Rise of a Lonely City: From Exiled Prince to Ruler of the Nine Provinces

The aftermath of the Imperial Gate massacre was like pouring cold water into boiling oil; the entire court remained silent for three whole days.

Zheng Huaijin claimed illness and refused to leave his residence, while Wei Xiao secluded himself to reflect on his mistakes. Even the mature and prudent Prime Minister Han Yu submitted three memorials in succession requesting self-punishment, his words earnest, but he only received a simple "I understand" reply from Xiao Chen.

However, Xiao Chen's gaze did not linger on the bloodshed of the previous dynasty.

He knew better than anyone that the empire's ills lay not only in the imperial court, but also in the seemingly secluded inner palace.

That day, Xiao Chen reviewed memorials until late at night. The flickering candlelight made his profile appear even more stern.

Mo Qi, the commander of the inner guards, appeared silently outside the palace like a ghost.

"His Majesty."

Mo Qi knelt on the ground, his voice low and deep, "As you instructed, the Inner Guard has been secretly investigating for half a month, and some things should be brought to light."

Xiao Chen put down his vermilion pen and tapped the table lightly with his fingertips: "Speak."

"Consort Hui, who was the late emperor's favorite concubine in his later years and the birth mother of Prince Hui, under the guise of praying for the late emperor's well-being, withdrew 120,000 taels of silver from the imperial treasury within half a year, claiming that it was used to repair the Daxiangguo Temple and to pray for the souls of the deceased."

Mo Qi paused, a hint of coldness in his voice, "But in reality, most of this money ended up in the hands of her brothers, who used it to buy land and open silk shops in Jiangnan."

"Not only that," Mo Qi continued, "the head maid in her palace had a very close relationship with a high-ranking monk from the Buddhist Registry outside the palace named Huiming. Huiming often entered and exited the palace at night, ostensibly to preach, but in reality... he practiced witchcraft."

Xiao Chen's eyes instantly turned as sharp as an eagle's.

The art of cursing and warding off evil spirits is what is known in folk tradition as witchcraft and curses.

Not long after the late emperor's death, his concubines began practicing this evil art in the palace. If it were to spread, it would shake the entire world.

"Where's the evidence?"

"We have obtained both witness testimonies and physical evidence."

Mo Qi took out a roll of thin silk from his bosom. "This is a map of the route that Zen Master Huiming took in and out of the palace, as well as a copy of the secret letters between him and the trusted eunuch of Consort Hui. In addition, the Imperial Guard has dug up a wooden puppet covered with silver needles under the foundation of the pagoda in the backyard of the Buddhist Registry. Your birth date and time are written on it, and there are three steel needles stuck in its chest."

Xiao Chen slowly unrolled the silk scroll, his gaze sweeping over the words and patterns on it, a cold smile curving his lips.

"What a fine way to pray for the late emperor!"

He murmured softly, but his eyes were devoid of any warmth, "It seems that this harem is even more lively than I imagined."

"Your Majesty, when shall we make our move?" Mo Qi asked.

"No rush."

Xiao Chen put away the silk. "First, trim its wings. I remember that Wang Dehai, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, was promoted from the eunuch who accompanied Consort Hui in her dowry, right?"

"Exactly. Wang Dehai, relying on his status as a senior figure to the late emperor, wields absolute power in the inner court, even daring to outwardly obey the Empress while inwardly defying her. Several troop movements of the inner guards have been blocked by him with various excuses, claiming he is afraid of disturbing the Emperor's presence."

"A eunuch, yet remarkably loyal."

Xiao Chen sneered, "Since he likes to strangle people, then let's break his neck too."

That night, at the third quarter of midnight.

Deep within the palace, all was silent.

Only the duty room of the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs still faintly emitted a dim yellow light.

The chief eunuch, Wang Dehai, was hunched over, carefully wiping a delicate sandalwood box.

Inside the box was a secret letter that Consort Hui had sent in yesterday. The letter was cryptic, as if she had a premonition of something.

Suddenly, the door to the duty room was silently pushed open.

Wang Dehai shuddered in fright and was about to reprimand him when he saw the person who entered. Dressed in black and expressionless, he was none other than Mo Qi, the commander of the inner guards.

Behind him followed a squad of bodyguards dressed in the same attire, each with eyes like wolves and tigers.

"Lord Mo... Lord Mo? What is this...?" Wang Dehai tried to remain calm, but his high-pitched voice trembled.

"Eunuch Wang, His Majesty has decreed that we investigate and punish the treacherous officials in the inner court and purge the palace. Please come with us."

