Tigers Sniff the Rose - Chapter 148

Chapter 148

Everything was mired in trivialities. How the late Emperor truly died, and whether it was genuinely linked to the treasonous Crown Prince—these matters had not been clearly resolved, but the late Emperor had to be buried regardless.

The new Emperor felt a sense of having stumbled into a bargain when he took the throne. It was not just the ministers who felt this way; the Emperor himself felt it too. Because obtaining the throne had been so easy, he felt a persistent, gnawing anxiety, which led him to throw himself into the late Emperor’s funeral arrangements with extraordinary fervor.

He would have liked to mandate that the entire world observe three years of mourning for the late Emperor, but after being rebuffed by the elder ministers, he had to settle for imposing that requirement on the imperial family alone.

Meanwhile, Liu Wenji remained preoccupied with the disappearance of Cheng An. Unfortunately, the imperial guards were too busy fawning over the new Emperor to pay much attention to the vanishing of an old eunuch.

Unable to find Cheng An, Liu Wenji eventually reasoned that the man was either dead or had truly fled far away. Very well, he thought; as long as the man did not resurface to cause trouble, Liu Wenji was willing to let his former master go just this once.

The date for the Emperor’s interment in the imperial mausoleum was set for early August.

It was meant to be a time of sweltering summer heat, yet from the first light of dawn on that day, a fine, misty rain began to fall.

The imperial family members and ministers braved the rain, following the new Emperor to the mausoleum to pay their final respects to the late Emperor.

The new Emperor performed the role of a devoted son to perfection. Seeming satisfied with his performance, on the very last night, he ceded his place, allowing the child the late Emperor had doted on most—the current Eldest Princess, Mu Wanyao—to keep the final vigil.

Mu Wanyao felt indifferent.

Had the late Emperor loved her most?

Perhaps.

Driven by compensation and guilt, he had indeed treated her better in his final years than he had the other princes and princesses.

Now that the late Emperor was gone, the former Princess Luling was listless and anxious, worried that her days of hardship were approaching. Princess Yuyang, implicated by her elder brother’s rebellion, saw her husband removed from his post as the Mayor of Jingzhao, and she appeared notably haggard.

Looking around, the new Emperor realized he truly had no siblings left to perform a show of deep affection with. Only his youngest sister, Mu Wanyao, held great power and, due to the affair of Chunhua, maintained a relationship with him that was not entirely antagonistic. Thus, the new Emperor looked upon the Princess of Danyang with a measure of increased attention.

Mu Wanyao had anticipated all of this long ago.

She had initially wanted to participate in the selection of the Emperor, only to be used by the late Emperor until he had no one else to choose. To be able to continue as a Princess now was already quite good.

—

Mu Wanyao kept the final vigil before the mausoleum, accompanied by her husband, Yan Shang.

The couple did not sleep all night. They knelt before the spirit hall, silently adding paper money to the fire basin. Dressed in mourning white, they looked exactly like any commoner’s children mourning a father.

Mu Wanyao turned her head to look at Yan Shang. His refined temperament, dressed in plain colors, gave him the elegant and graceful appearance of cool moonlight. But seeing his gaunt face and sunken cheekbones, she felt he looked deathly pale and exhausted, his health failing, and she urged him to rest.

Yan Shang shook his head.

To keep Mu Wanyao from focusing entirely on him, he spoke softly to her about the late Emperor.

Yan Shang spoke with affection: "From now on, the relatives truly connected to you by blood are gone. You must be feeling very distressed, right?"

Mu Wanyao was dazed.

She stared at the paper money fluttering like ashes above the fire basin for a while before saying with a look of confusion: "I don't know. I don't feel particularly distressed. Although my father, my mother, and my brothers are all gone, I don't feel profound pain.

"If I really think about it, it’s probably because the time they loved me was too short, while the time they spent being negligent and perfunctory lasted too long. When my second brother and the Empress passed away, I might have felt sorrow. But today, with my father also gone, I feel only numbness.

"I have waited for this day for a very long time. Now that it has truly arrived, I feel a sense of relief, as if... an era has finally come to a complete end.

"The past that allowed me to love and allowed me to hurt is finally buried deep beneath the yellow earth. Yan Er-gege, you ask if I am sad? No, I am not sad. I only feel... liberated."

She looked up, gazing into the void as if she were looking at her ancestors within the mausoleum. She dissected her heart for him without concealment. She peered into her own soul and discovered that she had truly been, all along... even secretly longing for this day to come.

Seeing her like this made Yan Shang feel a sharp pang of distress.

His experiences were different from hers, and his perception of familial love was entirely unlike hers. When a child’s love for their parents results in feelings of negligence and perfunctory effort, whose fault was it, truly?

