Chapter 95 The Death of Lady Xue [Detection revealed that the character [Qin Jin] has appeared...]
The Death of Xue Rongyue
The night was as dark as ink, not a ray of light could penetrate. The rain had been falling for two hours, initially just a sparse, cold drizzle, but now it was gradually turning into a downpour, extinguishing the torches that had been lit.
The last candle flame under the eaves was extinguished in the drifting wind and rain. Layer upon layer of dark clouds pressed down on Chang'an City, as if they wanted to tilt down. Raindrops rushed down, pounding on the armor. Accompanied by a bolt of lightning that struck down from the sky, the dark mass of imperial guards stretched along the long street was illuminated.
"General!"
Suddenly, the sound of galloping horses came from behind, and a person came rushing through the rain. The sound grew closer and broke the dead silence.
Startled, the wild cat let out a piercing scream, leaped off the wall, and quickly disappeared into the night.
The young man sat high on his horse, holding the reins in his hand. His upright figure was like a sharp, cold sword drawn from its sheath, immovable as a mountain, standing straight in the wind and rain.
"speak."
The man dismounted, bowed respectfully, and reported: "His Majesty has ordered a search of the General's mansion, the arrest of Xue Xiude, his sons, nephews, and personal guards, and the imprisonment of all female relatives and servants in the mansion pending further orders."
Large raindrops slid down the tip of his nose, the heavy armor bearing the repeated pounding of the raindrops. Qin Jin opened his eyes, his gaze darker than the boundless night.
He raised his head and looked at the once glorious lintel, his eyes devoid of any emotion, like a cold sculpture.
"General?"
The newcomer called out softly.
The cold rain fell softly on the boy's unruly and wild brows. He slowly closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, the sharp, cold light in his eyes was no longer concealed.
Qin Jin gave the order in a deep voice: "Advance!"
The unified response immediately resounded through the rainy night, like sharp drumbeats, instantly drowning out the muffled thunder booming in the dark clouds, making listeners' hearts pound.
The imperial guards stationed in front of the Xue residence's gate were like a dark cloud pressing in, advancing straight in. The gatekeeper, who had already been subdued, immediately knelt down upon seeing this, cowering to the side and trembling.
The seemingly peaceful and vast Xue mansion suddenly descended into chaos.
Like a boulder thrown into water, it stirred up a huge wave, and cries of alarm, pleas for mercy, and shouts broke the silence of the rainy night.
The servants gasped in alarm, cowered in fear, and huddled together, kneeling down amidst the shouts of the Imperial Guards, not daring to raise their heads.
Upon hearing the news, Xue Xiude's adopted son and personal guards rushed over, but before they could even hurl insults, they were captured by the Imperial Guards.
The other guards, seeing this, felt uneasy and panicked. They tried to turn and run away, even attempting to use their knives to hurt someone, but their necks were severed by swords that came first. Their eyes widened, and their bodies fell limply to the ground.
With a loud clang.
A heavy tray crashed to the ground, spilling its exquisite wines and fruits all over the floor.
The rich and fragrant aroma of the wine could not mask the tension and bloodshed that the storm was about to break. Grapes, densely packed like pearls, fell to the ground and were quickly crushed into mud by the chaotic and panicked footsteps. Amidst screams of terror and unease, the rain washed away the blood, which spread and flowed away.
A sudden storm lashed the courtyard, the green trees were so disturbed that their branches and leaves drooped down and covered the ground. A large, perfectly round pearl fell from somewhere and rolled down the bloody water to the side of the conspicuous corpse in the courtyard.
The precious items of the past are now completely ignored.
Exquisite ornaments, precious utensils, beautiful courtyards, meticulously cultivated flowers, majestic artificial mountains, lush old trees... These objects, once used to display status, are now broken, smashed, scattered, and overturned, all bearing witness to the decline that has come upon the Xue family.
What lay before them was no longer exquisite, bright, and grand, but rather a scene of utter devastation. The horrified screams that echoed through the rainy night became the most terrifying sounds.
After an unknown amount of time, a pair of black boots stepped over the once lofty lintel, treading through the blood, and slowly came to a stop in the chaotic courtyard.
The torrential rain splashed and washed over the once bustling Xue Mansion, which was no longer as magnificent as it once was.
