How Dare You?! 成何体统 (Cheng He Ti Tong)
By 七英俊 Qi Ying Jun
Translation by Spider
Rather than saying someone was out to harm him…
It might be more accurate to say that the heavens themselves wished to drive him step by step towards madness.
A heavy sigh from Xiahou Dan surged within his chest, resonating through his internal organs. When he exhaled, it came out as a faint whisper, “Unlucky bastard.”
Yu Wanyin looked somewhat unusual, holding his hand. “He wasn’t so unlucky in the end. You’ve encountered us.”
For a moment, Xiahou Dan didn’t even understand who this ‘us’ referred to.
His question must have shown on his face, so Yu Wanyin explained further, “Me and you.”
Nothing useful could be extracted from the mouth of the former Crown Prince.
He knew his life was ruined. Meeting people would only invite scornful smiles, smiles that sometimes bore an uncanny resemblance to those of the Empress Dowager.
Xiahou Dan removed him from his own position as Crown Prince, ordering him to self-reflect in seclusion, but didn’t announce his death, instead claiming confinement and assigning people to protect him.
This was mainly to placate Prince Duan.
With such a discarded Crown Prince alive, even if Prince Duan successfully usurped the throne, he couldn’t rightfully inherit it. Naturally, a group of Crown Prince supporters would appear at the court and engage in several rounds of conflict with him. If they eliminated Prince Duan and then returned to bring the Crown Prince to justice, it wouldn’t be too late.
Yu Wanyin’s other doubt was quickly answered.
This answer was also returned by Xie Yong’er. “Yes, everyone thinks you’re pregnant. This speculation has been circulating since the day you were crowned. If there’s any proof, it’s that you moved a little that day, and the Emperor wanted to take you away in a hurry. Originally there weren’t many believers, but then he suddenly did away with the only crown prince, supposedly to make room for the child in your belly…”.
Yu Wanyin: “…”
Yu Wanyin was simply overwhelmed with words. “Wasn’t the crown prince stripped of his throne because of his misconduct?”
“People only believe what they want to believe. The habitual thinking of ancient people is ‘the mother depends on the son for honour’. Xie Yong’er made a convincing observation. “But I suspect that someone is using this habitual thinking to spread rumours, which is also part of the propaganda war.
“Prince Duan?” Yu Wanyin was puzzled, “What’s his plan?”
“I can’t guess for now. Just be careful yourself.”
Even so, Yu Wanyin couldn’t jump out and announce “I’m not pregnant.” Unable to find a chance to clarify for a while, she could only let it go.
They already knew that Prince Duan’s reinforcements were on their way, so they couldn’t just sit around and wait for everything to be ready.
So the Qintian Observatory suddenly calculated that the auspicious date for the funeral would be once in a millennium, just three days later. Xiahou Dan looked deeply troubled in front of the civil and military officials and hesitated for a while before saying, “It should be a seven-day vigil, but my mother’s great blessings coincided with such an auspicious day. Let’s break the rules and bury her three days early.
The former Empress Dowager’s supporters didn’t even refute half a word, still taking turns to praise him for his filial piety.
All condolences were compressed into three days. Xiahou Dan wore mourning white and personally observed the wake.
On the day of the Empress Dowager’s funeral, there were rumours that the Emperor had fallen ill, but now that all the officials have seen him kneeling upright in the Mourning Hall, all rumours have been dispelled.
Sending off a wave of royal relatives, Yu Wanyin returned to the house wrapped in wind and snow and immediately stamped her feet, “It’s too cold, how can it be so cold, could this chill also be a conspiracy by Prince Duan?”
Xiahou Dan tapped his knee and stood up, “Makes sense, he must have invented localised cooling.”
“Or maybe the Empress Dowager’s resentment is too deep, don’t you think there’s a chilly breeze here… I just realised, her last night of mourning was on New Year’s Eve! With her death, she prevented the entire nation from passing the new year, how big a resentment was in her heart…”
Xiahou Dan muttered.
