Chapter 83 The old joke about a sea of fire has come true today.
In the tenth month of autumn in the sixth year of the Jingtai reign.
Prince Jingbei led his elite troops in secret to the outskirts of Luoyang. At that time, the eastern gate was undefended. Inside the capital, Empress Dowager Ning held absolute power. Upon hearing this devastating news, the court immediately dispatched additional guards. However, the Imperial Tutor was in a deep coma, and the officials were leaderless. They hastily engaged in battle. Moreover, Prince Jingbei's army was a seasoned veteran, and their offensive was relentless. By the time of Gengyin in the eleventh month of winter, the capital had fallen, just over twenty days after the siege began.
That night, the palace crumbled and the sounds of battle shook the heavens.
The once meticulously cared-for floral wonders are now trampled beyond recognition by the fleeing palace servants. The night wind howls, and the winter air is cold. Empress Dowager Ning Feifei strolls into the palace, waving away her trusted attendants, and goes alone to the inner chamber.
On the bed, Imperial Tutor Ning Hong was pale and seemed to be half asleep. The imperial physicians had tried many methods, but to little avail. Whenever Ning Feifei heard these reports, she felt extremely pleased.
The inner room was empty, the candlelight flickering, illuminating her pale and distorted face. "My brother is still asleep, so I dared to speak my mind."
"Little sister... without her brother's protection, it's really hard to get by."
Although the current young emperor, Yuan Xu, is her biological son, he was born posthumously to the late emperor. In the past, with her elder brother Ning Hong from the same clan around, everything was still peaceful. But once he fell, these wolves and tigers revealed their fangs, and everyone wanted to take a piece of flesh from Ning Feifei.
On the bed, Ning Hong looked listless, his eyelashes trembling slightly.
Empress Dowager Ning, who had been watching closely, immediately tidied her hair upon seeing this and said softly, "Brother, you're awake?" Seeing the person on the bed slightly open their eyes, the smile on her lips deepened. "Brother, do you know that the Prince of Jingbei's troops have breached three city gates, leaving only the main gate..."
However, the main gate will probably be open tonight.
Ning Hong reacted for a moment, his heavy breathing sounding as if he were about to die. "Your Majesty... how are you?"
"Your Majesty?" Empress Dowager Ning smiled. "Xu'er is extremely dependent on me, so naturally he stays by my side."
She spoke vaguely, as if sighing, and said, "I thought that at such a crucial moment, you would ask Consort Yue first."
Thinking of this, Empress Dowager Ning suddenly felt a bit of a wicked sense of amusement. If her brother found out that this man was already dead, with only a few close confidants still fleeing and hiding, how would he react?
If he hadn't been poisoned, would he have made some kind of "backup plan" for this woman?
Empress Dowager Ning stared intently, not missing a single change in the expression of the person on the bed.
This time, Ning Hong remained silent for a long time before saying, "You should protect His Majesty first..."
"Go out?" Empress Dowager Ning picked up the soup bowl that her confidant had placed on the table to the side, and gently stirred it. Instantly, the dark medicine in the bowl rippled, and in a moment, it clearly reflected the coldness and hatred on her face again. "Where in the world can I go?"
She gazed at the older brother she had admired since childhood, her eyes churning with a complex mix of emotions—devotion, resentment, and a kind of madness driven to its breaking point. "You always thought I should, I should do this, I should do that...!"
"Brother, you can control yourself and know what to do, so why do you expect others to do the same?"
Empress Dowager Ning's tone softened, and she stated bluntly, "Xu'er is not cut out for this."
"You... aren't either."
Since she had gone down the wrong path, it was best to destroy it completely, so as not to leave any traces, to watch the new victors, or... She watched with her own eyes her brother, whom she had admired for many years, fall in love with someone else.
If one dose isn't enough, then add more.
"Brother, please drink your medicine." Empress Dowager Ning's eyes were lowered, the crimson nail polish on her fingertips as striking as blood. "Once the situation stabilizes..."
Halfway through her lie, Empress Dowager Ning suddenly fell silent. Ning Hong, without hesitation, took the bowl and drank it all in one gulp.
He seemed exhausted after making that movement, and gazed at her silently.
Empress Dowager Ning instinctively tensed up, but after a few breaths, the other party began to cough violently. Moments later, black blood gushed from his throat. Ning Hong seemed to have expected this, and his expression remained unchanged.
"Cough cough... If this can put your mind at ease and spare His Majesty's life." After saying this, he needed to catch his breath for a while, clutching his throat, but to no avail, the bleeding intensified.
