Chapter Nineteen: The Empress's Blade
Some say that the most unpredictable thing in the world is the human heart. Therefore, those who are good at manipulating people's hearts never trust them.
In March of the first year of the Chunxi era of the Daxing Dynasty, the twenty-year-old Crown Princess Li Mengxi turned the tide and ascended the throne, becoming the first female emperor. At that time, due to the years-long struggle for succession, the royal family was in ruins and everything was in disarray, while the Tibetan and Turkic peoples were also eyeing the throne. Although the empress had ascended to the supreme position, she was young and her ministers were powerful, so she was not only constrained at every turn, but also had to be constantly on guard, and she could not sleep peacefully even if she worked hard day and night.
Although the Daxing Dynasty was not harsh on women, this was the first time a female emperor had ascended the throne. If it weren't for the fact that after the succession struggle, only the seventh princess, Li Mengxi, remained of the legitimate bloodline, she, a woman, would never have been chosen to rule. Even so, the court officials were abuzz with discussion. Many old scholars and stubborn conservatives quoted extensively from classical texts, and some even carried their own coffins to their deaths in protest, all to prevent a hen from crowing at dawn.
Fortunately, thanks to the strong opposition of the former Grand Chancellor, Old Master Ye, Li Mengxi was able to rise from the Seventh Princess to the Crown Princess, and then to become the Empress. Sadly, Old Master Ye later fell seriously ill and passed away shortly afterward. Without his support, the Empress was left walking on thin ice.
But hardship and adversity have shaped you. The Empress was not a weakling, but a woman of great ambition and unwavering resolve. After biding her time and overcoming the initial predicament of being surrounded by enemies, the Empress demonstrated her formidable governing abilities. She established special imperial examinations to recruit talented individuals from across the land, knowing how to appoint the right people to the right positions; she emphasized agriculture, reduced taxes and corvée labor, ensuring the people had a place to live and work; she improved water conservancy, dredged waterways, and prevented disasters for the benefit of the people.
After several years of recuperation, the Empress began to unify the north and south with an iron fist, and established the Court of Judicial Review, directly under the Emperor and independent of the Six Ministries. Some say that the Court of Judicial Review was actually the Empress's eyes and ears to monitor all officials, so the position of the head of the Court of Judicial Review was of paramount importance, as it could have far-reaching consequences.
Therefore, several years ago, the Empress secretly adopted various orphaned girls and sent her trusted confidants to teach them poetry, literature, and archery, selecting the most talented among them to enter her secret camp. After undergoing rigorous training within the camp, they were then sent to the Court of Judicial Review. Mu Lian was one of the most talented among them.
Actually, the secret envoy originally responsible for adopting the orphan girl didn't initially favor Mu Lian. This was because Mu Lian was covered in sores and barely clinging to life, collapsed at the entrance of the charity hall. But when the guards inside tried to carry her away and abandon her, the ten-year-old, thin, and weak Mu Lian suddenly displayed a powerful vitality, clinging tightly to the guard's leg, refusing to let go no matter how much he beat or scolded her, even after finally fainting.
Upon hearing this, the envoy's eyes lit up. Such a resilient orphan was rare, so he took the then-dying Mu Lian in and dispatched the best physicians to treat her, ultimately saving her life. Three years later, Mu Lian had completed her studies at the charity and was selected to join the secret service. After two more years of grueling training in the secret service, she was finally selected to serve in the Court of Judicial Review.
Entering the Court of Judicial Review is a completely different world. Not only do you need to be more steady and accurate, but you also need to be more ruthless.
Mu Lian had forgotten how she felt when she was first ordered to raid and exterminate a family. She only remembered that the bright red, steaming blood stained the entire courtyard, turning the once winding and secluded corridors and painted bridges into a mottled mess, mixed with the twisted face of the white-haired old man who died with his eyes wide open. It was more than just a tragic scene.
