Chapter 43 I Want to Enter the Palace
The long sword was drawn, and blood began to flow into the sky. The execution was imminent.
The criminals were forced to stick their heads out of the crenellations, allowing the common people to glimpse half of their bodies. Amidst wails, more than a dozen people were decapitated, and even Yuanqing, who had given false testimony, wept bitterly as he went to the Western Paradise.
Thump, thump—a head fell between the two-zhang-high city walls, its eyes wide open in death. The people were so shocked that they all took a step back, crying out in alarm several times.
Deng Mengnu grabbed Xue Ying'er's sleeve, watching helplessly as the bloodied head smashed to the ground like a watermelon, bones shattering, brains splattering onto many people's bodies and faces. She clutched her chest, "Ying'er, Ying'er, don't look..."
Xue Ying'er stared at the blood on the ground without answering a single word.
She had seen many dead people and was not afraid.
The refugees in Jizhou often fought with the officials, and the villagers would scavenge corpses to eat. Yet, under such circumstances, the powerful families of Longxi dared not question the emperor's orders, something that the officials and soldiers of Jizhou could not possibly do.
Even the valiant and mighty Lord Xiao cannot compare.
This is... imperial power.
The lives of ordinary people in the capital were mostly prosperous and peaceful. Compared to the human flesh and skin trade in the West Market, this scene was not actually that horrifying.
The sight of more than a dozen heads falling to the ground simultaneously was truly rare. The younger children screamed in terror, and even Qingqing was not spared.
The light that danced in her eyes froze the moment the knife fell.
Yan Dibai's expression changed slightly: "What kind of expression is that?"
Qingqing jolted awake and quickly shook her head:
"Your Majesty is wise."
But… she lowered her eyelashes. These men were all Li Mingshao's personal guards, many of them mid-level confidants. Her original intention was to postpone the second trial, not to kill them all so as to avoid offending Li Mingshao.
But what's done is done and there's no going back.
He's a beast who humiliates women anyway, so let's just kill him.
For once, Qingqing wasn't so resistant to Yan Dibai's decision, and she gave him a slight grin again:
"Your Majesty was so powerful and domineering just now that I was distracted."
The girl's expression was surprisingly sincere, not like she was faking it.
Yan Dibai hadn't expected this scene. He raised an eyebrow but didn't ask the question, "Really?"
The boy raised his chin and gave a haughty snort. The winter wind caressed his handsome face, its warm yellow softening the harshness of his profile.
Yan Dibai glanced briefly at the crowd below, intending to settle this mess and head home. However, the crowd, which had fallen silent the moment he appeared on the city wall, suddenly erupted into a tidal wave of cheers.
"Acting on behalf of Heaven, Your Majesty is truly righteous!"
"Your Majesty is wise!"
"This emperor, who disregarded the princess and decisively killed the thieves, has some magnanimity!"
"A better judgment than the princess's! This is the first time I've seen such a decisive and straightforward ruling!"
The crowd was in an uproar, with shouts rising and falling. Deng Mengnu and Xue Ying'er were also forced into the cacophony of cries.
The current situation is chaotic, with bureaucratic corruption, aristocratic families indulging in idle talk, and religious sectarian vagrants causing trouble. Stacks of documents pile up in the mansion, left to be eaten by insects and rats, unread and ignored. Having witnessed so much inaction from those in power, everyone is well aware of the young emperor's reputation.
The common people, including Deng Mengnu and Xue Ying'er, never imagined that His Majesty would actually take action against his own sister.
Moreover, that Li Erlang is clearly highly regarded.
In the blink of an eye, justice was served for the nameless temple. The moment the head fell to the ground was like a rock breaking through stagnant water, awakening the numb and indifferent hearts.
Thousands of faces, indistinguishable from one another. Yet they all seemed to radiate excitement, striking the eye directly.
Yan Dibai had not expected this, and a strange feeling crept into her heart. But she couldn't say that it stirred anything.
Until Yuan Yu knelt down and shouted:
"I am Yuanyu, a nun. Thank you, Your Majesty, for clearing my name! Thank you, Imperial Attendant Yang, for arriving in time to expose their conspiracy! Thank you, Princess, for listening to my words!"
The girl's tearful voice echoed through the city tower, covering the dense crowd, and managed to quiet everyone down to listen.
Qingqing was somewhat at a loss.
Yan Dibai looked at her with a gloomy gaze, then saw Yuan Yu crawl a few steps on her knees and kowtow heavily, the force so great that she gripped the brick seam with her ten fingers and gritted her teeth to endure it for quite some time.
"This humble nun has had enough for this life. Those who defame Buddhism are not worthy of continuing to live. Thank you for Your Majesty's kindness, thank you for the Imperial Attendant's kindness!"
