Song Pu: “…”
Confirmed. It was the familiar dog. He relaxed his tone and said, “Your Majesty, this subject has not yet recovered his vitality. I fear I cannot accompany Your Majesty in training. When an opportunity arises later, I shall train with Your Majesty then.”
Tantai Yi said, “That will do. Minister Song is so delicate; the caning must have injured muscle and bone. It has only been half a month. You should take proper care to recuperate.”
Hearing this, delight appeared on Song Pu’s face. “Many thanks for Your Majesty’s consideration. Does Your Majesty plan to review memorials shortly? This subject truly misses it. If I could once more behold Your Majesty’s bearing, I might even recover the faster.”
Tantai Yi’s brows drew slightly together. “Minister Song does not know this, but since I opened the harem and filled it with one hundred and eight women, the court officials have all been urging me to establish a consort and produce an heir. The memorials piled upon my desk are all of this sort. What is there to see?”
Song Pu suddenly remembered the flood and famine from before. More than a month had already passed; he wondered how things now stood.
Thinking of it, he asked.
Tantai Yi’s brows eased a little, yet a mocking curve tugged at his lips. “When have my suspicions ever been wrong? The grain in the Jiaozhou granaries had all been replaced with fine sand and gravel. An entire warehouse, yet not a single sack of rice! The garrison are nothing but wine sacks and rice bags, and they even deceived the inspector I sent. They simply do not place me in their eyes.”
As he spoke, sharp light flashed in those golden eyes. Though he sat in the bath, the oppressive force about him swelled with his rising anger, pressing down upon Song Pu until he felt a heavy weight on his chest.
At that moment he suddenly gained a very clear understanding of the phrase: when the Son of Heaven is enraged, corpses lie in the millions and blood flows for a thousand li.
Even if Tantai Yi was childish, rebellious, and tyrannical like an overbearing schoolboy, he was still the Emperor of Liang. He possessed supreme authority and could punish anyone with ease.
“In that case, how did Your Majesty resolve the matter? Since they dared deceive Your Majesty, it proves they do not fear you at all. Hearing of it, this subject is furious as well. Your Majesty is the True Dragon Son of Heaven, yet those petty worms dare leap about before you. If they are not punished, in time they will take Your Majesty for a worm rather than a dragon and cease to respect you.”
Song Pu’s words, as expected, stirred Tantai Yi’s anger. “Since they dared deceive me, they must be prepared to answer for it. Minister Song may rest assured. I have already had them escorted to Yanjing. They are still on the road and should arrive in a few days. My black prison will have room again, and then I may once more witness Bai Qing’s exquisite skill at lingchi*.”
(*TN: In case you forgot, it’s “death by a thousand cuts”.)
Song Pu: “…”
Song Pu asked, “Will they not be interrogated first?”
Tantai Yi glanced at him. “This is the interrogation.”
Oh. So beginning with lingchi counted as interrogation?
Song Pu suddenly remembered that he had meant to ask about the common people of Yuzhou. How had the conversation wandered so far astray? He swallowed, moistened his throat, and quickly asked, “Then what of the displaced people of Yuzhou?”
Tantai Yi said, “The new Prefect of Yuzhou has already taken office. Since the situation has been clarified, there is no need for me to trouble myself. I merely issued an edict bestowing supplies, granting grain and silver in relief. Every last coin is to be used properly, so those snakes and vermin cannot embezzle it.”
Hearing this, Song Pu found Tantai Yi even harder to read.
He was clearly capable of doing things well. Yet he simply did not do them? Then during these past three years, if disasters had occurred, had he ignored them entirely?
Thinking thus, Song Pu’s courage did indeed grow a little. Unable to restrain himself, he asked again.
Tantai Yi said coolly, “If the court officials did not anger me, it would not be impossible for me to do a few good deeds. After all, the late Emperor left me quite a great deal. Whether people or great ministers, even the Prince of Huainan and the Prince of Yong’an who guard the north-western frontier with a million troops, all remain loyal because of the late Emperor. But… I do not trust them. I still stand upon the late Emperor’s shoulders. Not a fraction of what lies here belongs to me alone…”
At this point he suddenly stopped, narrowing his eyes as he looked at Song Pu.
Yet Song Pu failed to perceive the deeper meaning. He still wore the expression of someone listening attentively. Seeing Tantai Yi fall silent, he even raised his eyes in puzzlement, his gaze full of questions.
Tantai Yi suddenly laughed, his voice slowing.
“The late Emperor governed diligently. He made full use of things and of people, and indeed possessed the breadth of heart to accommodate the world. He was very skilled at winning people over. Even I, when all is said and done, respect him. But I am not the same as the late Emperor. Minister Song may have seen that I have killed many people, yet among them there has never been one I should not have killed. Within this deep palace there are countless hidden intrigues. Once a rumour appears, it spreads swiftly and becomes a weapon with which to attack others. Since they do not wish to behave as human beings, I may as well grant their wish and send them to the underworld as rootless ghosts.”
Song Pu listened for quite some time without hearing the main point. It all seemed rather like a horse and a cow yoked together. “And then?”
Tantai Yi lightly kicked him in the water. “Minister Song grows very bold. Do you take me for a storyteller?”
