From CEO to Concubine-Chapter 214: By His Side

"Oh my, to what do I owe this honour?"

Upon receiving the private invitation to meet the famous courtesan, Yu Lan, Xie Qinzhen became the envy of all the other men in the room but he knew that his luck had run out. In truth, it wasn’t as though he was trying to conceal his identity; after sifting through the capital in search of Chun Xue’s whereabouts, from the seediest of bathhouses to the grandest of brothels but to no avail, he knew that he had to broaden his hunting ground.

He didn’t believe that Chun Xue’s particular looks hadn’t gone unnoticed by the rich and powerful men who played games in the capital. The reason why he’d been brought away in the first place was already suspicious at best. If Xie Qinzhen didn’t manage to solve this for his father, they might become tangled up in a mess big enough to bring imperial wrath down upon them.

And this wasn’t the intention. The Prince Subduer of the Seas was a brave general but not an ambitious one. The move to curb the warlords’ influence on the country was not something they were willing to risk their stable lives to fight against, not when they had a rare liege who had only proven himself so far to be just and fair.

Just and fair and...currently playing chess in front of him with a slender young man whose face was partially obscured behind loose curtains. Yu Lan herself was nowhere to be seen but Xie Qinzhen hadn’t expected to lay eyes upon her anyway. He ought to be grateful, he supposed, that he wasn’t already fighting for his life.

The last time Xie Qinzhen had seen Emperor Xuanjun was when he was just a young lad of ten or eleven. Back then, the emperor, the illustrious crown prince of the kingdom, had yet to ascend to the throne. Xie Qinzhen, who was visiting the capital for the first time with permission from the then emperor, hadn’t had any friends to take him around and show him who’s who. As a result, he hadn’t recognised Emperor Xuanjun or his handsome companions, had just assumed they were the prestigious sons of noblemen out in town for a day of revelry.

But his gaze had been drawn to them; he had to admit, he’d always had a good eye for beauty and neither Emperor Xuanjun nor his friends, particularly the one who had stayed close by his side for the entire time Xie Qinzhen had been observing them, had to sort of looks that one could forget.

Now, the edges of that handsome albeit youthful face had sharpened like a blade and the carefree brightness of Emperor Xuanjun’s eyes had retreated into the deep unfathomable depths of his pupils.

If his happiness back then had been palpable, his mood right now was downright unreadable. Xie Qinzhen couldn’t tell what he was thinking and knew that trying to guess what was on an emperor’s mind was one of the biggest taboos an official could commit.

...ah, to what did he owe this honour indeed. If it was just to arrest and execute him for leaving his father’s territory without imperial permission, then this was very much a case of using an ox cleaver to kill a chicken (1). Having the brocade guard show up to ’escort’ him to prison would have sufficed.

Xie Qinzhen raised an eyebrow inwardly but didn’t miss a beat as he fell to one knee in a picture-perfect military salute. As a soldier, he was exempt from falling to both knees to prostrate himself on the ground in imperial presence as a commoner would do.

Still, he didn’t speak until the clicking of a black chess piece on the wooden board and the imposing figure above him said, "You may speak your mind."

...Xie Qinzhen hadn’t noticed the presence of any guards outside the room, which could only mean that he was likely surrounded at this very moment by the fabled shadow guard. He’d never met one in person but of course, the gossip spread through the upper echelon’s circles of their presence. As someone highly skilled in martial arts, the idea that he was being watched by hidden eyes made the hairs on the back of his neck stand. It was rather akin to standing in a nest of vipers but not knowing where they were lying in wait for the opportune moment to strike.

He didn’t let his discomfort show, lowering his head in a perfunctory bow as he said, "This guilty subject, Xie Qinzhen, greets Your Majesty. May Your Majesty live for ten thousand years."

"Rise."

Xie Qinzhen remained where he was.

"This guilty subject begs Your Majesty for clemency."

"What are you guilty of?"

The emperor’s demeanour was calm. His gaze flickered to the face of the person seated opposite him and his eyes crinkled as he diverted the conversation back to his chess game. "Zitong hesitates?"

A soft chuckle reached Xie Qinzhen’s ears.

Zitong. It occurred to Xie Qinzhen just who the person seated across from the emperor was.

A sense of incredulity filled his chest—he couldn’t believe that the ruler of the kingdom would allow his empress to show up in a brothel, even if accompanied—but it was flavoured with a dash of envy.

The rumours of His Majesty’s obsession with his male concubine had spread to the country’s borders and naturally made its way around the grapevine in the East. It was no secret that His Majesty had replaced his lost love with another and many had made jokes about how sparrows could indeed become phoenixes. Before today, Xie Qinzhen had never actively participated in the insults but he had seen where they were coming from; he hadn’t thought that the emperor could be capable of dedicating his affections to just one sole individual.

