Chapter 86

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Protagonist:

Shaowei

Liu Qi

Zhuang Yuanzhi, who had not rushed to take a side, wore a solemn expression as he likewise watched the boy being forced by the Brocade Guard to strip publicly to prove his innocence.

In summer, men going bare-chested were common, but that was mostly the behavior of commoners; scholar-officials valued dress and propriety, regarding them as a kind of dignity, let alone an imperial prince of the Heavenly Family.

And removing one's own clothes was one thing, but being forced to strip in this manner was quite another.

Zhuang Yuanzhi inwardly absolutely disapproved of the Brocade Guard's action, but harboring a member of the Ling Family was a matter of great consequence; no one could bear the responsibility of confusing the truth, and he also wanted to see things clearly for himself.

Under the gaze of all, the Sixth Prince showed not a shred of humiliation or shame, nor any anxiety or hesitation; his posture and movements were unhurried, truly carefree and composed.

Only seen was the boy standing tall on the stone steps, one hand undoing the gold-and-jade belt buckle inlaid with a Guowen white jade ring at his waist; the waist-binding leather belt thus loosened, he removed his wide outer robe and casually cast it to the ground.

With the outer robe removed, the inner garment fell away, leaving only the snow-white middle attire.

Shaowei watched that back; its garment was pure white, dazzling in the midday sunlight, faintly spreading a layer of cold snowlight.

Then that snow-white upper garment was also removed, and the boy's bare back entered Shaowei's sight: broad shoulders, straight back, narrow waist, tight lean muscles wrapped over superior bones, and whether left arm or right arm, only evenly undulating muscle lines were visible, with not a single wound scar.

And his skin was white as cold jade; with the white clothes removed, snowlight still lingered around him.

Shaowei silently looked back and forth at his left and right arms, unable to help but feel astonished and perplexed, while A Ya beside her, who had kept her head down all along, seeing her stare without blinking, felt both ashamed and annoyed, truly unable to understand how anyone could stare at a man's body so unflinchingly.

Liu Qi thus displayed his bare upper body before everyone's eyes.

The courtyard was already in an uproar.

Huang Jie, greatly shaken in his heart, heard nothing; he looked in disbelief at the boy's intact left arm—the knife wound he had received the previous night could not possibly have recovered so quickly and completely, no matter what miraculous elixirs...

There must be something wrong here...

That night in Yundang Mountain he had not fought this boy at close quarters, but Commander Zhu was absolutely certain it was this boy... Could Commander Zhu have been mistaken? Or was the Commander deliberately misled, resulting in a misjudgment? The one who appeared that night was not Liu Qi himself?!

This huge change left Huang Jie's mind in turmoil for a moment; he couldn't help but think of Zhu Zhi, who after waking from his coma had almost gone mad over losing an arm...

After Commander Zhu regained consciousness, he ordered him to immediately enter Wuling Commandery to investigate Ling Congnan's whereabouts, examine Liu Qi's injuries, and must determine his guilt on the spot.

Huang Jie could indeed realize that Zhu Zhi, due to the hatred of losing his arm, had lost part of his reason and only wanted revenge, but in Yundang Mountain, their Brocade Guard had returned empty-handed and suffered heavy losses; if they could not promptly produce solid evidence to give the Capital an explanation, this would be a major fault, truly a case of shooting oneself in the foot.

This trip was the only chance to make up for the fault, so for both public and private reasons he had to obey.

But at this moment...

Ling Congnan hiding was one thing, not finding a trace in the entire Wuling Commandery Prince's Mansion was one thing, but Liu Qi's wound had strangely "disappeared"!

Was it truly disappeared, or was the person that night not Liu Qi at all?

Huang Jie stared fixedly at the boy's unblemished, smooth arm, his gaze like a sharp sword, wishing he could cut a wound into it.

He was still unwilling to easily believe Zhu Zhi had misjudged; the consequences were too serious...

"Your Highness the Sixth Prince, please allow this humble official to approach for a closer look!" Huang Jie cupped his fists heavily, unwilling to give up, and stepped forward.

"Insolence!" Tang Jia could no longer endure it, roared loudly, and blocked Liu Qi's front, his voice trembling, almost carrying grief and indignation: "You all bully people too far, forcing a noble prince to strip to prove his innocence is not enough, and now you want to draw a blade and approach him; do you intend to carve a 'proof of guilt' on the spot?!"

Deng Hu and others also held blades and surrounded to protect him, each with an expression of indignation.

Seeing the situation turn, the remaining officials in the Commandery Prince's Mansion gained courage and began to denounce the lawless Brocade Guard.

Huang Jie's expression was cold and stern; as he was weighing things in his mind, he only heard a cold laugh sound, and then the cold laugh said: "The Son of Heaven raises tigers to protect the heavenly might; who knew this tiger would now dare to injure the Son of Heaven's son—could it be that raising tigers brings disaster?"

Huang Jie turned to look at Zhuang Yuanzhi, who had only now spoken up to this point.

This phrase "raising tigers brings disaster" made Huang Jie's heart sink.

