Side Story 5. The Emperor's Imperial Letter
A considerable time had passed since Xiao Dili's way back had been cut off when Yixin finally arrived.
The night had grown deep, and the wind outside the residence had turned even colder.
Yelü Chun had still not gone to bed.
He was going over Xiao Dili's words one by one, weighing their meaning and trying to judge how far they had already spread.
Then Yixin arrived bearing the emperor's imperial letter, almost tumbling from his horse as he entered.
By the time Yixin reached the residence, the night was even deeper.
The horse that had carried him over the long distance at speed came to a staggering halt before the gate.
White foam clung to its neck, and steam rose from beneath the saddle.
Yixin nearly fell as he dismounted.
His lips were blue from the cold, and his fingers had stiffened.
Even so, he held the imperial letter tightly against his chest with both arms.
The gatekeeper hurried inside to report.
"Yixin, junior attendant of the traveling palace, has arrived bearing His Majesty's imperial letter."
Yelü Chun immediately ordered that he be brought in.
Everyone inside the residence lowered their voices.
Xiao Dili had already been confined to a separate chamber, and they could all guess the weight of whatever message had come at such an hour.
Yixin entered and prostrated himself.
His forehead touched the floor.
The imperial letter he drew from his robes was tightly bound with a silk cord and sealed with the emperor's red seal.
It was the emperor's own writing.
Yelü Chun looked at the seal for a moment.
The fate of the imperial clan and his own life seemed to rest together upon that thin packet.
"Read it."
A secretary stepped forward and received the letter.
The silk cord was untied.
The seal was broken.
The lamp flame trembled faintly as the secretary began to read in a low voice.
When the letter came to an end, the room fell completely silent.
Yixin remained prostrated, trying to steady his breathing.
The secretary still held the unfolded letter in both hands.
Yelü Chun looked at it again.
The emperor's anxiety, anger, and suspicion were visible between every line.
Yet one thing stood out more clearly than all the rest.
The words Xiao Dili had brought were no longer a private attempt at persuasion.
The emperor himself had named them treason.
Yelü Chun slowly rose.
He looked first at Yixin.
"Did His Majesty send any message apart from this letter?"
Yixin forced open lips still stiff from the cold.
"His Majesty said that he wished Your Highness to uphold the duty of the imperial clan and cut off Yelü Zhangnu's schemes. He also ordered me to bring back Your Highness's answer without delay."
"I see."
Yixin straightened himself and began to repeat the emperor's words exactly as he had heard them.
Yelü Chun and the officials of Prince Yan's household lowered themselves respectfully.
"I shall deliver His Majesty's words exactly.
'Tell Prince Wei this. Yelü Zhangnu has gone to the Supreme Capital with treacherous intentions. He means to use Your Highness's name in his scheme. As a senior member of the imperial clan, Prince Wei must preserve the dynasty and cut off the first shoots of rebellion.'"
Yelü Chun nodded.
His answer had already been decided.
But this could not end with words alone.
This was the moment to draw a clear line.
On one side stood the emperor.
On the other stood rebellion borrowing the name of the Temple of the Founder.
A man who tried to remain between the two would lose both.
Yelü Chun had no intention of standing in the middle.
He gave orders to those around him.
"Keep Xiao Dili and his attendants under separate guard. Record every letter, token, and document found on their persons.
"Do not allow them to speak with one another."
The officials answered together.
"It shall be done."
Yelü Chun turned back to Yixin.
"Return to His Majesty and report this.
'Your subject Chun has received and read His Majesty's imperial letter.
'It has already become clear to me as well that Yelü Zhangnu has gone to the Supreme Capital with treacherous intentions.
'Xiao Dili, whom he sent, came to my residence and conveyed a proposal of deposition and enthronement. I rejected it immediately.'"
Yixin suddenly raised his head.
This was more than a simple report.
It was an answer that placed Yelü Chun's own life before the emperor.
Yelü Chun's voice grew firmer.
"I am a subject of Great Liao and a member of the imperial clan.
"If the imperial clan itself is the first to overturn its laws, the country will have nowhere left to stand.
"No matter how great the emperor's faults may be, for a subject to move troops in the night and speak of deposition and enthronement is treason.
"The Temple of the Founder is no place to hide such words."
Every official in the room lowered his head.
Yelü Chun's words were meant for Xiao Dili.
They were also a vow to himself.
And soon they would become his answer to the emperor.
He turned to the secretary beside him.
"Write my reply."
The secretary raised his brush.
Yelü Chun dictated each word clearly.
"Your subject Chun has respectfully received and read His Majesty's imperial letter.
"It has already become clear to me that Yelü Zhangnu has gone to the Supreme Capital with treacherous intentions.
"Xiao Dili, whom he sent, came to my residence and conveyed a proposal of deposition and enthronement, which I rejected.
"Xiao Dili and his attendants have been placed separately, and their documents and communications are being investigated.
"I shall proceed at once to Guangping Marsh, present myself before Your Majesty, ask judgment for any fault of my own, and report every detail of this matter in person."
The secretary's brush moved across the paper.
The room was so quiet that even the soft whisper of brush against paper seemed audible.
The ink strokes were dark and straight.
Yelü Chun did not alter a single word while the reply was being written.
He allowed no space for hesitation.
When the letter was complete, he pressed his own seal upon it.
Then he handed it to Yixin.
"Tell His Majesty this as well.
'Prince Chun of Wei will not abandon his sovereign and follow the name of a rebel.
'Nor will he conceal any part of what has happened. He will report it in person.'"
Yixin received the reply with both hands.
The corners of his eyes trembled.
The weight of what he had just heard seemed greater than the exhaustion of his nightlong ride.
Yelü Chun immediately turned to his officials.
"Prepare the horses. Keep the escort light. We leave before dawn."
One official cautiously asked,
"Your Highness, the road is dangerous at night."
Yelü Chun looked at him.
"This matter cannot wait until morning.
"If I hesitate, Yelü Zhangnu will use my name.
"I must stand before His Majesty first."
At those words, everyone withdrew.
Outside, the sounds of hurried preparations began at once.
Saddle straps were tightened.
Guards were summoned.
Torches for the road were prepared.
The noises carried low through the residence.
Yelü Chun looked one last time at the place where the imperial letter had rested.
Xiao Dili's sweet words and the emperor's trembling letter had both arrived before him on the same night.
One offered him the throne.
The other demanded his loyalty.
Most men might have been shaken by the first.
But before the second, Yelü Chun chose his path.
He did not choose loyalty because the emperor was wise or virtuous.
He chose it because he understood that if the law of the realm collapsed, any crown that came to him afterward would already be stained with blood.
If a member of the imperial clan was the first to shake the dynasty, Great Liao would split apart from within before the Jin army ever broke through its gates.
He had a long winter journey ahead of him.
Yelü Chun put on his cloak and fastened it tightly.
When the doors opened, the cold air of the winter night rushed into the residence.
He stepped out into that cold wind.
He would go to the traveling court and prostrate himself before the emperor.
And with Xiao Dili's head, he would prove his loyalty.