Rain had been falling intermittently for three or four days, but on the day Wang Dian went to court, it finally cleared up.
As the sun rose, Wang Dian, dressed in his official attire, entered the great hall and was met with countless inquisitive gazes. Unperturbed, he walked to his designated spot, his eyes downcast and demeanor aloof, so much so that no one approached him for conversation.
Liang Ye emerged from behind the council hall, his gaze accurately finding Wang Dian. Monarch and minister faced each other; Liang Ye’s emotions were indiscernible in front of the dragon throne, while Wang Dian was calm and composed in the court. The intimacy they once shared seemed suddenly distant and unfamiliar amidst the chorus of “Long live His Majesty” and the rustling of sleeves.
Standing straight amidst the kneeling ministers, Wang Dian caught Liang Ye’s slowly narrowing eyes and the subtle movement of his hands behind his back.
He did not bid anyone to rise but instead kept his gaze fixed on the only two still standing in the hall, with a playful yet determined look.
Wang Dian curved his lips slightly, lifted the front of his official robe, and knelt on the cold ground with crossed hands covering his forehead in a proper gesture of fealty.
“Rise,” commanded Liang Ye with a sweep of his long sleeve before taking his seat on the dragon throne.
For the first time, Wang Dian viewed the dragon throne and its occupant from a subject’s perspective. The stark contrast between looking down and looking up left him somewhat dazed.
Amidst the voices of ministers discussing state affairs, Liang Ye’s indifferent yet haughty expression was devastatingly attractive.
“Wang Dian, what is your view on this matter?” Liang Ye suddenly turned to him.
Wang Dian snapped back to reality, his tongue still bitter with the aftertaste of voice-changing drugs. Lowering his gaze, he stepped forward. “This minister believes that the Grand Empress Dowager’s birthday banquet should be grandly celebrated. It would not only demonstrate Your Majesty’s filial piety but also showcase our Liang country’s magnificence…”
In the court, every issue was subject to tug-of-war among various factions. Wang Dian spoke eloquently and returned to his place amidst the clamor, stealing a glance at Liang Ye.
Liang Ye rested his head on one hand, smiling as he watched the ministers argue below. His gaze did not settle on anything concrete; even Wang Dian had to admit that Liang Ye exuded an authoritative presence just by sitting there. The cunning and decisiveness hidden behind his smile were no less formidable than his madness and caprice.
“The matter of the birthday banquet shall be entrusted to Wang Dian.”
With a single sentence, the full court’s clamor was silenced.
Wang Dian did not belong to any faction, nor to any noble family; he was the first “own person” that Liang Ye had openly put forward.
He was a pawn used by the Emperor to explore the way, a glaring target set up, and also the first knife he wielded to truly start meddling in politics. All kinds of crushing and suspicions would fall upon him, and a slight misstep would lead to irreversible doom.
“This minister accepts the decree.” Wang Dian smiled, bowed to express his gratitude, and then stood straight, exchanging looks with Liang Ye.
An unspoken understanding passed between them, neither willing to give in.
After the court was dismissed, Wang Dian was led by Yun Fu to the Imperial Study. As soon as he entered, Yun Fu led everyone else out.
Wang Dian hadn’t even had a chance to see where Liang Ye was before he was grabbed by the arms and pressed against the desk at the door, enveloped in a domineering and familiar scent that wrapped him tightly. Before he could even open his mouth to speak, his mouth was covered.
Liang Ye’s kisses were always straightforward and rough, carrying a wild, invasive, and aggressive quality. Wang Dian’s fingers dug into his hair as he struggled to breathe, pulling him back and grabbing for air, only to be submerged again in the torrent of kisses.
This madman didn’t care about anything, and Wang Dian was panting slightly, glaring at him. Liang Ye licked the wound on his mouth, “You look very good in that official uniform.”
Wang Dian thought that Liang Ye’s grip had become even tighter, “Don’t you have anything to say to Zhen?”
“Uh?” Wang Dian looked at him uncertainly.
