Chapter 47 - Your Reproach
The capital, in the external prime minister's residence.
In the study, current external prime minister Qi Zongbi meticulously transcribed a piece of calligraphy on his desk while a cloaked woman quietly knelt before him.
Qi Zongbi finished the last character on the scroll and carefully placed his brush on a rack. He straightened up and looked down at the cloaked woman.
"Speak. What happened?"
The cloaked woman bit her lip and nervously said, "Yes, we were useless… and failed you, Lord."
"Mm?" Qi Zongbi glanced at the cloaked woman kneeling on the ground and asked, "Did you not capture him?"
"No, not exactly… we actually captured him, but… well, in the end…" The cloaked woman broke into a cold sweat.
"What happened?" Qi Zongbi's tone grew increasingly severe.
"In the end… the Eastern Depot got involved." The cloaked woman became increasingly apprehensive as she said, "They… they stole Stormqueller away…"
"Eastern Depot!" Qi Zongbi pounded his desk, causing the ink and paper to jump. "Why would the Eastern Depot interfere in such a matter!"
"I… I don't know," the cloaked woman's forehead was almost pressed to the ground at this point.
"So you mean to tell me…" Qi Zongbi's eyes grew colder. "Out of the three of you who went to capture Stormqueller… one was killed, one was injured, and the last one has nothing but failure to report?!"
"I !" The cloaked woman shuddered, continually knocking her head on the ground. "Lord, please calm your anger! It was really the Eastern Depot's fault. If it wasn't for them, Stormqueller would be in the Imperial Guardian's prison!"
"Hmph!" Qi Zongbi snorted angrily and flung his sleeve. "Scram!"
"Yes, yes… I'll take my leave," the cloaked woman said. She crawled out the study, continuously bowing her head against the floor on her way out.
Qi Zongbi's chest heaved up and down, his expression furious and sinister.
Suddenly, he grabbed the recently copied calligraphy and tore it to shreds. Not satisfied, he flipped his desk over, scattering ink and paper all over the study.
"Eastern Depot, damn the Eastern Depot!" Qi Zongbi roared, "Yue Dou! You damn eunuch! Constantly ruining my plans! Sooner or later, I'll massacre the Eastern Depot!"
At the same time, in the Imperial Palace.
The leader of the Eastern Depot, Yue Dou, accompanied the Emperor on a stroll in the imperial garden.
Chen Kaiming, the august Emperor of the Ruen Dynasty, was now old and feeble. Without his golden imperial robe, he was no different from any ordinary man.
His steps were still steady, but he would stop to rest after a few steps, overcome with fits of coughing. His breathing was strained and made irregular noises that sounded like the bellows of a forge.
"Your Majesty." Yue Dou remained half a pace behind the old man. "Your Majesty, let's return… it is chilly outside," he softly suggested.
The old man waved his hand slightly. "It's fine. While my health allows me… I will do what I can a few more times…"
Yue Dou forced a smile. "Your Majesty, what are you saying… you are destined to live a long and healthy life…"
The old man shook his head. "Ah Dou… I've told you before, there's no need to say such things. We both know… I don't have much time left." He looked up at the eaves of the nearby palace. "Besides… Xun'er's mother can't wait much longer either."
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty…" Yue Dou sniffled, his voice trembling, "The Empress… she also hopes you can stay healthy…"
The old man laughed, but then began coughing again. Yue Dou hurried over to pat his back.
The old man caught his breath, straightened up, and looked towards the palace in the distance, and smiled.
"Heh… she wouldn’t say that…"
He smiled and discreetly wiped the tears in his eyes away.
"She… would definitely scold me… scold me for still struggling even when I'm about to die, scold me for not going back inside in this cold weather, scold me for not taking my medicine, scold me for being an old man who still avoids bitter things, scold me…" His voice grew choked. "Heh, she doesn’t act like a proper empress at all…"
The old man took a deep breath and gazed up at the sky. "Ah Dou, do you know… how much I want to hear her scold me a few more times…"
"Your Majesty!" Yue Dou, tears streamed down his face as knelt with a thud and cried out, "Say no more, Your Majesty… The Empress is the epitome of virtue, if she saw you like this, she would blame me. Let’s go back… I beg you!"
The old man helped Yue Dou up and said, "Let’s not speak of these things… By the way, about the matter with the Ghostbane Association…"
Yue Dou stared at the long shadow cast by the Emperor. "Apparently Lord Qi sent people to capture Ye Beizhi… but he managed to escape."
"He escaped?" The old man hesitated, then shook his head. "Forget it. If he escaped, he escaped. For the sake of the Flying Mallard Battalion, let him go this time… Tell Qi Zongbi to stop pursuing this matter."
"Yes, Your Majesty," Yue Dou replied.
"About Qi Zongbi." The old man stopped and turned around to ask, "Is he still unwilling to compromise?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. Lord Qi still insists on war and has convinced a large number of military officials and imperial censors in the court to join his side. Without exception, they support the same plan… They say we should surrender the three border cities when Northern Qiang begins their yearly campaign on our border settlements.
"After taking these three cities, they will certainly garrison heavy troops there. However, these three cities are easy to attack but difficult to defend. Furthermore, with the cold weather and insufficient supplies, as long as we send heavy troops too, we can wipe out the Northern Qiang forces in these cities, greatly weakening Northern Qiang. Thus, our northern border will be secured, and lay the foundation for winning the war against Northern Qiang in the future."
"Qi Zongbi," the old man groaned. He seemed to want to say something further but shook his head.
The old man pondered for a moment and said, "Let's not even discuss whether we can win the war… Even if we can win, aren't the people in the three border cities my subjects too!?"
"Your Majesty… many in the court are advocating for war quite loudly I fear," Yue Dou said softly from behind.
"Factions and cliques! Private parties and personal interests! I haven’t even held him accountable for these yet… Qi Zongbi must want to be executed!" The old man burst into another coughing fit, incensed.
"Your Majesty!" Yue Dou came forward and patted the old man's back. "Your Majesty, please calm down… Qi Zongbi may be too radical, but he means well, and does everything for the sake of the Dynasty…"
The old man glared at Yue Dou as his coughing subsided. "Of course I know that. Otherwise, how could he still be alive!"
The old man straightened his posture, smoothened out the wrinkles on his clothes, and said, "It's time to go back."
"Yes!" Yue Dou smiled and hurriedly supported the old man as if he had been waiting for this opportunity.
"Your Majesty, it’s time to take your medicine," Yue Dou reminded softly.
"I won’t take it. It's too bitter."
Yue Dou smiled helplessly. "Your Majesty, this…"
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