“Come here I want to give you something.”
“What?”
Xiahou Dan touched something out from under his large mourning clothes and stuffed it into her hand. “Hold onto it.”
Is a hot water bottle.
Yu Wanyin smiled, “You really… no wonder you could kneel down outside.”
Xiahou Dan lowered his voice. “Is there any movement outside?”
Yu Wanyin shook her head.
Countless Shadow Guards were hidden in the seemingly empty Mourning Hall.
According to Xu Yao’s records, Prince Duan’s plan had two options.
One was to send assassins to assassinate Xiahou Dan during his wake, leaving no wounds and faking a supernatural scene.
The second is to support the Emperor in the funeral procession in the final stretch before entering the mausoleum in accordance with Great Xia etiquette at the time of the funeral. This section of the road passes right through the canyon at the foot of Mount Bei, and if men were sent to hide on the mountain and push down boulders, disguised as a landslide, there would be no way for anyone in the canyon to escape.
The two plans have one thing in common: both incidents can be excused by the Empress Dowager’s ghosts, echoing the previously propagated public opinion that “the tyrant’s immorality will be punished by Heaven”.
And Xiahou Dan’s plan was to set up ambushes at both the Mourning Hall and Mount Bei. If they could catch the enemy red-handed before they struck, it would be the best strategy to legitimately remove Prince Duan. However, if the enemy’s plans were too cunning and they managed to evade capture, or even if they were captured but no evidence pointed directly to Prince Duan, they would still find a way to eliminate him. As for public opinion and the people’s sentiment, preserving his life first would allow for a gradual restoration.
Therefore, these days, at any sign of movement, the Shadow guards would promptly report it.
However, perhaps due to the overly tight surveillance, Prince Duan was alerted. They waited in the Mourning Hall for a full two days without seeing any sign of him. Outside the perimeter, a few eunuchs and palace maids were cautiously looking around. If they had been sent by Prince Duan as well, it seemed a bit childish – more in preparation for trouble than actually causing it.
Fearing a surprise attack, the Shadow Guard increased surveillance around the Mourning Hall and sent more men to investigate near Mount Bei.
This was the most oppressive Spring Festival Yu Wanyin had ever experienced. With mourning and limited celebrations, the palace was eerily quiet, shut down from top to bottom. The looming sense of impending disaster was as heavy as Mount Tai, even causing the snowflakes to fall more slowly than usual.
The only consolation was that Xiahou Dan’s condition seemed to be improving. Xiao Tiancai came every day to conduct a thorough examination, examining him meticulously by observation, smelling, questioning and taking his pulse. He also took copious notes, trying to deduce the composition of the poison in his body. Xiahou Dan seemed relaxed, mentioning only that his headache hadn’t worsened. Strangely, the wound on his chest had healed quickly, and he could now move his arms and turn his body with ease.
“I have a bold idea,” Yu Wanyin spoke up.
Xiahou Dan asked, “What is it?”
“Think about it, even though Tur clearly stated that this wound couldn’t heal, it miraculously did,” Yu Wanyin pointed “And after your recent headache attack, the wound healed even faster. Doesn’t that seem strange to you?”
“If that’s the case, it does seem unusual.” Xiao Tiancai interjected from the side.
Yu Wanyin, an avid reader of online novels, pressed on, “Is there a concept of ‘using poison to counteract poison’ in the medical books you’ve studied?”
Xiao Tiancai nodded, “Yes.”
After pondering for a moment, he added, “If both poisons are from the Qiang people, it’s indeed possible that their properties counteract each other.”
Yu Wanyin was greatly encouraged, “Go and investigate this. My intuition tells me this could be the right answer.”
Xiao Tiancai agreed, but hesitated before speaking, “Your Highness, may I have a private word with you?”
Yu Wanyin paused, her heart sinking. When a physician wanted to ‘have a word in private’ it usually wasn’t good news.