Song Pu came back to himself, shame appearing on his face. “Please forgive me, Your Majesty. This subject has overstepped.”
Tantai Yi smiled.
He could see that Song Pu had truly been listening to him with complete attention, without the slightest distraction. Not like Shen Yonghe, who was far too clever and could deduce things from a few casual remarks. Tantai Yi disliked people who were too clever. Fortunately, Minister Song was not that sort.
“…What I mean is that the late Emperor’s prestige has not yet faded. During my three years on the throne the weather has been favourable and the land at peace. Minister Song need not worry about the people’s livelihood. If I truly ignored such matters, my royal uncles would already have ridden back from the frontier to lecture me.”
At this point his brows drew together slightly, as though the thought displeased him.
Song Pu said, “This subject was frightened. I meant no reproach towards Your Majesty. Please forgive me.”
Tantai Yi said with a smile, “These past few days I have indeed been rather tired. Minister Song need not mention memorials again for the time being. Tomorrow I shall go to stay a few days at Qingquan National Temple. Minister Song may accompany me.”
Song Pu naturally agreed.
Having spoken so much, Tantai Yi too felt somewhat weary. He leaned against the side of the pool and closed his eyes.
Seeing this, Song Pu also fell quiet. The bathwater was warm and carried a drifting fragrance that calmed the mind. His limbs relaxed, a pleasant warmth spreading through his body.
Because he was bathing in Tantai Yi’s private pool, Song Pu did not dare move about too much. He merely scooped a little water now and then to wash his neck and face, gradually easing away the day’s heat and restlessness.
Hot water continually flowed from the dragon-headed spout, keeping the pool warm, so there was no need to worry about the water cooling. Yet soaking too long was uncomfortable. Song Pu therefore spoke softly.
“Your Majesty, it is time to rise.”
Tantai Yi opened his eyes slightly, cast him a faint glance, and answered with a soft nasal “Mm”.
Even Song Pu, a man, felt faintly stirred by that sound.
Tantai Yi’s voice was exceptionally pleasing. When he spoke ordinarily it resembled the sound of a taut zither string lightly plucked, clear and cool yet gentle, with a resonant tremor that lingered in the ear. It was a richly magnetic tone, rather magnificent, and difficult to forget. When lowered, it gained a certain roundness that made it sound inexplicably tender.
If he spoke with that faint nasal note and drew the tone out a little, it made the heart itch, like the tip of a feather brushing lightly across the skin.
Song Pu pulled his wandering thoughts back and softly called Tantai Yi again, finally rousing him fully.
“Your Majesty should rise. If you soak any longer, your skin will wrinkle,” Song Pu said gently, his voice especially soft for fear of provoking any temper upon waking.
He did not know why Tantai Yi had specifically summoned him to bathe together. After speculating for a while, Song Pu came to the strange conclusion that it resembled girls insisting on going to the privy together hand in hand, and so he accepted it with composure. What happened next, however, rather exceeded his expectations.
Today, when Tantai Yi bathed, there were no eunuchs attending him.
Tantai Yi rose from the pool, revealing a remarkably well-proportioned body. Song Pu, quick to read the situation, also rose, picked up a dry cloth from the tray beside them, and moved to wipe him down.
Song Pu was not particularly adept at reading people, yet he was smooth enough in dealing with matters. When it was just himself and Tantai Yi, he paid no mind to whether it seemed overly sycophantic and very naturally began to serve him.
Seeing that Song Pu followed without the slightest hesitation, Tantai Yi’s lips curved upward in quiet satisfaction. “Minister Song need not trouble himself so. I can summon someone to attend me.”
Song Pu wiped him down as he replied earnestly, “This is the duty of your subject.”
He had never really looked closely at Tantai Yi before. Now, when he cast a light, almost absent glance, he froze where he stood. A storm rose in his heart. His eyes went rigid.
Song Pu confirmed it.
The dog emperor was not human. He truly was not human.
Song Pu thought his glance had been extremely discreet. Yet Tantai Yi had still noticed.
He could see Song Pu’s hands trembling slightly. Secretly pleased, he kept his expression perfectly calm.
“Why has Minister Song stopped?”
Song Pu swallowed. Possessed by some inexplicable impulse, he blurted out, “…This subject was startled by Your Majesty. Your Majesty truly seems a god descended to earth. Your natural endowments far surpass those of ordinary men, beyond what mortals can reach. I believe there cannot be anyone under Heaven more mighty than Your Majesty. This subject is utterly awestruck.”
Tantai Yi was greatly pleased. A trace of pride even shone in his eyes, making him appear all the more dazzling.
“Does Minister Song truly think so?”
Song Pu nodded repeatedly. “Every word this subject speaks is sincere, straight from the heart. Your Majesty truly deserves the title of True Dragon Son of Heaven. You possess a peerless weapon. Though it has not yet been unsheathed, its brilliance already shines forth. This subject feels deeply ashamed and wishes he could gouge out his own eyes.”
Having said this, he slightly turned his head aside, as though his eyes had been dazzled by Tantai Yi’s radiance and he dared not look again.
Yet Tantai Yi said, “There is no need for Minister Song to gouge out his eyes. The reason I am so imposing is that I exercise daily, growing alongside my stature. Minister Song is so small and delicate that I rather worry for Minister Song’s future wife.”
