Teng Yun felt that every day, he was more and more unable to read Xue Junliang, as his actions always contradicted Teng Yunâs first impression of him. The more Teng Yun thought he had Xue Junliang figured out, the more he would be surprised.
What did Xue Junliangâs intention in allowing Xue Houyang take Teng Shang along with him? Teng Yun always thought Xue Junliang didnât want his brother to have a feeling towards a man, let alone a man who came from their enemy country. He shouldnât want anyone seeing his younger brother as a joke.
Marquis Wannian, as a very influential nobleman, people might think it was not so surprising if he indulged in having a male lover, but surely it would affect their opinion of Xue Wang. But Xue Junliang, not only he never blamed Xue Houyang, he even allowed Xue Houyang take Teng Shang with him.
When Chen Yi finally left the flower garden, Xue Junliang noted the Empress was still frowning. He seemed to know what the Empress was thinking about because he smiled and said, âWhat is it that makes my Empress frown like this?â
As he said that, Xue Junliang reached his hand out and rubbed the space between Teng Yunâs eyebrows to smooth it.
Teng Yun dodged a little, but then was a bit shocked by his own reaction towards Xue Junliangâs touch. Instead of feeling panicked like he usually did, now he was already used to Xue Junliangâs various small touches. At first, he always felt disgusted, but nowadays he almost forgot to dodge. Since he started living in this Xue Countryâs Imperial Palace, heâd changed so much.
Xue Junliang said, âIs it because of Teng Shang? You were thinking why I allow him to go with Xue Houyang?â
Teng Yun didnât deny Xue Junliangâs guess, but it was confirmation enough.
Xue Junliang smiled and said, âI thought so. A usually calm and collected person like you frowning like that, it must be because of something related to Teng Shang.â
Teng Yun was a bit startled, âYour MajestyâŠâ
Xue Junliang waved a hand as if it was no big deal and said, âIf Teng Shang wasnât Marquis Wannianâs wife; seeing how deep your concerns towards him, I would have already forced him to commit suicide a long time ago⊠But now, not only you harboring feelings for him, even Houyang does too. As Houyangâs brother, I donât want Houyang loving another man, but I also know Houyangâs temperament; he is quite stubborn. I was hoping he would find a young lady he likes and then he would forget about his infatuation towards Teng Shang, but now I donât think that would ever happen.â
Hearing this, Teng Yun could feel how Xue Junliang truly cared about Xue Houyangâs feelings.
Having a male lover was actually not so uncommon in this society, but was still considered as unseemly. When a king took in a male lover, people would judge the king as an incapable ruler; they would never dare saying bad things in public, instead they would ridicule the king in private and in the safety of their own homes. When a nobleman took in a male lover, people would judge the nobleman as treacherous; even if the nobleman never did any crime in his life, he would be punished as if he was a traitor.
In other words, in this day and age, having a male lover was still something that the society would advise against.
Xue Junliang, as a king, could just prohibit something like this to happen, especially because it could damage his own reputation. But instead of considering what people might think, he was considering it from Xue Houyangâs perspective.
Teng Yun sighed. For the first time, he was thinking what would have happened if he was not from Teng Country. Maybe this king, who was so adamant in searching and recruiting talented people to his side, would seek out and give Teng Yun a position in the court where Teng Yun could help him manage the civil affairs. Or maybe, like Xue Houyang, Teng Yun would be stationed at the frontier and tasked to defend and protect the country.\n
Xue Junliang saw the Empressâ expression turned cloudy so he asked, âWhat is it? Are you not feeling well? Should we call the royal physician?â
Teng Yun bit his lower lip and said, âYour Majesty, you donât have to fuss over me this much.â
âWhy? Why do you suddenly say so?â Xue Junliang said with a smile, âIf I donât fuss over you, who else should I fuss over? Or are you uncomfortable with my fussing over you? Afraid youâll be moved?â
Teng Yun said, âTo tell the truth, I really am moved, but itâs because of how you treat Marquis Wannian.â
Xue Junliang immediately said, âThen tell me how your beloved relatives treat you.â
Teng Yun was silent for a time, recalling his past, before saying, âSince I was born, I had never felt I had relatives who loved me⊠The only one who loves me sincerely; the one teaching me reading and writing, is not a family member, but a marquis whoâd been granted the familyâs surname. All my life, Iâve been wondering, how come my family members treat me so coldly, yet someone who is not family could treat me so kindly?â
Xue Junliang then asked lowly, âWhat about your younger brother?â
Teng Yun knew that Xue Junliang meant Feng Wang, the original Empressâ younger brother from the same mother; but Teng Yun, too, had a younger brother from the same mother.
