Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 429 Giving Cup
Empress Dowager Hu and Zheng Yan, among others, were terrified upon receiving the news and quickly issued a secret edict summoning Xiao Baoyin and other close confidants back to the capital to discuss countermeasures.

Therefore, Xiao Baoyin left Woyang and went straight to Luoyang to pay a visit to Zheng Yan's residence.

Zheng Yan immediately received him, explained the situation with a worried expression, and said, "Is His Majesty planning a rebellion? What should we do?"

Xiao Baoyin inwardly scorned him, but outwardly feigned a look of shared fate, saying, "What you are worried about, my lord, is that Erzhu Rong is powerful and might retaliate if he enters the capital?"

“Exactly.” Zheng Yan said worriedly, “Erzhu Rong is in Xiu Rong, and his iron cavalry can reach Luoyang in a few days. But the capital is weak in terms of troops. I, the general, only have a few thousand men under my command. Do you think we should put aside Woyang for now and send Yuan Zhao back to the capital with his troops? That way, the Empress Dowager and I will feel more at ease.”

"Before I could even report to Lord Ming, Yuan Zhao's entire army had been wiped out," Xiao Baoyin sighed.

"Ah?" Zheng Yan was struck dumb, sitting there for a long while before looking at Xiao Baoyin expectantly. "What should we do? Does Your Highness have a solution?"

"The simplest way is to find a way to change the Emperor's mind and prevent Erzhu Rong from entering the capital," Xiao Baoyin advised him. "Erzhu Rong is the Dong Zhuo of our time. Once he enters the capital, there will be endless trouble. If the Emperor invites a wolf into the house, it will only lead to chaos!"

“Who says otherwise?” Zheng Yan’s handsome face was full of indignation. “Why can’t Your Majesty understand that he and the Empress Dowager are mother and son? No matter how big the dispute gets, it’s still a family matter. Why bring Erzhu Rong here?”

"..." Xiao Baoyin thought to herself, what do you mean? Your lovers are almost bullying the Emperor to death, how can he not seek outside help?
"What you say is absolutely right, sir. It's easy to invite a god but hard to send him away. So let's discuss it with the Empress Dowager and see if there's any way to change the Emperor's mind." His meaning was quite clear: just persuade the Empress Dowager to return power to the Emperor, and that would be enough.
But he couldn't say anything about such a sensitive topic directly; he could only touch on it briefly.

Zheng Yan wasn't stupid; he understood what he meant, but he resolutely shook his head and said, "Should we ask the Empress Dowager to plead with the Emperor? Wouldn't that be going against the natural order?"

If the emperor were to take power, he would probably be the first person to be killed, so there's no way he'd persuade the empress dowager to relinquish power.

"..." Xiao Baoyin understood immediately that there was no room for reconciliation between the two sides, so she decided not to get involved in their mess.

He pretended to ponder for a moment before saying, "If we can't ease the situation, then we'll have to find another way to transfer troops from elsewhere."

"Where are there any soldiers left?" Zheng Yan spread his hands and said, "Rebellions are rampant throughout the land, and the imperial court's military strength has long been exhausted. Otherwise, I wouldn't have had to obey the emperor's order to send the Imperial Guards to rescue Woyang."

He sighed dejectedly and said, "It seems we've fallen for the Emperor's trick of luring us away from our mountain."

“Then we’ll bring the troops from elsewhere back,” Xiao Baoyin said in a deep voice. “The only force with sufficient troops that can enter the capital quickly is the army that quelled the rebellion in Guanzhong. If Your Excellency does not mind, I am willing to take the imperial seal and go to Chang’an to mobilize troops back to the capital as soon as possible!”

“That’s a good idea, but how long will it take?” Zheng Yan’s eyes lit up.

“It will take at least a month,” Xiao Baoyin said. “Even if I get to Chang’an today, gather all the troops, and return to Luoyang, it will be the best I can do to get back in February.”

"So late?" Zheng Yan frowned and said, "I'm afraid the daylily will be cold by now."

"No, that won't happen." Xiao Baoyin reassured him, "The Emperor wants to use Erzhu Rong's influence, so he can't just order him to kill people as soon as he enters the capital. There will definitely be negotiations first, so you can have a good talk for a month."

