As SOON AS THE SERVANT SAID "a certain matter of importance," Mo Xi understood. Chonghua had an exceedingly shocking secret, one no more than five people in the entire country were privy to—and Xihe-jun was one of them.
Mo Xi braved the wind and snow to travel to Qichen Hall and followed the attendant into the depths of the palace. Coal fires burned merrily in the grand hall. The two golden beasts lying before the brazier were singing the emperor's praises as usual. "His Imperial Majesty's fortune floods the heavens!" one of them cried. "His Imperial Majesty enjoys boundless longevity!" crowed the other. All of the attendants and servants had already been dismissed; only the emperor remained, reclining on the couch with his face strangely pale.
"Your Imperial Majesty."
"Stove, you've finally come," the emperor said weakly. "If you took any longer, we'd be dead."
Mo Xi said nothing.
The emperor was being overdramatic, but this was indeed Chonghua's unspeakable secret: the emperor was ill. The ruler of the nation was afflicted with a freezing illness, a chronic disease for which there was no cure. Although it wasn't immediately life-threatening, its progression was dependent on the patient's constitution and their fate. It could take as few as ten to twenty years or as many as thirty to fifty years, but in the end, the illness paralyzed the body. Which was to say—no matter how much care the emperor took with his health, at best, he would succumb to complete paralysis when he reached his fifties.
At the sight of the emperor's weary expression, Mo Xi sighed. "Your Imperial Majesty, please relax," he said. "I'll take the cold from you."
The emperor nodded and leaned back against the cushions. He rarely had such obvious weak spells. Flare-ups of this freezing disease caused tremendous suffering. Only after a fire elemental cultivator drew out the cold and restored the blood's circulation could the patient feel some relief. For this reason, the emperor sometimes called Mo Xi his "stove."
The emperor closed his eyes while Mo Xi transferred fire elemental spiritual energy to him. After a few minutes, the purple tinge around his lips finally faded.
Without opening his eyes, the emperor sighed. "Thankfully you were in the capital—otherwise, we would've had to suffer. Even though Medicine Master Lin also has a fire elemental core, his spiritual energy is not as great as yours. He wouldn't have been able to resolve our problem like you did."
The little golden beasts were still shrilly singing from beside the coal basin: "Fortune floods the heavens! Boundless longevity!"
The emperor snorted. "Fortune? Longevity? Bullshit. In the past few months, our disease has flared up more and more often. Who knows how much time we've got left? If our illness was made known to the court..." He sneered. "Heh, those slavering beasts would probably rush to disembowel and devour us until nothing remained." At this point, he finally opened his eyes a sliver and gave Mo Xi a canny look. "If such a day should ever come, Xihe-jun would guard the doors of the palace hall for us, wouldn't he?"
Mo Xi disliked such circuitous talk. He knew the emperor was trying to ascertain his loyalties, so he said directly, "The Vow of Calamity has already been sworn—what doubts can Your Imperial Majesty possibly have?"
The emperor laughed. "We're only having a little chat."
But Mo Xi knew that this was no idle conversation. The emperor's position had come at a price, and he was suspicious of everyone. Many years ago, the emperor's birth mother had bribed the court physician to hide this illness of his, but the secret had been revealed when the previous emperor was near death. The late emperor thought that, if his son weakened while on the throne, Chonghua would be subject to threats from without and turmoil from within. For the sake of his country, the late emperor had considered stripping the then-crown prince of his title.
But the late emperor was not blessed with many children. He only had this one son, as well as his two daughters, Yanping and Mengze. If he disinherited his heir on his deathbed, would he have to appoint his daughter as emperor? It was a ludicrous thought—the ascent of a female sovereign to the throne was completely unheard of in all the Nine Provinces and Twenty- Eight Nations. The late emperor considered his brothers, as well other sons who had been adopted into the Murong family. It was said that he had even intended to test the mettle of the child Murong Lian. But before the late emperor could make alternative arrangements, his condition took a turn for the worse, and he passed not long after.
