Water Mirrored Moon - 水鏡月

Part IV - The Western Emerald: 76. Reconcile

The Emperor sighed, throwing down the letter containing Zhao Ling Xian's finalized proposal.

"Your Majesty?" asked An He.

The Son of Heaven snorted.

"I have such a good son!" the emperor muttered to himself, still fuming.

The eunuch tried not to roll his eyes at his master.

"Your Majesty, are you still concerned about the Murongs? We can't supress them anymore than this for now. It would be asking for trouble."

Zhao Ling Shaung threw his cup at An He's head.

With the agility of a teenage boy, An He simply dodged to the side, watching the cup shatter on the floor. He flicked a hand with a dispassionate expression and the servants immediately stepped in to clear it away. They hurried out with the shattered cup, leaving the old eunuch alone with his emperor.

"Your Majesty, please calm down. Your health is already like this, you must take care not to become angry."

The emperor's eyes bulged for a moment, but then he gritted his teeth, glaring at the only person who'd been with him since early childhood.

"Your Majesty, even the Seventh Prince couldn't be an onlooker in this matter. You know in the end this was the best outcome. You yourself wanted it this way so why are you still angry?"

The emperor let out a sigh.

Murong Duan, ah, Murong Duan! Even after all this time you are still so stubborn! Even my son helped you and you still refuse to bow your head to me. You two...the Fox and Bear of the north...

As if sensing what the emperor was thinking, An He also let out a breath and signaled for the other servants to bring some more tea and the emperor's favourite osmanthus cakes.

An He hadn't been surprised by the Seventh Prince's involvement, but he had been surprised that Murong Shi had somehow become engaged to Yang Wan Yu, the daughter of the former head of the Imperial College of Physicians, Yang Ming Xi.

With the Seventh Prince's careful handling, a temporary understanding had been brokered between the emperor and the Murongs. While the emperor was not prone to be conciliatory where the Murongs were concerned, he trusted the Seventh Prince's arrangement.

Zhao Ling Shaung would have preferred the Tangs, but since the Yangs were not a military family, he had grudgingly agreed to his son's reasoning and allowed it. Moreover, despite his outward attitude, the emperor had his own reasons for keeping Yang Ming Xi tied to his side.

With the Seventh Prince negotiating for them, the Murongs would not act rashly in these circumstances and had come across as somewhat constrained. While An He knew that this could not hold the old fox for very long, the younger one...Well...Murong Shi was still the nephew of the emperor's favourite little sister. An He was highly aware that the Murongs had just scratched by this time. The emperor only very thinly held onto the idea of blood ties and could discard them whenever he thought there'd be a benefit...The hostage situation with young Lord Zhao Yu was a good example of this.