Chapter 97 Chen Liangyu's Audience with the Emperor Leads to Imprisonment in the Ministry of Justice

Upon seeing Xi Cang dead, the Ximano people in the fields let out wild shouts and soon surrounded Chen Liangyu.

Chen Liangyu twirled the short sword back into its sheath, still stained with Xi Cang's blood. She picked up her long sword and leaped onto the back of the jade lion's horse.

Ximano's forces are growing larger and larger.

Chen Liangyu charged through a pack of ferocious Ximano people, with only a few personal guards closely following him. He had to fight and defend while also keeping an eye on Sheng Yu'an and Li Hezhang in the carriage, trying to save the people from the Ximano people's knives.

A triangular spiked club came crashing down on Chen Liangyu, who raised his sword to block it. The club's head was covered in sharp spikes, and sparks flew as it struck the black iron sword.

Chen Liangyu shook off the iron rod with its exceptionally sharp spikes.

Taking advantage of this gap, he squeezed his legs against the horse's belly, and the Jade Lion neighed, its front hooves pawing the air, forcing back several Ximano people in front of it.

The Ximano people fought with fearlessness, and new troops kept charging forward. Chen Liangyu's personal guards drew their short swords and engaged in close combat with the charging Ximano people, gradually becoming exhausted.

The man reined in his horse, turned it around, and swung his spiked club at it again.

Out of the corner of her eye, Chen Liangyu noticed that among the Ximano people around her, only the man wielding a spiked club was wearing a leopard skin similar to that of Xicang. She spurred her horse forward, and just as the spiked club came crashing down on her, she lay back to dodge it on her horse. In an instant, with a nimble twist of her wrist, the Lancang sword pierced straight into the man's waist and abdomen.

The sword tip pierced the opponent's abdomen, penetrating several inches into the flesh.

The jade lion, propelled forward a few steps by inertia, was slashed by the Lancang sword, which cut through the animal skin draped over his body, leaving a deep wound on his abdomen. The Ximano man instinctively leaned backward, falling off his horse, his spiked club landing in empty space, leaving several marks on the yellow earthen ridge.

The man clutched his sword wound in the abdomen, panting heavily.

With a black iron sword pressed against his neck, his will to survive compelled him to introduce himself in broken Central Plains dialect, "I am an envoy for the Wanhe Festival, and I wish to see your emperor..." Their warriors were destined to die on the battlefield, and here they were being killed in a humiliating manner.

A cold, stern voice came from above, "Tell your men to stop!"

Upon hearing the sound, the man seemed startled, and then his gaze fell on the Lancang Sword, slowly rising upwards.

His eyes widened in disbelief.

"How come you're here?"

Shouldn't she be stationed in the three northern states of Zhonglin?

Xi Cang was only sixteen years old and had never been on the battlefield. The woman in front of him was not wearing eagle-head armor or a helmet, so Xi Cang naturally did not recognize her. He had fought alongside Xi Qing against the Eagle-Head Army of the Northern Border of Zhonglin. During the war, when yellow dust and sand flew, the Zhonglin army was used to being fully covered before going into battle. He did not recognize the face at first, but he recognized the voice and eyes of the commander-in-chief of the Northern Border of Zhonglin.

As Chen Liangyu thrust his sword forward, he felt a chill on his neck. The man yelled twice and immediately shouted at the still-charging crowd, "Hadaji! Heywen hedege!"

Stop! Stop it now!

The horsemen clad in animal skins continued their riot, so he quickly pulled a thin rope from his neck, took out a bone whistle, and blew it. The unrest gradually subsided, and the horsemen looked towards the direction from which the whistle had sounded.

The silence was brief, but then the sound of galloping hooves returned.

Chen Liangyu pointed the tip of his sword at the man's neck. "Blow the whistle and tell them to stay where they are and not move."

"No, they are not one of ours."

The whistle sounded again, and the sound of horses' hooves grew closer. Upon hearing the whistle, the Ximano people retreated to both sides, making way for the middle.

"General, are you alright?"

Gao Guan led the Twelve Guards of the Southern Court on horseback, carrying a man dressed in dark purple and scarlet palace eunuch robes, who should be the imperial eunuch.

Upon seeing a familiar face, Chen Liangyu moved his sword away from the neck of the Ximano man, and stepped over the green wheat stalks under his feet, holding the hilt of the sword. "Commander Gao, you've come at just the right time. I'm short-handed."

On a rainy day, the soil in the fields was damp and sticky. Chen Liangyu walked to the roadside and repeatedly rubbed his feet on the overgrown weeds to remove the sticky mud from the soles of his shoes.

The fighting outside the carriage stopped. Sheng Yu'an and Li Hezhang shakily peeked out of the carriage, adjusted their official hats, and jumped down one after the other to bow to Gao Guan.