The masses were kept ignorant of the reason the late emperor had thought to demote the crown prince on his deathbed; it was widely believed that delirium caused by his worsening illness was to blame. The few who knew this secret had been marked with the most terrifying secret-keeping sigils, and thus hid the truth of the new emperor's disease deep within their hearts.
The pleasant warmth of fire energy flowed through the emperor's body, gradually dispelling the pain brought on by the freezing disease. The emperor closed his eyes in repose for a spell. "By the way..." he suddenly spoke up. "Stove, it's been some time since Gu Mang was brought to your manor. Has everything gone smoothly?"
"It has."
The emperor fell silent. After a long moment, just when Mo Xi thought he'd dropped the topic, he continued. "Do you recall when we sent you a letter asking for counsel on Gu Mang's punishment two years ago? You hadn't much to say back then. But upon your return, I've noticed that your views have changed."
Mo Xi didn't respond, instead continuing to quietly help the emperor expel the cold. The emperor didn't turn to look at him. He reclined listlessly on the low couch and continued to speak casually. "Stove, we know you're a devoted man. When you aren't in the presence of Gu Mang, you only remember the ways in which he mistreated you. But when actually faced with him, you can't stop yourself from thinking of him as your brother and comrade. Is this not so?"
Drops of water pattered down from the clock in the hall.
When the emperor's cold had finally been dispelled and he no longer felt so unwell, he sighed. "In truth, you're still conflicted. We can tell."
Mo Xi remained silent.
"You remember his malice, but you're unable to forget his kindness," the emperor continued. "You hate that he yet lives, but if you were to really see his blood spilled, your heart couldn't handle it."
"Your Imperial Majesty..."
"Aiya, this is only natural," the emperor said wearily. "In all honesty, we've known how highly you still regard your old camaraderie since the day you took the Vow of Calamity to protect the Northern Frontier Army without hesitation. That knife dug into your heart, but it didn't gouge the past from your flesh. You cherish those old sentiments—there's nothing wrong with that."
The cold had been fully dispelled. The emperor sat up and began to straighten his clothing, and his features regained their usual stubborn willfulness. While he smoothed the creases in his robes, the emperor looked up, fixing his eyes on Mo Xi as he spoke. "But there's something we must tell you—a consideration that comes first."
Mo Xi didn't answer immediately. "Your Imperial Majesty need not warn me. I feel nothing for him."
The emperor chuckled raucously. "If you truly felt nothing, you wouldn't have come to ask us for him." He retrieved a bracelet from the red sandalwood table and slowly fiddled with the beads. "Back then, you thought nothing of giving up a decade of your life, of taking on a lifetime's commitment, to protect the soldiers he left behind. You even faced down their hostility to become the stepfather of the Northern Frontier Army. Now, these acts of protection are supposed to be hate? Do you think we're foolish or blind?"
Mo Xi held his tongue.
The emperor was no longer smiling when he continued. "Be that as it may, we wish to remind you that Gu Mang is guilty of the crime of treason. The reason we've allowed him to live thus far is not in deference to either of your reputations, but rather because he is still useful."
As the emperor spoke, his gaze did not waver from Mo Xi's face. "Gu Mang is an enemy, and his crimes are unpardonable. Chonghua's citizens are all eager to see his head struck from his neck. The day we are finished with him, or he can no longer be controlled, we will issue the decree for his execution."
Mo Xi's lashes quivered slightly.
"On that day, we don't want to see you get confused and stand with Gu Mang."
Mo Xi usually accepted orders with decisive quickness, but now, he was silent. The emperor arched an eyebrow. "If there's anything you'd like to say, Xihe-jun, you should say it outright."
"There isn't really," Mo Xi replied.
"Truly?"
"He did commit those crimes. His guilt is indisputable."
"Ah, why are you so boring?" Xihe-jun had done as the emperor wished, yet somehow, this made the emperor feel rather dissatisfied. "Why can't you at least make a cursory attempt to beg for leniency and let us refuse you, then beg us again only for us refuse you again. That way, when you beg a third time, we can get thunderously angry and liven up the court with some excitement instead of this staid tedium—"
Mo Xi pause and looked up. "Then I do have a request."