Yan Di, with her white hair, remained silent and thought to herself that she should hurry back to the nunnery when the little nun on the ground suddenly jumped up.
But a gust of wind blew, and no one had time to grab the hem of her clothes.
Qingqing's smiling face froze.
“…Master Yuanyu—!”
Her response was a loud bang.
Qingqing's mind went blank. Yi Fu grabbed the torch and brought it closer, seeing the twisted body below, and whispered:
"His Majesty is dead."
Yan Dibai paused, a strange emotion stirring within him. He subconsciously looked at Yang Liuqing, noticing her pale face and blank eyes in the firelight, and raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Quite a violent death, give him a proper burial."
Yi Fu nodded and said he would do as he was told, then heard His Majesty add:
“The name Wuming Nunnery sounded unpleasant, so it was given the name Yuzhen.”
"yes."
The wind tonight isn't as cold as usual, but it still feels like it's piercing your heart.
Qingqing never expected that the brave little nun would end up like this.
She could have easily gone back to the nunnery.
This is not the era after the Cheng-Zhu school of Neo-Confucianism; the people here are more open-minded, and female chastity is not as important.
Did Yuanyu... sacrifice herself for her cause?
No, that shouldn't be.
Qingqing felt as if a boulder had struck her heart, making it hard to breathe.
Blood and qi were carried by the wind to the tip of her nose, invaded her brain, and entered her mouth and stomach. In a daze, the requirements of the mission unfolded before her eyes once again.
All the little things that happened this past year seem to suddenly have real meaning at this moment.
Qingqing felt a metallic taste in her throat and clenched her fists tightly, knowing it shouldn't be like this.
Mingming… She closed her eyes tightly, the shock in her heart turning into a fine, persistent pain. When she opened her eyes again, her gaze suddenly became resolute.
Changing this world is urgent.
Wo Xue sighed inwardly, then packed up and prepared to return to Xianning Palace.
Having received permission, the concubines, who had experienced several events overnight, all scurried away with their heads down, and Li Mingshao even begged for forgiveness. The once vast city tower was now left with only a few people.
Qingqing dazedly blew in the wind for a while, when someone barged into her ear, "Yang Liuqing, I haven't even settled accounts with you for falsely conveying the imperial edict yet, how did you know there was silver in that nun's room—" The boy's pleasant voice rose, but stopped when he saw the girl's reddened eyes.
Before the endless colorful lights, Qingqing turned her head, her eyes sparkling like stars.
Yan Dibai choked, and all the words he wanted to say rolled away.
He swallowed lightly: "Back to the palace."
-
After the crowd dispersed, Deng Mengnu didn't leave, clutching Xue Ying'er and unable to contain her excitement:
"Did you see that? That figure just now, that's my sister! I told you she's capable!"
Xue Ying'er frowned, following Deng Mengnu's finger to look at the departing person. From this distance, she couldn't see her face at all.
I roughly sketched out the figure in my mind by the light of the lamp.
But there was nothing special about her. She looked like a skinny girl of fifteen or sixteen.
For some reason, she felt something strange, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was.
Concerned about Yuan Yu's body, Xue Ying'er wiped her eyes.
“I knew she had deliberately shown me the way out. I got out and lived like a normal person again. She got out too, but she died.”
Perhaps he was struck by the sudden realization that leap had enlightened him.
The waterway was such a secret that even Li Er's men didn't know about it, so how could it be such a coincidence that he told her about it during a casual chat?
She suddenly remembered that she had argued with Yuanyu many times. Each time, she had begged Yuanyu to let her go.
So Yuanyu remembered.
But there was nothing she could do; she could only watch as the sharp-tongued little nun, who had once been the only one to amuse her, died amidst the fluttering of her monk's robes.
Xue Ying'er pulled her hand away: "I'll collect her body, so she won't be eaten."
Deng Mengnu glared at her and sighed deeply, "You—forget it! I'll go get an oxcart."
Yuanyu died a gruesome death; his bones were all crooked, with pieces protruding from his skin. Only his eyes were closed peacefully.
Xue Ying'er tugged at the monk's robe, remembering how Yuan Yu had insisted on putting her clothes back on that morning... She felt incredibly stifled.
The colorful lights will not go out tonight, illuminating the way home.
By the time Yuanyu's body was wrapped up, there were only a few people left on the street. The purpose of their visit today was no longer important. Fortunately, Yuanyu's wish had been fulfilled.
Before the oxcart arrived, Xue Ying'er squatted down and slowly hoisted Yuan Yu's body onto her back. Her bones were broken, and she had nowhere to put weight on. Xue Ying'er struggled to carry her, clutching the monk's robe.
Just like when she carried the boy who had collapsed in the mountains, she staggered. Perhaps she had something on her mind, but when she subconsciously glanced at the palace gate, Xue Ying'er froze, vaguely seeing the back of a familiar head.
