Chapter Twenty-One: A Thorough Scrub

Stepping into the imperial palace, Chen Yi was led by a eunuch through a long stretch of paths until they reached the Inner Court, and finally, the Jingren Palace. Ever since the Empress Dowager began ruling from behind the curtain, the Jingren Palace had become the place where she handled both internal and external state affairs.

"Your Majesty, Chen Yi, a Chiliarch of the Western Depot, requests an audience."

The eunuch spoke loudly and respectfully toward the interior.

"Granted."

Chen Yi followed the eunuch into the Jingren Palace. Lifting his eyes, he saw a woman of graceful and luxurious bearing sitting alone at a desk.

Adorned with gold hairpins and dressed in ceremonial court robes draped with a golden-embroidered silk shawl, she possessed a slightly plump figure. Her brows, delicate and beautiful, carried a touch of gloom. When she leaned forward, a slender, snow-white neck was revealed. Her hair was styled in a bun resembling a peach blossom, emitting a soft luster that was quite pleasing to the eye. Though she was clearly only twenty-eight, the deep palace had cultivated in her an air of grandeur and elegance.

Some women are breathtakingly beautiful at fifteen or sixteen, while others are dignified, classical, and graceful as they approach thirty.

Yin Tingxue was the former, while she was the latter.

The Empress Dowager of the Great Yu, surnamed An, was one of the heroines of *Tianwaitian*. Because she had no son and there were no other princes in the court, Yin Qi, the Prince of Hengshou and grandson of Emperor Wuzong, had ascended the throne. He was only three years old at the time of his coronation. Now that the Emperor was young, Empress An held absolute power, ruling from behind the curtain and consolidating authority. Her methods were ruthless, her political maneuvers profound, and combined with the influence of the An clan, all the civil and military officials were filled with awe.

And his greatest connection to the Empress Dowager?

It lay in the three years of life he had left, and the strange poison coursing through his veins.

That had been ten hours before he started this save file, and also a month ago in the past.

"You may leave," Empress An said to the eunuch.

After the eunuch departed, Chen Yi lowered his head and bowed.

"Chen Yi, Chiliarch of the Western Depot, pays his respects to the Empress Dowager."

Empress An turned her gaze upon him and said softly, "Chen Yi, Grand Secretary Lin has recommended you to act as the Supervisor of the Eastern Depot. Are you capable of taking on this duty?"

Chen Yi did not lift his head. "I will do my utmost. Your servant only wishes to ease the burdens of the Mother of the Nation."

If his memory served him correctly:

When he started this save, he had followed the official "perfect start" guide, claiming to be a descendant of the Chen clan of the Jin State. Afterward, he was taken by Grand Secretary Lin for a private meeting, and subsequently, the Grand Secretary brought him before the Empress Dowager, who had made him drink a bowl of medicinal decoction.

In the end, he had obtained the position of a Centurion of the Western Depot.

Watching Chen Yi, Empress An smiled faintly. "A fine 'do my utmost.' Your heart of loyalty and filial piety is truly comforting."

Empress An picked up a memorial from the desk and said, "Wu Qingsheng intercepted a memorial from the Directorate of Ceremonial on your behalf. It says that you took away a maidservant from the Prince of Xiang's residence?"

Chen Yi’s pupils contracted slightly.

In an instant, he understood.

Wu Qingsheng had previously intercepted Xue Youge's memorial for him, and under normal circumstances, it would never have reached the Empress Dowager's hands. But the situation had changed abruptly: Xue Youge was dead, the Lin mansion had exerted pressure, and he was about to take charge of the Eastern Depot.

Therefore, Wu Qingsheng, who was loyal to the imperial family and belonged to no faction, naturally had to report the details of his background to the Empress Dowager.

In the vast hall, the golden floor tiles radiated a faint chill.

Empress An asked calmly, "Chen Yi, did you take that maidservant to be your legal wife, or a concubine?"

...Why would she ask this?

While pondering, Chen Yi stole glances at Empress An’s expression. He could detect no emotion in her words, nor could he capture any information from her face.

After some thought, Chen Yi answered truthfully, "Returning to Your Majesty, she is a concubine."

Empress An lowered her eyes in thought and said, "Pick up the memorial and burn it. Remember, do not give others another chance to impeach you. Especially... the Ding'an faction."

Chen Yi narrowed his eyes.

He was considered a member of the Lin faction, and by mentioning the Ding'an faction, Empress An was implying that they would be detrimental to him. Chen Yi naturally caught this subtext.

Chen Yi stood up, picked up the bright red memorial from the floor, walked over to the brazier, lifted the lid, and cast the document into the fire.

Wisps of black smoke drifted out through the window.

"It is well that she is a concubine. I have other arrangements for your legal wife."

As the black smoke drifted away, Empress An spoke suddenly.

With his back to her, Chen Yi frowned.

What did this mean?

He had never encountered this plot point before...

In his previous save, he had never triggered this sequence. According to his old path, he would have fled the capital with his assets shortly after Grand Secretary Lin's downfall.

"The Empress Dowager has other arrangements for my wife..."

Could this be one of the hidden plot threads in *Tianwaitian*? The official perfect-start guide only told players what to do, not why, in order to avoid spoilers.

And since he had never reached this point before, he could not fathom the reason. He would have to investigate slowly after taking control of the Eastern Depot.

Thus, Chen Yi could only reply respectfully, "I thank Your Majesty for your great favor. This servant has no way to repay the kindness of the Mother of the Nation."

