Echoes of My Heart Throughout the Court-Chapter 355: The Emperor Is Suspicious

After all these chapters, In the Years When I Was a Father—the heartfelt story of Qi Sheng’s journey—has finally been completed today. Thank you for following along through every twist and emotion. Please support on Ko-fi, every bit helps with translation and maintaining this website. Stay tuned for more heartwarming stories ahead!

It was a rainy day. The palace windows were closed. Candlelight cast shadows on the papered panes, and the room was dim.

The Left and Right Prime Ministers, Ministers from each department, and all other officials of the First and Second Rank remained motionless, their eyes fixed on the Great Emperor of Tiantong.

The Emperor had his hands clasped under his chin, his expression grave. “That’s the situation. Last night, Xu Yanmiao talked in his sleep. He mentioned something about a three-year plan and a five-year plan—My beloved ministers, I want to know what this is.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the Wu Ying Hall fell into an eerie silence.

The corners of the officials’ mouths twitched.

Your Majesty, this is going too far.

Sure, this was a good way to hide the truth, even avoid potential risks in case this turned out to be gossip, and prevent Xu Yanmiao from discovering it if the divine artifact recorded it… but still—Your Majesty, don’t you think it’s a little too insane for an emperor to have the Jinyiwei eavesdrop on a minister’s sleep talking?

Off to the side, the court historian recording the events had a blank look in his eyes. After a moment’s pause, he quietly wrote:

“The Emperor is suspicious. Assigned the Jinyiwei to monitor his minister’s home for three years, gaining the information through Xu Yanmiao’s somniloquy…”

As he wrote, the historian began to chuckle silently.

—Just the phrase “The Emperor is suspicious”, he had already written more times than he could count. To future generations, their emperor would likely appear as a man so paranoid, he was borderline insane.

—After all, if even his favored ministers were being watched in their sleep by secret police, one could hardly imagine what the rest endured!

The Emperor, fully immersed in his performance, issued another command to his most trusted ministers: “I don’t want to startle Xu Yanmiao. If we ask him directly about his dream, he might faint from fright. Think of a way to get him to bring up the three-year and five-year plan himself.”

The ministers: “……”

Your Majesty, don’t you think it’s a little weird for a bunch of ministers and high-ranking officials to be conspiring to trick a barely-of-age youth?

Trick him they would.

The old foxes exchanged glances, then began to plot: “It must be simple. He might not understand anything too deep.”

“It’s best if we mention the three-year and five-year plans right in front of him. If we bring it up often enough, he might catch on.”

—The truth was, if they repeated it enough, he might react inwardly. Or maybe, confused by how everyone was suddenly mentioning this around him, he’d investigate out of curiosity, only to discover that the Emperor had ordered someone to eavesdrop on his dreams.

But that implication needn’t be said aloud. A mutual understanding was enough.

“This could work.”

“Alright, I agree.”

“So who’s going first?”

Silence! Silence! Silence!

The old foxes eyed each other—and suddenly, like a whirlwind, the chamber erupted with noise—

“Someone in my department is perfect for this task!”

“My adopted son is bold and meticulous. He never leaks anything. Send him!”

“I recommend someone—Shi Jixiang, Vice Minister of Personnel.”

“Wait, isn’t he on your political rival’s side?”

“Even so, we must recommend talent without bias. Just because he’s a rival doesn’t mean I won’t support him!”

Ten or more senior officials clamored and pushed, recommending their own people—or their rivals’—but not one volunteered themselves.

They were thinking very strategically. On paper, this task seemed foolproof: appear briefly before Xu Yanmiao and casually drop the phrase “three-year plan, five-year plan.” It might even win the emperor’s favor.

But there was always the risk of something going wrong—so the best plan was to let one of their own subordinates take the credit, and if something went wrong, they, as the boss, might still be able to protect them.

Of course, those recommending their political enemies were clearly gambling on the chance that Xu Yanmiao’s influence might ruin them.

The Emperor said, “Very well. Bring all those you’ve recommended to Wu Ying Hall.”

Once he gave the order, the hall soon filled with the chosen officials.

The Emperor sighed. “There’s a task I need done. It’s dangerous—and might even bring humiliation on my behalf. Is anyone willing?”

The recommended officials, who had no idea what was going on: “!!!”

