So, as soon as I said I’d send troops to support him, he immediately relaxed. His expression eased, as if nothing was wrong. Was that anxious look he had for the common people just now all an act? His concern for the common people was fake; his concern for himself was real. After all, he was the one who abandoned the common people and scurried back to the Capital City the moment trouble started!
Zhao Junyao glanced at him and said indifferently, "You may return for now. Don’t make this matter public yet!"
Zhao Junqi hurriedly agreed.
Just as he was about to turn and leave, he suddenly remembered something. He turned back and asked cautiously, "Imperial Brother, is the Empress Dowager... doing well?"
"Your subject brother wishes to visit the Empress Dowager!"
The moment Zhao Junyao heard him mention the Empress Dowager, it was as if a long-hidden scar in his heart had been ripped open, both painful and raw.
Suppressing the discomfort in his heart, Zhao Junyao feigned composure and waved his hand. "Go on."
Zhao Junqi happily kowtowed. "Thank you, Imperial Brother!"
Then he scurried off, faster than a rabbit.
Zhao Junyao stared at his retreating figure, his gaze cold and uncomprehending.
Why does this wretch act so ecstatic whenever he goes to see the Empress Dowager? His own mother is in the Prince Yan Mansion. The one in the palace is *My* mother. Is there any need for him to be so overjoyed? Hmph!
...
Half a month later, the Capital City received an urgent dispatch from Guangnan, eight hundred li away. The Southern Ocean Kingdom was leading thirty thousand naval forces in a massive assault on Guangnan. Simultaneously, Lvsong Island, not far from the Southern Ocean, also ignited conflict in Guangnan’s South Sea Province. Those Southern Barbarians began burning, killing, and looting the moment they landed, committing every imaginable atrocity. The people of Guangnan were plunged into dire straits.
Upon receiving the news, Zhao Junyao immediately summoned the Minister of War, the Minister of Revenue, and the Commander of the Three Great Camps to the Imperial Study Room to discuss state affairs through the night.
Meanwhile, Zhao Junqi was holed up in the Prince Yan Mansion, claiming illness and refusing to emerge.
He’s the one most familiar with the terrain and situation in the Guangnan Territory. How can we proceed without him?
After Zhao Junyao sent messengers to summon him several times, only to be rebuffed each time, he finally, in a fit of rage, grabbed a horsewhip and stormed over to the Prince Yan Mansion himself.
But when the door was opened, there Zhao Junqi was, drinking and cuddling with two new concubines!
Zhao Junyao’s face darkened with fury. He kicked the door wide open and, without a word, dragged Zhao Junqi out.
"HEY, Imperial Brother! Why are you here? At least let me put on my pants!" Zhao Junqi yelped.
Zhao Junyao sneered. "Pants? You’ve already lost all face; what do you need pants for! Get out!"
"Imperial Brother, Imperial Brother, I was wrong! I admit I was wrong, alright?"
Zhao Junyao looked at his pathetic state, a scornful curl on his lips. He grabbed him by the ear and threw him bodily outside. "Get out!"
Zhao Junqi tumbled to the ground like a mangy dog.
"OUCH!" Zhao Junqi cried out as his head smacked into the stone bricks lining the road. He scrambled up, rubbing his head. "Imperial Brother, why have you come?"
Zhao Junyao smiled faintly. "What do you think, my dear brother?"
He calmly unwound the Nine Dragons Gold Whip from his waist and flicked it lightly. The whip struck a stone brick with a sharp CRACK!
Zhao Junqi shuddered violently. "Imperial Brother... Imperial Brother... Please, be careful! Our Imperial Uncle’s Nine Dragons Gold Whip is deadly!"
Zhao Junyao laughed coldly, holding the Golden Whip and examining it closely. "This Nine Dragons Gold Whip... passed down by our ancestors, is used to strike down corrupt rulers and worthless descendants of the Royal Family! Now that I have drawn it today, it cannot be so easily put away."
With that, he lashed out with the whip, swift as lightning. With another CRACK!, it struck the ground right in front of Zhao Junqi. The Golden Whip, with unerring accuracy, knocked the jade crown from his head. The jade crown shattered on the ground, and Zhao Junqi’s hair instantly fell into disarray.
"AAH!" Zhao Junqi screamed, so frightened he could barely kneel. "Imperial Brother, I know I was wrong!"
Zhao Junyao sneered. "You know you were wrong? I entrusted the Guangnan Territory to you, and this is how you govern it for me? Do you remember what you promised me?! Do you remember how you swore to put my mind at ease?! And what have you done now?!"
Zhao Junyao grew angrier with each word. He raised the Nine Dragons Gold Whip and fiercely lashed Zhao Junqi’s back. Even through his inner garments, bloody welts could be seen rising on his skin.
"OUCH!"
"ARGH!"
"Imperial Brother, spare me!"
Zhao Junyao said nothing and continued to whip. After ten lashes, he finally stopped. Zhao Junqi’s face was contorted in agony.
Zhao Junyao put away the whip and said coldly, "These ten lashes were for the people of Guangnan! If you had any competence at all, so many wouldn’t have died! Get up! Let’s go!"
With that, Zhao Junyao turned and left without a backward glance. He was alone, his retreating figure tinged with a hint of desolation.