CH 35

“Hold it!” the Crown Prince said. He felt extremely disgruntled watching Lan Qinghan leave in glory, and suddenly spoke up to stop him from leaving.

Lan Qinghan stopped and turned back to look at the Crown Prince. “Crown Prince Dianxia, do you have a question?” he asked. 

“Since you’ve been made the White Cloud Envoy, can you remind the Lan family to quickly send the next High Priest over?” the Crown Prince asked, his expression icy.

The White Cloud Envoy was a powerful position within the Cloud Palace, and he did in fact have the power to select the next High Priest. Despite this, he had dragged his feet on the selection, and had only revealed his promotion just as he was about to leave. Was this Lan Qinghan trying to show his displeasure with him, the Crown Prince?

“I’ve just assumed responsibility as the White Cloud Envoy, and have yet to formally pay my respects to the Cloud Palace Master in this capacity. Qinghan does not dare to act without orders. However, I will certainly convey your request to the Cloud Palace Master,” Lan Qinghan said, smiling calmly. He bowed to the Crown Prince, then walked at a measured pace toward the palanquin before boarding it.

“Farewell,” Lan Shanyu said, clasping his hands once more in the direction of the audience. He leapt into the air and floated away with the rest of the convoy. 

“Hmph!” The Crown Prince watched the palanquin shrink into a small white dot in the distance, clenching his fists so tightly that the green veins on his hands stood out.

Chen Ziqi glanced at the Crown Prince, his lip curling inwardly in disdain. What was the point of chasing the Cloud Palace to send another High Priest over? It’s not like the Imperial family listened to anything the High Priest said.

“Old Seventh, after the ninth month, you’ll be leaving the palace to build your own residence. Are you intending to stay in the Capital or go straight to your fief?” the Crown Prince asked Chen Ziqi after they had descended from the Zhanghua Pavilion. The Crown Prince had finally calmed down, and his face was back to normal as he spoke with Chen Ziqi about coming of age and being appointed as a King.

When an Imperial Prince reached the age of fourteen, he was appointed as a Wang, and after being so appointed, he could choose to remain in the Capital for two more years before leaving for his fief at the age of sixteen. He could also choose to go straight to his fief after leaving the palace.

“On this… I’ll follow what Brother Crown Prince says,” Chen Ziqi said, smiling disarmingly.

The Crown Prince was very pleased with Chen Ziqi’s answer. “I would love for you to remain in the Capital because you’re still young, but the Imperial Court is very busy now, and I don’t have that many good people I can use. There are some things I need you to do for me this year,” he said.

In essence, the Crown Prince was saying that he wanted Chen Ziqi to go straight to his fief.

Chen Ziqi ruminated on this. The Crown Prince had been scheming hard for seven to eight years now, and it was extremely difficult to believe that he didn’t have “good people” he could use. What could the Crown Prince want done that specifically required him to do it? None of his internal suspicion and distrust showed on his face however; he continued to smile at the Crown Prince in a most sincere manner. “I await Brother Crown Prince’s instructions,” he said. 

The Crown Prince nodded, gratified. He led Chen Ziqi to the Eastern Palace to have tea.

Chen Ziqi slowly drank a cup of Junshan Yinye tea, then heaved a sigh. “I’d be quite happy to leave the palace too, if not for my mother. These few years, she’s grown older and isn’t as attractive as before. I’m afraid that Father Emperor has grown tired of her. It won’t be easy for her to remain in the palace alone,” he said, watching the Crown Prince’s reaction carefully.

If you wanted a donkey to pull your rice mill, you’d have to feed the donkey first. Similarly, if the Crown Prince wanted him to go straight to his fief, he had to give him some benefits first.

However, whilst the Emperor was still alive, his consorts and concubines were not allowed to leave the palace, let alone go to their son’s fief. Chen Ziqi knew this, and his motive in saying this was really to make the Crown Prince give him a rich and fertile land for his fief. 

The Crown Prince brooded for a while, then suddenly spoke. “You can bring Yue Pin with you to your fief,” he said.

“… …” Chen Ziqi put down his teacup and looked suspiciously at the Crown Prince. “This is completely against the rules. Father Emperor won’t agree, will he?” he said.

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At the time this happened, Chen Ziqi was making osmanthus cakes with Chang Er in their residence. Suddenly, the great bell in the palace chimed sonorously. “Dong… dong… dong…” It chimed a total of eighty-one times, announcing the Emperor’s death.

“Why are they ringing the bell for no reason? It sounds so inauspicious,” Chang Er complained, putting the freshly steamed osmanthus cake onto a plate. She was dressed in plain robes, but was as beautiful and charming as ever. Even though she was already past her prime, there were no wrinkles on her face, and Chen Ziqi’s description of her as ‘old and unattractive’ didn’t do her justice at all.

