433: Royal Decree

Northern Frontier City, the Meeting Hall of the City Lord's Mansion.

Several massive gilded braziers burned within the hall, their flickering flames illuminating the interior brightly, yet they could not dispel the piercing chill in the air.

Situ Jun sat upright in the seat of honor. He had changed out of his usual military attire into a black robe embroidered with gold thread. His dark hair cascaded over his shoulders, held in place only by a black jade hairpin. His features were deep-set, and his Aura was as heavy and steady as a mountain.

His fingertips tapped lightly on the armrest as his gaze fell upon the bright yellow figure in the center of the hall, his expression inscrutable.

Jiang Yan had not followed him.

He knew she must be feeling unsettled at this moment, so he had let her rest in the Warm Chamber for the time being, thinking to go and speak with her personally after dismissing the messenger.

The messenger from the Tianqi Kingdom was a fair-skinned, beardless middle-aged official with shrewd eyes. He wore the attire of an Imperial Envoy and held a scroll of bright yellow Imperial Decree in his hands, with two guards carrying long sabers at their waists following behind him.

With a fawning smile on his face, he bowed deeply to Situ Jun, adopting an extremely humble posture.

"This humble official, Zhu Daming, by order of the Lord of Tianqi, has come specifically to pay respects to City Lord Situ, to read the Sovereign's decree, and to present the Ceremonial Invitation."

"Read it."

Situ Jun uttered only a single word, his voice low but carrying an unquestionable pressure.

Zhu Daming's heart trembled. Not daring to be the least bit negligent, he hurriedly unfurled the Imperial Decree, cleared his throat, and began to read aloud in a clear voice:

"By the Grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Situ Jun, the City Lord of the Northern Frontier, has guarded the borders and resisted foreign enemies with outstanding merit, protecting the people and allowing them to live in peace and prosperity. This brings great comfort to our heart. We hereby bestow various treasures, a hundred piculs of Spirit Medicine, and a thousand bolts of brocade as a reward. Furthermore, we shall select an auspicious day to invest Xia Wei, the daughter of the Minister of Personnel Xia Guanglin, as the New Empress, re-establishing the Central Palace to stabilize the state. Recognizing that the City Lord is a pillar of the nation and a relative of the imperial family by marriage, we specially invite the City Lord to the capital to observe the ceremony and join the grand occasion... End of decree."

The rewards in the first half were merely routine mollification; the investiture of the New Empress and the invitation to the ceremony in the second half were the true core of this decree.

After Zhu Daming finished reading, he carefully rolled up the Imperial Decree and presented it with both hands.

He then took out another, smaller, plain-colored document from his robes. The smile on his face became even more humble, yet his tone carried a hint of irrepressible unease.

"City Lord Situ, there is one more... regarding the disposal of the former Empress, The Jiang Clan. Our Sovereign appreciates the past hard work of The Jiang Clan and is moved by her heart in praying for the nation this time; thus, he specially grants her permission for honorary retirement in the Northern Frontier, enjoying the double stipend of a Prince. However, a country cannot be without an empress for a single day, nor can the Central Palace remain vacant for long. Therefore... therefore, her title as Empress is stripped, her golden records and seals are reclaimed, and she is demoted to a Commoner. It is hoped that she will focus on her quiet cultivation in the Northern Frontier and no longer consider herself part of the Tianqi Imperial Family. These are the relevant documents; please look them over, City Lord."

As his voice fell, the Meeting Hall sank into a dead silence, so quiet that a pin drop could be heard.

Occasionally, the charcoal in the brazier would make a soft crackling sound, causing the servants in the hall to subconsciously slow their breathing.

Everyone's gaze fell upon the indifferent City Lord in the seat of honor.

Situ Jun's face remained expressionless, but a cold sneer flickered deep within his eyes.

Li Xuan had certainly calculated well.

By deposing the old empress and installing a New Empress, he was completely severing ties with Jiang Yan. This both appeased the criticisms within the Tianqi Kingdom court and preserved his own dignity as an Emperor.

