Chapter 1799 - Reinstatement of Office!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
“Really, really… to think it would be like this…!”
Li Heng had imagined many answers before his meeting with Wang Chong, but not this one. He had never expected the answer to be so simple. In order to get close to the Sage Emperor, both he and the First Prince had tried many methods, but all of them had failed.
The Dragon Guards were callous and strong, allowing no one to approach. Their existence was an impregnable fortress that no one could trick their way past.
Not even the Sage Emperor’s beloved Consort Taizhen could get in, much less anyone else.
Thus, everyone subconsciously believed that Taiji Palace was unapproachable, including the First Prince.
But they had all forgotten that while Consort Taizhen might not have been permitted to approach, one person was. That person was Eunuch Gao, who had seemingly vanished. As the Eunuch Director of the Inner Court and the Sage Emperor’s trusted aide, Eunuch Gao had a completely different status.
Eunuch Gao was the Sage Emperor’s shadow and representative. The Dragon Guards and True Dragon Sentinels might have been duty-bound to refuse Consort Taizhen, but they all knew Eunuch Gao and would not stop him. This was the only way to get inside Taiji Palace.
As for the Eastern Palace guards around them, they were somewhat more problematic. But given Wang Chong’s strength, it was entirely possible to get past them in the middle of the night. And it was also possible that Wang Chong had disguised himself as an Imperial Army soldier and mixed in with the crowd.
As these thoughts occurred to Li Heng, he examined Wang Chong’s calm and relaxed face, and felt sincere admiration.
All of this was easier said than done. The situation at the time had been fraught with tension, and Wang Chong had been carrying an immense pressure on his shoulders, the fate of the empire depending on his choices. Any normal person would have been completely crushed, but Wang Chong had remained cold and collected. He had Young Master Qingyang draw the attention of Hou Junji and the Eastern Palace, taking care of all the numerous details and overseeing the overall situation, while he himself infiltrated Taiji Palace.
The slightest error would have made all his efforts for naught.
The entire matter was definitely not as simple as he made it out to be.
But Wang Chong had still managed to do it. Everything taking place within and without the Imperial Palace, including Hou Junji and the Eastern Palace, had all been within his calculations.
“Right—what has the Imperial Court said?” Wang Chong asked.
Wang Chong had an entirely different concern on his mind. The Rebellion of the Three Princes had been smoothly brought to an end, so it was now time to see how the court responded.
“The officials of the court were given a bad fright, so they’ve all gone back to their homes to rest. No one expected this rebellion, so they will need some time to discuss how to handle the aftermath.”
Upon hearing Wang Chong’s question, the Fifth Prince refocused himself.
“Right—before leaving, Imperial Father issued an order moving me from Jinyang Palace to Jade Dragon Palace.”
A hint of joy gleamed in Li Heng’s eyes.
“Congratulations, Your Highness!”
Wang Chong was also elated, though he had already had a vague inkling that this would happen. After this rebellion, the First Prince, Second Prince, and Third Prince would all be marginalized and lose any right to the throne. At the very least, none of those officials who had been imprisoned in Taihe Palace would agree. As for the Fourth Prince, the Xueyang Palace incident had already caused him to fall out of contention.
Thus, Fifth Prince Li Heng was now the natural successor. In handing him the authority to deal with the remaining rebels, the Sage Emperor had indicated as such. Moreover, with the First Prince removed, the Eastern Palace was empty. While the Sage Emperor had yet to move Li Heng into the Eastern Palace or name him the Crown Prince, the move to Jade Dragon Palace was evidence enough of his stance.
Jade Dragon Palace was much closer to Taiji Palace than Jinyang Palace. More importantly, while Jade Dragon Palace was not a very highly ranked palace, it was the Sage Emperor’s residence when he had still been Prince of Chu. By moving Li Heng there, the Sage Emperor was exhibiting his high favor.
“The Rebellion of the Three Princes has formally concluded. Congratulations to user for pacifying the rebellion. For removing this potential disaster, user has been rewarded with 300,000 points of Destiny Energy. In addition, for the immense progress achieved in the True Dragon mission, user has been rewarded an additional 200,000 points of Destiny Energy!”
The familiar voice of the Stone of Destiny suddenly resounded in Wang Chong’s mind.
Wang Chong smiled at this news. Li Heng spent a little longer in Wang Chong’s residence, discussing a few more things, and then took his leave. After sending Li Heng off, Wang Chong felt drowsiness coming over him. While he seemed relaxed, predicting the actions of Hou Junji and the Eastern Palace alone had drained him.
