Chapter 110 You are the guilty party in the Qiu family.
After the court session ended, Chen Liangyu rode to Jinghe's residence in Yongdu.
Chen Liangyu stripped Jinghe of his command of troops and took him back to Yongdu to recuperate. Jinghe's residence was small, a two-courtyard house, where his wife, children, and elderly parents—eight people in total—lived. Chen Liangyu had sent people to bring them back from the northern border. The residence employed two old servants. Upon inquiry, the servants said they had gone to the Xuanping Marquis's residence early that morning.
Upon returning to the Marquis's residence, the guards informed her that Deputy General Jing had been waiting there for some time. Chen Liangyu first went to the front hall, but he wasn't there. She then summoned a servant and asked, "Have you seen Jing He?"
The servant said, "It seems they went to the backyard."
The people in the Marquis's residence all recognized Jinghe and treated him like family, so no one stopped him from wandering around wherever he wanted. Chen Liangyu searched almost the entire Marquis of Xuanping's residence but couldn't find him.
The guard pointed to the direction of the ancestral hall. "General, it seems that Deputy General Jing went towards the ancestral hall."
Ancestral hall!
Chen Liangyu ran towards the ancestral hall, kicking away the cobblestones paving the roadside. Outside the ancestral hall, two servants were sweeping and splashing water on the ground with buckets.
Chen Liangyu asked, "Where is Jinghe?"
The servant bowed and said, "Deputy General Jing said he wanted to offer incense to the old Marquis, the old lady, and the young marshal. He's been inside for almost an hour, and we servants dare not disturb him."
Chen Liangyu breathed a sigh of relief; thankfully, it was just lighting incense.
The door to the ancestral hall was ajar, and the smoky smell of burnt incense ash wafted through the crack.
The door creaked open.
The ancestral hall was fairly bright, but the incense in the incense burner had burned out completely. The last piece of incense ash broke off inside the burner as Chen Liangyu pushed open the door.
Jinghe knelt on the prayer mat in front of the memorial tablet, his forehead touching the ground.
The general with his head in his hands.
After that day, the sentence he said to Chen Liangyu most often was, "Miss, I have no face to see you."
As Chen Liangyu approached, Jinghe didn't even raise his head.
He lay face down, forehead and nose touching the ground, his hands clenched into fists and held upright in front of his chest. He remained motionless, in a posture of repentance towards the deceased.
Chen Liangyu went up and lightly kicked him, "You've knelt enough, get up..." Before she could finish speaking, Jinghe lost his balance on the prayer mat and fell to the side. The prayer mat was stained red with blood.
Jinghe had his eagle-and-cloud patterned dagger stuck in his chest.
There was no pulse.
Suicide after a defeat has traditionally been the last resort for a defeated general to preserve his integrity. Some call it unyielding pride, others call it cowardice.
Jinghe is not a coward.
His spirit, along with Chen Linjun's, had long been swept away by that mudslide.
He couldn't accept that Chen Linjun would perish before his eyes in a mudslide triggered by a torrential rain, and that he wouldn't have been able to grab onto even a scrap of Chen Linjun's clothing. If only he had held on a little longer, if only he had desperately tried to stop Chen Linjun from going downstream to the village...
The young marshal raised his red-tasseled spear, swept it across his face, and used it to knock down the enemy flag.
At the very least, he should die on the battlefield in the heat of battle.
This guilt, like a piece of iron armor soaked in water, has been pressing on a festering wound for years, preventing it from healing.
He was never able to get over it.
Chen Liangyu pulled the dagger out of Jinghe's chest, and no more blood flowed out.
When the people from the Jing residence came to the Marquis's mansion to collect Jinghe's body, Chen Liangyu asked repeatedly, "Did Jinghe leave any words?"
No.
Not a single word?
No.
"What about Jingming? He didn't leave anything for me either?"
Still not.
He left cleanly, without leaving anything behind.
Chen Liangyu sent someone to the Jing residence to arrange Jinghe's funeral. After settling the remaining family members, she sat alone in the lakeside pavilion until Chen Luan returned from the Dali Temple and found her.
She asked, "Did Wang Biao confess?"
"Dead."
Chen Liangyu stood up instantly. "He's dead? How did he die?"
Chen Luan said, "Eunuchs are not good at being tortured. When they were brought back from Xiling, they were in prison carts for many days. When they were sent to the Ministry of Justice prison, they were barely alive. During the joint trial by the three judicial departments, they did not confess a single word. The Ministry of Justice took them back and subjected them to torture. They couldn't withstand it. When we went to the prison to pick them up this morning, their bodies were stiff."
With Wang Biao's death, the trail suddenly went cold.
Chen Liangyu said, "He didn't confess to anything?"
