Thank you for the Ko-fi, Catastrophe~ (๑>ᴗ<๑)
Chapter Fifty-One – The Emperor (1)
After autumn, the leaves that were once green turned yellow and fell from the trees.
The General’s courtyard was full of leaves and the servants didn’t have time to clean it up, so Chu Ting Xiu simply asked them not to clean it up, leaving the training ground to be filled with leaves, which was quite a sight.
There was no court meeting today, so Chu Ting Xiu was relieved and trained early in the morning in the training ground. When the spear was swung out, the withered leaves were scattered by the energy, just like countless yellow butterflies flying in the air.
It had been a long time since he had practiced with a spear, after a round, not only did his body relax, his mood was much better, and he wasn’t so averse to dealing with those old stubborn people tomorrow.
Chu Ting Xiu is a General, a Marquis of the North, and in charge of all the troops and horses under the Emperor’s rule, but he always gets a headache when facing those civil officials who are too weak to fight.
Chu Ting Xiu’s grandfather conquered the ten thousand miles of mountains and rivers of the Great Qi Dynasty with Emperor Taizu, after which he was named the Marquis of the North, guarding the north, where Chu Ting Xiu grew up.
He had lived on horseback since he was a child and had developed his martial arts skills with his father. His years of fighting with the soldiers had made him a master of the art of war. And at the age of seventeen or eighteen, he had already become a young general respected by everyone on the frontier.
If there were no accidents, he would have been living in the North, just like his father, guarding the border for the Great Qi Dynasty.
However, things went awry.
Emperor Taizu injured himself in his early days of fighting the enemy. He died within a few years of ascending the throne, and after his death, was succeeded by the late Emperor.
The late emperor was cowardly and was not born from the Empress of Taizu. The Empress was a rare woman who was no weaker than the founding emperor in talent and strategy.
After the late emperor ascended the throne, the power remained in the hands of the Empress Dowager.
Although the late emperor became emperor, but life was suffocating, and he was a man of many thoughts, so naturally he did not live long and eventually died early.
At this time, the Empress Dowager, who became the Supreme Empress, chose the present Sovereign as Emperor from among the several children of the late Emperor, who was then only ten years old.
The Empress Dowager, who has been in control of the court since her ascension to the throne, has promoted her natal clan and eliminated the rival clans, allowing the Zhou clan to override the Yan clan.
This undoubtedly caused a lot of grievances in the imperial court, as well as those who followed Emperor Taizu in his fight for the country. Those who still had soldiers on hand were stirred up and eventually there was a rebellion.
Chu Ting Xiu’s father, the former Marquis of the North, Chu Cheng, a somewhat eccentric but loyal man to the imperial family, was ordered to help pacify the empire, but he inadvertently died during the war, and eventually, at the age of twenty, Chu Ting Xiu took charge of the Chu family’s army.
He was so young and energetic that he was able to quickly pacify the country with his unconventional use of force. The northern army of the province under his hands was even tempered into a tiger and wolf division during the war.
When Chu Ting Xiu was twenty-three years old, he was ceremoniously welcomed into the capital.
He was most impatient to deal with those civil officials, and was so full of discomfort at the time that he just wanted to get out of there early and go back to the North.
Unfortunately, a glimpse of the Emperor is a lifelong mistake.
Chu Ting Xiu still remembered the day when he walked up to the palace in the official uniform sent by the Ministry of Rituals, and as soon as he looked up, he saw the emperor sitting on the dragon chair, looking at him curiously.
For a moment he forgot to pay his respects. It was only when he was reminded that he panicked and bowed down.
Although it was only a glimpse, he had gotten a good look at the emperor in the dragon chair.
His Majesty is three years younger than him and has just been crowned, but the body was thin and looked no more than fifteen or sixteen.
He was handsome, but his entire body carried a weakness and his brows were filled with sorrow, making Chu Ting Xiu wish he could reach out and smooth his brow.
Chu Ting Xiu didn’t even know why he had such a treacherous idea, but he just did.
He originally wanted to leave the capital early, but he stayed on to comply with the empress dowager’s request. He began to understand the intricacies of the situation in the capital. Only then did he realize that the present Emperor was pinched in the hands of the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager wanted to get her hands on the Northern Army. After several failed attempts to recruit him, she contacted him again and asked for his help.
