Raised from childhood by Duan Linglong, the first powerful eunuch of the Yuan Tai Dynasty, he entered the North Barracks Imperial Guard in his teens, serving as a palace attendant. Later, he became the chief inspector of the Feilong Guard, traversing the court. Scheming and manipulating power was as natural to him as eating and drinking.
Sensing the change in Emperor Chang Tai’s attitude, he put some effort into “placating the Emperor,” and indeed, the Emperor was once again warm and heavily reliant on him.
Fu Shen had to admit that in the art of “deception,” Yan Xiaohan was far superior – a skill he could never learn.
“What madness are you causing in the middle of the night?” Fu Shen said expressionlessly. “No laughing. Why don’t you laugh for me?”
“Be good, just laugh a little,” Yan Xiaohan coaxed. “You made me wait bitterly all afternoon; you should give me some compensation, right?”
Fu Shen was so pestered that his great worries dissipated. He originally wanted to keep a stern face longer but couldn’t help but laugh first, pointing at the small exposed part of Yan Xiaohan’s chest: “Rogue.”
Yan Xiaohan said righteously: “A good man has no good wife; a rogue occupies the flower branch.”
When Fu Shen finally caught his breath, Yan Xiaohan hugged him along with the blanket and fiercely declared: “I’m going to ruin you.”
As they expected, not long after, the Emperor of Changzhi proposed an expedition to the Southwest at the Yanying Hall. Except for the Northern Border troops still standing with Fu Shen, the other forty-odd hall ministers, even Yan Xiaohan, agreed with the emperor’s proposal.
The following spring, Duke Jinguo Fu Shen was ordered to lead 100,000 troops south to attack Prince Duan Guihong of Xiping County. This time, he was not accompanied by his old Northern Yan Iron Cavalry, but an expanded imperial army, primarily composed of the Jiangnan Army led by Zhao Xicheng during the recapture of the Central Plains.
Once again at the Golden Terrace outside the capital, battle flags fluttered and war horses neighed. Emperor Changzhi personally came to the city outskirts to see off the troops, just like when Emperor Yuantai had led civil and military officials to send the young general north to resist enemies, seemingly full of heroic spirit, but in reality, coldly observing.