Yan Shang hugged her shoulders lightly and whispered: "Are you... willing to tell me more?"

Mu Wanyao: "Tell you what?"

Yan Shang’s voice was exceptionally somber and gentle in the empty spirit hall: "Anything at all. For example, your mother, or your second brother. What kind of person was your second brother, really? Did your mother really love him so much that she neglected you?"

He pursed his lips, looking somewhat perplexed: "When you first chose to be with me, was it because... I looked a little like your second brother?"

Mu Wanyao immediately turned to look at him, stunned that he would harbor such a thought.

Yan Shang’s lashes drooped, casting a small shadow on his face that rested upon her heart like butterfly wings. He whispered: "You have always called me 'Yan Er-gege.'"

Mu Wanyao found it strange: "What does calling you 'Yan Er-gege' have to do with anything? You are the second in your family, after all; there are so many people who call you 'Second Brother.'"

Yan Shang turned his face slightly, his lips pausing for a moment: "Did you not mean for me to be a substitute for your second brother?"

Mu Wanyao: "..."

She had been filled with melancholy, but Yan Shang’s doubt made her burst into laughter. Her heart, tight and exhausted for months, suddenly relaxed.

She looked at his profile and smiled, her heart softening as she thought that Yan Er-gege was truly still himself, unchanged.

No matter how gentle he seemed on the outside, and no matter how capable he was in the eyes of the world, in private, he would always have that one stubborn, tangled point he couldn't quite resolve.

And before Yan Shang had spoken it aloud, he had probably fretted over this doubt for ages.

He was truly adorable.

Yan Shang turned to look at her and saw that her dark eyes were curved, her pale, pink face shimmering with a soft, pearlescent glow. When their eyes met, Mu Wanyao let out a soft laugh.

Startled by her laughter, Yan Shang immediately reached out to cover her mouth. He was easily rattled, and her audacity made his cheeks burn. He whispered: "What are you laughing at? Stop it!

"Do you want people to say the Princess of Danyang’s consort made her laugh in front of the late Emperor’s spirit? How would I ever show my face again?"

He pushed at her shoulders, but Mu Wanyao simply wrapped her arms around his neck. Yan Shang stiffened; he didn't want to be so intimate in the spirit hall, but since he was covering her mouth, he had no choice but to let her hold him.

Mu Wanyao’s lashes brushed against his neck, tickling him.

After laughing her fill, she pulled his hand away from her mouth, cupped his face, and said affectionately: "You really are overthinking this. You are not at all like my second brother. Although you are both outstanding, your temperaments are completely different. How could I ever mistake the two of you?

"Yan Er-gege, rest assured; I have only ever met one man with your temperament. I find you adorable, but I never felt my second brother was adorable. Are you reassured now?"

Yan Shang’s face flushed: "I was already reassured. I was just asking; there was no other meaning to it."

Mu Wanyao teased him with a bright smile: "Just say it! Ask whatever you want; if you don't say it, how would I know you were bothered? Have you been agonizing over this for a long time?"

Yan Shang said: "I haven't."

He defended his honor: "I am not that kind of person."

Mu Wanyao stared at his face for a long time, her gaze slightly unfocused. His opening topic led her to think of much more.

She said wistfully: "Both my father and mother loved my second brother; I always felt they only loved him. Now that he is gone, they have forgotten me."

Yan Shang said softly: "They did love you, once."

Mu Wanyao: "And then it stopped, didn't it?"

Yan Shang: "It was still there. It’s just that in an imperial family, things are different from common households. Yaoyao, you must believe that your father, your mother, and your second brother—they all loved you."

He emphasized this point, not wanting her to completely overturn the past.

Mu Wanyao turned her head to look at him, her brows arching as a charming light flickered in her eyes. She smiled playfully: "Are you worried that I’ve gone astray or become extreme? Don’t worry; with Yan Er-gege by my side, I am more than willing to be a good person."

She looked up at him, half-joking and half-earnest: "But if you weren't here, I wouldn't make any promises."

Yan Shang whispered: "Nonsense. I don't believe you would ever be an evil person."

Mu Wanyao chuckled. She didn't bother to clarify whether it was true or not; regardless, Yan Shang was her husband, the man she could reach out and touch every single day.

As long as he was there, all the troubles of this world were of no consequence.

—

After the late Emperor was interred in the mausoleum, the new Emperor’s policies finally began in earnest.

When the Prince of Jin was just a prince, he was unremarkable. But he had managed the Ministry of Works without making any major mistakes. When he first became Emperor, the Prince of Jin was full of ambition, thinking that being an Emperor wasn't particularly difficult.