Was today a blessed day or something? What good fortune to be offered such a glorious mission!

To suffer humiliation on behalf of the Emperor! This was a gift from the heavens! Knowing the Emperor’s temperament, as long as they didn’t cross any lines, he would surely reward them generously!

And it would win them favor in his eyes and pave their way to success!

Wei Ren, Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, flushed red with excitement. He was the first to rush forward: “Your Majesty! This minister is willing!!!”

In his scramble forward, he trampled on quite a few people’s feet, leaving them gasping and unable to speak in time.

The trampled officials: “Shameless!!!”

How utterly shameless! To use such underhanded tricks! Truly rotten to the core!

Wei Ren, however, let out a relieved sigh, standing tall like a proud rooster, head held high, his voice booming: “Your Majesty! Though I do not yet know the task, as a loyal subject, it is my duty to share Your burdens! I shall give it my all and complete it with utmost care! May I ask, will Your Majesty entrust this duty to me?”

The Emperor, having settled one concern, replied, “Then follow me.”

Wei Ren followed with head held high, passing by his immediate superior—the Minister of Revenue—who gave him a smile and nodded.

Wei Ren’s face grew even redder with joy, positively glowing with delight.

The other officials who hadn’t had the chance to volunteer looked at him with eyes full of envy and jealousy.

A short while later, Assistant Minister Wei reappeared before them. His face was pale, and his steps were unsteady. Looking at his colleagues, his lips trembled slightly, and a single tear rolled down his cheek. “Gentlemen, I’ll be going first.”

The other officials were utterly shocked.

—What on earth is going on!?

Chen Zhonghui, Minister of the Court of Imperial Studs, who had just been promoted this year from a political position in Guangdong and was eager to climb higher, smiled slightly. Without bothering to be discreet, he said, “Assistant Minister Wei still lacks a bit of mental fortitude. Just now he boasted too much, and now that he knows what he actually has to do, he’s full of regret.”

He added, “If it were me, I definitely wouldn’t regret it.”

His statement was rather insincere. The others may not have noticed, but they did see the emperor strolling out of the inner hall slowly, casting a glance at Minister Chen.

Several officials furrowed their brows in deep regret.

Careless! They had forgotten to show their loyalty. Once someone else snatched the chance, any declarations of loyalty afterward would be worthless.

A few tried to salvage the situation: “Your Majesty! I am willing to go through fire and water for you! Please grant me an opportunity!”

The old emperor said, “Fine. Next time, you’ll definitely get your chance.”

Let’s set aside the laughter and cheer inside Wuying Hall for now. Assistant Minister of Revenue Wei Ren had mentally prepared himself and went to knock on Xu Yanmiao’s door.

—He had gone straight home after reading the emperor’s gossip report.

The hot water on the stove was bubbling away. Hearing the knock, Xu Yanmiao shouted, “Just a moment!” He took the kettle off the fire, set it aside, and only then opened the door. “Oh? Assistant Minister Wei, what brings you here?”

Wei Ren said, “Master Xu! I recently found a Daoist whose talismans are incredibly effective! I came to recommend him to you!”

Xu Yanmiao remembered Assistant Minister Wei well—an avid believer in superstitions, passionate about fortune-telling, feng shui, talismans, and alchemy. He was also enthusiastic about recommending “miraculously effective” things to others.

They had gotten to know each other because Xu Yanmiao had heard that Wei was fond of eating golden elixirs. Xu happened to know those elixirs often contained mercury, cinnabar, and realgar—heavy metals in dangerous quantities. He’d hesitated for a long time before tentatively mentioning that golden elixirs were bad for one’s health. Unexpectedly, Wei accepted the advice without hesitation, threw away all the elixirs in his home, and from then on, told anyone he met who took them that they were harmful.

Xu Yanmiao thought this was someone worth befriending—he was receptive to advice.

…Though Wei was always enthusiastic about recommending temples where wishes came true, fortune-telling Daoists, and the most accurate dream-interpreting witches. But since he only brought it up once or twice and wasn’t too pushy, Xu could tolerate it.

So this time, Xu Yanmiao thought he was just sharing more of his usual metaphysical gossip.

“Effective talismans?” Xu Yanmiao was briefly stunned, then smiled and followed the conversation, “Just how effective? Weren’t you saying before that the Yuxian Temple in Yuezhou was the most miraculous? Now you’ve found someone even better?”

