Di Xúe sat comfortably by his desk in his study. The walls adorned by the former glorious emperors stared back at him almost to judge him while he refused to look at his ancestors out of spite. They had done nothing for him. He sat on his throne by the power he himself collected by killing his ten brothers.

As he ascended to the throne, the ministers bestowed his name onto him. Di Xúe, the Snow Emperor. A name said to represent the pure snow sent by heaven but in reality, reflected his nature as callous and dangerous. Snow makes the trees rest and the ground hide. It viciously kills.

Not that Di Xúe cared, it was a proper name the current Emperor of Tian and it had done wonders keeping the Empress of Zhong, Jin Ji, away along with the Jade Emperor and the Eight Immortal Sects away. He only receives some gifts when spring comes and they stay away from his court otherwise.

“The Guang Lu Xun wants to remind the Emperor that a royal heir would be a blessing to the court,” his Shaofu, Lin Hai said with a gentle voice. Neither harsh or too gentle. Di Xúe keenly watched his Minister Steward’s striking face. His beauty would make women swoon and men envious but he himself seemed completely unaware of it.

“Poor Minister of the Household. It must drive him mad that the Emperor has three Fu but no children to care for,” Di Xúe said with a grimace at the thought of his three consorts. All high standing ladies, chosen for their grace and beauty. All fighting for the position of Empress. Well, maybe not Fu Tián but only because she was too naive for such desires.

“Almost like he wants me dead,” Di Xúe muttered, and Lin Hai frowned at him.

“I highly doubt Guang Lu Xun had the stomach to dare do so, Huángdi.”

“It’s always the feeble looking ones that are dangerous,” Di Xúe pointed out but sighed as he also highly doubted the minister had the guts to challenge him. He was not from one of the great families and even though he has a high position in the court, he still has a weak standing in the Imperial palace and will most likely lose his title soon for a more competent substitute.

“You still cannot figure out who send those assassins, Huángdi?” Lin Hai asked politely.

“No, but I can only assume that the person must be a member of my court as I have seen no movements by the borders,” Di Xúe muttered and watched the map on the desk.

Tian was not as large as the western land of Zhong. The two capitals of the two countries was fairly close to each other, only divided by the river Ninghe. Tianzhou, the heavenly city, was the capital of Tian and the seat of his reign. He had considered moving the capital as it was not adventageous to be so close to Zhong, but both countries refuse to move their capital as it would be seen as a sign of cowardice. That also mean that both countries have to keep a close eye on the borders to prevent intrusions.

Di Xúe tapped the map while watching the most likely threat to his life. There was only three large cities in Tian. Dongzhou, Yunzhou and Sichuan. Each of the cities are ruled by one of the three great families of Tian. Most held onto the the positions of Ministers.

If they did not agree with his reign, they could replace him with a more agreeable emperor. Not that there was many candidates as Di Xúe had made it business to remove any threat to his reign. They had not been pleased when he had chosen his three Fu and none of them were from the three great families. They could accept the Fu Zuánshi, the young princess from Zhong, and Fu Chun, the daughter of the current Zhang Xia, general Yuwang. Fu Tián on the other hand was the daughter of the Imperial Architect and far below the station of Imperial Consort, but her father had been a friend to the previous Emperor and the two of them had agreed to the marriage.

This had unfortunate set in motion a large amount of complains and all three families now compete on getting one of their daughters on the throne as the Empress. Though, it went against the tradition to often chose one of the three Fu’s as Empress. Not that Di Xúe cared as he had little interest in his Imperial Harem or the future Empress. He needs to solidify his reign or it will be shortlived.

“We will need to draw them out,” Di Xúe mused. He put away the map and turned to Lin Hai who bowed to avert his eyes from the Emperor’s face out of respect.

“Call for an assembly.”

*****

Unruly black hair could be seen on a mahogany desk. Yecao Cao sat on a pillow sleeping while using his arms as a pillow. Drool could be seen hanging from his mouth and quiet snoring sounded along with unaudible mutter that sometimes came along with the drool. All the Officials thanked the Ancestors for this merciful gift as Yecao Cao often accompanied his sleep with loud snoring and calls for food.

