Chapter 21 Counterattack (2) "And her sisters are still alive and well..."
Baiyue was a small, uncivilized kingdom south of Tianyuan, plagued by poisonous miasma and with a hot and humid climate.
The harsh environment stagnated its agricultural development, leaving its national strength far behind that of Tianyuan. The harsh environment breeds unruly people; the border people, suffering greatly, frequently harassed Tianyuan, robbing them of grain and livestock. The Baiyue ruler, even more stubborn and self-willed, seeing Tianyuan's desire to stabilize its territory and launch a military campaign, disregarded the vast difference in strength between the two countries and raised an army to repel them. Ultimately, however, he was utterly defeated by Yuan Mingjin and had no choice but to submit and become a vassal state of Tianyuan.
When a dynasty prospers, the people suffer; when it falls, the people suffer even more. After this war, the Baiyue people were displaced, many heading north to Tianyuan to make a living, where they demanded far lower wages than the locals. Baiyue men, with their soft voices and supple physiques, were perfectly suited for singing. The madam bought about ten good-looking men for only thirty-odd taels of silver, thinking he'd gotten a great deal, and was quite pleased with himself. Little did he know he was about to face a terrible disaster. Had he known this would happen, he would never have dared to be so greedy again!
"If we were to hire singers and dancers from Tianyuan, it would cost several tens of taels of silver per visit, while the Baiyue people would only need half that amount. As a prince of Tianyuan, I should set an example by practicing frugality..."
Yuan Mingqiong was quick-witted, but Yuan Mingjin chuckled without giving her any face and said, "It's very good that Your Majesty is like this, I have nothing to say - I just wonder if the next Zuo Yan can make Your Majesty soften her words."
She clapped her hands, and two eunuchs brought in another person. Seeing that she was well-prepared, Yuan Mingqiong became increasingly uneasy. She turned to look at the new examiner, but was caught off guard and froze on the spot.
The man was disheveled, covered in crisscrossing whip marks. It was likely that when the whip fell, it tore his clothes to shreds and struck his flesh, creating bright red wounds with the flesh turned outwards. The blood, dark red and already congealed, stuck the flesh and the tattered cloth together, a horrifying sight.
Hong Liao stood quietly to the side, her expression calm, but her hands, hanging by her sides, clenched the hem of her clothes, and her breathing became increasingly rapid.
He tried his best to hide his trembling arms behind his back, watching as the eunuch lifted the man's hair and then removed the blindfold from his eyes, revealing a pair of wolf-like eyes.
As the eunuch removed the blindfold, the man inevitably had to slightly raise his chin, his eyes fixed on the imperial desk above him. Once his vision cleared, he froze, quickly looking around before being pushed forward, his gaze settling on Yuan Mingjin, who was walking slowly towards him.
Upon seeing that face, everyone in the hall gasped involuntarily, even the emperor abruptly stood up from his dragon throne—
There's no other reason than that this person looks so much like Hong Liao, they're practically identical!
"This..." Su Aoshuang hesitated, her gaze lingering on the faces of the man and Hong Liao, "Twins?"
Yuan Mingjin nodded and said, "That's right."
She ordered a palace maid to bring her dressing case, and then had a eunuch hold down the man's struggling limbs before applying makeup to his face. Before long, his handsome face became ordinary, yet it was a face Su Aoshuang knew all too well.
Su Aoshuang was horrified: "It's you..."
She closed her eyes, her brows furrowed, and let out a long sigh. She quickly opened them again, turned around, and knelt down with a thud. She kowtowed to the emperor and begged for forgiveness, saying, "Your Majesty, I am incompetent. I failed to notice that the Nine Luminaries traitor had infiltrated my residence for so many years. I beg Your Majesty to punish me."
"The Nine Luminaries Traitor?" This sudden turn of events caught even the emperor off guard. "Prince Rui, what exactly is going on?"