"Ah, that's more like it."
"I want to do it myself," Mo Xi said.
"What?" the emperor asked in astonishment.
"On the day of Gu Mang's execution, I want to do it myself."
"...Give us a moment." The emperor held his forehead as he muttered, "How come it's not going the way we thought?"
"I ask Your Imperial Majesty to permit this request."
The emperor had been rendered temporarily speechless. He sat motionless for a long while before he leaned back and clapped his hands. "Truly dearest friends and mortal foes. You gentlemen are so interesting."
Mo Xi looked back at him without comment.
The emperor's light-brown eyes flickered as he continued. "We fear you won't be able to do it."
"If the time comes when I cannot, I will hand it over for Your Imperial Majesty to decide."
The emperor stared at Mo Xi's face for some time, as if he wanted to unearth something from the other man's eyes, but failed to in the end. He heaved a sigh. "Xihe-jun, why bother? He's just a brother from your youth, yet you insist on keeping watch over him, whether in life or in death... Ah, you."
"In this lifetime, I've only had this one brother," Mo Xi said. "Both love and hate have passed through me; I no longer have any attachment. I only have this one request, and hope that Your Imperial Majesty will grant it."
The emperor spun his string of beads and considered it for a moment with his eyes closed. His mouth split into a grin. "We won't."
Mo Xi said nothing.
"A gentleman's word is gold, as they say. You won't convince us so easily." The emperor opened his eyes and set his bracelet down. "This matter is best discussed at a later date."
Mo Xi seemed to have anticipated this and replied with no discernible surprise, "Very well."
The emperor, on the other hand, was taken aback. Somewhat indignantly, he said, "You won't carry on? Beg us again, we'll refuse you again; beg once more and then we can lose our temper, and thus liven up the court—"
Mo Xi refused to indulge his sovereign's perverse sense of humor and instead bowed in obeisance. "Seeing as Your Imperial Majesty has completely recovered, I won't continue to impose; the hour is late. "I'll take my leave."
The emperor pursed his lips. "Fine. Get lost. You're no fun at all."
By the time Mo Xi returned to his manor it was the dead of night, and most of the inhabitants were sound asleep. He strode through the main hall with displeasure written across his face. Mo Xi felt that he and the emperor were quite incompatible. Whenever the two spoke in private, they both ended up annoyed and unhappy. Expression stormy with frustration, he kicked open the door to his bedroom, intent on washing up and going to bed.
He looked around the room and promptly stopped in his tracks.
"Li Wei!" he roared. "Come here!"
"Li Wei!" he roared. "Come here!" This angry snarl resonated through the entirety of Xihe Manor, making the plants tremble and scattering the fish in the water. Afraid that he was in danger of losing his head, Li Wei scrambled forth as fast as his feet could carry him. "Aiya, my lord is back. Your servant was just feeding the horses in the stables and thus was unable to welcome you. My lord is magnanimous, thank you for your forbearance."
Mo Xi turned his head darkly, his gaze raking down Li Wei's figure like a pair of cold blades before eventually returning to land on his face. He stepped aside to allow Li Wei a good look at the situation in his room.
"Explain." Mo Xi's expression was grim, his tone cold. "I merely paid a visit to the imperial palace. What happened here?"
Li Wei craned his neck to see and—ohhh boy. The room was... How best to put it? Mo Xi's severe perfectionism and somewhat pathological tendency toward cleanliness meant his quarters were always meticulously neat. Forget any items out of place—even the bedding needed to be folded with sharp and exact corners. Yet at this moment, the desk and chairs had been tipped over, the bed and curtains were a mess, the pillows had fallen onto the floor, and a flower vase had been tossed on the bed. In short, it looked as though a thief had slipped in and barreled through the place like a maniac.
Trembling, Li Wei turned to look at Mo Xi's bloodless face, a cold prickle at his nape. He mumbled, "I—I'II investigate at once."
