Chapter 44
The heavy rosewood door of the imperial study slid open silently, and the warm yellow candlelight that flowed out was like spilled golden liquid, instantly piercing the darkness of the corridor.
Gu Linzhi's pupils constricted, and his body instinctively shrank back, clinging to the shadow of the cold wall. The sharp edge of the ash short spear in his hand froze in the darkness, and his breath was instantly held. The poison in the wound under his ribs was simmering with the sudden tension, and the cold paralysis was like a poisonous snake awakening, biting at his tense nerves.
Inside the door, there was neither the emperor nor Cao Wushang as expected.
A thin, gaunt middle-aged official, dressed in a seventh-rank official robe with a heron-patterned pattern, stood with his back to the door, carefully placing several memorials into a nondescript rosewood box. His movements were meticulous, with the characteristic formality of a civil servant, as if he were simply carrying out his daily routine of filing documents. The heavy door seemed to block out the clamor of the warm room; the only sounds here were the faint hum of the burning candle and the rustling of papers as he sorted them.
It was Feng Mingyuan, the Hanlin Academy editor who took daily turns organizing the imperial study's documents and archives. A minor figure with virtually no presence in the turbulent court.
Feng Mingyuan seemed oblivious to the murderous intent lurking in the shadows outside the door. He carefully fastened the brass buckle on the box, lifted it, and turned to blow out the candle on the table.
Just as he turned around and was about to glance out the door—
Gu Linzhi moved!
It wasn't a pounce, it was an oppression! A dark figure stepped out from the shadows like a ghost, instantly blocking the doorway! The tall figure, carrying a bone-chilling murderous aura tempered by a sea of corpses and blood, pressed fiercely against the door like a tangible cold wave!
Feng Mingyuan was caught off guard, his entire body frozen in fear at the sudden appearance and terrifying aura! The briefcase in his hand dropped to the ground with a clang, and the memorials scattered all over the floor! His face instantly turned as pale as paper, his lips trembling. He stumbled back a step, his back slamming hard against the edge of the cold rosewood desk, shaking the pen holder on it. He looked up in horror, taking in the man's bloodstained, stone-cold face, especially those deep, cold eyes devoid of any human emotion. A short, startled gasp escaped his throat, like a chick being strangled.
"Gu... Prime Minister Gu?!" Feng Mingyuan's voice was shrill and twisted, filled with unbelievable horror. The Gu Linzhi before him, his black robe torn and bloodstained, his eyes like a wounded beast, selecting its prey. He resembled the legendary, powerful, cold-blooded Prime Minister Gu, but with an added madness and determination on the verge of destruction.
Gu Linzhi's gaze was like an icy iron clamp, locking onto Feng Mingyuan. He ignored his fear and stepped into the imperial study, closing the door silently behind him. As he moved, the sharp pain from the wound in his left ribs made his brows furrow slightly, but then a deeper chill covered them.
"Editor Feng," Gu Linzhi's voice was hoarse and low, like sandpaper rubbing against each other, each word carrying a strong smell of blood and unquestionable pressure. "I need you to do something..."
Feng Mingyuan trembled like a leaf in the wind, cold sweat instantly soaking his official robes. He stared at Gu Linzhi, the approaching figure, those cold eyes that seemed to pierce his soul. Fear threatened to overwhelm his sanity. He subconsciously tried to call for help, but his throat seemed blocked, and only a meaningless hoarse sound could be heard.
"The evidence is irrefutable that Cao Wushang colluded with the enemy and committed treason." Gu Linzhi stepped closer, his cold gaze sweeping across the scattered memorials on the ground before returning to Feng Mingyuan's pale face. "The deaths of seventy thousand heroes in the northern border and the bloody incident on the canal transport system in the south were all caused by this beast! Your Majesty... has been deceived for far too long!"
He pulled out the dark blue account book and his father Gu Chengzong's blood-soaked secret report from his pocket, and slammed them heavily on the desk in front of Feng Mingyuan! There was a dull "bang" sound!
