sudden death

Upon hearing the news of Hu Yantong's death, all the generals were filled with grief. They had never imagined that the brave general who had bravely braved death and could break into the Jin camp alone would end his life in this way. The generals had witnessed and envied the brotherhood between him and Han Shizhong, but they had never imagined that they would come to this.

Soon after Huyan Tong's death, the imperial court confiscated Han Shizhong's Liang army, leaving him completely without a commander. Disheartened, he returned to his hometown and lived a secluded life, refusing to receive anyone who came to visit him.

With the lessons learned from Yue Fei and Han Shizhong, the generals also saw what Zhao Gou was thinking. He wanted to settle accounts with these generals who held military power one by one. In order to save their lives, the generals who held military power surrendered their power.

After the power of military generals in the court was weakened, Qin Hui's power grew stronger and stronger, even surpassing Zhao Gou.

On this day, Zhao Gou sat in the Wende Hall, waiting for the announcement of the results of the top three in the imperial examination. Wei Shixun and others graded the papers and the results were: Qin Sun first, Zhang Xiaoxiang second, and Cao Guan third.

Zhao Gou looked at Qin Sun's test paper and saw that his essay fiercely attacked the theories of the two Cheng brothers. Qin Sun was the grandson of Qin Hui, so this must have been the result of Qin Hui's private arrangement. He had always let Qin Hui do whatever he wanted over the years, but he never thought that his ambition would grow bigger and bigger, so big that he could easily decide the candidate for the top scholar.

Zhao Gou frowned. If this continued, the court would belong to his Qin family.

At this time, the eunuch brought the lunch to the table and said, "Sir, it's time to eat."

The eunuch put the food on the table. Zhao Gou pushed the test paper aside and opened Zhang Xiaoxiang's test paper. He saw lines of neat and correct small regular script with powerful brushwork, showing great skill. After reading the content, he was deeply attracted after just two sentences.

"In the court today, there are those who, 'even when great winds shake the earth, remain unmoved in their resolve to preserve Zhao; facing sharp swords, they single-handedly strive to protect Liu.' These are those who are steadfast in loyalty and righteousness, those who readily turn danger into safety. They have already discussed the principles of governing the state and brought peace to the world! We, the ministers, are committed to serving the emperor, and we wish to follow their example. This is what we admire."

After reading the article, Zhao Gou was struck by its novel arguments, fluent writing style, grand opening and closing, and unrestrained style, which was quite reminiscent of the style of the Wei and Jin dynasties.

Zhao Gou picked up Cao Guan's policy essay again, which was similar to Qin Sun's, and the content was both attacking the theories of the two Cheng brothers.

Zhao Gou raised his red brush, speaking as if to himself but also to the courtiers: "I feel that there are few new voices in the court. They are all attacking the theories of the Cheng brothers. Today, Zhang Xiaoxiang has avoided commenting on the issues of academic factions and has taken a unique approach. This is commendable and he should be ranked first. Cao Guan's essay is fluent and his argument is high, so he should be ranked second. Qin Sun's essay is a bit outdated, so he should be ranked third. What do you think?"

Qin Hui did not expect that the emperor, who always obeyed his orders, would refute him. He stared at Zhao Gou blankly. Zhao Gou also looked at him. His gaze was like a ray of ice that pierced him heavily. Qin Hui's legs softened and he knelt down heavily.

"The official is wise."

When the minister saw Qin Hui kneeling down to show his attitude, he immediately knelt down to show his attitude as well.

After the court session, the officials speculated about Zhao Gou's intentions. Zhang Xiaoxiang came from a family of farmers. His father had been sent as an envoy to the Jin Kingdom in the third year of Jianyan, and was detained by the Jin Dynasty for fifteen years before being allowed to return to the court. Yet, such a young man with no background and no experience was chosen as the top scholar by the emperor. The officials speculated that this move was definitely not out of favor for talent, but rather a desire to suppress Qin Hui's influence within the court.

The news of the imperial selection of the top scholar reached Han Shizhong. Although he remained closed to visitors all day, seemingly ignoring the affairs of the court, he was actually doing so to avoid public attention. Liang Hongyu had already given Han Shizhong the list of secret guards she had compiled during her lifetime, and her secret guards in the court were used by Han Shizhong.

When the news came, Han Shizhong was practicing sword in his mansion. Han Shizhong sighed and said, "The opportunity has finally come!"

Han Shizhong picked up the sword, walked into the study, found a wooden box on the bookcase, and in the secret compartment under the box were letters between Qin Hui and Wanyan Zongbing.

Han Shizhong once asked Liang Hongyu, "Madam, why don't you hand these letters over to the emperor and bring down Qin Hui?"

Liang Hongyu just chuckled and said, "Husband, have you ever thought about who really wants to achieve peace between Song and Jin?"

"Isn't it Qin Hui?" Han Shizhong asked puzzledly.

Liang Hongyu shook her head and said, "The one who truly wanted to achieve peace between Song and Jin was actually the Emperor. He had long known that Qin Hui had close ties with the Jin rulers. The Emperor had not killed Qin Hui, but was using him as a middleman for the Song-Jin peace talks. Qin Hui had always been subservient to the Emperor, making him think he was just a dog sent out to bite whoever he pleased. Once this dog stopped being just a dog and began to aspire to be the master, the Emperor would kill him without hesitation. These letters only added fuel to the fire for the Emperor's reasoning to kill Qin Hui, making the fire burn even bigger."

