Echoes of My Heart Throughout the Court

Some meritorious officials ground their teeth in frustration.

Indeed! That dog emperor! Truly, just a dog emperor!

But what could they do about it? The emperor didn’t lack people willing to serve him! Especially now, after more than thirty years, with seven or eight rounds of imperial examinations completed. The court had no shortage of talents—be they from noble families, humble origins, farming households, or artisan clans. A healthy balance had been maintained, making it nearly impossible for any single faction to dominate.

So, after clenching their teeth in silent resentment, they still had to serve the dog emperor obediently.

[Take note!]

Xu Yanmiao hooked his brush back onto his belt, closed the ink container, and returned it to his bag. Satisfied, he looked at the bamboo slips filled with his notes.

Using paper would have been better, of course, but he had come to attend a victory banquet, not to take an exam in the capital. He didn’t have the space to carry paper. Bamboo slips still hadn’t been completely replaced by paper for this reason—they were convenient for jotting down notes on the go. Many court historians still used them.

—Anyway, he could always copy everything onto paper once he got home.

[If the old emperor asks me later, I’ll hand it to him. If he doesn’t ask, I won’t flaunt my thoroughness unnecessarily.]

Xu Yanmiao felt particularly wise about his approach.

Even though he had been promoted, he couldn’t afford to drop his guard. The treacherous world of officialdom was like a beast that devoured people without leaving their bones. From the emperor down to his colleagues, no one was easy to deal with. He had to remain cautious and humble; otherwise, he wouldn’t even realize it when he fell into a trap.

Taking a discreet glance at Marquis Yongchang, Xu Yanmiao resolved to learn from his mistakes.

[I must never become like Marquis Yongchang—so full of himself that he displeases the emperor, gets distanced, and doesn’t even realize it. Worse, he still grins while watching the emperor dig a pit for him.]

Marquis Yongchang: “…”

Thank you. Noted.

Marquis Yongchang forced a stiff smile.

It’s often said that those in the thick of things are blind, while bystanders see clearly. Hearing this blunt assessment, the marquis vaguely realized that while he had indeed made significant contributions, his arrogance might be going too far.

But then again, didn’t he deserve to be a little unrestrained? After all, his achievements were immense, particularly this time—he had discovered a site rich in gold and silver mines. Now the emperor would never have to worry about money again. With such merits, wasn’t a bit of indulgence warranted?

—Every haughty official had thought the same. There was no shortage of advisors cautioning them to act with restraint, but it was hard to get the principal to listen.

However…

Marquis Yongchang stole a glance at the old emperor and remembered Xu Yanmiao’s confident claim that His Majesty was already displeased with him and had distanced himself. A sense of unease began to creep in.

Maybe… it wouldn’t hurt to enter the palace later and sincerely apologize to the emperor, vowing not to behave like this again?

As he wrestled with this thought, he suddenly heard Xu Yanmiao say:

[Actually, the old emperor not giving much responsibility to those eighty adopted sons was, from another perspective, saving their lives.]

[Oh, and also Marquis Yongchang’s life.]

[Among those adopted sons, sure, there were some decent ones, but most of them were arrogant and overbearing, relying on their foster father’s status to run amok.]

[Take that eleventh adopted son, for example—he outright seized other people’s land through coercion.]

Feeling the emperor’s meaningful gaze, Marquis Yongchang’s hand trembled slightly.

One of his adopted sons, meanwhile, felt as though his brain had exploded.

Should he immediately kneel and confess all his crimes, or should he pretend to be a quail and wait for instructions from his foster father?

[Hmm, the one ranked twenty-third is even worse. He’s escalated to pretending to be a bandit and robbing merchants on the road.]

Cold sweat broke out on Marquis Yongchang’s forehead.

Stop, stop! Any more, and it’s all over!

The adopted son ranked twenty-third shivered in fear.

Though he had indeed committed robbery, he was fundamentally a bully who preyed on the weak. Now that his actions had been exposed, his legs shook like leaves in the wind. If not for a nearby brother secretly supporting him, he might have embarrassed himself in front of the emperor.