Wei Ren said excitedly, “This Daoist is truly incredible. Way more effective than Yuxian Temple. A while back, I had a falling out with a close friend—we were on such bad terms we vowed never to see each other again. This Daoist saw me on the street and immediately said I was troubled by relationship woes. After I told him everything, he gave me a Reconciliation Talisman, didn’t even ask for payment. Two days later, my friend came to me on his own to clear things up—it turned out our conflict was just a misunderstanding.”

Xu Yanmiao was shocked. “Seriously that effective!?”

Could it have just been a coincidence? he wondered.

Wei Ren said, “I’m about to go ask him for more talismans—Master Xu, want to come along? I swear, he’s really amazing!”

Xu Yanmiao hesitated, but curiosity got the better of him. “Alright!”

Wei Ren was secretly pleased.

—He had planned this carefully. He would mention his “three-year plan” (emphasis on three years) during the walk. Since the Daoist was staying in the capital for the next three years, he planned to visit regularly and make the most of the opportunity.

He figured once Xu Yanmiao heard him talk about this “three-year plan,” he’d start thinking about his own three-year plan too.

Meanwhile…

Not only had Xu Yanmiao succumbed to curiosity—even the emperor and his ministers, listening in through the Jinyiwei’s intelligence reports, were stunned.

Could there truly be such effective talismans in the world?

Soon after, more reports came from the Jinyiwei.

“That Daoist really does seem remarkable.”

“One household asked for a talisman hoping their hens would lay more eggs. Not long after hanging it up, the hens started laying eggs daily.”

The imperial ministers: “!!!!”

The imperial ministers: “Is that really true?!”

The Jinyiwei nodded.

They had investigated thoroughly before reporting to the emperor.

“They asked for the talisman a year ago. Over the past year, the hens have laid eggs every day, and the eggs have been sold. Everyone nearby knows about it.”

“The money from the eggs even let the family enjoy meat from time to time. They’re glowing with health now. Even the neighborhood dogs wag their tails excitedly when they see them—because they often feed them leftover meat.”

It all sounded very real.

Some officials nervously rubbed their sleeves, secretly deciding to have Wei Ren introduce them to this Daoist later.

The emperor and his prime ministers smiled disdainfully.

Hens laying eggs every day? It’s not like that’s unheard of. Probably just good stock, and maybe the family hyped the story to sell eggs better.

Later, another report came: “A chesshouse owner’s youngest son fell in love with a seamstress’s only daughter. She ignored him at first. He asked that Daoist for a Love Talisman, and not long after, he married into her family. The couple now live happily ever after.”

Some of the officials widened their eyes in disbelief. “That effective?”

The experienced emperor and his high ministers just shook their heads.

Clearly, the boy and girl already had a relationship, and this was just a rumor.

Then came a third report: “The Daoist was previously in Fujian. The local political officer had no children for a long time and finally had a son late in life. He was so happy he nearly died on the spot. But the child soon grew weak. Several doctors couldn’t diagnose the problem. In desperation, they turned to the Daoist. He casually drew a talisman, burned it, and mixed the ashes into milk for the child. Soon after, the child recovered.”

—The Fujian officer was a third-rank official; the doctors he found couldn’t have been quacks. And he had no reason to fake a story with the Daoist.

The emperor and ministers, from top to bottom, nearly leapt out of their chairs in excitement.

There was actually such a miracle-working sage in the world!?

A thought suddenly struck the old emperor.

Could he request a talisman to heal the crown prince’s health?

And while he was at it, could he ask for one to make the prince more diligent and productive?

The Left Prime Minister, Li Qian, had a sudden inspiration.

‘I wonder if there’s a talisman that can make a person clean without having to bathe. If there is, I must get one—then my wife will stop nagging me to bathe all the time!’

The Minister of Personnel was even more thrilled, his eyes sparkling.

If that’s the case, could he request a talisman for catching fish—for his friend who once fished for an entire month straight (except to eat, sleep, and bathe) and never caught a single fish?

Other officials also let their imaginations run wild.

They all silently avoided each other’s eyes.

—Decision made! They would find Wei Ren and ask where this Daoist—no, this celestial sage—could be found and what he looked like. They wanted a talisman too!

Secretly. Out of sight of others.

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