novelburst-info
Chapter 217: Survival Comes First! (2 / 2)
Chapter 217: Survival Comes First! (2 / 2)
Xu Yanmiao pondered for a moment before carefully selecting a piece of information he might plausibly have heard about in his position. “Does His Majesty recall the ‘Paragon of Filial Piety’ from Dingyuan County in Fengyang Prefecture?”
Seeing His Majesty’s face filled with a “does this person even exist?” expression, the old censor helpfully reminded him:
“Your Majesty, this man is renowned for his filial piety. After his parents passed away, he was so grief-stricken that he couldn’t bear to leave them. He moved into the tomb and has been mourning there for twenty years.”
The old emperor pondered this for a moment, then smiled. “Ah, a dutiful son indeed. Xu Yanmiao, you…”
Before he could finish the sentence with “have a keen eye,” Xu Yanmiao’s next words spilled out uncontrollably:
“He drank wine, ate meat, and even fathered five chubby children in that tomb!”
After speaking, Xu Yanmiao immediately shut his mouth, not daring to say another word.
The old emperor: “…”
Do you think this is the kind of thing that will make me happy?
What am I supposed to be happy about? That this “paragon of filial piety” held out for twenty years, only to have his image utterly ruined by you?“…Ahem.” The old emperor, contemplating the absurdity of the situation, suddenly burst into hearty laughter. The mild smile he had worn upon first hearing of the filial son couldn’t compare to this unrestrained amusement.
It turned out that seeing someone else’s misfortune really could brighten your own bad day.
——The censors were already documenting the story. As for the so-called “paragon of filial piety” hoping to gain an official post? Forget about it. Soon, he would be punished instead—for “unfilial conduct.”
The old emperor motioned for Xu Yanmiao to step forward and patted him on the shoulder. “Well done. I feel much better now.”
[Huh? That’s all it took?]
Xu Yanmiao blinked, and after confirming he hadn’t misheard, he quietly exhaled in relief.
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
[Phew! No trouble this time.]
[Ah… I only wanted to live like a salted fish in the corner. Being summoned by the emperor so often is so dangerous—one misstep and I could lose my life. Is there any way to make him stop calling on me so frequently?]
The ministers: “…”
Did you hear that?!
Can you spare a thought for us, those who sharpen their heads just to climb up the ranks?
Unfortunately, the ministers’ collective grievances couldn’t reach Xu Yanmiao’s ears.
Xu Yanmiao was still fretting internally: [Maybe I could commit a minor mistake and get demoted out of the capital? Would that work?]
The ministers of Daxia: “!!!”
Absolutely not!
Who knows how that divine artifact of his works? If Xu Yanmiao became a local official and all local officials could hear his inner thoughts, what would happen to their secrets?
What if the whole country found out the emperor had been cuckolded by his grandson? Or that the Minister of War never bathes?
[Never mind. Too risky. I could be killed by bandits on the road. Even if I made it safely, what if a tiger wandered into the county or prefecture? It’s much safer to stay nestled in the capital.]
The ministers of Daxia collectively sighed in relief.
Yes, yes! The capital is very safe! The emperor is here—there’s no place safer in the entire world.
“Prince Jin…” The old emperor swiftly changed the topic, cutting off Xu Yanmiao’s train of thought before he wandered into dangerous territory again.
Prince Jin’s heart skipped a beat, and a torrent of negative thoughts surged through his mind.
—Could it be that my royal brother is toying with me?
Then he heard his brother’s words, laced with deeper meaning: “I had secretly made a decision earlier. I left everything to fate. If Xu Yanmiao couldn’t cheer me up, no matter how influential the benefactor, I wouldn’t have spared your wife.”
Prince Jin blurted, “What—?!”
[What?!]
[Something this important was riding on me without my knowledge?!]
Xu Yanmiao and Prince Jin—one’s hand trembled faintly with lingering fear, and the other’s forehead broke out in cold sweat. Both of their eyes were wide with shock.
