Chapter 770: Bloodline (4)

“Now, now. Now, now. Tsk, tsk. Good grief, honestly.”

That was the background chorus that rose from all directions the moment Qing rubbed her eyes under the bridal veil.

Even if it wasn’t right in front of the Son of Heaven, rubbing your eyes like a kid in front of your elders was not exactly a dignified look.

Of course, Qing didn’t hear a word of it.

She was in too much shock.

Why zero?

How the hell is a person’s karmic debt exactly zero?

It’s not like he was just born. What, has he spent all these decades doing precision bookkeeping on his merits and sins and working part-time as the Guardian of the Scales or something?

More importantly—not an evildoer? Really?

The numbers for good and evil karma were never an absolute measure of a person.

But they did show at least a tendency—and the older the person, the more accurately their life’s actions showed up in that number.

Judging from this man’s track record, she’d fully expected to see a new all-time record high in the history of Central Plains karmic-debt observation.

A historical all-time low was not what she’d had in mind.

Why? How?

Some kind of special Son of Heaven perk?

Because everything that happens inside the Central Plains is technically “within” the Heavenly Dynasty, so if you add all the good and evil inside that frame and do the plus-minus, it perfectly zeroes out?

Qing’s mind spun in confusion.

And in that gap, the Son of Heaven personally opened his mouth and began the main performance.

“Civil and military officials, attend Our words. There have been countless troubles on the land of the Central Plains, but time and again the Heavenly Dynasty has, through its protection, driven away those troubles. Thus it was with the uprising of the demonic cult in the past, and thus when We crushed the treacherous faction of Jo Heum, and the bandit horde of Deung Muchil... and the rebels Shin Ho and Chi Beon... yet just as man cannot defy Heaven, so these, too...”

The Son of Heaven began reciting the rebellion-history of the Central Plains.

One long list of times various fools had dared raise a hand against the court and been defeated to the last man.

“Yet even now, embers remain. These dregs of rebellion seek to disturb the peace of the world—namely, the beasts who call themselves the Blood Cult. Their wickedness has already pierced the very heavens... they practice cannibalism, stir up jealousy with slander to make men fight, and with depraved rites offer human beings as living sacrifices...”

Next came the part about how vicious the Blood Cult bastards were.

Some of it was because the Blood Cult really hadn’t been wiped out and kept setting the world on fire, but there were also more than a few incidents where, once the evil went over a certain line, people went, This seems like Blood Cult shit, and slapped the blame on them wholesale.

The civil and military officials all stiffened their faces.

The longer the Son of Heaven’s speech, the worse the omen.

The longer he talked, the bigger the praise and reward that was going to follow—and this much prelude was downright unprecedented.

And he still wasn’t done.

At this length, even if he announced someone as Grand General, it wouldn’t be strange as a conclusion.

“...In such a time, a citizen of the martial world raised her righteous spirit high and opposed the Blood Cult’s leader in Henan called the Minor Water Witch. With the body of a mere woman, she struck a mortal wound upon that vile traitor and drove her to flight, accomplishing a great feat. The courage to hurl a frail woman’s body against Heaven’s own enemy, that chivalrous heart is a virtue all under Heaven ought emulate. Therefore, I intend to bestow a great reward upon the young hero Ximen Qing.”

The civil and military officials swallowed hard.

What is he planning to bestow?

At the same time, they drew in a deep breath.

They didn’t yet know what he was going to give, but praise that followed this kind of florid preamble was the kind you had to oppose at the top of your lungs on principle.

“I shall make Ximen Qing the Crown Princess, so that all people under Heaven, above the earth and beneath the sky, may revere and emulate this virtue.”

Silence crashed down over the grand hall.

Even the ministers who had just filled their lungs in preparation to shout We oppose! Please be enlightened, absolutely be enlightened! froze in place, hard as stone.

The sheer, beyond-all-imagination absurdity of the words had knocked the breath and sense out of them.

Then a sharp voice shattered that silence.

“Your Majesty! What outrageous words are these!”

It was the pointed cry of the Empress, seated on the phoenix throne to the right.

Jarred awake by her outburst, the officials let out the breaths they’d drawn in all at once with enormous volume.

“It must not be done!!!”

“Please be enliiightened, Your Majestyyy!!”

“Protect the dignity of the Heavenly Dynastyyy!!!”

The roar shook the entirety of the vast, seven-hundred-and-twenty-pyeong Hwanggeuk Hall.

Whoa—what the—what is this?

Qing, who had been busy analyzing the Son of Heaven’s karmic debt, also snapped to at the sheer acoustic force.

The Son of Heaven’s words had been so long and dull that all she’d really seen was that weird number, zero. Naturally, that left her stuck looping the question of what it meant.

So when the sudden roar slammed into her like a fire breaking out at a crowded street food stall, she jerked her attention up—

—and just then, one official on the left stepped out of line.

