pointed at him in front of all his ministers and said,
“This child resembles me the most.”
Had those words been spoken by an ordinary grandfather, they would have meant nothing more than affection for his grandson.
But in an imperial family, those words carried an entirely different weight.
After the Prince of Langya disappeared, the Prince of Changshan had once proposed capturing him and bringing him back to the capital.
Emperor Mingwu, however, had never firmly agreed or disagreed. He simply brushed the matter aside.
And so, the disappearance of Murong Yan was left unresolved.
Everyone in Ye City knew that the former Crown Prince's youngest son was still alive. There were certainly people who wanted to find him.
But in the end, no one dared bring the matter into the open. Beginning in the summer of the previous year, Emperor Mingwu's health rapidly deteriorated. Before long, he was bedridden.
He had spent the past several years indulging in wine and pleasure, often holding banquets that lasted until dawn. It was hardly surprising that his body could no longer endure it. The Prince of Changshan took advantage of the situation to seize control of the government and fill important positions with his own supporters. Emperor Mingwu had always been fiercely protective of his power. He knew perfectly well what was happening, but by then, there was little he could do.
Perhaps people naturally become nostalgic as death approaches.
Perhaps they begin longing for the family they once had.
Amid his illness, Emperor Mingwu began to think of his obedient and filial Crown Prince, as well as his extraordinarily talented youngest grandson.
In the winter of the eighth year of Zhangwu, Emperor Mingwu's illness became critical.
From his sickbed, he issued an imperial edict restoring Murong Yan's title as the Prince of Langya. Although Murong Yan's father remained a commoner, Murong Yan's princely title and fief were fully restored. Once the Prince of Changshan saw the edict, he was furious. His hatred toward Murong Yan only deepened.
He immediately set up a vast network throughout Ye City, waiting for Murong Yan to return. Emperor Mingwu knew that he had little time left. Why else would he go to such lengths to announce the restoration of the Prince of Langya's title to the entire realm? He wanted to send a message.
He wanted to see Murong Yan one last time before he died.
Yet Murong Yan truly was a son of the Murong imperial clan.
Everyone else could see what Emperor Mingwu was trying to do.
But Murong Yan's heart remained cold as iron.
He did not return.
Emperor Mingwu died with that regret still in his heart. The Prince of Changshan took control of both the inner court and the outer government and ascended the throne immediately afterward.
The first thing he did after becoming emperor was change his father's reign title.
The second was to order a nationwide search for Murong Yan.
Anyone who reported information leading to his whereabouts would be rewarded with a hundred jin of gold. Anyone who personally captured him would be granted a fief of a thousand households.
The entire Qi dynasty was thrown into an uproar.
Yu Wenjun let out a sigh that was equal parts lingering fear and emotion.
At the end of the previous year, when the imperial edict had been announced, several of them had argued over what should be done. Some believed that the Prince of Langya was the only surviving bloodline of the former Crown Prince and that they should not take such a risk. Others felt sympathy for the heart of a father.
Emperor Mingwu's desperate longing for his son was enough to move anyone who heard about it.
Perhaps Murong Yan should return.
Perhaps he could take advantage of the emperor's guilt to overthrow the Prince of Changshan and clear his father's name.
The two sides had argued endlessly.
Yet the person at the center of the matter, Murong Yan himself, had remained calm from beginning to end.
He would not return.
He would not interfere.
He would not respond.
Yu Wenjun smiled bitterly. Now, it seemed that Murong Yan had indeed made the right choice.
As expected of a member of the imperial family.