Six months after entering the capital, Chu Ting Xiu eliminated the entire Zhou family where the Empress Dowager was staying with lightning speed. The Empress Dowager was sent to the Buddhist temple after a lifetime of glamour, and the former puppet, the current Emperor, has finally become a true emperor.
Chu Ting Xiu had some treacherous thoughts about the man sitting on the throne, but he never dared to reveal them. He originally wanted to retire with his merits but did not expect that the Empress Dowager raised the current Emperor so badly that he can’t even read!
The present Emperor can’t even read a memorial, let alone deal with other matters, and there’s no shortage of old ministers in the court who despise this majesty. Plus, although the Zhou Clan had been removed, in order to keep the court running, Chu Ting Xiu couldn’t afford to cut off the grass and get rid of the roots. The Empress Dowager had held the court for decades, and most of the people in the court at that time were involved with the Zhou Clan!
The emperor has no choice but to turn to him.
Chu Ting Xiu also couldn’t leave under such circumstances, so he could only help His Majesty with various matters and invited a famous scholar to teach His Majesty.
He was originally a military general and didn’t really like to deal with these things, but the throne was unstable now, so he could only help calm it down.
By now, a year has passed.
With a casual toss of his spear onto the weapons rack, Chu Ting Xiu bathed and changed his clothes, ready to enter the palace.
Even though there was no morning court today, he still needed to go into the palace to keep an eye on things so that he wouldn’t make a mistake when dealing with the memo today.
The thought of not having to argue with anyone in the courtroom, but being able to see the person he was thinking of, made Chu Ting Xiu feel a little better, until he met his sister Chu Ting Lan, born to his stepmother, on his way out the door.
Seeing Chu Ting Lan, Chu Ting Xiu’s heart just sank.
When the Empress Dowager held the reins of government, she had forbidden His Majesty to marry, but when the Empress Dowager fell from power, someone in the court asked His Majesty to choose an Empress from time to time.
The most favored candidate by the crowd was Chu Ting Lan, and Chu Ting Lan herself, who was also very fond of His Majesty, even took the initiative to tell Chu Ting Xiu that he wanted to marry His Majesty.
Chu Ting Xiu had no reason to stand in the way and could only agree. Just a few days ago, he, like everyone else, had asked for His Majesty to choose an Empress.
He doesn’t want to go to morning court, also because whenever he goes to morning court, someone mentions the idea of having a grand wedding.
And as soon as he thought that there would be an Empress beside His Majesty, it was as painful as a swarm of ants biting his heart.
But His Majesty is the Emperor. It’s only a matter of time. There will be other concubines besides the Empress.
“Big brother.” When Chu Ting Lan saw Chu Ting Xiu, she gracefully saluted.
Chu Ting Xiu’s stepmother was born into a great family, and after marrying Chu Ting Xiu’s father, she couldn’t get used to living in the North, so she took Chu Ting Lan with her to live in the capital, raising Chu Ting Lan to be the same as her, a lady of knowledge and good sense.
Chu Ting Xiu has always been at a loss as to how to get along with his sister, and lately his jealousy has flared up. Even more so when he sees his sister, but it’s not his sister’s fault.
Blame only himself for being an immoral, disgusting bastard.
Chu Ting Xiu had been fighting for years, he is good in controlling his anger and hiding his emotions. At this point, he barely showed a softer expression, “What is it?”
Chu Ting Xiu’s attitude seemed really cold to Chu Ting Lan, making her unhappy. She bowed her head to hide her expression and took out a lotus pouch from her waist.
When she looked up again, only shyness remained on her face and handed the lotus pouch in her hand to Chu Ting Xiu, and Chu Ting Lan said, “Brother, I embroidered a lotus pouch for His Majesty.”
Chu Ting Xiu’s breathing was stagnant: “It’s not good to bring things to the palace.”
“Big brother, you will certainly have no problem bringing something into the palace,” Chu Ting Lan said, and with a bit of pleading looked at Chu Ting Xiu, “Big Brother…”
Chu Ting Xiu accepted the pouch in the end.
Tucking the pouch into his chest, Chu Ting Xiu hurriedly entered the palace and learned that His Majesty was in class, so he went to meet a few supporting ministers first.
Those ministers were chosen by Chu Ting Xiu to be loyal to the Sovereign, but unfortunately none of them treated him very well, they had a lot of opinions about him, and he got along with them quite badly.
Fortunately, it was only half an hour before His Majesty finished his lesson and invited him to dine with him.