“Your Majesty! These words must not be spoken! How can such a lowly wench be given— khh, the very notion is so appalling it is hard to voice! How can Your Majesty entrust such a great and weighty office to something so base and vile!”

The first thing that flew at her was a straight insult.

What? Base and vile? Out of nowhere?

Then, a step forward from the right.

“Indeed! Before deciding such a grave matter, one must first examine whether the person’s conduct is pure and without blemish. If she has mingled uncleanly with countless men among the common rabble, what then?”

Isn’t she just some slut who’s slept with who-knows-who.

Qing’s eyebrow twitched.

Wow. That’s a bit much, don’t you think.

“She may have rendered service, but she is still a woman of the martial world, Your Majesty! Men of the martial world make a trade of drawing blades, cutting down people, and seizing wealth—mere butchers and bandits! How can Your Majesty even speak such words!”

Veins bulged on Qing’s forehead.

She had never, she swore, cut down a person.

She’d been very selective about only cutting down things that weren’t quite people anymore, and all she’d taken was rightful payment—environmental-beautification fees for removing menaces from the world.

What the hell is this?

You call someone in, surround them from all sides, and take turns hurling abuse?

Was this the plan from the start?

Sure, you hate the martial world, but how is this remotely okay?

At that moment—

GRRIND.

With the sound of grinding teeth, a chill, hell-depth voice rose, like something leaking up from the underworld itself, the whisper of a devil.

“Your Majethsty. Their wordth... make thenthe.”

It was the Empress’s aside, squeezed out between clenched teeth.

It wasn’t just her voice.

Her expression was something else.

Blood had rushed to her face, turning it a furious red, veins standing out everywhere, while only around her tightly clenched jaws the color had gone white.

Those eyes in particular—if the concept of “killing intent” were dragged into reality and given form, it would be those eyes. It was that kind of terrifying gaze.

Seeing the Empress “taking their side” made the ministers’ momentum visibly surge. One after another, they leapt a step forward to pile on.

“Look at that vulgar carriage! It is said that women with large breasts are lascivious by nature. Then what of a beast-like shape such as that! The Founding Emperor himself declared that no woman with large breasts should ever be brought into the palace—” (words he actually said)

The Empress’s head snapped around.

Her face now was practically that of a wrathful fire-spirit, a demon-god with flames about to shoot from her mouth, as she glared at the speaker.

The look clearly said: I will remember that bastard’s face. Personally.

The minister who had just advanced the Great Boobs-Are-Lewd Theory flinched—

“...Their wordth... make thenthe. Your Majethsty...”

—and yet, soothed by that same teeth-leaking agreement, he actually smiled in relief.

My lady, I share your heart exactly.

The Empress thought to herself:

That bastard—I’m going to ruin him later. I’ll tear him apart with my own two hands.

Then she jolted, looking down at Qing.

My child. It’s all for you. If something so tender as you were wounded even a little, what would I do. I want to run to you this instant and hold you, but at least it’s fortunate your face is veiled. If even the faintest sadness appeared on your face, how could I endure it?

But this is all for your sake.

Forgive this cruel mother.

As the Empress steeled herself again—

“Besides, how can one who doesn’t even know the rules of decorum be brought into the palace! It is outrageous enough that she dares to touch her own face in front of her elders. How can a brazen creature who cannot restrain herself even while in the presence of Your Majesty be suited to such a station!”

GRRIND.

“Look at that height! Tall women always look down on everyone else and despise them. How can such a woman possibly know reverence! Is that not plainly the face of a witch who will scorn and trample her superiors!”

CRRRRK.

The Empress’s teeth were going through a hard time.

Qing’s insides were also starting to boil.

What was that about “If you’re given an official post, you’ll definitely refuse it”?

I’m not getting an official post here, I’m just getting hit with personal attacks from every direction.

Should I refuse this too and, while I’m at it, hand out a nice solid flick to the forehead to each of them, out of the goodness of my heart?

At that moment—

“Enough. That is enough. I spoke thus because I wished to use this opportunity to have those of the martial world learn to hold the nation in reverence, to unite with it, and to be loyal. But since your views are as they are, then I shall confer upon Ximen Qing the rank of Lady instead.”

The officials all went, Oh no.

Law of negotiation: first demand something outrageous, then pretend to compromise as you bring out what you really wanted.

Dropping her from Crown Princess to Lady was three full steps down. It was a demotion far enough that it would now be hard to oppose blindly.

And after all, hadn’t the Crown Prince personally gone out to greet the Heavenly Flower Sword and personally installed her in Hilbang Hall precisely to set this up?

No wonder the Crown Prince had not said a word against this, and instead had even “sent people in” to attach themselves to her.

Only Qing still hadn’t quite grasped the situation.

Granting me the rank of Lady?

