Chapter 31: The Treasure of the Former Dynasty

Wei Jiao was sent to the capital at the age of thirteen.

Once the new dynasty stabilized, the Emperor wished to reward Wei Cui, the Great General of Longxi, who had performed great service in controlling the Guanzhong region to ensure the stability of the realm. The Emperor intended to enfeoff him as a Prince of a different surname and invited him to the capital, but Wei Cui declined.

However, he sent his youngest son instead.

He requested that if the Emperor truly intended to reward him, he should help look after his son and allow him to study under Wang Zaitian.

Because the Emperor was a wise ruler who had brought peace to the world, many renowned scholars who had lived in seclusion during the previous dynasty flocked to the capital to follow him, including Wang Zaitian, a master of Taoism.

The reason for sending his youngest son to study with Wang Zaitian was not because the boy was particularly studious, but to treat an illness.

The child’s mind and brain had been damaged; his speech and actions were erratic. For years, countless doctors and medicines had failed to find a solution. Finally, a renowned physician suggested that studying the arts of Huang-Lao might help soothe his spirit.

As for why his mind and brain were damaged, Wei Cui had explained to the Emperor that it was because the child had lived for several years at the hands of Zhao Tan.

Years ago, Zhao Tan had ruthlessly usurped the throne and killed two of the Wei brothers. Wei Cui managed to escape, but he could not save his wife and son, who remained in the capital and were captured by Zhao Tan.

The child was only two years old when he fell into Zhao Tan's hands.

Although Wei Cui's wife submitted herself to Zhao Tan to protect her and her son's lives, Wei Cui's son had inevitably lived like a pig or a dog in Zhao Tan's grasp.

Literally like a pig or a dog.

The child lived in a pigsty and ate dog food.

Later, when the Emperor conquered the capital, Zhao Tan fled with the mother and son. It was not until Zhao Tan's death that the two finally made their way back to their home in Longxi.

By then, Wei Jiao was seven years old.

Zhao Tan was brutal; even adults could not endure his torture, let alone a child of a few years.

After five years of torment, the child was no longer a normal person.

The Emperor looked at the Wei Jiao before him.

Wei Jiao was now nineteen years old. He had grown much taller than when he first arrived in the capital, but his frame remained thin, his complexion pale, and his eyes cold and aloof, looking like a beautiful jade carving.

If he were dressed in women's clothing, one could say he possessed a beauty that could topple kingdoms.

The Emperor still remembered how, standing in the great hall, the thirteen-year-old youth had stunned the entire court into silence.

At the time, the Emperor had not understood what Wei Cui meant by saying the child was ill; he merely seemed quiet. However, he soon witnessed the truth.

Since Wei Cui had requested schooling for his son, the Emperor had summoned Wang Zaitian and others. Since the Prince of Donghai was also studying, he was summoned as well. To show respect to Wei Cui, the Emperor arranged for Wei Jiao to be the Prince's study companion.

As it turned out, after only a few words with Wang Zaitian and the others, Wei Jiao stuffed incense ash into the mouth of the Prince of Donghai in the side hall.

The Emperor led a group of people over, only to see the Prince of Donghai rolling on the floor vomiting, while Wei Jiao sat obediently, holding an incense burner. Upon seeing them, the corners of his eyes curled upward.

"Do you want to eat?" he asked in a cold voice. "This meat porridge is very delicious."

Having said that, he scooped up the ash and stuffed it into his own mouth.

Perhaps because the scene was so horrifying, although Wang Zaitian eventually accepted Wei Jiao as a student, he never formally accepted him as a disciple.

Later, Wei Jiao suffered several more episodes. He would suddenly believe he was a dog or a beast and bite others, or believe others were demons and monsters and beat them...

Despite being only thirteen and looking thin and frail, he possessed immense strength and was extremely agile; even the Imperial Guards found it difficult to restrain him immediately.

For a time, no one dared to approach him. The Emperor sent Wei Jiao to the Imperial Academy, where he was treated by imperial physicians for a year before he showed some improvement.

Afterward, he rarely appeared in public. Aside from studying with Wang Zaitian, he would only come to pay his respects to the Emperor during festivals.

Whether it was due to the physicians' treatment, growing older, or the Taoist Huang-Lao arts actually working, at the age of seventeen, when Wei Jiao came to offer his greetings, he happened upon the Emperor in a rage over an official's case. The Emperor was cursing the officials for being useless and evasive. Suddenly, Wei Jiao spoke up, asking to try the case himself.

"Officials are entangled in complex webs of family, sect, and marriage; in many matters, they are not of one mind with Your Majesty, nor can they act solely for your benefit. But I am different. I am simply myself, regardless of anyone else's background or connections."

