Keep your mouth shut
The Emperor felt even more ashamed upon hearing this, but the clan leader sighed and said, "It's good that you're innocent! I've heard that Pei Yuanli's wife was once the Chief Justice, a notorious 'Delicate-Handed Yama,' ruthless and cruel. Even men who fall into her hands would suffer a fate worse than death. Pei Yuanli's daughter is now a member of the Eastern Palace Flying Phoenix Guard, highly respected in the Jianzhang Army, and known as the 'Twin Heroes of Bow and Spear.' If you have any dealings with him, these two women will certainly not let you off the hook afterward."
Upon hearing this, the Emperor shuddered and said, "Are all women in the Southern Dynasty this formidable?"
The clan chief seemed to recall something and said calmly, "It wasn't like this before. In the previous generation, there was only one Empress Shangguan. In this generation, it seems that all the capable women have emerged. If the men of a country are not lustful and do not regard women as livestock or property, but as people like themselves, then the women's situation will naturally be better."
A Qiu had a feeling that this topic might displease the clan leader, so she immediately changed the subject and asked, "What kind of agreement did you reach with Pei Yuanli?"
Princess Wansui bit her lip and said, "He guaranteed that we could go straight into the Southern Dynasty's palace and get the opportunity to dance in front of the emperor, and I agreed to help him assassinate my brother."
The hall was so quiet that even the crackling sound of burning wood could be clearly heard.
As A Qiu was trying to figure out who this "brother" she was referring to was, Wan Sui quickly said, "Of course, whether or not we really assassinate him is up to the clan leader. Pei Yuanli doesn't know about our relationship with the brother; he only knows that I'm an assassin from the Hidden Moon Clan. If we take action to eliminate the brother, it won't implicate him or any other Southern Dynasty person. It'll be clean enough."
Before A Qiu could figure out who this elder brother was, the clan chief slowly said, "Even if we kill Chong Yu, the Shuofang army will not come into our hands. The north will only become more chaotic, which will not benefit us."
Upon hearing the name "Chongyu", Aqiu was already utterly shocked.
To everyone's surprise, Princess Wansui's elder brother was actually Li Chongyu. No wonder Li Chongyu included her in the Kucha music and dance troupe and sent her to the Southern Dynasty court as a tribute.
But judging from the tone of Princess Wansui and the clan leader, even Li Chongyu was someone they could kill, it just depended on whether it was necessary.
Princess Wansui's face showed shame again. She bowed and said, "It is all because of Your Majesty's incompetence. After entering the Shuofang Army as a musician and dancer and getting close to my brother, I had no chance to gain military power and influence."
A Qiu's heart skipped a beat. In that case, the true mission that Princess Wansui shouldered was similar to her own. The only difference was that she had received much help from Gu Yi, the Four Stars of Heavenly Secrets, and even Consort Chen along the way, while Princess Wansui had been fighting alone and repeatedly encountered setbacks.
Princess Wansui likely felt that she could not advance her position in the Shuofang Army, so she made the decision to offer herself to the Southern Dynasty in the hope of making a breakthrough abroad.
The clan leader said gently, "Remember, what I want is the Shuofang Army, not Li Chongyu. As long as you can present the Shuofang Army to me intact, I don't care what method you use."
Princess Wansui shuddered again and said, "Then, Your Majesty should try to enter the palace and gain the Emperor's favor, and use your influence to force your brother to rebel." After a moment, she showed a resolute expression and said, "If that doesn't work, I will assassinate the Emperor during the dance performance. Even if that fails, it will still enrage the Emperor and implicate my brother, because I am the one he presented."
The clan leader said calmly, "In that case, not only will you not survive, but Chongyu will not survive either. The Shuofang Army will only fall apart."
After a moment's thought, she said, "Why don't you do as Pei Yuanli wishes and set up an assassination plot on his way back to the northern border after his audience with the emperor? He doesn't have to die; just make him believe that it was the southerners who wanted him dead."
Princess Wansui nodded in agreement, and the clan chief said meaningfully, "Actually, this was originally the wish of the Southern people. We just facilitated it and added fuel to the fire."
At this moment, A Qiu was almost certain that the matter of the Han brick and the matter of the Qianji Powder were both created by the Yinyue Clan Chief. His purpose was to make Li Chongyu completely break with the Southern Dynasty. At that time, the Shuofang Army would no longer have the Southern Dynasty regime south of the Yangtze River as an ally. Surrounded by enemies, it would have no choice but to seek refuge with a certain branch of the Hu tribe.
Then the clan chief sighed, “The more uncivilized and barbaric a place is, the lower the status of women. Even if you can marry Chongyu and become the wife of the Marquis of Guannei, the military power of the Shuofang Army will not fall into your hands. Look at Pei Yuanli, even after he died, the Jianzhang Army still has his daughter, the ‘Twin Heroes of Bow and Spear,’ to take over. This is the benefit of a stable transfer of power.”
A Qiu stared wide-eyed in disbelief as Gu Yi lowered his voice and said in her ear, "The Hu people have many customs that violate human ethics, such as brothers and sisters marrying each other. Moreover, in my opinion, these two may not even be born of the same father and mother."
Even if it were, according to the clan leader's wishes, she might not care.
Princess Wansui said in a voice barely audible, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty would like to ask the clan leader a question."
Amidst the fading, incense-scented mist, the woman known as the clan leader stood up and turned around.
It was a face that bore a striking resemblance to Princess Wansui, yet possessed a greater maturity and depth. Her equally deep, dark green eyes, like jewels, reflected a chilling brilliance, exuding a captivating charm.