"Get the hell out," Mo Xi snapped.
Li Wei nimbly scuttled away. Before the span of time it took to have a cup of tea had elapsed, he scuttled right back in. Mo Xi was still standing in the room, staring at his bed. He turned to address Li Wei. "What do you have to say?" he asked stiffly.
Li Wei wiped the sweat that had beaded on his forehead from his run. "He's one hell of a talent," he said, adding with a softer mumble, "Honestly, what the hell." Li Wei swallowed audibly, the jut of his throat bobbing. He struggled to find the words he needed. Finally, just as Mo Xi was about to lose his temper entirely, Li Wei slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "It's simply impossible to describe! My lord, come with me to take a look—that fiend is a damned genius!"
Mo Xi had heard enough of Li Wei's vague pronouncements, so he followed him to the woodshed in the rear courtyard.
If said structure could still be described as a woodshed, that is.
Mo Xi had no words.
"Truly, a damned genius!" Li Wei exclaimed yet again.
Within the space of one evening, an ordinary shed had been surrounded by a dozen Taihu stones (Limestone rocks from lake Tai). Mo Xi thought he recognized a few: they'd apparently been appropriated from the fish pond. Various tables, chairs, and stools collected from all corners of Xihe Manor were balanced upside-down on top of the stones. With all their legs pointed toward the sky, the shed's entrance resembled a hedgehog with all its quills sticking up. Someone had swiftly and singlehandedly turned the Xihe Manor woodshed into an impenetrable animal den. Anyone with a half a brain would be able to guess the creator of this masterpiece.
Li Wei's eyes were sharp. He pointed to the blanket hung over the entrance and wondered out loud, "Huh? Xihe-jun, isn't this from your bed?"
Yes, of course it was from his bed. That was the snow-silk blanket he meticulously folded every morning. And now it had become the curtain to the Bandit King's lair!
Li Wei, afraid that Mo Xi might really make himself sick from anger, hastily spoke up again. "Aiya, my lord, this is a good thing."
Mo Xi was feeling faint. "Good? " he bit out.
"Think about it," Li Wei wheedled. "Before, Gu Mang was seeking out the rice barrel and wine cellar as hideouts. What did that mean? It meant that he was ready to flee at any time and wouldn't listen to commands, my lord. Not even yours."
"And now?"
"Now," Li Wei cleared his throat and continued in a firm voice, "Gu Mang has, with great effort, furnished himself a custom bedroom in Xihe Manor."
Mo Xi pressed a palm to the pounding vein in his temple and cut Li Wei off. "I didn't realize your eyesight had gotten so bad."
"No, you're right, it's not quite a bedroom." Li Wei took another look at the fortress of Taihu stones and, after a moment's thought, landed on a more suitable turn of phrase. "Den. He's built himself a den."
He continued: "Animals build dens and birds build nests for the same reason humans build homes—to settle down somewhere for a long time. This demonstrates that Gu Mang has been tamed by my wise and powerful lord. From now on, he'll be aware that he's here on account of your generosity. If my lord says to go left, he wouldn't dare go right. If my lord says to stop walking, he wouldn't dare move even if someone threatened to break his bones."
Li Wei was still spouting this eloquent stream of flattery when a rustling came from behind. The two turned just in time to catch Gu Mang hauling over a pile of bedding that he'd filched from who knows where. A scraggly black dog followed at his heels; it looked to be the same one that had been inseparable from him at Luomei Pavilion. At some point, the dog must have snuck out and gone on a quest to return to Gu Mang's side.
All of them—three humans and one dog—came abruptly face-to-face. Blanket thief Gu Mang froze in place. So did Mo Xi.
No one said a word.
After a beat of silence, Gu Mang noisily flung the bedding over his head and calmly asked, "Can you still see me?"
It took Mo Xi a moment to reply. "What do you think?"
Gu Mang fidgeted uneasily beneath the blankets. Then he turned on his heel and sprinted away, feet pattering against the ground. The black dog ran after him happily, barking at every step. Just as man and dog were about to turn the corner and vanish, Mo Xi shouted, both furious and flabbergasted, "Get back here!"