Do you need the Son of Heaven’s personal permission just to be called a “lady” in the Central Plains?

And after keeping a person hanging here for days and days, slow-roasting them, you’re telling me the grand finale is “From now on, you’re a lady,” and that’s it?

Then what was I before? Anyway, I’m not planning to become that kind of lady in the first place. I’m a man forever, thanks.

“Your Majesty! I told you it must not be done! How can the Crown Prince’s marriage, a matter concerning the fate of the nation, be handled with no proper procedure! I could never accept such a person as the Crown Prince’s match!”

Only then did Qing jolt.

Wait—what was that?

The Crown Prince’s match?

The Empress’s all-out opposition had finally given the officials a righteous pretext to oppose as well.

“Indeed! Your Majesty, no matter how great this woman’s merits, an audience must first be held, and she must be accepted in accordance with the laws of the imperial house!”

“The position of Crown Princess is vacant, and yet you would bring in a Lesser Wife first? Even in the common households, such a grotesque act is abhorred. How can the imperial house behave so! The customs of the world will take their cue from Your Majesty!”

Qing now grasped the situation precisely.

This wasn’t a “let’s all get together and insult her” session—this was a mass protest against marrying her to the Crown Prince, dressed up with every excuse they could find.

No wonder Her Ladyship was joining in.

Yeah, that’s it. Good. Oppose it. Oppose it more.

And so the Heavenly Flower Sword Insult Competition continued, and the Empress’s dental health continued to decline at a fearsome pace.

“This is Heaven’s will for the sake of the nation! If the righteous woman who struck down the Blood Cult rabble becomes Mother of the Nation, all the people will emulate her and take up arms to exterminate the wicked cultists! And the men of the martial world, seeing this young hero, will understand the imperial grace and learn the fairness with which the world is governed!”

The Son of Heaven finally exploded.

“How can you oppose such intent merely on the grounds of stale etiquette and superstitions about a woman’s worth based on outward appearance!”

The ministers fell silent.

But the way they darted glances at each other made it plain they hadn’t accepted any of it; they were just biding their time, waiting for their chance to object again.

Even if the logic was sound, it was nothing they welcomed.

Were they supposed to just sit back and watch the imperial house gain the active support of the martial world?

At that moment, Qing carefully opened her mouth.

“Your Majesty. Will Your Majesty permit this lowly martial woman to offer a word?”

Every pair of eyes in the hall swung toward her.

“I permit it.”

“I have no idea how I could possibly repay the ocean-deep grace Your Majesty would bestow on a mere girl such as myself.”

What rang out was a clear, ringing voice, each syllable crisp to the ear, a pure tone no instrument could match.

At that voice, the Empress’s face—terrifying as a grand demon just moments before—softened all at once into a gentle Buddha’s smile, but everyone was too busy staring at Qing to notice.

“However, ignorant as I am, I believe that for one to shoulder such a grave station, the first virtue is to have a sound body, so she may hold that place for a long time. If such a Mother of the Nation were frail of body and some unfortunate calamity befell her, how tragic would that be...”

The ministers’ faces brightened.

Ah. Fake illness. The prelude to fake illness.

Yes. Good. Well said.

If the Crown Princess were physically weak, the turmoil would be enormous. If she actually died, talk would immediately erupt that “Heaven’s will has withdrawn from the imperial house,” and the prestige of the Forbidden City itself would take a nosedive.

And Qing did not betray their expectations.

“Yet in my battle with the Minor Water Witch, I was gravely injured. My origin has been damaged. Even if I were to spend the rest of my life in convalescence, it is unclear how much of my allotted span I could enjoy. Therefore, I wish only to withdraw like this and quietly regain my strength beneath the mountains and waters of my home. I beg Your Majesty to grant permission.”

“...Is that truly so?”

“Your Majesty, the eunuch who escorted me personally took my pulse to confirm my condition.”

The Emperor’s head slowly turned.

The Chief Brush-and-Seal Eunuch Wi Baseon, standing quietly to one side, bowed low.

“The young hero Ximen Qing speaks the truth, Your Majesty. To the limits of this servant’s ability, I perceived that the dreadful vile energy called the Minor Water Cold Poison has filled her dantian to overflowing. For the moment, I prescribed a Sun-Reviving Pill to block it temporarily, but her condition is still most precarious.”

The Son of Heaven still wore a deeply doubtful expression.

“In that case, we shall assign the Imperial Physicians to attend her and examine her condition—”

“Ah—ah, no...!”

The Son of Heaven couldn’t finish.

THUD.

The Empress had suddenly gone limp, fainted dead away, and fallen from her seat.

“You there! The Empress!”

“What are you all doing! Call the Imperial Physicians at once! No, fetch Her Ladyship!”

“Your Majesty, this servant will escort Her Ladyship out!”

In an instant, the grand hall plunged into chaos.