It wasn’t that he didn’t believe in his character or that he didn’t believe that love could be exclusive. But the emperors of the Liu lineage were not known for fidelity and the inner palace was one of the most convoluted places in the world to navigate without stumbling into a pitfall.

A flash of white, a moonlit bridge; could he one day also have the freedom to walk under the sun hand in hand with his beloved?

"In response to Your Majesty, this consort is just wondering what move to make next," the empress responded. "If I put a piece down here, would Your Majesty mind?"

A soft fair hand picked up a white chess piece, gently nestled between a delicate set of index and middle fingers like its owner was elegantly plucking a flower petal off a branch.

Xie Qinzhen didn’t raise his head but look but the note of amusement in His Majesty’s voice was audible. Despite the official titles they used to address each other—and Xie Qinzhen had a suspicion that they were only using them because they had an audience to put on a show for—their interaction was so natural, so light. It was nothing like how he’d imagined the imperial couple would be like, as though they truly were just like any other husband and wife sharing a commonplace but fulfilling life together.

"That move is illegal. And also, Zitong, it’s a move that will benefit this sovereign, are you sure you wish to make it?"

"Will Your Majesty let me make it?"

"I don’t see why I shouldn’t. After all, it is to my benefit, or is it not?"

...

If Xie Qinzhen couldn’t detect the underlying message, he would be ashamed to call himself a noble. With gratitude easing up his throat, he didn’t miss a beat as he said, "Your Majesty, this guilty subject humbly begs for the chance to explain why I defied imperial orders and left the Prince Subduer of the Seas’ territory."

The emperor didn’t raise his head, engrossed as he was in trapping the empress’ white soldiers as they tried coyly to flee from his ambush. "I’m listening."

"This subject is chasing the trail of a famous male courtesan, Chun Xue, renowned in the East for his...supposed resemblance to...Empress Fengjun."

The room fell silent as two pairs of eyes landed on him. Gut instinct told him it would be a bad idea now to raise his head and try and catch a glimpse of the infamous beauty who had rendered the most powerful man in this kingdom so besotted with him.

Xie Qinzhen was very good at following his gut instinct. It had saved him from many a trap set by cunning enemies and he had an inkling it would keep him from the executioner’s block.

In the end, it was the empress who spoke.

"Has Heir Subduer of the Seas found this Chun Xue?"

Xie Qinzhen sighed imperceptibly. "Unfortunately, no. The trail has run cold and in all honesty, this subject is at a loss as to how to proceed." Otherwise, he wouldn’t be here trying to use himself as bait. Who would have thought that he’d catch the biggest fish in the pond?

And it was a fish that he daredn’t cook and eat too.

"Mm. And this palace suspects you won’t find him anymore."

Before Xie Qinzhen could ask why, the empress offered up a generous explanation and he had to listen with a sinking heart about the male prostitute who had been given like a toy to the barbarian prince and how he’d been part of an assassination that had ignited the flames of war.

Gritting his teeth, Xie Qinzhen lowered his head even further in a show of humility as he said, "This subject begs for Your Majesty’s understanding. But this subject’s father was not involved. In fact, this subject’s father had feared this would happen, that our loyalties to Your Majesty would inadvertently be called into question..." His father’s intuition was as keen as ever and Xie Qinzhen could understand why he had been sent to solve this problem but it appeared that he was already too late.

He expected Emperor Xuanjun to rebuke him, maybe even mock him for thinking that a cry of innocence would be enough to convince a naturally suspicious liege that they didn’t play a part in the nefarious ploys that had led to the current unrest but Emperor Xuanjun simply nodded.

"Don’t use those you suspect, don’t suspect those you use." Emperor Xuanjun caught at the sly little hand that was trying to shift a piece surreptitiously when he was otherwise distracted by the conversation. "Xie Qinzhen, this sovereign has always admired your father’s masterful command of the navy and would be more than a fool to toss aside an invaluable military family without any evidence of treason. Since this sovereign is already seated on this throne, I would quite like to continue doing so without being ’invited’ to step aside. In which case, I would require people on my side who would like to keep me where I am, would I not?"

Xie Qinzhen sucked in a deep breath.

"Your Majesty, this subject would very much like to keep you where you are too," was what he chose to say. He was aware that he had to be cautious, was very likely to be walking right into a sticky situation but at the same time—he thought with some good-natured rue—it wasn’t like he had a choice. The emperor had already caught him by the tail. Xie Qinzhen was certain that if he so much as gave any indication that he was not ready or willing to become a sword in imperial hands, then when dawn broke over the horizon, his execution would be the first to take place in the eastern market square, his father would be the first warlord to lose his title and for treason, the east would be the first territory the imperial army marched against to reclaim absolute governing rights to.

