Chapter 16: When the false becomes true, the true also becomes false; when there is nothing, there is something and there is nothing...
Really Master?
How did he die?
Was he really assassinated?
After all, there was a group of assassins in a farmer's yard before. They seemed to recognize him and were a little respectful to him at first.
Where are Xiaoba, Sister Bai, Shuangjiang and the others?
Didn't you protect him?
Or, are they also in great danger?
What about the Yasukuni Army? What should we do with the Yasukuni Army?
How could this happen? I was still the same before I left, not even saying a few kind words. Master, Master, he's gone just like that. Will he be heartbroken? Will he die with unrequited love?
We had endured such hardships before, why would it happen now?
Qi Xin's fingertips were nearly touching the silk carpet, but at the critical moment, she was held by the arms of the Imperial Guards and moved away from the gilded long couch. Hastily, she pulled off the small golden lock and put it into her sleeve.
"Hold her down!" Emperor Shengde looked down at the restless Qi Xin, who was being held captive. His rage was blazing. He shouted like thunder, "Qi Xin, as the eldest princess, you knowingly broke the law and committed treason. Do you acknowledge your guilt?"
"I acknowledge my guilt, but before I accept my punishment, there's one thing I still don't understand. Father, please enlighten me!" Qi Xin spoke with dignity, her desperate wail echoing throughout the room, resonating with everyone present. The scarlet lines in her pupils grew finer, nearly covering the entire white of her eye, and her voice grew darker.
"Duke Jingguo—how did he die?"
Empress Yuan glanced at the gloomy Emperor Shengde standing beside her and spoke first, "Axin, please don't be so ignorant. His Majesty's words are final, and the decree is clear. Duke Jingguo died because of a plot by the Yue Kingdom. Even if you are deeply saddened, you should not question your father in court!"
Qi Xin felt that the figures of these two close relatives, whom she didn't know well to begin with, were becoming increasingly unfamiliar, as if they were about to merge with the Black and White Impermanence in Hell. She met Emperor Shengde's gaze with a sinister smile and said,
"I have never heard of your Majesty's edict. I only know that your Majesty is now trying to calm things down, just like he did with the old Duke's unjust death, the sudden stigma surrounding Duke Jingguo four years ago, and then throwing me into the wolves of Moon Country. For the sake of the royal family's reputation, he wants to keep things quiet. Now, he is so eager to destroy the body, but—"
Emperor Shengde stared at the crimson lines growing wildly in her pupils, sensing a dire situation. If allowed to develop, it would be extremely difficult to resolve, and there was a chance that the Moon Nation's spies, hidden somewhere, would discover the situation. Qi Xin's outburst today, coupled with the state funeral ceremony, had already ignited the fire. This was a show within a show, but too much was as bad as too little. It was time to stop. Then, he said sternly:
"Princess Jialing Qi Xin has committed treason and disturbed the public. She is hereby imprisoned and confined to the cold palace. She is not allowed to leave without permission!"
Several strong and sturdy guards of the Imperial City Army quickly tied up Qi Xin and took her away.
Qi Xin's hair was disheveled as she was pushed into the dark place that she had visited countless times.
The palace gates were tightly closed and covered with moss. Only a few rays of sunlight filtered in through the window bars, nothing else.
She simply closed her eyes, lay flat on the empty bed, and conserved her energy.
Her words just now were very harsh. Not only was she sure that the power of the blood pill was taking over her brain and she couldn't control herself, but she also wanted to provoke her father and make him punish her. She also wanted to let the unknown Yue Kingdom spy know, openly or covertly, that she, Qi Xin, was an isolated, arrogant, simple-minded and useless princess, so as to temporarily weaken her own presence.
Now that I'm out of the spotlight, I can sneak out of the palace and investigate in a few days, which will be easier.
After an unknown amount of time, Qi Xin heard the rustling sound of a lock being opened, followed by the jingling sound of silver ornaments swaying, which gradually became clearer along with the rhythm of footsteps.
Without a second thought, you know who this person is, the one who dresses himself up like a walking jewelry box and shows off everywhere.
"Oh, elder sister, you are really carefree. Even in such a state, you can still sleep?" Qi Ling came in with a group of guests, smiling coquettishly, and then ordered, "Go guard the door, so as not to disturb the elder sister's peace."
The guests responded in unison: "Yes, Your Highness."
Qi Ling stared at Qi Xin who was pretending to sleep for a while and wanted to sit down beside her, but seemed to think of something. She rubbed the edge of the empty bed with her fingertips and turned it over. There was indeed a thick layer of dust. She was afraid that it would dirty the red and gold embroidered pomegranate skirt that Fang had recently made at the Shangfu Bureau.
She rubbed the dust off her fingertips with her thumb and said sarcastically:
"My eldest sister went to a barbaric land like the Moon Kingdom and completely forgot the etiquette of our Da Sheng. She has become even more erratic and has truly brought shame upon our Da Sheng royal family!"
Qi Xin heard this, stood up and sat on the edge of the bed, leaning against the case, drooping his eyelids, yawning slowly, stretching, and then speaking quietly:
"I see that Fourth Sister's memory isn't very good, so as your elder sister, I'd like to give you some pointers. How did my small portrait appear in the marriage certificate? Among the many bloodlines of the Dasheng royal family, why was I specifically named and sent to the Yue Kingdom? I think Fourth Sister should know these things better than I do."
Qi Ling was desperate and pointed at Qi Xin's nose and yelled, "You, you, you! It was obviously your own misconduct that provoked the Crown Prince of Yue. You, you are not trying to accuse me of treason, are you? You, you have evidence, right?"
"Fourth sister, please be louder and attract all the officials and ministers of the emperor."