"This...this..." Feng Mingyuan's eyes fell upon the glaring words "Youzhou Craftsman Workshop" and "Fine Iron Transported to the North" on the dark blue account book, as well as the blood-stained secret letter with familiar handwriting. His pupils suddenly constricted! As a Hanlin editor, he had been exposed to documents for years and was extremely sensitive to handwriting. He recognized it at a glance as the handwriting of the late Jingbei Army Commander Gu Chengzong! The despair and accusation between the lines were like a cold dagger, instantly piercing the last bit of his scholarly integrity!
Shock, fear, disbelief... were eventually replaced by a huge, heavy grief and indignation! He suddenly raised his head and looked at Gu Linzhi. His voice was still trembling, but there was a hint of something strange in it: "Minister Gu... you... what do you want me to do?"
"Tomorrow at the imperial court," Gu Linzhi's voice was unwavering, his cold eyes blazing with icy flames. "In the Golden Palace, before all the officials, present these two items, along with this—" He pulled the hardwood box from his bosom again, opened it, and revealed the black iron order with a chipped edge and covered in dragon scale patterns! — "Present them all before the emperor! Make a solemn appeal! Beat the drums! Shout out Cao Wushang's crimes, word for word, to this foolish court! Shout them to the whole world!"
Feng Mingyuan stared at the tattered black iron token, a symbol of immense power and boundless blood debt, and his body trembled violently! A bloody remonstration! Beating the drum of public opinion! This was a death-defying remonstration, risking his life and the entire clan! Once he set foot on the golden steps, there was no turning back! Success might earn him a place in history (or more likely, he would be beaten to death instantly); failure would mean his body being torn to pieces, and his entire family would be implicated!
A huge fear gripped him again, his face turned pale and his lips trembled even more violently.
Gu Linzhi seemed to see through his fear and struggle. He took a sudden step forward, almost face to face with Feng Mingyuan. His cold eyes stared intently at the other's evasive eyes. His voice was even lower, but it was like a hammer, hitting Feng Mingyuan's heart hard:
"Feng Mingyuan! You studied diligently for twenty years, entering the prestigious Hanlin Academy. What do you seek? To live a life of petty intrigue and depravity, mired in this filth? Or... to preserve a trace of righteousness, and carve your unbending backbone into the pages of history?!"
He suddenly grabbed Feng Mingyuan's cold and trembling hand and pressed it firmly on the dark blue account book and the blood-stained secret report! The cold touch and the bloody smell rushed into Feng Mingyuan's body like an electric current!
"The wronged souls of 70,000 Jingbei soldiers are watching! Ge Ping, Zhou Fu, those Cao Gang boatmen, those silenced postmen... their blood still flows in the canal!" Gu Linzhi's voice was like a cold wind from the underworld, carrying a power that could make one shudder. "This court can rot! This country can fall! But the sense of right and wrong in the hearts of scholars like me... cannot rot! Can't!!"
Feng Mingyuan's body suddenly froze! Gu Linzhi's words, like a red-hot iron, burned fiercely on his conscience, which was frozen by fear! He seemed to see the piles of bones of people who died of starvation and freezing in the snow in the north, the broken limbs floating in the bloody water of Black Rock Rock, and the miserable scene of countless small people being silently annihilated under the huge dark curtain... An indescribable sorrow and anger, mixed with the last bit of pitiful yet incomparably stubborn character of the scholar, broke through the frozen soil of fear like magma and erupted!
He clutched the account book and the bloody letter tightly with his backhand, his knuckles turning white from the force! A sickly, almost insane flush surged across his pale face! Turbid tears mixed with cold sweat rolled down his cheeks!
He suddenly raised his head and met Gu Linzhi's cold eyes. His voice was hoarse, but with a determination to burn his boats:
"Your subordinate...understood!"