In the blink of an eye, A-Qiu immediately closed her eyes to prevent the other person from sensing her gaze.
The clan leader said calmly, "Your Majesty, you used to simply carry out my orders without asking any questions. Why are you raising this issue today?"
Princess Wansui dared not meet his probing gaze, lowered her head as if she had gone through a fierce internal struggle, and finally raised her head and said: "Aunt Miao... has always truly cared for us, so why must you want her dead?"
The clan chief casually said, "She is from the South."
Princess Wansui looked speechless upon hearing this. The clan chief calmly said, "She is not only a Southerner, but also the only Southerner who knows the details of Chongyu's background. With her dead, only we know the secret of Chongyu's background, and the Han generals like Chu Mao will definitely keep it a secret for Chongyu, so that he can secure the position of Marquis of Guannei passed down by Li Mingyuan."
She continued leisurely, "Moreover, she not only died, but she died from the Southern Dynasty's royal poison, the 'Qianji San'. It is said that before and after the incident, some Southerners even visited her. What do you think Chongyu will think when he learns of this?"
A Qiu knew that the "Aunt Miao" mentioned by the Emperor must be Hu Miaorong, and his heart was filled with shock.
First, the Han Dynasty bricks that his deceased father had painstakingly collected and gifted to the Southern Dynasty were found by someone in the streets and markets. Then, Hu Miaorong, the only one who knew the secret of his origins, died from the poison of the "Traction Powder". In addition, there was the old grudge of General Li Mingyuan's death in battle. No matter how rational Li Chongyu was, he could not help but feel angry.
Princess Wansui hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but stopped herself. After a moment, she said, "Perhaps because we were both from the same musical and dance troupe, she was the kindest person to you in the Shuofang army. This time, our musical and dance troupe came south with the army. Although military orders were strict, there were occasional instances of soldiers touching our sisters inappropriately. It was Aunt Miao who strictly ordered them to stop and also made us sit in the same carriage as her, thus avoiding all kinds of humiliation."
Upon hearing this, the clan leader's expression relaxed slightly, and he said, "Then she has lived up to my kindness in sparing her life back then."
She said calmly, "When she was given to Li Mingyuan, she should have died. But Li Mingyuan was very smart. He knew I would not let him go, so he never got close to her. As soon as he arrived at Xueyang Pass, he immediately gave her to that woman to be a maid. That's how her worthless life was saved."
She said coldly, "Otherwise, just because she was a woman given to Li Mingyuan by the emperor of the Southern Dynasty, she would have died a thousand times over by my hand."
Princess Wansui finally couldn't hold back any longer and spoke in a pleading tone: "Didn't the clan chief once say that for the survival of the tribe, we use men and men use us, and there's no room for sentimentality between us? So why are you being so demanding of my brother's father?"
A Qiu had already turned his neck to glance out of the corner of his eye to avoid meeting the clan leader's gaze.
She now has a general understanding of the practices of the mysterious Hidden Moon Clan. No wonder they hide their identities in Jianzhang, but their business is brothels where they make a living by selling smiles.
But the clan leader suddenly turned away, seemingly unwilling to meet the princess's serious gaze. After a moment, she said, "Of course, it's because he's different."
Unlike the previous weary and stiff tone, this sentence was filled with an intense and unyielding sadness, like the desolation and bleakness of the setting sun on the grassland after the snow melts away.
She said calmly, "He is the only one who has ever rejected me. Since the reason he rejected me is because he has a wife, then he cannot have any other women besides his wife. Otherwise, I will kill them all. This is our agreement."
Princess Wansui stepped forward and said in a trembling voice, "But Your Majesty has also been rejected by many men. I have never felt the need to restrict their interactions with women, nor have I had any interest in managing it."
The clan leader was stunned for a moment, then smiled with a hint of self-deprecation: "So you see, it's still because he's different."
Princess Wansui suddenly said softly, "I want to know, in the clan leader's heart, are my brother and I different?"
At this moment, A Qiu understood her feelings very well. Perhaps both she and her fellow disciples, at a certain age when they still respected their elders and worshipped power, had all thought of asking their master: In your heart, am I special?
That was the yearning for recognition during my growing years.
Later, whether they were special enough no longer needed anyone's verification. The three halls of Lanling Hall stood in a tripartite balance: the master of the Divine Weapon Hall, "Jing Ke" A Qiu, shocked the entire Southern Dynasty by challenging thirteen states at night; "Jade-faced Marquis" Gongyi Xiu served as the Left Prime Minister of the court; and "Long Night Flying Eagle" Mo Yi Mingyue monopolized the water and land transportation across the north and south of the Yangtze River.
The desire for affection transforms into a calm self-examination of values.
If it's useful, then it's special. If it's useless, then asking this question is superfluous.
Therefore, none of them ever asked their master this question; while they were friendly to each other, they also secretly competed with each other.
A Qiu suddenly wanted to know how the clan leader would answer Princess Wansui's question. And what gave Princess Wansui the audacity to ask the clan leader such a question? After all, a princess who had repeatedly failed and relied solely on her self-proclaimed status as an exiled princess was incomparable to Li Chongyu, the Marquis of Guannei who held considerable military power and ruled a region.
The clan leader's face, which bore a striking resemblance to the Princess Wansui, was obscured by the rising smoke, and her voice became faint and distant.
Yet it carried a hint of sadness and clarity that were hard to conceal.
She said softly, "You'll understand this when you sit in my seat."
Gu Yi suddenly whispered in A Qiu's ear, "Go!"
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