A rather large man with long white beard and shaved head stood in front of Yecao Cao with a stormy expression. His lustrous clothes signified him as of higher birth but you could not assume so from his ugly expression.

“How long has the fool been sleeping?”

“Since dinner, Taichang!” a young official said with a bowed head. The Minister of Ceremonies huffed at the answer. Normally he would berate his officials for not awaken the Prefect but there was a reason why the young Prefect had already gotten a court name even though he only had worked here for a month. The Dozing Minister, a fitting name even if he had not received the title of minister. Though to many it was only a matter of time as he had gained the favor of the Emperor.

“Shall I wake him, Taichang?” asked a young man, entering the scene, politely. The young man was Shu Qiang, the nephew of the Minister of Ceremonies and the sixth son of the leader of one of the great families, Shu. His father Shu Yong Heng was currently governing Dongzhou but his influenced reached all the way to the capital.

Taichang Cong, watched his nephew with affection. His pride was obvious to those around him so was his attemped to brag about his nephew to all those with status. It was also clear that the Shu family had all intention on keeping the Taichang title in the family and would most likely want Shu Qiang to take over after him.

None of the officials liked Shu Qiang as he held everyone with less status in contempt and was not afraid to put it on display. He spend most of his time commanding the officials with harsh work and long hours. Most prefer to work under Yecao Cao who was both lenient and gracious to those under him.

“No need, Ling Qiang,” said Tiachang, choosing to use Shu Qiang’s title instead of his surname. Most likely to not display any favoritism.

“I have never seen such a useless person,” said Shu Qiang without returning his uncle’s respect. Not that it seem to bother Tiangchang who nodded eagerly.

“True, but what can you expect from a Yecao!”

The officials wanted to defend their Prefect but feared punishment so they kept quiet. All while Yecao Cao answered them with a snore.

The door suddenly slammed open with a loud thud as a man rushed in without ceremonies. He wore the clothes of the Ministry of Heralds and most likely came with a message from the court.

“The Emperor has called for all the Ministers and the Prefects!”

“What for?” Shu Qiang asked and the Herald frowned as he had not expected a Ling to answer instead of the Tiachang.

“What do our honorable Huángdi want?” Tiachang asked and kicked the desk to divert the Herald’s attention from his nephew. The ruse worked as Yecao Cao shot up with a paper plastered onto his face. The officials held back a groan when Yecao Cao asked if it was time to go home.

The Herald’s eyes went wide but his gaping mouth turned into a smile as he recognized the Dozing Minister. Even though the fool showed disrespect, people still liked him. Shu Qiang could not help but to feel jealousy grip his heart. “What is so great about this fool!”

No one could hear his thoughts though and no shift showed on Shu Qiang’s face. Everyone’s attention was on Yecao Cao who blinked in a daze and looked around as he removed the paper from his face. The Herald bowed to him with a familiar grin on his face.

“Good morning, Ling Cao! I come with a message from the honored Huángdi. He has summoned the court for an assembly,” the Herald repeated politely. Yecao Cao yawned and straighten his hair. Drool still cover his face but he soon took up the task to wipe it off before smiling at the Herald.

“My dear respectful Herald! Why might our great Huángdi have called upon us?” asked Yecao Cao.

“Ling Cao, that’s…”

Yecao Cao leaned in and handed him a bag of coins. His brother would have cried blood if he saw his younger brother waste money but what he didn’t know could not hurt him. The Herald frowned displeasingly as he watched the bag with disbelief.

“Don’t try to bribe the Herald,” Tiachang exclaimed half-heartingly. He did not care if Yecao Cao got in trouble.

“Bribe? This is a reward for good work. Do you have any idea how strenuous it must be running around delivering messages. Of course, if he wants to gossip why the Emperor have summoned us, that is completely not out of the question,” Yecao Cao said with a wronged expression which soon turned to glee as the Herald took the bag.

“Well, it’s not really a secret, and it kind of concerns you as well. There goes around a rumor that the Emperor believe one of his own court tried to assassinate him. You know back when you got hurt. He most likely summons the court to interrogate them,” the Herald said with a shrug.

