Chapter 359: with translation of chapter title

Gu Kang rode in a palace carriage into the palace, and then, under the guidance of Eunuch Wang, arrived at the Hall of Nurturing Heart.

He had just stepped into the Hall of Nurturing Heart when a strong smell of blood hit him, making him freeze for a moment.

A few eunuchs carefully swept the entrance of the Hall of Nurturing Heart with clean water, and traces of bloodwater were everywhere.

No one knew how many heads the Longqing Emperor had already chopped off before his arrival.

His heart gave a sudden jump, and he slowly stepped inside.

In the center of the Hall of Nurturing Heart knelt Xiao Wei, dressed in purple princely regular attire.

After not seeing him for just over a month, his whole person seemed emaciated out of shape, his cheeks sunken, making his expression appear even more sinister.

Beside him knelt a middle-aged man, who this time had been subjected to punishment, his pipa bones pierced through by iron chains.

Although he was already old, one could still tell that in his youth he had been a handsome young general with distinct features.

At this moment he was covered in blood, obviously having suffered severe punishment, his eyes slightly closed, the muscles on his face twitching lightly.

Not far away lay a woman in palace attire, covered with a white cloth, long dead; the imperial jade pendant at her waist had just caught Gu Kang's eye, and his brows furrowed tightly.

Consort Duan is dead?

Or she died in the Hall of Nurturing Heart—no wonder the bloody smell was so strong just now; looking at the white cloth covering the corpse, the blood from a slit throat had clearly soaked through it.

He had anticipated Consort Duan's death, but not that it would be so gruesome.

The Duke of Duan's hair was white; at this moment he knelt and prostrated before the Longqing Emperor, his back ramrod straight, trembling slightly.

On the other side were the Gu family, also kneeling. Elder brother Gu Cheng's face was ashen, his clothes torn and ragged, with bloodstains, clearly having been tortured in prison.

Father Gu Shijie clutched something like a letter in his hand, gripping it tightly as if holding his eldest son's life.

He knelt beside the Duke of Duan, but his body unconsciously leaned outward, wanting to stay as far from the duke as possible.

The rest of the people stood there with bowed bodies; the Crown Prince, whose complexion was not good either, gave him a meaningful glance after seeing Gu Kang enter.

Gu Kang ignored the gaze of Xiao Ting, instead walking straight up to the Longqing Emperor, kneeling with a thud and knocking his head three times while shouting "Long live the emperor!" three times.

At this moment the Longqing Emperor's face was as dark as a ten-thousand-year-old ice lake, cold enough to chill one to the bone.

He stared fixedly at the kneeling Gu Kang and said slowly, "Effective immediately, you shall be the Chief Scholar of the Hanlin Academy; Gu Cheng is expelled from the Hanlin Academy, and from now on all affairs of the Hanlin Academy shall be under your sole responsibility."

"In this Chongwen Tower fire, your elder sister perished there; you too should mourn."

"The dead cannot be revived; dragging this case on leaves the deceased no peace."

"After all, you invited the Princess Consort of Rui to the poetry gathering; although the fire was not caused by you, you also bear responsibility for her death."

"I fine you six months' salary; you shall atone by, in the name of the Hanlin Academy, concluding this case as soon as possible."

As soon as the Longqing Emperor finished speaking, Gu Kang immediately understood.

This was to have him come out and raise a smokescreen—nominally to close the case of the Chongwen Tower fire, but actually to cover up the corruption in the imperial harem; it all depended on how he wielded that pen in his hand.

If what he wrote pleased the Longqing Emperor, all well; if not, it would be a death sentence.

He hurriedly knocked his head heavily to receive the edict.

"Furthermore…" The Longqing Emperor's gaze slowly swept over those kneeling before him, and he said word by word, "I do not wish to speak more of what happened here; if any improper talk spreads among the populace, I… will take your heads!"

The people around immediately knelt down en masse, silent as tombs, only hearing the heh-heh sound coming from Chen Fu'an's throat.

He was seized in the night, tortured until his body was ruined, and Consort Duan took her own life to exchange for his.

His pipa bones were pierced through by iron chains, his martial arts completely ruined.

Upon hearing the Longqing Emperor's arrangements at this moment, grief welled up from within, anger reached its peak, and he suddenly erupted, charging toward the Longqing Emperor.

The situation changed abruptly; Gu Kang, without thinking, threw himself in front of the Longqing Emperor and was violently knocked flying.

