Chapter 38: Xian Tai Red

That was an object of witchcraft bearing incomparable malice.

And this object was discovered in the bedchamber where the Crown Prince stayed in Xian Tai Palace.

The Ren Emperor did not immediately pass judgment, but ordered men to swiftly search the Crown Prince's residence; however, those responsible for the search discovered similar witchcraft bronze figures beneath a peach tree in the Crown Prince's sleeping palace — upon them were conspicuously carved the Emperor's Eight Characters of Birth, and the clear, elegant handwriting of the carving was unmistakably that of Crown Prince Liu Gu.

The grief and anger the Ren Emperor had been suppressing finally erupted; he vomited a great mouthful of fresh blood, and the immense rage together with a scarcely perceptible fear and unease nearly consumed this ailing Emperor.

The Ren Emperor immediately ordered an edict drafted, dispatching his confidant the Middle Attendant Guo Shi, as well as the Commander of the Brocade Guard Zhu Zhi, to lead the Imperial Guard to Xian Tai Palace to punish Crown Prince Liu Gu for the crime of rebellion and offense against his superior.

The Imperial Guard surrounded Xian Tai Palace; faced with this sudden accusation, the Crown Prince categorically denied it, claiming someone had framed him.

The eunuchs at the Crown Prince's side also cried injustice for the Heir Apparent, reviling Guo Shi and Zhu Zhi for colluding like wolves to sow discord between sovereign and minister, father and son; but before he could finish speaking, he was pierced through the chest and abdomen by the long saber in the Brocade Guard Commander Zhu Zhi's hand.

Zhu Zhi drew out the long saber, fresh blood spraying; a pair of cold, stern eyes glinted with cold light: "The Emperor's edict is here; any who dare disobey and not comply shall be executed on the spot!"

A group of eunuchs and attendants were shocked beyond measure, protecting the Crown Prince as they retreated.

The Crown Prince looked at the eunuch fallen in the pool of blood, and truly realized his own predicament.

He could not leave with these people; once he fell into the hands of Guo and Zhu, he would never again have a chance to make his voice heard before others, which would be tantamount to confessing to the crime of plotting to harm his sovereign father.

And such infamy, once it clung to him, could never be washed away...

He would not confess; he absolutely had to see his Imperial Father!

While the two sides confronted each other at sword's point, the Crown Prince was escorted back by his confidant guards to the residence where he was staying, to urgently discuss countermeasures.

However, not long after, the eunuch sent to gather intelligence returned in panic, tears streaming, prostrating himself and weeping: "... The Front Hall of the main palace where His Majesty resides has already been placed under strict alert, permitting no one to enter or exit except the imperial physicians... The Dragon Body is critically ill, the situation is difficult to discern!"

Liu Gu's expression trembled; he thought of the worst possibility — could his Imperial Father have already...

Immediately after, a middle-aged female official wearing a cloak and a wind hood arrived in haste.

Liu Gu at once stepped forward: "Mo Gu, has Mother Empress seen Imperial Father? Imperial Father at this moment..."

"This humble servant has also been unable to see His Majesty." The female official Mo Gu's expression was unprecedentedly grave; she presented an object with both hands.

Liu Gu looked at this object in disbelief.

Mo Gu's decisive voice rang with weight: "The Xiao Jun commands: Middle Attendant Guo Shi and Brocade Guard Commander Zhu Zhi have falsely transmitted the Sacred Will, taking advantage of His Majesty's critical illness to plot harm against the Heir Apparent — Xiao Jun orders Your Highness to mobilize troops and execute the traitorous rebels!"

Xiao Jun is another title for the Great Qian Empress; the Ling Empress can mobilize her own guards and a portion of the Imperial Guard, and with the Empress's Seal in Mo Gu's hand she can throw open the Chang'an Armory to requisition armor and weapons.

Liu Gu's nature was gentle and refined, but he knew in his heart that his Mother Empress making such a decision must mean she had no other choice; as a son, he should immediately draw his sword and obey his mother's command, carve a bloody path out! Not be a coward who questions his mother's decision at a moment of life and death!

The Ling Empress, who advocated harmony with the people's livelihood and possessed a gentle, compassionate temperament, was not one to surrender without a fight.

She sought an audience with the Ren Emperor but was blocked outside the palace gates; she knelt and waited for a full half an hour, yet still was not granted an audience.

She knew she could not kneel any longer.

If the sovereign in the hall had truly reached his final hour, then she was the only one at this juncture who could protect the Great Qian's rivers and mountains foundation.

If the sovereign in the hall was still conscious yet unwilling to see her, then she must be the mother who protects her son, and even more the Xiao Jun who safeguards the countless followers behind her.

Regardless of the truth, she had only this one path of seeking life in death to walk.

The Ling Empress's decisive and swift counterattack was beyond everyone's expectations, including the Ren Emperor's.