Liang Ye didn’t show any expression, staring at him for a while before suddenly bursting into laughter, then kissed him warmly, and pulled him up to sit on his lap. He pulled out a letter from his sleeve and waved it slowly in front of him.
Wang Dian reached out to take it, but Liang Ye dodged it lightly, displeased, “It’s been a few days since we last met, and you won’t even kiss Zhen once.”
“I just kissed a dog?” Wang Dian coldly glared at him.
“It’s different.” Liang Ye buried his face in his neck, lightly scratching it, and spoke softly, “Kiss the face.”
Wang Dian stroked his nape, leaned in to kiss his earlobe, and then kissed his cheek, his voice carrying a hint of unfamiliar roughness and hoarseness, “Like this?”
Liang Ye relaxed against the desk, satisfied, “Just barely.”
Wang Dian touched his earlobe, pinched it, “If you don’t wear something, it’ll grow in.”
Liang Ye raised an eyebrow, “Don’t like wearing.”
As soon as he finished speaking, his earlobe began to sting slightly. Wang Dian’s gaze focused on Liang Ye’s slightly swollen earlobe, and Liang Ye touched it, only feeling a small, hard object slightly larger than a grain of rice, “What is it?”
“It’s an earring, made by myself.” Wang Dian spread his hand, revealing another one, a small, black, and slightly angular trinket, “It’s a bit rough, and I can’t find good materials yet, so you’ll have to wear it for now.”
Liang Ye turned his head, indicating for Wang Dian to put it on, and Wang Dian did, putting the other one on as well. Liang Ye looked at his ears, “What about yours?”
“I don’t need to wear them.” Wang Dian paused, then said, “Besides, if we both wear the same earrings, those ministers might go crazy.”
Liang Ye didn’t respond, lifted his hand to touch Wang Dian’s ear, stroked it twice, and then pulled off the mask covering his face, revealing a face identical to his own.
Cold fingers lightly touched his eyebrows and eyes, Wang Dian subconsciously closed his eyes, and grasped Liang Ye’s hand.
“What’s the point of sending this?” Liang Ye opened the envelope with one hand and shook off the stacked letter paper.
“Just as a return gift for the jade pendant.” Wang Dian played with his earlobe, “Don’t like it?”
Without waiting for Liang Ye to speak, Wang Dian said unhurriedly, “Even if you don’t like it, wear it for me.”
Liang Ye hugged him and laughed happily, handing him the letter.
Wang Dian sat on his lap and read through the letter at a glance, then said indifferently, “Eastern Chen wants to send a princess for a marriage alliance?”
“The old woman has already agreed,” Liang Ye leaned back, his elbow lazily propped on the table, unwilling to miss any expression on his face. Seeing him stand up without hesitation, Liang Ye instinctively reached for his sleeve, “Zhen will absolutely not—”
“Why would Eastern Chen send a princess for a marriage alliance at this time?” Wang Dian turned his head to look at the hand grasping his sleeve, his eyebrows slightly moving, “You absolutely will not what?”
“…Marry someone else.” Liang Ye said frankly, “Zhen will only marry you.”
Wang Dian laughed teasingly, “Why isn’t it me marrying you?”
Liang Ye said enthusiastically, “Of course that’s possible. Zhen will marry you first, then you can marry Zhen back. You will be Zhen’s empress, and Zhen will be the lady of your mansion. It would be best if you could also earn Zhen an imperial command.”
Wang Dian’s mouth twitched; he could never match such bizarre thoughts.
“What is the Lintu Alliance mentioned in the letter?” Wang Dian found it familiar but couldn’t recall where he had read about it in the history books.
“Liang’s capital was once called Lintu,” Liang Ye walked over to him and said solemnly, “Two hundred years ago after the internal chaos of the Da’an dynasty, there were endless wars everywhere until a hundred years ago when Southern Zhao, Northern Liang, and Eastern Chen barely formed a tripartite stand. Seventy years ago, the monarchs of the three countries gathered in Lintu and made an alliance not to invade each other, to intermarry and help each other. That was the Lintu Alliance.”