Upon hearing this, Han Shizhong pulled Liang Hongyu into his arms and said, "Madam, you are truly wise and resourceful. If I had become your enemy, I would have died at your hands long ago."

Liang Hongyu raised her red lips slightly, raised her finger and pointed it at Han Shizhong's chest, and said with a smile: "My husband, you are joking. How could Hongyu be my enemy?"

All the events of the past were still vivid in his mind. Han Shizhong finally waited for the day when Zhao Gou would become disgusted with Qin Hui. He watched Qin Hui's power growing stronger and stronger, and the anger in his heart could no longer be suppressed. The time had come, and he could finally avenge his wife.

In the early winter of the eleventh year of Shaoxing, the Han Mansion outside Lin'an seemed exceptionally deserted. Months earlier, Han Shizhong had sent undercover agents to investigate Liang Hongyu's death, but no news had come in yet.

Han Shizhong stood in the courtyard, gazing at the bare sycamore tree. Now, he was nothing more than a retired governor, no longer even eligible to attend court.

"Master, it's getting cold, please put on more clothes." Butler Han Fu came over with a fur coat.

Han Shizhong remained standing, seemingly oblivious. His gaze passed over the courtyard wall, as if he could see the smoke-filled battlefield in the distance. There, his army had once been there, and there were the years he and Liang Hongyu had fought side by side.

"Hongyu..." He murmured to the high sky in early winter.

A white dove suddenly flapped its wings, flew into the study, and landed on the desk by the window.

Han Shizhong walked into the study, grabbed the white pigeon on the desk, and took out the secret letter from the bamboo tube tied to the pigeon's feet.

The secret letter said: "Liu Rumei is Qin Hui's person. The news that Madam Liang led the troops through Luofengling was passed to Qin Hui by Liu Rumei."

Han Shizhong held the letter tightly, the paper deformed by his grip. "What a Liu Rumei..." His eyes were bloodshot. "What a beautiful concubine given by Emperor Zhao!"

As night fell, the Han Mansion was silent.

Liu Rumei sat before the mirror, carefully combing her long hair. The woman in the mirror had picturesque features and skin as white as snow, a beauty that would captivate anyone. Yet, a lingering sadness lingered between her brows.

Hearing footsteps outside the door, she hurriedly got up and saw Han Shizhong standing at the door with a pot of wine in his hand.

"Master?" She was a little surprised. Ever since Liang Hongyu's death, Han Shizhong rarely came to her room, and after his military power was stripped away, he stayed indoors all day.

"Have a drink with me." Han Shizhong walked in and put the wine jug on the table.

Liu Rumei poured the wine and offered it to him with both hands. Han Shizhong took the wine glass but did not drink it. He just stared at her.

"Master, why are you looking at me like this?" She lowered her head to avoid his sharp gaze.

He took out a note from his sleeve and spread it on the table.

When Liu Rumei saw the note, her face turned pale as paper.

Han Shizhong slammed the table. "Did you pass on the news that Madam had passed through Luofeng Ridge to Qin Hui? Madam treats you like a sister, why did you want to harm her?"

Liu Rumei fell to the ground, tears streaming down her face, "I... I was forced... Qin Hui arrested my entire family. If I didn't obey him, they would all die..."

Han Shizhong looked down at her, without a trace of pity in his eyes. "So you killed Hongyu? Killed hundreds of Song soldiers?"

He pressed on, "Do you know that because of that piece of information you gave me, a river of blood flowed on Luofeng Ridge?"

Liu Rumei covered her face and cried bitterly: "I'm sorry, Master... I'm sorry, Madam... But I have no choice..."

"No other choice?" Han Shizhong's voice suddenly rose. "You could have told me about this! We could have saved your family! But you chose to betray me!"

He pulled out the dagger from his waist, and the cold light reflected on Liu Rumei's pale face.

Liu Rumei suddenly knelt before Han Shizhong and grabbed his clothes: "Master, I deserve death. I only beg you... please rescue my old mother and sister who are still in Qin Hui's hands... They are imprisoned in the Qin Mansion dungeon..."

Han Shizhong put away the dagger and said coldly: "I will rescue them, but you killed my beloved, how can I let you go?"

He pushed the wine he had just poured in front of Liu Rumei and said, "However, I can leave you with an intact body. Drink it."

Liu Rumei bit her lip, a trace of blood stained her lips. She suddenly stood up and stared at Han Shizhong with eyes full of resentment: "Master, why is there only Liang Hongyu in your heart? I come from a family of scholars, and she is just a prostitute who has been slept with thousands of men and ridden by tens of thousands of men. How can I, Liu Rumei, not compare to her?"

Han Shizhong reached out and grasped her jaw tightly, whispering in her ear, "In my heart, she is a thousand, ten thousand times better than any other woman. She is a heroine of the Song Dynasty. You are not worthy enough to compare with her."

Han Shizhong finished speaking and turned to leave. He instructed the official waiting outside, "Watch her and make her finish the glass of wine. Then tell everyone that Liu Rumei died of a sudden illness."

The next day, Han Shizhong ordered Liang Hongyu to have the secret guards in the court insert the letter of Qin Hui's secret communication with Wanyan Zongbing into the memorial.