The Splendor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 132 Weaving a Web
On the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, Xiao Yi woke up in his duty room, rubbed his eyes, and felt that he had slept quite well.

After eating breakfast and practicing his marksmanship, he calmly washed up and changed his clothes before going to his post in the front hall.

After passing through the straight gate, Lü Chou quickly followed and asked in a low voice, "How can I, a humble servant, relieve the general's worries?"

What worries me?

Lu Chou looked around and said softly, "The Empress Dowager has passed away. General, aren't you afraid of being punished by the new emperor?"

"Yes, Ming Gong said I have never disappointed him, but now that image has been shattered."

Xiao Yi casually remarked, and seeing that Lü Chou clearly didn't understand, he let him continue to worry.

Upon arriving at Jiafu Gate, a palace maid peeked in their direction and waved.

"General Xiao, please come with me."

Xiao Yi followed her towards the inner palace. He noticed that the palace maid was rather unremarkable in appearance, with a kind of temperament that made her easy to overlook. She was also present at the funeral in Jinxiang Palace yesterday, so she must be one of Zhang Wan's confidantes.

What's your name?

"Lantern, this servant has heard from Lady Shangyi that the young master is willing to take us in, so we can live. Thank you for your great kindness, young master."

How old are you?

"Thirteen."

How can I become Zhang Wan's confidant?

“Both I and Zhuxin are servants born into the Zhang family, and our parents are still living in the Zhang family.”

Xiao Yi then realized that as long as Zhang Wan was by his side, he was not afraid that the two palace maids would betray him.

He then asked, "Do you want to stay in the palace or leave?"

"Either I nor any servant will do."

"The palace is dangerous, but there is a promising future ahead."

“This servant understands, and is willing to stay in the palace for my lord.”

Xiao Yi nodded and then asked, "What can I do for you?"

"If my lord could bring my family to work in your household, I would gladly die!"

"Isn't the Zhang Jie Marshal's Mansion good?"

“Alright, but the young lady is born out of wedlock, and her parents have a low status in the side courtyard. The young master is someone the Empress Dowager values, so he must be right.”

"I will handle this matter. What kind of position do you intend to secure in the palace?"

“I’m not good-looking, so I have no future in the Shangyi Bureau. I want to go to the Shanggong Bureau. Zhuxin likes sewing clothes and has long wanted to go to the Shangyi Bureau.”

"Understood." Xiao Yi added one last thing: "Don't let Wang Yan know you're my people."

“This servant understands. The young master does not trust Wang Yan and is also afraid that others will find out about us through Wang Yan.”

"It's so kind of you to be so sensible at such a young age..."

Before long, they arrived at an empty side room.

Pushing open the door, Zhang Wan was sitting behind the desk tidying up a small wooden box, very focused. Hearing the noise, she looked up and got up to greet her.

“My lord, I was afraid that others would see us always together, so I asked Lantern to invite you over.”

“I know,” Xiao Yi said. “I just asked, and they said they would like to keep the lanterns and candle wicks in the palace.”

Zhang Wan immediately understood and replied, "This servant will make the arrangements."

After saying that, she picked up a letter, handed it over, and whispered, "This is what my husband wants."

After a quick glance, An Shenqi's handwriting was crooked and messy. He was writing a letter to Du Chongwei to discuss whether to fight or back down.

Such evidence from the early days is indeed of little use, but it's enough to scare fools.

Xiao Yi accepted it and looked at the wooden box on the table.

Zhang Wan was a little worried and whispered, "The Empress Dowager instructed that these things should be burned. I must obey. If the General wants to know anything, I will remember it."

"Burn it if you want, can I even take a look?"

"Thank you for your thoughtfulness, sir."

Xiao Yi then examined the wooden box, which was full of letters detailing the infighting among the various vassal states. These letters should be of some use to Guo Wei in stabilizing the court.

Even so, he did not make things difficult for Zhang Wan and let her burn all the letters.

Just as she was about to turn and leave, Zhang Wan took two steps after her and asked with concern, "My lord, will rescuing me from the palace implicate you?"

"I'm not buying it."

Zhang Wan was slightly taken aback and wanted to explain.

Xiao Yi turned and left, casually waving his hand to reassure her.

Upon arriving at the Zichen Palace, his expression turned stern.

At the palace gate, I encountered Li Hongxin. It seemed that he had not stayed behind to guard the coffin last night and had just entered the palace.

"Commander Li has been away from the capital for a long time; he must be quite busy?"

"General Xiao looks quite well," Li Hongxin sighed. "With all these changes, I wonder how many people tossed and turned at night, worried, uneasy, guilty, or even sick with longing. It's good to be young, carefree and without a care in the world."

"I dare not say anything else, but I have no shame before anyone, so I slept well."

"well."

Li Hongxin sighed twice, displaying a level of trust he hadn't shown yesterday, and asked, "General Xiao, are you also interested in doing business?"

Xiao Yi said, "It's not me. I have a few relatives and friends who do some cotton cloth business. They sell goods from Jiangnan to Bianliang and make this much profit, but I don't know how much they can make if they sell to the further north."

"I don't have that kind of connection right now. If the new emperor is willing to let me have a say, I'll try to find out for General Xiao."

"It's a word."

Now was not the time to speak; the two men, with solemn expressions, entered the hall to keep vigil.

