Chapter 43: Xie Zhaojun Cannot Be Empress

"Your Highness, the twelfth is an auspicious day, perfect for holding the sacrificial ceremony to Heaven at the Southern Suburb and ascending the throne!"

Sitting in the Linjing Hall and hearing these words from Xie Defu, Chu Yan pondered for a moment. "Five days from now? Very well, there is still time. You will be in charge of constructing the altar and drafting the sacrificial prayer to Heaven. The ceremonial rites should follow those of the previous dynasty, and the name of the new dynasty shall be Qian."

When he had proclaimed himself a prince, he had already considered the dynastic name, so he simply decided to continue using his princely title.

Xie Defu rose and bowed, accepting the task. Before leaving, he hesitated for a moment and tentatively asked, "I wonder when Your Highness plans to have my daughter in Jinling Prefecture brought to the capital?"

The only concubine within the Prince of Qian's residence was his daughter. Originally, he had pinned his hopes on his daughter, Xie Zhaojun, being crowned empress, which would make him the father-in-law of the sovereign and elevate him to the foremost of meritorious subjects.

To his surprise, just as he entered the Linjing Hall, he accidentally learned that upon entering the palace, the Prince of Qian had conferred the title of imperial concubine upon the Emperor of Yongning's daughter, alongside appointing another noble consort and a noble lady.

This filled him with a sense of urgency, and he longed to bring his daughter to the capital as soon as possible!

Chu Yan glanced at him and, seeing his nervous expression, smiled. "When she comes to the capital is not up to me to decide, but rather up to her. She has grown increasingly aloof; she often ignores what I say, pretending not to hear."

Xie Defu hastily forced a smile, cold sweat nearly beading on his forehead.

Had it been anyone else, raising such a daughter and daring not to fawn upon the leader of the rebel army, they would have long been frightened into kneeling and begging for mercy, letting the Great King punish her however he pleased.

Yet Xie Defu's daughter was no ordinary person.

The Prince of Qian also doted on her.

Chu Yan sat in a cushion-covered chair, pondered for a moment, and asked him, "Do you still remember what your daughter said after she came back from the dead?"

"This subject remembers it clearly!"

Xie Defu nodded, recalling, "She was only nine years old at the time and fell gravely ill. Her breath had ceased, and we were simply waiting to shroud her for the funeral. Who would have thought that a stream of auspicious light would descend, filling the entire room with fragrance, and my daughter suddenly woke up. Her very first words were: *My future husband is the 'Prince of Qian', and I shall become the Empress, ruling over the realm. Remember this, remember this—under no circumstances must I be married to any other man, or my life shall be cut short.*"

Xie Defu dared not utter Chu Yan's given name, so he used the title Prince of Qian instead.

He continued, "At that time, none of us knew the origin of this noble name. We quietly inquired of many people, but no one had ever heard it... It wasn't until Your Highness led your troops into the city that I suddenly understood: the future husband my daughter referred to was none other than Your Highness, the Prince of Qian!"

When Chu Yan breached the city, the Xie family had sent his daughter directly into his tent, spinning a tale of divine and supernatural prophecy. Chu Yan merely regarded it as flattery, and seeing that Xie Zhaojun possessed a peerless beauty that belonged more to immortals than the mortal realm, he willingly accepted her.

"Your daughter cannot be empress precisely because of those words you spread."

Chu Yan chuckled.

The reason he had not married Xie Zhaojun was entirely because the Xie family kept broadcasting that prophecy everywhere.

At the very beginning, he had been quite pleased. After all, it added an aura of divine sanctity to him as the Son of Heaven—much like the divination once given to the unmarried Empress Zhangsun, which declared: *"She occupies a noble position, walking the middle path and dwelling in compliance. This woman shall attain supreme nobility."*

Gradually, however, as the saying spread far and wide until nearly everyone knew of it, Chu Yan began to feel that the Xie family harbored sinister intentions. Xie Zhaojun had been sent to him merely in the status of a concubine, yet they harbored delusions of seizing the position of empress?

Therefore, despite Xie Zhaojun's impeccable character in managing his inner quarters and her breathtaking, peerless beauty, Chu Yan stubbornly withheld any formal title from her.

"Your Highness, this subject..."

Xie Defu was momentarily struck dumb, not daring to argue.

Chu Yan asked him indifferently, "You mentioned that when Zhaojun was resurrected, an auspicious light appeared, the room was filled with fragrance, and she spoke those words—were all these things true?"

Xie Zhaojun herself did not remember what she had said upon waking.

"Great King!" Xie Defu panicked, hurriedly dropping to his knees and kowtowing. "How would this subject dare to deceive the Great King?!"

