Chapter 514 – The Great Restraint and the Great Spiral; Invasion, Palace Upheaval - Part 3

Meanwhile, far away, the evening palace buzzed with chaos.

Urgent reports echoed through the halls, messengers racing to and fro.

But where there is noise, there is also silence.

Inside the Dragon Roar Hall, the Emperor had not returned.

Two palace maids stood guard as usual. But one of them suddenly stepped out of position and entered the imperial bedchamber.

Once inside, she glanced around with poorly concealed curiosity.

A voice came from outside.

“Hurry up and open the mechanism. Finish the task.”

The maid moved quickly. With a few practiced motions, the wall gave a low grinding sound, revealing a hidden chamber.

She stepped in without hesitation.

There, on a small desk, lay a kite. It was old, very old. Its ink had faded with time, yet several words were still legible.

“Strive without ceasing...”

She didn’t touch it. Instead, she pulled a porcelain vial from her robes and tilted it gently. A clear liquid trickled out.

It dripped onto the ink. And slowly, the words began to vanish.

After completing her task, the palace maid quietly exited the hidden chamber, carefully closing the concealed panel behind her. She pulled a piece of silk cloth from her sleeve and gently wiped down the surrounding surfaces, erasing any trace of her presence before slipping out of the palace.

In the imperial study, The young Emperor sat calmly beside the Empress Dowager, both listening to the flurry of urgent reports arriving like a blizzard of snowflakes.

Ji Hu’s face was strikingly plain, some would even say ugly, especially when seated next to the Empress Dowager, who looked like a woman out of legend.

No ordinary person could fathom how such an ethereal beauty could have given birth to such an unremarkable child.

And yet, those who had seen the late Emperor would know that the boy bore his likeness. The bloodline of the royal family, it seemed, was both peculiar and powerful.

Scroll after scroll of memorials was unrolled.

The Empress Dowager glanced over them, noting their nearly identical contents, then passed them to the boy Emperor.

Her eyes were half-closed, her golden-tipped fingers slightly lifted with effortless poise.

The reports were simple.

The barbarians had invaded, and not merely with raids or skirmishes. In a sweeping storm, they had devoured the entire Kingdom of Wei.

The King of Wei had fled, seeking refuge in the lands of the former Silkfloss Province, now the Kingdom of Han.

Now, letters poured in from every direction. The message was clear: in the face of a foreign threat, the Central Plains had to unite. Alliance was not optional; it was survival.

These were letters of plea. Of desperation.

Ji Hu read them all.

“What is Your Majesty’s view?” the Empress Dowager asked lightly.

Ji Hu replied, “Since the barbarians have invaded, it is only right we stand together to resist them.”

The Empress Dowager smiled and nodded. “Very good, my son. Draft the edict. Dispatch the Flying Bear Army and the Western Garrison. Have them march south.”

Over the years, Xie Wei had not been idle.

Beyond the original two elite legions, she had expanded the empire’s military reach, creating four great frontier armies, the Western Garrison, Northern Garrison, Eastern Pacifiers, and Southern Peacekeepers.

Of these, the Eastern and Southern armies were the strongest by far.

Each force claimed a strength of 100,000, though in truth, they each fielded 60,000 well-trained troops.

Ji Hu nodded and began drafting the decree.

Once complete, he handed it off and retired as the sky darkened.

But the Empress Dowager remained in the study, waiting.

Soon, her guest arrived.

He was ten-thousand-man commander from the Ocean Province’s armored cavalry, and a trusted confidant Xie Feng.

Without looking up, the Empress Dowager plucked a scroll from the table and tossed it to him.

Her voice was cold, “We march openly against the barbarians, but in secret, we strike at the Kingdoms of Yan and Zhao. This grand design now rests in the hands of the general. The Eastern Pacifiers will move with you. Together, you will take Yan and Zhao in a single, decisive stroke.”

The commander bowed deeply, then withdrew.

The Empress Dowager exhaled and snuffed out the candlelight, sinking into the darkness.