An Yuanzhen was already kneeling behind the mourning curtain. After maintaining her dignified demeanor for a day, today she once again displayed the faint sense of death she had shown when they first met.

Xiao Yi was calculating in his mind that by using the cotton cloth business, he could sell it in Shanxi through the Li family, and if he could also purchase goods in Xiangzhou through the An family, he wouldn't make much money, and a chain of interests would be formed.

We need to talk to An Yuanzhen.

He wasn't in a hurry, after all, he didn't even have a bolt of cotton cloth yet. After standing there for a short while, An Yuanzhen couldn't sit still any longer.

"General Xiao, I have some matters to instruct you regarding the funeral. Please come with me."

"Yes."

The two then went to the Jinxiang Hall to talk.

An Yuanzhen, with an air of composure and grandeur, instructed his palace servants, "You all stand guard outside."

"Yes."

As soon as the palace door slammed shut, her expression immediately changed, and she glared at it angrily.

"Humph."

Xiao Yi knew that she only seemed mysterious; in reality, nothing serious ever happened to her, and it was always just trivial matters.

really.

"Don't move, I need to hit you to vent my anger, don't move."

If he doesn't move, he doesn't care.

An Yuanzhen looked him up and down for a while, then chose his left elbow, which was not covered by armor, and twisted it with his fingers.

It doesn't hurt.

"It's pretty hard... You better remember this, I'm the one keeping your secret, so you'd better be sensible and not make me angry again."

"Know your place? What are the specific requirements?"

"You didn't even ask why I'm angry, you don't understand palace etiquette at all. What are your specific requests? I've thought them all through. I'm not going to Taiping Palace, I want to stay at my father's villa in the capital."

"No, I will take responsibility for the negligence."

"Now you're afraid of taking responsibility? When you and the Empress Dowager... you... you weren't afraid? To put it bluntly, you just don't want to take responsibility for me. Why should I? I kept it a secret for you."

Xiao Yi didn't have much to say, and took out the letter.

An Yuanzhen ignored her and said angrily, "If you're afraid of taking responsibility, just find someone to pretend to be the empress. I think that Zhang Shangyi is very suitable. Aren't you always staring at her? You've only seen her a few times. Do you think her shawl and high-waisted skirt are beautiful? Isn't she afraid of freezing to death?"

"There's no need to find someone to impersonate her; the Empress must stay at Taiping Palace for a while."

"Xiao Yi, I think you don't know what's good for you."

"so what?"

"Of course I'll report you and ruin you."

"Your Majesty, please take a look at this."

"You think I'm afraid of you? Just say what you mean."

“Your father’s handwriting…”

"what."

An Yuanzhen didn't know which sentence she caught at a glance, but she was so frightened that she gasped, covered her mouth with her hand, and stared wide-eyed at Xiao Yi.

There was a moment of silence in the hall.

"Give me."

Xiao Yi raised his hand and lifted An Yuanzhen up, hanging her on his upper arm. She couldn't hold on and slipped down. Soon, her expression changed.

She was actually a skilled actress; her eyes welled up with tears, her lips pursed, and her voice was soft and slow.

“I never really intended to tell anyone. I’ve been keeping it from you all along. And you, instead, bring out something so frightening. Why don’t you just burn it? I promise I’ll never tell anyone about what happened to you.”

“I had no intention of harming Marshal An, because I have always considered the Empress a friend.”

"friend?"

An Yuanzhen's eyes flickered, her gaze seemingly conveying, "I know everything, but I won't say it."

Xiao Yi accepted the letter and said, "Could the Empress do me a small favor?"

"You speak first."

“I have a relative who wants to purchase cotton cloth but has no way of doing so. Xiangzhou is located between western Sichuan and Jiangnan. I suppose General An can help?”

An Yuanzhen breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Okay, I'll just mention it in my letter back. How much do you want to buy?"

"A thousand strings of cash worth of goods."

"Tch, using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. Do you think my dignity is worthless?"

"Small-scale business."

"Idiot." An Yuanzhen suddenly cursed, "You sent me back to Xiangzhou, you have no money to spare, why bother to earn such a little bit?"

"Okay, I'm slow, I plan to learn slowly, pave the way first, and then expand later."

"I know, I'll have Grandpa lend you some money, and you'll get a reward 'after you take me to Xiangzhou'."

"No need. Let's keep things separate. I will definitely provide the capital."

"You're quite honest. Alright, now we'll each keep a secret for the other, and neither of us is allowed to tell. We'll each do one favor, and neither of us is allowed to renege. Is that settled?"

"It's a word."

An Yuanzhen suddenly chuckled and said, "You've fallen for their trap, haven't you?"

"Ok?"

"Didn't you notice the trap in my words? How stupid of you."

She was quite pleased with herself. She walked to the palace gate with her hands behind her back, cleared her throat twice, and struck a pose like an empress, saying, "Open the door for me."

As Xiao Yi opened the palace gates, he looked around. The palace was majestic, with two grand halls standing in front of him. In the distance, Kaifeng City was faintly visible in the snow.

His days of unbridled behavior in the palace are coming to an end.

The central authority of power in the world will ultimately not belong to him.

My gaze shifted to the palace gate, where a tiny spider had spun its first web…

(End of this chapter)