And this decree of being "demoted to a Commoner" seemed like a heartless abandonment, but in reality, it completely extracted Jiang Yan from the quagmire of the imperial family.

In this way, many nominal entanglements were avoided. In a sense, it actually "fulfilled" the path for him and Jiang Yan.

Of course, behind this "fulfillment" lay a depth of humiliation and calculation on Li Xuan's part that perhaps only he himself understood.

Situ Jun slowly raised his hand and took the two documents. He did not immediately open them for a closer look but simply held them, his fingertips tapping lightly on the surface.

His gaze was like lightning as it fell upon Zhu Daming, his tone flat yet heavy with pressure.

"Does the Sovereign... have any other decrees?"

Zhu Daming felt a chill in his heart under that gaze. A layer of cold sweat instantly broke out on his back, and he hurriedly bowed, replying:

"In... in response to City Lord Situ, Your Majesty also instructed this humble official to ensure that the decree and invitation are personally delivered into the City Lord's hands, and... and to ask the City Lord to take good care of The Jiang... The Jiang Clan."

He paused, then lowered his voice, adding cautiously:

"Of course, the Sovereign's intention is to inform the City Lord that since The Jiang Clan no longer holds the status of Empress, whether she stays or leaves... is naturally for the City Lord to decide."

"Heh! For me to decide?"

Situ Jun let out an extremely soft chuckle. The laugh was low and raspy, betraying no emotion, yet it made Zhu Daming's heart seize.

"Go back and report."

Situ Jun waved his hand, his tone indifferent.

"Tell the Sovereign that this City Lord has received his 'intentions.' I will take good care of Jiang Yan; he need not trouble himself. As for the matter of attending the investiture ceremony of the New Empress..."

He deliberately drew out his words, and Zhu Daming's heart immediately leapt into his throat, not even daring to breathe.

"Once the Sovereign has chosen an auspicious day, if this City Lord has no urgent military affairs at that time, I will naturally attend."

Situ Jun gave an ambiguous answer.

He neither accepted nor refused, keeping all the initiative firmly in his own hands.

Zhu Daming did not dare to ask another word and hurriedly bowed in response:

"Yes, this humble official will certainly convey the City Lord's words exactly as they were spoken."

"See the guest out."

Situ Jun again waved his hand, his tone now carrying a hint of impatience.

After Zhu Daming and his party were respectfully led out by the servants, the Meeting Hall returned to a dead silence.

Only then did Situ Jun leisurely open the document regarding the disposal of Jiang Yan. On the yellowed Xuan paper, the ink characters were written with extreme sincerity, attributing all the reasons for the deposition to "frail health requiring long-term care" and "voluntary withdrawal," doing their utmost to gloss over the sordid calculations involved. Yet, the four black characters "demoted to a Commoner" remained so striking they were hard to ignore.

Situ Jun's fingertips rubbed over those four characters, and the scene in the Warm Chamber from earlier that morning involuntarily surfaced in his mind.

Jiang Yan had been draped in his outer robe, sitting by the bedside with her hair slightly mussed and her cheeks flushed. Those eyes, usually dignified and serene, were filled with shyness and dependence. When her fingertips touched him, they still carried a faint, indiscernible tremor.

To him, Jiang Yan had long since ceased to be merely a political pawn used to balance the Tianqi Kingdom; she was a living person, a woman with whom he had shared physical intimacy, and who had stirred a sense of pity and possessiveness in his heart.

He closed the document, stood up, and strode toward the Warm Chamber.

Inside the Warm Chamber, Silver-thread charcoal burned, creating a cozy warmth that nonetheless failed to dispel the loneliness in the air.

Jiang Yan sat alone on the soft couch by the window, a plain Fox-fur cloak draped over her shoulders, her gaze staring blankly at the snowflakes that had begun to fall again outside.

The goose-feather-like snowflakes fluttered down, dyeing the world in a vast, hazy white. Her silhouette looked so fragile that it seemed as if a gust of wind could knock her over, exuding an inescapable sense of desolation.