AEOGA CH91

Dugu Ye caught them off guard, speaking up: “I was unaware that distinguished guests from the imperial court had arrived. Forgive Night Young Villa for our poor hospitality.”

Upon hearing this, the villa residents who had been surrounding Lu Xuechao to curry favor immediately dispersed in an orderly fashion: “Villa Master.”

Dugu Ye asked, “What are you standing around for? Why haven’t you gone to prepare fresh tea for our guests?”

“…Yes, right away.” The crowd instantly scattered like birds and beasts.

Once the room cleared out, only Xie Chongjin, Lu Xuechao, and Dugu Ye remained in the main hall.

Dugu Ye sat down across from the two and got straight to the point: “Is the court attempting to offer amnesty to Night Young Villa?”

Xie Chongjin remarked appreciatively, “The Villa Master is indeed a clever man.”

It was not hard to divine. Dugu Ye did not believe for a second that the court would bring such a massive force of troops and horses up the mountain merely to retrieve a single person. A deadsworn guard, no matter how loyal, hardly carried that much weight; bringing him back was at most an incidental matter.

Though the two had not explicitly stated their intentions, they had already conveyed enough to the Second-in-Command for him to relay it all to Dugu Ye, signaling their intent to negotiate a partnership.

What could the imperial court possibly collaborate on with Night Young Villa? At the end of the day, Night Young Villa was merely a local power entrenched on Wolong Mountain, possessing no standing to converse with the court as equals. Their only two choices were either to be eradicated or to submit to amnesty.

Originally, Night Young Villa had been branded as rebels, a offense that should have sealed their doom. Now, the court had uncovered the truth behind the matter, granting Night Young Villa a lease on life. However, this did not mean the court would tolerate an armed force operating outside imperial jurisdiction. Once the local officials were dealt with, the court would inevitably address Night Young Villa.

Dugu Ye understood this logic. He seemed to have options, but in reality, he had none; the lives of several thousand people on the mountain were no laughing matter.

The creation of Night Young Villa had been born out of the desire to resist the local officials who oppressed the common folk. Once those corrupt officials were purged by the court, Night Young Villa would no longer have any reason to remain independent. For both public and private reasons, accepting amnesty was the best choice.

He knew how to weigh the pros and cons, yet it was impossible to harbor no resentment whatsoever.

Dugu Ye fixated his beast-like eyes coldly on Xie Chongjin, questioning him with ringing force in every word: “Only now do you think of offering amnesty? Where was the imperial court earlier?”

“The people on this mountain are all commoners of Wolong City. When the Wolong Prefect oppressed us and slaughtered us, where was the court? While the common folk suffered in abysmal misery, enduring hunger and cold, worrying day and night over how to survive tomorrow, the dog Emperor was probably living in luxury in his imperial palace, sleeping soundly without a care, was he not?” Dugu Ye spoke with biting sarcasm.

“It was the court that abandoned the people of Wolong City first. What right do you have now to demand that we serve the court?”

Xie Chongjin did not offer excuses, candidly admitting his fault: “We arrived too late. I am sorry.”

He offered no further explanations, taking full responsibility for all the errors.

As the sovereign, failing to notice his people’s suffering in a timely manner, failing to purge corrupt officials, and missing the movements of Yelang—all of these were his derelictions of duty, beyond dispute.

Yet Lu Xuechao could not bear to watch this unfold, speaking up in a gentle voice: “His Majesty has never abandoned the people of Wolong City, nor has he ever slept soundly without a care.”

“His Majesty keeps the millions of common folk in his heart; the people he must worry about extend far beyond Wolong alone. Last year, His Majesty purged corruption in Yujing, personally went south to the Jiangnan region to direct relief efforts, developed agriculture and industry to ensure the people had food and warmth, fostered commerce to bring prosperity and strength to Changli, and trained the military to safeguard the peace of our nation—the reforms he instituted have benefited all the people. Year-round, he wears himself out for state affairs, never stopping to catch his breath.”

“There is only one Emperor in Changli, and His Majesty is ultimately a mere mortal, unable to manage every single matter perfectly. Upon learning of the affairs in the Northern Frontier, His Majesty was filled with deep self-reproach and immediately dispatched people to conduct a thorough investigation.”

Lu Xuechao spoke softly, yet his words carried profound weight: “The Villa Master may harbor resentment toward His Majesty for failing the people of Wolong, but it cannot be denied that His Majesty is a good Emperor. For the nation and for the people, His Majesty has given his all with utter devotion, maintaining a clear conscience.”