But Xiahou Dan just smiled and patted her on the back, “Go ahead.”
Yu Wanyin had no choice but to leave. She didn’t have eyes on her back, so she couldn’t see the threatening look that Xiahou Dan gave Xiao Tiancai.
The two walked to a side hall, where Xiao Tiancai turned around and went straight to the point, “Do you remember the promise you made earlier, Your Highness?”
Yu Wanyin was waiting for an update on Xiahou Dan’s condition. Upon hearing this, she paused for a moment, then quickly recovered, “Oh, oh, about letting Consort Xie go, right? Ah, I almost forgot about it. No problem, no problem. After we settle things with Prince Duan, I’ll decide. I’ll ensure she safely leaves the capital.”
But Xiao Tiancai hesitated to speak further.
Yu Wanyin, “?”
Xiao Tiancai seemed to struggle to find the right words, “His Majesty is naturally blessed… but Prince Duan is cunning…”
Yu Wanyin understood.
He wanted to say: what if Prince Duan wins, won’t Consort Xie be unable to leave?
Yu Wanyin hadn’t thought carefully about this before. In the past, she might have agreed immediately to release her early. But now, having experienced the dangers of the world, she couldn’t help but consider: what if Consort Xie went out and then sought refuge with Prince Duan? Even if Consort Xie truly intended to retire peacefully, how could Prince Duan easily let go of a source of information?
“Here’s what we’ll do,” she said slowly. “On the day of the Empress Dowager’s funeral, after Prince Duan follows the procession out of the city, I’ll send someone to safely escort Consort Xie out of the capital from the opposite direction.” By then, it would be too late for Prince Duan to intervene.
She had expected Xiao Tiancai to argue further, but she was surprised by the young man’s reasonableness. He immediately knelt down and gave a deep bow, “Your Highness, I will remember your great kindness.”
Yu Wanyin hurriedly helped him up, “Don’t do this, I’m unworthy of such gratitude. I promised to let you leave with her before, but now that His Majesty’s poison remains unresolved, I have to rely on you.”
Xiao Tiancai fell silent for a moment before speaking warmly, “I never thought of leaving. If Consort Xie can live in peace for the rest of her life, I ask for nothing more.”
Yu Wanyin couldn’t help but look up at him with admiration. “Actually, you could ask for something, we wouldn’t mind.”
Xiao Tiancai froze and lowered his head uncomfortably, “I… I know I can’t win her favour or her heart. It’s better to send her away rather than cause mutual dislike. In the future, with the vast sky and earth, she may remember the places she sees and think of her old companions.”
A true romantic, indeed.
Yu Wanyin solemnly respected him, “Rest assured, I will make the arrangements.”
With Yu Wanyin’s assurance, Xiao Tiancai expressed his profound gratitude and left. As he departed, he bowed deeply, unwilling to let her see the shame on his face.
His urgency to send away Consort Xie wasn’t solely because of Prince Duan. He also feared that Yu Wanyin would discover that he didn’t have much value even if he stayed.
The threatening look from the Emperor just now reminded him not to say what shouldn’t be said.
For instance, the toxin in his body, buried since before birth and now irreversibly deep-rooted. The large amount of poison induced by the Little Prince’s attack was the final straw that broke the camel’s back.
And also, the dying Empress Dowager’s last words were actually five words: “This poison has no cure.”
In the mourning hall, Xiahou Dan watched the two depart, then immediately found a chair and sat down, hands pressing against his forehead as if trying to squeeze the pain away.
Amidst the continuous pain, memories that had blurred suddenly surfaced before him. He saw again the pitiful Empress Dowager, gasping for breath on her deathbed several days ago. In the month before she passed, that poor woman screamed incoherently every day. At that time, no one knew what she was screaming about.
If the same fate awaited him…
Xiahou Dan chuckled bitterly.
He didn’t want to be seen by her like that.
Translation by Spider
Next: Chapter 20
Previous: Chapter 18