Chen Ziqi pursed his lips. “The Emperor has passed on,” he said. 

“What?”

The Zhenlong Emperor had suddenly taken ill two years ago and his health had never been the same again. He was always running a fever and coughing. The Imperial Physicians couldn’t figure out what was wrong with him, and could only treat him as if he had caught a cold. Medicine alleviated the symptoms, but after two months or so, he would be seriously ill again.

Illness had often plagued the Emperor the last two years, but they were minor afflictions; why had he suddenly passed away just like that?

Because his death happened without warning, the princes who had left the palace were unprepared, and they needed to travel a few days to come to the Capital to pay their last respects. On the first night of the funeral, it was just the Crown Prince and a few young princes keeping vigil at the Emperor’s wake. 

Forty-nine monks were chanting sutras outside the mourning hall, and the princes knelt within the hall itself.

White cloth had been hung everywhere in the mourning hall, and white candles had been lit as well. The Emperor’s coffin sat solemnly in the very centre of the hall. Ah Mu was easily frightened, and after kneeling for a while, he couldn’t help scooting closer to Chen Ziqi. Chen Ziqi, on the other hand, wasn’t scared, and after checking to make sure that no one was watching, he leaned over the coffin to look at the recently deceased Emperor.

The Zhenlong Emperor was in his early forties this year. His face had been covered with a bright yellow silk cloth, so Chen Ziqi couldn’t see what he looked like, but he could see the Emperor’s hand. His fingertips were purple, and had stiffened into a claw-like position, as if he wanted to grab hold of something.

The Imperial Physician said that the Zhenlong Emperor had died of a heart attack. 

The Crown Prince reprimanded the Imperial Physician harshly for not being able to detect the Emperor’s heart condition earlier, then sentenced him to death. Now that the Zhenlong Emperor was dead, the Crown Prince was now the new Emperor. He named himself the “Tiande Emperor”.

“Tiande? He’s got really thick skin, doesn’t he?” the Second Prince snorted. He had previously been appointed as King Wan, and couldn’t help laughing derisively when he heard what the Crown Prince had called himself.

“Shh…” Chen Ziqi said, gesturing for him to watch his mouth. The Crown Prince was now the Emperor, after all; it wasn’t wise to criticise him openly.

Berry Brown had returned to the Imperial Palace to keep vigil on the seventh day of the ninth month. He walked over to where Chen Ziqi was kneeling and knelt next to him without a word. Berry Brown didn’t care much for whether the Emperor lived or died, so after kneeling for a while, he started speaking of other things. “Can you get in touch with the the Cloud Palace’s people?” he asked. 

“Why?” Chen Ziqi said, turning to look at him.

“Wangchuan Cliff is too deep. Nobody can get all the way down. I was hoping to ask the Cloud Palace for help. Their Cyclone Step can probably get them to the bottom of the cliff. I want to look for my mother’s remains,” Chen Zimo said impassively.

Chen Zimo had turned fourteen at the beginning of spring, and he had gone to the Zhenlong Emperor to ask for the city that the Cheng family’s former residence was in as his fief. Cheng Zhou thought he had done so because he wanted to restore the Cheng family to its former glory, and was very gratified. As the Jinwu Guards’ martial arts instructor, he had spared no effort to cajole and coax the Emperor into agreeing to Chen Zimo’s request.

According to the local government’s records, Chen Zimo’s mother should have died at Wangchuan Cliff in Bailu Mountain. 

Chen Zimo’s request wasn’t a difficult one, so Chen Ziqi nodded in response. After the seventh day of the funeral, Chen Ziqi brought Chen Zimo out of the palace to visit the Peacock Wing’s chapter in the Capital.

The Peacock Wing’s chapter in the Capital was situated in the very middle of the busiest street. It was a three storey building that immediately attracted attention, with depictions of peacock feathers on the main door and walls.

The Twelve Golden Wings of the Cloud Palace had chapters in every part of the country, and each of the Wings performed different roles. The Peacock Wing enjoyed a high status in the hierarchy of the Twelve Wings, but Chen Ziqi wasn’t sure what exactly the people of the Peacock Wing were responsible for.

They stepped through the main door on the first floor, and saw that the main hall had many open shelves decked with treasures and jewels. If he didn’t know better, he’d have thought that this was an antique shop. 

“How may I help you, good sirs?” a woman wearing a tricoloured wide-sleeved robe asked. She was sitting on a Baxian chair, and lifted her chin slightly in their direction as she spoke.

Chen Ziqi smiled and walked over. “Good sister, how may I address you?” he asked.

