Chapter 24, the Twenty-Fourth Betrayal

More than an hour later at the Prince of Nanyang's residence, two clerks gently coaxed Nan Jinping to reveal what happened last night. One of the female clerks said softly, "Princess, don't be afraid. Bad people will be brought to justice. A palace servant saw you and Jiang Linzhi by the lake. Can you tell me if it was Jiang Linzhi who pushed the person into the lake?"

Nan Jinping twirled her hair with her fingers, impatiently picking at the incense ash in the incense burner. "I already said I don't know. I've never been to Mirror Lake. I was waiting for Jiang Linzhi outside Daming Hall that night. Where is there a lake around there? Have you never been to the palace? And who was that palace servant? Let him confront me face to face. He dares to throw all sorts of dirty water at me."

The palace servants were fabricated; Jiang Jinyi was the one who witnessed the whole thing. However, after the two left, he did not rescue the three people in the lake, but instead watched helplessly as the icy lake water poured into their mouths, which were spewing excrement.

Spoiled scions of wealthy families will eventually be tormented to death by others, so it's better to drown them now.

Jiang Linzhi was very careful. Before leaving, he picked up the things on the ground. Without witnesses or physical evidence, his words could not convict Jiang Linzhi.

That's why they had the inspectors try to extract information from them.

Suddenly, someone whispered a few words in the female clerk's ear, "We have offended the princess. Jiang Linzhi said that the princess was responsible for this. If the princess is unwilling to tell the truth, she will have no choice but to come with me."

Nan Jinping stood up angrily, and as she turned around, she suddenly saw the hairpin that had fallen off the dressing table yesterday. She said to her maid, "Tell Father I'm going to the Censorate." Then she said to the few people who were standing there in a daze, "Come on, what are you dawdling for?"

The officials in the Censorate certainly didn't want to arrest Princess Nanyang, but Nan Jinping insisted on going to the Censorate, demanding to prove her innocence.

If this continued, the matter would become common knowledge. The inspector wiped the cold sweat from his brow and had no choice but to take Nan Jinping back to the Inspectorate.

As soon as she entered the gate, a servant poured tea for Nan Jinping, trying to keep her from seeing Jiang Linzhi and hoping to make her so angry that she would accuse Jiang Linzhi.

To everyone's surprise, Nan Jinping swept the teacup aside and said arrogantly, "I, the princess, have come, and you're going to treat me to this? Where is Jiang Linzhi? Let that bitch come out and answer me!"

As he spoke, he went from room to room looking for Jiang Linzhi. His voice was so loud that Jiang Linzhi could hear him from a great distance.

Seeing Jiang Jinyi's expression suddenly change, Jiang Linzhi spat out the blood foam in his mouth, looked at the two-finger-thick iron hook, and laughed maniacally, "Continue! Continue!"

Jiang Jinyi went out and ordered his men to take Nan Jinping away, but Nan Jinping's words, "Isn't it just a quarrel with her? What right does she have to slander me, the princess! I, the princess, will not be as lowly as her, arbitrarily accusing others!" still reached Jiang Linzhi's ears.

The voice grew softer and softer. Jiang Linzhi, enduring the pain, laughed loudly, "A divide-and-conquer scheme, huh? It's for sowing discord between friends and family, not between people like us who are only superficially compatible. Jiang Jinyi, when did you become so naive? You dared to make a move without any preparation?"

Jiang Jinyi was acting unusually today. Upon hearing this, he pulled the mechanism, tightening the bamboo comb tied around Jiang Linzhi's waist.

Jiang Linzhi was being strangled so badly she could barely breathe. The long needle piercing her finger hadn't been removed yet. Despite the pain, she dared not clench her fists. She could only grit her teeth and endure the excruciating pain, her whole body trembling.

Jiang Jinyi sneered, "Don't you remember?"

Jiang Linzhi was in so much pain that she couldn't utter a single word. It felt as if her body was sandwiched between two boards with a stone pressing down on it, making her internal organs feel stuck together.

Jiang Jinyi stepped forward and used his riding whip to lift Jiang Linzhi's chin, his eyes filled with surging hatred. "Nineteen years ago today, my mother was tortured to death by you. You even cut off half of her neck and took her body away. My father also disappeared. Do you remember?"

How could Jiang Linzhi possibly forget that day when so many died and the land was scorched?

Jiang Jinyi loosened the bamboo comb. "Where is my mother's body? Where is my father? I don't believe he's missing."

Intermittent, heavy breathing echoed in the empty, dark room. After a long while, Jiang Linzhi finally said, "She was a revered king... marquis, general... wasn't she buried... on Mount Beiman?"

"That's a cenotaph!"

Jiang Linzhi never expected Jiang Jinyi to go so far as to dig up the grave. She moved her fingers and said, "Pull the needle out... It hurts too much... I can't think of anything else."

A steel needle, about an inch long, was pulled out of her finger, bringing with it a mixture of red and yellow liquid. Wisps of wind then seeped into the small hole, wandering and bumping back and forth on the tendons and bones of her ten fingers, pressing against her pain.

Jiang Linzhi spat out another mouthful of blood, grinning maliciously, "I drained her blood, refined it into pills, and ate them. Otherwise, how could I achieve immortality?"

Jiang Linzhi revealed her secret, which wasn't exactly a secret, and it was precisely because Jiang Jinyi knew this secret that he kept sending people to kill her and cause her trouble. Jiang Linzhi was met with the expected severe torture. Her immortal body allowed the instruments of torture to fall continuously, and the torn flesh slowly healed, only to tear open again.

This cycle repeated itself endlessly, much like her life, which was like rotten wood blooming.

In such a chaotic world, who doesn't live by feeding on rotting corpses?

