Tiger-Visaged Xiao Qinhe

From kings to commoners, whenever men contend with one another, they will first clear away the outsiders, or else force the neutral to choose a side. Otherwise, before the tigers have even begun to fight, those on the sidelines are already finished. Yet what Lu Hongyan had just said made it plain enough: he wanted the Grand Chancellor to abandon the hidden dragon he had been supporting. Still, no matter how they looked at it, they were all subjects. Matters concerning the sovereign could not be spoken of recklessly, and certainly not in so many words.

At once, the Chancellor’s face went blank. His eyes fixed on Lu Hongyan without blinking. After a long while, Xiao Qinhe snatched up the jade pitcher on the table and hurled it straight at Lu Hongyan’s forehead, cursing, “You, Lu Hongyan, have a hell of a lot of nerve!”

Beside Lu Hongyan, Han Yan seemed to have forgotten the minister’s earlier warning. He moved on instinct to block the jade pitcher. But the instant he tried to settle his breath, the Chancellor suddenly flipped the table and flashed forward like a bolt of thunder, kicking this expert, who had once tested his spear against the Spear Immortal, clean out of the room.

Han Yan staggered to his feet, only to be kicked flying again by the Grand Chancellor.

This time he could only lie there, not daring to rise. Minister Lu simply sat where he was, showing no intention of speaking up for him.

The Grand Chancellor looked down at the Lu family’s guest retainer who did not dare stand, snorted coldly, and then turned back to his seat without a second glance. As for whether the man outside would dare crawl up again, that was no concern of his. After all, there was an old saying that the Chancellor’s belly could hold a ship. With a ship and one man pressing him down, how could the fellow possibly turn over?

Lu Hongyan ignored the man outside and continued speaking to the Chancellor. “Does Your Excellency know that fullness invites loss, and excess goes too far? For more than a decade, Your Excellency has repaired what was neglected and filled what was lacking. You have overseen the roadworks that opened the Brocade Road, built more post stations, united the six provinces of the Chen Kingdom, and made trade and travel far smoother and more efficient. You have encouraged scholars to enter office and take up governance, and you have also eased the burden of taxation. Even in the matter of the late Emperor’s campaign to bring the martial world to heel, Your Excellency played a leading role. That was due to your own talent and also to His Majesty’s wise use of men. The Chen Kingdom is prosperous now, yes, but if it is to endure, if it is to go even further, then policy must be changed.”

Lu Hongyan went on, “But Your Excellency should also understand the principle of retreating once success is complete. Otherwise, fortune and calamity become impossible to predict. To act against Heaven will surely end with one’s own head in ruins. General Mingze was the clearest example. When his merit rose too high and overshadowed the throne, the Emperor did not distrust him and still used him heavily, yet even so he could not escape the death destined for him in the end.”

The Grand Chancellor’s anger surged in an instant. He clenched his fist. Among all the ministers and generals under Heaven, scholars could not match his talent, nor could warriors rival his courage. He was a true tiger among officials. That same scholar’s fist, once clenched, could land on any civil official. If it fell now, Minister Lu would surely die here.

But after thinking it over and over again, the Grand Chancellor restrained himself. If he killed Lu Hongyan now, the faction behind him in court might collapse at once. And as chief minister, if he was seen abusing his office and using private punishment, everything he had planned and managed for so long would be seriously obstructed. In the end, he loosened his tiger fist and instead pointed at Lu Hongyan, shouting, “Lu Hongyan! You spread poisonous lies and slander a deceased meritorious subject. Believe me or not, I could take your life right now!”

Lu Hongyan showed no fear at all. Instead, he calmly took another sip of tea. The cup came down softly, and only then did he reply, “Naturally I believe you. His Majesty has granted Your Excellency the privilege to issue punishments without seeking imperial approval. Even if Your Excellency were to kill me now, no one would dare object. Just as the late Emperor trusted General Mingze, he could rest easy in all things.”

Xiao Qinhe, the Chancellor’s deputy, suddenly found himself admiring this minister. A scholar’s spine. At a time like this, he still dared hint that the Chancellor might end the same way as General Mingze.

The Grand Chancellor sat in silence for a long while.

Lu Hongyan knew the purpose of this visit had already been achieved, so he rose and cupped his hands in farewell.

After Lu Hongyan left, the Grand Chancellor finally muttered under his breath, “To hell with your mother.”

Lu Hongyan helped Han Yan toward the exit of the Chancellor’s residence. Once they were out through the gates, Han Yan pushed the minister away. Perhaps out of a certain awkward pride, he did not want anyone to see a grown man being supported as he left.

Lu Hongyan paid no heed to his refusal and firmly took hold of one of his hands, teasing him, “Didn’t you usually look down on civil officials? With me backing you, you stomped all over the officials of Jinyu City. So what happened today? Just because Xiao Qinhe outranks me, you took one kick and didn’t even dare stand up again. No, that’s not right — it was two kicks!”

Annoyed by the taunt, Han Yan asked instead, “Minister, how is that deputy chancellor still only in the Condensed Dao Realm?”

Lu Hongyan no longer mocked him, and explained, “Twenty-three years ago, when Zhang Mingze, the son of the Minister of Works, became Great General, and Xiao Qinhe became deputy chancellor, the Imperial Tutor Wang Qianzhong founded the Censorate and served as its superintendent. Those three were hailed as the kingdom’s three pillars of stability. Xiao Qinhe came from a family of military men, but in leading armies and commanding the Three Forces, he felt he could not compare with Zhang Mingze, so he stepped back and took the post of chancellor instead. At first, all the civil officials looked down on him. Memorial after memorial was submitted to impeach him. But as that chancellor gradually revealed his talent and his bearing, the officials slowly shut their mouths. Who would have thought that this man was in truth a genuine double laureate in both civil and martial achievements?”

Han Yan gave a wry smile. “A rare creature indeed. A man who shames scholars and makes warriors blush.”

Lu Hongyan looked up at the weather. It truly seemed it was about to rain. He hurried into the carriage, and Han Yan took the reins and drove them back to the residence.

Along the way, Lu Hongyan said to Han Yan, “Still, it is a pity it has come to this. Seventeen years ago, after the plague at Deer Peace Valley, the Great General died for the nation, and the whole kingdom was secure. The Imperial Tutor Wang Qianzhong withdrew from the world to pursue the martial path, and to this day there has been no news of him. Of the three pillars of Chen, only one remains. How could the storm be held back then? The Chen Kingdom needs a new ever-victorious general, or else a monarch who can wield thunder and iron.”

The woman inside the carriage kept her ears closed to it. Affairs of state, no matter when, had nothing to do with a woman like her. And as for Han Yan, a brute who sought only the martial path, he cared even less about the rise and fall of nations. So when Lu Hongyan said this, Han Yan remained as calm as ever.

Seeing that the martial expert was utterly indifferent, Lu Hongyan finally revealed the other purpose of this trip. “To be honest, bringing you to meet Xiao Qinhe was also for your sake. There are countless heroes under Heaven. Your talent is not poor. If you are willing to curb your pride, I believe you will one day stand across from the Spear Immortal again.”

Han Yan gave a faint, unreadable smile.

Naturally, Minister Lu did not know what he was thinking. Han Yan suddenly snapped the reins and urged the horses onward with all haste, determined to reach their destination before the rain came down. Minister Lu smiled with satisfaction, even happier than if his own worthless son had at last repented and returned to the right path.