He couldn't help but feel a jolt of alarm—indeed a military officer, even with his pipa bones locked and his hands bound, he could still be this fierce.

Precisely because Gu Kang sacrificed himself to block, the guards outside rushed in, the swords at their waists stabbing Chen Fu'an's body one after another, instantly turning him into a blood gourd.

The Longqing Emperor screamed in terror, shouting for rescue; upon seeing Chen Fu'an stabbed to death, he snatched a guard's sword from nearby and stumbled over to Chen Fu'an's side.

"I will kill you! Kill you!!"

The sound of blades chopping meat rang incessantly, blood spattering, displaying the last dignity of the emperor as a man.

Chen Fu'an, beside Consort Duan, was hacked almost into minced meat.

Blood spattered onto one side of the Duke of Duan's face; his cheek seemed as if on fire, he jerked it hard, and a torrent of hatred flashed in his eyes.

On the floor lay his most beloved daughter, Consort Duan; the one chopped into minced meat was his adopted son, whom he had raised single-handedly, treating him as his own biological child and lavishing too much affection upon.

He regretted it; he had originally sent his daughter into the palace for the benefit of the entire Duan clan, and he truly regretted it.

He clearly knew that these two were deeply in love, yet he thought that as long as they were separated, each would be fine thereafter.

Heh heh…

He slowly closed his eyes, but the tears at the corners were forced back bit by bit; he didn't even dare to let out a loud cry for his daughter.

The Longqing Emperor finally grew weary of chopping, gasping heavily, his mad gaze making onlookers feel afraid.

He pointed at the corpses of Chen Fu'an and Consort Duan and bellowed, "Drag them out to feed the dogs! Feed the dogs!! I want this pair of lowlifes never to be reborn!"

Xiao Wei's fingers dug desperately into the cracks of the bluestone floor, not knowing how much force he used to restrain himself from erupting and strangling his own imperial father.

He and his maternal grandfather had entered the palace with their armor removed, and were no match for the armed Imperial Secret Guard.

He gritted his teeth tightly, daring not to look, daring not to listen.

Not long after, the tattered corpses of Consort Duan and Chen Fu'an were dragged out.

The Longqing Emperor slumped onto the Dragon Throne, only feeling waves of headache; he ordered everyone before him to leave, just wanting some quiet.

The Duke of Duan led Xiao Wei out of the Hall of Nurturing Heart, while Gu Shijie followed cautiously behind.

The Duke of Duan ahead seemed to be waiting for him, slowly turning around and staring fixedly at Gu Shijie.

This time the matter of Chen Fu'an was brought to light by Gu Shijie, the clue having been indirectly delivered to him by Gu Kang.

"Master Gu!" the Duke of Duan stared fixedly at Gu Shijie and said word by word, "We shall meet again."

Gu Shijie startled, and the Duke of Duan turned and left.

Gu Shijie moved his lips, but couldn't utter a word; the bloody scene just now made his legs go weak repeatedly.

Gu Cheng, however, went over to the Crown Prince's side to curry favor at this moment; he had been kicked out of the Hanlin Academy, let alone entering the Hall of Political Affairs—even his official cap had been taken away, and he was thoroughly demoted to a commoner.

He truly felt wronged; initially he too had been careless, entrusting the repair work to a foreman, while he himself went daily to the Crown Prince's residence to fawn over the prince's aides, hoping to gain entry to the residence.

Never did he expect that from the very start, his direction had been wrong.

His foundation wasn't solidly laid, and in an instant he was cast down into hell.

Who would have thought that just as he had struck up a conversation with Xiao Ting, Gu Kang suddenly walked up to Xiao Ting's face.

Xiao Ting obviously took more interest in Gu Kang this time; Gu Kang bowed toward the Crown Prince and said, "Your Highness, may I have a word?"

The Crown Prince Xiao Ting stared for a moment, nodded, and the people around hastily stepped back a few paces.

Even Gu Cheng, who hated Gu Kang to death, had no choice but to retreat.

"What do you wish to discuss with me, Minister Gu?" Xiao Ting said with a light smile.

Gu Kang lifted his gaze and said, "Your Highness, I know you like my elder sister."

The Crown Prince's expression changed slightly at once.

Gu Kang took a breath and said, "Your Highness, would you like to know who set the fire that burned my elder sister to death in Chongwen Tower?"