Yuan Mingjin explained, "This person is named Lüting. He and his brother Hongliao are from the Nine Luminaries. They have been servants in the Su family since childhood. The elder brother has served Madam Su for a long time, while the younger brother works as a handyman in the courtyard of the second young master of the Su family, using the alias Xiao Lü. The eldest young master of the Su family confessed that it was Hongliao who instigated him to ask Lord Su and Madam Su to let the second young master of the Su family marry in his place. At that time, Lord Su did not agree and scolded him severely. Afterwards, when the two saw that one plan had failed, they came up with another plan - Lüting knocked the second young master of the Su family unconscious and stuffed him into the sedan chair, while Hongliao tried to delay Madam Su and the eldest young master of the Su family. By the time the people in the Su family came to their senses, the king and the king's consort had already completed their wedding ceremony."
Upon hearing this, Lüting immediately glared angrily at Yuan Mingjin, "You're lying! It's true that I smothered Su Xiaotang and put her in the bridal sedan chair, but that was under the orders of the Master and Young Master Su—"
Snap!
Before he could finish speaking, Yuan Mingjin raised his hand and slapped him hard across the face, interrupting him in time. He feigned anger and said, "Not only did you ruin my marriage, but now that you're about to die, you still haven't forgotten to drag my in-laws into this mess. It seems I was too soft-hearted! If I had known this would happen, I should have razed your Nine Luminaries to the ground back then!"
“Your Majesty, Lord Su was unaware of these matters and indeed mistakenly believed that it was Madam Su and the eldest son of Su who kidnapped Xiaotang to marry in her place. As for the third young lady of Su, who had bullied Xiaotang multiple times and should have been confined at home by Lord Su, how did she manage to associate with the Imperial Censor and thus be able to testify in court? I do not believe that there was no one else involved.”
Yuan Mingjin turned around and addressed the person in the upper seat.
Some things don't need to be said in too much detail; it's enough to plant a seed of doubt in the Queen Mother's heart.
"When Lord Su saw that Miss Su had committed a grave mistake and still did not repent, and that she was willing to distort the truth in order to curry favor with the Empress, he was so heartbroken that he took full responsibility for all the crimes. He hopes that the Empress will forgive Lord Su."
"That's all just your side of the story!" Yuan Mingqiong's face was full of gloom. "As the daughter of the Queen Mother and a subject of Tianyuan, I should uphold justice! Since Su Yutang has come to me for help, I should naturally seek justice for her. How can you accuse me of currying favor and flattery?"
Yuan Mingjin shook his head and said, "This matter is of great importance. If Your Majesty is truly determined, a little investigation will reveal that the three sons of the Su family have always been at odds, and the reasons are complex and cannot be uncovered by listening to just one person's words. Lord Su is an official of the court and a pillar of the nation. If you rashly bring him to court and it turns out to be nothing more than a farce, where will that leave Lord Su's face? The people of the world will think that Your Majesty is incompetent and cannot judge people, which will damage the imperial prestige. How will you then handle the situation?"
After hearing this, the emperor's expression relaxed slightly, and he asked Yuan Mingjin, "How did you know that the two of them were the Nine Luminaries traitors?"
"Your subject discovered by chance that Lü Ting has exceptional eyesight—and he must have seen everyone in the hall the moment he entered."
As the rain subsided, Yuan Mingjin walked to the palace gate and raised his voice to the people inside, saying, "The Hall of Mental Cultivation is so vast that it is a hundred feet from the gate to the Emperor's presence. Even if I could shoot an arrow through a willow leaf from a hundred paces away, I still cannot see your faces clearly when I stand here and look inside. I can only barely recognize you by your clothing."
"However, as soon as Lü Ting entered, he stopped at the palace gate. After the blindfold was removed, you didn't look at Lord Su, whom you've known for many years, or at me, who has imprisoned you for many days, or even at your blood-bound twin brother. Instead, you looked upwards... The palace attendants should have taught you long ago that you must never look directly at the emperor's face—where were your eyes looking then?"
Standing far away from the imperial desk, Yuan Mingqiong's face was ashen. He had already put down the ink stick, and his hands, hanging at his sides, were cold, stiff, and curled up like chicken claws.
Not wanting her mother to notice anything amiss, she went down the steps, put her hands in her sleeves, and hurriedly began to knead them, trying to restore herself to normal as quickly as possible.
The gold bracelet on her wrist swayed in the wide sleeves of her robe.
"You're the one who's twisting the truth!" Lü Ting glared at Yuan Mingjin, her eyes bulging and veins popping on her forehead. "You're right, among the people here, besides His Majesty, your clothes are the most magnificent. I can recognize you even with my toes—"
As he spoke, his gaze shifted downwards and landed on Yuan Mingjin, at which point he suddenly fell silent.