Chen Ziqi was now a fourteen-year-old youth, and the promise his looks had shown in his childhood had been fulfilled. His huge, adorable puppy eyes were now beautifully defined, perfectly shaped peach blossom eyes that made him look like he was always smiling. He looked very handsome and charming.

The woman’s expression immediately softened when she looked at Chen Ziqi’s handsome face. “I’m Lü Er, and I’m the manager of this chapter of the Peacock Wing. The people in the martial arts world all call me Manager Lü,” she said, smiling. 

“Nice to meet you, Lü jiejie,” Chen Ziqi said. “I’m the Seventh Prince, and Lan Shanyu gege asked me to come here if I needed something done.” As Chen Ziqi said this, he took out the blue feather from his sleeve. His face betrayed none of the nervousness he felt. That feather just didn’t seem like a token of authentication at all – what if Lan Shanyu was just pranking him? Would the Peacock Wing’s martial arts masters come out and beat him to a pulp?

Lü Er’s expression changed immediately when she saw the feather. She stood up and bowed respectfully. “Ah, it’s you, Seventh Prince. Come this way, please,” she said.

Chen Ziqi blinked in surprise. He then gathered himself and made to bring Brown Berry up to the third floor with him, but Lü Er stopped him. “Only you can go to the third floor,” she said.

Brown Berry didn’t mind, so he remained on the first floor. 

The third floor was a tearoom. Lü Er personally brewed a pot of tea for them and poured out two cups. “Dianxia, please don’t hesitate to give me your orders,” she said.

“I wouldn’t call it orders, exactly. My sworn brother – the one downstairs – he needs someone to help him…” Chen Ziqi kept the blue feather carefully in his sleeve as he explained the situation to Lü Er. This thing was actually a token of authentication, just as Lan Shanyu had said.

“Your request isn’t difficult. However, this type of task is usually done by the Fengling Wing,” Lü Er said. She explained that the Twelve Golden Wings were divided into the Upper Six and Lower Six Wings. The Lower Six Wings carried out the more basic, menial tasks, such as using the Cyclone Step to go and retrieve a corpse.

Chen Ziqi was astonished. There was actually a Wing specialising in using the Cyclone Step to go pick things up? 

“Anyway, since Dianxia is already here, the Peacock Wing will ask the Fengling Wing to do this task. Will you or King Lu be the one paying for this?” Lü Er asked. She looked all businesslike, as if she were a seasoned merchant.

King Lu was Chen Zimo. His fief was Lu City, and so he was given a title with a similar sounding name.

I don’t have money! Chen Ziqi thought to himself. He smiled at Lü Er nonetheless. “Don’t worry, just carry the task out. King Lu will take care of the payment,” he said.

Chen Ziqi said goodbye to Lü Er after going back down the stairs, then left the Peacock Wing with Brown Berry. 

“How did it go?” Chen Zimo asked him anxiously.

“Sigh, the Cloud Palace people aren’t the friendliest, as you know,” Chen Ziqi said, putting on a pained expression. When he saw Brown Berry frown with worry, he suddenly grinned. “However, there’s nothing your Seventh Brother can’t do.”

“Really?” Chen Zimo’s eyes brightened immediately.

“Naturally. As if they’d dare to say no, given my great relationship with their Young Master,” Chen Ziqi boasted shamelessly, slinging an arm around Brown Berry’s shoulders. He continued to brag all the way back to the palace. 

The instructions given to the Peacock Wing’s people were to wait for Brown Berry to return to his fief after the Emperor’s funeral was over before sending people down to do the task.

The previous Emperor had passed on, and so the new Emperor ascended the throne. Chen Ziqi had also been appointed as a King, and after the funeral, he would be able to go to his own fief. As the Crown Prince had predicted, he really was able to bring his little fairy along with him… Whenever he thought back on how the Crown Prince had wanted to say something more but stopped himself, he felt a great sense of unease in his heart.

Chen Ziqi’s fief wasn’t far from Chen Zimo’s, so he and Chen Zimo decided to make the journey together.

Just as he had finished packing his luggage, the Tiande Emperor suddenly appeared. 

“Brother Emperor, you have further orders for me?” Chen Ziqi asked.

The Tiande Emperor brandished a letter in his hand. “I just got news. The Cloud Palace has changed masters,” he said.

Sixteen-year-old Dan Yi had become the new Phoenix King!

— 

Author’s note: Mini-theater

Qiqi: ( ⊙ o ⊙ ) You really did your Dad in?

Birdie Gong: Nn

Qiqi: Why? Don’t tell me, you’re just like the Crown Prince…

Birdie Gong: There was only one bamboo worm, and he said that whoever became the Cloud Palace Master could eat it

Birdie Dad: I didn’t say that! I said you could only get married after you became the Cloud Palace Master

Qiqi: →_→