Chapter 10: The Kings Plot

The entire room of elites grew quiet in the face of the king’s arrival. The casual conversations and business talks were cut off immediately as everyone found a place to be seated. Their eyes followed the king as he sauntered to his throne and sat. Wei suppressed his pain and once more cursed his sickness, he scanned the room and found a seat for himself at the back of the room, out of sight and at a perfect vantage to observe most of the room. Wei was put on guard due to King Chen An’s uncharacteristic behavior. Even letting people sit in his presence. What is the king planning?

Before he witnessed the people sitting Wei had subconsciously ignored the chairs that lined the walls. I don’t care about anyone else, but I hope this meeting doesn’t have anything to do with me. There’s only a month or so before the awakening ceremony I can’t let anything stop me before then. Sitting down in a plush chair Wei observed the king, trying to glean any small clue from him. Knowledge is power and even the slightest foreknowledge of what was to come could be of tremendous help to Wei.

King Chen An was dressed in vibrant red robes that were simple and clean, made of coarse material – something you would expect from a well off commoner, completely unfit for royalty but no one said a word.

His beard was trimmed into a small goatee and a glimmering golden crown sat upon his greying hair. His throne was made of a type of material that was black as obsidian yet had none of its shine. The throne was raised high above allowing the king to look down on everything in the room from above. It was a blatant tactic to establish his dominance over his subjects - but an effective one. The king looked at all of his subjects his dark gaze sharp and unkind. The atmosphere became heavy, everyone waiting for the king to say something but no one daring enough to speak to him without being spoken to.

Wei watched them cower, their gazes flicking away time and again in fear. Not one of the nobles could even hold his gaze for a moment. Real life is so different than books, none of these nobles are the cunning and charismatic nobles in the books. I couldn’t imagine these nobles criticizing the king if showed up to court naked, let alone do anything as daring planning a rebellion. Wei coughed hard, pain erupting from every part of his body. Whenever his sickness flared up every small thing became more painful. His sickness usually felt like a constant ache, a feeling of weakness, but when it flared up it was a hundred times worse. His eyes blurred, his ears rang and his bone creaked from the smallest strain. His insides sometimes burned with pain so fierce that he felt like they would just stop working and he would die right then and there.

Recovering from his cough, Wei took in a deep breath of sweet air gratefully, he felt his sickness die down and turned back to watch the king, hoping that he hadn’t missed anything vital during his ‘episode’. The king stood up his face resolute. “the cultivators have sent a messenger,” he said face grim. There was a small bit of commotion at that, never before had the awakening ceremony occurred early.

“They are sending representatives from the most powerful sects to conduct the awakening ceremony. They will be arriving in two days, in two days all preparations must be complete so that the ceremony can happen with no delay,” the king continued.

“Since we are going to need to work extremely hard to make the deadline, I came here today to deal with an issue that I planned to resolve later but have been forced by circumstances to address now.” He said with a sigh sounding regretful.

It was a ploy Wei knew, the king had never sounded regretful in all the times Wei had heard him speak. The only thing Wei could do was to try to avoid getting involved.

For now, he would wait and see.

For the last three years I’ve put in so much effort, today I put myself at ease once more. A king shouldn’t need to put in so much effort alone. Alas, everyone thinks of themselves first and nowadays loyalty is scarcely found. After tonight will I be happy and free once more.

Or was the very freedom I sought a lie?

A king who takes orders. Is he really a king? Nevertheless, it is sadly the harsh reality. The cultivators will forever remain high above the mortals. Due to their immense power, it is only right. While I follow the orders of the cultivators I will never follow the orders of another mortal.

And for that, the traitorous nobles who are trying to usurp my power will be culled here and now!

For as long as he could remember Chen An was satisfied. He was the second prince of the Kingdom of Chen and whatever he wanted was his. The only bleak aspect of his life was the lack of a mother. The Queen had died giving birth to him and because of this his father had always treated him very coldly. They weren’t even on speaking terms most of the time. Only his brother was close to him, his only true family.

As a member of royalty Chen An enjoyed the finest things life had to offer, while ordinary people dreamt of what they would do if they could, Chen An spend his days thinking of what to do next. All of his whims and wants were all made reality, simply because of his birth.

Because he was royalty.

He visited the finest restaurants, enjoyed the most beautiful women and visited the finest establishments for music and entertainment. As a second son, he had no obligations except to uphold the prestige of the royal family. Life was at an all-time high for Chen An, he had married the top beauty of Chen as his wife and she had birthed him a wonderful young heir. Everything was going perfectly.

