From CEO to Concubine-Chapter 184: Public Service Announcement

It was like fighting a war on two fronts.

In the morning court, Liu Yao was without a doubt in the heat of the battle right now. But here, in the main chamber of Aiyun Palace, Yan Zheyun’s was just about to start.

It was customary for the attendees of the harem assembly to take their seats before the empress—or in the case of Liu Yao’s inner palace, the wielder of the phoenix seal— made their entrance. Like a mini morning court of sorts, Xiao De would wait to ensure that most if not all of them were present before announcing Yan Zheyun’s arrival. Hence, no one anticipated seeing him already sitting on his dais sipping tea when they stepped past the raised threshold of the door.

This little change in routine might not feel like much but Yan Zheyun was a firm believer in disarming his business opponents with unpredictability. Back when his software firm was still a small start-up, he once had a software distribution management deal that he was desperate to clinch. A junior member of his team had accidentally let out how badly they needed this partnership, thereby affecting Yan Zheyun’s negotiation power.

The boss of the other company, who had initially behaved like a sycophant when he’d learnt just which Yan Family Yan Zheyun belonged to, suddenly came up with a whole assortment of vague or nitpicky excuses to not finalise the contract. This became especially evident when the Yan Family—at Yan Zheyun’s behest—did nothing to bail their eldest son out. Finally, after what felt like a ceaseless chain of phone calls, the boss proposed sitting together at a meeting table in his office to discuss matters at greater length.

The lack of goodwill had practically radiated off the man’s smug tone. It must have felt good, having an edge over one of the city’s most prominent ’crown princes’, would have made a nice bragging story about how he had once forced Yan Conglomerate’s future CEO to commute halfway across the city to beg.

Begging was what everyone, including his own people, had believed he was going to do. Too much capital had been pumped into this one project—he’d learnt his lesson since; those were dark days full of rookie mistakes his parents liked to poke fun at—and he was running the risk of having to liquidate his company if he couldn’t get his software out to buyers. He had other options, of course, but none as secure as this one.

So, given how much he’d been gagging for the deal, he made sure to walk into the building exactly half a minute before the meeting was about to start, not giving them the pleasure of making him wait on their whim and also making sure he kept negotiations lukewarm. He was there to compromise, not to sell his soul. Sure, they were his best bet, but only insofar as he didn’t wish to rely on his family to back him up.

No one had to know that Yan Zheyun had spent the entire night before calculating and recalculating the colossal sum of money he would lose should his company go bankrupt, as well as feeling guilty for the employees who would lose their jobs in a difficult financial period, just because he had been over-confident.

All these memories felt like they were coming from a lifetime ago. At the same time, as Yan Zheyun watched the other concubines enter, each a resplendent flower in their own right, it felt like things hadn’t changed that much.

He was still seated at that meeting table playing mind games to survive. The stakes were just deadlier, that was all.

This time around, instead of being punctual to a fault, he’d chosen to show up bright and early. With the rumours abounding, the best way to keep face would have been to send out word that he was plagued with a mild illness and would have to cancel morning assembly for a while. By staying a dignified distance apart from them, he would have been able to treasure the tattered remnants of his feathers (1).

But that was the mentality of an ancient concubine, so preoccupied with upholding their family’s honour that they couldn’t even bear the thought of disgracing themselves.

Yan Zheyun had grown up practicing a wise adage; if your skin is thick, you’re impenetrable (2). It was serving him well today.

Some of the concubines were clearly just looking forward to enjoying a good show, like watching their very own in-person harem drama series unfolding before their very eyes. The glee on some of their lovely faces gave way to astonishment once they realised Yan Zheyun wasn’t in an avoidant mood, didn’t think he had anything to hide.

Then there were those, like Gracious Consort Yao Siya, who sauntered in with a wide yawn, still somehow managing to pull off sloppy elegance despite looking like he’d been run over by a horse carriage. Yan Zheyun hadn’t seen him in a while; presumably, he was off handling brocade guard business.

Fleetingly, wondered how Gracious Consort Yao had been explaining his mysterious disappearances to Hua Zhixuan. Or if he even did in the first place. He had Hua Zhixuan in tow now, one hand brazenly wrapped around a delicate wrist that tried pulling away feebly but to no avail. A scholar was no match in strength for a super secret ex-military lecher, after all. Gracious Consort Yao’s idea of a good retaliation was to stroke teasing circles on the back of Hua Zhixuan’s hand and it was enough of a ’threat’ to make Hua Zhixuan drop the fight and just let him do whatever he wanted; they were less conspicuous that way.

