Chapter 3.01 – You bunch of rebellious ministers

Editor: Mimishijie 👸

Proofreader: Penguinstel

Character list: here

Xiang Han had just finished reading through the information of this world when he heard a eunuch say, “Your Majesty, the ministers in the morning court are kneeling outside the Imperial Palace and refusing to get up. They are begging you… begging you to…”

Xiang Han sighed, “They are trying to force this emperor to abdicate, ah.”

The eunuch fell to his knees loudly in terror, but he dared not make another sound.

According to the original plot, at this time, Song Han was furious and believed that the court was filled with people from the Zhao Family. Now, without the three big mountains pressuring him, he was free to do whatever he wanted and thus, directly ordered for the few ministers who started this mess to be flogged. Those ministers were agitated, crying that he was an “incapable ruler” as they rushed towards a pillar to hit their own heads, leaving behind a bloody scene.

Song Han had already decided that Zhao Bing Zhang needed to die. He was just a step away, how could he relax? Therefore, while some ministers kneeled and others died, none were able to change his mind.

After getting rid of Zhao Bing Zhang, Song Han realised that the sky was still the same piece of sky and the court was still the same as before. A few prominent ministers had died, but without their suppression, he just needed to pull a few more in to fill up those positions. There was no one who could touch him.

He finally understood the taste of absolute power, understood the phrase “the Emperor ruled over this land” and from then on, sprinted down the path of a despot. Whoever resisted him would be suppressed. Whoever spoke words that offended him, he would pick out.

When Zhao Ze brought his troops and killed his way back into Chang’ An, Song Han finally realised that all the people by his side were mere pretty faces planted by Song Yu. They only knew how to pander him; none of them could be used.

After Song Han was overthrown, Song Yu ‘reluctantly’ ascended the throne under the plea of the ministers. Successfully becoming the emperor, the first thing he did was to get rid of the disgraced emperor and under the guise of avenging his brother, he dealt with Zhao Ze.

Zhao Ze finally realised right before he died, that year the Zhao Family was destroyed, it was Song Yu who had planted his people by Song Han’s side to instigate him. If not for him, how could Song Han, with his fear of the three ministers, dare to do such a thing?

When such a plot fell on Song Yu, it was truly an inspirational story of how an abolished prince who had to endure many things came to successfully counterattack. But if the plot fell on someone else, how could it be so abusive?

Xiang Han rolled about the Emperor’s dragon bed and sighed deeply.

His mission this time was to help Zhao Ze see Song Yu’s true colours, and become a loyal and famous minister for a capable ruler. The late King had two sons, one of them was the next door’s Mr. Wang’s[1]. To find a capable ruler for Zhao Ze, it can only be him.

But if he wasn’t mistaken, Zhao Ze should have already been rescued by the people that Song Yu sent and was currently plotting to assassinate him tonight…ah, it should be, force him to retract his orders.

However, according to the original plot, Zhao Ze was immediately found upon entering the palace. Moreover, he had suffered his punishment in the dungeon and thus, could only leave shamefully after exchanging a few blows with the imperial bodyguards. Song Han had been frightened and hid below his bed. From start to the end, the two of them never met at all.

The system saw him sigh deeply and suggested earnestly, [Coincidentally, some ministers are kneeling outside, why don’t you just go along with it for now?]

[Can the emperor’s words simply be eaten?] Xiang Han asked quietly.

System, [Ah, then what should we do?] The order had already been issued, if he did not revoke it, then did he really have to execute Zhao Bing Zhang?

Xiang Han thought for a while before instructing his bodyguards to watch over those ministers. If they wanted to kneel, let them kneel, but do not let them recklessly hit those pillars.

He recalled the part of the plot that mentioned, after those ministers died, apart from the title of “incapable ruler”, he earned another “ruthless” title. The deaths of another two ministers had been unknowingly placed on his head.

