Chapter 559
Chapter 559
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 559
>Chapter Title: Fortune
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In the grand and imposing bedchamber, Ji Lin paced back and forth with fury blazing like three zhangs of flames, hands clasped behind his back. Victory had been within reach, only for things to go awry at the final moment.
He paced for a while before swinging his left hand forcefully, sending his wide sleeves billowing.
"Send out all the remaining men! No matter the method, you must find that girl Anping for me before the coronation ceremony!"
"This old slave obeys the decree."
"Your Majesty, calm your anger. This trifle won't cause much delay. Anyone who isn't blind can see the fortune lies with you. Ruining your health in a rage would be the true disaster."
Hearing this, Ji Lin's expression eased slightly.
"Right, any news on that Erjiu from the Ao Jing Sect?"
"The guards at the city gates said they saw him enter the city, but whether by divination or calculation, we can't pinpoint his location in the capital."
"Hmph! The man is truly unfit for great use. Fine, in light of his past merits, let them offset his faults—appoint him to some sinecure."
With that, Ji Lin turned to attend morning court, hands behind his back. But as he changed clothes, he abruptly changed his mind and headed for the imperial ancestral temple.
This time, no one accompanied him. He entered the mausoleum alone, and amid the rumbling of shifting stones, the coffin drawn by nine dragons slowly slid open.
"Father Emperor, I have accomplished all you commanded of me."
Ji Lin stared levelly at his father lying within, his eyes holding not a trace of attachment.
"Good! Good! Hahaha, worthy of the son I chose."
The old emperor, bound fast by golden chains, laughed heartily.
"Mother Empress backed the eldest prince, so I killed her too!"
Ji Lin's words cut the emperor off mid-laugh.
"The Grand Empress Dowager plotted rebellion, so I killed her too. Father Emperor, this is what you taught me: those who achieve great things may slay even their kin!"
The old emperor in the coffin paused a moment before speaking again.
"Ruthless enough. I didn't misjudge you."
This was plainly not the response Ji Lin had anticipated. In a burst of rage, he kicked over the offerings before the coffin.
"Why! I'm on the verge of becoming emperor—now tell me why! Why force us brothers to slaughter one another!"
"I'll tell you! I'm the emperor now, and from here on, I make the rules. I will never let my own children turn on each other like this!"
"Heh heh heh."
The old emperor chuckled.
"Lin'er? Do you know why the civil and military officials obey us? Why they hold us in reverence?"
"Because we are emperors!"
"Do you truly believe that? Truly think the title 'emperor' alone commands the unswerving loyalty of military clans and Confucian scholars toward our house?"
"Even the imperial guards in the palace are their men—do you know why they don't dare overthrow us and crown themselves?"
This question stumped Ji Lin. He had never once pondered it.
"Because they lack the courage! They cannot bear to watch their own clansmen butcher one another—but our Ji family can!!"
"When Great Qi fell and the dragons were leaderless, our Ji clan was among the great houses—not tens of thousands strong, but thousands at least. For this throne, sons slew mothers, grandfathers slew grandsons, brothers slaughtered brothers. We carved our way down to a single survivor—and that man became the first emperor of our Great Liang Dynasty."
"That is why our Ji line endures unbroken through the ages, while those gutless vermin can only serve at our whim!"
Ji Lin staggered back several steps in disbelief, plainly shocked to his core by the answer.
After a few seconds, he said unwillingly,
"Why!! Why must our Ji family be the ones to spill its own blood?"
"Because we are the Son of Heaven! True Dragon Son of Heaven! Only thus can we bear Great Liang's fortune!"
With the old emperor's roar came a soul-shaking dragon chant from the coffin. Scales rippled across Ji Lin's body, emerging piece by piece only to vanish again.
A long while passed before the dragon chant faded. The old emperor's voice carried a hint of weariness.
"Since you too are about to ascend the throne, I shall tell you. This world was never as peaceful as you imagine."
"In ancient times, shamans raised humans as livestock to devour, living no better than pigs that wallow in filth."
"But later, our ancestors refused to be pigs forevermore, so they broke free."
"Freedom was not enough—they would hunt us down eventually. Thus, we had to carve out our own domain, and fortune is what props up that domain."
"But they will not rest. They forever scheme to shatter our domain and drag us back to the sty."
"In those ancient days, our forebears devised a method: wrest a portion of fortune from the shamans and burden one man with upholding the domain. That man became the first emperor. It matters not the dynasty—all emperors are one and the same."
Ji Lin stood frozen, his mind a whirlwind, unable to grasp the words.
"No matter if you can't comprehend it now. After your ascension, ponder it at leisure. Remember: what I tell you is truth. Should anyone speak to you later of starlings or the Eternal Heavens, know it all false—ploys to dupe the ignorant masses."
Ji Lin wandered out in a stupor. He sat on the steps of his bedchamber lost in thought for ages, from dusk till dawn and back again.
If his father emperor had not deceived him, then his own descendants would slaughter one another just as he had.
To prop up this so-called fortune, the Ji family had sacrificed far, far too much.
Ji Lin had considered it: abandon the throne, let another bear the fortune.
But he had already paid dearly, slain so many brothers and sisters, endured untold toil to outlast nine others and claim the throne.
He had borne the cost, strained every sinew to be the last survivor. The peach of victory dangled ripe before him—would he relinquish it merely because his future children might kill each other? He could not.
Only when the old eunuch draped the dragon robe over him did he startle awake.
"Your Majesty, come inside to rest. You'll wear yourself out like this."
Ji Lin nodded silently and turned toward his bedchamber. His mind lingered on his father, on his present form.
"The dead can even be revived—does that not mean Father Emperor has achieved immortality?"
Ji Lin lay on the fleshy cushion, drowsily mulling these questions.
In that moment, he heard faint footsteps hurrying toward him.
"What's this?"
Ji Lin asked, eyes half-closed as he lay on the bed.
"Reporting to Your Majesty: Princess Anping's whereabouts were sighted outside the capital. She was taken away by that Erjiu."
"What!!?"
Ji Lin's eyes flew open. He glared at the reporting eunuch, grinding his teeth.
"To think it's him! I bared my heart to that traitor! And he betrays me for a mere woman!"
"Pass the order! When he's caught, exterminate Erjiu's nine clans! Death by lingchi! Feed every scrap of his flesh to the dogs!!"