On the birthday of his third son Chen Zi tragedy struck. His brother and father were found dead in a secret meeting room. Chen An never expected to become king. While it was obvious that if anything ever happened to his brother he would become king, he had never even considered it to be a possibility until that moment. His brother had always been an inspiring figure in his eyes. He was a genius, the best person to lead the Kingdom of Chen – to do anything really.

And what about himself. He had no special talents and was content to simply enjoy life with no worries. He was not worthy to be king.

But he would have to try. For the Kingdom of Chen. And for his big brother.

On the day of his coronation Chen An promised himself that he would try his best to be a great ruler. That very night a maid brought him a letter. It was from his brother, a detailed account of every single important fact that he felt Chen An needed to know. Chief amongst was the covert actions of the nobility.

His father in his short-sightedness had allowed the nobles to gain a foothold in the court. His brother had fiercely opposed this leading to his death. His brother also indicated that the cultivators had always supported the royal family of Chen due to their obedience. He encouraged Chen An to use his powers as king to the fullest and that as long as he didn’t disobey the cultivators he could cripple the nobility with no repercussions.

His first meeting with the cultivators was a memory he wished to forget to this day. It was the first time he had bowed to anyone. It was a clear reminder of the world order. Cultivators ruled over mortals, that was a simple fact.

The Enlightened Realm was a world of ‘might is right’. Cultivators stood above him, but no noble ever would!

From that day on Chen An was completely dedicated to suppressing the nobility. He introduced laws that were blatantly geared towards limiting the powers of the nobility. He was the first king in the history of Chen to completely oppose the nobility. His wholehearted dedication to stamping out the traitorous members of nobility had gained him a title ‘the bold’.

It was a title meant to mock his reckless approach. Many officials, nobles and merchants believed that without the support and connections of the nobility the royal family of Chens’s rulership of the kingdom would come to an end.

He paid them no mind. He would establish a dynasty that would put the nobility where they belonged! As loyal dogs to the royal family, never to gain power and glory again.

It had taken many years but finally he had pulled it off. Every single one of the steps had been difficult for an inexperienced and spoiled second prince, but he had no choice. He was now the King of Chen and to be king he had to rule and control! He couldn’t let the nobles who were so blatant about killing his brother continue to have their way. It took plenty of time but Chen An did it, all to fulfill his dream. Gaining contacts, training spies and eliminating as many weaknesses as possible. All in pursuit of being in control. To have revenge for his brother and establish his dream dynasty.

He had swayed many of the merchants and low members of nobility and even had one spy in the so called ‘high council’- the most powerful of the nobility with business and connections in every part of the Kingdom of Chen. About seventy percent of the merchants and nobility were his ‘loyal’ followers. They followed him out of ambition, they believed that after he dealt with the most powerful nobles they would fill their place. They were dead wrong. By the time he was done they would be absolutely loyal or they too would be replaced

The other thirty percent were his true oppositions and also the ones who caused his brother’s death.

The ambitious traitors – the high council.

Ideally, he would’ve liked nothing more than to have them turn on each other and slowly pick them off one by one but time waits for no man. Just a week ago his spy in the high council had reported that the council had finally managed to make a decision to get rid of him. They wanted to use the current low standing he had in the eyes of the cultivators to replace him. Accumulating all the power and experience he possessed had taken him much time and effort, so his orders from the cultivators was done much less efficiently than before. They were going to use that to justify replacing him with a group of people (the high council) who could share the burden of completing the cultivators orders much quicker than his current speed. This had forced him to speed up his plans.

But he had to do it.

Today was the day he implemented his plan. To get his revenge and bring the nobility completely under his control.

Today I will paint the floor red with the blood of arrogant traitors. This will serve as a lesson for all who come after. The Kingdom of Chen belongs to the royal family of Chen!

Chen An stood from his throne and looked at his enemies. He could see them pretend to cower, not meeting his eyes in supposed fear. They were fools. He saw them, saw their arrogance, their assurance of their safety. The knowledge that no matter what reason there was for his meeting it wasn’t worth their time.

Chen An saw their confidence. Now I will tear it down. Every last piece of confidence and assurance will be destroyed this day.

Feeling a pleasant warmth in his chest Chen An felt that his coming words were set in stone – an inevitable truth. My words will mean their deaths. “the cultivators have sent a messenger,” Chen An said ignoring the small sparks of conversation they set off. “They are sending representatives from the most powerful sects to conduct the awakening ceremony. They will be arriving in two days, in two days all preparations must be complete so that the ceremony can happen with no delay. Since we are going to need to work extremely hard to make the deadline, I came here today to deal with an issue that I planned to resolve later but have been forced by circumstances to address now.” Here it was the moment he had been waiting for.

