Chapter 262: Impatience

Compared with the Imperial, Inner, and Outer Rings, the streets of the Palace Ring were rather quiet. There were no bustling markets or hawkers crying their wares, only sprawling mansions behind imposing gates, the occasional carriage passing through, and a few maidservants out purchasing supplies.

The Palace Ring was vast, but very few people lived there.

Aside from members of the imperial clan and their retainers, its residents were all people of rather special status.

It was where the Great Flame Empire’s Celestial Dragons gathered.

The black dragon carriage traveled down the street. Since Xu Yinhe had no intention of speaking, Xu Yuan idly watched the scenery pass outside the window.

They were traveling along Calm Sky Avenue, the central axis that divided the entire Imperial Capital.

Following it straight south would take them to the Imperial Palace’s Southern Court Gate.

As the carriage continued onward, Xu Yuan’s expression gradually turned peculiar. His gaze finally settled on a phoenix-roofed building more than a dozen stories tall. Well, well. The Bureau of Entertainment is actually situated right beside the capital’s central avenue.

The imperial relatives and nobles who lived within the Palace Ring generally never ventured outside it. Partly, this was to avoid suspicion. More importantly, the Great Flame Empire’s founding emperor had decreed that members of the imperial clan must lead by example and refrain from disturbing the common people.

Consequently, the Palace Ring had developed an entire self-contained system of entertainment facilities to satisfy the needs of these privileged young masters.

Xu Yuan remembered visiting this particular establishment once before. He had heard rumors on the street that every courtesan in the Palace Ring’s Bureau of Entertainment was a peerless beauty.

He had come eagerly and left disappointed. The pleasure houses reserved exclusively for imperial scions were not even as good as the privately operated establishments outside.

Protected by their monopoly, the Bureau of Entertainment and the various pleasure houses within the Palace Ring had never suffered the market’s merciless beatings.

They had no desire to improve. The surroundings were certainly elegant, but beneath the refined exterior, everything still ran on the same tedious rituals and formalities from a century ago.

While Xu Yuan was lost in thought, the black dragon carriage swept past the willow-lined pleasure street.

After casting it one last glance, he chuckled softly. “Heh. No competition means no progress. Nothing has changed in 100 years, yet these people can still put up with it.”

Xu Yinhe raised his eyes and regarded his third son. A thoughtful look flickered through them. “What brought that on?”

Xu Yuan returned to his senses and coughed awkwardly. “Father, didn’t I visit this Bureau of Entertainment once before? Coming here again made me think, should outside capital be allowed into the Palace Ring to open competing branches, eight or nine out of every ten shops on that street would probably collapse.”

“Very good. The way you look at things truly has changed.” A trace of approval entered Xu Yinhe’s eyes. After a pause, he glanced out the carriage window and smiled faintly. “It has been more than 40 years, and that street truly has not changed at all. Still, everything that exists does so for a reason. For those living within the Palace Ring, what they have is already sufficient.”

Xu Yuan gave his father a strange look, then silently turned back toward the window.

Roughly fifteen minutes after they passed the Bureau of Entertainment, Calm Sky Avenue gradually narrowed, and the black dragon carriage began to slow.

Farther ahead lay the central institutions of the imperial court, the Scholarly Academy, the Censorate, the Six Ministries, and the like.

Their compounds had originally stood within the Imperial Palace itself, but after the palace was renovated, they had been relocated to the Palace Ring.

??

It was noon.

Many officials in robes of various colors had taken the opportunity to step outside for a stroll. Some chatted and laughed, while others discussed matters of state. Yet the moment they spotted a black dragon carriage approaching from down the street, every voice fell silent.

The silence spread along the avenue with almost unnatural speed.

Wherever the carriage passed, the officials on both sides bowed in salute.

Sunlight poured down like a waterfall. For a time, the entire street held nothing but rows of motionless people and the rhythmic clop of the Black Dragon horses’ hooves against the road.

He could enter court without hastening his steps, receive homage without having his name announced, ascend the imperial hall armed and shod, wield the emperor’s tally and battle-axe, and even ride in the Son of Heaven’s own carriage.

“Tsk, tsk. Just look at that spectacle.” In the shade beyond the sunlight, a carriage emblazoned with nine black pythons stood quietly by the roadside.

The Third Prince lounged on a cushioned couch with one leg crossed over the other, casually helping himself to a platter of fruit. “Other than no one kneeling, Duke Xu is practically receiving the same treatment as Father.”

Eunuch Hou, kneeling on a cushion beside him, suddenly asked, “Your Highness, Duke Xu has already entered the palace. Do you still intend to seek an audience with His Majesty?”

The Third Prince pondered for a moment, then let out a long sigh. “Forget it. Return to the residence. It would be better not to involve myself in this.”