"That’s what this sovereign is hoping to hear." The emperor’s tone was satisfied. "In which case, since Beloved Subject Xie is here already, there is no need to return to the East. Your father is more than capable of handling the seas without your assistance, you are needed elsewhere. This sovereign is aware that I am asking a lot of you, of course. You may state your wishes. A new title, perhaps? A dukedom would not be inappropriate should you prove successful where others have failed."

...it wasn’t even like he could tread carefully right? No amount of wariness would prevent him from rejecting direct orders from the emperor, especially not when his entire family was at stake.

"What would Your Majesty have me do?"

But Emperor Xuanjun didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he looked at his beloved again and mused, "Tell me, how is Young Master Lu these days?"

Xie Qinzhen forgot all protocol, his head shooting up in alarm as he regarded his liege and his empress with a blatant wariness that would have been chastised by any other emperor apart from this one.

"This subject has not seen Young Master Lu ever since we parted ways after a brief moment spent together," he said, unable to conceal some of the frost that crept into his voice.

Emperor Xuanjun hummed thoughtfully. "A wise choice on your part."

"Albeit," Fengjun added apropos of nothing, "one that has offended him." 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Emperor Xuanjun laughed. "That is so."

It was painfully obvious that neither of them bought Xie Qinzhen’s rough pretence of distancing himself from Lu Lan. Xie Qinzhen had to laugh too, rather self-disparagingly; how ironic was it that the only person who seemed to have bought into his cruel abandonment was Lu Lan himself?

"An admirable attempt at protecting him but not good enough," the emperor surmised. "Beloved Subject Xie might be unaware but upon Young Master Lu’s return to the capital last week, he had oh-so-coincidentally run into the horse carriage of the current tanhua, the third graduate, who required assistance with a broken wheel. Do you know who was behind that little serendipitous meeting?"

"Who?" There was a note of surprise in Fengjun’s voice as he asked the question that seared its way up Xie Qinzhen’s throat, leaving a burning jealousy behind.

"My dear fourth brother."

The fourth prince. Xie Qinzhen felt his heart clench. Although the bright prince of the first rank had spent years cultivating a gentlemanly image in public, he’d heard some stories dug out deep from the recesses of the lowest of the low in society and he didn’t want the man coming anywhere near Lu Lan.

"Your Majesty," he said solemnly, with none of the charms he was wont to display in conversation. "If you wish for this subject to die on your behalf, you only have to command it. In return, this subject does not wish for a dukedom, to become a marquis or any other noble title. This subject just humbly begs that you...help me keep him safe."

This was as good a confession as it could get. Revealing his weakness to his sovereign was a double-edged sword. On one hand, Xie Qinzhen knew that Emperor Xuanjun would sleep better knowing he had an edge over this new dog he had just managed to tame. On the other, it meant that should push come to shove, Emperor Xuanjun could use his weaknesses against him.

He could only hope that his father, the most loyal of supporters of this young liege, was as good a judge of character as he made himself out to be.

Emperor Xuanjun seemed pleased with his request. "Consider it done," he said. "Zitong here already has a plan in mind, one which this sovereign thinks will be a very practical solution to your current problems."

"This subject is all ears."

"Good. Then come tomorrow, you will attend court with me and take on the role of the new commanding officer of the southwestern army."

Xie Qinzhen had to gawk at him. "Your...Majesty?" Warfare was warfare but he wasn’t skilled in the terrain in the southwest; his style in the navy was not suited for the guerrilla tactics of the jungle.

"What this sovereign wants is your talent at managing an army and your ability to navigate the tricky political situation in the southwest. As for the terrain and the battle tactics to be implemented, fear not, this sovereign has already arranged for an assistant general for you."

...no further information was forthcoming and Xie Qinzhen didn’t know whether he dared to ask.

Fengjun placed the final piece down on the chessboard but didn’t start counting the pieces to determine who won.

It wasn’t like it mattered anyway. Xie Qinzhen had a feeling that they had been playing him far more than they’d been playing chess.

"As for your Young Master Lu," Fengjun said—this time, there was nothing to stop Xie Qinzhen from catching sight of his arresting face and he had to admit that Chun Xue paled in comparison, "You were valiant at trying to keep him hidden from the attention of your enemies but unfortunately they caught on before you were successful. Since that has already failed, don’t you think the right thing to do now would be to keep him by your side?"