13. Life changing decisions

On the Hong estate was a deep silence as Royal Guards knocked. Only the echo of their knocks could be heard.

"Anyone here? Open up! I order you in the name of the Emperor." The commander came forward and kicked with his foot the door.

Strangely, the door opened up a bit and Guards were suddenly alarmed. It was open.

The Commander pulled out his sword as well and pushed carefully the door open. When they entered what awaited them were empty rooms and absolutely jot even one living soul.

Even dust on many things was so thick that it made them believe that no one lived here for years. Commander rushed to what it seemed as the main room and the condition of the room was slightly better.

On chairs and cabinets, the dust just started settling. Guards started opening boxes and closets one by one, not finding even a bit of any sign of living.

"This is bad." Commander rushed out and saw completely dry greenery. "Here was no one for a long time. How could have this happened?"

He ordered all of the royal guards to watch the estate while he and Royal Physician rushed back. With cold eyes, he looked at the old man that just shook his head.

"I'm an old man. Stop glaring. Of course, I won't speak about it. Palace has too many swords pointing at my back. Don't add more." It was not the first time he had to be quiet.

Hearing his words Commander Mo just nodded. He had no time to think now about anything else. There was no doubt, this was planned a long time ago.

But how comes no one ever doubted him?

As he entered Great Hall he could hear clamor and Emperor's angry voice. His back became cold, but he still rushed in and kneeled in front of the Emperor.

"Speak, is he really so sick?" The Emperor suddenly had doubts but saw Commander Mo shaking his head.

"Reporting to Your Highness. Minister Hong is not on his estate. He is gone." He stopped as the Emperor suddenly started yelling.

"What do you mean he is not on his estate?" The Emperor suddenly had a bad premonition.

Commander Mo just hoped he won't lose his head for this crazy situation.

"Minister Hong is not there, nor his servants or family. The way that place looked like, it seems his family was not there for a long time. Only the living room was somewhat clean, all other rooms looked like no one lived inside for years." Commander Mo started shacking under his glare.

On the other hand, the Emperor didn't blame him for what happened. Commander Mo was actually Royal Guard. It was not his duty to check on the Minister's homes.

His eyes turned to Minister Lou. "You are Minister of Affairs. What is going on?"

Minister Lou was calm. "Your Highness. He was working every day just like everyone else. Sometimes he would visit gatherings. His mother passed away five years ago and his wife last year. Since then he didn't join mingle much and we didn't take it personally. We thought he is still grieving his family."

The Emperor suddenly had a strange thought. "Did he have any children?"

Minister Lou nodded. "He had a son that was sickly since birth last year. So he sent him with the nanny to the... When I think about it, I never heard anyone sending small children out of the house. But as he calmly was working, we never had many doubts. Wait, it couldn't be...?"

The Emperor could see him paling and yell. "Idiot! There are two answers. All you say it's true and his family really died. Then he just misused the money for private things. Or this was long term plan and he slowly sent them away, one by one. Without us noticing."

Even Minister Xi was flabbergasted by the new situation. That means everything started five years ago. But why? What happened five years ago to change one of the people he was sure of to be loyal to the Empire.

Suddenly a thought hit him. "Emperor. I fear there is a bigger plan behind. Much bigger than we thought of."

The Emperor saw his pale face and sat down. His feet were shaking, but he couldn't show weakness in front of them. With a cold face, he waved his hand at him. "Speak."

''If his mother is actually alive and not dead, that means he started planning years ago. But he couldn't have done this without help. What about Ministers Du and Ran?''

Everyone gasped. Minister Du was called sick a week ago and Minister Ran gave up his position because of his old age and left the capital a couple of months ago.

If there is a bigger story behind it, they must find them. The Emperor realized that some things he tried to stall as he wanted to give them time to change. He was sick lately and many other things piled up so he put them aside.

He closed his eyes and Ministers could see a vain on his head popping out for his anger. But strangely he didn't blow up.

He opened his eyes and waved his hand. "Leave. I need to think about it. Minister Xi, Lu, Bai and Tsui stay."

The four oldest noble family heads stood in front of the Emperor with bowed heads.

He felt tired. "Stop bowing. You and I became old. Our back is no more as strong as it was in our youth."

They rose their heads and saw his pale complexion and big eye bags. He rubbed his tired eyes and sighed as he stared at the blue sky through the big open doors.

"I am old. Crown Prince has his own ideas about the future of this country. My sons have their own ideas and I feel too old and too tired to argue with them. I planned to give up my throne before death and finally rest. Or do you all expect me to be stuck between these walls until my death?" He chuckled as he saw their expressions. "You people can forget that. I served this country for fifty years, enough! Now its time I have some normal life. Could you please prepare everything?"

Minister Xi knew the Emperor since their youth and knew how much he hated the palace and his position. He still was a strong and good Emperor. But lately, he is getting weaker and his health is getting worse.

The Emperor could almost read his mind and nodded. "Yes, my health is not getting any better. I will probably have a few more years to live, but if I have to deal with the things in our Empire, I might have less than a couple of months. Let me live comfortably in my last days. The country needs a strong ruler. Or there will be many problems arising."

Hearing his words they knew things were going worse with him. And accepted his request.

But that decision changed the lives to many people...