Chapter 171: Clear Skies Chapter 149: Nonsensical Ravings Without End

·

·

·

Protagonist:

Shaowei

Liu Qi

The Emperor could not help but be furious.

Beneath the Son of Heaven's feet, outside the imperial city, countless death warriors were mobilized to openly ambush and kill a prince and a Tai Puzhe—and not just any prince and Tai Puzhe, but the prince in charge of disaster relief and the Tai Puzhe in charge of plague control, ambushed while the two were seeking dark water for the drought.

"……How is this any different from plotting rebellion? Truly outrageous to the extreme, deserving of ten thousand deaths!" The Emperor's face was iron-green, his aura violent with rage.

All the officials, including the usually composed Yan Xiang, likewise changed color.

Those present were accustomed to all manner of covert schemes; if it were merely an ordinary assassination, it would not have stirred such waves, but this time the commotion was simply too great. Privately raising death warriors and assassins was already a grave crime, and moreover, it was said that hundreds of top-tier death warriors were deployed this time, each wielding a crossbow—this was practically an elite army, acting thus against the prince and the Great Witch God outside the city…

Setting aside the Sixth Prince, who bore many private grudges, the Great Witch God was a court official. Ancient rites say, "The great affairs of state lie in sacrifice and war," with sacrifice even ranked before military matters. The Tai Puzhe who presides over a nation's sacrifices was ambushed and killed while seeking dark water; the other party's ulterior motive, called rebellion, is no exaggeration.

That so many unknown death warriors lurked near the imperial city and acted so boldly and recklessly truly enraged and alarmed people. Fortunately, the Sixth Prince and Jiang Tai Zhu narrowly escaped with their lives, otherwise there would truly be great chaos among the people.

Speaking of narrowly escaping with their lives, it merely means they did not die on the spot; they all seem to have suffered grave injuries, and whether they can survive remains unknown.

The ministers had only just learned of the news at the morning court session and were not yet clear on the specifics. At this moment, voices clamored in confusion, only waiting for one batch after another of more comprehensive reports to be presented in the hall.

When the news reached the third batch, a eunuch hurriedly came to report that the Sixth Prince requested an audience.

That Sixth Prince had just been brought back into the city when he immediately entered the palace for an audience. He even wore that same blood-stained attire, his hair crown disheveled, his face pale and stained with blood, looking like a fresh ghost just crawled up from the Yellow Springs.

This appearance clashed terribly with the magnificent palace halls and the splendid ministers, all the more shocking to the eye. At first glance, one could hardly determine whether this child had truly survived that assassination.

Liu Cheng, wearing the Crown Prince's court robes in immaculate splendor, was alarmed at the sight.

The youth, who looked indistinguishable between man and ghost, found his left leg increasingly difficult to move, and was helped into the hall by Changshi Tang Jia, who was full of tears.

The blood-covered youth knelt and prostrated himself. Tang Jia spoke first to plead guilty, asking forgiveness for the crime of improper conduct before the hall: "……The Sixth Prince escaped death and insisted on immediately seeing his Sovereign Father. This humble minister failed to dissuade him, allowing the Prince to enter the palace in blood-stained clothes, committing impropriety and disturbing Your Majesty! I beg Your Majesty to punish Tang Jia's crime!"

No one bothered to care about these unimportant words of pleading guilty.

Moreover, Great Qian's requirements for attire and deportment were not yet a few years old.

When the Former Emperor first ascended the throne, he first abolished the rituals of the previous dynasty. Thus, after the founding of the dynasty, there was once a time without rites to follow. At court, ministers wore swords and blades, readily contended for merit and hurled abuse, drew swords and struck pillars.

Also because they were truly impoverished, there was for a time no system of court dress. In the heat of summer, the Former Emperor himself, a man of muddy-leg origins, often attended court in loose clothing, occasionally wiping away sweat, then complaining in a sentence of his native dialect: 【My clang, it roasts this Zhen to death.】

If Consort Qu beside him reminded him with a helpless gaze, the Former Emperor would force himself to sit up straighter, then sigh instead: 【The heavens torment people, the heat kills this Zhen as well.】

The great hall of Weiyang Palace today was filled with ice mirrors, no longer the simple heat of those years. But no one would seize upon the charge of improper conduct for entering the hall in blood-stained clothes. This Tang Jia was always stubborn and rigid, unable to distinguish priorities.