Her phoenix-like eyes gleamed faintly in the dim room, locked on the great map of the realm hanging on the wall.

In matters of conquest, speed was everything.

The opportunity would come only once.

Her brother, and the Eastern Pacifiers she had personally built from the ground up, would not disappoint her.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

The next morning.

The court convened as usual.

By midday, ministers took their leave one after another.

As twilight fell, Xie Wei was in the imperial study, reviewing reports, when a loud voice suddenly erupted from the front courtyard, clear, righteous, and furious.

“I beg the Empress Dowager to rescind the order! The barbarians have invaded; this is the time for unity across the Central Plains! To defend our lands from foreign invaders is the most urgent duty! If we strike at Yan and Zhao now, we’ll shatter the hearts of the people!”

Xie Wei, being sixth-rank, could hear it all with crystal clarity. Her face instantly turned pale.

CRASH!

The porcelain cup in her hand shattered as it struck the floor.

She clapped twice, sharply.

Two palace maids appeared instantly.

“Silence him,” Xie Wei said coldly.

But just then, the voice outside changed.

“I know full well that to remonstrate so boldly is a crime punishable by death!”

“But I beg you, Your Majesty, to act for the sake of the common people! Empress Dowager, I plead with you, rescind this order! Kill the barbarians! Kill the barbarians! Kill the barbarians!!”

The voice rang out in the courtyard, loud and impassioned, then suddenly fell silent.

Moments later, a palace maid returned and reported in a hushed voice, “Your Majesty...it was the Vice Minister of War, Zhu Jingzhi. He...he died to deliver his protest.”

The Empress Dowager’s chest rose and fell in fury. She slammed her hand down.

“Traitor! Traitor! Traitor! Does he call this defying me

for the people

?!” She flung a tiger tally from her sleeve, a symbol of military command, and barked coldly, “The secret’s out now. That makes speed our only advantage. Send word to Ocean Province’s armored cavalry. Mobilize

tonight

. Strike east. Before Yan and Zhao even realize what’s happening, take as much as you can.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!” The maid bowed and rushed off.

As she slipped out of the Clear Mind Hall, a dozen shadows emerged from the dark alleys of the palace, silent guards in identical uniforms. Each one looked just like the maid, and each one scattered in a different direction.

Xie Wei paused, thinking briefly, then clapped again.

From the shadows behind her, another palace maid stepped out.

This one, too, was one of her elite. Loyal. Razor-trained. Every one of them a fifth rank martial artist.

She tossed out another token. “Summon the imperial guard. Lock down all information.”

“Also, raid Zhu Jingzhi’s estate immediately. I want to know who pushed him to take this risk.”

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

One hour later.

“Your Majesty, you’ve seen it now, haven’t you?”

On the high walls of the inner court, Imperial Tutor Gao stood with hands behind his back, letting out a long sigh.

Ji Hu stood beside him, fists clenched so tightly his knuckles were white, eyes fixed on the dust rising in the distance.

“It...it can’t be,” he whispered. “Mother would never...”

And then, from thin air, a red streak appeared, stepping calmly into view, short blade in hand.

It was a child, no older than ten, hair tied in a ponytail, dressed in brilliant crimson, face round and innocent. But his eyes were icy, and...deadly.

Anyone who met his gaze would feel as if a corpse had brushed against their skin, instinctively recoiling from that bone-deep chill.

This was no ordinary child. This was Fish Guts, a loyal soul given form.

Fish Guts looked at the young Emperor, gave a slight nod, and said softly, “It’s just as Imperial Tutor Gao said. Ocean Province’s 30,000 armored cavalry have already left the Jade Capital. They’re headed straight for Yan and Zhao.”

Imperial Tutor Gao sighed, long and heavy.

“A loyal minister offers his life to halt disaster. And yet the Empress Dowager insists on her course.”

“Your Majesty, you are a ruler of virtue and kindness. You see clearly.”

“This time...even if I must throw away this old body, I would raise a sword and ride ahead of Your Majesty’s banner, just once, as a foot soldier before the cavalry!”