Chen Luan said, "The jailers in the Ministry of Justice prison said that after he was tortured, he kept shouting something."
"What?"
"Just one word: Autumn."
Qiu. Qiu Renshan.
The garrison commander of Shuncheng did not mention anyone else from Yongdu besides Wang Biao. Whether Qiu Renshan was the one who contacted Consort Shu in the palace is also just speculation, as Wang Biao is dead and this matter cannot be verified.
Chen Luan noticed she was lost in thought and called out to her, "Liangyu?"
Chen Liangyu came to her senses and said, "It's Qiu Renshan."
"Qiu Renshan?" Chen Luan said, "That doesn't make sense. He was just promoted to Vice Minister of Revenue. Why would he need to curry favor with Bei Yong?"
Chen Liangyu said, "Perhaps it's not for currying favor, but to settle personal scores, who knows?"
What personal grudge do you have against Qiu Renshan?
"It wasn't me, it's a long story. It's just speculation, I'm not sure yet, but you should inform Her Majesty the Empress to be careful of Consort Shu, this woman is not simple." Chen Liangyu said, "By the way, the Eldest Princess wants to arrange a marriage for you."
"The eldest princess is arranging a marriage for me? How leisurely."
"You must have met Heng Yang of the Heng family in the Southern Territory."
Chen Luan pondered for a moment, "It would be best to ask Miss Heng about this first. Marriage is a matter that a young lady cannot be taken lightly. I don't mind."
Chen Liangyu said, "Since I've already told you, I've naturally asked Hengyang about it."
What do you think?
"Your marriage is either your own decision or your sister-in-law's. What right do I have to interfere?"
Chen Luan said, "If you think it's necessary to form a marriage alliance with the Heng family, then go ahead and marry them. But right now, Heng Jinan is under house arrest, and Heng Miao has suffered repeated defeats in his attacks on Nanzhou. The Emperor has issued several edicts reprimanding him for this. The Heng family is a mess; what is there to plot against them?"
Chen Liangyu sighed, "The Heng family has nothing to scheme against, but Heng Yang is a nice girl, and she seems to have a good impression of you. Second brother, when it comes to matters of the heart, try to be less calculating."
"How can there be any feelings between people who have only met a few times?"
Chen Luan paused for a moment after speaking, then thought of the woman in the palace. Actually, there was no need for just a few meetings; for a destined person, one glance was enough.
Chen Liangyu said, "I can't advise you on marriage, but you know that the Heng family is a mess. If the Emperor punishes her because of the defeat in the southern border war, she, an unmarried girl, will inevitably be implicated."
A fleeting, almost imperceptible hint of pity crossed Chen Luan's face.
There's potential in this.
Chen Liangyu turned to the main topic and asked, "Is the Qiu family celebrating someone's birthday today?" He had overheard someone mention it during the court session and had paid attention to it at the time.
Chen Luan nodded and said, "It's his mother's birthday, a big one, with a banquet for all the officials. After all, he's a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Revenue. Even if his family doesn't attend, he should still send someone to deliver a congratulatory gift."
"No need to send anyone, I'll go myself."
Chen Luan said, "Don't be impulsive. Without a confession and evidence, we can't convict a third-rank official based on mere speculation."
"I know what I'm doing."
Chen Liangyu walked to the outside of the pavilion in the middle of the lake, turned around and said, "Second Brother, I happen to have something to trouble Miss Heng with. Could you go for me?"
Chen Luan asked, "What is it?"
"Bu Ping'er is unconscious. We need to send a message to Zhao Mingqin in the Southern Border, asking him to take the two older sisters to Xiling. If..."
Chen Liangyu's eyes darkened.
"If she doesn't wake up, at least she can see her loved ones one last time and send them off. It's not appropriate to use the military post stations in the southern border for private matters, so having Miss Heng send a letter home is the fastest way."
Chen Luan agreed, saying, "I'll go."
As evening approached, the clamor in the streets and alleys of Yongdu gradually subsided, and the noise all settled into the Qiu residence. A stage had been set up on the east side of the Qiu residence's courtyard, and the opera troupe was rehearsing the birthday celebration opera "Full House of Blessings" backstage. Dozens of pear wood octagonal tables were laid out in front of the Taihu stone rockery.
It was exceptionally lively.
Qiu Renshan personally greeted the officials and guests outside the door.
A horse neighed from the west gate. Qiu Renshan's eyelids twitched, and he turned his head to see the jade lion swishing its mane.
Many officials attended the birthday banquet, including three high-ranking officials from the six ministries: the Ministers of Personnel, the Minister of Rites, and the Minister of Works. However, it seemed that no one expected Chen Liangyu to appear at such an event.
Qiu Renshan also looked completely surprised.
He did send an invitation to the Marquis of Xuanping's residence, but it was only to be polite; he didn't expect Chen Liangyu or Chen Xingqian to come in person.
