Chapter 56: Beneath Anling City, The Sinful Clan Is Called to Account

On the ramparts of Anling City, a deathly silence reigned.

The defending troops had originally expected the Wen Jun Army to arrive, believing it was the Town-North Iron Cavalry sent by Jiang Che, the Northern Border Killing God come to sever the Dragon Flag with a single sword stroke.

Yet no one could have anticipated that the figure standing below the city walls would be a youth clad in a green student uniform.

Even less did they expect his first words to be neither a call to rally loyalists nor a request to audience the Young Emperor, but rather—

"The Sinful Clan Xiao."

Atop the city tower, Song Huaili, leader of the Old Party, suddenly darkened with fury.

Once the Minister of Rites under the Old Dynasty, he had fled the Capital City after the Emperor's death, secretly contacting remnants of the Imperial Clan before finally installing Xiao Chengping as the Young Emperor in Anling.

In Song Huaili's eyes, the Xiao Clan represented Orthodoxy.

Orthodoxy bore no guilt.

Even if the Emperor erred, the common people had no right to judge him.

Yet Xiao Cheng'an's utterance of "Sinful Clan Xiao" tore away their final fig leaf before all eyes.

Song Huaili spoke coldly: "Xiao Cheng'an, born of royal blood, you have actually sided with rebels and disgraced your ancestors!"

Below the city, Xiao Cheng'an looked up at him.

The youth's face was pale, yet his fingers were clenched tightly.

He was afraid.

Of course he was afraid.

Armored soldiers stood upon the ramparts, and within the city lurked tens of thousands of private troops belonging to the Old Party, while behind him stood only the Three Hundred Town-Border Army, a few Legislative Officers, and the History Camp.

Having grown up in the Prince's Manor, he had been taught ritual and law, the relationship between ruler and subject, and the nobility of the Xiao Clan.

He had never imagined that one day he would stand beneath these walls and declare with his own lips that the Xiao Clan was guilty.

Yet he could not forget Jiang Che's words.

"You can learn to become a human being."

Thus, Xiao Cheng'an drew a deep breath and proclaimed loudly:

"If our ancestors used the people as sacrifices, then they deserve to be questioned."

"If the royal family shepherded the people only to offer them to Heaven, then they are guilty."

"I come today neither for Jiang Che nor for the Council Hall."

"I ask only one question: What crime did the three hundred thousand citizens of Luo'an commit?"

A stir rippled across the ramparts.

Many soldiers knew nothing of the truth regarding Luo'an.

They had heard the Old Party claim that Jiang Che had thrown the Capital City into chaos, that Jiang Che had shattered the Heavenly Gate and thereby invited disaster, and that Jiang Che had destroyed the Ancestral System of Great Yin.

Yet the four words "Lu'an Blood Sacrifice" pierced the crowd like a blade.

Song Huaili raged: "Pure nonsense! The Luo'an case is a fabrication by the thief Jiang!"

Xiao Cheng'an accepted a scroll from a member of the History Camp behind him.

"This is the register of those who perished in Luo'an."

"Names, ages, residences, relatives, and causes of death are all recorded herein."

"A fabrication?"

He raised his head, his voice trembling yet firm.

"Song Huaili, do you dare let the people of Anling come out and listen?"

Song Huaili's expression turned ugly.

Of course he did not dare.

They had installed the Young Emperor and raised the Dragon Flag relying solely on the four characters "Old Dynasty Orthodoxy."

If the people truly heard what the Old Dynasty had done, those two characters "Orthodoxy" would become stained with blood.

Another former official atop the ramparts shouted furiously: "Xiao Cheng'an has been bewitched by the rebel faction! Loose the arrows!"

The defending troops drew their bowstrings taut.

The Three Hundred Town-Border Army immediately raised their shields.

Yet Xiao Cheng'an stepped forward, positioning himself outside the shield formation.

The guarding commander urgently cried: "Young Master Xiao, retreat!"

Xiao Cheng'an shook his head.

He gazed upward at the ramparts.

"If you wish to shoot, then shoot."

"The Xiao Clan owes a blood debt to the world."

"If I die here, let it count as repaying a portion of that debt."

The fingers of the archers atop the ramparts trembled.

They could shoot at the Wen Jun Army.

They could shoot at the Town-North soldiers.

But the youth below was of Xiao bloodline, the son of the Prince of An, and a member of the Old Dynasty's Imperial Clan.

They constantly spoke of rallying to protect the king; could they truly let their first arrow fly at royalty?

Seeing the army's resolve wavering, Song Huaili roared: "Who dares disobey orders!"

Just then, the cry of a child suddenly echoed from within the city.

A small figure was helped up onto the ramparts.

Eight-year-old Xiao Chengping, clad in a Dragon Robe, wore an expression filled with terror.

"Brother..."

Xiao Cheng'an shuddered all over.

He lifted his head and saw his younger brother.

In that instant, all the words he had prepared stuck in his throat.

Xiao Chengping asked through tears, "They say you are a villain."

"They say you want to kill me."

Xiao Cheng'an's eyes turned red.

"Chengping, Brother will not kill you."

Song Huaili immediately pressed a hand onto Xiao Chengping's shoulder and said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, do not listen to the rebel traitor's demonic words!"

Xiao Chengping trembled with fright.

Seeing that hand on his brother's shoulder, anger arose in Xiao Cheng'an's eyes for the first time.

He drew the Short Dagger from his sleeve.

Tension filled the city walls.

Yet Xiao Cheng'an did not charge the city, nor did he take his own life.

He merely used the Short Dagger to slice open his palm, smearing the blood onto that scroll of crimes.

"I, Xiao Cheng'an, swear by the bloodline of the Xiao Clan."

"The Lu'an Blood Sacrifice is real."

"The Heavenly Gate Pact is real."

"The Jiang Family Blood Case is real."

"The Xiao Clan Imperial Family is guilty."

He raised the blood-written document high.

"If I speak a single false word today, may I be executed by all under Heaven."

Inside and outside Anling City, the sound of the Wind suddenly ceased.

Song Huaili's face turned deathly pale.

He finally realized that Xiao Cheng'an had not come to beg his brother.

He had come to smash the Dragon Flag.