What was a foot soldier before the cavalry? Why would anyone

choose

to be that? Everyone here already knew.

Ji Hu was 17 years old now, but power still belonged to the Empress Dowager.

And this...

this

was the moment to take it back.

Ji Hu glanced toward Fish Guts.

“Our loyalty is to

you

, not the Empress Dowager,” Fish Guts met his gaze and said plainly. “Gao Kaiping’s Flying Bear Army never went far. They’ve quietly circled back. With just one word from you, they’ll enter the capital.”

“As for the Empress Dowager’s shadow guard...” The red-dressed child licked the edge of his blade, eyes dancing with mischief and disdain.

Imperial Tutor Gao added, “Mister Ying has great respect for Your Majesty. He knows you were born to be a wise ruler and wants to help you claim your place. Many among the court hold Mister Ying in high regard. With him by your side, the court will stabilize.”

Mister Ying, Ying Shanxing, was once the governor of Hidden Dragon Province. After surrendering his military command, he’d become a free soul, roaming mountains and rivers, untouched by court or faction.

Seeing the Emperor still unmoved, Imperial Tutor Gao suddenly dropped to his knees.

“Your Majesty, when a hen crows at dawn, it is an omen of ruin! All of this, everything, is for the sake of the people and the state, for the House of Ji! How can the great vessel of the nation be handed to an ignorant woman?!”

Only silence followed, a long, heavy silence.

Finally, Ji Hu murmured, “I...I need more time to think.”

Imperial Tutor Gao pressed on, “We don’t

have

time, Your Majesty. Please, make your decision before dawn.”

“...I understand.”

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

The night deepened.

Moonlight bathed the rooftops, and the stars glittered like silver spilled across water.

Ji Hu hurried back toward the Dragon Roar Hall. But at the last second, he gritted his teeth and veered toward the Clear Mind Hall, the Empress Dowager’s residence.

He pushed forward at full speed.

Even though the shadow guard tried to block him, he had his own protectors now.

“Mother! Mother!” he shouted, voice echoing through the hall. Yet no answer came.

He charged inside, heart pounding, and his gaze snapped toward the rear courtyard.

That courtyard was off-limits, reserved for the Empress Dowager’s personal attendants.

One of them,

that one

, had been granted the title of Marquis of Freedom at her command. A man who now rarely left the palace, instead living in secret comfort within her domain.

The Emperor clenched his jaw, then bolted toward the rear court.

The gate was locked.

He drew his sword.

With a flash of steel, the lock dropped to the ground.

Ji Hu burst through, slammed the door shut behind him, and stumbled toward the quiet, unlit inner chamber, panting.

Behind him, the palace was in uproar. But here, it was silent.

He took a shaky breath and called out in a trembling voice, “False Father... False Father...”

Yet again, no answer came.

“False Father! It’s me, your emperor!”

Still only silence.

He searched every corner of the place, inside and out. Nothing. No trace.

Just as his anger reached its breaking point, a palace maid came rushing out in panic.

“Where is the Marquis of Freedom?!” Ji Hu roared.

The maid dropped to her knees. “Your Majesty, Her Majesty has built a secret residence outside the palace. The Marquis...he’s been living there.”

Then, her voice lowered. She began to spill what she’d seen and heard, scandalous tales of the Empress Dowager and the marquis, things no father figure should ever be involved in. The more she said, the harder Ji Hu’s heart pounded.

“Stop!” he shouted, voice cracking. “Stop talking!!!”

His face flushed with shame and rage. With a wild kick, he knocked the maid over and fled.

He ran, stumbling and breathless, like a man drowning, gasping for air.

He sprinted back to the Dragon Roar Hall.

He needed to see it, the kite, the one hidden in the secret chamber.

Above the palace rooftops, on glazed tiles slick with dew, Li Yuan stood watching. His expression was calm, his eyes deep as the sea.

As a breeze swept past, he turned and vanished into the night.