The Emperor found this interesting at the time and allowed him to try. To his surprise, the case, which had been a tangled mess, was resolved quickly. From then on, the Emperor no longer let Wei Jiao sit idle and created a specific position for him.

"Your Majesty need not grant me official robes. Since this is an unprecedented office, let me wear the robes I prefer," Wei Jiao said, standing up and spreading his arms to show his attire.

He seemed to wear an inner red robe with an outer black robe day and night, through all four seasons.

"Black robes" did not sound elegant, and they did not look good on others, so the Emperor had patterns embroidered onto the black robes and bestowed upon them the name "Embroidered Robes."

Wei Jiao became the Commandant of the Embroidered Robe Bureau, tasked with inspecting officials and nobles for illegal acts such as luxury and exceeding their prescribed status.

Indeed, in the past two years, the imperial physicians had not reported any more relapses. However, many officials and nobles came to accuse, lament, and curse Wei Jiao for being arrogant, using torture to extract confessions, being deceitful, and behaving improperly.

Many people seemed to have been driven mad by him.

The Emperor looked at the young man before him. That cold face wore a smile, which made him look even more beautiful, yet also more eerie.

He thought: Wei Jiao had not recovered from his illness; he had simply found a suitable place to act out his madness.

The Emperor smiled slightly and changed the subject: "Has the treasure of the former dynasty appeared again in Zhao County?"

Wei Jiao curled his lip. "I think those bandits are just having internal strife and using it as an excuse to kill each other. That wretched imperial family of the former dynasty was long ago scavenged clean by Zhao Tan; where would a treasure come from?"

The Emperor said, "I suspect this treasure might not refer to gold, silver, or jewels, but rather... people."

Wei Jiao looked at the Emperor.

The Emperor continued, "Although the Lamented Emperor was killed by Zhao Tan, he had a prince."

Back then, the pretext Zhao Tan used to ascend the throne was that he was temporarily holding the reins of the Great Zhou on behalf of the Emperor, intending to return power once the prince grew up.

After Zhao Tan became Emperor, the child never appeared again. Some said he had been killed by Zhao Tan, as Zhao Tan could never return the throne.

"When we entered the Imperial City back then, we searched everywhere and did not find the child. However," the Emperor continued, looking at Wei Jiao, "there are rumors that the prince did not die, but was rescued by loyal officials and great generals."

Wei Jiao let out a snort of laughter. The more he laughed, the funnier it became, until he broke into a loud laugh. "Where would loyal officials and great generals come from in that wretched Great Zhou?"

The Emperor gave him a reproachful look. "What is so funny? Do not forget, I was a loyal official and great general of the Great Zhou at the time, which is why I sought to execute the traitor Zhao Tan. Your father was the same—he rose to support the Zhou in accordance with the will of Heaven and the people; that was in your father's own manifesto."

Wei Jiao said disdainfully, "The Great Zhou was already doomed after Zhao Tan; how could there be loyalty or support?"

So, the Great Zhou fell because of Zhao Tan, not because of loyalists. The Emperor laughed heartily. Who said Wei Jiao was a madman? The boy was incredibly intelligent; he knew how to act mad, and he knew how to charm people. Setting aside everything else, one only had to look at his princesses and daughters, who all looked terrified whenever they saw Wei Jiao's manic side...

"Enough, there is no need to discuss this. I took the world with righteous cause; I do not need to resort to lofty pretenses," the Emperor said calmly. "But at that time, many indeed used the name of 'supporting the Zhou' to carve out territories and attempt to divide the realm. The greatest banner among them was the little prince of the Lamented Emperor. However, my momentum was already established and the world's heart had turned to me, so those people soon vanished."

With a hint of arrogance, the Emperor smiled again.

"Now that more than ten years have passed, that child would be grown by now."

The Emperor's expression darkened.

"The intentions of certain people are becoming restless once again."

Wei Jiao took a step forward.

"Please rest assured, Your Majesty. This official will investigate thoroughly and crush, one by one, those vermin who were disloyal during the Great Zhou and now harbor ambitions for it while the new dynasty enjoys peace," he said.

The Emperor looked at him and nodded with a smile. "Go."

...

...

The princesses were all locked in their studies, and as Wei Jiao left the palace, his footsteps were much more languid.

The treasure of the former dynasty.

It was a person.

Wei Jiao turned his head to look toward the Imperial City.

People say children have no memory—that they cannot remember how much effort their parents put into raising them, nor the carefree joy of only knowing eating, drinking, and sleeping. But strangely, he had memories.

From the moment he was abandoned by his father, from the moment his mother led him to depend on others, he remembered every inch, every moment, and every day, etched clearly in his mind.

He had actually seen that little prince.