The Emperor

Cui Xiu felt a sudden jolt in his heart.

Admittedly, he had held certain deep-seated impressions. After all, history books often painted military commanders as arrogant, power-hungry, and obsessed with war. Yet, as a descendant of a military family himself, he found himself empathizing with the Cui family. Especially given the Cui family's history of being scrutinized, they had always been careful to uphold the duties of a subject. For instance, Cui Qianting’s persistent attempts at the imperial examinations—failing and trying again—were a testament to the entire family’s effort to transition their status, striving to become a family of scholars and farmers. Otherwise, as descendants of the nobility, it would have been easy enough to secure official positions through hereditary privilege.

If such a family could not be tolerated by the Emperor, then it was truly disheartening for any loyal subject.

The more Cui Xiu thought about it, the more he felt a bone-deep chill that made him shiver. But at this moment, no one noticed him. Everyone was stunned once again by Cui Enhou’s words.

The Princess had set her sights on the Rong Mansion?

Nanny Yu was seized with uncontrollable fury, her eyes bloodshot. "The Princess? Which princess would dare?! In those days, when the Northern Di launched their fierce offensive and captured three cities, those hypocritical scholars all spoke of 'peace through marriage'! It was the General who declared that the Princesses of the Great Zhou were the most noble and would never be used for marriage alliances! He said the Great Zhou had its people, its generals, and had no need to sell its daughters for peace. He didn't want those effeminate scholars to say, 'Sacrifice a concubine to secure the state,' not knowing where to put the generals, nor did he want future generations to point at the backs of military men, cursing them while not a single person cursed the civil officials who begged for peace by sending away their kin!"

Hearing these words, heavy with monstrous hatred, Cui Xiu shuddered. He looked at Nanny Yu, usually so kind and gentle, now twisted in a grimace of baring fangs, looking like a vengeful ghost seeking blood. She possessed a visible, sharp cruelty, even more gloomy and fierce than Cui Enhou, the head of the house, and carried a touch of madness.

There was not a shred of the submissiveness expected of a subject, nor even the humility of a servant.

As Cui Xiu watched in astonishment, Nanny Yu continued, hysterical, her gaze sweeping the surroundings like a mother beast guarding her young, her expression ferocious: "My husband died! My son died! Countless comrades, countless people died! Even the women and children of Ning City had to grit their teeth and head to the battlefield! Even the young master was assassinated by spies here in the capital just so the war could be won!"

The final five words gathered the cheers of millions, slowly painting a hope for peace and prosperity; yet, it had been forged with the lives of millions of soldiers, harboring deep sorrow, especially the boundless grief left to their families.

Cui Xiu felt an unbearable ache in his heart, sharper than the pain of any whipping he had ever endured—a pain for which he could find no words to describe.

Because in the face of life and death, all words are pale and powerless.

He raised a hand to wipe away tears that had fallen without him realizing, looking at Nanny Yu with deep concern.

He... he was actually quite selfish. He had his own biases. He was deeply worried for Nanny Yu.

Some things could be said by Cui Enhou, but if Nanny Yu said them, and if these words were brought up in the future to settle old scores, her fate would be unimaginably tragic. After all, Nanny Yu was a servant. Even if she held a position of great prestige in the Duke's mansion and managed its affairs, a servant remained, at the end of the day, a servant.

Life was as cheap as grass.

"Nanny..." Cui Xiu opened his mouth, wanting to call out to her, to pull her away from her grief and rage, to remind her to be cautious in public. But before he could voice his carefully considered words, he heard a long, shrill voice: "His Highness, Prince Fu, has arrived!"

At these words, Cui Xiu felt as if a basin of cold water had been poured over him, his heart plummeting into an abyss.

The Prince had arrived. He didn't know how much of Nanny Yu’s "treasonous" talk had been overheard.

Tense, Cui Xiu instinctively looked toward the Prince. He saw Prince Fu approaching, trembling as he leaned on his cane, and standing beside him was none other than Cui Qianting.

***

Cui Xiu was dazed. Thinking of the legendary stories he had heard about the Cui family, he forced himself to calm down, determined to act like an inconspicuous three-year-old.

On the other side, the agitated Cui Enhou paid no heed to Prince Fu.

Prince Fu spoke with earnest gravity, every word ringing with weight: "Enhou, calm yourself. Do not fall into someone else’s trap. Whatever we have to say, let us say it calmly." As he spoke, he signaled for Cui Qianting to disperse the servants in the courtyard.

Cui Enhou did not miss the old Prince’s gesture. He stiffened his neck and sneered, "Prince Fu, I respect you, but ask yourself—have I, Cui Enhou, not acted like a spineless coward enough?"

"By the rules, I was entitled to an official position through hereditary privilege, yet did I take one? I know I lack talent and virtue, and fearing I couldn't manage my servants, I even sold off the family industries, leaving only the land granted by the Great Ancestor and the Martial Emperor."

"You could say I’ve been living off my inheritance, yet those bastards still impeach me at every turn!"

"They want to force me to my death, force me into a frenzy to raise an army, just so they can validate their claims of me 'relying on military power to plot a coup' and have my father’s spirit tablet cast out of the Ancestral Temple. Fine! Today, I will grant their wish—I will go dig up his grave myself."

Cui Enhou glanced at Cui Qianting. "Cui Qianting is of a branch family. The Cui title was inherited by me, Cui Enhou. If I dig up the grave today, I alone will bear the consequences. It has nothing to do with him."

With that, Cui Enhou walked straight ahead. Nanny Yu followed without a moment's hesitation.

