“I won’t go to hell. I am certain of that,” Wang Cang Hai said, his expression turning even colder and more unyielding.
“And what makes you so certain?” The Yong Wu Emperor rose to his feet, pressing Wang Cang Hai. “If not hell, do you plan to ascend to the celestial heavens?”
Although the Yong Wu Emperor stood, his stature was shorter than Wang Cang Hai’s, leaving Wang Cang Hai looking down at him. “Your Majesty,” he said, his tone calm and composed, “I will find a third path—one beyond both heaven and hell. This is the path Your Majesty has always wanted me to find.”
The path to immortality.
Both the Yong Wu Emperor and Wang Cang Hai fell silent, their eyes meeting in mutual recognition of an extreme ambition—the ultimate pursuit of every emperor throughout history: to achieve immortality and an eternal reign.
The Yong Wu Emperor could not suppress himself any longer and asked, “You’ve been searching for immortal sages for over ten years. Do you have any concrete leads?”
Wang Cang Hai replied, “The quest for immortality depends on fate. Sometimes, you search tirelessly with no result; other times, it comes effortlessly. However, there is a simpler and more immediate method to bring Your Majesty blessings and longevity—relocating and reconstructing the imperial ancestral tomb to enhance its geomantic (feng shui) properties.”
The Yong Wu Emperor’s face lit up with joy. “You, my loyal minister, are a once-in-a-lifetime genius. Though the world is vast and full of talented people, only you can truly command the winds and rains and accomplish the impossible.”
Wang Cang Hai lowered his eyelashes slightly and said, “After I complete this task of bringing blessings and longevity to Your Majesty, I would like to request a favor.”
“Speak. What do you want?” The Yong Wu Emperor’s face was full of smiles.
“I would like the right to return imperial decrees,” Wang Cang Hai said. “In the future, if there is an edict that I am unwilling to accept, I should be able to seal and return it without carrying it out.”
The Yong Wu Emperor’s expression changed subtly.
Wang Cang Hai paid no mind to the emperor’s increasingly displeased face and continued, “Additionally, from this day forward, I ask that Your Majesty never bring up Zhu Wen again. I killed him, and I regret it deeply. Sometimes I wonder, if Zhu Wen were still emperor, he wouldn’t have forced me, his old friend, to do things I didn’t want to do, unlike his third uncle.”
The Yong Wu Emperor’s frail body trembled slightly. Wang Cang Hai was being astonishingly audacious today—not only addressing the emperor by his given name, Zhu Di, but also referring to him as “third uncle,” as he had when they were teenagers studying with Crown Prince Zhu Wen.
The Yong Wu Emperor’s face turned ashen. He pressed his lips tightly together, hesitating for a long moment before finally saying, “I agree. Once the relocation of the imperial ancestral tomb is completed, I will appoint you as the Grand Chancellor and Vice Minister of State, granting you the right to return imperial decrees. You will become the most powerful chancellor in history. However, to prevent you from becoming overburdened, you will relinquish your role as Minister of War.”
Wang Cang Hai smiled faintly. “Does my third uncle not trust me?”
The Yong Wu Emperor shivered at Wang Cang Hai’s smile, which sent a chill down his spine. Forcing an awkward smile, he replied, “Of course not.”
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