From the perspective of Wolong’s commoners, if the Emperor failed to grant them a good life and failed to purge the corrupt official in time, then he was no different from that corrupt official, and calling him a dog Emperor was by no means an exaggeration.

However, as the person who had accompanied Xie Chongjin through it all, Lu Xuechao could not stand by and let Xie Chongjin be misunderstood like this.

He could understand Dugu Ye, but he sympathized even more with Xie Chongjin.

He felt an overwhelming heartache for Xie Chongjin.

Lu Xuechao knew better than anyone what a wonderful Emperor Xie Chongjin was. Not out of a desire for power or gain, Xie Chongjin’s ambition since youth had been to let the people of Changli live happy, worry-free lives, to make Changli strong and prosperous, and to spare the world’s common folk from the flames of war.

Xie Chongjin had always been striving toward this goal.

He had originally received his mandate from Heaven, only to later be controlled by others.

Thereafter, life after life, his destiny was no longer his own. Watching helplessly as he acted with utter muddleheadedness while his kingdom fell and his home was destroyed shattered the young man’s ideals time and time again. The destruction of his ideals alongside the demise of his true love had rendered his mind utterly broken.

Yet his soul remained resilient.

Being able to start anew with complete freedom, Xie Chongjin cherished this life more than anyone else.

Lu Xuechao had seen Xie Chongjin review memorials without sleep or rest until his eyes were bloodshot; had seen Xie Chongjin personally test improved gunpowder, risking his noble body to end up covered in dirt, bleeding from injuries, yet continuing the experiments without a moment’s pause simply because strengthening Changli was an urgent priority; had seen Xie Chongjin wake from nightmares countless times, holding him in a collapse of self-blame, crying out in a hoarse voice: Qingshu, I cannot protect you, nor can I protect them… I cannot protect anyone…

Xie Chongjin always heaped all these responsibilities onto himself. Lu Xuechao had spent a long time comforting and reassuring him, guiding Xie Chongjin out of the darkness step by step. Regarding this matter in the Northern Frontier, what Lu Xuechao feared most was that Xie Chongjin would again feel it was all his oversight, blaming himself, feeling guilty, or even sliding further into self-loathing.

Using “handling a myriad of daily affairs” to describe an Emperor was never an exaggeration. No one could manage ten thousand matters simultaneously, yet Xie Chongjin had already done his absolute best. The throne was the heaviest burden under Heaven, and the weight on Xie Chongjin’s shoulders and heart had long exceeded the limits of what a mortal could bear.

Lu Xuechao was determined to hold up his crumbling soul, to stand shoulder to shoulder with him to share the weight, to kiss him when he was suffocating, and to speak up for him at this very moment to mend the fractures and wounds upon his soul.

Xie Chongjin was doing his utmost to save the world, while Lu Xuechao was doing his utmost to save him.

Hearing Lu Xuechao’s defense, Xie Chongjin slowly raised his eyes, letting out a faint smile as his heart felt much lighter.

He knew that no matter how exhausted or sad he felt, he would never feel lonely or helpless.

Because Qingshu was always by his side.

……

Upon hearing this, Dugu Ye fell silent for a moment.

He managed a single mountain villa, and when small and large matters piled up, he too would sometimes be overwhelmed and unable to handle everything. For the ruler of a nation to have an oversight regarding the borderlands was inevitable; thus, declaring the Emperor a foolish monarch based on this was indeed arbitrary.

Living in Wolong and witnessing the suffering of its people, he naturally harbored resentment toward the Emperor. However, listening to traveling merchants talk about their experiences outside, he learned that other places were not like this. The Emperor had built bridges and paved roads, granting merchants convenient passage and fostering economic prosperity. The Northern Frontier suffered year-round droughts, so the Emperor saved the funds previously spent on annual rain prayers, ordering the digging of canals to divert water and constructing a grand canal to transfer water from the south to the north, genuinely solving the people’s water scarcity. The imperial decrees issued in recent years were all for the benefit of the common folk—it was merely that they had failed to be implemented here in Wolong.

Shifting his perspective was not difficult, yet as the victim of this suffering, how could he not harbor grievance?

Dugu Ye’s tone softened slightly as he changed the subject: “How do you plan to handle that dog official?”

Lu Xuechao replied, “Naturally, after a thorough investigation, he will be dealt with according to the law.”