[Oh wow, numbers fourteen, thirty-two, sixty-seven… So many of them directly demanded official positions from Marquis Yongchang! And the marquis actually got them those positions!]

The number of adopted sons who had requested official titles was far more than the few Xu Yanmiao casually mentioned. Among the eighty adopted sons, quite a few had already turned pale with fright.

—Judging from the emperor’s earlier remarks, he absolutely despised behavior that could lead to factionalism.

It was over. This time, not even their foster father could save them.

[There are loan sharks among them, others who forcibly seize young men and women, and even those who refuse to pay for their meals. At such times, they brazenly claim, “My foster father is Marquis Yongchang.” Honestly, doesn’t the marquis want to strangle them himself?]

With each crime Xu Yanmiao mentioned, another face turned ashen.

Oblivious to the reactions up front, Xu Yanmiao continued.

[And then…]

After digging up a whole slew of gossip, Xu Yanmiao realized the list seemed endless. Finally, he stopped.

[Right now, their ranks aren’t high, so Marquis Yongchang can cover up their misdeeds. But when they rise higher, their arrogance will only grow. Eventually, it will spiral out of control, and once their political enemies bring their crimes to the emperor’s attention, the marquis will undoubtedly be implicated, if not ruined entirely.]

[The emperor is actually cutting off this disaster at the root…]

[When you think about it, Marquis Yongchang should really be kowtowing in gratitude to the emperor!]

“Thud—”

[What the hell?!]

The sound was so loud that Xu Yanmiao snapped out of his gossiping trance and turned his head sharply.

[Did he actually kowtow?!]

Marquis Yongchang had indeed kowtowed without hesitation. After the first bow, he didn’t stop, striking the floor repeatedly. The ground where he knelt was already damp with sweat.

Prime Minister Dou was both surprised and unsurprised.

If he were in Marquis Yongchang’s position, he’d kowtow too.

After all, this was narrowly escaping disaster!

The old emperor glanced at Marquis Yongchang, his expression tinged with surprise. “Marquis, what’s this about?”

That single “Marquis” made Yongchang feel as though he were plunged into an icy wasteland.

“Your Majesty! This subject has sinned!”

Using his elbows to support himself, the marquis barely kept from collapsing as he choked out his plea for mercy. “This subject, emboldened by repeated military achievements, grew arrogant and acted recklessly. Such crimes are worthy of death! I have betrayed Your Majesty’s grace! This subject knows his sins are grave and humbly requests to forfeit his title to repay Your Majesty’s mercy!”

To distance himself from Xu Yanmiao’s heart-voice commentary, Marquis Yongchang confessed only to arrogance and recklessness, as though the emperor’s calm demeanor had suddenly awakened him to the impropriety of his previous actions.

—After all, the emperor before him was not the type to tolerate being taken advantage of.

The eighty adopted sons shivered violently.

They all held official positions, having earned their way through real battlefield experience, and Xu Yanmiao’s heart-voice had not been shielded from them. Now, they realized with alarming clarity that their protection was gone.

Among them, some who had never committed any wrongdoing glared at their brothers in frustration and disappointment.

In hushed, angry whispers, they said, “I told you! Stop shaming our foster father! Look at the mess you’ve created!”

The others lowered their heads in shame.

Some even knelt down, stammering, “Your Majesty, this subject…”

This seemed to provide Marquis Yongchang with the perfect opening—and a valid reason.

“Furthermore, among my eighty adopted sons, there are those who have committed heinous acts under my name. I request that the Ministry of Justice arrest them according to the law. I will not shield them!”

Marquis Yongchang glanced at his sons, sighed deeply, and kowtowed again. “This subject knows such behavior is utterly disgraceful. A father failing to teach his sons is to blame. I have not disciplined them as I should. Now, I dare not ask Your Majesty for leniency. I only plead to be punished alongside them, for the sake of our bond as father and sons…”

Did Marquis Yongchang know about his adopted sons’ arrogance? Of course, he did. But he had never intervened. After all, he himself had always acted with the arrogance of someone confident in his achievements.

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