"What, you finally realize where you went wrong?" Yuan Mingjin smiled coldly, filling in the gaps in his words, "I braved the rain to enter the palace and only changed out of my wet clothes when I got to the Hall of Mental Cultivation. In order not to keep the Empress Dowager waiting, I didn't even have time to put on my jade pendant. I'll probably be impeached by the officials of rites tomorrow. So how can I talk about being glamorous?"
"You didn't mistake my elder sister for me; you were simply following your instincts and casting your gaze upon the person you've been longing for!"
"These are just your guesses. Since my eyes are on my body, I can look wherever I want," Greenstone said coldly.
No man had ever dared to speak to her like that before. Yuan Mingjin was taken aback for a moment, then understood, raised an eyebrow, and smiled: "It's alright. Since you still refuse to tell the truth, the guards I brought to the Su residence that day are not blind or deaf."
She clapped her hands again, and the eunuchs brought in another person, which nearly made everyone in the hall's eyes pop out—
The person had a thin crimson veil covering their head, and their smooth, black hair was tied into a thick, long, glossy braid that hung down in front of their chest, barely covering their naked upper body. Crimson dogwood was faintly visible, and as they struggled, their snow-white skin easily caught the eye.
His lower body was clad only in a fiery red scarf, the side slit almost reaching his thighs, revealing long, straight legs that slammed firmly on the ground. Layers of gold and jade anklets jingled with each step. The gaudy red contrasted sharply with the glaring white, enticing one to defile him even more.
And look at that face: slender, willow-leaf eyebrows, deep-set eyes, and a small face, only the size of a palm, easily held in a woman's hand...
His attire was far too daring, like a flame flowing and burning on the surface of a smooth white porcelain, making everyone blush. They looked up at the sky and down at the ground, but dared not look at him, so flustered that they didn't know where to put their eyes.
"Indecent and immoral! What kind of behavior is this!" the emperor frowned. "It's an eyesore! Quickly find him some clothes to wear!"
The eunuch then brought a cloak and wrapped it around the man, but to his surprise, the man was ungrateful and, upon seeing the emperor, immediately began to curse, "You dog emperor! I'm going to kill you!"
Turning his head and seeing Yuan Mingjin's calm expression, he was filled with even more hatred, his eyes bleeding. He struggled even more violently, wishing he could pounce on her and bite off a piece of her flesh. "Yuan Mingjin! How come you're still alive! You caused our country to be destroyed, our families to be torn apart, and we were forced to leave our homes and do these lowly jobs that are for others to defile! Your Tianyuan will be punished by heaven sooner or later!"
Upon hearing this, Hong Liao's eyes flickered, but she quickly lowered her head to conceal the expression in her eyes.
Yuan Mingjin ignored him and said only, "Mother, this is the dancer who attempted to assassinate me on the lake that day. I ordered the Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Censorate to interrogate him, with Prime Minister Shen supervising the interrogation. He confessed that he knew the dancer who attempted to assassinate me at the victory banquet that day, and that both of them had premeditated the attack, and that—"
"So what? Even if he and I fall, there are still millions of Baiyue people who would love to kill you!" Before she could finish speaking, the dancer interrupted her, "Yuan Mingjin, as long as you live, I will make you live in fear—ugh!"
"Gag him, he's too noisy," Yuan Mingjin ordered, and a eunuch immediately stuffed a handkerchief into the dancer's mouth.
"The troupes that perform in the palace have always undergone strict screening. Their ancestors for three generations must have a clean record. Outsiders would never be selected. If no one is there to arrange and cover for them, how did that Baiyue dancer manage to sneak into the palace, hide a dagger in his sleeve, and wait for an opportunity to assassinate someone?"
This was a blatant declaration that the emperor's sixteen guards had been infiltrated. The emperor's face gradually darkened, and he said, "Continue."
Yuan Mingjin glanced at the dancer, whose eyes were bloodshot with rage. The eunuch then removed the handkerchief from his mouth, freeing the dancer, who immediately roared, "You dog of a prince, you're quite clever! Yes, someone leaked your whereabouts to us, helping us enter the palace and sneak into the pleasure boat. But though I am of humble status, how could I be such an ungrateful wretch? I would rather die than reveal my benefactor's name. So give up on that idea!"
