Chapter Thirteen The Reaction

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

THE REACTION

“Citizens of Huaxia, I implore you to cease this descent into anarchy and see that you have been fooled by a theft of our realm!” A weary-looking Zhuge Liang, the strategist who officiated mine and Shimin’s Match Crowning only to give the secret order to kill us, declares on the screen Sima Yi holds out to me and Qin Zheng. The defunct White Lotus Flag hangs in the video background. “I represent the survivors of the tragic events half a moon ago. Although we are grateful His Majesty the Emperor has risen from his two-century slumber, we have realized in horror that he is being fed lies by the thieves Sima Yi and Wu Zetian! His Majesty’s heart may be with the people, but if he had any true understanding of modern Huaxia, he would know that so many drastic reforms cannot be enacted at once! Yes, there is much about our society that begs for improvement, but if it is not done in careful increments, our economy will collapse and we will be plunged into chaos! Violence is never the answer!”

I peek over my shoulder at Qin Zheng. He practically vibrates with tension on the other side of the glass, his eyes like hollow pits.

“We place no blame on His Majesty for this,” Zhuge Liang continues on the screen. “Evidently, the Temptress Wu has seduced the Thief Sima, and together they have conspired to impose their reckless dominion over Huaxia!”

I gag and back up against the glass, as far as possible from Sima Yi, who grimaces so hard he gets a double chin. This is the grossest accusation I’ve ever been hit with, and that is saying something.

“These thieves are holding the Son of Heaven hostage in order to subjugate the masses!” Zhuge Liang shouts, raising his arms. “See how Sima Yi has become the Chairman of the Council of Sages, despite never having been on the council! See how Wu Zetian has become the Empress of Huaxia, despite any passerby knowing she has no virtue worthy of a mother of the realm! She has slaughtered heroes and lain with murderers!”

The video switches to footage of me laughing maniacally with my foot on Yang Guang’s corpse, then a few of my provocative shots with Shimin, then the suspicious way Qin Zheng’s crowning of me cut off. I dig my nails into the edge of my bed to keep myself from snatching the tablet from Sima Yi and smashing it on the floor.

“Your Majesty, if you are listening, I implore you to think thrice about what you’ve been told by these thieves. They have taken advantage of your abrupt awakening to lead you astray! They spew lies and spread divisive conspiracies to further their own agendas! Do not be fooled any longer! I am fully aware I risk death by speaking out, but I fear for nothing except the well-being of the people, who are the ones who suffer most when the stability of society is shaken. I vowed to give my life in service of Huaxia, and I shall bend to the task until I am worn out and not stop until my last breath! For this reason, I must speak to return the peace. I beg of Your Majesty: denounce these thieves, recognize the truly virtuous officials in your court, and pull back these unrealistic reforms!” Zhuge Liang gives a deep formal bow, thrusting his hands out with one set of fingers cradling the other. “May my emperor live for ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand upon ten thousand years!”

The video ends.

I clutch my mouth, not trusting myself to speak without yelling.

“Economy, economy, these fucking reactionaries always going on about the fucking economy!” Qin Zheng says through clenched teeth, his street dialect slipping through. “Easy for them to say. They’re not the ones starving as it is! How far has this bloke’s message got?”

“It keeps getting uploaded onto the networks from an untraceable location, Your Majesty,” Yizhi says. “I have a tech team taking down any copies that appear, and they’re working on an algorithm to prevent further uploads, but Zhuge Liang clearly has some very skilled technicians on his side. It has also played a few times on the radio.”

Qin Zheng massages the bridge of his nose. “Here I thought it was plenty annoying when the reactionaries dropped leaflets all over the bloody place.”

“Zhuge Liang must think I betrayed him and the others,” Sima Yi mumbles to himself, head hanging low. “Well, I suppose I did. I just couldn’t tell them I had a divine-ordained reason.”

“Where is he?” I endeavor to keep my composure. “Where did you and the other strategists run to when…when…you know what I mean.”

It is very weird to ask someone how they escaped your attempt to kill them.

To Sima Yi’s credit, he answers earnestly. “When we realized you were coming for us, we packed onto a shuttle and headed for the Han province at full speed. We then used our connections to settle into hiding.” He looks to Qin Zheng. “Your Majesty could send soldiers to search our hideout, but Zhuge Liang and the Sui-Tang military command are likely elsewhere by now.”

“Where could they have gone?” I ask. “Do you have an idea?”