No one dared to look directly at the imposing, unstoppable figure in the courtyard.
A stern rebuke accompanied by footsteps approached from afar. Qin Jin lifted his eyelids and glanced at Xue Xiude, who was bound by the Imperial Guards and had a face full of anger.
He was no longer as arrogant as before; the word "disgraceful" now firmly enveloped him.
"Qin Jin!"
Xue Xiude was furious, but his deep voice was not as arrogant as usual: "You are ungrateful! Have you forgotten the kindness I showed you in the past, forgotten the days when you and my son learned martial arts under my tutelage? How can you be so heartless and ungrateful!"
These roars were deafening.
Even though he had anticipated it, when the executioner's blade was brought before him, Xue Xiude was unwilling to accept this outcome.
Looking at the young man who had already shown his talent, Xue Xiude's eyes widened in anger, filled not only with fear and rage, but also with jealousy and apprehension that he himself was unwilling to admit.
He knew very well that the boy in front of him was no longer the helpless child who could be manipulated and smeared by them.
A year ago, Bian Shan invaded. Qin Jin led 3,000 troops, annihilated 10,000 enemy soldiers, captured over 1,000, and seized tens of thousands of cattle and sheep.
This was the battle that made him famous.
Months later, he appeared out of nowhere, leading his troops to a great victory over the enemy's royal camp, annihilating tens of thousands of enemies, capturing Bian Shan's eldest prince Aruda and generals Kranchi and Ruers, and seizing hundreds of thousands of cattle and sheep, thus driving Bian Shan out of the Molan area.
The enemy's head was severed by the blade, and blood splattered in the smoke of battle.
On that day, Qin Jin's name resounded throughout the borderlands, and even the endless yellow sands beyond the Great Wall remembered his name.
They tried every possible means to stop him from growing up, but in the end it was all in vain; they were powerless to do anything about it.
When the news of the victory reached Chang'an, the emperor was overjoyed, and the people cheered. When the emperor returned in triumph, he personally welcomed them, and the imperial guards bowed their heads. What a magnificent sight!
Qin Jin's reputation intimidated more than just the villains beyond the Great Wall. The old general, past his prime, had lost his fighting spirit. That day, looking at the arrogant young man sitting high on his horse, he couldn't help but take a step back, a deep sense of powerlessness engulfing his entire body.
How could he not be jealous? How could he not hate?!
......
Qin Jin's expression was indifferent as his gaze calmly swept over the courtyard, which was both familiar and unfamiliar. Unconsciously, a memory deeply buried in his mind resurfaced—
There was a time when he had climbed this old, leafy tree in the courtyard.
His footsteps could be heard coming and going at the end of the corridor.
His favorite pastries and meals were once laid out on the table inside the room.
His shadow once fell on the eaves as he looked up at the moon.
besides......
On the dressing table in a courtyard, there was a dazzling array of jewelry and precious stones that he had given to him.
......
The recollection was fleeting, leaving Qin Jin unmoved, at least outwardly. Finally, he looked at Xue Xiude's distorted face, his gaze remaining cold and distant.
He asked, "Do you still remember the evil you've done?"
In Chang'an, on the march, and on the way back to the capital, how many times did Xue Xiude's men try to kill him?
He's almost lost count.
How many feelings can withstand such erosion?
The Xue family is no longer the Xue family of my memory. At some point, he no longer admires Xue Xiude, and he no longer misses the Xue family.
The relationship between them is now filled with estrangement and hatred.
Xue Xiude clearly understood the implied meaning in his words. His expression changed drastically, his pupils contracted sharply, and beads of cold sweat slid down his forehead, making it difficult to distinguish whether they were rain or sweat.
Finally, he closed his eyes helplessly, his face filled with despair.
At that moment, a torrent of comments flooded in—
"Hilarious! Xue Xiude still has the nerve to ask? He's done a lot of harm to Qin Jin. Away from the Xue family, Qin Jin discovered that it wasn't raining outside at all."
"Did Xue Xiude really betray his country? He's the female lead's father. If he really did betray his country, what revenge will the female lead have left to take?"
"Besides the female lead and the young Xue Huaijin, there's no one else in the Xue family who's any good, especially Xue Rongyue. Don't forget Xue Rongyue when you're beheaded."