“Heh…” Yuan Mingjin couldn’t help but chuckle when she heard this. She stared at him with her dark eyes. At first, she just grinned, but gradually she laughed louder and louder, bending forward and backward, with tears welling up in her eyes.
For a moment, the vast Hall of Mental Cultivation was deathly silent, with only her loud, clear laughter echoing across the dome of the hall, which was decorated with rising and falling dragon patterns.
"What...what are you laughing at?"
The dancer felt uneasy under her gaze, and seeing her laughing as if no one else was around, he felt even more uneasy. His scalp tingled with unease, and he mustered his courage to ask.
"I laugh at your stupidity." Yuan Mingjin's smile vanished. "You're nothing but a knife in a murder plot, and you think you're some loyal patriot protecting your benefactor? It's laughable!"
These words struck him like a thunderbolt, leaving the dancer stunned. Yuan Mingjin gave him no time to react, quickly leaning close to his ear and whispering, "Your so-called revenge is nothing more than a link in the power struggle between us sisters. If you were smart, you should think carefully about who would benefit the most from my death. That person had many ways to get rid of me, so why didn't she do it herself instead of leaking the information to you and letting you kill me? Is she really the kind person you think she is? To avenge a complete stranger from another tribe, she's even willing to kill her own siblings? If it were you, would you kill your own brothers and sisters for someone you have no connection with? She's only doing this to avoid the infamy of murdering her sister and usurping the throne!"
"Are you truly willing to be a stepping stone for such a disloyal and unjust person to ascend the throne? I know that you Baiyue people have suffered endless scorn and cold treatment in Tianyuan, struggling even to earn a living. Therefore, you have to lower your wages and exert more effort and... dignity than the people of Tianyuan. Just as you said, even without you, there are other Baiyue people who will kill me, one after another; and in her eyes, it's the same. You are nothing but expendable materials. If this knife breaks, there's another one—but can you really withstand such attrition? There are very few Baiyue dancers like you left in the brothel, aren't there?"
"Your brothers and sisters are dying one after another, while her sisters are still alive and well!"
After Yuan Mingjin finished speaking, he burst into laughter, patted him on the shoulder, and then stepped back, subtly giving a wink to the two eunuchs who were holding his arms.
These whispered words were like the most vicious curse. The dancer listened in a daze, his eyes were fixed, his head was buzzing, and a surge of hot blood rushed to his head. Yuan Mingjin patted his shoulder and he slowly came to his senses. As he did, the dark green robe in his field of vision became clear.
"You Tianyuan people are all so cunning..." the dancer murmured, "You've deceived me so badly... You've deceived me so badly!"
His entire head was burning hot, his face was flushed and swollen, and tears of blood were almost seeping from his eyes. He stared hatefully at the figure in green, then suddenly flicked his tongue and spat out a thin, icy blade. With a struggle, he broke free, grabbed the blade, and brandished it, thrusting it straight at the green figure!
*Pfft!*
The sound of a sharp weapon piercing flesh.
Things happened so fast that no one could react in time, including Yuan Mingqiong, who was at the center of the storm.
She saw a flash of silver light in the air, heading straight for her brow. The chilling air so close to her eyes stung her eyelids. Yuan Mingqiong's body stiffened, her mind screaming wildly to dodge, but her limbs felt like they were made of lead and she couldn't move them. All she could do was close her eyes tightly.
However, the imagined pain never came.
But the sound of flesh being pierced was so deafening.
Her eyelashes trembled as she opened her eyes, only to see an ordinary-looking boy standing in front of her, slowly giving her a smile. Blood overflowed from his mouth, staining his pearly teeth and dripping onto the ground.
A blade as thin as a cicada's wing was plunged into his slender, white neck, severing the prominent vein on the side of his neck in two. Thin streams of blood gushed down from there, instantly staining his blood-stained clothes red once more.
No one saw how he suddenly appeared in front of Yuan Mingqiong.
While Yuan Mingqiong was still in a daze, Hong Liao broke free from her surroundings, leaped forward, caught Lü Ting's limp body, tightly pressed her hand against his wound, and cried out, "Lü Ting! Lü Ting!"