Sima Yi shakes his head. “They could be anywhere in Han. It’s Zhuge Liang’s home province. There’s not a house that wouldn’t open its doors for him, even at the risk of death.”

“Put out a national warrant and find him,” Qin Zheng says. “I want his head on a pike.”

An idea comes to me, one I bite back at first, but then I realize all four of us are in on the knowledge that the gods can send messages to us. This is it. Here we are, the innermost circle of power in Huaxia.

Skies help us. Literally.

“Could we try asking the gods where Zhuge Liang is?” I say.

Yizhi and Sima Yi both go still, as though they short-circuited.

“I…” Sima Yi swipes hesitantly on his tablet. “Their messages always vanish. I’m not certain how to send any in return…”

“O gods on high!” I call toward the device. “Would you kindly tell us where to find Zhuge Liang and the other rogue strategists?”

Sima Yi jerks his tablet against his chest, looking ready to reprimand me. But then the tablet goes ding .

No way.

With wide eyes, he checks the notification. But then his shoulders slacken.

“My sincerest apologies; it’s just my wife asking if I’m coming home for dinner tonight.” He scribbles on the tablet with his stylus. “I swear I told her I’m dealing with a major crisis!”

“Someone married you?” I sneer.

“I have four children, Your Highness !” he says, somehow making my title sound like a slur.

“Poor her. Poor them.”

He visibly holds back from retorting. I crack a grin, but it fades at the thought that I nearly made his wife a widow and his four children fatherless. And they’re the lucky ones. There’s no doubt I did shatter many families during my rampage.

I shut out the memory of the mountain of corpses in my dream realm. I can’t let myself think about it. The enemies I’m up against don’t crumple under the weight of their actions. If I do, I’ll never best them.

We wait a while longer for a response from the gods, but nothing comes. Of course. Why would the gods make our lives easier instead of ever more difficult?

“Your Majesty,” Yizhi speaks up, “it’s best that you give a firm response to the video as soon as possible. We can get a green backdrop in here and then edit you into the throne room. The average person won’t be able to tell the difference.”

“Very well.” Qin Zheng gives a grave nod. I bet he doesn’t actually understand what Yizhi is talking about, because I don’t. But I trust Yizhi to know what he’s doing.

“What about the officials?” I point out. “The ones who saw what happened with their own eyes? What do we tell them?”

“That it was poison,” Sima Yi says. “They’re all assuming it was an assassination attempt anyhow. Your Majesty, I would suggest recording a separate video assuring them of your survival but forbidding them from discussing the incident to avoid ‘upsetting the masses.’ And please emphasize that you are not being deceived by us.”

Yizhi studies the glass confining Qin Zheng. “If I may, I would also suggest building a quarantine chamber in the throne room itself so Your Majesty can keep holding court there. I’ve consulted with engineers. It’s possible. The officials can be told it is bulletproof glass to guard against further assassination attempts. They won’t question that.”

“Won’t they?” I say. “So many of them clearly resent the reforms—”

“The revolution .” Qin Zheng cuts me off. “Do not associate me with the impotency of reformism !”

“Okay, same problem, Your Majesty .” I copy Sima Yi’s way of saying a title as though it’s a slur. “Your top officials hate what you’re doing, and now they have a resistance leader to rally behind. How do we stop them from leaking what they saw to discredit you?”

“We could execute them all.”

“Your Majesty!” Sima Yi splutters. “I would strongly advise against that course of action, especially now that you are in a…less optimal position. Your officials have already seen many of their peers crushed by rubble. Another mass purge, with seemingly little reason, would alienate the literati and further contribute to rebel sentiments. Your Majesty’s heart may be with the working class, but only educated men have the ability to run your government.”

“Educated men are working class as well if they make their living from wages instead of property ownership,” Qin Zheng says dryly. “Labor is labor, whether manual or intellectual. Pitting them against one another only divides the masses and distracts them from the truth of their common struggle, Chairman Sima.”

Sima Yi flushes bright red. “Your Majesty knows what I mean.”

I sigh, cradling my head. “Even if we can’t kill them all, we need to scare them a little.”

“A fine idea, empress.” Qin Zheng rubs his chin. “I must admit, this technological ability you have in the future to broadcast footage to the entire nation at once will make it much easier to deliver the visual impact.”

“Wait, the visual impact of what exactly?”

Qin Zheng flashes a smile that raises all the hairs on my body.