---
The next day. Dawn.
Lead-gray clouds pressed heavily on the densely packed palaces of Shengjing. The cold wind blew up fine snow particles, which lashed against the cold vermilion lacquer and gold nails of the towering palace walls, making a monotonous and solemn sound.
The deep, long roar of the Jingyang Bell pierced the bitter morning mist, echoing one after another across the empty, cold Imperial Street and the numerous palaces. Civil and military officials, dressed in heavy court robes and arranged according to their rank, walked across the slippery, cold golden brick square, bowed their heads, and held their breath as they filed into the Golden Throne Hall, the symbol of supreme power.
Inside the main hall, towering gilded dragon-shaped pillars supported a caisson ceiling painted with auspicious clouds and cranes. The imperial throne sat high on the steps, beneath a low, bright yellow curtain. Emperor Zhao Yan, only ten years old, clad in elaborate, heavy imperial robes, his small body encased within the spacious throne. His face was pale, his eyes hollow, and he shifted restlessly with a nervousness and fear belying his age. Beside the throne, Cao Wushang, the eunuch holding the seal of the Imperial Household Department, dressed in a dark purple python robe, his face pale and beardless, stood expressionless, his hands lowered. His narrow eyes narrowed slightly, like a dozing venomous snake. His cold gaze slowly swept over the officials prostrating themselves below, a look of controlled indifference.
Three elderly cabinet ministers, their hair and beards white, held ivory tablets in hand. They stood before the officials, their heads bowed, like lifeless clay or wooden sculptures. The atmosphere within the hall was as solemn as a frozen lake, the only sounds being the heavy breathing of the officials and the whistling wind outside.
The tedious court rituals unfolded amidst a suffocating atmosphere. The various ministries and agencies filed out in succession to present their reports, their voices hollow and distant in the vast hall. Their reports were nothing but embellished rhetoric about peaceful rivers and seas, auspicious signs, and widespread peace. The young emperor sat on the throne with a vacant look in his eyes, seemingly unable to grasp the complexities of government affairs. His small hands unconsciously scratched at the cold scratches on the armrests of the dragon throne. Occasionally, Cao Wushang would glance up, and wherever his gaze caught the officials responding, their voices quickened, their heads lowered even further, as if icy water had poured over their heads.
Just as this sleepy, stagnant court meeting was about to end as planned—
“Bang!!!”
“Bang!!!”
“Bang!!!”
Three heavy, mournful roars, like the last beatings of a dying beast's heart, suddenly erupted from the far end of the square outside the palace! Instantly, they tore through the stagnant air within the Golden Throne Hall!
Someone struck the Dengwen Drum, a drum set up outside the Meridian Gate, which only the wronged people could beat and which could reach the ears of the heavens!
All the officials were in an uproar! They exchanged glances of uncertainty, their gazes all looking outside the palace! The young emperor, Zhao Yan, on the Danbi steps, was startled by the sudden loud noise and trembled all over. His face instantly lost color, and he looked at Cao Wushang beside him in horror.
Cao Wushang's narrowed eyes suddenly opened, and a sharp cold light flashed in his narrow pupils, like a venomous snake raising its head in fear! He tilted his head slightly and looked towards the palace door, his eyes sinister and cold.
"Who is making noise outside?!" An imperial censor came out and asked sternly, but there was a barely perceptible tremor in his voice.
The guards outside the palace rushed in panic, kneeling down and reporting in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty! It's...it's Hanlin Academy Editor Feng Mingyuan! He...he's holding a blood-written letter and account books, and he's banging the drum to report! He claims...he claims to have a terrible injustice, and he wants to make a bloody appeal to Your Majesty!"
"Feng Mingyuan?" "That nerd?" "Blood remonstration?!" The officials were in an uproar! Whispers surged like a tide!