"Luckily, she caused trouble, so the female lead wasn't included in the Xue family genealogy, otherwise she would have been doomed too. Speaking of which, was Xue Rongyue also removed from the genealogy? Does that mean she won't have to die?"
"No, please let her die quickly. Qin Jin, hurry up and go to the Taoist temple to arrest her. She has caused Qin Jin a lot of trouble before, and almost killed him."
"It's actually quite satisfying to think about. Xue Xiude and Xue Rongyue committed evil deeds against Qin Jin before, and now they're going to fall into Qin Jin's hands."
"Qin Jin must hate her to death. Now that he's back for revenge, he will definitely not let her go."
"......"
"take away."
A calm voice announced Xue Xiude's fate, Qin Jin coldly commanded.
He then stopped looking at the hideous face in front of him, but as his gaze fell, he inadvertently glanced at the ground and noticed the pearl that had rolled to his feet.
Qin Jin was taken aback, his sword-like eyebrows furrowing slightly.
He felt the pearl looked familiar, then suddenly bent down, his long, slender fingers picking it up and examining it thoughtfully. An inappropriate thought popped into his head—
"I really didn't mean to break this jade hairpin."
"You think it wasn't intentional just because you say so? This is my favorite jade hairpin!"
"How about I compensate you?"
"don't want!"
"Not only the jade hairpin, but I'll also give you a box of pearls, okay? Didn't you say you were missing a pearl bracelet?"
"......real?"
"When have I ever lied to you? Don't be angry with me, just ignore me, okay?"
"If you can really compensate me with a box of pearls, I will forgive you."
"It's a deal!"
The blood was applied to the surface of the round, full pearl, silently seeping into Qin Jin's fingertips.
With his deep, dark eyes fixed on the pearl, Qin Jin's brow twitched suddenly, and a strange emotion surged up, stirring up a wave in his heart.
Qin Jin's fingers tightened suddenly as he held the pearl. Before he could figure out what this inexplicable emotion was, a strong sense of resistance welled up in his heart, as if some unseen decree forbade, that this emotion should not, could not, and absolutely should not appear in his heart.
"General, Xue Xiude's adopted son and his personal guards have all been captured, and the women have been imprisoned in the mansion. Only... only one person remains..."
"...Who is it?" "The Princess of Yong'an County."
Princess of Yong'an County.
As these four words fell, it was as if a thick fog that had been imprisoning my heart was lifted. Before an even stronger surge of emotions could rise, what appeared in my mind was a face that I hadn't seen in a long time.
Even though that face had been deliberately forgotten for a long time, it was still bright and beautiful when she suddenly remembered it. She seemed to smile and say, "Long time no see."
"haven't seen you for a long time."
Qin Jin muttered to himself.
His heart, which had been numb for so long, suddenly began to pound violently, and even his breathing became uneven. Qin Jin's brows furrowed, and confusion flickered in his eyes.
He placed one hand on his chest, as if trying to calm his suddenly wildly beating heart.
And countless memories, like snowflakes, fell without warning at this moment.
The sweet voice that often appeared in my dreams, sometimes clear and sometimes hazy, finally found its owner at this moment.
In a daze, Qin Jin suddenly realized with unease that when he was bound by rules and regulations, both visible and invisible, all those emotions—whether anger, sadness, embarrassment, or joy—were brought to him by the same person.
Why?
No one gave Qin Jin this answer; all he could hear was the sudden, frantic pounding of a heart.
"General?"
Receiving no reply, the subordinate slowly raised his head, only to be stunned.
What made a general who faced millions of enemy soldiers without fear on the battlefield turn pale?
[Upon testing, the character [Qin Jin] has once again shown a risk of going out of control and must now be corrected.]
A cold, mechanical voice suddenly rang out, sweeping across every corner of the world. Under its influence, all the countless characters in this world, like puppets on strings, were put on pause.
—The long wind has stopped.
—The raindrops stopped.
—Birds and sparrows hang.
—All things are silent.
After that resounding sound, which echoed across the earth yet remained unheard by anyone, the surging emotions that were outside the established norms, shouldn't exist, and were churning wildly within my heart, were immediately stripped from my body.
Qin Jin's complexion returned to normal.
He glanced at the unremarkable pearl in his hand, then casually tossed it into the arms of his subordinate: "What is Your Majesty's decree?"
