Chapter 59 – The Choice

Xu Chun caressed the golden armlet, its warmth akin to a loving hand, tightly clasping his arm. He belatedly recalled the phrase in his letter inviting Ninth Brother to “stroll arm in arm.” It seemed that this was Ninth Brother’s response to that very line.

Xu Chun’s face flushed red, his longing for Ninth Brother growing ever stronger.

==-=

Fan Mukun returned to the Fan Mansion, heading straight for the study, oblivious to the gatekeeper’s hesitant and fearful expression.

Upon pushing open the door to the study, he found a figure standing in the center of the room. He froze, hastily bowing deeply. “Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty, Long live, long live, long long live.” A layer of cold sweat had already soaked through his back.

Xie Yi stood before a desk, studying the four large characters hanging on the wall. His uncle had taught him how to write those words. “Salt and Plum, You Are the Boat and Oars,” it didn’t bode well, perhaps it should be taken down. He said coolly, “There hasn’t been much change here.”

He slowly walked past Fan Mukun, not dismissing him from his bow.

Fan Mukun, drenched in sweat, dared not raise his head, seeing only the Emperor’s black boots pass by his field of vision. “Allowing Xie Fei to visit the Empress Dowager on behalf of Your Majesty every month was originally bait to catch fish. However, we failed to catch the fish, instead, an old acquaintance fell into our net. I truly believed you wanted to print your uncle’s books, so I gave you some leeway. Every time I showed a bit of leniency, you climbed up the pole.”

Fan Mukun closed his eyes, whispering, “Your subject has committed the sin of deceiving the Emperor.”

Xie Yi laughed. “For your Fan family, death sentences are nothing new. Treason, deception, muddling the bloodline of the imperial clan… If I were to execute nine generations of your family, even I would be included among the nine. I thought about throwing you into the Imperial Temple for peace and quiet, but you kept coming at me again and again, thinking I was too easy to bully.”

Tears rolled down Fan Mukun’s cheeks with his eyes closed.

Xie Yi said, “Didn’t your uncle leave you a letter to return to your hometown, marry, and continue the family legacy through farming and reading? Why did you insist on taking the imperial exams?”

Fan Mukun whispered, “Your subject is unwilling to let go. One, I do not know the truth of what happened, and I cannot rest easy about my aunt and sister; two, Your Majesty once said you would be a wise ruler and I a loyal minister, leaving a name that would last through the ages.”

Xie Yi said, “Yes, I did say that. But the Empress Dowager wanted to support Duke Duanping and have the Empress bear his child, how could I endure that? If not for your uncle pleading for his life…”

Fan Mukun shed tears. “This doesn’t make sense. Duke Duanping was the son of the Regent, while Your Majesty was the offspring of my aunt. Why would she abandon Your Majesty to help the Regent’s son rebel? My father would never agree to such treason. Is there more to this story?”

Xie Yi replied, “Yes, the Empress Dowager and the Regent had a secret affair, and gave birth to Xie Ling inside the palace. They secretly sent him to the Regent’s mansion, and passed him off as the son of his concubine, making him the crown prince. The Regent and the Empress Dowager held absolute power, controlling everything within the palace. At that time, they didn’t bother to hide their actions, and I easily found witnesses and evidence. Duke Duanping knew he was the son of the Empress Dowager, as did the Empress. They only hid it from me.”

“I didn’t think much of it before, assuming the Empress Dowager’s strictness towards me was justified. Later, when I saw your sister playing well with Xie Ling, and as they grew older, it became apparent that they had feelings for each other. I felt somewhat guilty for delaying your sister’s happiness, which is why I never took her to bed. She was two years older than me, and I regarded her as a sister. I planned to find a way to let her go someday, to fulfill her love. At that time, I was indeed naive, never imagining that their plan was to use my name to bear the Crown Prince and then discard me after crossing the bridge.”

“In retrospect, it seems ordinary, easily explained in a few words, but back then, I was ready to let them have their way, giving space to their lovers. Living didn’t seem to hold much meaning.”

Fan Mukun said, “…” He whispered, “Please, Your Majesty, take care of yourself.”

“But Duke Duanping went too far, insisting on pinning the blame for the Regent’s death on me and claiming I had someone kill him to avenge the Regent. This is akin to making me a cuckold and then blaming me for murder. Once I’m truly dead, who knows how many false accusations they’d write in history books, giving me a bad posthumous name that would disgrace me for eternity. Thinking about it, I wouldn’t die peacefully, and I might be so angry as to overturn my coffin. Thus, I retaliated. When people don’t recognize kinship, their opponents are easily defeated. They merely took advantage of my obedience and filial piety.”

Xie Yi looked down at Fan Mukun, mocking him. “So, now do you regret it? Should you have listened to your uncle, staying in your hometown, quietly reading your books, and treating me as a harsh and ungrateful emperor who changes his mind capriciously for your entire life? Why did you need to enter the court?”

He walked to his seat and sat down, flipping through a poetry collection by Fan Qingju. “He genuinely wanted to protect both of you. The Empress Dowager is my birth mother, I wouldn’t commit matricide. To save you, he staked his life, drinking a bottle of poison wine… He left a final memorial to me, taking all the blame himself, saying it was his instigation.”

Fan Mukun, tears streaming down his face, kowtowed. “Father always wanted to return to the countryside, unable to let go of my aunt and sister… Furthermore, Father… Father loved Your Majesty dearly… He said Your Majesty was of extraordinary intellect, a rare sage emperor. If you came of age, you would surely be a wise and heroic ruler, urging me to assist you well.”

Xie Yi paused, then said indifferently, “Let’s not talk about these past matters, let’s focus on today’s events.”