"This old servant is innocent! This old servant has been loyal to the late Emperor and Your Majesty!" Wang Dehai screamed, instinctively reaching for the wooden box.

Mo Qi's eyes flashed with a fierce light, and he swiftly brought down his knife!

With a sharp "crack," Wang Dehai's withered wrist was snapped in two! The wooden box fell to the ground, and the secret letter scattered everywhere.

"take away!"

Almost at the same moment, another team of imperial guards silently surrounded the "Changchun Palace" where Consort Hui resided.

The third team, on the other hand, headed straight for the Sanglu Division.

Inside Changchun Palace, Consort Hui was facing a solitary lamp, fiddling with Buddhist prayer beads and chanting incantations.

She was old but still charming, yet there was a sinister air about her between her brows.

"Your Majesty, something terrible has happened!"

Her personal maid stumbled in, her face deathly pale. "The imperial guards...the imperial guards have broken in!"

The Buddhist prayer beads in Consort Hui's hand snapped with a "crack," and the beads rolled to the ground.

She stood up abruptly, a flicker of panic in her eyes, but it was quickly replaced by ruthlessness: "What's the panic! I am the late emperor's concubine, and the current emperor's stepmother! What can they do to me?"

Before he finished speaking, Mo Qi had already led the inner guards into the hall, followed by several imperial guards, completely surrounding Changchun Palace.

"Consort Hui, Emperor Xiao Chen has decreed that Your Highness is requested to move to the capital to cooperate with the investigation."

"presumptuous!"

Consort Hui shrieked, "I have been praying for the late Emperor day and night, chanting scriptures. What crime have I committed? You eunuchs, how dare you trespass into my bedchamber!"

"Praying for blessings?"

Mo Qi's lips curled into a mocking smile. With a wave of his hand, two palace guards stepped forward and restrained the head maid who was having an affair with someone outside the palace.

"search!"

The imperial guards acted swiftly, and in less than the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, they found a large amount of gold and silver jewelry, as well as several secret letters exchanged with the Buddhist Registry, in a hidden compartment of Consort Hui's Buddhist shrine.

Most importantly, there was a small rag doll covered with incantations, and three thin steel needles stuck in its chest.

"What is this?"

Mo Qi held the doll up to Consort Hui. "Your Majesty, is this sorcery punishable by death?"

Consort Hui's pupils contracted sharply, and all color drained from her face. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

At the same time, news came from the Buddhist Registry that the eminent monk Huiming had been apprehended and caught red-handed.

He kept a large amount of gold and silver, as well as many letters between himself and the harem, in his meditation room.

A swift and decisive attack.

The following morning, a notice bearing the emperor's jade seal was posted outside the palace gates.

The notice listed several major crimes committed by Consort Hui, including "tainting the palace, having an affair with a foreign monk, practicing witchcraft, and embezzling imperial funds," as well as the crimes of Wang Dehai, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, for "forming cliques for personal gain, obstructing imperial orders, and leaking information."

The result was simple and brutal: Consort Hui was ordered to commit suicide, all her relatives were stripped of their official status and their property was confiscated; Wang Dehai was executed by slow slicing, and his cronies were either killed or demoted; the monks involved in the incident in the Buddhist Registry were flogged and exiled, and the temples were shut down.

More importantly, through this purge, Xiao Chen completely wrested control of the palace's defenses from the Directorate of Ceremonial.

The 1,200 "Inner Court Guards" originally under the Directorate of Ceremonial were disbanded and reorganized, and directly placed under the control of the newly established "Inner Guard Bureau".

All waist tokens and official seals for entering and leaving the palace were reissued by the Inner Guard Department.

Xiao Chen promoted Li Dequan, a trusted eunuch from his time as a prince, to the position of Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial.

This Li Dequan, though also a eunuch, was taciturn and obedient to the emperor's orders. He had no power base and no connections with the emperor's relatives.

He also issued an edict to dismiss hundreds of redundant palace maids and eunuchs, streamline the inner court's expenses, and use all the saved silver to provide relief to the widows of fallen soldiers.

This strike cut into the deepest festering wound within the inner court.

While the high-ranking officials in the court were still trembling with fear over the bloodshed of the previous dynasty, the emperor had already quietly stirred up the deep waters of the inner palace, turning the world upside down.

From then on, the inner court of the Great Xia Dynasty truly belonged to the "Xiao" family.

Xiao Chen's gaze had already crossed the palace walls and was now fixed on the more distant south—where there were still many more "poisonous sores" waiting for him to remove one by one.