Hearing that the Crown Prince had forged an edict at Xian Tai Palace, used the Empress's Seal to open the armory, armed his confidants and the Empress's guards, and engaged in slaughter with the Imperial Guard led by Zhu Zhi, the Ren Emperor suddenly swept aside the medicinal tea the palace attendants had brought, his blood-red eyes filled with shocked, angry tears: "... My wife and my son's hearts to destroy Us, I fear, have not been formed in a single morning or evening!"

When the Ren Emperor and the Ling Empress first met, the Late Grand Ancestor Emperor had only stabilized the realm for a little over a year; at that time the Ren Emperor had just been established as Crown Prince.

The Ling Empress was of humble origin yet intelligent and spirited; initially she was a concubine of Crown Prince Liu Shu, and both writing and reading history were taught by Liu Shu.

Later the Crown Prince Consort passed away, Liu Shu ascended the throne and became the Ren Emperor, and he then conferred upon her the title of Empress, privately addressing each other as husband and wife.

In a single night, the young couple's affection shattered, and the Imperial Family's Emperor and Empress met in armed conflict.

The Imperial Guard, obeying the Son of Heaven's command, moved to execute the rebellious Ling Empress; the guards and attendants in Jiaofang Palace resisted to the death.

Inside Xian Tai Palace, vermilion blood flowed like rivers; Crown Prince Liu Gu was heavily wounded.

A group of Brocade Guard entered straight into the Changping Marquis Residence, bearing an edict summoning Marquis Ling Ke into the palace to receive the decree.

Ling Ke had only returned to the capital less than ten days prior; the army's Tiger Talisman had already been handed over to the Son of Heaven.

Yet the Son of Heaven at this time still could not rest assured.

But would obeying and entering the palace truly be able to dispel the Son of Heaven's suspicions?

Because a sword hung over his heart, keeping him vigilant and alert, Ling Ke — who had received word of the Xian Tai Palace situation ahead of time — thought of the various agreements he and his elder sister had made in letters regarding that "Eight Characters Warning," and with utmost effort suppressed his emotions, followed that group of Brocade Guard, left the mansion and mounted his horse.

However, halfway there, the horse let out a neigh; the Brocade Guard looked toward the sound, only to see Marquis Changping abruptly change his horse's direction without any warning.

The sounds of sabers and swords, the sounds of bows and crossbows, pierced this last inch of tranquil evening light.

Night seemed to descend in the blink of an eye.

In the end, Ling Ke could not keep his promise with his elder sister; he could not stay out of it.

He led only a force of his personal retainers, heading straight for Xian Tai Palace.

The fierce Ling Family hundred-man division tore a bloody path through the Imperial Guard; Ling Ke was bathed in blood, and rescued his nephew Liu Gu.

Liu Gu, his face covered in blood and tears, was lifted onto the horse's back, and suddenly felt incomparably wronged: "Uncle..."

"Think of change, don't be afraid; Uncle will take you to see your Imperial Father!" Ling Ke shielded the youth before him, lifted his spear and spurred his horse, charging out to kill.

Even though the situation was incomparably perilous and chaotic, Liu Gu still understood in a single moment all of his uncle's intentions.

Atop the jolting horse, the youthful Heir Apparent wept like rain; he strenuously persuaded his uncle to leave, that he need not bother with him, this suspected and abandoned man, yet his uncle simply brought him killing all the way to the palace gates, forcefully carving out a bloody path for him to see his father.

The Grand Marshal Ling Ke, who commanded the battlefield, was known and feared by all.

The Imperial Guard stationed before the palace gates, seeing him come to kill, in their fear momentarily only assumed a defensive posture, awaiting the Son of Heaven's signal.

But then they saw Ling Ke dismount; Liu Gu was also helped down by him; he publicly unfastened his blood-stained armor and discarded it in the snow, knelt on one knee facing the palace gates, his voice seeming able to penetrate those tightly shut palace doors: "Please inform His Majesty: your subject Ling Ke has no heart of rebellion; bearing a blade to come here was truly forced by treacherous villains!"

"Your subject knows that violating the ban by force of arms is an error upon error! Yet the Crown Prince is innocent —" Ling Ke looked at the wounded, powerless youth kneeling at his side, tears in his eyes, and suddenly brandished his saber: "Ke is willing to punish himself by severing one arm, only begging the Sovereign Father to show grace, to allow this innocent child who fights to the death just to see his father once to kneel before You, and hear him speak a word from his heart!"

Ling Ke's saber fell with his words, severing one arm alive.

"General!"

"Uncle...!"

The confidants at Ling Ke's side and Liu Gu were both greatly shaken and pained.

Seeing such a hero destroy himself in this manner, even Xue Yang, the Langzhong Ling commanding the Imperial City Forbidden Army, could not help but reveal a look of shock and grief.

Thanks to Rui Qinghan for the Alliance Leader reward!! The word count is still low, truly filled with trepidation! Once on the shelves, I will definitely strive to add more chapters.

【Plot aspect: The course of this life's calamity has some differences compared to the previous life because of the slight "foreknowledge" of the person in the game. The previous life's course, as well as the characters' causes and effects, will all be written clearly later through flashbacks or side stories.】

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(Chapter End)