After placing the civil and military officials under house arrest in the palace, Shentu Yang forged an imperial decree to summon the eight commandants of the Northern Army into the palace. He intended to seize control of the Northern Army amidst the chaos. To his surprise, the moment the messenger entered the Northern Army camp, the commandants of each camp ordered their guards to seize him.

As it turned out, the eight commandants of the Northern Army stationed across the capital region had already received a secret message sent by the Emperor via carrier pigeon. They knew that Shentu Yang had taken advantage of his triumphant return to order fifty thousand Yan troops into Sishui Pass, launching a surprise attack on Henan Yin and the Nanyang districts, and had locked up the entire imperial court in the palace, intending to launch a coup overnight.

The eight commandants of the Northern Army did indeed intend to enter the palace according to the decree, but they were not going to be lured in by Shentu Yang’s men. Instead, they beat him at his own game, leading their respective camp forces to surround the imperial palace!

In an instant, the situation in the vital capital region shifted: fifty thousand Yan troops surrounded Henan Yin and the Nanyang districts, holding the noble families and tycoons hostage; twenty thousand Northern Army troops surrounded the imperial palace on the Emperor’s orders; and Zhou Tai led three thousand imperial guards to surround the Hall of Sublime Virtue. The various military factions were locked in a tense standoff, and a massive battle could break out at any second.

When the news reached Shentu Yang’s ears, he burst into loud laughter. The look he cast toward Yin Shuhuai grew increasingly filled with admiration and love. “Your servant has still underestimated Your Majesty.”

“Not at all, not at all,” Yin Shuhuai’s lips curled up slightly, though the smile did not reach his eyes. The candles inside the palace lamps flickered constantly, and under the candlelight, the slightly swaying twelve-tasseled imperial crown reflected a dazzling pearlescent glow. It illuminated the Emperor’s flawless, jade-like handsome face, giving him a sharp beauty that resembled a sword being drawn from its scabbard. “The Duke of Yan calculated every single detail perfectly. I am merely putting up a desperate struggle.”

It truly was a desperate struggle.

Given the fighting capacity of Shentu Yang and his three thousand imperial guards, if a fight really broke out, they could absolutely swarm forward and kill Yin Shuhuai along with the entire imperial court locked up in the palace. However, with twenty thousand Northern Army troops surrounding the palace exterior, no matter how highly capable Shentu Yang and his three thousand guards were in battle, it would be impossible for them to escape unharmed when facing such lopsided numbers.

If Shentu Yang died in the palace, the fifty thousand Yan troops staying in Henan Yin and the Nanyang districts would definitely not let the matter drop. They would certainly slaughter the entire families of the local tycoons and noble clans to avenge Shentu Yang. Yet by that time, there might not even be fifty thousand Yan troops outside the city to avoid complications from a long delay, Shentu Yang’s overnight relocation of the wealthy families after surrounding Henan Yin and the Nanyang districts had already become a tacitly understood secret between the ruler and his minister.

If those fifty thousand Yan troops only learned that Shentu Yang and the Emperor had perished together while they were on the relocation route, or even after they had already returned to the Yan Kingdom, they would be left leaderless. At that point, it was completely unpredictable whether the old political factions of the Yan Kingdom would offend all the noble families under heaven just to avenge Shentu Yang, or if they would even tolerate Shentu Yang’s direct inner circle continuing to control the military and political power of the Yan Kingdom after his death.

Perhaps at that time, Shentu Yang’s old subordinates and the existing factions of the Yan Kingdom would slaughter one another in a struggle for power and profit, and various local lords would take advantage of the situation to raise troops and rebel. Warlords would vie for supremacy and heroes would rise together, continuing until the strongest faction annexed the entire empire to establish a new regime… but Yin Shuhuai would not live to see any of those things.

On the other hand, if Shentu Yang was lucky enough to survive, the news that he had launched a palace coup and slaughtered the Emperor along with the entire court would be spread across the empire by the remnants of the Night Owl Guard. By then, Shentu Yang would become a traitorous rebel whom everyone had a right to execute. Even if he escaped back to the Yan Kingdom, any ambitious local lord who wanted to launch a military campaign against Yan could pull out the banner of “avenging the Emperor” at any moment.

After all, during this era, Sima Zhao had not yet been born. The universal consensus across the empire remained that “the Son of Heaven must die a fitting death for a ruler, and cold steel must never be used against his body.” If Shentu Yang dared to assassinate his ruler as a minister during a palace coup, historians would definitely reserve a prominent spot for him when writing biographies in the future.

There was even a third possibility, which was that Yin Shuhuai could break out of the encirclement amidst the chaos after killing Shentu Yang. Meanwhile, the twenty thousand Northern Army troops surrounding the palace exterior could charge through the palace gates with the internal cooperation of the palace eunuchs, arriving just in time to rescue the Emperor.

Yin Shuhuai’s right hand unconsciously tightened around the hilt of the imperial sword. His sharp gaze darted across Shentu Yang’s neck and chest like a blade, calculating a viable route to suddenly strike down Shentu Yang and then burst out of the Hall of Sublime Virtue despite being surrounded by Zhou Tai and the three thousand imperial guards.