In the suppression of the rebellion at Xiling, Chen Liangyu's subordinates suffered one death and one serious injury, and the imperial supervisor appointed by the emperor was also brought back in a prison cart. No matter how she thought about it, she had no mood to go to anyone's birthday banquet right now.
The Lancang sword was still hanging at her waist, and her face showed no joy. She didn't look like she was there to celebrate a birthday; she looked like she was there to arrest someone from the Qiu family.
They did, however, present the congratulatory gifts according to custom.
The bustling atmosphere at the Qiu residence froze as officials bowed to Chen Liangyu and then stepped aside. Qiu Renshan forced himself to approach and bowed respectfully, saying, "General, your presence at my humble abode is an honor."
Chen Liangyu said, "I came here to ask for a cup of birthday wine, but I don't want to spoil everyone's good mood."
"Not at all, it's the General's honor to have you here."
Chen Liangyu asked Lin Yin to bring up the congratulatory gift. Upon opening the gift box, he found a crane sculpture. The white crane stood on one leg on a pine branch, its head abruptly turned to the right. Even more strangely, a corner of a white feather was missing from the crane's tail, as if it had been deliberately knocked off.
They returned defeated.
Qiu Renshan's face stiffened for a moment, then he put on a smile again. "Longevity is auspicious. On behalf of my mother, I thank you for your congratulatory gift, General. Please come in, General."
Chen Liangyu was ushered to the main hall and sat down. He placed the Lancang sword on the table and crushed a red bean bun shaped like a peach with a loud thud. The three ministers of the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Rites, and the Ministry of Works, who were also sitting in the main hall, and the officials of other government departments immediately understood that he had not come to eat the meal in good faith, but to overturn the table.
So they each drank a glass of wine, and then, citing official business, hurriedly got up to take their leave.
The birthday banquet at the Qiu family's residence didn't end until 7 PM.
Chen Liangyu sat alone in the main hall, waiting for the old lady who was celebrating her birthday to go to her rest. The guests in the front courtyard left the mansion one after another before Qiu Renshan stepped into the main hall.
The bowls and chopsticks on Chen Liangyu's table remained untouched.
Qiu Renshan bowed with his sleeves folded, saying, "General, I apologize for the poor hospitality."
Chen Liangyu had no time for pleasantries and said bluntly, "Wang Biao is dead."
Qiu Renshan said, "I have heard about the matter concerning Supervisor Wang."
"Why would a Vice Minister of Revenue, a high-ranking official of the third rank, collude with the Northern Yong?"
Upon hearing her question, Qiu Renshan's expression calmed down.
"If the General's words are true, then the people who came to the Qiu residence today must be from the Ministry of Justice and the Censorate."
Chen Liangyu said, "Since Lord Qiu knows that I have no evidence, let's lay it all out and talk it out."
“Alright,” Qiu Renshan said, choosing one of the two eight-immortal chairs placed in the main hall of the Qiu residence, which faced south. “General, please take your seat.”
"It's the same question as before, why? Is it for fame and fortune, or is it a personal grudge between the Qiu family and Bu Ping'er?"
"Since the General has already guessed, why ask such a redundant question?"
"Guessing is just guessing; without an answer, I won't be able to sleep soundly."
"In all these years, when have I ever slept soundly?"
Qiu Renshan let out a bitter laugh. "She killed my son! My son! Has anyone in the entire Qiu family ever slept peacefully? Every time I close my eyes, I see my son's head being severed by a sharp weapon, with blood flowing all over the ground! She has more than a dozen lives on her hands and has been sentenced to death. Why do you insist on protecting her?"
"More than a decade ago, you condoned Qiu Shiyan's abduction of a woman. After the incident, you abused your power to bully others, forcibly taking Zhou Pei as Qiu Shiyan's concubine, causing Zhou's mother to hang herself and the Zhou family to be destroyed. Does Lord Qiu not remember this?"
“My son made a mistake, and the Qiu family was willing to welcome that woman into the family to make amends. Zhou’s mother couldn’t think straight and hanged herself. What does that have to do with the Qiu family? Even if Yan’er was a bit promiscuous, he didn’t deserve to die! Why did he end up with no whole body?”
"You're incorrigible! Qiu Shiyan deserves to die! And you, do you know how many of our soldiers were lost in the Battle of Tongmen Pass because of your selfishness?"
Qiu Renshan said, "If you hadn't saved that death row inmate, she would have paid for my son's life years ago. How could we have suffered this disaster today? I'm not the one who killed those soldiers, it's you! They all perished at Tongmen Pass because of your one wrong decision. You are the guilty one!"
Author's note: Second update.
Thank you Tom Mud Duck for the deep-sea fry!
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