Just like Feng Wang who had tried to get his sister killed, Teng Yunâs younger brother, too, had tried to get Teng Yun killed but failed. Later, Teng Yunâs younger brother went to his vassal territory where he built his own military power. Teng Yun remembered, that time he had just returned from war in the border and was immediately sent to subdue his younger brotherâs rebellion.
Teng Yun didnât say anything as answer, but Xue Junliang who had also grown up in the Imperial Palace, knew exactly what the Empress was thinking. Beside Xue Houyang, Xue Junliang had many other brothers. Those brothers, just like Xue Yu, all wanted him dead. Xue Junliang had to remove all of them so he could live well and happy.
â
After the day he heard Chen Yiâs warnings, Xue Junliang changed all the guards around Yunfeng Palace and strengthened the protection in and around the Imperial Palace. Although he didnât doubt the three He brothersâ loyalty towards the Empress, they were still too reckless for his liking, so he didnât stack all his bet entirely on them.
With only a few days of preparation, Xue Houyang and Teng Shang were ready to go. The refugees would not wait for long and Teng Xin had been mobilizing his soldiers for quite some time; they had to quickly go subdue the rebellion before it was too late.
Xue Junliang held a small farewell banquet at the Palace Gate and ordered Xue Houyang sat next to him. Teng Shang went to Yunfeng Palaceâs gate. When Jiao Shui noticed him standing outside the gate, she led him in and to the main room where the Empress was.
Teng Yun didnât expect Teng Shang would come to see him by himself. Perhaps Teng Shang was a bit doubtful about what Teng Yun had said the other day. Teng Yun had only said one sentence, not enough to explain anything, so Teng Shang must be coming to inquire about it.
Teng Yun allowed Teng Shang to take a seat and ordered Xiu Yao pour him tea.\nâWhat brings Master Teng here?â
Because there were Xiu Yao, Jiao Shui and other palace maids in the room, Teng Shang could not plainly ask what he had in mind. Teng Shang paused for a second before finally saying, âIâll be leaving soon, but before leaving, I decided to come here. I heard Your Majesty is very intelligent and clever; that time, we could successfully defeat Cheng Tianâs attack was all thanks to Your Majestyâs planning, so I wish to ask your guidance for the success of this task.â
Teng Yun nodded and gestured for Teng Shang to continue.
Teng Shang said, âTeng Xinâs soldiers are very brave and strong. If they have the Imperial Palace surrounded, what should we do to break their siege?â
Teng Yunâs eyes brightened as he smiled, âUse small troops to launch small attacks and throw the enemy into a disorder.â
Teng Shang said again, âThere are too many refugees. Setting food relief centers would be costly and time consuming. Do we really have to set them?â
Teng Yun said, âWhen your stomach is full, you donât know to feel thankful. If you never suffer hardship, you will never know the value of one sip of water. Giving the refugees food is only to make them feel grateful, then you can organize them to do farming. This way, they can produce their own food. The soldiers stationed at the borders donât have be worried their army provisions have to be cut down to provide for the refugees.â
As Teng Shang listened to the explanation, tears threatened to gather in his eyes. He lowered his head to hide his eyes, pretending as if he was taking in Teng Yunâs explanation. Then he whispered, âGood job.. for keeping that lesson in mind, not a word was incorrect.â
Teng Yunâs hands clenched into fists under his sleeves. These methods were all taught to him by Teng Shang and Teng Yun never forgot them. Teng Yun could see Teng Shang was testing him, to see if Teng Yun would recite those lesson he taught.
âMaster Teng, when you arrive at the border, please donât forget to take care of yourselfâŠâ
Teng Shang nodded. Without saying any more words, he stood and left.
As Teng Shang came back from Yunfeng Palace, Xue Junliang had just finished bidding farewell to Xue Houyang. Teng Shang and Xue Houyang then led the soldiers out of the Palace and left for the border.