Now that everything was settled, Wang Chong felt exhaustion overcoming him. But just when Wang Chong was about to go to his room to rest, another figure rushed in, accompanied by a light breeze.
“Haha, congratulations, Your Highness! Congratulations! Good news! Wonderful news!”
The voice loudly announced his guest’s arrival, and a few moments later, the door opened, allowing a silk-robed figure holding a horsetail whisk to come in, a joyful look on his face.
“Bian Lingcheng?!”
Wang Chong was startled to see this most unexpected visitor.
“This lowly one pays respects to His Highness!”
Bian Lingcheng turned serious and respectfully bowed, his bow deeper than any time before.
“What’s wrong? What happened?” Wang Chong said.
In the original course of history, Bian Lingcheng had caused Gao Xianzhi’s death, and he himself had not met a very good end either. He had been a properly treacherous official back then, but in this life, due to Wang Chong’s interference, Bian Lingcheng had changed a lot. In the Rebellion of the Three Princes, he had played a significant role as a relayer of information.
For this reason, Wang Chong had few objections toward the current man.
“Heh, this lowly one has come to inform Your Highness of the good news. Not too long ago, His Highness Li Heng, Lord Zhangchou, and even the Lord Prime Minister and General Abusi all proposed to His Majesty that Your Highness should be richly rewarded, as should the soldiers under your command. His Majesty agreed, ordering the Prime Minister, Grand Tutor, and Grand Preceptor to draft a decree reinstating Your Highness as an Advisor-in-Waiting and Qixi Protector-General!
“This news will be officially announced in a few days!” Bian Lingcheng excitedly said to Wang Chong.
While Bian Lingcheng had initially been forced into obeying Wang Chong, by now, he was Wang Chong’s loyal servant. Wang Chong already enjoyed the Sage Emperor’s favor as the King of Foreign Lands, the first King of a different surname in the Great Tang’s history. And now, Wang Chong had added the feat of saving the emperor to his list of achievements. There was no one in the realm who could touch his status.
“Ah!”
Wang Chong was struck dumb. He had expected that the Imperial Court would reward him, but not that it would come so quickly. Although the post of Qixi Protector-General seemed like a return to his original position, it was also a position of actual power. After all, Wang Chong had already reached the height of the nobility and could not receive any more titles.
In normal circumstances, he would just get an empty title. For him to receive a position of real power was an expression of immense favor!
The Sage Emperor’s immense favor!
And this reward came even faster than Bian Lingcheng had expected. Just one day later, countless messenger birds took flight from the capital, proclaiming the news that Wang Chong had been formally reinstated as Qixi’s Protector-General by the Imperial Court to all the empires of the continent.
The Great Tang was the strongest country on the continent, and Wang Chong was its most illustrious young War God. Thus, Wang Chong and the coup in the capital had been watched by an unimaginably vast crowd!
……
In the massive tent on the peak of the Western Turks’ Mount Sanmi, Ishbara Khagan sat cross-legged on the floor, his eyes closed. He was in the middle of cultivation, the white wisps of steam rising from his head congealing into white snakes that circled around his body.
“Reporting!”
Suddenly, one of his elite guards rushed inside.
Ishbara Khagan’s expression darkened as he harshly rebuked, “What’s going on? Can’t you restrain yourself even a little!?”
The guard got down on one knee and respectfully said, “Your Majesty, news from the Great Tang’s capital! It’s regarding the Great Tang’s First Prince, Li Ying!”
Buzz!
The mention of Li Ying’s name made Ishbara Khagan grimace, and the mood in the tent shifted.
“Read it!”
A domineering voice rumbled. The speaker was not Ishbara Khagan, but that divine, golden-armored figure standing behind him.
Wunu Shibi!
This Solar Great General of the Western Turkic Khaganate was similar in status to Ü-Tsang’s King of Great Generals, We Tadra Khonglo.
This was the only man in the entire Khaganate who could possibly interrupt Ishbara Khagan and not provoke his rebuke.
“Yes!”
The guard hesitated for a moment, and then he began to read.
“The spy in the Great Tang’s capital reports that Li Ying launched his rebellion last night, leading the one hundred thousand soldiers of the Imperial Army in attacking Taiji Palace. But he was stopped by King of Foreign Lands Wang Chong, and the coup failed. The Sage Emperor has imprisoned Li Ying in the Imperial Clan Court!
“In addition, the King of Foreign Lands has been reinstated as Qixi’s Protector-General!”
Buzz!
The two hegemons of the Western Turks instantly grimaced, particularly Ishbara Khagan. His face twisted in rage.
“Bastard! Him again!”
Ishbara Khagan’s fingers clenched, making his joints crack and the veins on the back of his hand bulge.