Jiang Jinyi only stopped when he saw Jiang Linzhi had fainted. He pressed down hard on his trembling right hand, but it wouldn't obey him. His head throbbed with pain, as if something was about to burst out. Jiang Jinyi grabbed an awl and stabbed it into his right hand, piercing his palm and drawing blood. The blood took away his suicidal thoughts, and he slowly calmed down.

He has to handle official business, but he also has to handle personal matters.

After a long while, he reached out and touched Jiang Linzhi's face, whispering, "Jiang Linzhi, what exactly are you trying to do?"

When Jiang Jinyi walked out of the dark room, his expression was as serious and calm as ever. The servant was startled when he saw the blood on his hands, but upon closer inspection, he noticed that the Regent had wounds on his hands. It couldn't have been done by a bound prisoner, so he quickly pretended to be ignorant and asked, "Your Highness, is this your blood or hers?"

Jiang Jinyi calmly said, "It was an accident. Go and get the first-aid kit."

Nan Jinping waited for a long time at the teahouse opposite the Censorate, but Jiang Linzhi did not come out. The Jiang residence was also surrounded by the Regent's men. Nan Jinping knew something was wrong, so she went back to the residence and asked for the Prince of Nanyang's waist token to enter the palace.

Upon entering the palace, Nan Jinping immediately went to her cousin, the Empress, in tears. Upon hearing that Jiang Linzhi was involved, the Empress did not dare to delay for a moment and reported to the Emperor.

Jiang Yan immediately ordered the chief eunuch Xue Mu to lead the Northern Army to Jiang's residence, ostensibly to investigate the case, but in reality to demand the arrest of Jiang Jinyi.

Jiang Jinyi was always arrogant and domineering. Having witnessed Jiang Linzhi commit murder with his own eyes, and considering the old grudges, he was convinced that Jiang Linzhi was guilty. At this moment, he sat with his legs spread wide in the main seat of the main hall and said, "Your Majesty is busy with many affairs of state. You don't need to trouble Your Majesty with such a trivial matter."

Although Xue Mu was a senior eunuch, he also knew some martial arts. His demeanor was different from that of ordinary eunuchs. Standing in the hall, he showed no weakness and cupped his hands, saying, "Regent, this is His Majesty's order."

Jiang Jinyi was not afraid of such a threat at all. He twirled the eagle ring on his hand and did not even look at Xue Mu. "This person is a serious criminal. Does Your Majesty's action have the suspicion of protecting a criminal? Let Your Majesty come and talk to me personally!"

These words, which were almost treasonous, startled everyone in the hall. But even though he said them, Xue Mu dared not do anything about it.

Xue Mu's face was like withered tree bark, showing no sign of growing new emotions. He said in a deep voice, "Your Highness, today is the anniversary of the death of the General Zhenguo. It is not appropriate to kill any living beings."

“Yes, back then, when you served by the late Emperor's side, did you know about her affair with my mother?” Jiang Jinyi waved for a grand chair to be brought over and gestured for him to enter. “Why don’t you tell me what she did to my mother that day?”

Whenever the topic of the General Who Guards the Nation comes up, Jiang Jinyi always acts out of character.

Xue Mu had thought that by mentioning the Zhenguo General, Jiang Jinyi would let Jiang Linzhi off the hook, but to his surprise, the opposite happened. Seeing that he couldn't leave anytime soon, Xue Mu bowed and sat down, and began to explain: "Miss Jiang stopped the Zhenguo General from burning Zhu Yan back then, and accidentally killed the Zhenguo General. That's all."

"You older generation have all agreed on the same story, haven't you?" Jiang Jinyi sneered. He had asked countless times, and the answer was always the same. But if it weren't for the tomb keeper's report yesterday that a mole had crawled through the grave, and when he rushed to repair it in the middle of the night and found only a piece of clothing in the tomb, he would have believed this nonsense.

How could Jiang Jinyi remain calm after killing and humiliating his mother?

"I've always had a question: if my mother wanted to burn Zhu Yan, why did she cast such a curse on Jiang Linzhi?" When he arrived at the scene, he only saw the last moment. If his mother hated her, why would she cast a curse to make her live forever?

He had risen from nothing to where he was today by clinging to this elusive illusion. Even if that illusion crumbled and his purpose became utterly worthless, he was determined to know the truth. His eyes, sharp as a knife, slashed through the moldy veil of deception. "Tell me, what really happened?"

The frail flames, the howls of wild beasts, and the frenzy of desire of that day seemed so close. Xue Mu felt a tightness in his chest and didn't want to say a word. After a long while, he calmly said, "Personally, Miss Jiang is a sinner. Everything started because of her and continued because of her... Everyone has the right to kill her."

That hatred was hammered into Jiang Jinyi's heart.

Xue Mu suddenly raised his eyes and looked directly into Jiang Jinyi's eyes with neither humility nor arrogance, saying, "From an official standpoint, Miss Jiang is the benefactor of the Sui Kingdom. Your Highness, you have the least right to hate her. Without her, none of you would have survived back then, let alone be able to command the wind and rain here today."

Such offensive words coming from the mouth of Xue Mu, the most shrewd and manipulative eunuch, startled Jiang Jinyi for a moment. Then, recalling the past, he sneered even more, "Is that so? You've lived in the inner palace for so long, you don't know what she's like outside, do you?"

"I don't know." Knowing he was powerless to change such deep hatred, Xue Mu lowered his eyes again and replied respectfully but not humbly.

Jiang Jinyi snorted coldly, "If you don't know, fine. If you remember anything about my mother, I might consider letting her go."

This matter was something the royal family tried to cover up, and Xue Mu had no right to decide. He nodded and said, "I really don't know the secrets of that year, so I'll take my leave now."

Jiang Jinyi stood up. "Let's go together. Anyway, His Majesty will definitely have something to ask me later."