All eyes were fixed on the blood-stained figure, including the Emperor's.

The youth knelt prostrate in the center of the hall, but when he spoke, it was not to ask his Imperial Father to uphold justice for him.

He first said: "Reporting to Imperial Father, yesterday in the mountains, Jiang Tai Zhu and this child minister were successively ambushed. In the chaos, I only felt the attackers numbered nearly a thousand!"

——Nearly a thousand?!

Amid the ministers' shock and doubt, they heard Liu Qi say: "Such ferocious bandits of unknown origin lurking in the imperial city are truly a great calamity!"

Liu Qi raised his head, meeting the Emperor's downward gaze for an instant, then prostrated himself again, his voice firm and powerful: "I beg Imperial Father to permit this child minister to lead men in thoroughly investigating this matter, to cleanse these rebels who cause chaos, and to execute those with treasonous hearts!"

The youth's voice, not lacking in desire for revenge, echoed within the hall.

Inside the chamber, Rui Ze's footsteps paced back and forth, also as if with an echo.

Until news came from the palace. Rui Ze, walking with hands behind his back, stopped and asked in a deep voice: "Did he really say that?"

Taking advantage of the old man Emperor's anger, the son immediately ran to go mad, demanding the authority to investigate and handle the matter… and the old man actually agreed!

However, this damned undying brat exaggerated his words, claiming over a thousand people? Nonsensical ravings without end!

The problem was that events in the mountains were hard to discern and specifics difficult to verify. This was originally the reason he dared to act in the mountains, but his reliance ultimately became this brat's reliance for spouting nonsense. Even if everything could be fully investigated later, the brat only needed to say he was "overly frightened" to deny it cleanly.

The flower civet lay unconscious. Now everything depended on this brat's single mouth!

Originally, things could have been cleanly disposed of, but in the end, the person wasn't killed, and instead such trouble was stirred up.

Rui Ze only wished he could grind his teeth to pieces. Killing people was not the first time, failing to kill was not the first time, but failing to kill and then being falsely accused and threatened was the first time.

He wasn't mad. Acting outside the imperial city, he would at most dare to deploy those fifty death warriors, but he didn't know which faction's troops had gotten mixed in. After such meddling, all his men were lost, and not only that, he would be saddled with the great crime of "rebellion." And Liu Qi had taken the authority to investigate. If this crime were all pinned on his head…

Thinking of this possibility, Rui Ze had no mind to continue recuperating. If he recuperated any longer, he feared he would fake illness into true death. If he hurried, he might still catch up with his aged mother to fulfill filial piety. Thus, that very day, he removed his mourning clothes and returned to court and entered the palace.

Rui Guo Shu went for an audience with the posture of one who, upon hearing the news of his sovereign's worry, hastily removed his mourning while ill.

The Emperor had many officials to see. Figures came and went without cease in Weiyang Palace, including people from the Taiyi Shu.

Rui Ze entered the palace in the afternoon and did not leave Weiyang Palace until the sky was fully dark. Liu Cheng, who had served at the Emperor's side all day, also withdrew, following his uncle and inquiring with concern about his uncle's condition.

Uncle and nephew walked and talked, while the eunuchs, sensing they should keep their distance, followed seven or eight paces behind.

Passing by the banks of Cangchi, with the sound of water to mask their words, Rui Ze finally heard his nephew speak his true feelings: "……She is gravely injured and unconscious this time. I fear it will trigger the poison within her body to flare up. I beg Uncle to bestow the antidote early."

Liu Cheng's voice was low but urgent.

Rui Ze's voice was also low, but filled with anger: "At such a critical juncture, Your Highness still concerns yourself with such trivial matters… She botched her mission this time. I haven't even had a chance to question her."

"Why does Your Highness think I hurried into the palace?"