After hearing this, Qi Ling quickly lowered her voice, but still showed no sign of weakness: "This is just your speculation. You have no evidence, and no one will believe you even if you bring it to the Dali Temple."
"Why bring up the Dali Temple for no reason? What's going on? Does Fourth Sister have spies there?"
"you--"
"Look how scared you are. I just lied to you a few times, and you're already paranoid. With your character, how could you have the guts to commit treason? I think you've been sold out, and you're still here counting money for others!"
"Stop talking nonsense!"
"Whether it's nonsense or not, Fourth Sister has many followers, and a little investigation should reveal it. But right now, I'm too lazy to teach you a lesson. Let me ask you, what did the emperor say in his edict regarding the death of Duke Jingguo?"
"You're truly pathetic. Your biological mother is the Empress, yet you're completely oblivious to the news and know nothing about anything. Could it be that you were saved by that traitorous bastard, Chen Yu, and so fell in love with him? You're truly a motherless idiot, throwing away a promising future to get entangled with a traitor. Tsk, tsk, tsk, are you truly so needy for love? Are you so despicable that you'll eat anything you can't handle? You rush to get on top of anyone who shows even the slightest concern for you."
Qi Xin raised her eyebrows, suddenly approached Qi Ling, and slapped her hard on the left cheek. Qi Ling fell to the ground unexpectedly, looking at her in astonishment.
Qi Xin walked over gracefully, looked down at her with a condescending smile, and explained calmly:
"This slap is for your disrespect for your elders and your disrespect for my mother."
After saying that, Qi Xin raised the corners of his mouth to a new height. He took two steps closer, leaned over and slapped her right cheek again, saying:
"This slap is for not being able to distinguish right from wrong and wantonly plotting against our dynasty's right-hand men."
Then, Qi Xin knelt on one knee beside her, slapped her already swollen left cheek again, and spoke like a ghost:
"This slap is for your vicious heart. You have plotted against me time and again for your own selfish interests, and now you are speaking so rudely. This slap is not enough for you."
Qi Ling finally reacted, wiped the blood from the corner of her lips, rushed over hysterically, and grabbed Qi Xin's neck:
"How dare you? How dare you hit me? What gives you the right to hit me, you bitch? Why were you born the eldest princess, admired by everyone, while I am just a bastard princess whose mother waits for my father's favor every day? I will kill you, kill you——"
Qi Xin grabbed Qi Ling's hair and pushed her to the side, where the broken and peeling desk was. He stretched his neck and looked at her leisurely:
"Who gave you the confidence to fight me? Let me tell you, the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children isn't a valid criterion; it's the human heart that matters. For me, reading countless books and traveling thousands of miles is all about understanding the world, correcting myself, and living up to the promises of heaven and earth. For others, keeping an eye on all directions and listening to all ears is also about cherishing the good and punishing the evil, seeking the foundation of a life in the world. Of course, you'll say that there are still many opportunists in this world who try to deceive the public, right? While that's certainly true, all you and I can do is maintain a sincere heart and discern clearly."
"You can do this because you have already obtained it. But now, do you think you are respected enough to judge me? Are you worthy?" Qi Ling didn't care about anything else and almost rushed up again.
However, the eunuch's shrill voice froze her in place:
"Your Majesty has arrived, why don't you come to greet him quickly——"
Qi Xin and Qi Ling looked at each other, and neither of them took the next step.
Emperor Shengde entered the room and saw this wonderful scene. He sighed silently and then ordered the two of them to kneel down:
"You two are both from the royal family, yet you act like street shrews. How disgraceful! Princess Jinghe, considering this is your first offense, will receive ten strokes of the cane. Princess Jialing, already guilty, remains unrepentant. Her offense is even more severe, and she will receive twenty strokes of the cane as a warning to others."
Upon hearing this, Qi Ling shouted angrily, "Why, Father? She was the one who started it, why are you punishing me?"
Qi Xin felt like there was always a clown jumping around beside him, so he simply knelt on the ground without saying a word, straightened his body, and waited for punishment.
Emperor Shengde turned a deaf ear and signaled the imperial guards to carry out the execution directly.
Everyone knows that caning is quite particular. Sometimes it looks like the skin on the surface is torn, but the inside is intact; sometimes the surface is only bruised, but the tendons and bones inside are actually broken.
At first, the executioner was still concerned about the two princesses' identities, thinking that even if the emperor was furious, he would not make things difficult for his own daughters, so he just pretended.
Seeing this, Emperor Shengde could no longer tolerate it and shouted, "A bunch of good-for-nothings, you spend your days preparing for war, but this is all the strength you have left?"
Upon hearing this, the executioner no longer relaxed and swung the stick seriously.
With each blow, Qi Ling burst into tears, unable to sob. Qi Xin, on the other hand, seemed oblivious, not making a fuss, silently enduring this sudden misfortune. This pain was nothing compared to the heart-wrenching pain he'd felt in the Moon Nation dungeon when the blood pills had fused.
After the caning, Emperor Shengde sent someone to send Qi Ling, who had already fainted, back to the princess's residence. He dismissed everyone else and sat down alone on the empty plank bed next to Qi Xin. Exhausted, he pinched his nose and then spoke in a deep voice:
"Axin, regarding the state funeral ceremony earlier, I... that's all. If you have any questions in the future, you can ask Father directly. Don't act rashly like this again—"
Qi Xin spat out two mouthfuls of blood foam, and snorted coldly with a frosty look on his face, "Oh, according to your Majesty, whenever I ask you, you will tell me the truth."
The author has something to say:
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Note:
The Book of Rites, Doctrine of the Mean: "Learn extensively, inquire earnestly, think carefully, discern clearly, and practice diligently."
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