The chaos in Marquis Wan’an Residence subsided quickly once Nangong Xin returned. At her command, everyone in the residence regained orderliness.
Yet there was confusion in everyone’s heart.
With the Marquis deceased, did the Nangong Family still have a future? This was the question weighing on everyone’s mind.
After they placed Nangong Yin in the coffin, Nangong Xin issued an order, "By my command, apprehend the murderer of the Marquis. Show no mercy."
At her command, the Nangong’s allies within the Capital City sprung into action, tracing the murderers led by Xie Yuan.
Xie Yuan, having achieved his goal of killing Nangong Yin, quickly escaped the city with his accomplices. Yet they did not get very far before they were intercepted by men from the Dawei kingdom.
He had expended great effort in killing Nangong Yin. He was now no match for the numerous secret agents of Dawei who were hiding in the Capital City and who had mobilized to stop him. He fell into the hands of Dawei’s secret agents.
Nangong Xin got the news that the one who had killed Nangong Yin was Xie Yuan, the famed scholar of Daliang, the man who once had Yan Ruzhen’s heart, and the one who had guided Su Rong’s growth.
She hadn’t imagined that he had such audacity.
Nangong Xin instructed her people, "Negotiate with Dawei’s secret agents and demand they surrender him to the Nangong Family."
Nangong Yin’s confidant, Wei Hang, promptly dispatched men as ordered.
However, the men he sent found Dawei’s secret agents uncooperative. They remained steadfast in their refusal to release Xie Yuan and continued their journey to Dawei.
Upon hearing this, Nangong Xin was infuriated, "If they refuse, resort to force."
Wei Hang hesitated, "Your Highness, should we resort to violence? They are men of Dawei. If we resort to violence, we risk creating hostility between the Nangong Family and Dawei. The young master Nangong Zheng is currently in Dawei seeking military aid from their crown prince. If we clash with Dawei’s men, and the Dawei crown prince becomes angered by the news and refuses to lend troops, how do we proceed?"
Nangong Xin replied: "What do you think Dawei’s men are planning? They captured Xie Yuan but didn’t kill him. Instead, they’re bringing him back to Dawei, presumably to use him as a leverage against Su Rong. What about our Nangong Family? Are we not seeking revenge? You are my dear brother’s confidant, don’t you want to avenge his unjust death?"
Wei Hang surely didn’t want Nangong Yin’s death to go unavenged. The Marquis highly valued him and always kept him at his side. He felt responsible for failing to protect him.
He looked at Nangong Xin, "The Marquis may be dead, but Young Master Nangong Zheng is still alive and currently in Dawei, we should not offend the people of Dawei’s crown prince."
Nangong Xin retorted, "So what? We should let them take Xie Yuan away?"
Wei Hang suggested, "I propose we send an urgent message to Young Master Zheng, and have men trail Dawei’s agents. Allow Young Master Zheng to negotiate with Dawei’s Crown Prince Yuan."
Nangong Xin nodded, "Be it!"
She shrugged toward Wei Hang, "In that case, you should go personally!"
Wei Hang nodded, "Yes."
When the Old Madam and Madam Marquis regained consciousness, they could not accept the fact that Nangong Yin had been killed in his own home. Upon learning the murderer had not been apprehended, the Old Madam’s fury got the better of her and she fainted once again.
Being relatively younger, Madam Marquis managed to remain conscious. With red swollen eyes, she turned to Nangong Xin and asked, "Your Highness, your brother was killed, the second master is leading troops elsewhere, and Zheng is also away from home. What should we do now?"
How could Nangong Xin know what to do? Her brother had been murdered, leaving the Nangong family in a precarious state. Although Nangong Zheng was smart, he was just a fourteen-year-old boy. Could he outsmart Su Rong who had arrived from Nanchu under such circumstances?
She had just received news that Su Rong, having borrowed troops from Daliang, was now in Nanchu.
It was said that she had as many as three hundred thousand soldiers. When she entered the border of Nanchu, she broke the defense of thirty thousand border guards and passed through. She was perhaps now on her way to the Capital City.
With three hundred thousand soldiers at her command, she was set to rule Nanchu. Unless Nangong Zheng borrowed an equal number of soldiers from Dawei and could challenge her, the Nangong family, with its current disarray, was likely to be crushed in one blow.
Nangong Xin found it laughable how in just such a brief time, the Nangong family, initially in a strong position, had been reduced to a passive state. The entire might of the family had been leveraged to hunt down Chu Rong and Zhou Gu, yet all their efforts had been in vain. Instead, the enemy had penetrated the family’s stronghold in the royal capital and taken the patriarch’s life.
Nangong Xin looked at Madam Marquis and asked her, "What do you think, sister-in-law?"
Madam Marquis shook her head, "I am asking you because I don’t know."
Nangong Xin fell silent for a moment before asking her, "Do you think, sister-in-law, the Nangong family could still have a future in Nanchu if we continue like this?"
Madam Marquis expression shifted, "What do you mean?"
"I just received news that Su Rong has brought three hundred thousand troops from Daliang to Nanchu," Nangong Xin said, "Sister-in-law, you should know what three hundred thousand troops mean. Just how many men does the Nangong family currently have at our disposal? Why else would brother Zheng ask Crown Prince Yuan Zhao of Dawei for military support?"
Madam Marquis turned pale.
"With our elder brother gone and brother Zheng so far away in Dawei, unable to lend immediate help, sister-in-law, since you’ve asked me, I will tell you. The Nangong family likely only has one path left," Nangong Xin said. "Either we stay in Nanchu and await our demise or leave Nanchu and seek allegiance with Crown Prince Yuan."
Madam Marquis was startled, "Has it really come to this point? What if brother Zheng manages to borrow troops..."
"That would still require him to be able to defeat Su Rong," Nangong Xin said. "Sister-in-law, please think about it. Whether you want to evacuate the family, continue living in fear in the Capital City, or wait for brother Zheng to come back with military support. But if Su Rong’s forces reach the Royal Capital before then, all the Nangong family members in the city will be like trapped beasts, destined to become casualties under her blade."
Fear dawned on the Madam Marquis’s face, "And the Marquis’s remains..." 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮
"If the family is to evacuate, how can we possibly take my brother’s remains with us? Arrange his burial as soon as possible! Let’s just hope that Su Rong won’t stoop so low as to desecrate his grave."
Madam Marquis was alarmed, "If she actually does that..."
"Even so, there’s nothing we can do about it. After all, the living are always more important, right?" Nangong Xin retorted.
Madam Marquis fell silent, her face pale. After a long while, she finally spoke, "And mother..."
"Mother is old and may not endure the upheaval. Ask if she’s willing to leave. If she is, we’ll take her with us. If not, let her stay!" Nangong Xin replied, "After all, considering her age, she has lived a full life."
Madam Marquis slowly nodded her head.
There are still many members of the Nangong Family in the Capital City. After much thought, Madam Marquis agreed with Nangong Xin. Once Su Rong’s forces arrived at the Royal Capital, the Nangong family was doomed. Thus, she summoned all the family members in the city, closed the doors and they all deliberated together regarding their decision to stay or go.
If anything, the Nangong family was united. Nobody wanted to die, especially after Nangong Yin’s death. Nangong Zheng was still alive and even though he was young, he was fully capable of leading the Nangong Family. Therefore, with the agreement of everyone, the Nangong Clan decided to leave the Capital City and proceed to Dawei to join Nangong Zheng. When the Old Madam woke up, she also expressed her desire to leave the city, to find her great-grandchild and avenge her son. She did not want to just wait for death; she wanted to witness it with her own eyes.
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