Volume One: The Emperor’s Sword Chapter 10: The Despicable Eunuch
After this journey to the Apothecary Temple, Yun Que returned with a handsome haul. Not to mention the magic treasure, the Snake Sword, even the ten top-grade flying swords alone were enough to ease the crisis brought on by the Sword Vein.
With Old He in tow, Yun Que simply ransacked the Apothecary Temple, loading an entire carriage with gold and silver—by a rough estimate, over a million taels. He accepted this ill-gotten fortune without the slightest qualm.
Upon leaving, he set the den of evil ablaze, reducing it to ashes.
On the way, Yun Que repeatedly examined the token carved with a tiny snake.
“The Snake Sword, the Snake Token—looks like the Apothecary Priest has deep ties to the character ‘snake.’ Just who is he, really?”
Unable to discern anything unusual about the token, Yun Que stowed it away and took out the black porcelain bottle.
“Can’t open it?”
He tried with all his strength, yet the cap wouldn’t budge.
“What’s inside, so secretive?”
He paused, circulating the Sword Vein, and his body was instantly wreathed in sword energy. At last, after much effort, he managed to open the bottle. Before he could pour anything out, a slender black shadow darted from within, whipped through the air, and snapped back inside.
Snap!
Without a word, Yun Que screwed the cap shut again.
“It’s alive...”
His expression grew grave. He checked with his storage pouch—sure enough, the little bottle couldn’t be stored inside.
The pouch could only contain lifeless objects; anything alive was impossible.
From the aura that had briefly escaped, whatever was inside was exceedingly dangerous—best not to release it.
He’d thought it was a bottle of pills, but it turned out to hold some terrible living thing. Who knew what the Apothecary Priest was plotting?
When he returned to the Marquis’s residence, Yun Que saw all his servants kneeling in neat rows in the courtyard, heads bowed in silence.
Especially at the very front, a little maid named Qiuxiang was weeping and trembling with fright.
Opposite the crowd stood a haughty eunuch.
“You people of the Marquis’s household are utterly undisciplined! I’ve traveled thousands of miles on the Emperor’s orders, and there wasn’t even anyone at the gate to greet me! Are you all blind? Have you no sense of propriety?”
The eunuch berated the servants from on high in a shrill, grating voice. “Ruffians from the backwoods, delaying the Imperial Edict—you’ll lose your heads for this!”
At the mention of losing their heads, the maids and servants paled in terror.
Bang!
As the eunuch was scolding away, he suddenly cried out in pain as someone kicked him hard from behind, sending him sprawling face-first into the dirt.
“Where did this charlatan come from, daring to impersonate an imperial eunuch? Beat him out of here with sticks!” Yun Que ordered.
The moment the Marquis returned, the maids and servants found their backbone.
“Ptui! How dare you!” The eunuch scrambled up, spitting out mud, and shrieked, “Who just attacked me? You must have a death wish!”
The county magistrate, who had accompanied him, hurried to smooth things over. “Let’s not be angry, Your Excellency! It’s all a misunderstanding, just a misunderstanding. Marquis Yun, please calm yourself! This is Eunuch Nan, sent from the Imperial City with a genuine edict.”
He dared not offend Eunuch Nan—after all, the man was a favorite at the Emperor’s side—nor did he dare cross the notorious troublemaker Marquis of Han Shui, so he could only try to placate them both.
“So it’s Eunuch Nan. I thought another charlatan had come spouting nonsense. To be frank, my household is large and often plagued by flies and vermin,” Yun Que said with a smile, feigning surprise. “And the magistrate is here too? I must have missed you earlier.”
The magistrate bowed and smiled obsequiously.
Eunuch Nan, having suffered a hidden loss, fumed as he took out the Imperial Edict and held it aloft. Instantly, everyone present, including the magistrate, knelt.
“Marquis Han Shui, receive the edict!”
“I am here.”
Yun Que simply bowed, standing upright without kneeling.
Eunuch Nan raised the edict and said coldly, “How dare you! The Imperial Edict is as if the Emperor himself were present. Will you not kneel?”
“My family possesses a Golden Charter bestowed by the late Emperor, which permits us to stand before the throne itself—why should I kneel for a mere edict?” Yun Que replied loftily. The Golden Charter was an honor his father had earned through service to the nation.
“That was bestowed on the Marquis of Yanmen by the late emperor. You are the Marquis of Han Shui!” Eunuch Nan sneered.
