The road home always seemed long, and often, encounters with obstacles would occur.
When the Queen and her entourage arrived at the inn 14 miles north of Chang’an, they were stopped again. This time, they were not stopped by eunuchs or troops but were stopped by more than ten white-haired ministers.
The elderly ministers knelt in front of the Empress’ carriage and handed up a decree on behalf of His Majesty, and the Governor asking the Empress not to enter the city for the time being and to live in the other palace in the western hills.
Watching the scene before them, Ning Que could not help but admire Li Yu. In recent years, many senior officials had died of illness, and he had no idea where she found so many elderly ministers, who while highly respected, were so old; they were practically rotting wood. Among the ministers kneeling on the ground, he even saw the former teachers of the Sixth Prince.
The elderly ministers had tears streaming down their faces as the wind whipped their hair around. It made them seem pitiful, and those who heard of it would shed tears. The ministers said that the world was in danger and they knew that their nation was suffering through difficult times. They said that they spoke from the bottom of their hearts and conveyed their true intent.
The Northern Army cavalry commander responsible for escorting the Queen’s entourage was troubled. The old ministers did not do anything, and neither did they speak of the Emperor’s edict. They only knelt before the horse carriage. So he could not really pull out his sword on them.
Ning Que did not care about that. He walked toward the elderly ministers.
The people in Chang’an all knew that it was not just the Northern Army cavalry who was escorting the Empress and the Sixth Prince back to the south. They were accompanied by Mr. Thirteen of the Academy, Ning Que.
The tragic fate that had befallen eunuch Chen on the stone bridge in Liang Village proved that Ning Que had a heart of stone and was cold-blooded and cruel. He would not be restricted by the red tape set by the imperial court. Therefore, when they saw his approach, the ministers who were crying and trying to convince the Empress were all frightened; they even stopped crying.
The minister leading the entourage of ministers was called Wei Jiechen. He was the oldest and also the most experienced out of everyone. Last year, he had been invited several times by the Emperor to return to Chang’an to take up a ministerial position left empty after the death of Chancellor Jin.
Old Chancellor Wei Jiechen stood up and looked at Ning Que. He admonished, “What are you going to do?”
Ning Que said, “Minister, do you really not know what I have done in Liang Village?”
The old chancellor took out a piece of paper from his sleeve, spread it out carefully like it was the most precious treasure on earth. He held it before Ning Que and said solemnly, “Can you look at what is written on this?”
The paper was already yellowed, and evidently had been around for many years.
There was a line of words on the paper.
“Disciples of the Academy are strictly disallowed from interfering with court affairs.”
Ning Que realized that it was written by his teacher and he could not help but be stunned.
The old chancellor yelled, “You’ve seen the Headmaster’s iron-clad rules. Disciple of the Academy, kneel!”
Ning Que looked at him as if he was an idiot.
The old chancellor saw that he was not reacting, and his expression turned ugly. He said, “Are you going to defy your teacher’s orders!”
Ning Que reached out and grabbed the piece of yellowed paper. There were two tearing sounds, and the paper was torn into four parts. Then, he rolled it into a ball and threw it into the water fields by the state highway.
Everyone present was stunned.
Even the Empress, who was in the horse carriage, was so shocked she could not say anything.
“I am a disciple of the Academy, and what we are best at, is defying the orders of our teacher.”
Ning Que said, looking at the old chancellor.
The old chancellor had never seen someone who was so brash and wild. He trembled with anger and pointed at Ning Que’s face, saying sorrowfully, “How can the Tang Empire have someone so disrespectful to his teacher! You make me so mad!”
“I only just tore up a memo written by my teacher. The one in the palace even changed her father’s edict, so I don’t see why you’re so angry. Or are you angry that you no longer have a piece of my teacher’s handwritting? If you want another one, I’ll bring you another from the Academy in a couple of days, or I can write you one myself. My calligraphy is better than my teacher’s.”
Ning Que said calmly without any sense of ridicule.
However, it made his remarks seem even more acerbic.
The old chancellor retracted his finger and grabbed his chest, panting in pain. He said, “You bastard! Even though the Headmaster has passed on, he will not forgive you, you insolent disciple.”
Ning Que yelled, “That old man abandoned us and died. Do you think he can really take care of us? If you can do it, why don’t you get him down? I’ll be grateful to you forever.”
“Enough.”
The Empress said from the horse carriage, “Don’t make things difficult for the old minister. Can’t you see that he is not feeling well?”
Ning Que said calmly, “Then he better die of anger quickly, that way he won’t feel bad anymore.”
There was a commotion.
The officials were furious and stood up, holding the old chancellor who looked as if he was about to fall. They yelled angrily and refused to let the Queen’s carriage pass.
Ning Que’s hand landed on his hilt.
The Empress suddenly said, “I will rest in the inn for a day.”
Ning Que understood and said, “Then I will enter Chang’an first.”
He got on the horse and prepared to leave.
The court may use any method to stop the return of the Empress. But no one, and no means would be able to stop him.
The old ministers saw that they could do nothing else. They stood by the path and yelled at Ning Que for being heartless and cruel, and that he was not looking at the big picture.
Ning Que pulled on the reins and stopped his horse. Then, he turned around to look at the old ministers and said, “The world has yet to see my cruelty. Take care of yourselves, you’ll see for it yourself in the future.”
The West-Hill Divine Palace army had already reached the Verdant Canyon.
Master Qi Mei had already arrived at the western army’s marshal camp.
The Golden Palace cavalry continued southwards.
The Tang Empire’s eastern border was about to be razed to the ground.
Just as the wind and rain brewed.
Ning Que carried his podao on his back and held a wooden box in his hand.
He entered Chang’an, which was enveloped in the sunset.
The imperial study of the palace was a place that Ning Que was most familiar with.
He looked at the paperweight on the desk and realized that several scratches had appeared on them. When he placed the wooden box on the desk, he tapped on it and said, “Your Majesty, we are back.”
In this room, he saw the “The Flower Blooms on the Shore Astride” calligraphy written by His Majesty and so he had written, “The Fish That Jumped Across The Sea”. From that moment on, he entered a close relationship with the palace.
Chang’an was the God-stunning Array.
This big tactical array was handed over to him by Master Yan Se, but was actually also His Majesty’s intention. It was of vital importance to the safety of the country, so of course, it was up to the monarch of a country to make the final decision.
In other words, His Majesty had already entrusted Chang’an, and the Tang Empire to him a long time ago.
Ning Que had been growing all these years, but he was still a distance away from being able to bear such a responsibility.
He thought that he still had time but had never expected the Headmaster to die and His Majesty to suddenly leave the world. As such, the responsibility had landed on his shoulders before time.
The door of the study was pushed open.
Li Yu entered, looking a little haggard.
She looked at the wooden box on the desk and slowly knelt.
Ning Que stood at a side and watched her silently.
After some time, Li Yu stood up with slightly red eyes, and seemed even more haggard and tired.
Ning Que said, “If His Majesty were still alive, he would be very disappointed in you.”
Li Yu smiled mournfully, and said, “What about you? Are you also very disappointed?”