Sensing the sudden spike in killing intent within the hall, Shentu Yang smiled slightly. He similarly tightened his grip on the sword at his waist, paying a calm compliment, “Your Majesty’s calculations leave no room for error. Your servant admits defeat.”

As he spoke, Shentu Yang reached into his robes with his left hand, pulled out an object, and tossed it toward Yin Shuhuai.

Yin Shuhuai instinctively dodged it. With a crisp metallic clink, the gaze of both master and servant landed simultaneously on a small tiger made of gilded bronze on the floor. The gilded bronze tiger was only the size of a palm, and its entire body was engraved with runes. Probably because it had crashed onto the floor, the originally intact tiger had split into two halves, exposing an uneven interior.

Yin Shuhuai had a faint inkling of what it was in his heart. He picked up the two halves of the bronze tiger from the floor and put them together sure enough, they fit perfectly without a single gap. “Is this a tiger tally?”

“The Yan Kingdom tiger tally can mobilize all the military forces of Yan.” The look Shentu Yang cast toward Yin Shuhuai carried a faint trace of hidden grief and an imperceptible sense of grievance. “I originally planned to give this tiger tally to Your Majesty after successfully convincing you to return to You Province with me.”

This was also the reason Shentu Yang had entered the palace to meet the Emperor while carrying the two halves of the tiger tally he had just personally demanded this other half back from Yao Wenruo, who had returned to the Yan Kingdom to mobilize troops to suppress the rebellion in Ji Province.

Shentu Yang genuinely intended to share the empire with the Emperor.

The reason he disliked Luoyang was not just because the court officials were useless and the noble families put constraints on the imperial power, nor was it just because the rapid consumption of the army’s grain and forage left him feeling highly insecure. More importantly, he had personally witnessed that Yin Shuhuai did not have an easy time being the emperor in Luoyang. The court’s decrees could not even leave the capital region, and those powerful local clans were blinded by greed, feigning compliance while acting in opposition, leaving the court to clean up their messes afterward. As a result, Shentu Yang did not have an easy time being the Prime Minister either.

If they were back in the Yan Kingdom, no one would dare fool him like this.

“You have never trusted me!” Shentu Yang stared at Yin Shuhuai for a long moment before slowly speaking. “Old rebel Huo Yan and I are both powerful ministers, but since I led the main army into Luoyang, have I been competent as a Prime Minister? Has there ever been a time when I disobeyed Your Majesty’s decrees?”

Holding the tiger tally, Yin Shuhuai silently avoided Shentu Yang’s gaze. After a long silence, he answered, “Never.”

Shentu Yang added, “I suppressed the rebellion on Your Majesty’s decrees. Was there ever a single defeat?”

Yin Shuhuai continued, “Never.”

“Then I just don’t understand. Since I have been a competent Prime Minister and haven’t disobeyed Your Majesty’s words, why were you perfectly willing to be Huo Yan’s puppet, yet you refuse to trust me even a single bit?” Shentu Yang’s eyes widened with rage as he looked straight into the Emperor’s eyes, roaring in a lowered voice, “Just where exactly am I inferior to him?”

Shentu Yang knew that Yin Shuhuai lacked any sense of security as a puppet emperor, and that the officials all acted as they pleased, completely ignoring the Emperor’s decrees. It had taken the Emperor a great deal of effort to win over that useless Huo family group, yet they couldn’t help the Emperor at all. That was why he insisted on moving the capital, even going so far as to share his military power with the Emperor, but the Emperor had never trusted him.

Shentu Yang suddenly spoke up, “When I said I loved Your Majesty, did Your Majesty never believe that either?”

Shentu Yang’s burning gaze stuck stubbornly to Yin Shuhuai’s face. Yin Shuhuai was completely left without words, turning away from Shentu Yang’s gaze in a somewhat flustered manner.

Shentu Yang let out a self-deprecating laugh. He had offered his true heart and brought it directly before his lover, only for it to be tossed aside like worthless garbage.

Was the object that had hit the floor and split into two halves just a tiger tally? It was his true heart!

Zhou Tai and the others guarding outside the hall could no longer bear to listen. Wiping away their tears with heartache, they said in low voices, “Big brother is truly pitiful.”

The Hall of Sublime Virtue fell into a blanket of absolute silence. After master and servant confronted each other for a long moment, Yin Shuhuai said apologetically, “I’m sorry”

Before the words could even finish leaving his mouth, Shentu Yang rushed before the Emperor with lightning speed. His large hands firmly gripped the Emperor’s waist, and he kissed the Emperor’s lips heavily.

A hot, powerful male aura rushed over him. Yin Shuhuai instinctively wanted to struggle and fight back, but his heart inexplicably softened the moment he caught sight of Shentu Yang’s eyes, which were flushed red with grievance. This traitorous official immediately seized the opening to push all the way in.

After a long time, Shentu Yang released Yin Shuhuai while catching his breath, saying in a low voice, “Don’t let this happen again. If Your Majesty doubts me anymore, I will be truly heartbroken.”