Empress Dowager Ning's eyes held a hint of tears mixed with a fierce glint. She staggered to her feet, took a few steps back, and distanced herself from the two.
After a long while, his brother's hoarse words slowly reached his ears, heavy as a thousand pounds.
"I...have no regrets."
No regrets?
What a truly unregretful spirit!
In an instant, flames suddenly erupted inside the hall, and the raging fire, aided by the wind, quickly consumed everything around it.
When Jiang Xu's iron cavalry broke through the last line of defense, they found charred beams and broken pillars. Ning Hong's body and the remains of Consort Yue, Qin Shi, were all found. Empress Dowager Ning sat alone on the steps, lost in thought, with a sea of fire behind her.
......
At midnight, Jiang Xu stood somewhere in the palace, looking down at the palace that had just submitted to him. The air was filled with a heavy smell of blood and burning. Empress Dowager Ning's confidants, under her orders, had set fire to a large number of buildings. Two hours later, the fire was still not completely extinguished, and thick black smoke billowed and twisted, spreading to the horizon.
The cold moon hung high in the sky, seemingly dimmed by the thick smoke.
Empress Dowager Ning herself has been imprisoned. Minister of Personnel Pei Sheng had already retreated hastily withdrew with a portion of his clan upon receiving word of the situation. The rest of the clan was powerless to resist. With the army before them, and blades stained with blood, no one would dare to step forward now. The lessons of the past served as a warning to others, and an eerie calm had settled over the entire palace.
Although the young emperor is nowhere to be found, he is nothing more than a stray dog, and the capital city of Luoyang is now completely under our control.
Needless to say, history books are always written by the victors, and tonight will likely be another glorious page in the annals of history.
Logically speaking, Jiang Xu should be extremely pleased at this moment, but for some reason, as he looked at the still-burning sea of fire and listened to the howling wind, he felt a sense of indescribable depression and irritability.
Perhaps this victory was something he had planned for a long time and was bound to be his sooner or later; or perhaps fate had been kind to him, and it came too easily, making it all the less satisfying.
Jiang Xu's mind was churning with thoughts, and he couldn't explain why for a moment. He simply shook off that inappropriate emotion and said in a deep voice, "Clean up the battlefield, eliminate the remaining forces, and keep them under strict guard. I will make my own decision in the future."
"Yes!" The subordinate general accepted the order and left.
Jiang Xu finished giving detailed instructions, ensuring nothing was overlooked. As soon as he turned around, a strange sense of urgency welled up in his heart.
He wanted to go back to the outskirts of Luoyang, to the place where he had imprisoned Shi Wan.
*
On the other hand, Shi Wan, having made up her mind, would no longer hesitate or waver.
Several days ago, after she handed the complete letter to Caiyue and the others, she had been patiently waiting. The letter contained everything she needed to tell them, revealing her entire plan.
Although Jia Yun was indeed Aunt Zeng's daughter, she was ultimately one of Consort Yue's people. The other party was very likely her biological mother. However, the two had not seen each other for many years, and Shi Wan assumed that she was dead. She took advantage of the opportunity to find her so quickly.
With their own thoughts in mind, the two planned for about ten days and everything was ready.
Jiang Xu was busy fighting on the front lines, and even the number of people guarding her was less than when she was stationed at the border.
Seeing that Jia Yun was becoming increasingly agitated, Shi Wan concealed her thoughts and said, "I know that you have many connections in Luoyang City to help your mistress. Once things are settled tonight, I will tie that token to your body as a sign of sincerity. That way... if it's close to you, the soldiers guarding outside won't notice it so easily."
Jia Yun felt a little uneasy at this moment. Upon hearing this, she did not suspect anything and said seriously, "There is still no news from Her Majesty. It seems that things are not peaceful in the palace tonight. After the deal is completed, I will have to sneak into the palace later tomorrow."
Remembering Caiyue and the others' instructions, Shiwan nodded and replied.
Caiyue once mentioned that a man from her hometown named Qiao Zuyi possessed extraordinary abilities. He could unlock chains and, if he rolled himself in special materials beforehand, he could move freely in fire for quite some time. To avoid suspicion, Jiang Xu specifically ordered his men to choose a location on the outskirts of the city, with a thicket of bushes and weeds behind it. Although it was winter, the diverse plant species planted around the capital were still quite lush.
Once the fire starts, we can slip away under Jia Yun's arrangement.
but......