"His Majesty has ordered the extermination of the Xue family and has already stripped Xue's wife of her title of 'Princess of Yong'an County' and deprived her of her annual stipend."
Qin Jin strode towards the outside of the mansion, and upon hearing this, casually said, "Then capture him."
"yes!"
The night outside Chang'an was even deeper than inside the city. On Mount Qingheng, the wind blew incessantly and the rain poured down. A silver snake of lightning ripped through the darkness, illuminating the solemn Imperial Guards. In the heavy rain, the dark armor gleamed with a cold, hard light.
The Taoist temple stands atop the mountain, its candlelight flickering faintly in the wind and rain. The blue tiles are blackened by the night, and a few broken bricks hang loosely. The withered branches on the eaves drift uneasily in the gale.
The adjutant dismounted, his hand resting on the scabbard at his waist, and went to knock on the door.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
A heavy knocking sounded on the door.
Footsteps, mingled with the sound of rain, approached from afar. Just as the door opened a crack, before the young Taoist could cautiously ask a question, the guards, who were also standing by, forcefully kicked the door open. Immediately afterward, the guards and imperial guards swarmed in, rushing into the Taoist temple amidst shouts of alarm to arrest the young man.
"General Qin."
Cao Mingyu spurred his horse forward and smiled slightly at Qin Jin in front of the Taoist temple, saying, "Are you also here to capture the Second Mistress of the Xue family?"
Raindrops slid down Qin Jin's cold and stern face one after another. He slightly curled his thin lips and said noncommittally, "It seems that Lord Cao is the same."
“Ms. Xue is involved in two murder cases. I arrested her and imprisoned her on His Majesty’s orders,” Cao Mingyu said.
"Is that so?" Qin Jin's expression was indifferent, his eyes devoid of any emotion. He simply said, "That's quite a coincidence. I was also acting on His Majesty's orders."
Cao Mingyu laughed and said, "Then let's see who catches the person first tonight."
The rain poured down harder, but it couldn't quell the restless unease. Soon, the Imperial Guards and the Enforcement Division who had gone inside to capture Xue Rongyue rushed out one after the other, their expressions grave. They were holding someone in their arms, but it wasn't Xue Rongyue.
"My lord, Lady Xue is not at the Taoist temple!"
"General, Lady Xue has escaped!"
The Taoist priest who was brought up was shocked and knelt down tremblingly: "Reporting to you two gentlemen, just a quarter of an hour ago, Madam Xue was still in the Taoist temple. Who knew that she would disappear without a trace."
Not only was the Taoist priest brought out, but all the belongings left behind by Xue Rongyue in the house were also searched out and thrown on the open ground.
Qin Jin's gaze swept across the room, and his subordinate reported, "The tea inside is still hot. Presumably, Xue fled in haste after hearing the commotion. We have surrounded the front gate of the Taoist temple, leaving no way out except the back gate, which leads to the back mountain. Please give us your orders, General, to pursue her."
Qin Jin withdrew his gaze, flicked the riding whip in his hand, and nodded slightly.
Meanwhile, Cao Mingyu went inside to investigate and indeed found Xue Rongyue's whereabouts and direction. He quickly walked out, bid farewell to Qin Jin, mounted his horse, and chased after her towards the back mountain.
Perhaps he was in too much of a hurry, because a portrait slipped from Cao Mingyu's sleeve, but he was unaware of it and rode away.
The portrait was swept up by the wind and drifted down to Qin Jin's feet like a withered yellow leaf.
—The person in the portrait is Xue Rongyue.
That was a wanted poster drawn up to capture Xue Rongyue.
The painters in the Guard Bureau were of mediocre skill; they could only roughly depict the outline of her facial features, but could not clearly reveal her spirit.
The paper fluttered lightly onto the muddy ground, and large raindrops rushed down, wetting the already indistinct face in the portrait in the blink of an eye, gradually blurring it.
As Qin Jin gazed at the increasingly blurry portrait, his fingertips gripping the reins turned white, yet he remained unable to look away.
He lost his composure again.
That unidentified emotion, which had just been stripped away, surged back and spread throughout my body.
[Upon testing, the character [Qin Jin] has again shown a risk of going out of control and requires further adjustments.]
Soon, Qin Jin slowly loosened his grip on the reins, and his expression returned to normal.