Cao Wushang's face instantly darkened to the point of dripping water! His narrow eyes were filled with murderous intent as he glared at the Jinyiwei commander standing beneath the Danbi. Upon meeting his gaze, the Jinyiwei commander trembled, immediately drawing his sword and preparing to lead his men out of the hall!
"Let him in!"
A cold, hoarse, yet unquestionable majestic voice, like a cold wind from the underworld, suddenly rang out at the door of the hall!
Everyone turned around in horror!
Gu Linzhi's figure, like a Shura returning from hell, suddenly appeared between the huge, open doors of the Golden Palace!
He was still dressed in black robes, but they were tattered and stained with dried, black blood and mud. His face was as pale as paper, and the corners of his mouth still clung to traces of blood. Only his eyes, as cold as a thousand-year-old black ice, burned with an icy flame capable of incinerating everything! His robes were torn under his ribs, revealing the hideous bandages and the dark blue poison marks. Every step he took seemed to involve immense pain. His body swayed slightly, but with a resolute, earth-shattering aura, he stepped into the highest hall of the empire!
"Gu... Prime Minister Gu?!" "He's not..." Exclamations and gasps echoed one after another! All the officials retreated in terror, as if they had seen a ghost, leaving a messy sound on the golden brick floor!
Cao Wushang's pupils suddenly contracted! For the first time, a look of disbelief and horror appeared on his face! He stared intently at Gu Linzhi, who was approaching step by step, and the knuckles of his fingers pressed against his sleeves turned white from the force!
Gu Linzhi ignored the commotion and panic around him. His gaze, like two poisoned ice spikes, pierced through the crowd and fixed itself on the pale, trembling young emperor on the throne, and the livid, venomous eunuch beside him, the head of the Imperial Household Department.
He walked towards the throne step by step. Wherever he passed, the officials retreated in fear like a tide, leaving a wide, silent passage.
Just as he walked to the foot of the imperial steps and passed by the three senior cabinet ministers—
Gu Linzhi suddenly stopped. He slowly raised his hand and took something out from his pocket.
The black iron order with a chipped edge, covered with dragon scale patterns, and the word "Gu" engraved on it with iron painting and silver hooks!
In the dim light of the hall, the cold metal shone with a deep, reserved luster, yet heavier than the mountains! The incomplete character "Gu" was like an accusation condensed from blood and tears, glaring into everyone's eyes!
"Your Majesty!" Gu Linzhi's voice was hoarse, but it was like thunder, exploding in the dead silence of the hall. "Your Majesty, I am Gu Linzhi! Today, I dare to use this incomplete order. For the 70,000 loyal souls of the Jingbei Jingbei in the northern border! For the countless innocent souls who died in vain on the Jiangnan Canal! I ask Your Majesty three questions!"
He suddenly raised the black iron order, his eyes like knives, piercing the throne!
"A question for your majesty! Why did seventy thousand soldiers, fighting bravely to defend the border, lose their fodder and freeze to death in the icy valley? Is this an injustice of nature, or a man-made disaster?"
"Second question, Your Majesty! The Grand Canal, the lifeblood of our nation, is plagued by bloodshed and the flow of refined iron northward? Is it because the law has failed, or is it because of the infestation of termites?"
"Three questions, Your Majesty! Are all these nobles beneath this dragon throne your subjects, or... accomplices of the thieves who have usurped the nation?! Are the teachings of the sages echoing in this golden palace, or... the secret language of treason?!"
Every word was like a knife! Every sentence splattered blood! Like a raging wave, it fiercely crashed against the seemingly solid dam of the Golden Throne Hall! Officials' faces turned pale, and many felt their legs weaken, nearly collapsing to the ground! On the Danbi, the young Emperor Zhao Yan trembled with fear, tears welling in his eyes. He clutched the armrests of the dragon throne tightly, his small body curled up into a ball.
"Gu Linzhi! How dare you!" Cao Wushang finally reacted. His sharp voice was twisted with rage, like the cry of a night owl. "How can you deceive the people with your lies in front of His Majesty? Jinyiwei! Take this beast down!"
