Martial Cultivator

Chapter 484: Widowed and All Alone

The court sessions of the Great Liang Dynasty were long scheduled, but after the current Emperor ascended to the throne, the timing of these sessions became somewhat arbitrary. Besides being the Great Liang Emperor, this ruler was also a martial powerhouse, often entering closed-seclusion to cultivate. This practice was understandable, but even so, this Emperor did not neglect state affairs. Since the first year of Tianjian, a system was established where the Premier, along with several key officials, managed imperial affairs during the Emperor's closed-seclusions.

As a result, ministers usually received notice from the Premier a day in advance regarding court sessions. However, after the Emperor personally journeyed to the Northern Frontier last year, the frequency of court sessions significantly decreased this year. While the palace consistently claimed the Emperor was in secluded training, the ministers were not easily convinced. By spring, many ministers intermittently submitted petitions to the Emperor. Most of these memorials were intercepted by the Premier and never reached the Emperor's desk. However, as this situation dragged on, it culminated in a joint memorial signed by dozens of ministers. The Premier could no longer suppress it, resulting in a pile of memorials resembling a small mountain on the Emperor's desk.

Some ministers even stood guard at the gates of the Imperial Palace, hoping to gain an audience with the Emperor.

Yet, after all the waiting, they were met with the message: "No court session tomorrow unless there are urgent matters."

This situation angered many ministers who were previously still observing things, leading to an increased gathering of officials outside the palace gates, creating the impression of a potential forced abdication.

Such scenes were not uncommon. When it was first announced that the Emperor would travel to the Northern Frontier, a similar crowd of court officials had gathered. At that time, some officials even banged their heads against pillars, resulting in bloody scenes.

Although the current situation was not exactly the same, everyone understood that if not handled properly, it could lead to significant unrest in the Divine Capital.

Scholars caused chaos with their writings, and knights caused disorder with their martial prowess.

This sentence had persisted in secular dynasties for millennia. Before the current Emperor ascended to the throne, the secular dynasty emperors were often regarded as ants that were slightly larger by the foreign cultivators. There were often cultivators who freely entered and exited the palace. However, since the Great Liang Emperor's ascension, the latter half of the phrase has largely ceased to be a concern. Yet, the first half of the phrase remained unresolved.

Border threats in the Northern Frontier could be handled by martial artists, but governing a nation relied heavily on these scholars. Yet, these scholars were known for their moral integrity. They might be physically weak, but some truly feared neither death nor hardship, steadfast in their principles. Thus, simply killing a few individuals would not suffice to suppress them.

The Premier did not join the other court ministers at the palace gates to seek an audience with the Emperor. Instead, he changed his clothes and sat with the Grand Historian under the shade of a distant tree. Adjusting his clothes, the Premier smiled and said, "These guys still don't understand after all these years that the Emperor doesn't truly care about their opinions."

The Grand Historian, looking serious and somewhat puzzled, asked, "As the Premier, the head of the civil officials, which side will you choose in this situation?"

"I won't choose any side. This old body of mine can't handle such turmoil."

The Premier smiled as he looked at the Grand Historian. "But you, you have your own thoughts, but can't voice them. It's not easy being the Grand Historian."

As a court historian, the Grand Historian had occasionally taken radical actions, but most of the time, he had to remain restrained and avoid getting too involved in such matters. Otherwise, it would be difficult to maintain impartiality in his records.

"His Majesty has it tough. Not only does he have to govern the country, but he also has to deter the foreign lands with his power. Naturally, he can't neglect his cultivation. From my perspective, it's understandable that court sessions aren't held frequently. Why make such a fuss?" The Premier looked at the Grand Historian, smiling, and asked, "What do you think?"

The Grand Historian furrowed his brows and said coldly, "I don't care about so much. Whatever happens must be recorded in the annals. How His Majesty acts is included. If His Majesty doesn't care about how future generations will judge him, then he can act as he pleases."

The Premier understood the Grand Historian's concern. Though not everything could be resolved perfectly, if the Emperor made some effort to appease the officials, it would make things easier for them. However, over the past decade, His Majesty had always been indifferent about how the scholars wrote about him.

The Premier smiled, "He's handled much greater issues, so this one won't bother His Majesty."

The Grand Historian thought about recent events and said, "Not necessarily."

The Premier furrowed his brows. Being a wise man, he seemed to understand something from those three words. He probed, "Has His Majesty visited the Historical Pavilion to browse the records?"

The Grand Historian slowly nodded.

"Does His Majesty want to revise the annals?"

The Premier's expression gradually became more serious.

The Grand Historian slowly shook his head. "His Majesty didn't say anything, but even if he had the idea, I wouldn't allow His Majesty to alter the records either."

The Premier chuckled, "You and your stubborn temper."