With this reminder, Wang Dian finally had an impression and wondered, “But not long after the alliance was made, Southern Zhao tore up the agreement. Wasn’t it invalidated?”
“It was only invalidated by default among the three countries, but no one ever mentioned it openly. Otherwise, what do you think gave Cui Yuxian the right to enter the palace? Her maternal uncle is the monarch of Eastern Chen.” Liang Ye sneered. “Liang Gao was so debauched and unambitious that he let Cui Yuxian hold power for so many years. Zhen will dig up his grave sooner or later.”
Wang Dian choked up slightly with a complex expression, “Let’s not do that; after all, he is your biological grandfather.”
But upon further thought, it was indeed infuriating. Back then, Liang country was the strongest among the three nations and the most likely to unify the world. However, ever since Cui Yuxian took over, the national power had declined. If not for its strong foundation, it might not have been able to hold up until now.
He walked to the side hall and crouched down to look at the sand table with the map of the four countries. To the west of Eastern Chen was Southern Zhao, Northwest connected to Northern Liang, Northeast to Loufan, and Southeast bordered by the sea. Since Shen Yao ascended the throne, he reformed the economic system, promoting commercial prosperity, opening up fisheries and forests, and vigorously developing the fishing and salt industries. Not only Zhao and Liang countries but even Loufan, Southern Border, and many other small countries outside depended heavily on their salt industry. Eastern Chen had many rich merchants, far surpassing Southern Zhao and Northern Liang…
“In recent years, Eastern Chen and Loufan have fought frequently, gaining many warhorses from Loufan,” Wang Dian said with his sleeves tucked in. “Shen Yao probably has long harbored the ambition to unify the world. Cui Yuxian has been able to make trouble in Liang country for so long; he must have exerted quite a bit of effort.”
“This time for Cui Yuxian’s birthday banquet, envoys from Eastern Chen, Southern Zhao, and even Loufan have been sent.” Liang Ye ,didn’t know where he got a twig from, pointed at the location of the capital with it. “Zhen speculates that Shen Yao wants to use this opportunity to openly use Zhen to destroy the Lintu Alliance so that he can send troops openly.”
Wang Dian raised an eyebrow, “You think Eastern Chen will make the first move?”
“The new emperor of Southern Zhao has just ascended the throne not long ago; he still has a mess of his own to clean up and doesn’t have the leisure to attack Northern Liang.” Liang Ye looked down and said, “Zhen is only afraid that if Loufan and Eastern Chen attack from both sides, Southern Zhao might take advantage of the situation to get a share of the pie but won’t be the main force.”
“Does Commander Jiao also think so?” Wang Dian asked.
Liang Ye glanced at him and nodded, “With Jiao Wenbai holding down the south, we can hold on for another year or so. Without Wei Wanlin in the north, it’s like paper walls; we must replace Cui Jin as soon as possible. But behind Cui Jin is Cui Yuxian; Zhen must take back control of the northern army before she makes her move on the southern army.”
Wang Dian stared at the sand table under his feet; Liang Ye’s serious demeanor was rare to see, and likewise, it was also a signal for cooperation from Liang Ye.
“This birthday banquet is crucial.” Liang Ye tapped his hand back lightly with the twig. “Zhen knows you and Wen Zong want to take your time with this matter, but you’ve also seen what happened with the imperial examination fraud case; delaying will only lead to a quicker death.”
Wang Dian reached out to hold the end of the twig and looked up at him, “Then let’s cut through this mess swiftly.”
Liang Ye hooked his mouth at him, “Even if it means nine deaths and one life?” (TL: describes a very dangerous situation where survival is highly unlikely, with only a slim chance of coming out alive.)
“If I were afraid of death and greedy for life, it would be a waste of your planning.” Wang Dian smiled faintly. “I’m still waiting for the glory and wealth that comes with my reward.”
Liang Ye looked deeply at him, “Zhen naturally will not break Zhen’s promise.”