After making sure that these few ministers would not abruptly commit suicide, Xiang Han started to deal with the situation at hand.

Firstly, he could not use these ministers. Although at every twist and turn, they claimed to be “loyal” and repeated the phrase, “this villain has been framed”, they were not convincing at all. If he were to really revoke his order, it would appear as if he had been pressured by the situation. In the future if such a thing were to happen, what would he do when those ministers came to kneel again?

After contemplating, he decided to start dealing with the matter from Zhao Ze’s side.

Thinking of a plan, Xiang Han left his room and began to go about the normal routine of a capable ruler –  going through official documents

Thankfully, Xiang Han had practised calligraphy in the first world, and with the original host’s memories, he was able to replicate the other person’s words to a large extent. In addition, there was Big A, Little B and System’s guidance. He completed a few, but not too many nor too extraordinarily for fear that others may discover something off.

Seeing that the sky was getting dark, Xiang Han did not continue. He rubbed his stomach and headed over to the East Pavilion for dinner. It should be noted that dining was a terribly troublesome task for the emperor. There were so many dishes, but he could only watch and not eat. He watched as the little eunuch tasted every dish once over before it was his turn. At least the chopsticks were his own, if not, with his mysophobia from the last world, it would be impossible for him to stomach.

The ministers knelt from dawn to dusk, not leaving even when the sky was dark. After Xiang Han ate and drank his fill, he allowed the little eunuch to send the remainder of the food to them, lest they called him a cruel monarch. The emperor was even willing to give them some leftovers, it was the ministers’ honour.

When he returned to his room, Xiang Han sent away the patrolling imperial bodyguards to make it easier for Zhao Ze to enter. Recalling that the other person would only come at Zi Shi(23:00 – 01:00), he prepared to first take a bath and then sleep. However, he never expected that just as he dismissed his retainers and entered the bathtub, the other person would arrive.

When the black and cold blade of the dagger pressed against his neck, Xiang Han was stunned.

What happened to coming at Zi Shi? It was only Xu Shi(19:00 – 21:00), could he have read the plot wrongly?

In reality, Zhao Ze had always been loitering nearby. He had really chosen Zi Shi in the original plot because that was when the bodyguards would change shifts and it was also a time when everyone’s guard was at their lowest, giving him the lowest possibility of being discovered. But after Xiang Han dismissed all his bodyguards…

Zhao Ze suddenly appeared behind him and from their close proximity, he could nearly feel the other person’s coldness.

According to the original host’s cowardly character, he should be panicking and shouting for help in such a situation.

Xiang Han was prepared to go through the motions a little but just as he opened his mouth, he felt the blade dig a little deeper, followed by a dull pain from his neck.

Xiang Han immediately clamped his mouth shut, pretending to curl up in fright.

“Get out.” Zhao Ze finally spoke, his voice cold.

Xiang Han was silent for a moment before he pretended to stutter, “Z-Zhen isn’t wearing any clothes.”

Zhao Ze was clearly impatient, directly dragging him out before quickly throwing an outer robe to him. Xiang Han received the garment in a daze and before he could react, the blade returned to his neck, making his face reddened in anger.

He was a little chilly after leaving the bath. Putting on the robes, he finally had the time to look over at Zhao Ze.

The other person had just escaped from the dungeon and wore a eunuch’s uniform. His face was purple and green all over, a little swollen and stained with blood. It was difficult to tell his original appearance but his eyes were pitch-black, like the deep abyss, resembling Lu Ze and the rest just a little.

Xiang Han’s feelings were complicated, unsure if his feelings were disappointment or relief.

Zhao Ze was probably unaware of his current appearance. Noticing Xiang Han’s stare, his face suddenly reddened as he remembered that the other person liked men. His heart was filled with disgust.

The person that he and his father had always been loyal to turned out to be such a fatuous monarch, truly a useless and preposterous thing.

“Move.” He used his dagger to push Xiang Han, forcing him to leave his spot and head towards his desk.

