Chapter 21: Death Knell
Upon learning that officials from the Tang Dynasty and envoys from Beiting had gone to visit the injured and express condolences, the people of Kucha naturally rushed to inform them and invited them into the palace.
The King of Kucha lay gravely wounded, breathing heavily on his couch. His entire body was covered in burns and bandages, and his condition was grave. The surrounding Kucha officials, both civil and military, watched their king in such a state, either with anxiety or secretly shedding tears.
Perhaps he knew that his condition was critical, and even with great difficulty, the King of Kucha still spoke with his dying breath, first calling out "Zhaojue". Everyone was filled with grief and could not bear to answer.
The Grand Commandant choked up and said, "The prince has... has died."
The King of Kucha knew that under such circumstances, the people in the palace would have had little chance of survival. Knowing the loss of his beloved son and the pain he was suffering, he felt a moment of numbness.
After a long while, he murmured again, "Where are Zhaotong and the others?"
"The two princes of the Western King... were both burned to death."
When Qiandeng entered the hall with the others, they heard only silence in the hall. The only sound was the heavy breathing of the King of Kucha, which echoed faintly in the hall and weighed heavily on everyone's hearts.
After a long moment, his weak, hoarse voice rang out again: "Among the royal family now... am I, am I the only one who still... has this old life?"
All the ministers and guards were in tears and silent.
The Grand Commandant knelt before the couch, tears streaming down his face as he said, "Only Princess Bai Zhaosu was near the palace gate and escaped the flames."
"She..." The King of Kucha obviously did not expect that this ominous daughter who had always been neglected and excluded would be the only survivor.
Naturally, everyone in the temple knew the reason why she was excluded from the outermost part of the temple, and they all remained silent.
No matter what, she was her biological daughter after all, and her only bloodline. The King of Kucha reluctantly moved his fingers and said, "Call... call her over..."
The eunuch beside him hurriedly said, "The princess is frail and has inhaled too much smoke and dust from the fire. I heard she's been unconscious. We will go there immediately. If she wakes up, we will bring her to see the king."
After the eunuch left, the King of Kucha gasped for a while and squeezed out two words from between his teeth: "Assassin..."
General Yuchi Yiyao quickly stepped forward and said, "The entire nation has dispatched its entire military force and is searching for him. However, the mastermind escaped from the city early this morning, taking advantage of the chaos. We are still searching for him."
Qiandeng lowered her eyes and said nothing, knowing that the so-called mastermind they were talking about was naturally her.
After all, there were witnesses and physical evidence, not to mention that the national teacher and the king personally testified against her, and everyone had already determined that she was the real murderer.
"Why...why...why would she do this to me...the Kucha royal family..."
Hearing the king's hoarse question, the Grand Commandant replied, "In my opinion, the Princess of the Tang Dynasty came here from the very beginning to avenge her grandfather. Even though we, Kucha, have treated her so well, it is still difficult to change her evil ambitions!"
Yuchi Yiyao said angrily, "Even before she arrived in Kucha, rumors were circulating among the people that if her grandfather had ascended the throne, the country might have produced another queen in her generation. Could it be that she, even though she is three generations older than me, still dreams of ruling Kucha, and is therefore killing people and attempting to destroy our Kucha royal family, hoping to seize this opportunity?"
Hearing this, the king's breathing became more rapid.
A few of the surrounding officials nodded, and some even said, "Sure enough, he has such a wolfish ambition. It's a great misfortune for our Kucha. How could we have such descendants?"
"If you all speculate like this, it may be a great misfortune for Kucha." Qian Deng couldn't help but refute.
Everyone turned to look and saw that she was thin and dressed like a Beiting soldier. They were confused about her identity and origins. Just as they were wondering why she suddenly spoke, they heard a weak but hoarse voice coming from the palace door: "No, the county lady's sister...she didn't kill us!"
The person who appeared outside the palace gate was Bai Zhaosu, who was supported by a palace maid.
She had obviously just woken up from a coma, and looked thinner and paler than usual. She was almost hanging in the maid's arms, and even her eyes were a little dazed.
But despite this, she still mustered up her courage and said the most resolute and loud words in her life so far in front of everyone.
"I was about to be burned to death, but it was my sister, the Princess of Datang County... She rushed into the flames and rescued me!"
When these words were spoken, the ministers were in an uproar.
The person who was just saying that Qiandeng was going to destroy the Kucha royal family had all the words stuck in his mouth.
Qian Deng could not have expected that at the critical moment, this weak and timid girl was the only one who stood up to defend herself.
General Yuchi's face turned grim as he demanded, "Are you serious, Princess?"
"Really!" Bai Zhaosu's voice trembled, but he was absolutely certain. "She appeared like a goddess from the Snow Mountain and carried me out of the sea of fire. I couldn't breathe at that time, but...but when I saw her face, I knew I was fine. I closed my eyes and knew nothing...When I woke up, I was lying in my own bed in the palace."
