After leaving Wanren Mountain, Su Rong tied the letter written by the Nanchu King to the leg of a flying eagle, delivering it to Wanniang. He asked her to send people to Xiling to call for the fifty thousand Xiling troops privately held by the Nanchu King, to quickly intercept Dawei’s secret agents. He also dispatched half of his shadow guards, faster than the fifty thousand troops, to step out ahead and head to the Dawei border in advance.
It would take even the closest route half a month to travel with fifty thousand cavalry.
Although Su Rong was burning with urgency, he could do nothing but hope that upon receiving the Nanchu King’s letter, Cheng Yun would be able to intercept Dawei’s secret agents.
The assassination of Nangong Yin caused a shockwave through the entire Nanchu Capital.
It was inconceivable to everyone that Nangong Yin was murdered in his own residence. Not only were the court officials taken aback, but everyone from the Nangong Family and even Queen Nangong Xin couldn’t believe it.
Nangong Xin was very shocked when she heard the news of the Nangong Family reporting the death. She was stunned for a quite while before asking the messenger incredulously, "What did you say?"
Her elder brother was killed? Killed in his own residence? It was too ridiculous.
As the leader of the entire Nangong Family, it had been many years since Nangong Yin took over the affairs of the Nangong Family at the age of fifteen, more than thirty years in fact. It was more believable to hear that the Nanchu King had been assassinated than him.
The messenger had a sad expression, conveying a sense of a calamity, "Your majesty, it’s true. The Marquis has been murdered. The murderous villain came with a significant number of assassins, hundreds of them, infiltrated the royal capital at an unknown time. After midnight last night, they scaled the wall and entered the Marquis residence. At that time, the Marquis was reading a letter from Young Master Zheng..."
"Where were the guards in the house? And my brother’s shadow guards?" Nangong Xin asked.
The messenger emphasized, "The hundreds of assassins he brought with him took out all our shadow guards. There were only a few shadow guards left who were directly under the Marquis. We had hundreds of guards in the residence too, but those people were very fierce. Some were skilled in using poisonous hidden weapons. The Marquis was first stabbed by a sword, but it luckily missed any fatal organs. Unfortunately, a poison dart hit him. The poison was incredibly potent, and in less than an hour, it spread to his heart. These villains were indeed wicked, entangling with our guards, not retreating until they had confirmed that the Marquis had died of poisoning."
Nangong Xin scolded, "Absurd."
The messenger hung his head, "Your majesty, the family is currently in chaos. With the Marquis dead, your second elder uncle, who the Marquis had dispatched to lead the troops, is out. Young Master Zheng has already left the capital, and the three master sons have also been away for quite some time. Presently in the capital, there’s no one left to take charge in the family. The elders and ladies have fainted from grief, and the culprits are roaming free. What do you suggest..."
Nangong Xin firmly said, "You go back first, I will return to the residence immediately."
Upon hearing her order, the messenger left the royal palace.
Nangong Xin immediately ordered the carriage to be ready. With the Nanchu King not in the palace, she didn’t need to ask for permission from anyone. If it had been before, she could leave the palace to visit her family whenever she wanted, but mostly she was reluctant to return, fearing being criticized as a superficial queen by her family members.
Since Chu Rong cherished Yan Ruzhen, he did not favor any woman in the palace. What could she do?
Chu Rong didn’t visit the imperial harem, who could force him to? After all, he was the Nanchu King. As long as the Nangong Family didn’t openly oppose him, they wouldn’t dare force the king.
Furthermore, she had her reputation to consider.
Over the years, her brother incited conflicts behind the scenes and in plain sight; they were just short of holding the king hostage to pressure him into having heirs. But what good did it do? When Chu Rong was so disinterested in everything that he didn’t want the Nanchu River and Mountains anymore, who could do anything about him?
However, it never occurred to her that Yan Ruzhen faked her death and even bore him a daughter.
Upon receiving the news, she had intended to quietly assassinate the person, so only sent out men without informing her brother. However, as the years wore on and she found she couldn’t kill the girl, she was inexplicably hesitant to seek help from her brother and family.
Perhaps out of concern that Chu Rong may genuinely not have an heir?
What a ridiculous thought!
She had been infatuated with Chu Rong – a single-minded love – but then he fell for Yan Ruzhen. To help her, he was even willing to throw the whole Nanchu Country as aid to Daliang. When the former king was still in power and in control of all of Nanchu, the Nangong Family wasn’t as influential as they are today. It was only after Yan Ruzhen’s death, the former king’s demise, and a decade of aimless rule by Chu Rong that the Nangong Family rose to the power they have now.
She had thought that Chu Rong, after Yan Ruzhen’s death, would be willing to marry her as his queen and one day, he would forget about Yan Ruzhen. Yet, it turned out he was only agreeing to marrying her to shut up the court officials. To seal the mouths of the court officials, to soothe the Nangong Family and the rest of the officials, he agreed to marry a queen. But then he barely set foot in the imperial harem.
Her whole-hearted devotion gradually wore thin day by day until there was hardly anything left.
Sometimes, when she looked at Chu Rong, she felt pity for him, but then the thought would come again - who was there to feel pity for her? At least he had a daughter, what did she have? 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎
But if she were to say that she was unwilling, after all these years, it seems she no longer felt that way. What was left was only numbness.
It had been more than two months since Chu Rong left the royal palace. She had no idea whether he was dead or alive. If he were dead, he deserved it. If he were alive, that would indeed show how lucky he was.
The carriage was soon ready, and Nangong Xin rode out of the royal palace.
Leaving the palace gate and returning to the Marquis Residence, Nangong Xin looked at the plaque of the Marquis Wan’an Residence. She was reminded of the past when Chu Rong bestowed her brother the title ’Marquis Wan’an’, a title that pleased her brother greatly. Her brother was the second most powerful man, even Ye Xiang had to step back. Yet now, he was murdered in his own Marquis Wan’an Residence.
He was always so proud of himself. He probably never imagined, even in his last moments, that someone would dare to kill him in his own home.
The sorrowful weeping within the residence was mixed with a sense of panic. The long line of carriages parked outside the gate extended down two streets, likely all court officials who came to confirm the unbelievable news. They all needed to see it with their own eyes before they could believe the reality.
Nangong Xin got off the carriage and walked towards the residence. She soon arrived at the Memorial Hall, where numerous people had gathered around.
Nangong Yin’s body wasn’t placed in a coffin but laid on a platform inside the Memorial Hall. As he had not prepared a coffin for himself during his lifetime, the only available coffin in the residence was the one prepared early for the elderly lady. Upon hearing the news, the old lady fainted and had not woken up yet. They had to consult the old lady first to see if they could borrow her coffin temporarily. Otherwise, they would have to get a new one, and it would be difficult to find the best one in such a rush.
So, upon returning, Nangong Xin found the Marquis Residence in total chaos, with numerous court officials gathered around the Memorial Hall. They all had confirmed that this was indeed the Marquis Nangong Yin, who had really been murdered in his own residence.
It was far beyond anyone’s expectation that he would die in such a way. All were taken aback.
Regardless of the circumstances, it shouldn’t be like this. The body of her brother shouldn’t have been laid out for everyone to see. Nangong Xin saw the disordered state of the Marquis Residence, her face turned pale green with cold anger, and she immediately ordered, "Bring out the old lady’s coffin, and put my elder brother in it."
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