“I don’t know how much you’ve uncovered, but I don’t mind giving you a piece of news,” Dugu Ye said indifferently. “That dog official had long colluded with the Yelang people. The military grain the court sent to Wolong City was all taken by him to curry favor with the Yelang troops. However, it didn’t end up benefiting them in the end; we raided the granary and delivered every bit of it to Changli’s military camp. I reckon those Yelang bastards were desperate from hunger and put pressure on the dog official, which was why he couldn’t wait to memorialize the court to eradicate us.”

Otherwise, even if given a hundred times the courage, the Wolong Prefect wouldn’t have dared draw the Emperor’s attention to the situation in Wolong City. It was truly Night Young Villa’s actions that had driven him into a corner.

Xie Chongjin raised an eyebrow: “Delivered every bit of it?”

How could this be called raiding grain? This was returning property to its rightful owner, pure charity at the expense of Night Young Villa’s own manpower.

“Otherwise? Did you suspect us of embezzling it?” Dugu Ye’s expression showed obvious displeasure. “My Night Young Villa has several thousand mouths to feed, but we can farm our own land and buy from grain merchants; there’s no need for us to steal the army’s grain.”

Robbing official grain was a heavy crime, and robbing military grain was even more severe. Though Changli valued civil governance, it did not slight the military, holding soldiers in high regard. The Qin family, who had guarded the border for generations, was particularly beloved by the people. Without soldiers guarding the nation, how could they sleep peacefully?

Yelang frequently harassed the border, bullying and plundering the border inhabitants. Previously, it had always been Grand General Qin guarding the border, leading troops to repel them. The common folk hated the local government, yet held great respect for the army.

Four years ago, when the late Emperor passed away, Grand General Qin returned to Yujing to offer his condolences. He had originally intended to return to the border after the national mourning ended, but seeing the absurd conduct of the new Emperor upon his ascension, he remained behind to assist and supervise him.

Although Grand General Qin was not at the border, the soldiers under his command continued to guard the frontier. Who treated them well and who treated them poorly was something the common folk saw clearly.

Xie Chongjin smiled: “The Villa Master possesses noble righteous sentiment.”

That smile was faint, carrying a chilling coldness that sent a shiver down one’s spine.

Even the “bandits” on the mountain knew better than to rob the soldiers’ military grain, yet those officials who fed on the sovereign’s bounty had no such scruples.

A mere maggot who, simply by hiding under the name “Wolong,” actually believed himself to be a dragon.

Lu Xuechao remarked, “There is one more matter. Regarding the secret agent who arrived a few days ago…”

Shadow Guard was skilled in his trade and, as a key story character blessed with narrative fortune, he usually never met with accidents no matter how difficult the mission. To a certain extent, important story characters possessed a plot armor that protected them from dying outside the main storyline.

However, Dugu Ye was likewise a story character endowed with narrative fortune, holding even more plot weight in the game than Shadow Guard. It was not impossible for Shadow Guard to fall into his hands.

Dugu Ye asked, “Does the court actually care about the life of a mere secret agent?”

Xie Chongjin stated, “For those who serve the court with utter loyalty, the court naturally values their lives as well.”

The underlying meaning was clear: if Dugu Ye agreed to the amnesty, the court would value him in the same manner, never viewing his people as mere ants or beasts of burden.

Xie Chongjin did not merely treat his subordinates as tools; he truly respected those who could work alongside him to seek the welfare of Changli.

“Oh, is that so?” Dugu Ye said unhurriedly. “Those are fine words, yet the moment he was captured, he attempted both poison and biting his tongue. That behavior doesn’t leave me with much faith in the court’s so-called benevolent treatment.”

Xie Chongjin remained composed: “What kind of sincerity does the Villa Master require?”

Dugu Ye said in a deep voice, “I can surrender, but the people under my command were originally just ordinary commoners who only wanted to live a peaceful life and were forced up the mountain with no other choice. They respect me as their leader, but I do not view them as my subordinates; I consider myself unqualified to decide their future lives.”

“Guarantee their safety, restore their status as law-abiding citizens, settle them properly, and let them choose for themselves whether to follow the court or return to being ordinary commoners,” Dugu Ye put forward his conditions.

“I want to see that dog official brought to justice and the common folk here able to live decent human lives. After that, I will naturally obey the court.”

He knew this was a negotiation, and the demands he raised were by no means unreasonable.

Night Young Villa’s force was not immense, but the reason it had grown into a formidable presence owed much to Dugu Ye’s powerful leadership.

He was Night Young Villa’s greatest value.

Sure enough, Xie Chongjin said, “Deal.”