Chapter 1046

Qiqi's face turned cold because of Hu Xiaotian's words: "I don't need friends." She turned her pretty face aside, and not long after she couldn't help asking: "Did you really save Li Tianheng?"

Hu Xiaotian shook his head and said: "Li Tianheng wasn't injured at all, so why would he need my rescue?"

Qiqi sighed and said: "The old thief is indeed cunning, actually using this method to push the blame onto the court."

Hu Xiaotian said: "If it weren't for the exposure of Lin Zefeng and Zhao Yanjang's rebellion, Li Tianheng would probably already be dead." He thought to himself, however: "Shouting 'catch the thief' while being the thief, neither Li Tianheng nor Long Xuan'en are good birds."

Qiqi said: "The situation is dire; if we cannot recover Xichuan, Dakang will likely be doomed." Her voice revealed deep sorrow.

Hu Xiaotian said: "Your Highness may not know, the Prince of Zhou encountered an assassination in Xizhou."

"Ah?" Qiqi exclaimed in surprise; she obviously knew nothing about this, but immediately realized that if true it must be related to the old emperor, and the purpose of eliminating the Prince of Zhou was to abolish the trump card in Li Tianheng's hand. However, to strike at his own son, his methods are indeed rather cruel.

Hu Xiaotian said: "Dealing with Li Tianheng, assassinating the Prince of Zhou is part of the emperor's plan; he never intended for the Prince of Zhou to survive."

Qiqi fell silent; the emperor's methods were even more cold-hearted and ruthless than she had imagined. On the surface the emperor had handed power over to her, repeatedly saying he would withdraw from court and not interfere in politics, but in fact his actions showed no intention of relinquishing power. Could it be that from beginning to end he merely regarded her as a political tool, and once the opportunity arose or she affected his interests, he would just as readily dispose of her without hesitation? Dakang is already on the brink of collapse; why does he still do these things? Has he already given up?

Hu Xiaotian said with deep meaning: "I fear that from now on the emperor will consider Dakang's defeat inevitable and let things take their course."

Qiqi bit her cherry lips and said: "I don't care what others think; I will absolutely not give up."

When Hu Xiaotian returned to the Secretary's residence, he heard wailing shaking the mansion; his heart sank, he didn't have time for Qiqi, he pushed open the carriage door and rushed madly into the residence. However, not long after he left, Xu Fengyi's condition suddenly worsened, and she had just breathed her last.

Hu Xiaotian arrived at the courtyard where his mother lived; Hu Fo, Liang Da Zhuang and others saw him return and all knelt on the ground, Hu Fo wailed loudly: "Young master, the lady has just passed away..."

Hu Xiaotian rushed into the room without a word. Huo Shengnan and Weisa were crying with tears like pear blossoms, indeed grief-stricken.

Hu Xiaotian came to his mother's bedside, felt her carotid artery, sensed no pulse, and looked at her pupils, already dilated. He bit his lip hard, placed his left palm above her sternum, right hand on top of the left, and began chest compressions; after thirty compressions, he gave her two rescue breaths, repeating the cycle.

Seeing his mad appearance, no one dared to stop him.

Qiqi arrived shortly after; seeing the scene before her, she couldn't help but stay there, stunned.

Hu Xiaotian continued there mechanically repeating the rescue motions; Zhou Mo couldn't bear it, came to the bedside, filled with sorrow and indignation, said: "Third brother, enough..."

Hu Xiaotian roared: "Get out!"

Zhou Mo shouted loudly: "Third brother. Aunt is already dead, she is already dead!"

Hu Xiaotian stood there as if struck by lightning, staring blankly at his mother's pallid face, murmuring: "My mother died?"

Zhou Mo nodded.

Hu Xiaotian shook his head hard: "My mother died..." As he spoke, he suddenly felt a knife-like pain in his dantian qi sea; several streams of inner energy collided and tangled together, his vision went black, and he collapsed to the ground.

When Hu Xiaotian woke up, it was already midnight; the one guarding him was actually Qiqi, because of her status others had chosen to avoid: first, she is the current princess; second, she is Hu Xiaotian's legitimate fiancée.

What surprised Qiqi was that after waking up, Hu Xiaotian displayed an unusually calm demeanor.

"How long did I faint?"

Qiqi said: "About an hour, maybe."

Hu Xiaotian stood up, his gaze falling on the mourning attire prepared for him nearby.

Qiqi thought she had touched his sore spot again, and softly advised: "Grieve in moderation and move with the changes!"

Hu Xiaotian nodded, silently walked over and put on the mourning clothes; Qiqi came behind him to help tidy them. His mother's passing had become a fact, yet Hu Xiaotian's heart unexpectedly calmed. Although he possessed medical knowledge surpassing that of the era, facing a patient determined to die, he remained powerless. It was not because his special experience made his feelings for his parents shallow, but because he more readily understood this principle than others: for Xu Fengyi, death should be her best release.

Hu Xiaotian was originally an open-minded person; since everything had already happened, further grief would be useless; the most important thing now is to handle his mother's funeral well, so she may depart peacefully.

