Imperial Express Dispatch!
The Eastlyn Empire is peaceful and prosperous; aside from some minor skirmishes and border friction, there’s rarely any urgent military news—certainly nothing that would warrant an Imperial Express Dispatch.
For such an emergency dispatch to suddenly appear now, it had to be something major. The chief eunuch didn’t dare delay—he ignored the matter of the Throne Hall attendants, hurried outside, snatched the urgent document from a junior eunuch’s hands, opened it, and his face changed drastically. Without another word, he turned and raced after the Emperor.
Never mind the public outrage and panic this would stir—for the Emperor’s confidant, he knew exactly what those particular sites meant to His Majesty.
“Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Imperial Express Dispatch! Imperial Express Dispatch!” The chief eunuch, as if mourning his own father, clutched the urgent document in both hands and stumbled to his knees before the Emperor.
“Such panic—what sort of conduct is this? Hand it over.” The Emperor rebuked him, his face composed, though the tips of his ears twitched slightly.
What could possibly warrant an Imperial Express Dispatch at this moment? Could Southern Lyn be preparing for war again? But that couldn’t be—without Prince Damien, their warmonger, Southern Lyn wouldn’t dare mobilize troops.
“Your Majesty, please look.” The eunuch scrambled up and spread the urgent document open. The Emperor’s face darkened again—his expression even more furious than when he learned the Phoenix Empress Hairpin on Serena’s head was a relic bestowed by the late Emperor.
Outrageous!
“Mount Ban, Mount Li, Saltpeter Crag, Cullen Peak, Pine Mountain—what heavenly thunder, what divine displeasure? It’s all just a show. No wonder you showed no fear when I threw you in prison this morning—you were already prepared. My Ninth Brother, such clever tactics, such cunning calculations. I’m truly curious—how did you pull this off?”
With a heavy thud, the Emperor slammed his fist onto the desk, sending official documents and ornaments flying. Blood began to trickle down the lines of his hand. The chief eunuch was so terrified he barely dared to breathe, afraid the Emperor would kill him in a fit of rage.
“Ninth of Eastlyn, you’re ruthless—ruthless! I will not concede, nor will I let this go. We’ll see who wins in the end.”
Crack—the urgent dispatch, its wooden cover splintering in the Emperor’s grip. The chief eunuch wavered like a dead leaf in the wind, finally collapsing to his knees with a thud. “Your Majesty, please calm your anger! Please, Your Majesty!”
“Calm down? How am I supposed to calm down? This is outrageous! Eastlyn Nine and his mother have gone too far. Don’t forget—I am the Emperor, the one who holds the Mandate of Heaven!”
How dare he—how dare he…
After saying this, the Emperor slumped onto the dragon throne, as though all his strength had drained away. In an instant, he seemed to age ten years, a far cry from the commanding presence he’d shown in court that morning.
The disaster at those mountains had shaken the people’s faith and destroyed the very place where he planned to rest after death. How could the Emperor accept such a blow?
If it were just one mountain, he could convince himself it was a coincidence. But five at once? Who could believe that? This was a clear provocation from Eastlyn Nine.
The chief eunuch dared not utter another word. He knelt motionless for two whole hours, his legs numb and useless, finally collapsing in a heap as he waited for the Emperor’s fury to subside.
The hall was pitch black. Without the Emperor’s command, no maid dared enter to light the lamps. In the darkness, no one could see the Emperor’s face, but his ragged breathing made it clear he was seething with rage.
Just when the chief eunuch thought the Emperor would sit in silence all night and he’d have to stay by his side, the Emperor finally spoke: “Send men to investigate why those mountains exploded. And have someone keep a close watch on Duke Zhen’s estate.”
From his voice, you couldn’t tell anything was wrong—as if his earlier loss of composure had never happened. The Emperor had regained his fighting spirit.
“Yes, Your Majesty.” The chief eunuch staggered to his feet, forcing his numb legs to move. He managed to walk out of the palace, but once outside, his legs gave way and he collapsed to the ground with a thud.
A sharp-eyed junior eunuch rushed forward to help him up, wanting to massage his legs, but was waved away. Supported by the junior, the chief eunuch resolutely went to deliver the Emperor’s orders.
Duke Zhen’s house had already fallen out of favor over the mishandling of the Liam Li case, and after Dominic Zhai uncovered their death-soldier scandal, things only got worse. These days, everyone in Duke Zhen’s estate kept their heads down, but now it looked like more trouble was on the way.
For five mountains to explode and create the illusion of heavenly thunder, the Emperor couldn’t think of anything but thunder-blast grenades that could pull it off.
If it was thunder-blast grenades, then who could tell him where Ninth Royal Uncle got them from?
“Ninth Brother, you’re even stronger than I imagined. If I don’t eliminate you, how can I ever feel secure? How can my son ever keep his throne?” The Emperor lowered his head, staring at his own hands in the darkness.
These hands were already stained with the blood of close kin—one more wouldn’t matter.
Eastlyn Nine, the ninth son of the late Emperor—he should have died long ago!
The Emperor sat in silence for another long moment. Only when he was sure he’d regained his composure did he rise, ignore the servants’ pleas, skip dinner, and head straight to the Empress’s palace.
He spent the night in the Empress’s quarters. No one knew what the imperial couple discussed, but it seemed the Empress’s restrictions had been lifted. The palace was no longer tightly sealed, although concubines still weren’t required to pay formal respects.
Serena Feng knew nothing of these events, including the explosions at the five mountains. The Emperor kept the matter tightly under wraps, issuing a strict order to prevent any news from leaking out, afraid of stirring public unrest and condemnation.
Winter thunder—if anyone claimed it was heaven’s displeasure with the Emperor, he would never let that story spread. The next morning, after court, he gathered his closest ministers in the Throne Hall for a private council.
As for the destruction of the imperial mausoleum, the Emperor could only grit his teeth and swallow his anger. Few knew the truth: the mausoleum he was officially building was unrelated to those mountains. Admitting it would only make him appear weak and unable to control the situation.
The Emperor ordered a thorough investigation into the explosions at the five mountains, while also sending people to calm the public and stamp out rumors about heaven’s displeasure. If necessary, he authorized force to suppress the spread of gossip.
The Emperor’s loyal officials were either from noble houses or newly risen commoner families. Their fortunes depended entirely on him, so their loyalty was absolute.
He summoned three of the four protector-dukes, pointedly leaving out Duke Zhen. Seeing the other three enter the hall while he was left outside, Duke Zhen’s oily face was twisted with fear and anxiety. But he had no idea what was happening, so he left the palace in a panic to consult his advisers.
The moment he exited the palace, he ordered the coachman to hurry—faster, faster.
“Hurry up! Why are you so slow? Didn’t you eat today?”
“I told you to hurry up, didn’t you hear me?”
The carriage was already flying down the road, but Duke Zhen, anxious as ever, was still dissatisfied. The coachman didn’t dare say a word—he could only whip the horses harder. The carriage sped up, but at a sharp turn, the coachman lost control. He yanked the reins with all his strength, but it was too late. “Ah—watch out! Watch out! Move aside, move aside!”
Bang! The carriage crashed head-on into another coming from the opposite direction. Both horses collided and collapsed on the spot with a thud. Luckily, both coachmen were quick-witted and cut the reins in time, so neither carriage overturned.
But the people inside the carriages weren’t so lucky…