How To Survive as a Villain-Chapter 42: The Necessary Conditions for Doting on the Male Lead.
After listening to Xiao YuAn’s method, Yan HeQing asked lightly: “Wouldn’t such a big move inevitably lead to a turmoil?”
“Yes, definitely.” Xiao YuAn’s voice was relaxed and he was smiling happily. He stopped to play with the snow accumulated on the railings of the corridor and said: “Since ancient times, the in-laws’ relatives have been in charge of politics. And since I don’t have any concubines, some people with political power can only rely on the male concubines. How many male relatives of high-ranking officials are part of the harem? So, if I dismiss all the male concubines, I will definitely make some people go into panic.”
“So you want to centralize power1? Suppress them?” Yan HeQing looked at Xiao YuAn, who was rolling the snow and making two big snowballs, putting one on top of the other.
“It doesn’t count. After all, they’re not real concubines. They don’t have official ranks2, those people are mainly there to please the Emperor. I’m actually more worried about you.”
“Me?”
“Yes.” Xiao YuAn looked around for some time. He found two thin branches and inserted them at the sides of the snowball, making it into a little snowman. Then, he looked up and smiled at Yan HeQing: “Right now you’re part of the three thousand beauties in the harem, and these three thousand share the same love with you.”
“Not to mention that there’s someone inside the Jing Yang Palace that is jealous of you and wants to see you die. You’re the Prince of the Southern Yan Kingdom, and I’m the Emperor of the Northern Kingdom. Do you know what it’s called if the rumor that I love you and favor you alone comes out of the Palace? It’s called cluster chaos. This type of thing is too unpleasant to listen to, and I don’t want you to bear this kind of judgment. So I will just dismiss the harem and let the world know that I don’t like men anymore.” Xiao YuAn used his fingers to draw the eyes and the mouth to the little snowman, and then clapped the snow off his hands.
Yan HeQing went silent. His unique face was covered by the thin moonlight and his expression couldn’t be seen clearly.
“Let’s go, it’s too cold outside.” Xiao YuAn, who just had a good time playing with the snow a few moments ago, should already know that it was extremely cold. He wrapped his robe tightly and jokingly hit Yan HeQing with his shoulder.
Yan HeQing returned to reality, and nodded gently.
The next day, there was a great disturbance in Jing Yang Palace.
Because earlier during the morning Court, the Emperor said to all the civil and military officials that he would keep Filial Piety3 and abstinence for the late Emperor’s death, lasting for three years.
Everyone went dumbfounded.
It has already been almost a year since the late Emperor died. What do you mean by “Filial Piety”?
When the late Emperor died, do you know how many people advised you to keep Filial Piety, and be away from your lovers. What does it mean that you suddenly want to fucking stay away from them?
For a while, the Imperial Court that was fully packed with people going up and down. There were a lot of discussions and talking about everything.
Xiao YuAn didn’t care so much about these matters, so he asked Hong Xiu to gather all of the male concubines to the main courtyard of the Jing Yang Palace.
As the president of a company, Xiao YuAn knows how to appease the dismissed employees.
Compensatory payment, find a way out, a happy dismissal for me and for you too.
In other words, the compensation was high enough that they’ll find a better way of living. Everything will be fine.
Facing the group of kneeling male concubines, Hong Xiu slowly explained Xiao YuAn’s preparations for filial piety: “His Majesty remembers the feelings shared in bed, so he will reward all of you with a hundred liang4 of gold. After you receive the reward, all of you must go back, pack your belongings and leave the Imperial Palace.”
One hundred liang of gold! This wasn’t a small amount. If it weren’t from the house of a high-ranking official or a merchant’s home, it would be completely impossible to see so much gold in one’s lifetime.
But no one dared to make a move, fearing that this was the Emperor’s way of testing their hearts and fidelity. They were terrified of getting up, of their heads falling on the ground.
Xiao YuAn smiled helplessly and couldn’t help thinking; The obscene impression this Young Monarch left on these people is a little deep-rooted: “Add another reward. If any of you used to be an official, you can be restored to your original post.”
There was a dead silence in the main courtyard of Jing Yang Palace. There was someone with his head lowered and his hands on the ground were slowly clenched into fists. The gravel on the ground bruised his fingernails and punctured his fingertips, making his palms covered in blood. Then, he stood up.
Xiao YuAn looked at Qin Yu. He was still dressed in red clothes, and his look remained as charming as ever, but his expression was far different from the one he had when he first met him.
Qin Yu bowed his head, and step by step, he left the courtyard in a heavy and slow manner. He never gave Xiao YuAn a look from the beginning to the end.
Xiao YuAn always felt that he should say something to Qin Yu, but he didn’t know what to say.
It’s like in the original book.
When the Young Monarch saw Qin Yu for the first time, his mouth was wide open, but he was like a prepubescent boy. His face blushed for a long time, and in the end, he couldn’t utter a word.
And again, like in the original book.
When the Northern Kingdom was destroyed, the Young Monarch poisoned all of the male concubines. But when Qin Yu was about to drink the poisoned wine, he slapped the porcelain cup out of his hands.Then, he opened his mouth to say something, but instead, he silently sobbed.
Still, like in the original book.
When the Young Monarch was about to escape to the North, countless people told him that Qin Yu was going to betray him. But he just snorted codly and didn’t respond.
And more like in the original book.