Gao Guan dismounted first, then helped Zheng Hechuan down from his horse. After returning their greetings, he bowed to Chen Liangyu and said, "I was off duty today and saw you riding out of the city on the main street. I figured you were here for this matter, so I sent two of my men to follow you so they could come quickly if anything happened. If I may ask, who invited such a great person as you? It would be strange if you didn't respond. So, as soon as I heard the news, I rushed over."

Upon hearing this, Sheng Yu'an pushed Li Hezhang forward and patted Li Hezhang's chest, saying, "Lord Li invited you."

Li Hezhang slapped away Sheng Yu'an's hand, "Don't speak." He hid behind Sheng Yu'an and secretly glanced at Gao Guan, "I really have no other choice."

Gao Guan didn't look in his direction, but continued talking to Chen Liangyu, saying, "I'll handle things here. General, please go to the palace with the eunuch first."

Zheng Hechuan surveyed the fields of wheat. Not far away, an old man, a young boy, and a burly man lay motionless. A black horse with its forelegs severed lay across the wheat ridges. Around them, a dozen or so Ximano people dressed in cow and sheep skins lay scattered among the trampled crops. The Ximano forces had injured many civilians, but fortunately, Chen Liangyu and her skilled personal guards had fought desperately to protect them, preventing further deaths.

He greeted him, "General."

Chen Liangyu greeted him, "Eunuch Zheng."

Zheng Hechuan bowed and said, "General, His Majesty has issued an edict summoning you to the palace for an audience."

"Your subject obeys the decree."

He then went to lead the jade lion.

Zheng Hechuan ran two steps to catch up with Chen Liangyu, "General."

Chen Liangyu turned her head and asked, "Eunuch Zheng, does His Majesty have any other decrees?"

Zheng Hechuan shook his head. "His Majesty has no other decrees." He glanced at Chen Liangyu's clothes. His dark blue belted robe was stained with blood, not showing the color of the blood, but it looked like there were dark spots here and light spots there. The narrow sleeves were tied with two silver wrist guards, which were also splattered with sticky bloodstains.

This appearance is unsuitable for meeting the emperor.

"It won't make a difference if you wait a little longer. General, you should go back to your residence first to change into your official robes before entering the palace."

Chen Liangyu looked down at the dust and bloodstains covering her body. "Thank you, Eunuch Zheng."

After saying this, he immediately mounted his horse and returned to the city.

As you walk along the path cleared by the Simano people in the fields, the Simano people on both sides of the path are carrying machetes. Some people try to rush forward, but are pulled back by the people next to them.

Sheng Yu'an nudged Li Hezhang, who was shrinking back, and said, "Lord Li, it's time for us to return to the city and await further instructions."

Xi Cang is dead. As an envoy, he died within the borders of Da Lin. If the emperor does not investigate now, it will be difficult to explain to Xi Mano. At best, it will affect the trade; at worst, it will cause war on the border again. Although the person did not die at the hands of the two men, since they were present and each had a mission related to Xi Mano, none of them can escape blame.

Thinking he had grasped a lifeline, he unexpectedly invited the King of Hell, making Li Hezhang's life even more miserable. He had cried at noon in front of the Xuanping Marquis's mansion, clinging to the leg of the stone beast, but now he couldn't cry anymore. With a worried face, he lifted the hem of his official robe and climbed into the Sheng family's carriage.

As dusk approached, the sky darkened, thick clouds obscured the Chongzheng Hall, and the drizzle intensified.

Zheng Hechuan knelt in the hall to report, while Xie Yuan listened with his eyes lowered. When it came to the matter of Chen Liangyu accidentally killing Xi Cang in the suburbs because the Ximano people trampled on the farmland, Xie Yuan smiled and dismissed it, "Accidentally killed?"

Zheng Hechuan kowtowed, "This servant has misspoke."

Killing is killing. Whether it was intentional or an accidental killing should not be judged by this imperial eunuch.

Xie Yuan had been sitting on the dragon throne in the Golden Palace all day and felt quite tired. He got up, stretched his limbs, and strolled outside the Chongzheng Hall. Zheng Hechuan flicked his whisk and followed him.

"Zheng Hechuan."

"Your servant is here."

"You don't understand Chen Liangyu at all. How could those who died at her hands be wrongly killed?"

Zheng Hechuan could tell from Xie Yuan's tone that the Emperor didn't seem angry about the matter. "This servant serves His Majesty and of course doesn't understand the General. It was this servant who spoke out of turn."

"You're really too talkative."

Zheng Hechuan raised his hand to slap himself in the face.

"Alright, who are you slapping for?"

Zheng Hechuan said, "This servant will learn his lesson."

The sky was hazy, and two wild geese flew low overhead, circling and cawing mournfully over the eaves of the palace. The roof ridges and tiles of the palace were sloped precisely by the craftsmen, so the birds' toes and claws could not grip them. The two geese circled a few times before flying away.

