Yun Shu had long since anticipated that the boy emperor would say this.
Her voice suddenly turned cold, and her tone carried a hint of sternness born of exasperation. “Your Mother expected that after all these years, you would have grown at least a little wiser. I never imagined you would be just as foolish as your father—stupid as a pig!”
“Do you think that if you return to the capital now and continue being a puppet emperor in name only, letting the Imperial Preceptor and the others bend you to their will, they’ll spare your life? How utterly foolish!”
The boy emperor had not expected his mother to lose her temper so suddenly. The unexpected scolding made his entire body tremble.
Memories of his childhood surged back. The mother in his memories had been just like this—volatile and quick-tempered. Whenever anything displeased her, she would fly into a rage and beat or berate him without hesitation.
Thinking of this, he could not help feeling relieved. Fortunately, his mother could not appear before him; otherwise, he would have to endure another beating.
When she was alive, his mother had often struck his palms with a ruler.
He instinctively lowered his head, like a child who had done something wrong, and murmured, “Mother, I only…”
“Only because you were afraid?” Yun Shu cut him off, her voice tinged with profound disappointment. “A-Yue, you once ruled over this vast empire! How can you be so weak-willed?”
The boy emperor’s eyes reddened. He clenched the hem of his robe so tightly that his knuckles turned white. “But, Mother, the Imperial Preceptor holds overwhelming power, and more than half the officials in court are his men. My maternal grandfather’s entire family has already been killed by him. I don’t have a single soldier under my command. If I don’t bow and scrape before him, what else can I do?”
The farther he went, the softer his voice became, weighed down by a helpless sense of self-denial.
Yun Shu fell silent for a moment.
When she spoke again, her tone had softened somewhat.
“A-Yue, do you know what pains Your Mother most in the underworld? It isn’t that you couldn’t defeat the Imperial Preceptor and his allies. It’s that you never truly considered fighting them.”
“You say you have no soldiers at your command.”
She paused before asking, “Then let Your Mother ask you this: Have Marquis Ningyuan and the other court officials ever defected to the Imperial Preceptor?”
The boy emperor hurriedly replied, “Marquis Ningyuan is a man of integrity. He would never join hands with a villain like the Imperial Preceptor!”
Yun Shu sighed. “Since you know Marquis Ningyuan is loyal and righteous, why didn’t you borrow his strength to eliminate the Imperial Preceptor and the others sooner?”
“I…”
The boy emperor lowered his head in shame.
When his mother had passed away, she had instructed him to heed the advice of Marquis Ningyuan and the other veteran ministers in all matters. Yet he had treated only his maternal grandfather’s family as his one and only support.
However, his maternal grandfather was advanced in years, and the younger members of the family were a mixed lot. They were no match at all for the Imperial Preceptor and his faction.
Later, his maternal grandfather’s entire family was framed by the Imperial Preceptor, and the boy emperor lost his freedom completely, trapped within the imperial palace.
“It was Your Majesty’s son who was foolish. I not only missed the opportunity, but also brought disaster upon my maternal grandfather’s family.” With a thump, he dropped to his knees.
Seeing that the boy emperor had been completely won over, Yun Shu’s lips curved faintly, though her tone remained unchanged. “Enough. Everyone has their own fate. There is no use dwelling on the past now.”
“What you must do at this moment is find a way to preserve your life, so that I can go peacefully into my next incarnation.”
The boy emperor said, “Please, Mother, teach me what to do.”
Yun Shu seized the opportunity to reveal her ultimate objective. “Since the Imperial Preceptor wants you to seek the hand of the Goddess, you might as well go along with it and make the matter as public as possible. Let them bring the consequences upon themselves.”
The boy emperor raised his head, hesitation in his eyes. “Mother, the Divine Lady is a true goddess. If I go along with this and travel to Zhenbei Province to seek her hand, I fear I may anger her as well.”
“That will depend on your fortune.” Yun Shu pointed out the predicament he was in. “The Imperial Preceptor is already preparing to support a new emperor who will be more obedient than you. He will never allow you to return to the capital alive.”
“Traveling to Zhenbei Province is your final chance.”
