How to Survive As a Villain

Some people were happy, and some other were sad.

It’s certain that Li Wuding must have been the one in the position of Great General, but at the Palace of Wuning Wangye, the sky was shrouded in clouds.

The young Monarch promised to Wuning Wangye that he would pass on the position of General to his close friend, but now, out of nowhere, he changed his mind and made Wuning Wangye walk on thin ice.

In the dark of the night, at the Wangfu, Wuning Wangye and his advisor1 were discussing this incident: “Wangye, the Southern Yan Kingdom has quietly sent troops to support you. For the major event, regarding the rebellion, you should make a lightning decision2, no delays are allowed.”

Wuning Wangye pressed his forehead with one hand and sighed: “But the Emperor doesn’t leave the Imperial Palace. Day and night he’s…”

His advisor whispered: “Wangye, in a few days, the Emperor will definitely come out of the Imperial Palace.”

Wuning Wangye looked at him strangely: “Why?”

The advisor attached himself to Wuning Wangye’s ear, murmured in a low voice, and then said out loud: “It depends on what Wangye wants to do.”

“Don’t you think it would be too sudden to launch the rebellion right now?”

“Wangye, you’ve been preparing for such a long time, how can this be an abrupt decision? Besides, these recent days the Emperor’s temperament had greatly changed. He’s not a cut sleeve anymore and he gave the General’s position to Li Wuding. Isn’t all this a sign for you? Wangye, right now hesitation is prohibited.”

Wuning Wangye nodded, and in his eyes there’s an evil and desperate brightness.

On the third day after Li Wuding was appointed as Great General, the old General Sun passed away.

On the day of General Sun’s death, the Northern Kingdom had the last wave of cold in Spring and the last snowfall. Everything was buried under snow.

Even though General Sun wanted to be buried in a simple way before his death, Xiao YuAn refused and decided that, to be buried as a General, the funeral must be held with the army.

On that day, Xiao YuAn saw Li Wuding and Xie Chungui again. They were dressed in white mourning clothes. They were supporting the coffin and walking towards the graveyard.

General Sun didn’t have any heirs, and still, he didn’t lack people that were willing to support him.

Some white flags were flying with the wind, and yellow copper coins3 spread across the sky. The sound of sobbing and crying could be heard everywhere as Xiao YuAn stood in front of the tombstone, suddenly feeling like the wind and clouds were weird; as if the world just got colder and somber.

Towards the end of the evening, when the funeral was over, Xiao YuAn returned to the Palace inside the Imperial chariot. He was escorted by his Imperial guards in front and behind him, which made the procession seem like a long and heavy journey.

Hong Xiu, who was walking besides the Imperial chariot, saw that Xiao YuAn was in a bad mood and with a worried voice, she asked him: “Your Majesty, are you feeling okay?”

Xiao YuAn shook his head and said: “I’m fine, it’s just that I didn’t expect that it would snow again.”

Hong Xiu tried to calm him down: “Don’t worry, your Majesty, it is already February 28th, this must be the last snowfall of Spring.”

Xiao YuAn seemed to catch some important words and his voice suddenly changed: “February 28th?”

Hong Xiu answered him: “Yes, Your Majesty, what happened?”

" "

Xiao YuAn held the side of the Imperial chariot, and some uneasy anxiety gradually filled his heart.

February 28th, in the original book, was the day when Yang LiuAn sacrificed his life for the young Emperor.

In the original book, there was no funeral for the old General Sun. The Monarch of the Northern Kingdom simply went out to play that day. On his way back to the Imperial Palace, an assassination attempt was made by the civilians that weren’t willing to deal with his tyranny anymore.  As an Imperial bodyguard, Yang LiuAn in order to protect the Emperor’s life, gave his in the end.

At present, Yang LiuAn’s position was replaced by Yan HeQing.

Xiao YuAn raised his eyes and saw Yan HeQing, who was at the left side of the Imperial chariot. Xiao YuAn took a deep breath and suppressed the uneasiness inside his heart.

No, Xiao YuAn said to himself: He has always been humble, he doesn’t squander the national treasury, never collected heavy taxes, not to mention he never punished the common people.

Moreover, he’s not even playing around, and the Imperial Palace is not the same as what it used to be, so he shouldn’t have anything to worry about.

Xiao YuAn comforted himself a few times, until finally, he felt a little calmer. He raised his eyes and saw Yan HeQing staring at him somewhat anxiously.

Xiao YuAn smiled at him, the atmosphere was inexplicably calm all around. The snow was falling and the clouds were not scattering, instead these black clouds seemed like they were oppressing the city, and the moon gradually disappeared behind them. For a while, the windy night was very dark, and Xiao YuAn wasn’t able to see the expression on Yan HeQing’s face clearly.

The two of them stared at each other in the darkness, and when the moonlight shined for time to time through the dense clouds, Xiao YuAn’s eyes suddenly shrank.

Because a sharp arrow came out of nowhere! And it struck the Imperial chariot, right besides his ear!

Footnotes

幕僚 mù liáo; aids and advisors of Top Officials.快刀斩乱麻 kuài dāo zhǎn luàn má; It’s a Chinese idiom, it means to take a decisive action in a complex situation / Grasping the key and solving complex problems quickly. From 《北齐书·文宣帝纪》(běi qí shū·wén xuā ndì jì), “The Book of the Northern Qi Dynasty: Emperor Wenxuan”, a compilation by (李百藥 lǐ bǎi yào) Li Baiyao [565-648], a writer and historian from the Tang Dynasty.I guess it refers to the Burial Money (瘗钱 yì qián), which are imitations of Chinese currency that are placed in the grave of a person that is to be buried. This practice dates to the Shang Dynasty [1600-1046 BC], with the belief that the money would be used in the afterlife as a bribe to Yama (King of the Underworld) for a more favourable spiritual destination. The yellow, or golden, copper coins look like .