He could feel the tension slowly rising. He waited until it reached a breaking point and then spoke over the labored breathing of his subjects “It is my duty as the ruler of this kingdom to uphold justice and work for the welfare and betterment of the people, every one of my subjects has a role in the kingdom and the greatest role is that of the nobles and the merchants. All of the most important issues are dealt with, with the help of you, my most hard-working subjects.”

He could see it, the smug faces of the high council and the excited faces of those loyal to him, however much they tried to conceal it he could tell. Its amazing how much more you can see when you already have the information.

“However, there have been some among the nobility and merchants who have been undermining my authority,” sharp gasps echoed throughout the room. “Allying with criminal elements and causing problems for the kingdom. Today I will execute them so that stability and order may be maintained and so that the criminal element they have introduced will cease to function. I have all the information of their accomplices and they are being dealt with right now by the imperial enforcers,” Chen An’s voice echoed through ought the room.

“Every single one of the people I had personal meetings with over the last month please move to the front, right next to my throne immediately. Everyone else remain where you are, “king Chen An ordered. The loyal nobles and merchants hastened to obey. Not questioning anything as they scurried to surround the king in a crowd, they were kept several feet away from the king by the imperial guard.

Fifty or so nobles and merchants remained huddled together, looking out of place and very isolated. At that moment, an old noble from the remaining elites stepped forward. Finally, you show yourself Luo Lei. “Your majesty we have been up for a while waiting for you and it is very late, how about we convene tomorrow to settle this matter? Luo Lei tried to persuade Chen An. Sure enough my diligent planning has finally circumvented his spy network. Never have I heard him speak such weak words. Tomorrow. As if, I won’t give you the slightest chance old man. “Luo Lei you were an advisor to my father and a great asset to the Kingdom of Chen but sadly you were lured by the promise of riches and power and betrayed me and the entire kingdom.” Chen An rebuked.

“Your majesty! That is definitely not true, please think on this topic more before you cause irreparable damage to the Kingdom. I will be more than happy to consult with you on the topic of the traitors, but for now I must be going,” Luo Lei said expression undisturbed, sounding as if everything was fine.

This old man truly has unending amounts of arrogance. Even at this moment he isn’t worried. Does he think I won’t act because of his contingency plans?

He doesn’t know the lengths I am willing to go to.

When someone becomes assured in their own intelligence and planning they become blind to any chance of failure. I should take him as an example lest I be on the other side of this situation in the future.

Look at him calmly turning his back on me. Today you have miscalculated old bastard! Now despair for your death is at hand.

Every eye in the room was on king Chen An watching how he was going to react to this slight to his authority. Was Luo Lei’s hold on the Kingdom of Chen as tight as he thought. Chen An’s next decision would decide the future of Chen. When Luo Lei neared the exit Chen An made his move.

Without a word Chen An raised his right hand and pointed at the back of Luo Lei in a casual manner. Immediately a swooshing sound cut through the air. An arrow struck Luo Lei right in the back. He stumbled and fell, barely catching himself with his hands. He tried to reach back to pull out the arrow but it was evident that the archer had chosen his spot wisely. The position of the of the arrow made it impossible to reach.

At this moment Luo Lei finally realized that the king was already prepared to deal with his contengencies.

How had his spy network not known?

He turned back towards the king face slack in disbelief “ b-b-but I am th— “ the king pointed again and a second arrow impaled him right in the head instantly killing him.

Shrill cries and shrieks of protests filled the air as the nobles and merchants of the high council saw their leader killed as easily as livestock. Almost as if Luo Lei’s death was a signal, the high council members scattered trying to head towards all of the exits simultaneously. A few even headed towards secret passages that they thought only they knew of.

“Cover all the exits. Not a single one of these traitors will escape today,” King Chen An yelled his voice filled with righteous anger. All of the loyalists looked at each other in confusion. Who was the king talking to? The imperial guards were nowhere near fast nor numerous to stop all of the fleeing traitors.

King Chen An features however was calm as marble. The fleeing traitors were delighted to see the inaction of the imperial guards. Their hope of escape however was short lived as men in dark armor seemingly appeared out of nowhere and blocked every single exit.

These are my elite enforcers. They will leave no survivors.

By the end of tonight the high councils will be no more. And my long-awaited revenge will be complete.

Brother rest in peace. I will lead the Kingdom of Chen in your place. The royal family of Chen will never fall.