After a buzzing silence in the courtyard, many others followed as well, their expressions carrying a grim determination, as if they were ready to face death. Watching these dozens of people moving with such resolute steps—a momentum like that of soldiers marching into battle, echoing the spirit of generals who could hold a pass against ten thousand—they still exuded a steely bloodthirst and a daunting, chilling aura of slaughter.

Prince Fu’s eyes flickered. Gritting his teeth to stop his own memories, he tapped his cane against the ground with a loud thud and shouted sternly, "Cui Enhou, do you truly want your father to have no peace even after death? Regardless of what happens, this old uncle will find a way to mediate. If the Princess wants a residence, then let her marry into your house!"

"Marry into?" Cui Enhou stopped in his tracks. He looked back at the white-haired old Prince, suppressing a flicker of gratitude, and stood tall with his head held high, every word dripping with blood: "Uncle, according to the edicts of the Great Ancestor, the titles of the founding nobility are to be downgraded generation by generation—Duke, Marquis, Earl, Viscount, Baron. Only when there is no title left can the court reclaim the residence. From the founding of the nation to me, the Rong Mansion is only in its third generation. Even if Cui Zhen is considered a failure, I am the direct grandson of the founding Duke of Rong. I am the Earl of Rong!"

Prince Fu frowned deeply. The disgusting part of this whole affair was how the rules and systems were being manipulated. It was true that the Duke's mansion now exceeded its allotted scale, as the Great Ancestor had also decreed that a Duke was entitled to only a hundred acres of land. If Cui Enhou were to show off, the court officials had countermeasures. If Cui Enhou publicly mentioned that this was a gift from the Martial Emperor to Cui Zhen, that would be even better—it would serve as a perfect test of Emperor Mingde’s attitude toward Cui Zhen and the military nobility. After all, there were already existing examples of those who held military power and dared to forge imperial decrees in public.

To put it more specifically, Emperor Mingde’s sons were growing up, and a new round of succession struggles was beginning.

Thinking of this, Prince Fu suddenly felt as if he had lived long enough. Though his seniority was high, that seniority also meant he had known hunger in his youth. If you could run and jump, you were considered labor; he had to follow behind seven or eight-year-old children, helping to bury soldiers, clean up battlefields, and run errands to deliver medicine to the wounded.

Those days were bitter, but there was hope—a hope of having enough to eat and wear. But now...

Cui Enhou keenly noticed the sorrow on Prince Fu’s face, as if he were lost in the past. He immediately took a deep breath, raised his voice, and stated firmly: "If the court needs to build residences for the new military nobility and there is no suitable land, and they want me to give up the courtyard the Martial Emperor granted my father, I will yield it. At the very least, they earned their titles with their own blood and sweat. Beyond that, there is absolutely no other possibility!"

Finished, Cui Enhou pointed to the courtyard gate: "Please leave, Uncle. Don't get stained by the Cui family’s trouble and let others attack you."

"I am a madman! I will be mad on my own!"

As he spoke, he stared fixedly at the bright yellow figure that had appeared at some point. "Actually, it’s easy to destroy the Cui family. Don't bother with these so-called charges of treason or plotting a coup. Just drive me to madness, let me assassinate the Emperor, and then execute my entire clan!"

The moment these words were uttered, the entire courtyard fell into a deathly silence.

Everyone stared blankly at the Emperor who had stepped into the courtyard. The Emperor’s expression was dark and unfathomable, his gaze fixed gloomily upon Cui Enhou.

Cui Enhou stared back at the Emperor, his eyes still brimming with visible resentment.

The two locked eyes, the killing intent so sharp that the sound of a needle dropping in the courtyard could have been heard.

Everyone: "..."

Cui Xiu was so frightened he lowered his head and touched his little brother.

If... if they didn't execute the entire clan, then at his current age, he might have to enter the palace as a little eunuch.

But no matter what, he had to survive.

Yet, looking at his uncle’s posture, it seemed he didn't really care about living anymore.

Breaking into a cold sweat, Cui Xiu racked his brain for the words of a three-year-old, took a deep breath, and used all his strength to let out a deafening howl of crying.

A child’s wail is naturally piercing, and with Cui Xiu putting his full effort into it, the cry had a penetrating power that instantly shattered the deathly silence of the courtyard.

Cui Enhou slowly turned his head: "Who dares to cry while I am being so heroic, disrupting my military..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Cui Enhou felt a pain in his neck, and then the world went black.

Cui Xiu, eyes wide with terror and tears welling up, watched the Emperor, who had just struck Cui Enhou unconscious with a single blow.

Truly... worthy of an Emperor who seized the throne through a coup.

That was decisive and swift.

Emperor Mingde glanced down at the unconscious Cui Enhou, then swept his gaze toward Nanny Yu, who was being held back by guards but still carried hatred in her eyes. A lump of frustration rose in his throat.

If he had wanted to kill Cui Enhou, he would have done it ten years ago—why wait until now?!

This wretch was just relying on his good birth.

With disdain mixed with a touch of jealousy he didn't even realize himself, Emperor Mingde spoke in an icy, imperial tone, commanding with absolute authority: "I will be blunt for once. Given the Duke of Rong’s love for the people, even if he had wanted to usurp the throne, he would never have tolerated a piece of trash like Cui Enhou as Crown Prince to bring disaster upon the world. Therefore, the descendants of the Cui family will follow the Duke of Rong’s last wishes and take the imperial examinations to serve the state!"

"From this day on, the Rong Mansion is closed. It will not reopen until a member of the Cui family passes the imperial examinations!"