“What belonged to my father belongs to me. Unlike you, Eunuch, who has neither father nor descendants,” Yun Que retorted.
This drew a round of barely-suppressed giggles from the maids and servants. After all, eunuchs had long since been cut off from heirs.
The magistrate knew that Marquis Yun was not one to suffer a loss. He could only urge Eunuch Nan to let it go, soothing him with kind words until the man’s anger subsided.
The edict itself was simple—full of flowery language, but its essence could be summed up in two words:
More money.
And not just from the Marquis of Han Shui, but from every prince, marquis, general, and minister in the State of Yan.
The Emperor had a single aim:
To build the Celestial Sword!
Since their crushing defeat at the Battle of Han Shui five years ago, Yan had been derided as “Southern Yan.” Both military and financial strength had dwindled year by year.
The current Emperor, young and ambitious, was eager to erase past humiliations. Yet instead of strengthening the army or governing wisely, he listened to his Grand Diviner and, three years ago, began constructing the Celestial Sword—a grand project meant, in name, to stabilize the nation’s fortunes, but in practice, a massive drain on the people, now deeply resented.
Forged of pure copper with a blade of refined silver, the Celestial Sword was to stand ninety-nine feet tall. Three years of effort had achieved barely more than half.
The national treasury had long since been emptied for this project, so the Emperor now turned to the nobility, demanding contributions—with fixed quotas.
As a marquis, Yun Que was required to hand over a full hundred thousand taels of silver, while princes were assessed at a million taels apiece.
At the sum, Yun Que cursed inwardly.
All told, the entire household might fetch a hundred thousand taels if sold off. This edict was nothing short of confiscation.
“His Majesty requires the funds before year’s end—the Celestial Sword nears completion. There can be no delays. This is all thanks to your Yun family; had it not been for the disastrous defeat at Han Shui, would our nation’s fortunes have sunk so low?”
Eunuch Nan handed the edict to Yun Que, his smile as false as ever. “A trifling hundred thousand gold—surely nothing to Marquis Yun.”
“One hundred thousand gold?” Yun Que said with feigned confusion. “Wasn’t it a hundred thousand taels of silver for a marquis?”
Gold and silver differed tenfold; one hundred thousand gold was a million silver!
“The Marquis of Han Shui commands vast wealth—naturally, you must shoulder more. The other marquises need only pay a hundred thousand silver, but you must provide a hundred thousand gold,” Eunuch Nan declared, clearly settling a personal score.
Yun Que chuckled, unbothered.
So what if he owed a hundred thousand in gold and silver? He had no intention of paying so much as ten coppers.
Debt? Let them keep a ledger.
He simply didn’t have the money.
Before leaving, Eunuch Nan pointed at the little maid Qiuxiang, who had first knelt before him, and instructed his attendants:
“The Yun household servants lack discipline. Allow me to teach her a lesson. Gouge out her eyes—let these servants learn what rules mean!”
Qiuxiang was terrified, tears streaming down her cheeks.
She was just a lowly maid; in a great family, her life was forfeit at a whim. Now, having offended an imperial eunuch, she was certain to lose her eyes.
Two burly attendants stepped forward, ready to act.
“How dare you!” Yun Que’s face turned cold as he barked, “To injure someone in the Marquis’s residence—have you asked the master?”
Despite his youth, the Marquis’s authority was innate. The two attendants were cowed at once and dared not move.
Qiuxiang hurried to hide behind the Marquis, dabbing at her tears, pitiful and frightened.
Despite his mischief, the young Marquis treated his servants and maids with uncommon kindness.
“Eunuch Nan, you’ve come a long way. You must be exhausted. Why not stay for the night?” Yun Que said with a bright smile. “Someone—show Eunuch Nan to the privy.”
“How dare you! I am the Emperor’s appointed bearer of the edict! To insult me is to insult the Emperor!” Eunuch Nan’s voice quavered in panic.
“Just now, you were the imperial messenger. Now that you’ve delivered your edict, you’re nothing more than an ordinary dog of a eunuch to me,” Yun Que replied, his smile radiant. “And a dog, well—can’t help but eat...filth. Today, I’ll see you eat your fill!”
Old He strode forth, felled Eunuch Nan with a single punch, and dragged him away like a dead dog toward the privy.
The Marquis had given the order, so he carried it out. Others might fear to lay a hand on the imperial messenger, but as a battle-hardened veteran, Old He cared nothing for such rules. He’d been waiting all this time to vent his anger.