Even more striking were the young faces—children and women alike. Yet, one by one, they fell to the blades of the soldiers. After the initial shock and terror of witnessing vibrant lives vanish under their own swords gradually subsided, Mu Lian's expression returned to its blankness, as if nothing and no one could control her emotions anymore. She knew she was merely a blade in the Empress's arsenal, a blade used to kill, a blade used to eliminate dissidents. But she had no choice but to be that blade.
That night, Mu Lian's dreams were filled with blood. A beautiful, delicate young lady from an official family, one moment gracefully moving, the next her head severed from her body, leaving only a blood-red half-bodied figure standing abruptly before Mu Lian. And a chubby, adorable toddler, a few years old, rolled over, his large, bewildered eyes staring at Mu Lian, as if trying to remember her as the executioner. Even though Mu Lian hadn't killed him with her own hands, she had become, in the child's eyes, a devil more terrifying than an executioner.
"It wasn't me, it wasn't me, it wasn't me..." That night, Mu Lian didn't know how many times she cried out in her dreams. But she knew that her sins could never be atoned for.
After a serious illness, Mu Lian became even more silent than before. When she returned to the Court of Judicial Review, she saw her mortal enemy, Yun Shan, who had come out of the Dark Camp with her.
"The position of head of the Judicial Office has always been held by the capable. If Miss Mu is too weak, then I might as well give it to her..." That day, the sky was high and the clouds were light, the wind was gentle and the willows were swaying. Yunshan, dressed in a brightly colored casual outfit, leaned against the pillar in front of the Judicial Office's main gate, blowing on her bright red fingertips, her eyes full of mockery.
Mu Lian's expression remained unchanged, but her grip on the sword hilt tightened. She couldn't lose her position as the head of the Judicial Office. Therefore, no matter what, she couldn't back down, nor could she lose.
A fierce and exhilarating battle ensued. Mu Lian, not yet fully recovered, had her left arm pierced by Yun Shan, but Mu Lian slashed Yun Shan's face, from her right cheek to the corner of her lip. Originally, Yun Shan was perfectly capable of defeating Mu Lian that day; if she had taken just one more step, she could have killed Mu Lian with a single sword strike. But her love of beauty stopped her.
As crimson blood streamed down Yunshan's cheek, the woman who had screamed leaped up, no longer caring about the enemy before her in her terror, and fled at top speed. Presumably due to the severity of her injuries that day, Mu Lian never saw Yunshan again after that.
Watching Yunshan's hasty departure, Mu Lian, leaning on her sword and panting, smiled. "When you know your opponent's weakness, you'll definitely be able to defeat her."
In terms of actual strength, Mu Lian was inferior to Yun Shan at the time, after all, Yun Shan had honed her skills in the Dark Camp for two more years than Mu Lian. However, Mu Lian dared to fight recklessly, risking her life for beauty, while Yun Shan would not. In the heart of the beautiful Yun Shan, beauty came first, and even life could be secondary.
Later, Mu Lian secured her position as the head of the Judicial Office. Known for her swift and decisive actions and expertise in criminal justice, she quickly became a notorious female official in the Great Xing Dynasty. It was said that she was eight feet tall, with a head as large as a bucket, a face with fangs and a gaping maw like a blood basin, who took pleasure in eating children. She also had a penchant for interrogating men, wielding several "soul-terrifying knives" with unparalleled skill, castrating male prisoners without batting an eye, thus earning her the infamous reputation of a lewd and cruel she-devil.
From then on, whenever the people of Kyoto mentioned Lord Mu, the head of the Judicial Office, they would all feel insecure and remain silent. If no one had seen the true face of this head of the Judicial Office, Mu Lian would probably have been killed many times over by righteous and indignant people.
"It's alright, this is fine too..." Mu Lian responded calmly after hearing the descriptions and rumors circulating in Kyoto.
Since I am merely a blade, a blade belonging solely to the Empress who kills without blinking an eye, then I shall distance myself from the lives of ordinary people. A cold blade needs neither, nor deserves, its own emotions.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com