Eunuch Hou cautiously ventured, “But… what if Zhou Chen really is Xu Changtian?”

The Third Prince waved a hand dismissively. “It was only a guess to begin with. Other than his cultivation and the timing of his return to the capital, there is nowhere near enough evidence. I will meet the Xu Family’s Third Young Master when I have the time and judge for myself.”

Eunuch Hou spoke with great care. “At the very least, you should warn His Majesty so that he can prepare. Or, at the very minimum, His Highness the Crown Prince should be informed.”

“Hou Cheng, why do you always insist on arguing against me?” The Third Prince raised an eyebrow. “Every time I make a decision, you have to do this. Is it amusing?”

Eunuch Hou immediately pressed his forehead against the carriage floor. “This servant would not dare.”

The Third Prince glanced at him, his voice turning serious. “Hou Cheng, I will only say this once. Do not mention anything about Zhou Chen to anyone.”

“…Yes.” Eunuch Hou cautiously studied the Third Prince’s expression. Seeing that he was not truly angry, he asked softly, “But why are you doing this, Your Highness?”

The Third Prince sighed and tapped Eunuch Hou’s official hat with his folding fan. “If word gets out and it is false, then no harm done. But if it is true, I cannot say whether Xu Changtian will die.”

He paused. “But I will probably be the one who does.”

Eunuch Hou frowned. “Your Highness, but you are—”

“Father has 13 sons and 9 daughters.” The Third Prince cut him off.

“Duke Xu only has two sons left.”

Eunuch Hou had nothing to say.

The Third Prince gave a soft snort, looking thoroughly helpless. “With the war in the north, relations with the Chancellor’s Manor have only just begun to improve. If I suddenly went before Father with something like this, wouldn’t I merely be making trouble? Hou Cheng, remember what I’m telling you. The Chancellor’s Manor is not our enemy. At least, not right now.”

“This servant... will remember.”

??

After passing through the very heart of imperial power, the carriage entered the palace directly.

Silence filled the interior.

This was the first time Xu Yuan had truly witnessed the extent of his father’s authority within the imperial court.

Judging by that display just now, even if the old man had no intention of rebelling, someone might still throw a yellow robe over his shoulders one day and force the throne upon him.

At that thought, Xu Yuan instinctively glanced at his father, only to discover that Xu Yinhe was already looking at him.

Their eyes met for a moment before Xu Yinhe smiled. “Changtian, what do you think?”

Xu Yuan smacked his lips and played dumb. “Power is a wonderful thing.”

Xu Yinhe neither agreed nor disagreed. “Power is indeed a wonderful thing. What else?”

Seeing that there was no fooling him, Xu Yuan glanced toward the depths of the imperial palace and lowered his voice. “If I were the Emperor, I wouldn’t be able to tolerate it.”

“You wouldn’t be able to tolerate it?” Xu Yinhe nearly laughed at the phrasing, but the amusement soon faded into a quiet sigh. “Heh... no, it is indeed intolerable. Yet Li Yaoxuan can endure what no other man could. Even I admire him for that.”

Xu Yuan fell silent for a moment. “Father, are you saying that aside from His Majesty, no one else could tolerate it?”

Xu Yinhe narrowed his eyes. “That is something I am still trying to confirm. However, Li Yaoxuan once said that the Second Prince resembles him when he was young. What do you make of that?”

Xu Yuan’s pupils contracted slightly. That was an exceedingly direct statement.

The struggle between imperial princes for the throne was a matter of national importance, but plenty of scholars in pleasure houses discussed it after a few cups of wine.

The common people had always delighted in such topics. But when those words came from this gray-haired father of his, there was a very good chance they would soon become reality.

But what was going on? Hadn’t the Chancellor’s Manor and the imperial clan only just entered their honeymoon period? Why did it already sound as though they were preparing to tear each other apart again?

Collecting himself, Xu Yuan asked hesitantly, “Father, isn’t it a little early to be considering this? Is this because of the prophecy from the Heavenwatch Pavilion?”

Tian Yan had said that the Emperor would die this year. But the future divined by the Heavenwatch Pavilion had already been altered beyond recognition because of him.

Xu Yinhe spoke quietly. “I have never believed in prophecies. There are other signs, but even the matter in the north alone is enough for me to sense that Li Yaoxuan is truly in a hurry.”

Xu Yuan’s expression gradually grew solemn.

Xu Yinhe reassured him in a gentle voice. “I am not telling you this because I expect you to find a solution. I simply want you to be mentally prepared. That way, when you meet Li Yaoxuan in a moment, you will at least understand what may be happening.”

With that, silence returned, and the carriage continued deeper into the palace.

Fifteen minutes later, the black dragon carriage stopped beside the Great Celebration Hall. Then a eunuch’s sharp, high-pitched voice rang through the palace.

“Duke Xu has arrived—!”