Xiang Han took two more steps and suddenly froze, pretending to be shocked, “It’s you?”

Zhao Ze’s brows dipped slightly when he heard the other person gnash his teeth, “Traitorous scoundrel, you actually have the guts to threaten this emperor? How did you escape from prison?” 

He started to raise his voice again, “Guards…mmph.”

The words “Guards” had not been spoken fully when his mouth was blocked. Zhao Ze held a piece of cloth filled with the smell of metal, sweat, and medicine. The influence from his previous world had not completely faded yet, causing Xiang Han to feel utterly disgusted.

The little eunuch heard the sound and quickly asked from outside the door, “Your Majesty?”

Zhao Ze’s face darkened and he quickly turned around to press him against the wall, hovering the knife beside his neck as he warned, “If you dare to do anything funny, there is only death waiting. Understood?”

Xiang Han was so disgusted his tears nearly came out, whimpering non-stop to express that he understood. After he was released, he dry heaved for a while, struggling to catch his breath.

Zhao Ze frowned and reminded him, “Answer him.”

Xiang Han really wanted to let System help beat this person up, but thinking of Song Han’s character, he still gave up this thought and endured his discomfort as he replied, “It’s nothing. You can all return to your post.”

After the eunuch left, Xiang Han’s voice trembled. “Y-You want to kill me? Zhen already knew it, the Zhao Family will never let me off. My imperial brother was right, none of the ministers is anything good, all of you are only thinking of ways to usurp the throne and kill Zhen. Zhen really regrets not listening to imperial brother and executing your entire traitorous family earlier…”

One moment it was “Zhen”, the next moment it was “me”. His speech was jumbled up and adding on the fact that his previous retching had brought tears to his eyes, he appeared extremely frightened.

The original host entered the court less than half a year ago and had just turned 16. He had lived with fear under his three assistant ministers, unable to sleep or eat properly, thus, was a little skinny. At this moment, he was ‘crying’ until his eyes turned red, appearing extremely pitiful.

Zhao Ze sank into silence. His original goal was to force the Little Emperor to write an edict. The commander of the Chang’ An army was his father’s student, and as long as he could save his father from the dungeon, leaving Chang’ An was not a problem.

Since ancient times, there were no ministers who had a happy ending. After the Little Emperor went into politics, it was completely normal for him to think of ways to get rid of his father. Originally, his father had planned to write an official letter to announce his retirement. In order to convince the Little Emperor, he even faked a serious illness. But he never expected that the Little Emperor had no intention of letting them go.

Before he arrived, Zhao Ze kept believing that the Little Emperor had deliberately forged evidence to frame his father. But after hearing the other person’s “crying”, he suddenly realised that the truth was different from what he had originally thought.

The Little Emperor had truly believed that his father had rebelled and intended to overthrow him. Meanwhile, rescuing his father and persuading him to leave Chang’ An before wasting the King was all part of the Prince Liang’s plan.

It was not that Zhao Ze did not suspect that the Little Emperor might be acting, but after observing for a while, he noticed that while the Little Emperor’s eyes were filled with tears, his gaze was unwavering. It did not seem like those of a liar’s.

Prince Wang was only dismissed two years ago and mostly spent his time leisurely, not caring about court matters. But now that he thought about it, he and his father had probably been desensitised by this person. How did an idle prince like him have the ability to rescue him from the dungeon?

“Stop crying.” Zhao Ze retracted the dagger and his brows furrowed, “Prince Liang was the one who told you that my father wanted to rebel?”

Who was crying? Xiang Han choked for a moment before deliberately faking panic. “You barbarian, don’t tell me you don’t even intend to let my imperial brother off?”

***

[1] The next door’s Mr Wang’s kid refers to the husband having been cuckolded by his wife. Not literally by the neighbour next door in this case. So the crown prince was not the Emperor’s real son.