Chu Ting Xiu was often invited by His Majesty to dine with him and had become accustomed to it but he still felt happy.
He took out a handkerchief dipped in water and wiped his face, and straightened his clothes before coming before His Majesty.
This year, without the control of the Empress Dowager, the current Sovereign has grown a lot of flesh, no longer looks like the thin bamboo pole before, and looks more and more handsome.
When Chu Ting Xiu saw him, he was overjoyed, but he scorned himself a bit.
“Ai Qing, this is the peach blossom wine that has just been sent from Jiangnan, Ai Qing try it.” The Emperor took out a wine jug and poured a glass of wine for Chu Ting Xiu.
Chu Ting Xiu was flattered and his voice trembled a bit: “Your Majesty…”
“Ai Qing, try it.” The emperor looked at Chu Ting Xiu and revealed a smile.
Chu Ting Xiu’s throat was thirsty, so he picked up the wine glass and drank it all.
The wine was a little too sweet, with a bitterness to it.
No, it’s not bitter, it’s… the taste of the drug.
Chu Ting Xiu was struck by lightning for a moment.
He had been through a lot of wind and waves and had encountered several assassinations alone. He knew a thing or two about all sorts of nasty drugs and could taste them all at once. The wine was drugged.
Looking again, His Majesty did turn the lid of the jug as he poured himself a drink.
Chu Ting Xiu couldn’t breathe for a moment, his heartbeat quickening.
The power of the medicine didn’t come up that fast, and at this moment, he was actually awake like never before.
The Empress Dowager has lost power, but the sorrow on His Majesty’s brow has not disappeared… Is it all because of him?
Did His Majesty loathe the Empress Dowager at first and does he loathe him now?
Yes, he’s in control of the whole court now, and he’s in charge of His Majesty…
Throughout the ages, many people with as much power as he had had didn’t end well, and he was afraid that he was no exception.
His Majesty, since he had drugged his wine, should have left other back-ups to try to retain him, and right now, he had two choices.
One is to hold His Majesty hostage and break out of the house, there is a way out.
But after that, what does he do?
Should he imprison His Majesty completely? In this way, His Majesty will hate him to the bone.
And in the end, this world is the world of the Yan family, others will not obey him, and definitely war will start again, he is not sure that he can be the final victor.
Or… Just to comply with His Majesty’s wishes?
A dirty-minded man like him should never have lived. If he cooperates with His Majesty, His Majesty should be able to spare his family.
Would His Majesty be happier without their control?
“Ai Qing, have a few more drinks.” The emperor poured another cup of wine for Chu Ting Xiu.
Chu Ting Xiu accepted the wine cup, drank it all and lowered his voice, “Your Majesty, my family members and fellow soldiers are all loyal to Your Majesty. If Your Majesty wants stability in the court, there must be no more killings.”
The face of the emperor sitting opposite Chu Ting Xiu changed dramatically and dodged back in panic, accidentally knocking over the chair and fall to the ground.
Chu Ting Xiu subconsciously tried to pull: “Your Majesty…”
“Your Majesty!” Chaotic shouts rang out simultaneously, and at the same time, a group of heavily armed guards fiercely appeared in the room, and those swords and longbows were all aimed at Chu Ting Xiu.
***TN
Emperor Taizu – Taizu (grand progenitor) is an imperial temple name typically used for Chinese emperors who founded a particular dynasty.
Ai Qing – My dear courtier (said by monarchs)
Pouch – is also considered as a love token
Wew, it’s been two weeks since the last update. Sorry bout that. So many things happened, an earthquake, a supertyphoon, a blackout… I just wanna transmigrate lol
Poor general. 😢 Can’t wait for MC to come and turn the situation around.
Hey, you’re back! Thanks for the chapter, I hope you’re okay
What a dumb and clueless emperor, if he wants the crown to be his entirely then he should match it with his ability, not to kill the only person he could trust ಠ_ಠ
Thanks for the chapter! ^^)/
NooooOOOooOOoOOoOOoOOOOOO
this situation is so dramatic тт.тт
MC QUICKLY FIX THIS!!!
it seems like the writing also developed tho
thanks for the chapter!!!!
MC come and help him soon!!
another challenging world huh~ thank u for the chapter!!
Omg! Hope everything is alright at your end. Thank you for the chapter btw ❤
MC! Please comeeee homeeeee
I was lost in this ch. But now i’m exited to complete it~
Thx for the translation sweetheart ❤️🩹🕴🏼~