Chapter Sixty-Two That Night (Part Two)
The Empress's gaze slowly swept over the scattered evidence on the ground, evidence enough to stir up a monstrous storm. Her face remained expressionless, eerily calm. Her unfathomable eyes showed no ripple as they swept over Mu Zhengqian's blood-stained secret letter, the chilling order to exterminate the entire family, and the glaring fragments of the dragon robe. It was as if all of this was within her expectations.
Time slipped away slowly in the suffocating silence. Only Mu Lian's suppressed sobs, intermittent and broken, tore at the deathly stillness of the night.
a long time.
The Empress finally moved. She didn't look at Mu Lian, who was kneeling and trembling violently, but instead slowly walked back behind her desk. She reached out, her long, slender fingers gently tracing the smooth, cool surface of the desk. Her movements were slow, carrying an air of effortless control.
"Someone come here..." The Empress's voice was not loud, but it clearly penetrated the thick barrier of the palace door, carrying an undeniable penetrating power.
The palace gates opened silently, and the commander of the Golden Guard stood outside like a javelin, bowing and awaiting orders.
The Empress's gaze fell on the scattered evidence, as if she were looking at a few unimportant old objects.
"deliver an imperial order."
Her voice was calm and even, yet it contained the power of thunder. Every word was like a hailstone, striking every corner of the empty hall and crashing down on Mu Lian's nearly broken heart.
"Firstly, Mu Lian, the commander of the Judicial Office, shall, immediately, take command of the Jinwu Guard and the Patrol Battalion inside and outside the capital, and control the Nine Gates Military Command."
"Secondly, I hereby order the chief officials of the Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Censorate to take my imperial edict and, together with the Vice Commissioner of the Judicial Office, immediately seal off the Prince of Ruyang's residence! No one may enter or leave the residence! All persons present shall be detained on the spot pending trial! Anyone who makes any unusual moves," the Empress's tone was flat, yet it revealed a chilling and piercing killing intent, "will be killed without exception."
"Thirdly, according to this list," the Empress's gaze swept over the list of henchmen on the ground, "arrest all the officials involved! Regardless of rank or relationship, their residences and government offices shall be searched and confiscated! All documents, letters, and account books shall be kept without exception!"
"Fourth," the Empress's gaze finally fell truly on Mu Lian, who was kneeling on the ground, her eyes deep and penetrating, with an all-seeing power, "Commander Mu, you personally lead men to 'invite' Prince Ruyang, Li Chong. Tell him that I am waiting for him at the Judicial Office."
"Your subject obeys the decree!" The commander's voice was resolute, carrying a chilling, metallic tone. Without hesitation, he bowed and accepted the order, quickly leaving the hall, his figure disappearing into the thick night. The heavy hall doors closed silently behind him, cutting off all outside sounds.
Inside the palace, only the Empress and Mu Lian, kneeling on the ground, remained. The ambergris scent that filled the air now carried a hint of iron and blood.
The Empress slowly rose, walked around the imperial desk, and descended the steps. The hem of her dark robe brushed silently against the cold, golden brick floor. She stopped before Mu Lian, looking down at the figure prostrate on the ground, trembling violently with a complex mix of overwhelming grief and the impending realization of revenge.
"Mu Lian..." The Empress's voice was deep, yet it clearly reached Mu Lian's ears.
Mu Lian's body stiffened abruptly, her sobs abruptly ceasing. She slowly, with immense difficulty, raised her head. Tears streamed down her pale face, her forehead swollen and red from the earlier kowtow, even faintly oozing blood. Her bloodshot phoenix eyes, now washed by tears, were swollen and red, yet astonishingly bright, burning with an almost destructive flame, fiercely meeting the Empress's unfathomable gaze.
The Empress gazed at her silently for a few moments, her eyes seemingly piercing through her skin, looking directly into the hatred and pain churning deep within her soul. Then, the Empress spoke calmly, her words striking Mu Lian like a thunderbolt: "Your father Mu Zhengqian's secret letter was not completely intercepted back then. A copy was delivered to the late Emperor's desk on the third day after the tragedy."
What?
Mu Lian's pupils suddenly contracted to their maximum size, and her blood seemed to freeze instantly. The late emperor already knew about her father's letter?
