The Child Emperor

That afternoon, Han Ruzi received definite news that Huangfu Yi, the fate seer from the palace, had also disappeared. This happened slightly after the assassination attempt on Prince Ying. Huangfu Yi had claimed he was going to find a demon-expelling Taoist to treat the Empress Dowager’s illness, but never reappeared after leaving the palace.

Of the four fate seers, only Lin Kunshan remained.

Upon receiving Prince Donghai’s letter, Han Ruzi immediately went to visit his residence. As soon as he entered the main gate, Prince Donghai came to meet him, saying, “I can’t hold on much longer. Lin Kunshan will soon have to be handed over to Lian Danchen. I think you should meet with him first.”

Lin Kunshan was being “held” in a small room with five servants guarding outside to prevent his escape.

Lin Kunshan showed no fear; rather, he felt wronged. Upon seeing the Weary Marquis, he smiled bitterly and said, “This is truly an undeserved calamity.”

Prince Donghai snapped, “Drop the act, Lin Kunshan. It’s your bad luck you didn’t run fast enough.”

“I never intended to run, Prince Donghai. To you, I have always been loyal…”

“Please don’t say another word. I feel sick just hearing the word ‘loyal’ now.” Prince Donghai made a retching gesture. “Aren’t fate seers supposed to go with the flow? Since when did you start hiring assassins?”

“I have absolutely nothing to do with Prince Ying’s assassination,” Lin Kunshan stated firmly.

As Prince Donghai was about to argue, Han Ruzi interrupted him, asking, “Do you also have nothing to do with the other fate seers?”

Lin Kunshan smiled without answering.

Prince Donghai barked, “Answer the question! Do you want to wait for Lian Danchen to torture you? The Guanghua Tigers aren’t called that for nothing.”

“According to the rules of the succession competition, no one can torture me. They can only question me.”

Prince Donghai was taken aback, suddenly remembering that Lin Kunshan was under the same restrictions and protections as himself. “You…”

“I wish to speak with the Weary Marquis alone.”

“I am your master!”

“If I can’t speak with the Weary Marquis, I’ll have to speak with Lian Danchen. Whom does Prince Donghai trust more?”

Prince Donghai couldn’t say he trusted an outsider more, so he snorted heavily and turned to leave, whispering to Han Ruzi, “You’ll tell me everything afterward, won’t you?”

Han Ruzi nodded.

After the door closed, Lin Kunshan walked up to the Weary Marquis, clasped his hands, and bowed deeply.

“What is the meaning of this?” Han Ruzi asked.

“I’m formally apologizing to the Weary Marquis for leaving Shattered Iron City without saying goodbye.”

“Where there is no expectation, there can be no disappointment. I never blamed you.” If Han Ruzi felt any disappointment, it was directed at Prince Donghai, not the fate seer.

Lin Kunshan smiled slightly. “The Weary Marquis just asked an interesting question. Why did you want to know if I had any connection with the other fate seers?”

Han Ruzi remained silent, unwilling to answer the other’s question before getting his own answers.

“Huangfu Yi, Fang Zisheng, Lu Congxin – their names may sound like fate seers, but none of them are real fate seers,” Lin Kunshan volunteered.

“Why didn’t you expose them at the time?”

“Because their influence was too great. Exposing them would have meant going against the flow, which I do not do. I wanted to see what they were planning, but I didn’t expect them to act so soon.”

With more than four months remaining until the six-month deadline, Prince Ying had already been targeted for assassination. If it was indeed those fake fate seers’ doing, it was indeed too early.

“Influence? What influence?”

Lin Kunshan shook his head. “I don’t know. It takes fate seers years of planning to gain entry to a prince’s residence, yet these people could easily enter and leave the imperial palace. We couldn’t compare to them. As for which power they belong to, I have no evidence.”

Lin Kunshan had his suspicions but didn’t want to share them, and Han Ruzi didn’t want to ask. He suddenly realized that Lin Kunshan was using the old fate seer trick again: subtly manipulating others into action, leading them down paths of the fate seers’ choosing, which might be traps or dead ends.

“What about the other fate seers? The real ones like yourself?”

Lin Kunshan smiled and shook his head.

There was a knock on the door, and Prince Donghai said, “Lian Danchen must take him away now. He needs to report to the Capital Prefect.”

“Come in. I have nothing more to ask.”

As the door opened, Lin Kunshan smiled at the Weary Marquis and said, “We are just people of the pugilist world.”

Several officers entered, nodding politely. Lin Kunshan offered no resistance and docilely followed them out. Lian Danchen came in and bowed to the Weary Marquis – he was just paying his respects before leaving.

Han Ruzi quickly asked, “Have all the fate seers been arrested?”

Han Ruzi remembered that the Guanghua Tigers had long tracked the whereabouts of many fate seers in and around the Capital. With such a major incident, they surely didn’t need to wait and observe anymore.

Lian Danchen hesitated briefly but answered, “Just last night, we arrested over three hundred people, not just fate seers but other pugilists too. However, Fang Zisheng and the others are still missing.”

Han Ruzi nodded. Lian Danchen left, and Prince Donghai entered. Watching the others leave, he turned to Han Ruzi and asked, “Well?”

“He said Fang Zisheng and the others aren’t real fate seers.”

“Just that? We could have guessed that ourselves. Prince Ying already said Fang Zisheng was a eunuch before, so he must still be one now.”

Prince Donghai walked to the door, looked out several times, then closed it and said, “This must be the Empress Dowager’s scheme. The Guanghua Tigers either participated in it or have guessed the truth. I can sense the change in their attitude. They used to seek favors from you and me, but since last night’s incident, they’ve been somewhat obstructive, only revealing bits of information when questioned, unlike their previous full disclosure.”

