Chapter 73  

Before Su Cheng left, Ji Yanming wrote a detailed memorial and gave it to him. Su Cheng knew its importance, so he kept it safe despite the difficulties they faced, including ambushes.

It was almost impossible for Su Cheng to see the emperor now, but Tao Sheng could enter and leave the emperor’s tent freely. After thinking it over, Su Cheng handed the memorial to Tao Sheng.

Tao Sheng opened it and saw it was indeed written by Ji Yanming. She believed Su Cheng even more.

The memorial detailed what Ji Yanming had observed in the Ling Palace and the unusual military movements of two countries. Once the emperor read it, she would understand without needing any extra explanation from Su Cheng.

Although it would be best if Su Cheng could report this in person, the camp was filled with people. The crown prince might have spies nearby. Bringing another person along when they returned would be too noticeable.

Tao Sheng put the memorial in her robe and said, “Wait outside for news. Keep following the emperor’s carriage at a distance. If something happens, I’ll come out and talk to you.”

Su Cheng agreed.

Afterward, Tao Sheng went back and reported to the Princess of Chu.

Princess of Chu smiled and asked, “Is that wine shop as good as you said? What wine and food did you and Xie Tanhua buy?”

Tao Sheng had forgotten everything since meeting Su Cheng. She responded helplessly, “After we left camp, we saw it was quiet and far away. We felt uneasy and didn’t continue.”

Princess Chu noticed Tao Sheng’s unhappy expression and asked, “Were you scared? Why do you look so down?”

Tao Sheng gently shook her head and said, “I’m fine.”

Just then, Gao Zhen came over, bowed to Tao Sheng, and said, “Your Majesty asks Lord Luo to come to the imperial tent.”

Princess Chu looked at Tao Sheng with concern and said, “Ah Sheng, are you sure you can go now? Shouldn’t you ask for some rest from the emperor?”

Tao Sheng reassured her, “It’s fine, Princess. I’ll be back soon.”

The emperor had just finished his snack and was drinking tea. When he saw Tao Sheng, he smiled and said, “The rice dumplings with fermented glutinous rice from the kitchen were delicious. I asked them to make another bowl for you.”

Tao Sheng lowered her eyes and said, “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

The emperor noticed something in her voice and asked, “What’s wrong? Are you worried?”

After thinking for a moment, Tao Sheng said, “I was bored in the carriage earlier, so I read a storybook with the Princess of Chu. We came across a section called ‘Meeting’ from the ‘Soft Jade Records’, and it made me feel emotional.”

Tao Sheng always spoke plainly and didn’t beat around the bush, especially with the emperor.

The emperor remembered watching the play before. It was about an official who retired to his hometown and had two daughters. Both were beautiful and well-educated. When they reached marriageable age, many sought their hand in marriage.

The eldest daughter married a scholar from a good family and lived happily. The youngest fell for a local scholar, handsome but poor, with troublesome relatives. Despite warnings from her family, she was determined to marry him.

The parents eventually asked the eldest daughter to return from the capital to persuade the younger sister. The section “Meeting” was about this reunion and the eldest daughter trying unconventional ways to fix her sister’s marriage.

When Tao Sheng mentioned this, the emperor took it seriously.

Since Tao Sheng didn’t explain directly, the emperor played along and said, “Last time I asked Miss Luo about your progress with the Yingzhou music piece. You said it could only be played for me, and only when the mind is calm. How do you feel now?”

Tao Sheng didn’t expect the emperor to catch on so quickly. She responded, “This ‘Yingzhou’ is inspired by the original emperor’s journey to Penglai Mountain ^[1]refers to a legendary place. to seek immortality. Only the True Dragon Emperor can hear it. The piece is finished. If you’re in the mood today, I would be honored to play it.”

The emperor nodded and told his servants, “Everyone leave. No one may enter without my permission.”  

Soon, Tao Sheng and the emperor were the only ones left in the imperial tent. The emperor motioned for Tao Sheng to sit down and talk: “What happened?”

Tao Sheng presented Ji Yanming’s memorial to the emperor. The emperor flipped through it, his brows furrowing more and more.

“Has someone been sent to inform the Crown Prince in the capital about this matter?”

“I’ve already sent someone to inform them,” Tao Sheng said. “But there were some mistakes in the capital.”

Tao Sheng then told the emperor everything that happened to Su Cheng today.

After she finished, Tao Sheng could feel the emperor’s mood sink, making it hard to breathe.

