The Child Emperor

Han Ruzi woke up in the middle of the night, captivated by the sound of a zither drifting from outside.

The music was very faint, like weeping and lamenting, yet Han Ruzi didn’t feel he had been startled awake. Having slept for only two hours, he didn’t feel drowsy either. Instead, he felt invigorated, as if he might float up and ascend to the heavens.

This zither player truly had exceptional skill, Han Ruzi silently praised, slowly sitting up. Without lighting a lamp, he sat on his bed and listened intently.

The music seemed to come from two people – one pouring out their heart, the other offering comfort, then both entering a transcendent, otherworldly realm… Han Ruzi knew very little about music, so he found it strange that he could vaguely discern the meaning behind the music.

Perhaps his understanding was completely wrong, he thought, so he focused on listening to the music, allowing the subtle melody to carry him away leisurely.

The music suddenly stopped, and Han Ruzi felt a surge of irritation, as if a beautiful dream had been interrupted. When he tried to recapture that dream, no trace could be found.

He even considered immediately issuing an edict for the musician to continue playing, but that anger quickly faded as he remembered this was a military camp, where listening to music at night was inappropriate.

With a light sigh, Han Ruzi was about to lie down and sleep when voices came from outside his tent.

“I want to go in! Let me in!” It was unmistakably Cui Teng’s voice.

The voices trying to dissuade him were much quieter. Cui Teng seemed to have drunk too much again, shouting incessantly. Han Ruzi put on his shoes, draped on his outer garment, and walked out of the tent.

More than ten eunuchs and guards surrounded Cui Teng, blocking his advance. Someone covered his mouth, hoping to make him quieter. When they saw the Emperor appear, everyone stopped and stepped aside.

Cui Teng’s steps were unsteady as he grinned foolishly at the Emperor. “Your Majesty wasn’t sleeping either. I knew Your Majesty would definitely be awake.”

“You’re drunk again.”

“Just a little, one small cup, to moisten my throat… Sigh, Luoyang is such a wonderful place. Leaving suddenly, everyone feels a bit melancholy. Drowning sorrows in wine, just one small cup. With one command from Your Majesty, I could mount a horse right now and fight wherever you point. Oh right, Your Majesty thinks I’m not good at warfare…”

It was already past midnight, and there weren’t many people outside. Han Ruzi gestured for two guards to escort Cui Teng into the tent, then ordered a eunuch to bring a basin of water.

After entering the tent, Cui Teng continued rambling, complaining about his unrecognized talents and lack of imperial favor.

When the water arrived, at the Emperor’s signal, the two guards grabbed Cui Teng’s wrists and bent them back forcefully while pressing his neck, forcing his face into the water.

After a moment, the guards released him and stepped back. Cui Teng, who had been struggling desperately, suddenly straightened up, shaking his head vigorously. Water splashed everywhere. He looked left and right, his anger gradually fading, showing some shame. “Your Majesty, forgive me. I might… might have really drunk too much. I remember it was clearly just one small cup. Oh, I don’t know who kept pouring more wine…”

A eunuch brought a stool for Cui Teng to sit on, then withdrew from the tent with the guards.

“You feel you’re not valued?” Han Ruzi asked, sitting on his bed.

“I…” Even when sober, Cui Teng was a troublemaker. Gritting his teeth, he said, “Yes.”

“What do you think you can do?”

“Fight wars! Give me an army, and I’ll charge into Donghai and Qi, capturing all the rebels in one sweep. If that pretty boy Chai Yue can be a general, why can’t I?”

“Fine. Tell me, how many cities do Donghai and Qi have? Where are the passes? What are the strategic locations? Roughly how many rebels are there? Which direction do you plan to attack first? How many troops and generals do you need? How much provisions? What if the enemy is few and we are many? What if the enemy is many and we are few?”

Cui Teng stammered several times but couldn’t answer a single question. “At least I could serve as Your Majesty’s attendant, right? Prince Donghai follows Your Majesty around every day, and he’s someone who once competed with Your Majesty for the throne – he harbors ulterior motives.” Cui Teng suddenly lowered his voice. “Should I… I could cause a drunken disturbance and make it look like an accident…”

“Nonsense!” Han Ruzi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Prince Donghai is your cousin. Grand Tutor Cui once supported Prince Donghai – should we have an ‘accident’ with him too?”

