The Blood Crown - Chapter 162

As soon as Yan Sikong entered his residence, the servants rushed to greet him with anxious and helpless expressions. “Young Master, you’re finally back.”

Yan Sikong replied calmly, “Has the Lady lost her temper again?”

The servant forced a smile and nodded. “You should go and talk to her.”

“Not urgent,” Yan Sikong said as he went to his quarters. The servants helped him change out of his official robes. After sitting down for a cup of tea to calm himself, he prepared to deal with his wife, Princess Wanyang.

A month after their marriage, they had already separated their rooms. Since then, Wanyang had grown indifferent, showing disdain and sarcasm towards him. As Yan Sikong grew closer to Xie Zhongren, Wanyang’s resentment towards him only intensified.

Yan Sikong remained indifferent to her tantrums, and their “family matters” had long become a source of gossip among the people of the capital, even reaching Emperor Zhao Wu. However, Emperor Zhao Wu was unable to manage his pampered daughter and even suggested that Yan Sikong take a concubine. Yan Sikong took advantage of the emperor’s guilt, gradually winning favor and becoming the most sought-after figure at court, surpassing Xie Zhongren in popularity.

As Yan Sikong walked through the corridor, he heard the sound of things being thrown from a distance. Upon entering the room, he found a teacup shattered at his feet, tea splashing onto his shoes.

“Y-Young Master…” the servant trembled as they looked at Yan Sikong.

Princess Wanyang turned to face him, glaring coldly. “Today, when I went to the palace to pay respects to my mother, she even urged me to have children. Did you say something to the emperor again?”

Yan Sikong responded with composure, “Lady, you’re exaggerating. This is a private matter between us. Why would I bother the emperor with it? However, it is natural for His Majesty to be concerned about whether the Yan family has descendants.”

“You definitely said something to my father!”

Yan Sikong replied calmly, “I did not.”

Wanyang was shaking with anger. For three years, their interactions had been like this; no matter how stormy she was, Yan Sikong remained as calm as a gentle breeze.

Yan Sikong continued, “However, His Majesty did suggest I take a concubine the other day…”

“Absolutely not!” Wanyang snapped without hesitation.

Yan Sikong nodded, “I assume you would not agree.”

The servants around them dared not breathe a word but were quite sympathetic toward Yan Sikong. Even though she was a princess, once married, Wanyang should not be so unreasonable. Not only did she refuse to provide heirs for the Yan family, but she also forbade him from taking a concubine, which was quite outrageous.

Wanyang’s face turned red with anger. “You are so scheming and despicable. If you had children, it would only bring more trouble to the Da Sheng dynasty.”

Everyone gasped; her words were extremely harsh.

Yan Sikong’s expression remained unchanged. “The Lady has a point.”

Wanyang’s eyes were filled with disappointment and pain. “Didn’t you marry me just to gain power and wealth? Now that everything has gone according to your wishes, as a princess, I cannot choose my own partner, and as your wife, I cannot stop you from aiding the eunuchs. At least I will not let you achieve everything you want. I want the Yan family’s line to end here!”

Yan Sikong looked at Wanyang, sighing inwardly. Being in the royal family, she too was not in control of her own fate. Yet, as she said, her life was not her own to decide. Every time he tried to remain indifferent, he couldn’t help but see traces of Feng Ye on her face and feel his heart soften.

Yan Sikong dismissed the servants and spoke gently, “Your Highness, although we have no marital bond, I will still respect and take care of you. Whatever you want, if I can provide it, I will. You should live in a way that makes you happy and not worry about me.”

Wanyang bit her lip. “What if I want you to distance yourself from the eunuchs and act with self-respect?”

Yan Sikong lowered his gaze. “I have studied for twenty years to achieve success and wealth. Now that Xie Zhongren holds great power, I must protect myself wisely and not act recklessly.”

“Collaborating with those eunuchs, becoming a subject of contempt, is that the kind of success and wealth you want? Do you have any integrity left?” Wanyang accused with red-rimmed eyes.

Yan Sikong replied softly, “Your Highness, being a princess, you are pampered and loved, and cannot understand.”