Chu Yan gave him a deep look. This fellow, terrified by his daughter's words of *"I shall become the Empress"*, had sent far away the few maidservants and old women who had also witnessed Zhaojun's resurrection. To this day, he adamantly refused to reveal where they had been sent, claiming only that he had forgotten.

In the end, all those miraculous and divine phenomena surrounding Zhaojun's resurrection had been witnessed by only the two of them—husband and wife.

"Xie Zhaojun cannot be empress!"

Chu Yan's tone was resolute, thoroughly extinguishing any lingering illusions the Xie family held.

Xie Defu pressed his forehead tightly against the floor, not daring to raise it even an inch.

"You may leave," Chu Yan instructed him.

Not daring to ask anything further, Xie Defu kowtowed once more, half-crouched as he slowly retreated a few paces, and only then dared to stand up.

Upon stepping out of the Linjing Hall, his back was drenched in cold sweat. He had truly tried to be too clever by half, and now his regret was profound and too late!

Just as he was about to depart, he caught sight of a graceful, elegant young woman standing in the corridor. She wore her hair in double-loop topknots adorned with dotted-kingfisher and beaded tassels. Though she half-concealed her face with a round fan and kept her gaze lowered, shielded by several palace maids to keep prying eyes away, her ethereal beauty was still enough to make one forget the mundane world at a single glance.

*“Could she be the Princess Qinghe? Truly the very picture of an imperial daughter, with a demeanor both dignified and noble. No wonder the Prince of Qian took a fancy to her at first sight!”*

Recognizing her identity from her double-loop topknots, Xie Defu sighed inwardly, yet he was helpless. Right now, he could only hope that his daughter would arrive in the capital sooner to vie for the sovereign's favor against beauties such as this.

...

After Xia Shouzhong went inside, Qinghe waited a little longer before he emerged to report, "Princess, the Great King asks you to go inside and wait."

Qinghe nodded slightly, her voice delicate and crisp as she said, "Many thanks to Eunuch Xia for going in to announce me."

Xia Shouzhong hastily protested, "Princess, you flatter this slave too much! Serving you is only proper for this slave. You were a princess before, and now you are an imperial concubine—both are this slave's masters!"

These words darkened Qinghe's expression. With her head lowered and her face still shielded by the fan, she stepped into the Linjing Hall.

She had visited the Linjing Hall in her childhood, though her memories of it were hazy. Now, however, the master seated within the hall had been replaced by the Prince of Qian—a tall, heavily built young man who was the very person that had usurped her family's home.

He was currently discussing matters with two of his subordinates. A palace eunuch carefully carried over a folding screen, and Qinghe walked behind it, standing quietly to wait.

From her vantage point, she could see the Prince of Qian, but those who came to pay court could not see her.

Qinghe waited and waited. As soon as the Prince of Qian finished seeing one person, another would immediately step forward to make a report. The matters they discussed spanned the affairs of the entire capital, ranging from military supply lines for the encampments to the security of the city streets; the Prince of Qian inquired into every single detail, no matter how trivial.

Qinghe knew that since he had entered the city only today, he was most anxious about turmoil within the capital, whereas the imperial concubines left behind in the palace were of little concern to him.

She waited and waited until her legs began to ache. Only then did the Prince of Qian turn his gaze toward her and break into a smile. "You have stayed without leaving for so long; this matter must be of great importance to you. Come here and let me hear what brings you."

Aside from eunuchs and palace maids, there was no one else left in the Linjing Hall.

Qinghe walked out slowly and was about to kneel when Chu Yan said, "Never mind that. As it happens, I am tired. Come and massage my shoulders."

Qinghe jerked her head up, a flash of humiliation and anger showing in her eyes, before she turned her face away, assuming an unyielding posture of refusal.

Chu Yan chuckled without a word, picking up an official document and leaning back comfortably in his chair.

"..."

Driven to no other alternative, Qinghe had to tremble as she said, "I—I don't know how to massage people's shoulders."

"It doesn't matter. Just use all your strength," Chu Yan smiled. "Even if you exert enough force to strangle me, it doesn't matter."

Qinghe instinctively glanced at his neck before quickly looking away.

With her slender arms, even if she were to take a length of rope and strangle him, all he would need to do was flick his hand to send her flying.

Stepping forward slowly, Qinghe came up behind him. She extended her trembling, jade-white hands and touched a young man's garments for the very first time. Her exquisite, pretty face was already flushed crimson.

The distinct scent of a man washed over her.

She could no longer turn back, nor did she have any other retreat. The man before her would be her husband in the days to come...

"Ah, not bad. A bit harder."

Chu Yan closed his eyes, enjoying the personal service of a princess from the former Shun dynasty's hands.