He was ignored. Gu Mang's footfalls only quickened as he sped up.
Mo Xi leveled an icy stare at Li Wei, who was standing to the side, engrossed in the spectacle. "What was it you said?" he bit out. "'Say stop walking and he won't dare move?'"
"Heh, umm...well," Li Wei replied guiltily, "Gu Mang was once the Beast of the Altar, after all. His beastliness still remains, even though his mind's a shambles. But look, my lord, he's much more willing to talk to you now, isn't that so?"
Mo Xi responded in a towering fury. "Talk to me? What nonsense! Why haven't you dealt with the mess in my room yet?"
"Right away!" Li Wei said, stepping forward to take the blanket from where Gu Mang had hung it over the Taihu stones.
Mo Xi stopped him. "What are you doing?"
"Putting it in the laundry?"
Mo Xi was choking on rage. "You think I'd still want a blanket Gu Mang used as a curtain?" he snapped. "Go to the storeroom and grab a new one!"
Li Wei made a quick noise of assent and diligently ran off. Mo Xi remained stuck where he was, staring first at the hastily retreating man, then at the corner around which Gu Mang and the dog had disappeared. Finally, he turned to stare at the den Gu Mang had left behind. He raised his hand to massage his nape, which throbbed with stress. It felt like he had exhausted a lifetime's worth of anger in these few days. Fucking hell—at this rate, he might as well go back to guard the frontier. If he continued to suffer trial after trial like this, he could probably ascend!
However, Xihe-jun—General Mo—was young yet. He was blunt and taciturn, with all his emotions written on his face. Unfortunately, the court was unlike the military. Here, passionate loyalty receded like the tides, while political intrigue and two-faced lies surged in. It was clear that his frustrations upon returning to the imperial capital had only just begun.
Indeed, another round of annoyances awaited him. A group of old nobles, normally timid, had hatched a plan. They reckoned Xihe-jun had his hands full with work, which meant he couldn't possibly watch over the bastard Gu Mang every minute of the day. If the scoundrel was once again exploited by someone like Li Qingqian—or if he was plotting something in secret—it would pose too many risks. Therefore, those old nobles presented a jointly signed document to the emperor requesting that Gu Mang be locked back up in prison.
"Didn't Li Qingqian break him out of prison all the same?" Mo Xi asked coldly.
"That was because the guards weren't vigilant enough. If there were more of them, surely—"
"Surely what?" The emperor interrupted.
"We have already given Xihe-jun permission to take custody of him. If this agreement were so easily revoked, what would that say of us?"
The old nobles fumed and glowered and refused to back down. They started to wail miserably. Vexed by the commotion, the emperor yelled angrily, "Fine, fine, fine, damn it! How about a compromise? Xihe-jun, go get Gu Mang marked as a slave as soon as you can. It'll keep the criminal from escaping and reassure this lot somewhat."
At the words marked as a slave, Mo Xi's heart stuttered. He looked up at the man on the throne.
The emperor arched an eyebrow. "Hm? Is there something Xihe-jun wants to say?"
A pause. "No," Mo Xi answered quietly. He closed his eyes.
To be marked as a slave meant being collared. In accordance with Chonghua's laws, any operation involving a slave collar—whether fitting it or removing it—needed to be approved by the emperor and carried out by an artificer. That collar Murong Lian had covertly put on Gu Mang back then was an unauthorized one. Later, after Gu Mang had achieved great merit in battle, the late emperor had issued an edict to overturn his status as a Slave. Naturally, the collar on his neck was removed as well. The old emperor had given Murong Lian a severe tongue-lashing over the matter.
That day, Mo Xi had been the one who accompanied Gu Mang to the artificing workshop to have the collar removed. He had been wholly delighted for his shige, thinking his shige was so good—he should be free all his life. That Mo Xi had never imagined there would come a day when he, as Gu Mang's new master, would lock that symbol of degradation and ownership back around his own Gu-shige's neck.