Xue Junliang knew Teng Shang had been to Yunfeng Palace, but he wasnât worried. He had Jiao Shui there who would report everything to him.
Before long, Jiao Shui found an excuse to come to Xue Wangâs residence to report. She said, âTeng Shang said, âGood job.. for keeping that lesson in mind, not a word was incorrect.â This servant thinks this sentence is a bit suspicious.â
Xue Junliang was slowly knocking on the table with one index finger. His expression revealed nothing, but inside he was speculating that the Empress must have known Teng Shang for a long time and that the two had been very close.
Jiao Shui said, âHaving been attending the Empress these few days, this servant feels that the Empress is somewhat.. somewhat strange. Her Majesty doesnât like being served by anyone, also doesnât like dressing up and putting on make up. In her free time, Her Majesty often reads military books. When the Crown Prince comes visit, she would teach the Crown Prince martial art and archery. This servant thinks that the Empress is more like a soldier. How come a Grand Princess from Feng Country capable of martial artâŠâ
Before she could finish her speculation, Xue Wang said lightly, âJiao Shui, Gu orders you to pay attention to the Empressâ every move, not to question the Empressâ every move. If youâre the one doing the thinking, should this king follow your thinking?â\n\nXue Junliang randomly jump-read from pages to pages, as if he was bored by the document. But the expression on his face made Jiang Yu shivered in apprehension.
â
When Xue Houyang and Teng Shang arrived at the border, Teng Shang suggested splitting the soldiers into small troops and using these small troops to attack Teng Xinâs soldiers to confuse him. By splitting the soldiers, they could throw the enemyâs attention off the arrival of the larger troops, prevent the chances they had to fight right after they traveled long distances and also free the Imperial Palace from under the siege at the same time.
Teng Xin was suspicious by nature. Heâd been attacked over and over again, of course he started to feel afraid. Each attack was carried out by small troops, didnât merit mobilizing all of his troops. And without knowing how big and strong this opponent was, he didnât dare attacking recklessly.
Meanwhile, Xue Houyangâs soldiers had all arrived at Teng Country territory. He split his soldiers again into three parts. Teng Shang would lead two parts of the troops, each to ambush one corner of the Imperial Palace to break Teng Xinâs siege.
Xue Houyang would lead one part of the troops to Teng Xinâs vassal territory.
This vassal territory was the heart of Teng Xinâs rebel army. If this land could be taken over, Teng Xinâs army could not continue to fight because they had no other source of food.
Teng Xin didnât know that Xue Junliang would send his soldiers to help Teng Country, which was still Xue Countryâs enemy. Also, he never would have guessed he was fighting against Xue Houyang and Teng Shang.
Teng Xinâs army surrounded the Imperial Palace. His army was disordered and inexperienced in the first place, so when Xue Houyangâs two troops attacked them, many of the soldiers chose to flee and abandon the fight. At this time, Teng Xin received a news that his vassal territory had fallen. Apparently Xue Houyang offered a great sum of money to bribe the gatekeeper. When Xue Countryâs soldiers arrived, the gate was wide open as if the territory had no owner, and Xue Houyang had quickly taken over.
Because the heart of their rebel army had fallen, Teng Xinâs remaining soldiers was disheartened as if they had already utterly defeated. Teng Shang easily subdued the rebel army and captured Teng Xin and his generals alive.
Inside the Imperial Palace, Teng Wang had guessed Xue Wang would send troops to help him, but he never expected Xue Wang would send his own former minister, Teng Shang.
When Teng Shang entered the Imperial City, the common people were still shaken; the city had been under siege for more than half a month. Fortunately, there was enough food inside the city, otherwise the city would have long become a graveyard.
When Teng Shang rode through the street, someone recognized him. The man immediately knelt on the ground shouting, âItâs Minister Shang! Minister Shang has returned to save us all!â
The manâs shout was echoed by the other, then another. The city, which had been bleak and joyless a moment ago, was immediately filled with shouts loud enough to shake the sky. Even the people inside the Imperial Palace could clearly hear what the people on the streets were shouting about.
The loud noises startled Teng Shangâs horse, making it neighing and standing on its hind legs. Teng Shang immediately pulled his reins to steady the horse. Under him, like a wave, people dropped to the ground and kowtowed to him; even the soldiers guarding the city gates took off their helmets to kowtow.