One only needed to issue orders and let the ministers carry them out.

He wanted to be a formidable Emperor, to change the old, antagonistic, and distrustful relationship between the throne and the ministers. He wanted to be tolerant, benevolent, and a ruler who satisfied everyone.

And so, after his ascension, the new Emperor would issue twelve decrees to the Secretariat every single day, urging them to act.

The Secretariat grew annoyed and simply brushed him off with vague pleasantries. After a month of seeing his decrees ignored and constantly sent back by the Secretariat and the Chancellery, the new Emperor finally realized that being an Emperor was not so easy after all.

If the ministers wouldn't listen and he couldn't command them, was he supposed to have Liu Wenji execute them all?

No, he couldn't fully trust Liu Wenji either.

The new Emperor realized that everyone was watching him, and his every word and action was subject to countless interpretations. A single glance in court might have meant nothing, but the ministers would always claim it was a secret instruction.

Even in the palace... the new Emperor could not treat it as his own home.

The old Prince of Jin’s residence was just a single courtyard, which the Princess could manage with ease. But now, his home was so vast, filled with spies everywhere... Having returned to the home he had coveted for years, he discovered it was not as he had imagined.

He had never studied the art of kingship, so the ministers and the Grand Tutors took turns lecturing him. The things he said in the palace only seemed effective if passed through Liu Wenji. And the ministers were enthusiastic about filling his harem with women, all of which the new Emperor accepted in the name of political balance.

The new Emperor felt as miserable as a "cowherd" who had to rely on sleeping with women to make the officials listen to him.

...He had never realized his father relied on women to achieve his goals, nor had he seen the late Crown Prince obsessed with taking concubines. Yet, as a new Emperor, despite his ambitions, he was inexperienced, clumsy, and failing at every turn.

The aristocratic families were the most petty and hateful of all.

Discovering that the new Emperor was easy to hoodwink, they all treated his orders with perfunctory dismissals.

The new Emperor had spent two months on the throne feeling entirely helpless.

But he did not give up.

He couldn't command the high-ranking ministers, and he was sick of every word he uttered being rejected or sent back for "readjustment" by the senior ministers. He wanted to cultivate his own ministers—

He scoured the circle of officials left by the late Emperor and discovered the current Director of the Ministry of Personnel: Yan Shang.

Who was also the consort of the Princess of Danyang.

The new Emperor had a flash of realization.

He noticed that since his ascension, every one of the Six Ministries had made things difficult for him at some point, with the sole exception of the most important one: the Ministry of Personnel.

The old ministers and power-brokers didn't hold the new Emperor in high regard and enjoyed watching him make a fool of himself, yet Yan Er-lang had never once been dismissive.

Every decree from the Emperor that reached the Ministry of Personnel was studied and executed honestly. Upon inspection, the Emperor found that the Minister of Personnel and his deputy might not be particularly loyal, but Yan Er-lang was so capable that the Ministry never had any issues.

Yan Er-lang held several posts simultaneously; yet, since the Emperor’s ascension, he had never made a mistake and had never sought to cause him trouble—how rare that was.

This was what a truly loyal minister looked like!

Moreover, the reputation of "Yan Shuchen" was legendary! So young, and yet no one in the Chang'an officialdom dared to slight him—what a display of prestige.

The new Emperor decided to start with Yan Er-lang to seize control of the entire court.

—

During the evening drizzle, Yan Shang was still at the Ministry of Personnel.

The sky was gray, and he sat hunched over his desk, coughing as he wrote.

The collar of his pale white robes was damp. He had almost left the office when he remembered a promise he had made to Mu Wanyao, so he had turned back.

He had promised Mu Wanyao he would take a leave of absence.

Recently, because of the rain, his knees had been aching, and he slept poorly at night, while his back pain had grown severe. He hadn't told her, but by the time Mu Wanyao noticed, he had been running a low fever for days. The couple had argued over it, and Yan Shang had finally agreed to take a few days off.

But having been busy all day, he had forgotten to submit the request.

He had to return to write the memorial and intended to visit the Vice Minister of Personnel’s residence that very night to explain why he would be absent.

While Yan Shang was hunched over writing, the new Emperor, making a private visit, arrived to inspect the Six Ministries. At this hour, the offices were empty. When the Emperor arrived at the Ministry of Personnel, he didn't let anyone announce him; he stood behind the brightly lit doorway and saw Yan Shang still working within, a wave of emotion swelling in his heart.

If all the ministers were as loyal and devoted as Yan Shuchen, what could be difficult about governing the country?

Yan Shang heard the Emperor’s soft cough, recognized him, and stood up to offer a salute.