The Grand Historian did not answer.

The Premier continued, speaking softly to himself, "It seems His Majesty is indeed getting old."

……

……

After returning to the imperial palace, Li Heng naturally resumed his duties attending to the Great Liang Emperor. Today, a young eunuch brought a brazier from outside the Imperial Study. Li Heng instinctively picked up the reports on the desk, and tossed them into the fire one by one.

None of these reports had been read, but the Emperor already knew their contents. Reading them would only cause irritation, so there was no need to bother.

The Emperor sat behind the desk, watched for a few moments before slowly standing up and looking at Li Heng. Li Heng smiled and asked, "Your Majesty, shall we go and see those ministers?"

The Great Liang Emperor said indifferently, "What's there to see? These scholars have done this before, and it won't be the last time. Let them cause a fuss. They have their reasons, and We have mine. No one can convince the other, so why waste words?"

Li Heng smiled and teased, "If Your Majesty were truly in closed-seclusion, then that would be reasonable. But given the current situation, this servant can't quite agree with Your Majesty's reasoning."

Hearing this, the Great Liang Emperor glanced at Li Heng a few more times before suddenly laughing, "You seem to have gained a bit more spirit since your outing. It seems necessary to go out and see the world more often, otherwise, life becomes quite dull."

Just as Li Heng was about to respond, a voice from the door announced the arrival of the imperial physician.

He closed his mouth and continued burning the reports.

The Great Liang Emperor's face was expressionless as he said, "Enter."

When the chief physician knelt before the Emperor, His Majesty got straight to the point, "How is the princess?"

The physician, kneeling before the Great Liang Emperor, was silent for a moment before he slowly and bitterly replied, "Forgive me, Your Majesty. This subject has no solutions left. Her Highness the Princess has refused this subject's pulse diagnosis and treatment for the past half month."

"This lass."

The Great Liang Emperor said softly, "We didn't expect you to cure the princess. Just tell Us how much longer she has."

The physician kept his head down and did not dare to speak for some time.

The Great Liang Emperor remained silent, simply staring at him.

After a long pause, the physician finally said softly, "This subject asked the princess' maid. The princess has not been eating properly for a long time, and the prescriptions from the Imperial Hospital have also stopped. This subject... estimates that the princess..."

At this point, the physician could not bring himself to continue.

The Great Liang Emperor grew impatient. Only then, did Li Heng speak a few words softly. The physician then gritted his teeth and said, "Her Highness likely has only a few days left."

The Great Liang Emperor remained motionless for a moment. After a long time, he returned to his senses and waved his hand.

After the physician had retreated, the Great Liang Emperor said softly, "Li Heng, accompany Us for a walk."

Just as Li Heng finished burning the last report, he stood up.

This master and servant pair then left the Imperial Study.

……

……

"Back then, when We were still a vassal king and the Empress was pregnant with that girl, the imperial physician said the Empress was weak and might not survive childbirth. We immediately wanted the Empress to terminate the pregnancy, but she refused. She later gave birth to the girl with great difficulty, which probably caused her frail health from a young age. The Empress blamed herself for years and always cried when mentioning it. Thinking back, it was probably from then on that the Empress' health declined."

The Great Liang Emperor suddenly opened his mouth, his voice tinged with bitterness.

Li Heng said softly, "No mother in the world would choose to give up her child. The Empress, being such a woman, would naturally be even more determined. No matter how Your Majesty tried to persuade her, it wouldn't have worked."

"Yes, We knew that too. Later, even though that lass was weak, with proper care and treatment, she could have lived for many decades. We possess wealth from all corners of the land, and thought We could ensure she lived a good life. But We still hesitated back then during that incident."

The Great Liang Emperor's eyes were filled with complicated emotions. If not for that past incident, perhaps things would not have turned out this way.

Li Heng did not speak.

The Great Liang Emperor said with self-mockery, "Over the years, We have been so preoccupied with state affairs that We have neglected her. But in truth, We always felt guilty in Our heart and didn't dare to see her. It's quite laughable. What have We ever been afraid of anything? Yet, We are deeply afraid of this mother and daughter."

The fear he spoke of was simply the fear of death.

Afraid of losing his wife, afraid of losing his daughter.

But no matter how much he feared, it seemed useless.

Li Heng said, "Your Majesty, you should go see the Princess."

After all, she was the daughter he watched grow up. Back when they were in the royal palace, Li Heng had many interactions with this Princess.

"This lass doesn't want to see Us now. Even if We go, it won't help. But as her father, We should see her."

The Great Liang Emperor said, "Li Heng, let that young man into the palace."

Li Heng nodded gently.

The Great Liang Emperor suddenly stopped and said, "Li Heng, We are truly becoming a widowed and lonely man."