"Morning, Yue Langjun," Gracious Consort Yao drawled as he sank into his chair, tugging Hua Zhixuan along with him and making him mess up the rules by appropriating Imperial Concubine Chen’s seat instead.

Curious that he was attending the harem assembly again, Yan Zheyun caught his eye and received a small wink in return as Gracious Consort Yao mouthed, "Tens upon tens of thousands of years (3)."

Ah. Here at Liu Yao’s behest, then.

A warm feeling spread through Yan Zheyun. He saw how hectic yesterday had been for Liu Yao, the emperor coordinating everything at once with a methodical precision that he had to admire. There was a lot involved in damage control this time if they didn’t want to lose the upper hand. With all that going on, Liu Yao still managed to find the time to concern himself with Yan Zheyun’s safety.

Right behind them, Imperial Concubine Chen rolled his eyes so hard Yan Zheyun was surprised they could still come back down to share a dour look of commiseration with anyone who met his eyes.

His expression seemed to say, guess I’ll be skipping lunch since I’ve already been force-fed dog food for breakfast.

Amused, Yan Zheyun reserved his judgment, pretending not to notice as Imperial Concubine Chen sank grudgingly into Hua Zhixuan’s spot. Unlike the other concubines, he was in a military tunic again, although so finely tailored that when coupled with his haughty handsomeness, made him look like a fine nobleman instead of a soldier. Ever since he’d sparred against Princess Suhanala, he hadn’t once worn any garments in the flowing sleeves style. There were members of the inner palace salty enough to mock him behind his back for It, saying that a small amount of attention from the emperor and suddenly he thought himself above all others.

Yan Zheyun saw it differently though. Imperial Concubine Chen found pride in being a warrior. His recognition for both martial prowess and loyalty shouldn’t be undermined.

Given that all his new military attire came from the Department of Garments, which meant using the inner palace’s budget, and the ledger hadn’t been passed Yan Zheyun’s way for approval, Liu Yao saw value in him too. Yan Zheyun thought of the nature of some of the messages he was to pass on to the harem today and wondered if Liu Yao already had plans in store for this prickly young man.

Everyone was soon present. Noble Consort Dou, who brought up the rear with a surprisingly subdued Zhang Qian, gave Yan Zheyun a concerned smile, which he traded with a reassuring one. He watched how the stress subtly flowed out of her, her posture regaining its tranquil poise. A bit of a chronic worrier, Noble Consort Dou was one of those Type D personality types at work, organised, caring, and conflict-averse, the superstar of a brilliant HR department. Yan Zheyun felt bad for causing her grief again; no doubt she’d been anxious on his behalf ever since word of Wu Yusi’s death got out.

More interesting, though, was Zhang Qian’s reaction. If there was one thing Yan Zheyun could count on her for, it was to never miss the opportunity to celebrate his misfortune. She was troublesome, to be sure, but in the way a spoiled child was; good at kicking up a fuss and throwing her weight around but ultimately more harmless than the the serpent hiding in the shadows.

Today, she appeared distracted, the dark circles underneath her eyes giving her a haunted look. When she caught him noticing her, he saw none of her usual defiance. Instead, she wrenched her gaze away from his as though she had hidden secrets in their depths that she was afraid he would see.

How odd. Did she have something to do with the Wu Family’s scheme too? He knew her capable of malice towards him but not on such a scale. Then again, Wu Yusi hadn’t struck him as the brightest bulb in existence either but she’d had her father to assist her with that. Could Zhang Qian be part of the collusion? How about the rest of the Zhang Family then?

Even Envoy Zhang?

The list of suspicious characters grew ever longer. He wasn’t convinced that Zhang Qian was intricately involved in the matter but it was worth investigating. Noble Consort Dou would probably know. Out of a desire to protect, she might conceal information but if he could promise her that Zhang Qian would be let off easy should it turn out that she wasn’t directly involved, that might loosen her tongue a little.

As for the rest of them...well, this was a room full of veterans at lying. Everyone had brought their poker face along to the party too.

"After the tumultuous events of recent times, this concubine must express surprise that Imperial Noble Consort Yue Langjun didn’t choose to postpone this morning’s assembly." It was Imperial Concubine Hui who spoke up first, in tones of great amicability. Yan Zheyun would have bought it if he’d never heard her trade barbed witticisms with the exact same charming lilt.

"What’s there to be surprised about? Only someone with a guilty conscience would feel the need to hide." Now that Imperial Concubine Chen was the same rank as her, it was like he found that the need to pay her token lip service had all but dissipated. Yan Zheyun could recall some harem assemblies back in the early days during which he’d been nothing but a small fry in a quiet corner. Imperial Concubine Chen had gotten along quite well with Imperial Concubine Hui back then, or at least that was the impression their banter had given him.