"If everyone possessed such loyalty and filial piety, my role as the Mother of the Nation would not be in vain." Empress An softened her voice and chuckled. "Go to the medicinal kitchen to drink your medicine, and then you may return."

Chen Yi turned and left the Jingren Palace. Empress An watched the young man’s slender back in silence. The warm expression on her face vanished completely, her phoenix eyes turning sharp as knives, filled with cold, icy hatred.

How could she forget a blood feud?

She kept this boy in captivity only so that one day, this son of her enemy would personally exterminate his own kin.

To have a son kill his father, to have family destroy family.

"However, this is not enough."

Merely having the enemy's son destroy his own house was not enough to satisfy her vengeance.

One can kill the flesh, but not the spirit.

Only humiliation... would suffice.

Empress An turned away, her robes swaying, and slowly sat back down at her desk. She picked up a brush and wrote a name on the rice paper.

The Chen clan of the Jin State had a daughter in the main branch, a woman of celestial beauty, already secretly designated as the future Crown Princess within the six palaces of the Jin State.

Empress An had heard rumors of this long ago.

Incest between siblings was a violation of human ethics and an act of extreme unfilial defiance. If the Chen clan could annihilate her own An clan, then she would pay them back twofold. Not only would she destroy their entire house, but she would also ruin their moral code.

As for whether Chen Yi was truly a descendant of the Jin State's Chen clan...

As long as the Chen clan believed he was, then he was.

"Nanny."

Empress An glanced sideways toward the screen in the hall.

An elderly woman with white hair and a kind face emerged.

In the world of martial arts, it was rumored that a second-rank master, a nameless old nanny, held court in the capital of Great Yu. Her presence terrified the four major martial arts schools, the six princely estates, and even experts of the fifth rank and above from the pugilistic world, preventing them from acting recklessly in the capital.

A third-rank martial artist was called a minor master, while a second-rank was a true master. Any master could establish a sect or dominate a region. Stepping into the second rank meant one had one foot in the top ten of the martial rankings—a figure that even the imperial court had to treat with caution.

"Regarding the death of Xue Youge, have you found anything?" Empress An asked.

"Returning to the Empress Dowager, the Magpie spies investigated in the streets. It is said that the rumors of Xue Youge colluding with the Demonic Cult were spread by the Wuyong Tower," the nameless nanny replied via internal voice transmission.

"Hmph, the Wuyong Tower has quite the audacity," Empress An sneered. "I tolerated them taking root, yet they dare to wreak havoc at the door of the Directorate of Ceremonial."

Although Empress An did not rely on the eunuchs of the Directorate of Ceremonial, preferring her own maternal relatives, the actions of the Wuyong Tower were still an affront to her authority.

"Teach them a lesson. Clear out their spies," Empress An commanded.

The nameless nanny nodded, and her figure quickly vanished from the Jingren Palace.

Empress An looked at the spot where Chen Yi had stood and said with disgust, "Someone, come. The place where that Chiliarch Chen just stood... wash it clean. Make it spotlessly clean."

……

"Chiliarch Chen, come drink your medicine."

In the medicinal kitchen, an old palace maid with white hair took out a bowl of decoction and set it before Chen Yi. "This is very nourishing."

Chen Yi looked at the ink-black decoction, his heart sinking slightly.

Nourishing...

This was exactly the same decoction he had been made to drink a month ago.

The strange poison in his body had come from this very medicine.

Despite his inner resentment, Chen Yi drank it down. After all, he knew the method to detoxify it—though it was complex and required various rare treasures, it was not impossible. Otherwise, he would not have lasted until Yin Tingxue, the Saintess of the Demonic Cult, came to seek her revenge.

As the bitter liquid slid down his throat, Chen Yi felt a sudden weakness in his limbs, followed by a burning, intense pain, as if something inside him were shattering.

Chen Yi turned pale, but he recovered his composure and slowly set the bowl down.

Seeing that Chen Yi had finished the medicine, the old palace maid’s smile deepened.

"Then I shall take my leave."

Chen Yi turned and walked out of the medicinal kitchen.

……

At the Eastern Depot training grounds:

"If you want it, then you must think carefully about what you are willing to trade for it."

That sentence kept echoing in Min Ning’s ears.

Her hand, holding her blade, loosened involuntarily.

The blade struck the wooden stake, and because of her weakened grip, it slipped from her hand and went flying. Fortunately, it did not hit anyone.

Min Ning came to her senses, took a breath, and pressed a hand to her forehead. She picked up her Embroidered Uniform Sword and surveyed her surroundings, forcing herself to calm down.

In the shadow of a locust tree not far away, Wang Gu, a Chiliarch of the Eastern Depot, stood with his arms folded over his sword, surrounded by several Depot officers. Taking advantage of the break, they seemed to be discussing something.

"That Western Depot Chiliarch is coming to take over the Eastern Depot."

"Letting a man from the Western Depot take over the Eastern Depot? What are the higher-ups thinking?"

"He’s a Chiliarch, and Chiliarch Wang is also a Chiliarch. If anyone should be in charge, it certainly shouldn't be him."

"Heh, who knows? Maybe he’s actually a eunuch from the Directorate of Ceremonial."

"Haha, that might be true. Look at that pretty face; he doesn't look like a real man."

The dissatisfied officers were chattering away.

Wang Gu spoke coldly, "Regardless of what he is, a man from the Western Depot should never manage the Eastern Depot. Behind this, the Lin faction is pulling the strings; it was the Lin faction that facilitated this. You lot... do you understand now?"