The Emperor said kindly: "So late, and Shuchen is still working?"

Yan Shang smiled and said: "I am writing a request for leave."

This was not what the Emperor had expected.

The Emperor froze, then grew displeased: "What? Are you also going to act like those old ministers, trying to make things difficult for me? Watching me make a fool of myself—you all find it amusing, don't you?"

Yan Shang remained mild: "Your Majesty, where could such a thought come from? There is no reason for a minister to make things difficult for his sovereign."

The Emperor had very limited experience with Yan Shang; his impression of the man was that of an able minister with a fierce temper. If he weren't fierce, would he have dared to execute the patriarch of the Zheng clan, bring down the Ministry of Revenue, anger the late Crown Prince, and fall out with the Princess of Danyang?

But an able minister was easier to understand. If he weren't capable, how could he have reconciled with the Princess of Danyang?

And that temper of Mu Wanyao’s...

Only after talking with Yan Shang that night did the Emperor realize he had misunderstood Yan Shang’s temperament. Yan Er-lang’s manner seemed gentle, and he was easy to speak with... The talk in Chang'an about him being terrifying was likely just hearsay spread by the ministers.

The Emperor poured his heart out, speaking of the frustrations of being an Emperor.

Yan Shang comforted him.

Yan Shang’s conversational skills were so exquisite that this was the most comfortable experience the new Emperor had had since taking the throne. He had only intended to complain casually, but he couldn't resist Yan Shang’s trustworthiness, and he found himself sharing more and more.

He spoke of his ambitions, the bullying by the ministers, and his ideals.

Yan Shang listened intently, looking thoughtful.

When Liu Wenji arrived at the Ministry of Personnel and heard the eunuchs describe how the new Emperor was opening his heart to Yan Er-lang, his eyelids twitched, and his face turned gloomy.

Liu Wenji eavesdropped for a moment and, hearing the intimacy with which the new Emperor and Yan Er-lang were speaking, he felt even more humiliated...

Of all the officials in the court, Liu Wenji was perhaps the one who understood Yan Shang best.

If Yan Shang wanted someone to like him, no one would be able to hate him.

Liu Wenji feared the Emperor was being lured away by Yan Shang... Yan Shang’s style of effortlessly winning hearts had convinced even a suspicious man like the late Emperor to reuse him; wouldn't it be even easier with the new Emperor?

Liu Wenji began to think of a plan.

—

In the end, Yan Shang did not succeed in taking his leave.

He claimed he was in poor health, but the new Emperor urged him that a capable person should do more, talking incessantly about promoting him to more important roles. The new Emperor even consulted him on how to balance the various factions, promising him how he would strive to become a great Emperor...

Back at the Danyang Princess’s residence, Yan Shang had rolled his trousers to his knees and was soaking his feet. Mu Wanyao had been waiting happily for the news that he had successfully taken his leave, only to hear how happily Yan Shang and the new Emperor had chatted.

Mu Wanyao’s face fell.

She sneered: "What? He speaks a few nice words, and you’re ready to die for him? A promotion? What kind of promotion? We succeeded in protecting the carriage; we should have been promoted long ago! Yet he hasn't mentioned a word. Let alone not mentioning it—we don't care about it anyway. Now he speaks a few words about his ambitions, and your heart is stirred... if he says a few more words, will you be ready to abandon your family for him?"

Yan Shang sighed: "How could that be? It is just that His Majesty said he wanted to be an enlightened monarch and asked for my help. Seeing that he has such ambition, I wanted to give it a try."

Mu Wanyao said: "He thinks you working on official business is important, but he thinks me taking you to see flowers and operas is unimportant."

Yan Shang was speechless.

Mu Wanyao’s face flushed with anger: "You really do think seeing flowers and operas is unimportant!"

Yan Shang squeezed out: "I was never good at enjoying flowers, nor do I understand operas. Even when you dragged me along, I couldn't comprehend them."

Mu Wanyao said coldly: "So it is I, a person who seeks only pleasure, who has delayed Yan Er-lang’s great affairs."

Yan Shang’s face stiffened; he whispered: "That is not what I meant."

Mu Wanyao shouted: "Then you mean that what I say is unimportant to you now? That it can be dismissed?"

Yan Shang was bewildered: "I... I certainly didn't mean that either."

Mu Wanyao: "Then I asked you to take a leave of absence multiple times, and you haven't managed to do it even once. Do you think I’ve delayed your bright future? Are you still blaming me in your heart for not being understanding enough?"

Yan Shang was growing anxious. He always spoke slowly, while she fired off like a string of firecrackers, leaving him unable to keep up.