Yin Shuhuai wiped his lips with a blank face, casting a cold gaze toward Shentu Yang. Don’t let this happen again? So it turns out you weren’t actually heartbroken this time!

Shentu Yang avoided Yin Shuhuai’s gaze with a bit of a guilty conscience. He was naturally heartbroken that the Emperor did not trust him, but what kind of reaction the Emperor would have when he abruptly proposed moving the capital was entirely within his expectations.

The only thing Shentu Yang had failed to anticipate was how incredibly well-informed the Emperor was, actually managing to immediately notify the eight commandants of the Northern Army the exact moment he launched the “palace coup.” As a result, his plan to lure the eight commandants into the palace and take the opportunity to seize control of the Northern Army had failed to work out. It also caused a slight flaw in his strategy of presenting the tiger tally when the Emperor was completely isolated to win the ruler’s heart.

But none of that mattered

“Has Your Majesty accepted my feelings for you?” Shentu Yang held the Emperor tightly without letting go, his eyes darting toward the tiger tally in the Emperor’s hand from time to time, hinting frantically.

Yin Shuhuai laughed quietly in his heart. He pulled the clingy Shentu Yang off his body all at once and instructed Zhuang Wuwei, “Issue my imperial decree to disband all soldiers in the Northern Army camps who have served for over a year. The remaining soldiers will escort the imperial entourage tomorrow morning to move the capital to You Province.”

Zhuang Wuwei bowed in acknowledgment, but then he looked at the Emperor, hesitating to speak.

Yin Shuhuai asked, “What is it?”

Zhuang Wuwei lowered his head and eyes, saying respectfully, “Your Majesty summoned the Northern Army commandants to lead their troops to surround the palace, yet you suddenly issued a decree to disband the soldiers. I am worried the commandants of each camp might misunderstand.” They might suspect he had joined forces with Shentu Yang to use a forged decree to deceive people.

Yin Shuhuai realized the issue instantly and said, “Summon the commandants of each camp into the palace. I will speak to them personally.”

Lying casually beside the Emperor, Shentu Yang suddenly spoke up, “They probably won’t dare come in.”

Yin Shuhuai glanced sideways at Shentu Yang.

Shentu Yang nuzzled close to the Emperor like a predatory beast, saying with ill intent, “Have Huo Quan go over together with Zhuang Wuwei. They might not necessarily listen to Your Majesty’s decree, but they will definitely obey Huo Quan’s orders.”

If Huo Quan dared to take the opportunity to lead the Northern Army soldiers to run away, Shentu Yang would immediately order the execution of the entire Huo clan.

Yin Shuhuai glanced at Shentu Yang, who even at this moment did not forget to drive a wedge between him and the Huo family, and said with a knowing smile, “No need. I have my own way to gain the trust of the Northern Army commandants.”

Shentu Yang seemed to recall something. He pulled a slip of paper from his robes and said with a beaming smile, “Is Your Majesty referring to this?”

Looking at the secret message that Shentu Yang treasured inside his robes, Yin Shuhuai asked with some surprise, “You still carry it with you?”

Shentu Yang said solemnly, “This is a token of love given to me by Your Majesty! Of course I have to carry it close to my body.”

Yin Shuhuai glanced at the wishful-thinking Shentu Yang, completely lacking the energy to speak.

A brief moment later, the eight commandants of the Northern Army, who had led their troops to surround the palace on orders, entered the Hall of Sublime Virtue under Zhuang Wuwei’s guidance.

Yin Shuhuai announced his imperial decree to reduce the Northern Army and move the capital to You Province in front of everyone.

The eight commandants looked at one another, for a moment unable to tell whether this was truly the Emperor’s intention or if Shentu Yang, this traitorous official, was controlling the Emperor to dictate terms to the other ministers!

“This is my imperial decree.” Yin Shuhuai’s gaze swept across the eight commandants one by one, finally landing on Jiang Yang and Dong Wan. “I intend to move the capital to You Province. If the common people wish to follow me to the new capital, I will take them along. When you disband the soldiers, you must pass my meaning down clearly. Releasing the men from good families to return home is to prepare for moving the capital, but it is not forcing the common people to relocate.”

The various generals accepted their respective orders and left the palace.

Once everyone had gone, Shentu Yang asked curiously, “Your Majesty intends to take the common people along to move the capital?”

Yin Shuhuai glanced at Shentu Yang and said in an annoyed tone, “Everyone under heaven knows that You Province is a bitter, cold place. If I do not bring along more citizens and craftsmen, how am I supposed to manage the Yan region once we arrive in You Province?”

Was he supposed to rely on Shentu Yang sending out troops to plunder the wealth of the noble families under heaven?

Shentu Yang smiled with self-satisfaction. “Even if we plunder them, what of it? This is simply how the world works: the victors become kings while the losers become outlaws, and the weak are meat for the strong. Besides, the local tycoons extort heavy taxes and plunder the wealth of the populace. Me plundering their money and grain to help Your Majesty govern the empire can be considered taking it from the people and using it for the people.”