Chapter 1599

Qiu Xian'guang's request did not receive Li Chen Zhou's cooperation; he only said that when the appropriate time comes, he will arrange for Shangguan Yun Chong to go to the Sword Palace to explain, but he did not specify when. Qiu Xian'guang saw through Li Chen Zhou's perfunctoriness and naturally returned disappointed.

Li Chen Zhou's original intention was certainly not to be perfunctory; as for Qiu Mu Bai's disappearance, a little thought reveals that there are too many things wrong about it. After Shangguan Tianhuo and his son sought refuge with him, their movements in Yongdu have been mysterious; besides him, few know their whereabouts and contact methods. This time Qiu Mu Bai was kidnapped, and all the contradictions point to Shangguan Yun Chong. Qiu Xian'guang wanting to meet Shangguan Yun Chong is understandable, but upon examining the reason, one cannot rule out that someone intends to use this method to force Shangguan Yun Chong to appear. The more so, the more we must heighten vigilance, lest we fall into someone else's trap. However, this also gives them an opportunity; they can simply turn the tables, after making preparations, arrange for Shangguan Tianhuo and his son to appear, in order to lure out potential enemies.

After Qiu Xian'guang left, Li Chen Zhou drove to the Imperial Ancestral Temple; today was the day the new ruler, Xue Daoming, paid ancestral rites. Li Chen Zhou arrived at the appointed time, only to find the Imperial Ancestral Temple deserted. After inquiring, he learned that Xue Daoming had come early, traveling lightly and simply, merely paying a brief obeisance to his ancestors, and his total stay in the Imperial Ancestral Temple did not exceed one hour.

In Li Chen Zhou's eyes, Xue Daoming's behavior was absolutely not low-key, but rather an escape, which also contained his dislike and resistance toward himself. Although Xue Daoming had left, the unfinished sacrificial rites still needed to be handled by Sun Weiyuan, the Minister of Rites, who was currently directing the attendants of the Imperial Ancestral Temple to complete the sacrificial ceremony.

Seeing Li Chen Zhou arrive in person, Sun Weiyuan hurriedly set aside his other affairs and came to meet him.

Li Chen Zhou said, "Why did the Emperor leave in such a hurry?"

Sun Weiyuan gave a bitter smile and said, "The Emperor manages myriad affairs, everything is busy, and besides, he still has to prepare for the Grand Empress Dowager's burial, so after coming to pay ancestral rites he left in a hurry. The following matters have already been entrusted to your humble servant to handle."

Li Chen Zhou glanced at the bustling attendants around him and smiled calmly, saying, "In extraordinary times, extraordinary measures must be taken; I'm sure the former emperors would also understand the Emperor's difficulties."

The snow has become much finer now, as if someone were scattering salt particles from the sky, yet it is unusually gentle, landing on the face with a tingling, numb sensation. Sun Weiyuan said, "Grand Commander, it's freezing outside; better go inside to warm up."

Li Chen Zhou shook his head and said, "I originally had some things I wanted to say to the Emperor, but I didn't expect the Emperor to have already left."

Sun Weiyuan said, "The Emperor just left not long ago; if the Grand Commander hurries over, he should still be able to catch up."

Li Chen Zhou smiled calmly and said, "How could we subjects possibly keep up with the Emperor's pace?" In his eyes, Xue Daoming was nothing but a puppet; once he lost his utility, he would not hesitate to eliminate him.

Sun Weiyuan heard the implication in his words, fearing to misjudge Li Chen Zhou's meaning, and dared not casually interject.

Li Chen Zhou said, "How are the preparations for the funerals of the Grand Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager coming along?"

Sun Weiyuan said, "I was actually hoping to discuss this with the Grand Commander; the Grand Empress Dowager's remains have not yet been found, so we either wait until they are found, or we erect a memorial tomb for the Grand Empress Dowager. As for the Empress Dowager, the Emperor insists on burying her together with the former emperor, but when the former emperor passed away, it had been decided that he would be buried with the Virtuous Empress, so…" He showed a troubled expression. His words also came out haltingly.

Li Chen Zhou, however, already understood: when Xue Shengjing died, he was supposed to be buried with the Virtuous Empress, with no mention of other consorts. Consort Dong Shu only gained honor through her son after her death, receiving a posthumous title of Empress Dowager from Xue Daoming; now wanting to bury her with Xue Shengjing already violates the former emperor's dying wish. Therefore, Sun Weiyuan also dared not make the decision on his own.

Li Chen Zhou silently cursed Sun Weiyuan for his stupidity, and in a low voice said, "One emperor, one set of ministers; you should know whose subject you are and which emperor you serve, shouldn't you?"

Sun Weiyuan suddenly seemed to wake from a dream, his face lighting up with joy as he said, "Thank you, Grand Commander, for your guidance."

Li Chen Zhou silently cursed, Sun Weiyuan having served in office for years, how could he be so foolish? This old man is clearly pretending to be ignorant with him, he dare not take on such responsibility, so he is seeking Li Chen Zhou's opinion, and if anything goes wrong later he can have a place to shift blame; moreover, this also shows that in Sun Weiyuan's heart, Li Chen Zhou's status has surpassed that of Xue Daoming. Li Chen Zhou said, "The work at the Garden of Kindness is still underway; I believe the Grand Empress Dowager's remains should be found, make preparations both ways." In fact, Consort Jiang's corpse has already been found, but Li Chen Zhou has not rushed to announce this.

Sun Weiyuan nodded repeatedly.