Like Feng An, she is very delicate.
She looked again and saw that the person's back was hunched over, which was not his physique.
Xue Ying'er turned her head away.
"Young Master Feng'an, what are you looking at?"
Behind the palace gate, Feng An indifferently withdrew his gaze from the girl in plain clothes, the murderous intent in his eyes rising several times, but he suppressed it all the while looking back at Chen Mian.
Chen Mian scrutinized his face with some curiosity, but couldn't discern anything special. Looking further down the road, the few scattered people there seemed unremarkable as well.
Hmm, he suddenly laughed: "Are you curious about that little nun?"
"My lord, the young master is truly intelligent. Not only did he foresee that Li Mingshao would refuse to enter the city and instead build up his military strength outside in order to maintain his reputation, but he also ruined his carefully laid plans with just a few nuns. Even if he has a princess as a stepmother, he can't hide it from the big day of the new year. As a result, he will surely attract the special attention of Prime Minister Lin and face great difficulties."
Chen Mian's smile didn't reach his eyes: "Young Master, you killed two birds with one stone, concealing yourself from beginning to end. You're truly remarkable. Even I was slow to realize it. And how did you manage to get involved with that nameless nunnery?"
He felt uneasy, and this was his way of questioning.
Feng An concealed the unspeakable gloom in his heart and smiled as usual:
"I'm just a charlatan, and I grew up in Qinzhou. How could I possibly be connected with a nun in the capital? It just so happens that I heard some rumors from the common people that Abbot Yuanding is an upright person. Master Yuanyu is her personal disciple, so she must be the same."
Feng An's smile was incredibly beautiful, like a breath of spring in full bloom.
Chen Mian scoffed inwardly.
So young yet so cunning and a master of acting. Yet, from beginning to end, no fault can be found in Feng An's actions, and no conclusion can be reached.
He could only remind him: "No later than May after the start of the new year, this massive peasant uprising is inevitable. Although the young emperor's prestige has soared today, it won't do much good."
“Young Master Feng’an, it will be soon before I address you as His Majesty.”
The boy's eyes were filled with fear as he exclaimed in surprise:
"Lord Xiao is a man of unparalleled talent, why should you humiliate yourself like this?"
Chen Mian said meaningfully, "I will look for the person you are looking for again. If I find her, I will ensure that Miss Xue will have no worries about food and clothing in my Xiao family."
Chen Mian arrived late and never saw Xue Ying'er's face. In fact, he didn't know her at all.
When Feng An was looking for the person, he did not provide a portrait, but only briefly mentioned the name and clothing.
Chen Mian has searched for many similar women in recent days, but when he looked at their identification tags, he found none of them with the name Xue Ying'er from Jizhou.
If he hadn't asked someone in Jizhou to inquire, he would have doubted whether Xue Ying'er even existed.
Feng An's expression was very calm. "It would be best if Lord Xiao could protect her."
"It's my fault."
When Abbot Yuanding received Yuanyu's body, he also said this sentence.
“I sent her out of the nunnery to seek help, but I never expected that she would return with her corpse. My disciple has always been fierce-willed. It was my fault.”
She thanked Deng Mengnu, who had brought the body in an oxcart, and then clasped her hands together, asking, "Was it the young emperor who helped you?"
Deng Mengnu nodded, "And my sister too."
Abbot Yuanding uttered a Buddhist prayer to the heavens, and the prayer beads in her hand suddenly clattered to the ground. She paused, her body trembled slightly, and she murmured:
"The Emperor..."
Deng Mengnu chimed in, "What's wrong with the Emperor?"
Abbot Yuanding suddenly widened his eyes as if he had seen a ghost, startling Deng Mengnu.
"You, you..."
The host suddenly laughed, but then tears streamed down his face: "The emperor's destiny has finally turned back on the right path..."
Deng Mengnu returned home in a daze and told her about Yuan Ding's strange behavior and Xue Ying'er's silent kneading of dough.
Xue Ying'er naturally didn't understand either, and casually said:
"Perhaps it's because the emperor is powerful... The emperor doesn't seem to be as indiscriminate as the rumors say."
She looked preoccupied and her face was pale.
Deng Mengnu sat down next to her: "Ying'er, are you still sad?"
"No, I... I was thinking about something else." Xue Ying'er suddenly lost her strength and stared blankly at the dough.
"What's up?"
Xue Ying'er stared blankly at the dough for a while, then suddenly said to Deng Mengnu:
"Sister Deng, I want to go to the palace."
"Can you help me?"
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Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2023-10-11 23:45:46 and 2023-10-14 23:04:35!
Thank you to the little angel who watered the nutrient solution: 1 bottle;
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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