Even after the Young Monarch was betrayed by Qin Yu and was captured by Yan HeQing in front of the Imperial Palace’s gate, he still struggled and shouted: “You tell Qin Yu! That I…I…”
What was behind those words, he didn’t say them until he died.
After Qin Yu left peacefully, many people started to stand up and walk away in a hurry. At the end, there were five people left behind kneeling on the ground, four of them were shivering with fear. But there was a particular young man sitting with his back straight, his eyes lowered and his hands clenched into a fist. His kneeling posture was so unique that Xiao YuAn couldn’t help but stare at him more.
“Were you sent here by Wuning Wangye?” Xiao YuAn asked the four terrified men.
The four men looked at each other and nodded.
“You can go back. Wuning Wangye won’t do anything to you.” Xiao YuAn kindly persuaded them.
The four men were still hesitant, but Hong Xiu grew impatient, so she maliciously said: “Why are you waiting to get lost? Do you want to lose your heads?”
Only then did the four men finally get up and hurriedly left the courtyard in panic. The only one left behind was the young man, calmly kneeling without uttering a single word. Hong Xiu was about to threaten him with vicious words when she was stopped by Xiao YuAn.
“Your Majesty.” The young man slowly said: “I don’t want the one hundred liang of gold.”
“Then what do you want?” Xiao YuAn became more interested in him.
The young man raised his head, his eyes were like burning torches5: “I want to be a soldier.”
Become a soldier? Did he hear right?!
Young man, you’re no longer a clear stream, you’re now a mountain waterfall.
Xiao YuAn asked: “What’s your name?”
The young man replied: “Xie Chungui.”
Xiao YuAn breathed in abruptly, and he didn’t slow down. Choking with his own saliva, he hammered his chest heavily, and then said: “Xie… Xie what?”
“Xie Chungui.”
Xie?! Chun?! Gui?!
Why would such a strong, hot bloodied man be selected to be a soft and charming man to warm the Imperial bed? Xie Chungui was a legend in the original book.
In the original book, after General Sun got angry with the Emperor and returned home, there were only two Generals left in the Northern Kingdom.
However, when the enemy is putting you under pressure: From the two Generals, one was defeated by Yan HeQing, became a traitor, and joined him. The other General packed up his belongings and ran away when the enemy approached.
Under the circumstances of Yin and Yang, the task of leading the army to defeat the enemy was handed over to Xie Chungui.
Unfortunately, Xie Chungui was too young to be trusted by the soldiers. In the end, the good Northern army rebelled and escaped.
As a result, Xie Chungui relied on his own strength and led the disabled and injured soldiers to defeat the enemy. They blocked Yan HeQing at the border of the Northern Kingdom for about half a month.
It can be said that he was a strong opponent in the career of Yan HeQing as a male lead.
For the Northern Kingdom, Xie Chungui was like electricity! He was like the light! He’s the legendary myth among the group of blind and barbaric villains!
At this time, Xiao YuAn couldn’t help but scream inside his heart: Why are you in Jing Yang Palace!! Why aren’t you in the military camp!!! You can’t die an early life!!! Will you be able to fight for the Northern Kingdom by then!!! Will you be directly rubbed to the ground by Yan HeQing!
Footnotes:
Footnotes
集权 jí quán; the concentration of the power under an Emperor or party. Is a kind of system of state power. In China, this form originated in the Qin Dynasty [221-206 BC] and reached its peak in the Qing Dynasty [1644-1912 AC]. This system is usually compared with autocracy, but there isn’t an actual relationship between them. In addition, it’s also compared with several regimes with larger local power. Nowadays, most countries in the world are unitary and belong to a centralized system.Imperial Harem: In an official Imperial Harem, the female concubines would have rank and power. If the Emperor favored one over the other, they would rise in rank and power. Higher Rank=More Power. The highest rank belongs to the Empress, and only the Mother of the Emperor ranks above the Empress. The Empresses who outlived their husbands were promoted to the rank of Empress Dowager. Since the concubines would warm the bed of the Emperor, they would: know the secrets of the Emperor (what his plans are), and give ideas / suggestions to the Emperor. Occasionally, High Ranking Families would introduce family members to the Imperial Harem in hopes of gaining more political leverage and or favor. In this story’s case, since the concubines are male, they don’t have any political power of titles. If these male concubines have powerful family members, they can still try to gain favor / political advantage for their families since they serve the Emperor.孝 xiào; In Confucianism, Chinese Buddhism and Taoism ethics, Filial Piety is a virtue of respect for one’s parents, elders and ancestors. In general terms, Filial Piety means to be good to one’s parents; to take care of one’s parents; to engage in good conduct not just towards parents but also outside the home so as to bring a good name to one’s parents and ancestors; to show love, respect and support; display courtesy; to ensure male heirs, uphold fraternity among brothers; wisely advise one’s parents, including dissuading them from moral unrighteousness; display sorrow for their sickness and death; to bury them and carry out sacrifices after their death.两 liǎng; also known as Tael, is an unit of weight equal to 50 grams. It appeared in China before the Han dynasty [202–220 AD].目光如炬 mù guāng rú jù; It’s a Chinese idiom, describes an angry look. It’s also used to describe bright eyes / Looking ahead with wisdom / Farsighted. From 《南史·檀道济传》(nán shǐ·tán dào jì chuán), “History of the Southern Dynasties: The Biography of Tan Daoji”. A compilation by (李延寿 lǐ yán shòu) Li Yanshou, a compiler of History of the Southern and Northern Dynasties.