Noble Lord Liang, who hadn’t crossed paths with Yan Zheyun for a long time now, suddenly stated out of the blue, "But surely there needs to be an official explanation as to the unnatural deaths that happened in the inner palace?"

Yan Zheyun spared him a considering glance, slightly taken aback by the thinly veiled hatred written into his beautiful face. Ever since Liu Yao had given him Noble Lord Guo to compete against, Yan Zheyun had hardly had to deal with him. But given that he was a relative of Liang Hui, and the Liang Family and Wu Family were like two trees with intertwined branches, there was little surprise that the downfall of one would spell disaster for the other.

Before Yan Zheyun could reply, Gracious Consort Yao let out an exaggerated tongue-clicking. "Why are all of you fixated on what happened?" he asked with a loud sigh. "Isn’t it obvious? ’A chaste woman is terrified of a persistent man, an evil ghost is terrified of Zhong Kui (4)."

"..." Going by Gracious Consort Yao’s comparison, Wu Bin was that evil ghost and...he...was...the chaste woman...? Yan Zheyun suddenly wasn’t so sure he was ready to thank Gracious Consort Yao for answering on his behalf.

Noble Lord Liang flushed. "This concubine’s cousins are barely in their grave, is it really all right for Gracious Consort Yao to speak of them with such disrespect?" he asked hotly.

Gracious Consort Yao shrugged. "If you don’t like my explanation, you’re not going to like the official one." 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Before a full-on argument could break out, Noble Consort Dou stepped out to play the role of the mediator and with a quick signal to Hua Zhixuan, Yan Zheyun regained control of the flow of conversation.

"Given that His Majesty didn’t inform Yue Langjun to cancel morning assembly and ask us to wait in our palaces, is it safe to say that some headway has been made regarding the identity of the perpetrators?" Hua Zhixuan’s question was timed perfectly to help Yan Zheyun transition into the main topic of the day.

"That is correct," Yan Zheyun replied smoothly, watching everyone’s reaction as he let his words sink in. "Neither Compiler Wu nor Attendant Wu can testify anymore, of course, but luckily, there are those in their confidence who are still available to pry information from. Word has it that the Eastern Depot is steadily making progress with the interrogations and it is only a matter of time before they conclude their investigations satisfactorily." His choice of words was deliberate. He wanted to make it clear that Liu Yao would stop at nothing to uncover the identities of those responsible.

No one reacted out of line but the atmosphere turned muted. No matter. He didn’t really think he’d find out who they were today, that was not his role. Liu Yao had sent him to stir the water, shake their hidden enemies up, and force them to err in panic.

"Attendant Wu’s closest maidservant has already confessed some very...concerning things about the incident," he added. "His Majesty just wishes to inform everyone in the inner palace to keep one’s place and behave oneself. Needless to say, he is very angered that this has occurred at such a pivotal time when there are foreign dignitaries in the capital."

He had now made it clear that this was about politics. The concubines below the dais exchanged uneasy glances—well, not all of them, Gracious Consort Yao was still busy stifling his yawns—before answering as one, "This concubine takes Imperial Noble Consort Yue’s advice to heart."

Yan Zheyun smiled. "This consort is pleased to hear it," he said, exchanging the pleasantries expected of him. "In addition to that, His Majesty would like to make it clear that he tires of all the politicking going on within the inner palace." He paused to let that sink in. "Just because he is often absent from the harem does not mean that he is unaware of its ongoings." Not in the least because Liu Yao had the captain of the brocade guard shamelessly masquerading as one of his consorts. Yan Zheyun glanced over at Gracious Consort Yao, who merely raised an eyebrow at him before giving him an unabashed grin. No one else was paying attention to him, all too wrapped up in trying to decipher what Liu Yao was trying to say.

As the designated mouthpiece, Yan Zheyun could provide some assistance in this matter.

"Next year, His Majesty plans on holding another imperial examination...both for literary and martial candidates."

This caused a bit of a stir amidst the ranks. There were a couple of individuals who may have insider information from Liu Yao himself, such as Lady Zhao and Imperial Concubine Chen. Nevertheless, they couldn’t contain their excitement either; for Yan Zheyun to make such an announcement meant that things were more or less set in stone.

They were. As was the next part of their attempts to revolutionise the court system of the kingdom.

"With that being said, His Majesty would like you all to know that should any of you wish to participate, and by which I mean any of you, your title of inner palace concubine shall be rescinded in exchange for the right to serve as a candidate instead and obtain the opportunity to become a court official."