Zhuang Yuanzhi had long found their Brocade Guard displeasing to the eye; though demoted, he still had factions belonging to him in the Capital... This matter had been witnessed by him from start to finish; if blades and blood were drawn again, it was feared the other side would seize an even greater handle.

As expected, immediately after, the other spoke shocking words: "Or do you, seeing the southern border desolate and unpopulated, far from the Son of Heaven's feet, dare to fabricate a charge out of thin air, to vent private resentment and cover up your own faults—"

Facing those torch-like eyes, Huang Jie gripped his blade and said word by word: "Master Zhuang need not rush to speak alarmist words; I am merely following orders and acting according to rules..."

"Following orders? Whose orders? Does the Son of Heaven know of the matters here, and is there a clear decree?" Zhuang Yuanzhi's face sank, both angry and imposing: "This place is the Commandery Prince's Mansion; the solid evidence you speak of that does not exist has already come to nothing; if you dare to draw blades and soldiers without imperial edict, it is a grave crime of overstepping!"

"Huang Jie, you are merely a mere deputy commander of the Brocade Guard—holding the Son of Heaven's credentials does not mean you can wrongfully kill a child of the Heavenly Family!"

These words struck the ground; Huang Jie's facial expression still showed no sign, but his heart was already in turmoil.

He pressed his slightly bluish lips, slowly turned his head to look at the Commandery Prince's Mansion guards holding blades and surrounding Liu Qi.

The matter had developed to this point; those people were all indignant, with a determined look of "the lord disgraces the minister, the minister dies"; under such circumstances, if he forced his way forward, both sides would surely cross blades.

And this Sixth Prince...

Huang Jie's gaze moved upward, looking at the person on the steps.

The boy was being protected; Tang Jia was heartbrokenly putting an outer robe on him; he stood there, looking down with disdain, his black-and-white eyes hiding a nearly provocative smile.

From this malicious smile, Huang Jie saw an even worse situation.

His accusation had come to nothing; if they drew blades now, this strange and deceitful boy might very well injure himself in the chaos; by then, not only would the old wound not be found, but a new wound would be added... his crime of plotting to harm the Son of Heaven's son would truly be confirmed!

Huang Jie forced himself to calm down.

At this moment he had fallen into a passive position, and there were too many uncertain internal details; he could not even be certain that the person injured that night was definitely Liu Qi; betting everything might bring a dead end...

And what Zhuang Yuanzhi had said just now indeed reminded him: he was merely a mere "deputy" commander; up to now, everything he had done was at Zhu Zhi's command.

The fault of Yundang Mountain, though he was unwilling, was Zhu Zhi's obstinate claim; when he returned to the Capital in the future, at most he would be demoted.

But now he had lost his momentum; if he forced bloodshed and was then set up by this little brat, making it impossible to conclude, he alone would have to take responsibility; by then he might even lose his life!

Huang Jie suppressed his surging emotions, raised his hand to signal his subordinates to retreat.

He lowered his head, lifted his eyes to look at Liu Qi, and cupped his hands: "Your Highness the Sixth Prince, today's matters have many unclear points; I am a person of little weight and words, not fit to make rash judgments, so I will take my leave first."

After speaking, he immediately turned around and said in a deep voice to his men on the left and right: "Go."

Behind him, which he could not see, Liu Qi on the high steps extended his right hand toward his side, saying: "My clothes have been removed, yet Deputy Commander Huang seems not to have asked for forgiveness for his overstepping offense."

The youth's unhurried voice came from behind; amid the jumbled footfalls, Huang Jie halted, swallowing his anger without showing it, and said: "Once this matter is clarified, His Majesty will naturally mete out rewards and punishments; at that time this lowly official will naturally—"

He had not finished speaking when his body suddenly stiffened, his voice shattered in his throat, his breath also severed.

He trembled as he lowered his gaze, only to see a crossbow bolt piercing through his neck, the bloody arrowhead protruding out.

Behind him, Liu Qi, wearing his outer robe loosely draped, held the bronze crossbow mechanism; the one eye he had narrowed to aim slowly opened, fixedly watching that rigid back.

Cries of alarm, panic, caught off guard — for a moment voices rose in a clamor.

This clamor of voices turned into wind sounds in Liu Qi's ears; the scenery and season seemed to shift, and he returned to that snowy night, standing before that blood-stained palace gate.

Countless figures, fresh blood, knife light; Zhu Zhi wielded his sword, prodding at his uncle's mangled corpse; at that time Huang Jie, merely an ordinary Embroidered Uniform Guard beside Zhu Zhi, knelt down, lifted his elder brother's disheveled topknot — and so he saw his elder brother's raised head, bleeding mouth and nose, and in the eyes that refused to close there seemed still to be tears.

Every single enemy's face from that night he remembers.

Whether they showed themselves, or did not appear.

Whether they were outside that palace gate, or within the palace gate.

Every single one, he remembers.

Huang Jie crashed to the ground with a thud.

At death's door he felt only regret, regret that he had compromised and retreated to save his life, yet he did not know that no matter what he did, the person behind him never intended to let him leave alive.