Li Chen Zhou then brought up Xue Daohong, whom Sun Weiyuan had not dared to mention; this short‑lived emperor now bears many crimes—misgoverning the realm, harming the people, plotting to usurp the throne, being disloyal and unfilial, scheming against his own kin—any one of which is enough to cast him into an abyss from which there is no return. In fact, Xue Daohong's tomb has long been prepared; now that this has happened, no one dares decide how to bury him. Li Chen Zhou ordered Sun Weiyuan to also prepare Xue Daohong's funeral, but without a grand burial, and to erect a statue of Xue Daohong kneeling before the tomb of Emperor Xue Shengjing; although Xue Daohong is dead, his sins cannot be lightly forgiven, let him kneel in worship for a thousand years as a kind of recompense for all his evil deeds.

In the Garden of Kindness, the Grand Empress Dowager's corpse was finally dug out from the collapsed tunnel; upon discovery, the Grand Empress Dowager's body was found naked, a large patch of skin on her back completely peeled away, exposing flesh and blood, a sight that shocked the beholder.

Shi Kuan lifted the white cloth covering Consort Jiang's corpse; Consort Jiang's body lay face up, her miserable state plainly visible. Even Li Chen Zhou, accustomed to violent scenes, could not help but be moved, for the one who had stripped Consort Jiang of her clothes and peeled off the skin on her back was none other than her own son, Xue Shengjing—his cruelty and cold‑bloodedness exceeded ordinary human expectation.

Shi Kuan said, "The entire patch of skin on the Empress Dowager's back has been stripped off; Grand Commander, what do you think caused this?"

Li Chen Zhou was carefully examining other parts of Consort Jiang's body, confident that her skin elsewhere was intact; hearing Shi Kuan's question, he frowned and replied, "What do you think?"

Shi Kuan said, "In my view, there are two possibilities: either Xue Shengjing hated the Empress Dowager and did this to vent his hatred, or there may be something important left on the skin of the Empress Dowager's back."

Li Chen Zhou said, "It should be a tattoo! Investigate whether Consort Jiang had any tattooing in her life, and if so, which tattoo artist did it for her."

Shi Kuan said, "I have already asked Eunuch Dong; he knows nothing about this."

Li Chen Zhou narrowed his eyes, his heart also feeling somewhat puzzled; Eunuch Dong had served Consort Jiang for nearly forty years, meaning that for forty years he had never bathed her, naturally never seen the tattoo on her back—perhaps only the former Retired Emperor knew of it, so how did Xue Shengjing come to know? Li Chen Zhou could not help but suspect that Xue Shengjing might have long been aware of the danger he faced, and that his risky venture into the Garden of Kindness was precisely to obtain that piece of human skin from Consort Jiang's back; what secret could that skin possibly hold?

Li Chen Zhou pondered for a moment and said, "Palace affairs always leave records that can be checked; go and carefully examine the old court archives, focusing on the period before the Retired Emperor's demise, to see whether any tattoo artists were summoned to the palace in those years."

Shi Kuan nodded and added, "How should we handle the Grand Empress Dowager's corpse?"

Li Chen Zhou glanced at Consort Jiang's ashen face and said, "Since there is nothing secret left on her body, keeping it is useless; announce this publicly, but the matter of what happened to her body must not be disclosed to anyone—not even the Princess."

Shi Kuan respectfully replied, "Grand Commander, rest assured; your humble servant will see to this matter properly."

In the secret chamber, Xue Shengjing unfolded the piece of skin with both hands, his small eyes flashing with excitement; the skin had undergone anti‑corrosion treatment, appearing unremarkable on the surface, not a single character or pattern visible. Xue Shengjing took out the Ice‑Soul Stabilizing Pearl and placed it on the skin, whereupon faint blue characters emerged on the skin; unable to contain his excitement, he murmured, "So you had been hiding such a great secret in your heart all along—no wonder you treat me this way; in your heart you have never regarded me as your son!"

The skin cannot speak, but under the glow of the Stabilizing Pearl it looks even paler; Xue Shengjing gently stroked that piece of skin and whispered, "You are so biased, even in death you refuse to help me!"

Shangguan Tianhuo and his father began to appear; An Zhai obtained quite a bit of information about them and promptly reported it to Hu Xiaotian; for the Beggars' Sect, the main purpose of this trip to Yongdu is to eliminate Shangguan Tianhuo and his father, thereby causing the Northern Jiang branch to return to the Beggars' Sect.

An Zhai said excitedly, "Young Master Hu, we have already grasped the general movements of Shangguan Tianhuo and his father; we can strike them down at any moment."

Hu Xiaotian, however, shook his head and said, "Now is not the time; we have just captured Qiu Mu Bai, and Qiu Xian'guang will surely turn to Li Chen Zhou for help. If Shangguan Tianhuo and his father show themselves now, it is very likely a trap—Li Chen Zhou wants to turn the tables, using them to lure us into action; if we act now we will fall into it."

An Zhai said, somewhat puzzled, "We have finally forced them to show themselves—are we really going to let this chance slip by?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "Patience in small matters prevents ruin in grand plans; this is Da Yong, and without sufficient certainty we must not act rashly. They intend to use Shangguan Tianhuo and his father to bait us into striking, yet we will do the opposite."

An Zhai asked, "What do you mean?"

Hu Xiaotian smiled and said, "Pick them off one by one, focus the main blow!"

Over‑exercising, my shoulders ache terribly; persisting to finish this chapter is truly hard—I don't want to be the eleventh‑year‑old, please support with monthly tickets!!!!!! (To be continued~^~)