His right hand holding the memorial began to tremble, and the muscles on his face twitched slightly. Normally, he would have thrown something or scolded the prince, but now he wasn’t sure if anyone was around the prince, so he didn’t dare to vent his emotions and could only hold them back.

“Lord Luo, please play a song for me.”

Since a piece of music was to be played, it wouldn’t work if there was no zither sound at all.

“This emperor is really weak-willed!”

Tao Sheng nodded slightly, lowered her head, and started playing the tune.

_

It soon got dark, and as the lights were lit in the tents, the number of guards patrolling the area doubled.

The King of Chu had lived a life of luxury in the capital in recent years, and after traveling for days, he was a little tired. After returning, he slept from the afternoon until dark. Just after he woke up, he heard the Chief Secretary report that King Rui had arrived.

When the King of Chu heard “King Rui,” he felt upset. But he knew that King Rui must have come for more than just a chat and would likely reveal something important.

Even if the information King Rui gave was false, the King of Chu was confident he could deduce the truth from clues.

“Let him in.”

This was the first time King Rui visited King Chu’s tent. Upon entering, he looked around curiously.

King Rui soon noticed that King Chu’s tent was large and well-furnished, with tables, chairs, screens, and ornaments of higher quality than those in his own palace. This showed that the emperor still favored King Chu.

However, these small details didn’t shake his confidence. King Rui sat calmly and asked King Chu, “Father suddenly said we should split into three groups and march north to the Summer Resort. Big brother, do you know what’s going on?”

King Chu had just woken up and hadn’t yet heard the news. He was confused by King Rui’s question: “I’ve never heard of this before. Where did you hear this?”

Seeing that King Chu seemed genuine and wasn’t pretending, King Rui knew it wasn’t him who was stirring up trouble.

“Nothing, I just happened to leave my tent to admire the moon and overheard two generals near the emperor discussing tomorrow’s march. They said the troops would be divided into three groups to march north. This hasn’t happened before, so I came to ask you.”

Since King Chu wasn’t aware of the matter, King Rui saw no need to stay long. After exchanging a few words, he left.

Princess Rui had waited a long time in the tent. When she saw King Rui return, she hurried over and asked, “Does His Highness, the King of Chu, know what’s happening?”

King Rui replied, “Probably not.”

He sensed that this matter was significant. After all, King Chu had been imprisoned for three years and was no longer in the running for the throne. It made sense that the emperor didn’t inform him.

Princess Rui sighed in disappointment and mentioned something else: “Xiao Qin came to see you earlier and said we should meet there at that time.”

Xiao Qin was a Jinshi who entered the Hanlin Academy in the last imperial examination. He now worked for the emperor, handling tasks related to drafting imperial edicts.

However, what no one knew was that Qin Run was secretly cultivated by King Rui and served as a spy close to the emperor.

King Rui’s interest was piqued again: “I’ll go take a look.”

This situation arose so suddenly that the emperor had already ordered the carriages to be organized for tomorrow’s march to the Summer Resort, splitting the troops into three groups and assigning specific personnel and soldiers.

Even if King Rui wanted to act, he only had one night before everything would be decided by dawn.

At this critical moment, King Rui didn’t beat around the bush with Qin Run and asked directly, “Did something big happen to the emperor?”

Is that why they were so eager to send troops north?

“I don’t know anything about that,” Qin Run said. “Grand Scholar Li only told us about the draft list. In addition to the group led by the emperor, you’ll lead one, and His Highness, the King of Chu, will lead the other. Grand Scholar Li said we should copy the list tonight and distribute it without any mistakes.”

Hearing this, King Rui realized the situation wasn’t simple.

“Do you know who the emperor met this afternoon?”

“I wasn’t on duty today, so I don’t know,” Qin Run said. “But I heard from other officials that the emperor met with several people today, and there were many coming and going. It’s hard to say which meeting this action is related to.”

“Divide the troops into three groups… Divide the troops into three groups,” King Rui repeated. Suddenly, the image of a beautiful woman in red flashed in his mind.

“Do you know where Lord Luo from the Imperial Music Bureau is?”

Qin Run knew: “Lord Luo is with His Highness, the King of Chu, and not with the emperor.”

That made things easier.

King Rui said, “Can you arrange for Lord Luo to go with me instead?”

There were many names to copy this time, and the emperor hadn’t personally chosen them. If there were mistakes later, they’d be blamed on copying errors, not major failures.

Knowing the leverage King Rui held over him, Qin Run gritted his teeth and said, “I obey your command.”