Chapter 519: Heartbreaking

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Although the Imperial Court tried very hard to restore order, the situation continued to gradually deteriorate. Not long after Qi Haoran returned, Jingzhou Prefecture on the east and Jiading Prefecture on the west were gradually lost, and the south of Jinghu was completely occupied by the rebels. The rebels had formed an alliance and were gathering in Lin’an City. Their vanguard had already arrived at Longxing Prefecture.

It was only a 12-day march from Longxing Prefecture to Lin’an City. If it was a cavalryman, it would only take three days. If it was a single person and two horses galloping at high speed, it would only take two days…

Emperor Jingyan panicked like never before, but there was no deployable talent in the Imperial Court.

Since all the useful generals had been sent out, Emperor Jingyan had no choice but to consider deploying Qi Haoran.

However, Qi Xiuyuan already controlled 150,000 troops and was far away at the border. It would be too dangerous to hand over a portion of the imperial guards to Qi Haoran.

Now that Qi Haoran was back, he had no intention of letting him leave the capital.

Grand Tutor Yan dragged his sickly body into the palace and begged, “Your Majesty, now is not the time to hesitate. The family of Qi Xiuyuan and Qi Haoran is in the palace, and Qi Haoran values his wife and children. As long as we can keep an eye on them, we can control Qi Xiuyuan and Qi Haoran.”

Grand Tutor Yan shouted anxiously, “Your Majesty, Great Zhou is in danger. We can’t hesitate anymore!”

The Emperor took a deep breath and ordered, “Order Qi Haoran to be the general in charge of suppressing bandits. Let him take 20,000 imperial guards and 30,000 local garrison troops and head to Longxing Prefecture immediately.”

Grand Tutor Yan heaved a sigh of relief, but Emperor Jingyan looked exhausted. “Grand Tutor, even if we defend Longxing Prefecture, with the Jin Kingdom in the north and West Xia in the west, our Great Zhou will not be able to protect all of our territory. Teacher, what do you think we should do?”

Emperor Jingyan covered his face and cried. Eunuch Bai’s eyes dimmed. He waved his hand and chased all the emissaries out. Then he left quietly and closed the door, guarding outside.

Grand Tutor Yan looked at the Emperor with his turbid eyes for a long time. In the end, he sighed slightly. He was already 68 years old this year and could feel that his lifespan was coming to an end. He sat on the steps shakily and stared blankly at the pillar not far away.

Emperor Jingyan walked to Grand Tutor Yan and said, “Teacher, please show me another way.”

Grand Tutor Yan smiled bitterly. At this moment, he could not help but resent Emperor Jingyan. He asked directly, “Will you do as I say?”

Emperor Jingyan’s eyes darkened. After a while, he nodded slightly. “As long as Teacher says so, I will do it.”

A sharp light shot out of Grand Tutor Yan’s turbid eyes. He turned to look at the Emperor beside him, his chest heaving with anger, but he could not vent his anger no matter what. Looking at the Emperor, whose eyes were slightly red, all his anger turned into helplessness.

This was his student and the Emperor whom he had single-handedly helped ascend the throne. Having been the Emperor for more than 20 years, he was no longer the respectful and sincere young prince from back then. The Emperor was not lacking in ambition and suspicion, but his intelligence did not increase at all. Instead, he looked extremely stupid because of his unmatched ambition and suspicion. But wasn’t he the one who caused all of this?

If he had chosen the high-spirited Sixth Prince back then, would the situation have been better?

Grand Tutor Yan shook his head slightly. Nothing was certain. It was not that easy to manage a country. The Sixth Prince was ambitious and smart, but he was too showy and had too many opinions about the aristocratic families and nobles. As such, he might not necessarily do better than Emperor Jingyan when he ascended the throne. Thinking of this, Grand Tutor Yan felt slightly better.