"Hmph, she killed the prince and the crown prince, yet she rescued you from the sea of fire?" General Yuchi didn't believe her testimony at all. "Princess, were you dizzy from the fire and hallucinating?"
"You're talking nonsense! The one who killed my brother and cousin wasn't the County Master's sister at all!"
Bai Zhaosu's little face flushed red. She was underdeveloped, her face looked childish, and her voice was like a child's, but the determination and determination in her eyes were the same as those of an adult.
Perhaps it was anger that gave her strength. She pushed the maid aside, stumbled to the bed in front of the King of Kucha, and knelt heavily with a thud: "Father, I remember everything that happened in the palace that day... Please allow me to tell you everything... everything I saw!"
In the silence of the room, the King of Kucha's panting voice faintly echoed: "Okay, tell me... tell me everything, make it clear..."
Just as they finished speaking, a heavy and long roar suddenly sounded in their ears.
The huge noise echoed through the Kucha Palace again and again, and seemed to hit their hearts. The deep sense of oppression made everyone's heart seem to be squeezed out of their chest.
The bell sound so close must be someone ringing the big bell hanging in the bell tower at the palace gate.
The bell is only rung for important national events. Now the king and his ministers are all here, who in the bell tower has the right to ring the bell?
General Yuchi jumped up and ran out of the palace first.
Other court officials also followed out to see what was going on.
Qiandeng and others hurried to the door of the hall and looked in the direction where the bell sound came from.
The Qiuci Bell and Drum Tower was built above the palace gate, with a ten-foot-square arched round pavilion built on each side of the palace gate, facing each other from a distance.
The large bronze bell in the clock tower was shaking and humming, obviously having been struck by someone and was still shaking, but no one was seen near the bell.
The Grand Commandant pondered the sound of the bell and blurted out, "Seven...it rang seven times!"
Hearing this, everyone looked at the bell, all shocked and angry, but they didn't dare to speak.
Outside the palace, on the crowded streets, wails and chaotic shouts could be heard: "The knell, it's the knell! The king is dead!"
Ringing the bell seven times is the ceremony for the death of a prince.
Now that the Kucha royal family had encountered a great disaster, the big bell in the palace rang seven times in a row. Naturally, everyone thought that this was announcing the death of the Kucha king.
General Yuchi was furious. He pointed at the bell tower and shouted, "Catch him! Let's see who dares to ring the bell without permission and disturb the people?!"
The guards rushed forward, ran quickly towards the palace gate, and poured up the steps of the gatehouse like a tide.
"I'll go and take a look, in case they play any tricks!" Ji Linyou said anxiously, and immediately ran up the steps of the palace gate and squeezed to the front row.
The soldiers pointed their swords at the only staircase leading down from the bell tower. General Yuchi shouted, "Who's up there? Come down!"
For a long time, there was no movement above, only the scorching summer afternoon wind whistling past.
The stairs of the bell tower go straight up and down, and you can see at a glance that there is no human figure above.
Ji Linyou couldn't help himself and shouted, "Go up and take a look!" and strode up the stairs.
Seeing that the Tang general had gone up first, General Yuchi was unwilling to fall behind and immediately led his men to rush up the stairs with him.
They climbed up the short twenty steps in just a few steps and stood on the bell tower.
However, the bell tower, which is ten feet square, is very simply decorated. It is called a tower, but it is actually just a small platform with ventilation on all sides. Four pillars support the arched roof, similar to a small pavilion.
There was no wall on the platform, let alone cabinets or other places to live. There was nothing on it except a large bronze bell hanging on the top.
But at this time the clock tower was empty. Apart from the big clock that was still shaking slightly, there was no one in sight.
The guards crowded on the stairs, looking at each other in disbelief.
Ji Linyou and General Yuchi, the two who rushed forward first, were even more surprised. They looked around and up and down, even looking inside the smooth body of the bell, but there was nothing.
The person who had just rung the bell in full view of everyone suddenly disappeared out of thin air when all of them rushed over.
"Impossible! There are so many people watching, and there's only one staircase. Where did that person go?"
Ji Linyou thought for a moment and pointed upwards. General Yuchi immediately waved his hand and ordered four soldiers to climb up four pillars to check the situation above.
The four of them climbed up together and reported together that there was not a single person, not even a bird, perching on the dome above.
This strange situation left everyone stunned and speechless.
When they rushed up and surrounded the bell tower, the big bell was still shaking and ringing, proving that the person who struck the bell was indeed still upstairs. How did he disappear the moment they went up the stairs?
Qiandeng looked at the narrow bell tower and couldn't help but think of the three sacred artifacts that disappeared out of thin air in the temple.
The sacred national treasure that mysteriously disappeared beside her, and the bell ringer who strangely disappeared under everyone's watchful eyes...
Is there any connection between the two?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com