“Marquis Ningyuan and his daughter are just ahead. If you go and rescue them now, then when the Goddess delivers her judgment in the future, Marquis Ningyuan’s two sons may take into consideration the fact that you saved their father and sister and plead with the Goddess on your behalf. That may spare you from death.”
The boy emperor bowed deeply until his forehead touched the ground. “Your son understands.”
His mother was right. He had already run out of roads to retreat along. Rather than surrender, he might as well stake everything on one desperate gamble. Perhaps there was still a chance to turn things around.
“Go.”
Yun Shu looked at the boy emperor kneeling before her. “Your Mother has already made the arrangements. You need only find Marquis Ningyuan and his daughter and devise a way to travel with them to Zhenbei Province.”
“Remember this: You must not tell a second person that Your Mother has secretly aided you. Otherwise, even I will be unable to help you.”
Hearing this, the boy emperor felt his resolve settle. He wiped the tears from his face with one hand, then gritted his teeth and ran toward the depths of the forest.
Thorns tore through his sleeves, but he did not feel them. Only one thought filled his mind.
Find Marquis Ningyuan and his daughter. Stay alive!
After walking several hundred paces and passing through a patch of tangled trees, the view ahead suddenly opened up.
Then the boy emperor saw them.
Seven or eight soldiers in armor, swords and sabers in hand, were surrounding Marquis Ningyuan and Shen Ying.
Marquis Ningyuan stood protectively in front of his daughter. The fabric over his shoulder had already been ripped open, and a dark-red stain of blood had seeped through.
Shen Ying gripped her spear tightly. Her fingers were slick with cold sweat, yet her face was filled with stubborn resolve, refusing to reveal the slightest trace of fear.
“Marquis Ningyuan, if you refuse to hand over His Majesty, I’ll have no choice but to send you and your daughter to the afterlife!” the leading officer threatened as he advanced with his blade raised.
“Stop!”
The boy emperor had no idea where he found the strength. He shouted hoarsely and rushed out from behind the tree, then stumbled to a halt in front of Marquis Ningyuan and his daughter.
“The person you want is me. Why make things difficult for Marquis Ningyuan and Third Miss Shen?”
The entire scene fell silent.
Marquis Ningyuan stared at the boy emperor, who had clearly left the island by boat, only to return. His brows drew tightly together.
“Your Majesty, why are you here?”
The boy emperor had no time to explain. He glared at the surrounding soldiers. “Upon seeing me, why have none of you knelt? Could it be that, in your eyes, I am no longer the Son of Heaven of Dayong?”
The Imperial Preceptor’s men exchanged glances, looking somewhat flustered. Clearly, they had never expected the boy emperor to deliver himself into their hands.
The leading officer stepped forward and saluted. “Your Majesty, the Imperial Preceptor heard that you were stranded on a deserted island and was terribly worried. He specially ordered us to come and escort you back to the capital.”
Marquis Ningyuan reminded him, “Your Majesty, these men were bought off by the Imperial Preceptor long ago. You must not believe them!”
Remembering what his mother had just told him, the boy emperor forced himself to remain calm and looked at the officer. “General Wang, the Imperial Preceptor sent you here not to escort me back, but to obtain the abdication edict I write, isn’t that so?”
General Wang said in a grave voice, “Your Majesty, I am merely carrying out the Imperial Preceptor’s orders. I hope Your Majesty will not make things difficult for me.”
“I can write the abdication edict for you.” The boy emperor’s voice was hoarse. “But have you ever considered this? Of all my younger brothers, the eldest is no more than nine years old. If you kill me at this critical juncture, it will inevitably delay the attempt to seek marriage with the Goddess and cause you to lose this opportunity to turn hostility into friendship.”
As he spoke, his heart was in turmoil, but he kept every trace of it from showing on his face. “General Wang, you are an intelligent man. You should understand that if we cannot form a marriage alliance with the Northern Goddess, Guo Rong likely won’t be able to hold on to the position of Imperial Preceptor for much longer.”
“On the contrary, if you escort me to Zhenbei Prefecture and seek the hand of the Northern Goddess in marriage, forging an alliance between our two houses, you will not only ease the Imperial Preceptor’s immediate predicament but also rise to great prominence.”