"That Liu Qi refuses to wait even a moment. This afternoon he already led men to search inside and outside the imperial city. Another living captive has been sent to the Xiuyi Yu for interrogation. If they find anything, it will be a grave crime…"

Liu Cheng's mind roared. He asked in astonishment: "The matter outside the city—was it Uncle…"

He now understood restraint and concealment to some extent. At this moment, he forced the words back down, but cold sweat covered his forehead. He couldn't help but ask in a low voice: "Uncle, why did you make such a decision on your own?"

Rui Ze's gaze sank: "What do you mean, on your own? As early as when she drank that bowl of medicine, you knew she would eventually be used to act."

Using the disaster relief matter to deal with Liu Qi was something his nephew understood clearly. And his nephew could surely guess that he would not let slip this fine opportunity of Hua Li going out of the city to dispel the plague—only now that the matter failed did he come to question him in this accusatory manner. If it had succeeded, there would be no such words of reproach!

Liu Cheng's face remained grim: "But Uncle, you shouldn't have acted so impulsively!"

"An accident occurred. Those men were not entirely our people…" Rui Ze suppressed his recent displeasure with his nephew and spoke quickly: "I'll explain in detail later… The most urgent matter now is to closely watch Liu Qi's movements. We absolutely cannot give him an opportunity to make an issue of this!"

Liu Cheng pressed his lips together. Though he felt anger in his heart that his uncle never consulted him on his actions, nor even informed him, once he calmed down a little, his whole being was filled with panic and unease.

The Sixth Prince appeared in the hall today as if bathed in blood; with such a posture, he must be brimming with anger and resentment—how could he possibly let this matter go easily?

Walking along the banks of Cangchi, Liu Cheng's panic and unease seemed to spread with the moonlight, permeating the entire city of Chang'an.

Liu Qi held the Imperial Command, leading the Xiuyi Guards and various Imperial Guards to conduct a large-scale search inside and outside the Capital City, inspecting mountain forests, separate courtyards, and residences in the Capital one by one; the scale of the operation was shocking.

Naturally, not everyone was connected to those death warriors, but being in the Capital, especially those serving as officials in court, who among the great and small had no secrets? Moreover, many of them had been put in a difficult position by the Sixth Prince due to factional alignments—how could they not fear being retaliated against under this pretext? For a time, they inevitably felt insecure in their hearts and secretly sought help from Rui Ze and Du Shulin.

Rui Ze, who could barely take care of himself, stayed in the Imperial streamer for most of the following day.

The Emperor's condition worsened due to his anger, suffering from headaches and dizziness, and after taking medicine, he vomited again. While everyone was anxious, the Imperial Physician Director dared to recommend an acupuncturist of shallow qualifications who had gained some fame for treating the Feng Family's young lady, to come and administer acupuncture, barely managing to stop the Emperor's pain and dizziness.

The Emperor, who had just recovered somewhat, leaned on the Dragon Couch and inquired again about the ambush on Nanshan. The news had just returned yesterday, chaotic and uncertain; today, after various reports were integrated, things gradually became somewhat clear.

The exact number of those death warriors remained unknown, with obstructed sight in the mountains making it hard to see the full picture. The Imperial Guards who had initially followed Liu Qi into the mountains, but upon seeing the situation was unfavorable went out to seek aid, claimed they "saw countless black shadows rushing out from the mountain forest, with numbers impossible to estimate." When the reinforcing Imperial Guards arrived and cleared the area along the way, there were nearly a hundred corpses alone, and the number of those who escaped was unknown, but it could already be inferred that the mobilized faction must be enormous.

The targets of these death warriors' assassination were confirmed to be Hua Li and Liu Qi; they first attacked Hua Li, who was walking in front.

Afterwards, Liu Qi arrived and also suffered an assassination attempt. The injured Imperial Guards who had stayed to protect Liu Qi could all testify that those black-clad men had taken the initiative to pursue and attack His Highness the Sixth Prince, employing lethal moves.

There was only one suspicious point: an injured Imperial Guard claimed that among those black-clad death warriors, some sort of internal strife seemed to have broken out.