“Seems like the Emperor even suspects you, Ling Cao,” Shu Qiang said but Yecao Cao was not listening. “So, there goes around a rumor that the Emperor suspects the court… Not a rumor easily started if it was not planted by the Emperor or a close confidant. I guess he’s trying to put pressure on the ministers. Such a bother!”

“He must suspect the three Great Families of betrayal, putting pressure onto low ranking prefects who would easily do a mistake would be wise,” Yecao Cao muttered and both Shu Qiang and Tiachang grew rigid as both were from one of the Great Families.

Yecao Cao ignored them though and gave the Herald a deep bow. “Thank you for your service, honorable Herald!”

The Herald did the same before he exited the building to continue his mission.

“Honored Ling, do you think you are in trouble?” asked a official politely. “Are you nervous?”

Yecao Cao huffed as he pulled out his fan.”Why? Our great Huángdi are not after scapegoats. He wants the real threat so as long you are innocent, what need is there to be nervous?”

Tiachang winced has he had started to sweat at the thought of the Emperor suspecting his family for treason. “T-that’s right, Ling Cao! No need to be frightened.” He sounded more like he was trying to convince himself.

“But what evidence is there to suspect one of the Great families,” Shu Qiang pondered. There must be some solid evidence to point the finger at them.

“Most likely none. He using the ability of exclusion. There most likely have been no movement at the border, so foreign assassination is out of the question. There has been no great calamity that would gather the ire of the commoner, so most likely not an uprising. The assassins were to skilled anyway. The only one remaining is those with power and the courage to try killing the Emperor. That could only be the Three Families or one of his relatives. His relatives are fiercely loyal, or at least fear him enough not to start something so close after his ascention. But the three families have been loudly discontented with his choice of Fu. It’s merely logical to suspect them,” Yecao Cao explained casually and all in the room glared at him.

“You… Are sure observant,” Shu Qiang muttered with a frowned.

“Not as observant as you, Ling Qiang! I’m sure you already thought of such a simple matter,” Yecao Cao said happily with a deep bow and he could hear Ling Qiang grind his teeth as he held back his childish tantrum.

Yecao Cao might not have been awake when they insulted him but he is not dumb enough to not know that they did. Might as well get some revenge the few minutes he was awake.

“Pretentious! What right do you-“ Tiachang began.

“That’s not how I would describe the great Ling Qiang,” said Yecao Cao cheerily and some of the officials chuckled while Shu Qiang seethed of rage.

“Honored Tiachang, the assembly!” an official said briskly to avoid an all-out fight between the high ranking men.

“Right, let us go!” muttered Tiachang bitterly.

“Wait, now?!” Yecao Cao exclaimed.

“Of course! The Herald gave us no date for the assembly. That means that it is going to occure today. Maybe you should pay attention, dear Ling-“ Shu Qiang said but was interrupted by Yecao Cao’s wail.

“But I was just about to quit for the day, what a bother!”

*****

All the ministers and prefects stood nervously in rows and waited for the Huángdi’s words. Who was he suspecting? It couldn’t be one of them. Most made themselves small in hope of avoiding the Emperor’s cold gaze. Lin Hai stood beside Di Xúe with a peaceful expression. He looked as gentle as a spring flower and many of the ministers with a bit more courage dared to sneak glances of the man called the most handsome in all of the kingdom.

The rest never dared to even look at the direction of the Emperor and stubbornly looked down. Lin Hai turned to the Emperor and with a solemn expression leaned in to whisper to him.

“We have to find someone who can help us expose the traitors. Someone without ambitions of their own as it could prevent trust,” uttered his Shaofu as he snuck glances at the increasingly nervous ministers.

Di Xúe’s gaze perused the ministers and the generals who shrouded their motives from their faces with sharpened accuracy. At last, his gaze fell upon a prefect at the back of the line. The prefect’s head was barely visible but his head nodded now and then as the Prefect apparently slept in a standing position. A cruel smile formed on the Emperor’s face which made all the ministers shiver. All but the sleeping Prefect who could not sense that a dragon was approaching.