"Heaven has finally opened its eyes. No great disasters anywhere this year, and harvests have been good in many places."
"If only the good harvest had come a couple of years earlier."
"Earlier? Have you forgotten what Master Zhao said? What good would earlier have done? What does that have to do with the court? Would a bumper harvest have meant the taxes could actually be collected?"
The Crown Prince asked in surprise, "Lord Wen, Lord Lin — is this Master Zhao really as remarkable as you say?"
The two men exchanged a glance. They thought back to that day when he had changed the Emperor's mind, laying out the reasons for the dynasty's collapse, and they nodded in unison.
Remarkable — remarkable was an understatement. A person like that simply had no business existing in this world.
Li Chengqian's face lit up. "Then if I were to go and entreat Master Zhao to come out of retirement, offering him the position of Chief Minister to help Father reclaim the realm — what do you two think the chances would be?"
Wen Jingran let out a sigh and said gravely, "Your Highness, I fear even if His Majesty himself went to ask, it would come to nothing. Forgive my bluntness — a figure like that is like a celestial being looking down upon the rest of us. We are nothing but ants to him. Nothing but ants."
"Does anyone care which side wins when a colony of ants goes to war?"
The Crown Prince bristled, but then his mind turned to the terrifying speed with which those great towers had risen from the earth, to the little suns that made the streets blaze like daylight at night, to the iron men he had seen with his own eyes, and the dread they had stirred in him.
A wave of helplessness and despair washed over him.
He had to admit it: measured against those people, even he, the Crown Prince — even his father, the Emperor — was no different from an ant in their eyes.
Thank heaven that man had no taste for crushing ants for amusement.
"My lords, let us leave it here for today. I will go and see Father and Mother, and try once more to persuade Father."
"Then this old minister shall take his leave."
Li Chengqian, dressed in plain clothes, stepped outside and set off in a carriage toward where Li Xuanji was staying.
He brought only a driver and a single attendant.
In the capital, this would have been unthinkable. The Crown Prince leaving the palace always required a great retinue — above all for his safety.
But here, he felt truly safe. The sense of security came from somewhere deep inside him.
"Your — Young Master, we've arrived."
"Mm." Li Chengqian stepped down from the carriage and frowned at the three-story building before him, home to several dozen families.
"Wait over there, and make sure no one discovers who I am."
He walked to the door of room 108 on the ground floor and raised his hand to knock, when he heard laughter from inside.
He knocked.
"Who is it?" Empress Jiang came to the door. She saw her own eldest son standing on the threshold, and with a delighted cry pulled him inside.
She shut the door and flung her arms around him, her voice bright with happiness. "Chengqian — Mother has missed you so much."
Li Chengqian was a little taken aback by his mother's sudden warmth, by how openly she showed it.
As Crown Prince and Empress, both of them had always been bound by strict rules of conduct. He had always known his mother loved him deeply, but she had expressed it in restrained and subtle ways.
Never like this. Never so unguarded.
"Big Brother!" Five-year-old Li Lingshu came running over with a grin, then stopped short just before she reached him.
She remembered now — someone had once taught her that in the Crown Prince's presence she must bow, show respect, observe proper decorum, must—
Li Chengqian gave his little sister a nod. Looking at her small, uncertain face, he managed a smile, hesitated, then reached out and ruffled her hair.
Li Lingshu tilted her head back and broke into a wide, beaming smile.
"Your son greets the Emperor."
"If you've come in your capacity as Crown Prince, you may turn around and go back."
"Dad."
Li Xuanji laughed and waved him over. "Come and eat with us. Dear, set another place at the table."
The food had been packed up and brought back from the hotel by Empress Jiang.
Taoyuan Hotel was vast and grand, and naturally it served food — and at a level of quality that bore no comparison to the street-side fast food outside.
Even Li Xuanji and Empress Jiang, long accustomed to the finest imperial fare, found it perfectly agreeable.
The only thing was that Taoyuan Hotel was expensive.
A quick meal from a street stall cost a few fen or a yuan at most. A sit-down meal at a proper restaurant for a few people ran at least a few yuan. But at Taoyuan Hotel, even a casual bite for one person never came to less than ten yuan — below that, they simply wouldn't serve you. After all, anyone who could afford to stay in a hotel like that was hardly going to balk at a few coins.
Ten yuan a meal was more than Empress Jiang could earn in a full day's work, so she certainly wasn't going to spend it on herself. But most evenings the kitchen had leftover ingredients that wouldn't be used for guests the next day, and the senior and mid-level staff — Empress Jiang among them — were allowed to have the kitchen prepare something from those leftovers at cost, for themselves or to take home.
With the skill of the chefs there, the result was always excellent.
Of course, sometimes there were hardly any leftovers at all, and on those evenings Empress Jiang would pick up a takeaway meal from somewhere cheaper on her way home.
"Brother, the guobaorou is delicious — it's sweet, try some." Lingshu pointed at the dish with her chopsticks, too shy to actually serve him.
"Mm, thank you, Lingshu." Polite and courteous — but still distant, still not quite at ease.
After dinner, father and son settled in the sitting room. Empress Jiang poured tea for both of them, then set to tidying the house with practiced ease.
"Fa… ther — do you truly no longer want to be Emperor? I… I want the honest answer."
Li Chengqian finished speaking and dropped his gaze.
Li Xuanji was quiet for a moment. "Chengqian, what living person isn't drawn to power? I won't pretend I'm some kind of saint."
"But this life — quiet, peaceful, warm — it means more to me now than the throne. Truly."
"If… if you want to be Emperor, I will issue a decree passing the throne to you."
"I…" A fierce battle raged inside Li Chengqian. As his father said — what person alive doesn't hunger for power? Anyone who claims otherwise is either lying or after something else entirely.
"Father, it's getting late. Please rest well. I… I need to think it over."
"All right."
Li Chengqian left. Li Xuanji sat on in the sofa, unmoving.
The sofa was a rather precious thing by present standards — steel springs, leather upholstery. Ordinary people couldn't afford such furniture. This one had been a housewarming gift from Jinyuan to her cousin.
Jinyuan was a person of firm principles: giving money was out of the question, but gifts were perfectly fine. A sofa worth over a thousand yuan — she'd sent a whole set without a second thought.
"What's troubling you? Reluctance?" Empress Jiang came and sat beside him, taking his hand in hers.
Li Xuanji gave a rueful laugh. "Heh, Chengqian wants the throne. But he's afraid to ask outright — afraid of making me angry, and perhaps trying to preserve our bond as father and son."
"And I… lately my own thoughts have been stirring too. Just handing over the throne like this — if I'm honest, it does sting a little."
In the old days he would never have said this to anyone. But things were different now, and this was the person closest to him in the world. There was no reason to hold back.
"I'm torn. If Chengqian had asked for it today, I think I could have let go and been done with it. But now…"
"In the end, we're only human. Just ordinary people."