Wanyang, grinding her teeth, said, “Yan Sikong, I truly pity you.” She stormed out.

The word “pity” left Yan Sikong in a daze for a long time, before he muttered, “Perhaps not understanding is better.”

—

After dinner, a servant reported that Zhu Lanting requested a meeting and led him to the study.

As soon as Yan Sikong saw Zhu Lanting’s dark expression, he knew he was here about General Di.

Sure enough, as soon as the servant closed the door, Zhu Lanting slammed his hand heavily on the desk.

Yan Sikong poured Zhu Lanting a cup of tea. “Commander Zhu, calm your anger. My desk might not withstand your blow.”

Zhu Lanting said sternly, “Yan Sikong, you knew that sending General Di was a death sentence. Why didn’t you stop it?”

“Eunuch Xie has been whispering in His Majesty’s ear for years, trying to deploy troops to Liaodong. This time, he saw an opportunity. If it wasn’t General Di, it would’ve been General Zhao.” Yan Sikong’s eyes were calm and wise. “Tell me, with the Jurchen invading Liaodong, who has a better chance of winning, General Di or General Zhao?”

Zhu Lanting thought for a moment. “General Zhao.”

“Exactly. Our great nation has almost no capable commanders left. Among those who can stand against Zhuo Letai’s army, only these two generals remain. But General Di is from Jiangnan and has been stationed in the Central Plains. He has no experience with the harsh northern climate and is advanced in age. General Zhao, on the other hand, is from the northwest and in his prime. Most importantly, seventeen years ago, he led the pursuit against Zhuo Letai. Zhuo Letai fears him and is eager to avenge his previous defeat. In this emotional state, Zhuo Letai is most likely to make mistakes. By any measure, General Zhao has a much better chance of victory than General Di.”

“Then why didn’t you let General Zhao go in the first place?” Zhu Lanting narrowed his eyes. “Did you intend for Han Zhaoxing to lose?”

“Han Zhaoxing’s defeat was inevitable.” Yan Sikong’s eyes flashed with countless thoughts. “I couldn’t stop His Majesty from reinforcing Han Zhaoxing, but Eunuch Xie originally wanted to send General Zhao. He wanted to seize control of the Imperial Guard, which he had always feared. I secretly maneuvered between him and His Majesty to have General Di replace General Zhao.”

Zhu Lanting lowered his head. “You want to wait for Han Zhaoxing to be defeated and then send General Zhao to clean up the mess.”

“Only if Han Zhaoxing is defeated will General Zhao be able to take command of the Liaodong army. Otherwise, if he went, he would be the next General Di, killed by Han Zhaoxing’s schemes.” Yan Sikong said coldly, “Han Zhaoxing is skilled at such tactics.”

“Yan Sikong, oh, Yan Sikong.” Zhu Lanting’s face twisted slightly. “You understand everything, yet you can stand by and watch General Di march to his death, watch the innocent soldiers and civilians of Liaodong sacrifice themselves. Don’t you have any other way?”

Yan Sikong looked coldly at Zhu Lanting. “What if I told you that Taining is my hometown?”

“What?” Zhu Lanting was shocked.

“You’ve always wanted to know my background. Now that I’ve mentioned Taining, you can probably guess most of it and understand why I hate Han Zhaoxing and Xie Zhongren.” Yan Sikong gazed deeply into Zhu Lanting’s eyes. “Commander Zhu, victory requires sacrifice. By sacrificing General Di and the people of one city, we can replace them with a commander who can truly defend Liaodong.”

Zhu Lanting took a deep breath and remained silent for a long time before saying, “Over the years, you’ve become more and more difficult to read. I often wonder whether it was right or wrong for me to let you go back then.”

Yan Sikong also fell silent.

Years ago, when Zhu Lanting was ordered to capture Feng Ye, he naturally thought of Yan Sikong and even found evidence that Yan Sikong and She Zhun had broken into the prison.

But in the end, he pretended not to know, partly because he believed in the innocence of the Feng family and also because he believed in Yan Sikong’s determination to bring down Xie Zhongren and support Chen Mu’s succession.

But the current Yan Sikong, cold and cunning, made him wary.