Han Ruzi pondered for a moment. “Let the Tan family make more inquiries in the pugilist world.”

“What information do you want to find?”

“Any anomalies.” Han Ruzi wasn’t sure himself what he wanted to learn.

When he returned to the Weary Marquis’s residence, it was almost dark. Zhang Youcai came up and whispered, “The Capital Prefect won’t release Du Chuanyun. They say he’s an important witness. Old Master Du has also been detained.”

“Mm, I understand.”

Seeing his master’s calm demeanor, Zhang Youcai was both surprised and reassured.

In the study, Yang Feng had been sitting alone for who knows how long. Upon seeing the Weary Marquis, he merely nodded without rising.

Han Ruzi sat down in the chair behind his desk, also remaining silent.

After sitting in silence for a while, Han Ruzi spoke first: “You knew all along those people weren’t real fate seers, didn’t you?”

Yang Feng had investigated fate seers for years. If anyone could spot a fake at a glance besides the fate seers themselves, it would be him.

“Yes, I knew.”

“But you didn’t warn me.”

“There are some things you don’t need to know too early.”

“So you get to decide what’s too early or too late?”

The study hadn’t been lit yet. Yang Feng looked at the Weary Marquis in the dim light, clearly sensing his anger. It reminded him of his former student, so this anger wasn’t unfamiliar.

“Someone has to make these judgments, and it can only be me.”

“Have you never been wrong?”

“I’ve made many mistakes, otherwise I wouldn’t be in my current situation. But I still must be the one to make these judgments because this is a heavy burden I’ve carried the longest and grown accustomed to. Others either shy away from difficulty, lack the strength, or lack consistency, often giving up halfway.”

Han Ruzi remained silent for a long time, until Zhang Youcai knocked, entered with tea and snacks, lit the oil lamps, and left. When he finally spoke, his tone had returned to its usual calmness. He no longer wished to complain – Yang Feng was like a treasure trove, and how much he could mine from it depended on his own ability, not the “treasure” itself.

“It seems the Empress Dowager had a plan after all.”

“It seems so.”

“You didn’t know beforehand?”

“Since leaving the palace, the Empress Dowager has never contacted me. I can only guess at her intentions.”

Han Ruzi pondered for a long while. “Why did the Empress Dowager choose to act at this particular time?”

“I find it strange too.”

Getting nowhere with his questions, Han Ruzi changed tactics. “Though Huangfu Yi and the others were fake, they attracted many real fate seers. Capturing them all must have been one of the Empress Dowager’s objectives.”

“That’s exactly what I find strange. Though many real fate seers were in the Capital, the most important one seems not to have appeared yet. The Empress Dowager’s move seems a bit premature.”

The most important fate seer was Chunyu Xiao, who was always elusive.

“Perhaps capturing fate seers was just a secondary goal. She’s achieved her main objective and doesn’t want to wait any longer.”

“That’s possible.”

“The Empress Dowager’s main goal was to use this incident to put Shang-guan Sheng in power, expand the Palace Guard’s influence, and simultaneously eliminate royal clan members who covet the throne. What will she do? Frame us, have us killed, or imprison us? Should I flee the Capital?”

Yang Feng didn’t answer. He knew his “student” was already thinking and would soon arrive at the answer.

“No, the Empress Dowager won’t let us escape the Capital – that would cause chaos. But she doesn’t need to kill us either, as that would also cause unrest. For her, the best outcome would be…” Han Ruzi thought for a moment. “The current Emperor was never ill at all, and will soon ‘recover’ to continue being an obedient puppet.”

Han Ruzi felt relieved – everything made sense now. The Emperor’s uncle Wu Xiu had unwittingly become a key figure. The Champion Marquis, the Weary Marquis, and Prince Donghai had all guessed something was wrong in the palace based on his behavior, never considering that Wu Xiu himself had been deceived.

A few days ago, Wu Xiu had visited the Emperor in the palace. After leaving, he sought refuge with the Champion Marquis, further convincing everyone the Emperor’s days were numbered. Then the Empress Dowager made her move.

Han Ruzi’s heart grew heavy again. The Empress Dowager’s covert scheme was becoming overt, and Han Ruzi’s group had no way to resist. The ministers indeed had more experience – only a few directly participated in the succession competition, while most merely voiced support for the Champion Marquis while actually maintaining a wait-and-see attitude, like Chancellor Yin Wuhai, thus avoiding disaster.

Han Ruzi kept drumming his fingers on the desk. Yang Feng remained an important assistant, but he did not need Yang Feng’s guidance and analysis now. He had to make his own judgments and decisions.

“The Empress Dowager won’t immediately announce her and the Emperor’s ‘recovery,’ so I still have some time. First, I must reconcile with the Champion Marquis. Continuing to fight will only hurt us both. After reconciling, we’ll at least still have the Northern and Southern Armies.”

Han Ruzi’s fingers drummed faster. “If Yuan Zifan and the others return to the palace, they’ll surely be killed. If they flee, they can only hide in the pugilist world. We need to find at least one of them as evidence.”

Han Ruzi stopped drumming. “We also need to find Meng E. The Empress Dowager doesn’t trust many people, but the Meng siblings count as two of them.”

Yang Feng stood up and cupped his hands. “I’ll go contact the Champion Marquis right away to arrange a meeting. Many people are searching for the fake fate seers. I’ve sent people too, so perhaps we can find them before others do. As for Meng E, unless she comes to look for you she’ll be very difficult to locate.”

Han Ruzi grunted in acknowledgment. For him, this was a moment of being “alone.” Yang Feng was no longer his “teacher” but an important assistant carrying out his instructions.

Though the situation was extremely unfavorable, Han Ruzi remained full of fighting spirit, only shifting his focus from the Champion Marquis to the Empress Dowager for now.

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