Song Ning even doubted whether he had heard correctly.
He tilted his head slightly toward Mother Qi, a rare flicker of astonishment appearing in his white eyes.
“How can this be?” he pressed. “How could they mobilize troops so blatantly? Are they not afraid everyone will know what they’re up to?”
Mother Qi said angrily, “This was drafted by Wei Yang and sent from the Directorate of Ceremonial, but it’s in the Emperor’s name.”
She cleared her throat and read the contents of the official memorial:
“It says the Emperor is seriously ill, and to prevent unrest in the palace, the Ministry of War must issue mobilization credentials. Elite soldiers from the Capital Camp and city defenses are to be moved into the Inner City of the Imperial City for guard duty, placed under the command of the Jinyiwei Commander, Yan Bi.”
“That Yan Bi is one of Wei Yang’s people! How could I agree to hand the soldiers over to her?!”
Song Ning did not respond immediately. He leaned against the headboard, his fingers beginning to tap rhythmically against the edge of the bed.
His brow was slightly furrowed, and his pale face betrayed little emotion as his white eyes stared blankly ahead.
‘The current Emperor is indeed an eccentric,’ he sighed to himself.
The man spent his time in the harem refining elixirs, practicing calligraphy, and even dabbling in woodworking.
He had thrown all matters of state to Wei Yang, even indifferently handing over the Brocade-Clad Guard.
Song Ning could guess the Emperor’s mindset. The man likely felt his health was fine for the time being and had no interest in balancing power or dealing with politics.
Wei Yang was loyal and obedient, so giving her the Jinyiwei mattered little to him. As long as it guaranteed his own power, he didn’t care.
But now, he had played himself.
All defensive power within the palace was concentrated in the hands of the Jinyiwei and the Eastern Depot — both of which were firmly in Wei Yang’s grasp.
The Emperor thought he could still control the overall situation, but only when he fell ill did he realize he couldn’t even send out a single imperial decree.
Song Ning’s fingers tapped on the table for a long time — long enough that Mother Qi began to feel restless.
She glanced at the helpless Xia Ling beside her, then at Xia Shuang, who was holding her sword by the door. Her gaze lingered on Xia Shuang for a moment.
The girl stood there silently.
‘My son-in-law’s methods are truly extraordinary,’ Mother Qi marveled.
To have such a powerful figure willing to serve as a mere maid?
As the Minister of War and a high-ranking official, even Mother Qi wouldn’t dream of finding a Second-rank master to be her maid.
Which Second-rank master didn’t have their own pride? Especially one so young.
Looking at it this way, she found Song Ning even more pleasing to the eye. She felt increasingly fortunate that this marriage had actually happened.
“Where is Yao’er?” she suddenly asked, her eyes scanning the room. “I haven’t seen her. Did she run off early this morning?”
Song Ning’s finger stopped tapping.
His mouth twitched slightly. His thighs were sore, his waist ached, and there wasn’t a single part of his body that didn’t feel uncomfortable.
The culprit behind it all had tossed him around all night without even pouring him a cup of hot water before vanishing first thing in the morning.
He took a deep breath, suppressed those messy thoughts, and shook his head.
“I don’t know,” he said flatly. “She went out early. She probably has things to do.”
Mother Qi’s expression immediately soured.
She snorted coldly but said nothing more.
‘Look at them all.’
Qin Junyue was a Second-rank Martial Artist, and this little girl holding the sword was likely a Second-rank master as well.
Both had reached the high realms of the Martial Dao at such a young age.
But what about her own daughter? Even if the bar wasn’t high, how could she not even be of the Fourth Rank?
On the morning after her wedding night, she had disappeared without even showing her face. What kind of behavior was that?
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. However, she couldn’t vent in front of Song Ning, so she could only force herself to swallow her resentment.
Song Ning finally spoke. “I believe the Emperor’s end is imminent. Wei Yang wants these 3,000 soldiers to lock down the Imperial City and isolate the royal court from Prince Xin. She intends to forge an imperial decree to depose the heir or install a new one.”
Mother Qi’s expression turned grave. She nodded without interrupting.
