Chapter 29
Chapter 29: A Sister-Spoiling Maniac
In the Imperial Study, Gu Yan Qing finished laying out his plan. Emperor Jianping listened, sometimes smiling to himself, sometimes slapping the desk in excitement. By the time they were done, the matter was settled.
“It’s getting late,” Emperor Jianping said, satisfied. “For today’s Jade Grove Banquet, I ordered them to start early. Chancellor Gu, come with me.”
But Gu Yan Qing shook his head. “No. Yan Huan is waiting at home. I promised to eat with her.”
Emperor Jianping sighed. He nearly forgot—this man was a sister-spoiling maniac.
Seven years ago, when they first met, Gu Yan Huan had still been a cute little girl. Emperor Jianping used to tease her whenever he could. Later she grew up, graceful and striking.
In the ninth month of Jianping Year One, right after Emperor Jianping took the throne, the court pressured him to fill the inner palace. Back then, his first thought had been to bring Gu Yan Huan into it.
He’d even thought he could make her Empress.
He had barely voiced that idea to Gu Yan Qing before Gu Yan Qing’s face turned cold.
“If you dare marry my sister,” Gu Yan Qing had said, “I’ll dare to kill my sovereign.”
Even now, remembering it made Emperor Jianping’s spine prickle.
Gu Yan Qing truly would.
Fortunately, Emperor Jianping didn’t actually care that much for Gu Yan Huan. What he valued was Gu Yan Qing himself.
“You and your sister are close,” Emperor Jianping said, a rare note of envy slipping into his voice. “I envy that.”
In a royal family, affection was a luxury. On his way to the throne, he had stepped over the corpses of brothers and kin. “Family” wasn’t something he was allowed to have.
Gu Yan Qing pretended not to notice the loneliness flickering in the Emperor’s eyes. “In my family, it’s always been just the two of us relying on each other. Of course we’re close. Your Majesty now has many children. A house full of sons and daughters is also a kind of happiness.”
“That’s true!” Emperor Jianping brightened immediately. “Those little brats inherited my cleverness. Every one of them is sharp!”
Then he leaned forward, grinning. “But I must nag you again. Your chancellor’s residence is too empty. You’re twenty-four and still not married. Keep this up and you’ll end up marrying an old miss.”
He waved a hand. “And Yan Huan—she’ll be eighteen next year, right? I watched her grow up. Does she have someone she likes? If she does, tell me. I’ll grant the marriage personally and throw her a grand wedding. I’ll make it livelier than a princess’s marriage!”
If Emperor Jianping wanted Gu Yan Qing to serve wholeheartedly, there were ways to bind people tighter than titles. Treat them like family. Care about what they cared about.
Gu Yan Qing’s mind flashed to a single name.
Liu Cheng An.
The only person Yan Huan had ever truly liked.
But Liu Cheng An already had a marriage agreement with the Chu family. Even the Emperor couldn’t force a man to break an engagement and marry someone else.
Unless the engagement was annulled.
“Yan Huan is still young,” Gu Yan Qing said smoothly. “It is not time for her to marry. If she ever has someone in her heart, I will personally request an imperial decree for her.”
He bowed slightly and left without waiting for further questions.
“This man…” Emperor Jianping clicked his tongue. Every time marriage came up, Gu Yan Qing ran faster than a rabbit.
There had to be something wrong with him.
Next time, Emperor Jianping decided, he would summon an imperial physician and have Gu Yan Qing thoroughly examined.
…
On the imperial road of Imperial City, a luxurious carriage rolled steadily toward the palace gates.
Gu Yan Qing reclined against a thick blanket, a gazetteer of the capital in his hands.
He had read Jiang Jiang’s diary on his way into the palace this morning.
Five years.
When he saw her write that he would fall in five years, he hadn’t been surprised. The moment he chose this road, he knew its end was a cliff.
What he hadn’t expected was that he and Emperor Jianping would only walk side by side for five years.
The diary didn’t explain why he would fall, but Gu Yan Qing understood better than anyone: his greatest support wasn’t his own talent, nor the capable people beneath him.
It was the Emperor’s trust.
As long as the Emperor backed him, he could push reform and challenge the great clans step by step.
But if one day the Emperor stopped supporting him—even hesitated—then the great clans would tear him apart in an instant.
So five years from now…
The Emperor would no longer trust him.
Serving a ruler really was like serving a tiger.
Gu Yan Qing’s fingers slid across the book’s cover. A quiet sigh settled in his chest. Back then, he had chosen Emperor Jianping because he believed the man had a sincere heart and real ambition—only lacking the stomach for courtly schemes.
Now…
Gu Yan Qing closed his eyes.
The road ahead was dangerous.
And he would still walk it, without turning back.
Inside Imperial City, scholars entered in orderly lines under the guidance of palace attendants. From afar, they saw a carriage approaching at an unhurried pace.
Murmurs spread through the group. Everyone recognized it.
The carriage of Left Chancellor Gu Yan Qing.
Jiang Chao Sheng stood among the scholars, his gaze fixed on it as it drew closer.
“Chancellor Gu!” The lead palace attendant quickly stepped aside and bowed. The scholars split into two lines along the road, standing with heads lowered, respectful and still.
No one dared lift their gaze, even though the carriage curtain never moved.
The carriage passed by as if it owned the air itself—calm, distant, untouchable.
Only after it had gone did the scholars breathe again.
Jiang Chao Sheng, however, couldn’t help turning his head to watch the direction it left.
The Jade Grove Banquet was about to begin, yet Chancellor Gu was leaving Imperial City now.
So today…
He wouldn’t meet him.
What a pity.
Disappointment pricked at Jiang Chao Sheng’s heart, but it didn’t last long.
Who was he?
He was Jiang Chao Sheng.
In a few days, at the palace exam, he would work twice as hard. He would make sure the Emperor and Chancellor Gu saw what he could do.
One day, he would stand shoulder to shoulder with Chancellor Gu.
And perhaps…
He might even surpass him.