However, the bleeding couldn't be stopped no matter how hard he tried, overflowing from between his fingers. Tears streamed down his face, large drops falling onto Lüting's gradually fading yet contented face. Seeing his brother's lips move slightly, as if he wanted to say something, he quickly leaned down to his lips, and heard Lüting say haltingly:
“You, you and I… brothers… since childhood… were betrothed to Her Highness as husbands… when we were little… we always argued, always argued… cough cough… who could win her favor more…”
Too much blood welled up in his throat, and he coughed repeatedly with every few words he uttered, instinctively swallowing to suppress the blood gushing from his mouth and nose. Hong Liao cried and begged him to stop, but he insisted on continuing, panting, "Now... I... I... cough cough! To die protecting Your Highness... wouldn't that... surpass you? What about you?"
Hongliao nodded frantically, tears welling in her eyes, while her other hand haphazardly wiped the powder from his face. She stared intently at his features, so strikingly similar to her own, not wanting to miss a single expression. Lüting then gave a faint smile.
He struggled to turn his eyes, casting a final, lingering glance at Yuan Mingqiong, but she immediately turned away as if burned, refusing to meet his gaze. Lüting's eyes dimmed, like a flower that had bloomed to its fullest and then withered, gradually losing its luster. Her hand fell heavily to the ground, and she remained motionless.
Feeling the body in her arms grow colder and colder, Hongliao burst into tears, her heart filled with unbearable grief.
The cries echoed in the empty hall, and everyone was filled with mixed emotions, unable to bear to watch any longer. Only Yuan Mingjin kept a close eye on Hong Liao's movements out of the corner of her eye. Seeing that Hong Liao had taken in the whole scene between Lü Ting and Yuan Mingqiong, her fists clenched tighter and tighter, blood slowly seeping from between her fingers, and her brows gradually hardening, Yuan Mingjin knew that this matter was not yet over.
The dancer's hands and feet were already bound by the imperial guards. Knowing that he could not escape death, he made a desperate attempt to bite off his tongue, but Yuan Mingjin grabbed his chin and dislocated it, and temporarily detained him.
A sticky, uncomfortable sensation came from his palms; it was the still-dry blood that had bound his skin and flesh together. Some of the blood was from Lü Ting, and some was his own. Blood and grime still lingered between his nails, and the stinging pain in his palms made Hong Liao's mind even clearer.
He gently laid Lü Ting's body flat, then suddenly crawled forward on his knees and kowtowed heavily to the emperor: "This sinner is willing to tell you the whole story, and hopes that Your Majesty will at least spare Prince Su's life."
Spare her life; that would be doing right by Lüting.
Yuan Mingqiong, who had been in a daze, snapped back to reality upon hearing this and instinctively shouted, "Shut up!"
She turned to the head of the table and said urgently, "Your Majesty, do not believe the nonsense of this treacherous commoner!"
The red smartweed stood still, waiting for the emperor to speak.
When he saw Su Aoshuang's distraught state upon learning of Su Yutang's fate, he only felt sympathy; but when Lüting breathed his last in front of him, the anger and grief in his heart were no less than that of Su Aoshuang.
If Yuan Mingqiong hadn't wanted to have it both ways, bringing both Jiuyao and Tianyuan under her control, he and his younger brother wouldn't have had to leave their hometown at such a young age and set foot on this unfamiliar land to serve her.
Lü Ting would never die to protect her, and in the end, he was discarded by Yuan Mingqiong like trash, who wouldn't even spare him a glance before he died.
Su Yutang was also a child he watched grow up... Yuan Mingqiong's appetite is too big, and who knows how many people will have to die to pave the way for her to ascend the throne.
He didn't want her to take any more lives.
"Prince Su, why are you in such a hurry? Zuo Yan wasn't brought by you, so why are you stopping him from speaking? After I've heard his testimony, I will make my own judgment and I certainly won't wrong you."
The emperor gave her a deep look and said to Hong Liao, "Speak."
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The author notes: "When a dynasty prospers, the people suffer; when a dynasty falls, the people suffer even more." This is adapted from Zhang Yanghao's poem "Mountain Slope Sheep: Reminiscing on Tongguan," the original of which did not include the "even more" part.
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