This was also her greatest concern at the moment.
Currently, the defenses of the Capital City were divided among three factions. One was the Jinyiwei within the palace, controlled by Wei Yang.
Another was the Capital Camp stationed in the Imperial City, directly under the court’s jurisdiction.
The last was the city defense guarding the Five Gates, managed by the Five City Wardens’ Office.
Although she was the Minister of War and held the Ministry of War Seal, she had no way to independently mobilize the other two forces.
On this point, the Emperor had not been foolish. By splitting military power three ways to balance each other, no one dared to rebel easily.
Neither the Capital Camp, where Qin Junyue was stationed, nor the Five Gates city defense belonged to Wei Yang.
The problem was that the Emperor was now critically ill.
With Wei Yang controlling the inner palace and the Jinyiwei, she could use the Emperor’s name to command the lords.
How much longer could the other two factions hold out?
If any one side defected, how could the situation be salvaged?
Song Ning continued, “You cannot avoid this. To avoid it is to lose power. But you cannot fight her head-on either. Right now, she holds more initiative than we do.”
“Delay it without refusing. Follow the regulations to push it back. Don’t sign it, but don’t reject it outright either. Kick the ball back to Wei Yang and the Grand Secretariat.”
He traced a circle in the air with his finger.
“First, send this ministerial post back to the Ministry of War. For the Capital Camp to move troops into the Imperial City, it requires the Emperor’s personal approval, the Grand Secretariat’s draft, and a mobilization credential issued jointly by the Ministry of War and the Capital Camp. Not a single one can be missing.”
“Currently, there is only the seal of the Directorate of Ceremonial. There is no personal approval from the Emperor — only a verbal command — and no draft from the Grand Secretariat. It does not comply with the regulations. The Bureau of Operations won’t dare to draft the ticket, and the presiding officials won’t dare to use their seals.”
Mother Qi’s eyes narrowed slightly, her lips twitching.
Song Ning continued, “Then, make four copies of this review memorial. Send one back to the Directorate of Ceremonial, one to the Grand Secretary, and post one on the notice board outside the Ministry of War. Bring this matter completely into the light.”
“Wei Yang wants a secret conspiracy. She wouldn’t dare to violate the regulations and move troops so openly, nor would she dare to force the Grand Secretariat to give her a draft.”
“You aren’t aiding her, yet you aren’t opposing her head-on. By doing everything according to ancestral regulations, no one can find a single fault.”
Mother Qi fell silent.
She sat there, clutching the memorial, her brow knitted into a tight knot.
After a long while, she slowly nodded.
“It’s feasible.”
“We can continue to stall. But what about the other document? Didn’t you say there were four copies?”
Song Ning rubbed his hands. “Send that copy of the Ministry of War’s document to Prince Xin’s side.”
“Let her see how desperate Wei Yang has become. Let her know that if she doesn’t enter the Capital City now, it will be too late.”
“If she can still remain indifferent after this, then we might as well choose a better master early on.”
If she still cared about what the Emperor might think and lacked even the courage to enter the capital and seize the throne, then she deserved to lose it. Song Ning had no interest in such a ruler.
Mother Qi glanced at him. The young man sitting by the bed was pale, his hair falling loosely over his shoulders. He couldn’t even sit very steadily.
Yet the words he spoke were truly unexpected.
What she didn’t realize was that Song Ning didn’t view Prince Xin as some ‘wise ruler’ either.
This dynasty had been rotting for 250 years — rotting to its very core. Even if the Taizu Emperor were to be resurrected, he couldn’t save it.
All Song Ning wanted was to claim the last of the resources from this collapsing dynasty.
As for Prince Xin? Song Ning knew her ending.
Entering the capital was equivalent to settling into the world’s largest, most luxurious, and most inescapable prison — the Imperial City.
She would be trapped there for the rest of her life, confined within that magnificent cage.
She would spend her days reviewing memorials, meeting officials, pitting her wits against those parasites, fighting Wei Yang for power, and dealing with natural and man-made disasters until the day the dynasty finally collapsed.
That was her fate if she entered the capital.
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.