With Huang Jie's fall, the situation fell into brief chaos; those Embroidered Uniform Guards were all shocked and furious — none had expected that just as they were about to withdraw, the Sixth Prince would suddenly strike, and that crossbow bolt was not shot into an arm or leg, but pierced the throat and took a life!

And precisely because it took a life, rather than merely wounding to vent anger, at this moment although these Embroidered Uniform Guards were angry, more than that was shock and fear, and the bewilderment of having lost their leader.

Zhuang Yuanzhi was also startled, looking in shock at the youth gripping the crossbow mechanism.

Wind and snow howled in Liu Qi's heart, his face expressionless; he casually tossed the crossbow mechanism onto the Hu bed, and looked at those Embroidered Uniform Guards: "Those who overstep and offend superiors deserve death; if any of those standing below are dissatisfied, they need only memorialize the Imperial Uncle — I await judgment at any time."

Tang Jia's heart was screaming incessantly; he knew it, he knew it!

He knew that the Sixth Prince had earlier appeared so normal, so cooperative — they wanted to search so he let them in to search, they wanted him to strip so he obediently stripped… this was clearly wrong, sure enough he was holding back something big, look, in the end he still went mad!

But the fact that his own master's son suffered grievance and humiliation today is also true; at this moment even if his heart screamed until the sky shattered, on his face he could not show the slightest word of reproach, instead he had to straighten his back, put on a stern face toward the outside, and reprimand: "Huang Jie is already dead, why do you not quickly withdraw!"

Those Embroidered Uniform Guards — when had they ever received such treatment? It had always been they who drove others away; when they came they still brandished blades and forced their way all the way here…

But now there was no one in charge; Deputy Envoy Huang had just been about to withdraw, so these people who only obeyed orders — what confidence did they have to challenge?

The whole group of Embroidered Uniform Guards secretly gritted their teeth, faces changing as they supported Huang Jie's not-yet-cold corpse, and hurriedly withdrew.

Liu Qi turned and stepped back into the room, with only one sentence: "Tang Changshi, quickly go change clothes."

"Sixth Prince…" Tang Jia was about to follow in, but Deng Hu had already shut the door a step ahead, and said to him: "Changshi, please return first."

Tang Jia sighed heavily, and did not forcefully knock again; at this moment a pile of matters awaited his handling, so let this child quiet down for a while — after all he had just suffered such great humiliation… as for that extra maid inside, we'll speak of it later.

As the door closed, Shaowei, kneeling beside the low table, could finally openly raise her head, directly meeting Liu Qi's gaze.

The two, one sitting one standing, silently gazed at each other; neither rushed to speak, but Liu Qi smiled.

Outside the door there was still a measure of chaos and confusion.

Tang Jia hurried down the stone steps, walked toward Zhuang Yuanzhi, performed a deep salute, first giving thanks, then apologizing: "…The Commandery Prince today suffered such stimulation, his mood is currently unstable; for the discourtesy, I beg Lord Zhuang's magnanimity!"

He had invited the man to discuss the Sixth Prince's education policy; unfortunately, by ill chance, the other party witnessed the Sixth Prince's most perverse side — directly killing a man!

Tang Changshi wanted to say, my family's child in normal times would not be like this, it was all those treacherous villainous rats who forced it… but his own child didn't even offer a greeting, truly discourteous, so he could not excessively shield him, and could only do his best to apologize.

Zhuang Yuanzhi looked at the soaking-wet Tang Changshi before him, then glanced at that tightly shut door, and mocked: "You, Tang Jia, have become a bedraggled Tang Jia; my Zhuang Guoyu's trip this time was also excessively superfluous."

Zhuang is his surname, Yuan is his generation rank, Zhi is his given name, Guoyu is his courtesy name; originally an elder in the family with considerable foresight had reminded him not to be too straightforward, too straightforward then becomes superfluous.

At this moment Zhuang Yuanzhi dropped this sentence that left Tang Jia dumbfounded, flicked his sleeves, snorted, and left with his servants.

Tang Jia wore a bitter expression, hurriedly chasing after to see him off.

Zhuang Yuanzhi said impatiently: "No need to superfluously see me off; rather, quickly memorialize today's matter to His Majesty!"

"Yes, yes…" The harried bedraggled Tang Jia could only halt, and salute again: "Tang is ashamed; Lord Zhuang, go slowly!"

Under the palace attendants' escort, Zhuang Yuanzhi went all the way out of the Commandery Prince's Mansion with a cold face.

At the same moment, as the Embroidered Uniform Guards withdrew, at the Commandery Prince's Mansion's back gate, a figure like a gray swallow leapt down from a large tree, probing toward the rear of that mansion.

At the front gate, the Zhuang family master and servants had already boarded the mule cart; as a cloud of dust rose behind, Zhuang Yuanzhi inside the cart suddenly burst into loud laughter without warning.

The servant puzzled: "Master, this is…"

"Good." Zhuang Yuanzhi stroked his beard, eyes shining bright, face full of unexpected delight: "This arrow was shot well."