He idly fiddled with the reins in his hand.
The unwanted ripples were nipped in the bud once again, and everything seemed to have returned to its previous calm.
Hearing the commotion coming from the back mountain, the horse beneath me became restless and reared up.
As he lowered his eyes, the portrait, now so blurred it was unrecognizable, once again drew Qin Jin's attention.
His body stiffened abruptly.
He began to frown.
He began to bow his head.
He began to examine the portrait intently until his heart tightened, until the face of a certain person reappeared clearly in his mind.
[Upon testing, the character [Qin Jin] has again shown a risk of going out of control and requires further adjustments.]
......
After an unknown amount of time, Qin Jin's rapid breathing finally gradually calmed down.
The portrait was completely destroyed by the rain and mud, and its original appearance could no longer be seen. Qin Jin's gaze returned to its usual indifference, and he did not linger on the muddy area when he glanced at it.
Outside the Taoist temple, there was a pear tree. After the ravages of the long winter, its branches were withered and it was about to fall. It was thought to have become a dead tree, but with the spring breeze, it was reborn and regained its vitality.
It was the season, and the pear blossoms were in full bloom. Although the night wind was howling and the rain was relentless, causing the pear blossoms to fall one after another, their fragrance remained.
Lifting his eyelids, Qin Jin seemed to smell the fragrance and looked at the lonely pear tree, its branches and leaves knocked off in the wind and rain.
He stared blankly, and as he stared, for no apparent reason, his heart suddenly ached.
[Upon testing, the character [Qin Jin] has again shown signs of becoming uncontrollable and has been corrected again.]
With a loud boom, a muffled thunderclap resounded in the distance, causing the ground to shake for a moment.
The cold wind was biting, and the rain became increasingly torrential, with dense raindrops seemingly trying to engulf the sky and earth.
It was the Taoist priest kneeling on the ground who first noticed something was wrong.
He stared blankly at the tall, upright young man in front of him, who sat on a horse, clad in silver armor, and as straight as a pine tree, his face paling with shock at the man's strange behavior.
He fell to the ground with a thud, a sense of horror washing over him. He didn't even know how to describe the bizarre scene before him.
Qin Jin's eyes shifted downwards, as if wound up, his neck bending inch by inch. He stiffly lowered his head, wanting to look at the pile of dirty, old rag doll that had been found in Xue Rongyue's room under the horse's hooves. But as soon as his gaze fell upon it, an invisible force seemed to force him to abruptly withdraw his gaze and raise his head.
However, the next moment, he once again mechanically and slowly lowered his head inch by inch, stubbornly trying to look at the doll, and then suddenly straightened his neck and raised his head, correcting the downward movement again.
But the next moment, he started to lose control again, repeatedly lowering his head...
Once, twice, three times, four times, five times...
Like a loose copper bell on the eaves, it swings halfway up and suddenly freezes, then repeats the swinging and falling motion over and over again.
It was as if the mechanism of a mechanical puppet had broken, and the puppet twitched repeatedly in a series of jerks.
The night wind howled past, and the candlelight flickered dimly.
Torches were lit on the back hill, and faint voices drifted over on the wind, but they were not clearly audible.
The Taoist priest watched helplessly as Qin Jin repeatedly and mechanically lowered his head, then abruptly straightened it, repeating the process over and over.
His hands and feet were ice cold, and his heart was beating so fast that he couldn't even breathe.
[Beep!]
[WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!]
[Detection revealed that the character [Qin Jin] is severely out of control!]
[Detection revealed that the character [Qin Jin] is severely out of control!]
[Detection revealed that the character [Qin Jin] is severely out of control!]
【The character [Qin Jin] has broken through the character setting, awakened self-awareness, and cannot be corrected again!】The strings on the puppet were completely severed at this moment.
The next instant, the boy on horseback's expression changed drastically, his face filled with panic. He suddenly tightened the reins, the whip slicing through the rainy night, and the horse galloped wildly towards the back mountain like a broken arrow.
[Plot inconsistency!]
[Upon inspection, it was found that the main plot of the original novel has been altered! The death of Xue Rongyue has been changed!]
-----------------------
Author's Note: This chapter isn't actually finished in the outline; there's still a lot more to write, but I simply can't finish it today. *tears*
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