Coming to her senses, Shi Wan took off the token. After wearing it for so long, the token was no longer cold. Instead, it had absorbed some of her own body heat, not much, but warm enough.
"Do you have any relatives still alive?" Shi Wan suddenly asked.
Jia Yun looked puzzled, but seeing Shi Wan's pale face, she guessed that she might be about to do something like that. Feeling nervous, she told the truth, "That's all."
The two have some history. Now, although Aunt Zeng has passed away, Jia Yun is still willing to tell the truth: "I was born to live for my master."
"If my master were to die one day, or no longer need me, then my life would come to an end."
Shi Wan's expression was complicated, and she remained silent for a moment.
After a few brief pleasantries, a commotion broke out outside. Jia Yun was startled and looked puzzled. "It seems like it's still a little while before the agreed time to set the fire..." Before she could finish speaking, a sharp pain shot through the back of her neck, and she fainted the next moment.
Oil was spilled on the ground, and what was just a tiny flame instantly flared up, engulfing most of the house in the blink of an eye, and spreading to the weeds behind it, burning fiercely.
A banging sound came from the doorway. Upon seeing this, Shi Wan immediately took off her clothes and most of her jewelry, and quickly put them all on Jia Yun.
Then, together with Joe Zui, they left quickly without looking back.
......
*
The sky was as black as ink, pitch black.
The wind was strong tonight, howling, and the sight of flames soaring into the sky was strikingly similar to the scene of the palace being burned down more than two hours ago.
"Where did the fire start...?" Jiang Xu demanded sharply, his voice carrying a strange tension that he himself was unaware of.
Beside him, the guard's voice trembled slightly, "Your Majesty, it's... in the western suburbs of the city."
The western suburbs of the city?
Wasn't that the place where he ordered Shi Wan to be moved and imprisoned a dozen days ago?
Without a second thought, Jiang Xu immediately whipped his horse, and the horse neighed and thundered, breaking through the night and galloping madly toward the fire.
A cold wind blew, and the sleeves of his robe fluttered in the wind. At this moment, the man's dark eyes clearly reflected an almost out-of-control panic and ferocity.
They sped along, the fierce wind howling, swirling up dust and sparks that lashed at Jiang Xu's face.
He spurred his horse and galloped wildly. The closer he got to the outskirts of the city, the sharper the inexplicable fear in his heart became, as if it were about to burst out of his chest.
Looking into the distance, the area was completely engulfed in flames, with the raging fire relentlessly devouring the beams and pillars, producing crackling and popping sounds.
Fueled by the wind, the fire soared into the sky, illuminating half the night sky in a blaze that rivaled even the grandeur of the imperial palace.
"Your Majesty! The fire ahead is too fierce, it's dangerous!" The guards who had followed behind shouted urgently, trying to stop him.
However, Jiang Xu seemed not to hear him. He lashed the horse's rump with his whip, and the horse, in pain, sped up even more, rushing straight to the gate where flames were raging.
The heat wave hit us, almost burning our skin, and the sounds of collapsing buildings and roaring flames filled the air.
"...Where is she?! Where are the people inside?" Jiang Xu suddenly pulled on the reins, his horse's hooves rising high. He roared at the soldiers who were frantically trying to put out the fire but were being forced back by the flames. His voice was hoarse from the urgency and smoke.
One of the guards knelt down in a panic: "Your Majesty, please calm down! The fire started too suddenly, and the wind is too strong; it's completely out of control! Our men have tried to rush in several times, but they just can't get in!"
"Can't get in?" Upon hearing this, Jiang Xu immediately dismounted, pushed aside the person kneeling in front of him, grabbed a bucket of water and poured it over his head, soaking his robes, and made as if to rush into the sea of fire.
The wind howled, and a guard, seeing this, tearfully pleaded with him, "The fire is so fierce, going in is almost certain death! You bear the weight of the nation's safety on your shoulders, and you are about to seize power. How can you risk your life?!"
However, Jiang Xu could not hear the surrounding voices at this moment. His rationality returned, and he belatedly realized that Shi Wan was dead.
Whether it was suicide or assassination, whatever the reason...
Suddenly, Jiang Xu thought of their last meeting before coming to Luoyang.
At that time, he wanted Shi Wan to die.
Jiang Xu felt a sudden, sharp pain in his chest, and in an instant, he vomited blood.
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Author's Note: This will be split into two chapters; I can't handle it on weekdays [crying emoji]
If there are any typos or other errors in the text, please feel free to point them out. I will gradually correct them after it is finished QAQ (bows)
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