“You told Concubine Jing that I have a preference for men. That was quite a stroke of genius; I honestly didn’t see it coming. Concubine Jing was already deranged, I previously assumed she loved Duke Duanping, which is why she participated in the rebellion, I didn’t hold it against her. Now, she’s lost her mind to the point of hearing I have a preference for men and wanting to make her own brother serve me sexually. It’s even more baffling. Fortunately, you at least rebuked and refused her in person. Otherwise, I would have wondered what kind of beasts your uncle raised, it would have been better if I had killed them both back then, sparing myself the trouble now.”

Fan Mukun’s face turned purple, enduring the humiliation. “I first recognized Your Majesty’s handwriting when I saw the ‘Chufeng Hall’ sign at Prince Xu’s place.”

Xie Yi said, “Oh, did you go to the printing house there to print the book?”

Fan Mukun replied, “Prince Xu must cherish these characters, engraving them into a hall name seal and stamping them on the front page of every book.”

Xie Yi remained silent.

Fan Mukun, unaware of Xie Yi’s speechlessness, continued to confess honestly. “Some days ago, when I visited the Duke of Jingguo’s mansion to pay my respects, I smelled a faint fragrance on Prince Xu’s body, it was somewhat familiar. I couldn’t immediately recall what it was.”

Xie Yi remained silent.

Fan Mukun still knelt on the ground, honest. “Later, when I played chess with Your Majesty at the Hanlin Academy, I smelled the same fragrance on Your Majesty. Suddenly, I remembered it was the phoenix account scent from the palace. Back then, when I learned perfumery, Your Majesty ordered the Imperial Pharmacy to send over all the fragrances and formulas. This particular incense pill had a special name, I still remember it, and I tried to make it, but I failed…”

Xie Yi held his forehead without speaking. He certainly remembered the incident, having seriously told Xu Chun it was difficult to replicate successfully. However, he hadn’t anticipated that Fan Mukun’s dog-like nose could still remember the scent after over ten years. Moreover, how could the fragrance of this incense pill last so long? It had been nearly two months since then, was it due to continuous consumption for several days?

Seeing Xie Yi’s silence, Fan Mukun assumed the Emperor was extremely furious and only kowtowed to plead guilty. “Over the years, I’ve been pondering day and night. At the time, I only speculated that my father and sister were involved in Duke Duanping’s rebellion, as rumored. But my father was always upright and loyal, unlike that, and Your Majesty granted him the posthumous title ‘Wen Ding,’ seeming to still have affection for the Fan family. But why did you depose the Empress so decisively? In the past, Your Majesty showed deep kindness to the Fan family, how could you be so merciless now? I couldn’t solve this puzzle, it had become an obsession.”

“That day, smelling the fragrance and recalling it was the phoenix account scent, I remembered that Your Majesty hadn’t favored a single palace lady in all these years. If Your Majesty prefers men and avoids women, then how did my sister conceive the prince? Therefore, I took the risk to ask Prince Shun to relay the message for me, to question the Empress.”

“It was my ignorance of the past, my private conjectures, my deception of the Emperor, I am ashamed and terrified, please grant me death.”

Xie Yi was silent for a long time, then said, “For your uncle’s sake, I have two options for you.”

Fan Mukun said, “Your sinful subject awaits your command.”

Xie Yi said, “First, Concubine Jing will be given a dumb drug, publicly announced to be deceased. You can resign from office and take her back home, following your uncle’s wishes, living a life of farming and reading, supporting your sister in the family temple, second, you can continue as a lecturer at the Hanlin Academy, as a third-place scholar. Concubine Jing will be demoted to commoner status immediately, confined in the Imperial Temple to serve the Empress Dowager, never to leave until her death. If the Empress Dowager passes away, she will guard the tomb.”

Fan Mukun had never felt that the Emperor, whom he had accompanied since childhood, was so unpredictable. He closed his eyes, and after a long time, whispered, “I choose the second option.”

Xie Yi nodded slightly, seemingly unsurprised. He had been adept at using temptation and pressure over the years. Fan Mukun, carefully nurtured by his uncle for many years, possessed talent and character, and Xie Yi naturally hoped to keep him in the court for use.

He said indifferently, “Rise. Since you’ve made your choice, I have another matter to entrust to you. During the New Year, a hibernating venomous snake was placed in my saddle. When I rode, I was bitten and injured. Fortunately, Prince Xu of the Duke of Jingguo helped detoxify me, saving my life.”

Fan Mukun was startled. “Have you identified…” He suddenly stopped, remembering that after the New Year, the Empress Dowager and Concubine Jing were sent to the Imperial Temple by the Emperor.

Xie Yi said, “Yes, the Empress Dowager didn’t deny it, but there must be ministers and members of the imperial clan colluding with her. I want you to find out who is in cahoots with the Empress Dowager.”

Fan Mukun whispered, “Your subject obeys your orders.”

Satisfied, Xie Yi said, “Xu Chun has the merit of saving the throne. However, he didn’t know I was the Son of Heaven at the time, and I didn’t want to reveal my identity, so I indirectly rewarded the Duke of Jingguo’s mansion and him.”

Fan Mukun finally understood, feeling ashamed. “I made presumptions and misunderstood the relationship between Your Majesty and Prince Xu.”

Xie Yi said indifferently, “The manuscript of your uncle’s poems should be organized. Publish it soon, this is something that should have been done long ago.”

Fan Mukun agreed, and Xie Yi got up to leave. At the door, Fang Zixing and the guards followed. Fan Mukun knelt to send him off, his clothes on his back wet and dried.

The sky was vast and silent. He knelt there for a long time, unable to resist covering his face, tears streaming down his cheeks.