Cui Teng hung his head dejectedly. After a while, he looked up and said earnestly, “Really, Your Majesty, you can trust me.”

“I’ve always trusted you. What exactly is wrong with you?”

Cui Teng stood up, walked before the Emperor, and asked seriously, “Your Majesty, why are you secretly getting beautiful women without me?”

Han Ruzi stared sternly at Cui Teng. Even if he were secretly getting beautiful women, it wouldn’t be this fellow’s place to question him, let alone when no such thing existed at all. “What beautiful women? How much did you drink? Are you still not sober?”

“Your Majesty, please don’t deceive me. I’ve already seen her – that’s true unparalleled beauty, absolutely unique beauty that makes one’s bones go weak at a single glance and keeps one awake all night… That old scoundrel Han Chou has been hiding this from me all along. Your Majesty, if you want beautiful women, just tell me! Why must you keep it secret from me? Selecting beautiful women is my specialty – if you don’t believe me, just ask… Prince Donghai, he can vouch for me.”

Han Ruzi grew more confused the more he listened.

Liu Jie, the Chief Overseer who had been sleeping soundly, was awakened and came to see the Emperor in a daze. “It was Your Majesty who wanted them brought along – the zither master Zhang Zhuhe and his daughter…”

Only then did Han Ruzi understand. “We only wanted Zhang Zhuhe.”

Cui Teng stood to the side looking smug, chuckling foolishly, completely disbelieving the Emperor’s words.

Liu Jie’s face reddened, not expecting that he too would make such an error. “Yes, yes. Since we’re not far from Luoyang, I’ll immediately send someone to escort the zither master’s daughter back.”

“Wait.” Han Ruzi recalled the qin music he had heard – it did indeed sound like a duet. “Bring the father and daughter to see Us.”

“Yes.” Liu Jie withdrew.

Han Ruzi had originally been in no hurry to summon the zither master, but now he had to meet this father and daughter to decide whether to continue bringing them on the campaign.

“Your Majesty must be careful – that’s beauty capable of toppling cities and kingdoms. Since Your Majesty is personally leading this expedition, you must take it easy…”

“We have a task for you,” Han Ruzi said.

“Really? What task?” Cui Teng puffed out his chest.

“Keep your mouth shut. You’re not allowed to open it for one day. Opening your mouth would be defying Our decree and be subject to military law.”

Cui Teng pressed his lips tightly together and made a series of hand gestures.

“You may eat and drink, but you may not speak or drink alcohol. Even if beaten, you’re not allowed to cry out in pain.” Han Ruzi roughly understood what Cui Teng was asking.

The zither master and his daughter arrived.

Zhang Zhuhe was tall and thin, in his forties, but his hair was very sparse, tied in a small topknot. His face bore a bitter expression, completely at odds with the melodious and ethereal zither music.

As soon as the Zhang woman entered, Cui Teng’s eyes lit up, and guttural sounds emerged from his throat before he forcibly restrained himself and kept his mouth shut.

Cui Teng had praised her as unparalleled in heaven and earth, so Han Ruzi held some expectations. Upon first sight, while he wasn’t disappointed, he also didn’t share Cui Teng’s frenzied infatuation.

The Zhang woman was around twenty years old, with hair piled like dark clouds and a graceful figure. She kept her head lowered, making her features difficult to see clearly, but she was undoubtedly a beauty.

The father and daughter each held a zither in their arms – the father’s slightly larger, the daughter’s slightly smaller. The instruments were wrapped in brocade, with only the heads exposed, appearing somewhat worn.

Both knelt simultaneously, not daring to make a sound.

“Zither master Zhang Zhuhe and his daughter Zhang Qinyan pay their respects to Your Majesty,” Liu Jie spoke for them.

“Can Master Zhang play a piece alone for Us?”

Zhang Zhuhe bowed his head. “By Your Majesty’s command.”

Liu Jie immediately called for eunuchs to enter and clear a space in the tent, setting up a qin table. Zhang Zhuhe placed his zither properly and sat motionless, while his daughter knelt behind him holding her zither, still with head bowed.

The tent fell silent as everyone waited to hear the music. Only Cui Teng’s eyes darted about, constantly studying Zhang Qinyan.