After a long while, Yan Shang finally said: "I didn't say I wouldn't take a leave... I will go and request it again tomorrow, alright?"

Mu Wanyao was annoyed by his helpless look: "Heh."

She ignored him further and ordered her maids to move her bedding and clothes.

She looked back to see Yan Shang staring at her, his eyes clear and dark. She arched her brow and smiled: "Yan Er-lang, do keep working on your official business. I won't disturb you anymore."

Yan Shang: "Where are you going?"

Mu Wanyao said haughtily: "My Princess’s residence is so large; can’t I find another room to sleep in?"

Yan Shang was startled: "You... you want to sleep in separate beds?"

Mu Wanyao: "I have thought about it; you are a lost cause. You can’t sleep at night, and the more I look at you, the angrier I get. I’m afraid that one night I might wake up, see you lying there with your eyes open, and lose the urge to stop myself from stabbing you... It is safer to be apart.

"You go off to handle your official business and be your loyal minister. I’ll go look at flowers and have fun, and be my vulgar Princess. We have been together for so long; it is normal to look at each other and grow weary. Being apart is for the best. I’ll go see more of the handsome men in the world to wash my eyes. You should take this opportunity to find a few more women to broaden your horizons... Forget it, Yan Er-lang is so busy, he surely has no time for women. If you have any needs, just come to me."

She looked back and gave him a charming smile: "Do as you please."

Yan Shang was stunned.

He watched her walk out and only then realized she wasn't joking; she really was going to sleep in separate beds and separate rooms.

Yan Shang couldn't even bother to wipe the water dripping from his trousers; he hurriedly threw on his outer robe and rose to chase her. He ran out of the house in a daze, asking anyone he met where the Princess had gone.

The Princess’s residence was simply too large, and Yan Shang, disheveled and mindful of his image, had been a few steps too slow. He didn't find Mu Wanyao, but the moment he stepped out, he ran into Yan Xiaozhou, who had come looking for him.

Yan Xiaozhou: "Second Brother, I have something to tell you!"

Yan Shang scanned the pitch-black night, bowed his head, and said hurriedly to his sister: "We’ll talk about it tomorrow..."

Yan Xiaozhou said: "But it will be too late tomorrow. Second Brother, I have scheduled my departure from Chang'an for tomorrow; I’ve already arranged the carriage and horses. If I don't tell you now, you won't even know I’ve left."

Yan Shang was stunned.

He stared at her blankly: "Where are you going? Back to Lingnan to find Father? What’s wrong? Did I... did I slight you? Are you not living comfortably in Chang'an?"

Seeing him try to blame everything on himself, already reflecting and feeling distressed, Yan Xiaozhou interrupted quickly: "No, no, no. I want to go to Jiannan... to find Third Brother Yang."

Yan Shang was shocked.

He steadied himself and asked slowly: "Does your sister-in-law... does Yaoyao know?"

Yan Xiaozhou smiled: "I told Sister-in-law. She heard my thoughts and did not object."

Yan Shang was dazed, realizing Mu Wanyao had done it on purpose. He had no choice but to take his sister back to his room to understand what she was really thinking.

As for the Princess... this was the first time since their marriage that he had quarreled with Mu Wanyao so severely. He had no experience and could only take it one step at a time. He still didn't know that when Mu Wanyao said she would go see handsome men, she wasn't teasing him.

In some respects, Mu Wanyao knew how to enjoy life better than he did.

—

As for the new Emperor, having finished talking with Yan Shang and feeling pleased, he returned to the palace, savoring the conversation.

Liu Wenji watched the new Emperor dwelling on Yan Er-lang and sneered inwardly, deliberately bringing up a matter: "Your Majesty, it seems you should promote Yan Er-lang."

The new Emperor understood: "Naturally. I want him to do things; naturally, I must..."

Liu Wenji feigned surprise: "It seems the late Emperor left a posthumous decree stating that Yan Shuchen was to be the Prime Minister. I am not entirely sure, but the edict is enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple."

The new Emperor froze.

His face darkened as he said: "You mean to say that the late Emperor arranged it for Yan Er-lang long ago, so Yan Er was just putting on a show before me? He knew he was destined to be the Prime Minister, so when I spoke of promoting him, he didn't care at all.

"Is he treating me like a monkey, just like those old ministers?"

Liu Wenji laughed: "I am not sure of that. It is just that Yan Er-lang is so talented that whether it was the late Emperor or Your Majesty, everyone values him and likes him.

"I just think... that to have someone who makes everyone like them—I truly envy that kind of calculating mind."

The Emperor became lost in thought, and his fervor for Yan Er-lang cooled.