Wenxiu stayed kneeling on the floor, his despairing eyes staring dazedly in the direction his brother's coffin had been carried.
"It's time to read the royal verdict," the head of the imperial envoy announced to the people of the Yue household.
Hearing that, every person in the hall knelt immediately, their heads bowed to the ground as they waited to receive the emperor's decree. Wenxiu swallowed his sorrow and slowly turned toward the head envoy, joining the others in the hall.
"By the mandate of Heaven, the emperor declares:
"Lord Yue Jingyuan, the eldest son of the late Lord Yue and former Prime Minister of the Yan State, having been suddenly overtaken by an unknown rot, is hereby ordered to be interred immediately. Let the coffin be sealed and carried to the foot of Mount Shanyin to contain the rot along with him.
"…In this hour of transition, the imperial seat in the royal court shall not remain vacant. We hereby appoint Lord Wenxiu, the scion of the First concubine of the late Lord Yue, to succeed the fallen, commanding him to lead the court with the same steadfast loyalty as his ancestors."
The head envoy rolled up the imperial verdict and handed it over to Lord Wenxiu.
Wenxiu remained dazed until a nudge from his mother brought him back to reality. His legs shook as he rose from the floor, receiving the emperor's decree with trembling hands.
The First Lady was all smiles inside. She immediately stepped forward to reward the envoys of the royal court. The four old men who had carried the coffin were also rewarded and ordered to remain in isolation for two months, away from contact with the living.
When everyone left the hall, the Yue household once again plunged into deep silence. Maids and stewards of the house still knelt on the ground, while the members of the Yue family stood with bowed heads, showing respect to the new head of the household.
Yue Chengyi stood beside his elder sister, Roujia, his fist clenched at his side.
Wenxiu rose from the ground, his hand curled tightly around the imperial edict. The deep sorrow in his eyes slowly shifted into something dark and obsessive. Being born as the son of a concubine brought no glory, especially when contrasted against a legitimate son who outshone him as the brightest star of heaven, while he was treated as nothing more than lightless dust bound to the mud.
Only he knew the web of schemes he had spun, the bloodied dramas he had staged, and the part of his soul he had sacrificed to stand in this light.
He broke into a sharp grin as he took in the sight of several people kneeling before him, while his younger brothers and sisters stood obediently with lowered heads, paying their respect to the new head of the household.
The Yue household had already learned to kneel; the royal court would soon remember how.
There is no hunger more absolute than the thirst for authority—the dark fire of a soul that finds no peace until the world is at its feet.
"Lanru," he called the head maid.
The old woman in her late seventies greeted the new master and waited for his orders.
"Clean the east chamber thoroughly and move my belongings there."
The woman nodded her head. "As Master wishes." She bowed and returned to gather the young maids to clean the room.
Watching her retreating back, a thin, cruel smile curved up his lips. Hearing her address him respectfully, Wenxiu felt he had tasted the sweetest nectar, more exotic than the finest palace wine.
Lanru was the oldest woman in the Yue household, serving beside his elder brother even before Wenxiu's birth. When the sun was eclipsed, even his most loyal servant had no choice but to follow the new light—him. The very thought brought him immense satisfaction.
Poor Wenxiu! He did not know he was nothing but a shadow in the old maid's heart.
When every ruckus was finished, Yue Chengyi barged into his sister's chamber with hurried steps. He irritably closed the door and knocked over the flower vase by the side. The maids standing nearby flinched at their young master's anger.
Though it was a common sight they had seen every day, it was still very hard to get used to. Much to their fright, Yue Roujia, the eldest daughter of the Second Lady, sat calmly by the vanity table, allowing a maid to comb her hair as she prepared to sleep.
Though it was dawn, with the Yue household dealing with her elder brother's final journey, she had barely found time to rest.
She looked at her brother through the mirror as he plopped onto her bed, flicking his sleeves in anger. Her brows furrowed.
"You, leave." She took the comb from the maid and dismissed her.
When the maid left the chamber, Roujia glared at her younger brother and scolded, "Chengyi, didn't I tell you not to enter my chamber at night? Though our blood is one, servants' idle tongues may spin webs of filth. With Wenxiu in power, we may be the next ones sealed in a coffin."
"But it's dawn already!" Chengyi pouted, a sight unfamiliar to most people in the household.
Their mother, Lady Fang, the Second Lady of the household, had passed away at his first cry. Left motherless, it was his elder sister who fed him, clothed him, and shielded him from the schemes of the inner courtyard.
Roujia sighed and walked over to take a seat beside her brother on the bed. Chengyi lay flat, resting his head on his sister's lap.
"Jiejie, I hate bowing to that bastard!" he vented his frustration to his sister.
Roujia's eyes softened as she patted her brother's head. "Chengyi, the greatest power of a strategist is patience. So wait, and let him taste power for a few days."
"Hmph!"
Roujia continued to stroke his hair, her touch steady and rhythmic, until her fingers went still against his hair.
"Chengyi…" she began, her voice dropping to a low, cautious sliver.
"I heard you visited Physician Wu a day before Wenxiu did."