After a long moment, Zhang Zhuhe plucked the strings and played a piece.

The melody was graceful and moving, earning nods of praise from all listeners. Even Cui Teng found it quite good and opened his mouth to offer praise, but suddenly remembering the imperial decree, quickly shut it. Noticing the Emperor hadn’t seen him, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Halfway through the piece, the zither master paused briefly. Han Ruzi, not understanding music, thought it had ended and spoke: “Though this piece is wonderful, it’s not what We heard earlier. What was that piece?”

Zhang Zhuhe straightened while still kneeling and replied: “The ‘Empty Sound Melody,’ but this piece cannot be played by one person alone – it requires my daughter’s assistance.”

Han Ruzi nodded. The eunuchs had already prepared another zither table. As Zhang Qinyan set up her qin, Zhang Zhuhe said: “My daughter was born mute and cannot speak. If there are any shortcomings, we humbly beg Your Majesty’s forgiveness.”

So Zhang Qinyan couldn’t speak. Han Ruzi said: “No offense taken.”

Suddenly, a deep sigh sounded nearby. Everyone looked over to see Cui Teng with both hands pressed tightly over his mouth.

Father and daughter simultaneously raised their arms, hands poised above their zithers, waited a moment, then began plucking the strings.

The ethereal feeling returned. Being so close, with the zither music right in his ears, Han Ruzi felt the wind supporting his body seemed even stronger. In a trance, he felt as if he were among the clouds, with mists and vapors swirling beneath his feet, occasionally revealing the vast earth below…

Han Ruzi truly didn’t want it to stop, but the zither piece inevitably came to an end. Han Ruzi awakened as if from a dream, yet feeling more refreshed than if he had enjoyed a wonderful sleep. Looking up, he saw several eunuchs with expressionless faces, while Cui Teng stared blankly at Zhang Qinyan, as if none of them had been captivated by the music.

“Liu Jie, what do you think of this piece?” Han Ruzi asked.

Liu Jie was an upright person who wasn’t skilled at lying. After thinking for a moment, he said: “Though this piece is good, it seems somewhat plain.”

The other eunuchs and Cui Teng all nodded, indicating they felt the same way.

Han Ruzi chuckled. “It seems only We enjoyed this piece. Why does it sound to Us not like ‘Empty Sound’ but rather like ‘Ascension’?”

Upon hearing the word “Ascension,” Zhang Qinyan raised her eyes and quickly glanced at the Emperor. With just that one look, Han Ruzi felt his heart shake, nearly losing his breath. He finally understood that Cui Teng’s earlier praise hadn’t been wrong – this woman truly possessed soul-gripping abilities. However, her appearance only accounted for three parts, while her gaze made up the other seven.

It was a look that penetrated life and death, as if past-life karma remained unbroken, this life seemed familiar yet unfamiliar. One need only step forward to bridge the memories of two lifetimes.

Cui Teng grunted several times. Only the eunuchs found this woman beautiful yet remained unmoved.

Zhang Zhuhe’s voice seemed to come from the horizon. Han Ruzi paid no attention to what he was saying.

“Your Majesty… Your Majesty!” Liu Jie called several times before Han Ruzi came to his senses. Extremely surprised, he said: “Since they’re already here, let them all remain.”

Cui Teng pursed his lips and smiled secretly.

Liu Jie acknowledged with a sound, then said: “Your Majesty, General Chai Yue has sent word.”

Han Ruzi’s face reddened slightly. Only then did he notice Liu Jie holding a letter in both hands, though he had no idea when Liu Jie had left and returned.

Han Ruzi took the letter, opened it, and read it through. His expression changed dramatically.

“What happened? Were the rebels defeated?” Cui Teng asked urgently. Check latest chapters at novel-fire.net

“Chai Yue has discovered the rebels’ origins. Part of them are unemployed boatmen, part are from the Fuyu Kingdom, and part are pirates. They transported Fuyu Kingdom soldiers to the Donghai Kingdom.”

“The small Fuyu Kingdom dares to participate in rebellion – how audacious!” Cui Teng said angrily.

However, what concerned Han Ruzi wasn’t the Fuyu Kingdom. In Chai Yue’s letter, it was written that the pirate leader claimed to be a descendant of the King of Qi, Chen Lun.

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