The emperor leaned back in his chair again, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “It seems the heavens have spoken.” With a wave of his hand, he declared, “Release your wife and those two children.”
Prince Jin’s arms gave out, and his upper body collapsed back to the ground, his breath coming in short gasps.
—Even in this moment, he hadn’t forgotten to maintain his persona as a cripple.
With his face still swollen from the emperor’s earlier beating, he spoke with some difficulty: “Th-thank you, Your Majesty, for your great mercy.”
The emperor raised an eyebrow. “Seems like you’ve met a true benefactor.”
Hearing this, Prince Jin’s perspective on Xu Yanmiao shifted instantly.
Indeed, if not for Xu Yanmiao successfully lifting his brother’s mood, who knows what fate might have befallen his wife?
Perhaps… the inns, gambling houses, and moneylenders he had secretly set up as spy networks could also…
Prince Jin feared death.
Xu Yanmiao now had a clear understanding of just how much.
In every province across the country, Prince Jin had secret operatives gathering information. Yet he never sold this intelligence. Instead, he hoarded it like a hamster stockpiling food for the winter, clutching it tightly and only glancing at it occasionally for peace of mind.
—The fact that he even knew the name of a minor scribe in the neighboring prefecture was thanks to these operatives.
Now, all of these operatives were handed over to Xu Yanmiao as a “thank you gift.”
Xu Yanmiao promptly turned around and handed them to the court.
The court’s response was straightforward: “Since these were Prince Jin’s private assets, and he gave them to you, you may keep them. The court isn’t so impoverished as to confiscate a minister’s property.”
The officials in Daxia clattered their abacuses enthusiastically.
With these operatives, Xu Yanmiao—nicknamed “Little Bai Ze”—would have a legitimate source of intelligence. This meant that in the future, they could…
The old emperor’s face lit up with anticipation.
The court officials’ expressions brimmed with hope.
The risks were greater, yes, but so were the rewards! To put it plainly, they could now ask things like, “Where’s the nearest gold mine?”
[No, no, no! I absolutely can’t accept these operatives!]
The officials of Daxia: Wait! Why not?! Tell us your reasoning so we can immediately refute it.
[I’m not stupid. There’s no way the emperor would allow one of his ministers to control such a powerful intelligence network.]
The old emperor grew frantic: I do allow it!!!
[If the court insists on not accepting them and insists on standing firm, then I… I will… hmm, I’ll find a way to destroy those intelligence sources right in front of the entire court, and dismiss everyone… No, what if the old emperor suspects that I’m dividing them up into smaller groups? I’ve got it! Send them to the army, spread them across various camps, and forbid them from leaving unless ordered. If I keep them under the emperor’s nose, he should feel reassured, right?]
[But still, saving my life comes first.]
The officials of Daxia: No, please, don’t!
Calling the Crown Prince:
During the reign of Emperor Wu, there was a minor official with the surname Huang and the title Taizi (Crown Prince). Emperor Wu said: “The title of Crown Prince is not meant for names,” and so the official changed his name to “Dog Son.”
— Wenxian Tongkao
[The term ‘minor official’ was not a mistake, it refers to a low-ranking clerk in the government.]
“Guarding Filial Piety for Twenty Years”:
A person named Zhao Xuan buried his family members without sealing the tomb, instead staying inside it and mourning for over twenty years. He was highly praised for his filial piety by the local community, and various counties invited him with great respect. The local governor recommended him for further recognition, and upon meeting him, Zhao Xuan explained that all five of his children were born while he was in the tomb. The governor was greatly angered and said, “The sages established rituals; the worthy follow them humbly, while the unworthy are not supposed to attempt them. The act of burying oneself in a tomb and procreating there misleads the people, deceives the gods, and distorts the truth.” As a result, Zhao Xuan was punished for his actions.— Book of the Later Han