Grand Tutor Yan’s thoughts fluctuated and he was silent for a long time. If not for the fact that the other party’s eyes were still open, the Emperor would have thought that he had fallen asleep. Just as Emperor Jingyan could not help but urge him again, Grand Tutor Yan said with difficulty, “Let’s make peace.”

Emperor Jingyan’s heart skipped a beat. He asked expectantly, “Teacher, are you talking about making peace with the rebels?”

A mocking smile appeared on Grand Tutor Yan’s lips as he asked, “The Emperor wants to negotiate peace with the rebels?”

Emperor Jingyan was silent, knowing that he had offended Grand Tutor Yan. Grand Tutor Yan reached out and grabbed the railing on his right. Then, he stood up shakily and said with a sobbing voice, “Make peace with the Jin Kingdom and West Xia.”

As soon as he said that, tears fell from Grand Tutor Yan’s eyes and dripped onto the smooth floor of the palace. Emperor Jingyan’s heart ached. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

Grand Tutor Yan obviously didn’t want to hear what the Emperor had to say anymore. He walked out step by step, tears falling like pearls from a broken string. He opened the door with both hands and Eunuch Bai, who was standing outside, turned around when he heard the sound. Seeing Grand Tutor Yan’s red eyes and tears streaming down his face, he was stunned. Then, he carefully stepped forward and asked, “Grand Tutor Yan, what’s wrong?”

Grand Tutor Yan stared at Eunuch Bai for a moment before turning his head and pushing him to the side, walking out step by step.

Startled, Eunuch Bai rushed forward to hold his arm and cried out, “Oh my, Grand Tutor Yan, what’s wrong? I’ll send for a palanquin to carry you…”

Grand Tutor Yan waved him away and said hoarsely, “No need.”

He was so strong that Eunuch Bai took three steps back.

Eunuch Bai was very surprised, for he did not expect the old and seriously ill Grand Tutor Yan to be so strong. While he was in a daze, Grand Tutor Yan had already taken a few steps forward.

Knowing that Grand Tutor Yan was stubborn, Eunuch Bai didn’t dare to ask him to take the palanquin again. Instead, he called two emissaries and two guards to follow behind him. Should Grand Tutor Yan fall, they would immediately catch him.

Grand Tutor Yan seemed to be completely unaware of the people and things behind him as he walked out step by step. Eunuch Bai, who was watching from behind, felt that Grand Tutor Yan’s back was a lot more hunched than before.

As soon as that thought came to mind, Eunuch Bai laughed at himself. Grand Tutor Yan was already so old, so it was normal for him to have a hunched back.

Eunuch Bai turned around and went back to the palace, but as soon as he stepped through the threshold, a cup flew at his head. Eunuch Bai didn’t dare to dodge, so he lowered his head slightly and let the cup fly over his head. The Emperor shouted in a dignified voice, “Get out!”

Frightened, Eunuch Bai stepped back and closed the door again.

On this day, Grand Tutor Yan walked from the Chongzheng Hall to the entrance of the palace alone. The officials who came and went to report matters were slightly surprised when they saw this. Then, they stood respectfully at the side and bowed. Grand Tutor Yan walked past them step by step as if he did not see them.

Although everyone was surprised, they only thought that Grand Tutor Yan was worried about the current situation. After a long time, the officials who had seen this scene recalled it and understood how painful it was for Grand Tutor Yan at that time.

Grand Tutor Yan staggered to the entrance of the palace. Seeing that he was on the verge of collapse, the guards hurriedly went forward to support him, but Grand Tutor Yan pushed them away with one hand. He almost walked out of the palace door as if he was torturing himself. The chief steward of the Yan family caught his shaky body and could not help but grumble in a low voice, “Old Master, why did the Emperor let you walk out by yourself?”

Ever since Grand Tutor Yan got older, every time he entered the palace, as the Emperor’s teacher, he would ride a carriage or a soft palanquin.

Grand Tutor Yan did not answer. Instead, he held the steward’s hand and turned around to look at the palace, his eyes filled with sorrow..

Chapter end