"Yes, that's a good idea." Zheng Yan nodded. Although he wasn't entirely satisfied, he still decided to appoint Xiao Baoyin as Minister of the Imperial Secretariat and Grand Chancellor of Chang'an, giving him full control over the troops in Guanzhong.

~~
After Xiao Baoyin left satisfied, Zheng Yan was still uneasy and consulted with his male favorites Li Shenggui and Xu He. The two also felt that a month was too long; what if the Emperor killed them prematurely? Wouldn't that mean all their problems would be ruined?

"Why not strike first!" After much deliberation, Li Shenggui suddenly gritted his teeth and said, "Now that we hold power, how can we passively wait for someone to rescue us? We should always maintain the initiative!"

"What do you mean?" Zheng Yan and Xu He asked in alarm.

"That's exactly what I mean!" Li Shenggui said with a sinister look, "Since we can't change the Emperor's mind, then we'll change the Emperor!" "Are you crazy?!" the two exclaimed in surprise.

"I've gone mad," Li Shenggui said coldly. "I'm about to die, how can I not go mad?"

"..." After their initial shock, Zheng Yan and the other man had a breakthrough in their thinking and actually realized that this was indeed a good idea. They were truly worthy of being 'like-minded people', and their ideas were surprisingly consistent.

In those days, few people thought that regicide was a great crime; they just couldn't bear the consequences of it.

“Now that the palace guards are in our hands, it’s not impossible to kill the emperor.” Zheng Yan began to consider the feasibility, saying, “Of course, we have to do it discreetly, without bloodshed, otherwise it will be difficult to clean up the mess.”

"Then poison his food, have the imperial physician diagnose him as dying suddenly from an acute illness, and finally kill everyone in the Imperial Kitchen and the Imperial Hospital to end it all!" Xu He said viciously.

“Okay, let’s do it this way!” Zheng Yan nodded emphatically.

The three then discussed what poison to use, who to use, and how to divide the work among themselves.

However, no matter how enthusiastically they discussed it, they still had to get past the Empress Dowager. If Empress Dowager Hu disagreed, all their efforts would be in vain.

~~
The three men thought it would be difficult to persuade the Empress Dowager, but to their surprise, after listening to her, the Empress Dowager remained silent for a while before closing her phoenix eyes and asking, "Is there no other way?"

As Zheng Yan massaged the Empress Dowager, he whispered, "It's really over. Once that vicious Qihu enters the capital, we'll all be dead. We'll never be able to serve the Empress Dowager again..."

She then began to sob.

Li Shengui and the other man also shed tears, looking utterly miserable and pitiful.

"Stop crying." The Empress Dowager, feeling irritated, sat up and said, "No one is allowed to kill my son!"

"Yes." The three men were so frightened that they immediately knelt down, thinking to themselves that even tigers don't eat their cubs, let alone a tigress. Zheng Yan quickly changed his tune, saying, "I was just joking..."

But then the Empress Dowager said in a low voice, "Only I can kill the sons I gave birth to."

"Ah, yes!" The three were taken aback at first, then overjoyed. They hadn't expected the Empress Dowager to be so decisive, actually wanting to take action herself!

Empress Dowager Hu was decisive and true to her word, and she immediately took action. That very evening, she personally prepared a pot of wolfberry and mutton marrow soup for the Emperor, a dish he had loved since childhood, and ordered it to be served to him as a late-night snack.

The poor Emperor of Wei never imagined that his own mother would poison him.

I thought that my mother had heard that Erzhu Rong had come and wanted to ease the tension between us.

"Please thank the Empress Dowager for me. I will go to pay my respects to her tomorrow." Yuan Xu scooped up the smooth and fragrant mutton marrow soup and said to the old eunuch who brought him the bowl, "When I was a child, I didn't like to drink milk, but I loved to eat this mutton marrow soup that the Empress Dowager made... Alas, it has been many years since I have eaten it."

As he spoke, he scooped up a spoonful and put it in his mouth, savoring it carefully.

(End of this chapter)