The Jinyiwei outside the palace woke up as if from a dream, drew their swords and rushed in!
"Let's see who dares to move!"
Gu Linzhi turned around abruptly! The Black Iron Order was held horizontally in front of him. His cold eyes swept over the rushing Jinyiwei, and it was as if the murderous aura in his eyes had nailed them to the spot in an instant! He then suddenly looked outside the hall and shouted sternly:
"Feng Mingyuan! Where's the evidence?! Why don't you present it?"
Outside the palace, Feng Mingyuan, clutching the blood-written account book, his face pale but his eyes determined, heard this stern shout, as if infused with his last bit of courage. He suddenly pushed aside the guards who were blocking his way and stumbled into the hall! He threw himself down at the foot of the imperial steps, holding high the dark blue account book and the bloodstained secret letter in his arms, his voice shrill, like weeping blood:
"Your Majesty! Your servant, Feng Mingyuan, risks his own life to speak out against Cao Wushang's collusion with the Northern Di, reselling military rations and smuggling refined iron. The evidence is irrefutable! This is the dying letter from General Gu Chengzong, the commander of the Northern Frontier! This is irrefutable evidence of Cao Wushang and Han Meng's dealings with the Youzhou craftsmen's workshop! Your Majesty, please review this! We will redress the injustice of the 70,000 heroic souls of the Northern Territory! We will rid the people of this evil!"
Blood letter! Account book! Gu Chengzong! Cao Wushang! Youzhou!
Every word was like a bombshell, exploding in the Golden Palace! Completely shattering the last trace of hypocritical calm!
Cao Wushang's face was ashen, his eyes filled with resentment that seemed to bleed! He stared intently at the bloody letter and account book in Feng Mingyuan's hands, then suddenly looked at Gu Linzhi who was pressing him step by step, and roared, "Slander! This is slander! Your Majesty! Do not listen to the crazy talk of these two people! They are trying to frame loyal officials and disrupt the government! Capture them! Capture them now!"
However, at this moment, the Jinyiwei were frightened by Gu Linzhi's terrifying murderous aura and the black iron order in his hand, which symbolized the special gift from the late emperor and allowed him to execute first and report later. They did not dare to step forward for a while!
Gu Linzhi stopped looking at Cao Wushang. He ascended the imperial steps, step by step, disregarding etiquette and the strict hierarchy, and walked directly before the trembling, tearful young emperor, Zhao Yan. He leaned over and slowly placed the cold, broken black iron token on the dragon table. A soft "dong" sounded, like the death knell of fate.
He looked at the crying child on the dragon throne with an extremely complicated gaze. There was compassion, disappointment, and overwhelming anger in his eyes, which eventually turned into a deep, cold silence.
Then, he turned abruptly, facing the officials of His Highness who were in complete confusion, terror, and deathly silence, and facing Cao Wushang, whose face was hideous and eyes filled with resentment. He used all his strength to let out a deafening roar, which echoed wildly under the huge dome of the Golden Throne Hall:
"Here is the evidence! Wronged souls behold! Today! I, Gu Linzhi, will, in this very Golden Palace, tear open this veil of darkness! Let's see who is hiding beneath the skin of this lavishly decorated room. Is he a human or a ghost?"
Amidst the roar, the wound beneath his ribs, sealed by the golden needle, suddenly burst open due to this extreme outburst of emotion and the release of power! Dark blue poisonous blood instantly soaked Xuan Yi's clothes, and a piercing numbness and excruciating pain erupted like a volcano!
Gu Linzhi's body shook violently, and his face turned pale in an instant, but he gritted his teeth and used the ash wood short spear to support his body, like a blood-stained monument nailed to the imperial steps. His cold eyes were still like an unyielding flame, burning this dirty hall!
Thunder and wind exploded in the Golden Palace! Blood splattered on the steps, and no one escaped!
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