A tremendous shock, like a tidal wave, instantly overwhelmed her, even temporarily suppressing the bone-deep hatred. She stared incredulously at the Empress's calm, expressionless face, her lips moving, yet unable to utter a single word.
The Empress's gaze swept over the bloodstained original of Mu Zhengqian's secret letter on the ground. Her tone remained calm, yet carried a chilling coldness: "I know Li Chong's ambition better than you do. His cronies, his henchmen, his clandestine connections—the late Emperor had already kept detailed records of them on his desk, and I was already aware of them long ago..."
She paused slightly, her gaze returning to Mu Lian's face. A faint, yet chilling, glint finally flashed in her deep eyes: "However, a gentleman's revenge is never too late. Back then, I was not powerful enough to harm him. Now, I'm giving you this chance..."
The Empress's gaze passed through Mu Lian, looking towards the distant void. Her voice carried a faint, cold mockery: "My good brother thinks he's hiding himself very well. He thinks Liu Zhang's death is enough to intimidate others and cover everything up. He thinks I can't touch him, the prince personally appointed by the late emperor. Unfortunately, the time is just not right."
Leaning slightly closer, the Empress whispered in Mu Lian's ear, her voice low yet sharp as ice, each word piercing Mu Lian's very bones: "What I've been waiting for is tonight. What I've been waiting for is this knife you've personally presented, a knife that can nail him to the ironclad record of treason, leaving the world speechless. The blood of the Mu family will not have been shed in vain. I want the world to see the fate of those who plot rebellion, frame loyal officials, and slaughter ministers! I also want those lurking demons and monsters with ulterior motives to see clearly whose sky this Great Xing truly belongs to!"
The Empress straightened up, restoring her all-powerful majesty: "Now, take your sword, Mu Lian, and go to the Court of Judicial Review. I want to hear for myself what my good brother has to say."
Mu Lian knelt on the cold, gold-brick floor, the Empress's words echoing in her mind like thunderclaps. Her Majesty already knew? Her father's blood-written letter, the Mu family's injustice, even the Prince of Ruyang's boundless ambition… all of this was on Her Majesty's chessboard? And she, Mu Lian, and the blood and tears of her entire Mu family had become Her Majesty's sharpest pawn, waiting only for the opportune moment to deliver a fatal blow to the Prince of Ruyang?
An indescribable chill instantly overwhelmed the burning flames of revenge, shooting from her feet to the top of her head, making her feel as if she had fallen into an ice cave. A profound sense of absurdity and the chilling feeling of being used gripped her, almost suffocating her. Her solitary courage in seeking revenge for her family, her humiliating and long-term infiltration, her life-risking nighttime investigative report and accusation… all seemed so insignificant, even laughable, before the cold, calculating machinations of an emperor?
However, when the Empress uttered the resolute words, "The blood of the Mu family will not be shed in vain," and when the declaration, "What will be the fate of those who plot rebellion, frame loyal officials, and slaughter ministers?" swept in with overwhelming pressure, another, more intense emotion suddenly overwhelmed that brief chill and absurdity.
Yes, she was a pawn, the Mu family's bloodline was the bargaining chip. But so what?
As long as Prince Ruyang can die, be disgraced, be ruined forever, repay the blood debt of 132 lives of the Mu family, and comfort the spirits of her parents and relatives in heaven, Mu Lian is willing to be the sharpest knife and the most fearless pawn on the chessboard!
"Yes." Mu Lian kowtowed again, her forehead slamming heavily against the hard ground with an even deeper thud than before. This time, she didn't hesitate at all; her voice was hoarse yet carried an almost frantic resolve, as if she wanted to pour all her grief and strength into this one word, "Your subject—obeys the decree!"
She struggled to her feet, swaying slightly from the prolonged kneeling and the overwhelming emotional shock before regaining her balance. She didn't even glance at the evidence on the ground—someone else would take care of that. She simply took one last, deep look at the unfathomable emperor on his throne, then abruptly turned away.
The figure in black, carrying an overwhelming stench of blood and the chill of the night dew, charged out of the Zichen Palace like a bolt of lightning tearing through the darkness, heading towards the final judgment ground—the Court of Judicial Review.
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