But at that time, the few Imperial Guards were all fighting desperately to resist, and with the terrain, mountain stones, grass, and trees providing cover, they could often only see the black-clad men rushing to kill them, with no leisure to discern more. Afterwards, as Hua Li and Liu Qi fled, the black-clad men all pursued in the same direction, and those traces of "internal strife" completely disappeared.

As for Liu Qi's account: he was like a startled bird, only knowing that the assassination came with great momentum, and did not notice any internal strife. As for the specifics, it would be known after interrogating the survivors.

Rui Ze listened, feeling both angry and anxious—angry at what damnable internal strife, and anxious about whether there were his own people among the survivors in the Xiuyi Prison.

Whether the assassins had internal strife and exactly how many factions there were was not the point, and Rui Ze dared not argue or refute. The Emperor now probably found everyone suspicious; if he spoke these words at this time, it would be like stupidly walking into a coffin.

Rui Ze remained expressionless, only advising Your Majesty to calm your anger and take care of your Dragon Body.

Guo Shi naturally took up the conversation: "Yes, Your Majesty, the Dragon Body should be the top priority..."

He comforted in a low voice: "This time, His Highness the Sixth Prince was able to turn danger into safety under the ambush of countless death warriors, and what is more precious is that he did not even suffer serious injuries. This shows that, under the Imperial Command, he received Your Majesty's Dragon Qi Divine Protection... Now that His Highness the Sixth Prince is investigating this matter on Your Majesty's behalf, even the other scoundrels hiding in the dark must have had their guts scared out of them and dare not have any thoughts of rebellion!"

Yan Mian, standing to the side, lowered his eyelids upon hearing this.

Liu Cheng subconsciously said: "Yes, Sixth Brother was able to escape this calamity, truly thanks to Imperial Uncle's Divine Protection..."

Halfway through speaking, Liu Cheng's voice involuntarily slowed, and a strange thought arose in his heart.

Anyone can say nice words, but how exactly did Sixth Brother escape? Sixth Brother only took twenty people into the mountains, so how did he escape from the siege of countless death warriors together with Jiang Tai Zhu?

Sixth Brother claimed publicly yesterday that it was approximately due to the protection and guidance of a spirit deity that he found a way out... Was it the protection of a spirit deity, or did Sixth Brother secretly have unknown manpower protecting him? If he could contend with a large number of death warriors, it must also be no small force...

Thinking this far, Liu Cheng finally realized the hidden meaning in Guo Shi's words, and Liu Cheng's perfectly timed pause also tugged at the thoughts of the others present.

No official spoke until Yan Mian opened his mouth, but he spoke bluntly: "The Imperial Guards who protected His Highness the Sixth Prince on both sides all said that His Highness fought bravely, killing more than ten people with his bow at first. Besides the Imperial Guards and ten Imperial Guards, there was no one else by his side. This is a matter seen by all."

His expression was upright and unbending: "His Highness the Sixth Prince has studied the art of war since childhood. The terrain in the mountains is complex and convenient for hiding. Relying on ten confidants to protect him to the death, plus a bit of fate, escaping by luck is also normal."

Guo Shi nodded: "What the Xiang Gong said is extremely correct. His Highness the Sixth Prince has both courage and strategy, and is naturally unparalleled in wit..."

The Emperor did not mind his sons having some subtle means of self-preservation; from this, one could see the intelligence and ability of his children. But he would certainly mind if those self-preservation means were too unexpected, for that would represent deception.

Was it truly just wisdom, courage, bravery, and fate?

Wisdom, courage, and bravery are hard to deny, but how can fate be proven?

Guo Shi said no more.

During a brief silence in the Imperial Interior, a eunuch suddenly walked in quickly, prostrated himself on the ground, and called out, reporting congratulations: "Your Majesty, Great Luck, Great Joy!"

?? 【Rui Ze: The number of people sent out has reproduced like lines on a face.】

? Thank you very much for everyone's understanding and tolerance of my writer's block. I am truly fortunate to have the most considerate and gentle reader treasures in this world!

? See you tomorrow! Wishing everyone more "Great Luck, Great Joy" in life.