Xie Yuan said, "A life for a life. Those who harm our people deserve to die. Xi Cang is an envoy from the grasslands. If we don't kill him now, we may have to wait until the day we send troops to take his life."

Zheng Hechuan said, "In that case, the grandfather and grandson lost their lives in vain."

Xie Yuan stood silently in front of the rain curtain, watching a low-lying area outside the hall where water had accumulated, and the rain was gradually intensifying.

He had long suspected that Xi Qing's request to marry the female official beside Jiang Ning, but his insistence on waiting until Jiang Ning came down the mountain to witness their marriage before returning to the grasslands, was because someone wanted to use Xi Qing to stir up trouble in Yongdu and force him to relax the guards at Taihuang Temple.

Chen Liangyu killed Xicang to stop the destruction of farmland.

Is this enough to prove that Chen Liangyu was completely unaware of Ximano's disturbance in Yongdu?

As long as Chen Liangyu was not involved in the planning, whether Xiqing's disturbance was instigated by Xie Wenjun is no longer so important.

Xie Yuan stood in front of Chongzheng Hall for a long time, facing the wind, until a figure in a purple official robe, holding an umbrella, hurriedly approached Chongzheng Hall from afar. Only then did he turn around and go back into the hall. "Zheng Hechuan, summon Sheng Yu'an and Li Hezhang to me, and summon Tan Xialing, the Minister of Justice."

"Your servant obeys the decree."

Chen Liangyu dusted off the moisture from his shoulders and sleeves before stepping into the main hall. He knelt down and said, "Your subject greets Your Majesty."

Xie Yuan didn't rush to grant her a rise. "You killed an envoy in my capital. Tell me, what were you thinking?"

Chen Liangyu said, "Xicang destroyed farmland first and then indiscriminately killed civilians. This was done by an enemy, not a friendly nation. It is my duty to expel foreign invaders."

Xie Yuan lightly slapped the imperial desk and rebuked, "Stop trying to fool me with these flowery, bookish words. Tell me the truth, why did you kill him?"

Chen Liangyu told the truth: "Xicang trampled a large area of ​​seedlings on horseback. Those lands were rented by tenant farmers who were waiting for the autumn harvest to pay back the rent to the landlords and have some food left over. That would be enough to make ends meet for the year, and they could manage to get by even if they tightened their belts. With the crops destroyed this season, how could they survive? Naturally, the people were not happy and went to stop him. This angered Xicang, who then drove his horse to trample a grandfather and grandson to death."

"Go on."

“I killed his horse, and he retaliated against the grandfather and grandson, killing them both. He was Xiqing’s younger brother and an envoy. If I cannot kill him on the spot and later try to kill him to avenge the deaths of the grandfather and grandson, then my Great Lin is petty and I am in the wrong.”

Before Xie Yuan could speak, Zheng Hechuan, who was guarding the palace gate, couldn't help but smirk, quickly lowering his head to suppress his laughter. His words conveyed the exact same meaning as the Emperor's.

Xie Yuan chuckled dryly, whether out of anger or amusement, and said, "You think you're in the right right now?"

"Neither do you occupy it, Your Majesty. It's not the same thing."

"How dare you, Chen Liangyu!"

Xie Yuan stepped down from the high platform. "You, you... I..." He pointed at Chen Liangyu for a long time. "You have the upper hand, and I'm in a difficult position. If I don't punish you, I can't give Xi Qing an explanation. If I do punish you, and you're in the right, then I'm being unreasonable?"

Chen Liangyu bowed and said, “Your Majesty, I will have no complaints about how you intend to deal with me.”

"Of course I'll deal with you!"

Xie Yuan took two memorials from the imperial desk, the very ones submitted today by Censor-in-Chief Jiang Xiantang and Minister of War Sheng Xiuyuan, along with a military dispatch from the southern border, and handed them to her. "Take a look."

Chen Liangyu took the documents from Xie Yuan and read them one by one. Before he had even finished reading half of the Ministry of War's memorial, Tan Xialing, the Minister of Justice, was summoned and was already waiting outside the Chongzheng Hall.

At this moment, the palace gate guards urgently reported that Xi Qing was carrying the corpses of Xi Cang and a dozen or so Xi Mano people, and had gathered outside the palace gates, demanding an explanation from the emperor.

Chen Liangyu remained kneeling, oblivious to the presence of another person kneeling in the hall, her head buried in the memorials and military dispatches. A moment later, Chen Liangyu raised her head from the ink and paper.

"Finished reading?" Xie Yuan asked. "Tan Xialing."

"Your subject is present."

"Throw Chen Liangyu into the Ministry of Justice prison."

Author's Note: Chen Liangyu: ?

Serving a ruler is like serving a tiger.

Thank you for reading this far!