Seeing Hu Xiaotian silent and unresponsive, Qiqi thought he had become dazed from excessive grief, and full of concern she said: "People cannot come back to life after death; you need not be overly sad, Madame Hu has merely gone to another world; perhaps she will be happier there."

Hu Xiaotian nodded, spoke softly: "Indeed, my mother was so kind; she ought not to have lived in this ugly world." He turned to Qiqi and said: "Your Highness, please return; you have state affairs to attend to tomorrow, so take good care of your health."

Qiqi said: "As for Dakang's affairs, I am also willing but unable; on the other hand, here I can still lend some help. Although I have not formally joined the Hu family, we have after all settled the marriage pact, so I ought to fulfill my filial duty."

Hu Xiaotian gave her a deep look, spoke in a low voice: "Actually the emperor's bestowal of marriage had another purpose; Your Highness need not keep this in mind."

Qiqi bit her cherry lips; she wanted to retort because of Hu Xiaotian's remark, but thinking of his current situation she felt reluctant and softly said: "I know what to do."

Hu Xiaotian then said no more, strode out of the room; meanwhile Zhou Mo and Huo Shengnan had already directed the people to set up the mourning hall, the entire Secretary's residence was solemn and silent, gloom and misery pervading.

Seeing Hu Xiaotian approach, everyone came forward one after another; Hu Xiaotian waved his hand, parted the crowd and went to the mourning hall, before his mother's spirit tablet, he bowed deeply three times, and said softly: "Mother! Go in peace; I understand your thoughts, I will not let you worry for me in the netherworld."

From behind came sobbing sounds; Hu Xiaotian knelt before the spirit tablet, lit yellow paper; at this moment Qiqi also changed into mourning attire and silently entered, kneeling beside him, evidently resolved to keep vigil with him.

A day in Xuanweigong begins early; Long Xuan'en wakes before dawn, as he ages his sleep grows shorter; Wang Qian totters over with small steps to his side, leans to his ear and says: "Your Majesty, the wife of Hu Wuwei passed away last night!"

Long Xuan'en blinked slightly; although Xu Fengyi had been ill for a long time, Long Xuan'en was unaware of it; as a sovereign of a nation, he could not possibly concern himself with what happened to a minister's wife; yet this incident still surprised him somewhat. Hu Xiaotian had just arrived, and Xu Fengyi died. Long Xuan'en's first thought was that he had lost a trump card to threaten the Hu father and son; then he recalled Hu Wuwei, who had set out to sea and left no news, and Long Xuan'en began to feel uneasy. He said softly: "Wang Qian, you turn back and have me go to offer condolences."

Wang Qian nodded: "I'll go prepare right away."

Long Xuan'en called out to him again: "Wait a moment."

Wang Qian halted his steps.

"Or let Qiqi go."

Wang Qian said: "Your Highness the Princess went to the Secretary's residence last night, dressed in mourning, to keep vigil for Madame Hu."

Long Xuan'en, hearing this, could not help but rage: "What propriety is this! She hasn't even married into the Hu family; how can she do such a thing?"

Seeing Long Xuan'en angry, Wang Qian dared not say anything, and stood there respectfully.

Long Xuan'en paced back and forth in anger, muttering: "Truly unreasonable! Truly unreasonable!"

At this moment Hong Beimo arrived; Long Xuan'en had Wang Qian invite him in.

Hong Beimo bowed to Long Xuan'en; he too had heard the news of Xu Fengyi's death. Even though Hu Wuwei had once been Dakang's former Minister of Revenue, her death should not have caused such a stir; the reason the ruler and his ministers are so concerned is entirely because Xu Fengyi's death might trigger a chain of changes.

Hong Beimo said: "Your Majesty, the persons I sent out to investigate the fleet's whereabouts have reported that after the fleet resupplied at Nan Jin Island, there has been no further news, and Luo Song also has no report of any Dakang fleet arriving."

Long Xuan'en snapped: "Truly unreasonable! Such a huge fleet cannot simply vanish; could it have evaporated into thin air?"

Hong Beimo said: "Your Majesty, this matter must have been plotted long ago; I believe Hu Wuwei should have made plans early on."

Long Xuan'en said: "How could that be? Doesn't he care about his wife's life?" Thinking of Xu Fengyi's death, he grew more irritable: "Even if he doesn't care about his wife, does he not care about his son Hu Xiaotian's life or death?" In fact, when Long Xuan'en spoke those words, he had already answered himself: if he were Hu Wuwei, would he care about his wife's life or death? Obviously not. Hu Wuwei took away fifty warships, all elite troops of Dakang's navy; how could he have been so careless as to believe his nonsense about opening a maritime grain route for Dakang?

Hong Beimo said: "I have carefully studied the sea lanes along the route, and had people search the possible islands en route; fifty warships cannot simply disappear; aside from a few islands, the rest of the islands lack harbors capable of accommodating such a fleet, yet those few islands have already been completely ruled out."

Long Xuan'en roared: "Fifty warships, ten thousand elite navy soldiers—could they just vanish without a sound?"

Hong Beimo said: "There is only one possibility: after leaving Nan Jin Island they did not continue south but turned back west, detouring into the waters of Tianxiang State; only Tianxiang State has the capability to hide such a massive fleet."

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