Chapter 42 Kill Order
As night deepened, only a dim palace lantern remained in the inner hall of Guanju Palace.
Su Luoxue finally succumbed to the weariness of pregnancy and fell into a deep sleep under Yuwen Che's rhythmic pats, her breathing becoming even and long. Yuwen Che sat on the edge of the bed and quietly watched over her for a while, making sure she was sound asleep. Then he very gently tucked her in, his movements very tender, and leaned down to gently kiss the corner of her eye.
He stood up, gestured for Fuling, who was guarding the outer room, to be quiet, and whispered, "Take good care of her. If the Imperial Concubine wakes up, send someone to report immediately."
"This servant obeys the decree," Fuling replied hastily, bowing deeply.
Yuwen Che glanced at the sleeping face on the bed, his eyes gentle and full of love. But as he turned and stepped out of Guanju Palace into the cold night wind, that tenderness was instantly replaced by a chilling majesty. His figure in the black dragon robe stretched long under the palace lanterns, each step carrying an undeniable power.
He did not ride in the imperial carriage, but walked to the Hall of Reflection. Li Dehai carried a lantern and followed silently behind, while a group of guards accompanied him at a distance, not daring to disturb the emperor's contemplation.
Inside the Hall of Political Thought, the lights were bright, yet the space felt empty and somewhat desolate.
"All of you, step back." Yuwen Che's voice rang out in the hall, devoid of any emotion. "No one is to approach within a hundred paces of this hall."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Li Dehai did not hesitate at all, bowed and accepted the order, and quickly withdrew with all his attendants, personally closing the heavy palace door behind him.
Only Yuwen Che remained in the hall. He stood with his hands behind his back before the massive map of the Great Zhou territory, his back as straight as a mountain. He didn't turn around, but spoke softly, his voice low but clearly echoing in the empty hall: "Come out."
As soon as he finished speaking, as if a gentle breeze had blew through the candlelight, a dark figure appeared silently not far behind him. The newcomer was shrouded in black, even his face was hidden in shadow, revealing only a pair of emotionless, icy eyes. He knelt on one knee, his movements clean and swift, without making a sound.
"Master." The guard's voice was hoarse and low, as if he hadn't spoken in a long time.
Yuwen Che slowly turned around, his gaze sharp as he looked at the guard: "The matter of the Shen family is not yet settled."
"Please give your instructions, Master."
"I do not believe that the Shen family can be wiped out so cleanly." Yuwen Che's voice was as cold as ice. "Issue the order: send out all the people in the Shadow Pavilion who can move. Search carefully, dig three feet into the ground, and find out if there are any Shen family members who have escaped. Regardless of gender, age, or where they are hiding."
He paused, each word dripping with bloodthirsty intent: "Find them, kill them immediately. I don't want any survivors, no interrogations, I just want them to disappear completely. There must be no remaining threats, understand?"
"Yes!" The guard answered without the slightest hesitation, as if continuing the pursuit after the extermination of nine generations was a matter of course. "I will carry it out immediately and leave no loose ends."
Yuwen Che nodded slightly, satisfied with the efficiency of his secret guards. This was a force he had secretly cultivated among the common people before his ascension to the throne, called the "Shadow Pavilion." They recruited orphans of impeccable character and exceptional talent, yet without any ties to the world. Through inhumanly brutal training, each one possessed extraordinary skills, proficient in assassination, espionage, and infiltration. They were loyal only to him, Yuwen Che, serving as his sharpest and most concealed blade, monitoring the court and the country, investigating foreign secrets, and handling those "troubles" that couldn't be made public.
"Keep a close eye on the recent movements in the court, especially those who have kinship or old friendships with the Shen family," Yuwen Che continued, "and report any unusual activity, even the slightest hint, immediately."
"Yes, ma'am."
“Furthermore,” Yuwen Che walked to the imperial desk, his fingertips tracing the smooth surface, “keeping a close eye on the news that Consort Chen is pregnant with twins. See who is getting restless. I want to take this opportunity to remove all the thorns in the side in the palace.”
"Understood. We have already dispatched more capable men to infiltrate among the servants outside Guanju Palace to ensure absolute safety."
"Very good." Yuwen Che waved his hand. "Go."
"Yes." The guard, just as he had come, swayed and disappeared into the shadows of the corner of the hall, as if he had never been there.
Silence returned to the hall, broken only by the occasional soft crackling of the candlelight.
Yuwen Che walked to the window, pushed it open a crack, and the cold night wind rushed in instantly, blowing a few strands of hair on his forehead. He gazed at the deep night outside the window, his eyes sharp as a hawk's.
He knew all too well that the path to becoming an emperor was always paved with bones. Mercy towards enemies was cruelty towards oneself and loved ones. The Shen family had to be eradicated completely, and any potential spark of revenge had to be extinguished. For the absolute safety of Xue'er and his unborn child, he didn't care if his hands were stained with more blood.
The silence of the court officials today is merely a fear of his ruthless methods yesterday. Once they see an opportunity, those venomous snakes lurking in the shadows will bare their fangs once more. He must be even more ruthless, faster, and more decisive than them.
"Xue'er..." he murmured the name, a fleeting hint of tenderness flashing in his cold eyes. To protect this warmth he cherished as his life, he was willing to remain forever in this boundless darkness and bloodshed.
He closed the window, shutting out the chill from outside, and also shutting out the fleeting tenderness deep within his heart. When he turned away, he was once again the shrewd, ruthless emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
"Li Dehai," he called out.
The palace doors were immediately pushed open, and Li Dehai bowed as he entered: "This servant is here."
"By imperial decree, tomorrow at the morning court, I wish to discuss... the reform of the Grand Canal system." Yuwen Che's voice returned to its usual calm and dignified tone, as if the dark conversation that had just decided the lives of countless people had never happened.
"Your servant obeys the decree," Li Dehai replied, understanding that His Majesty intended to use this opportunity to divert the attention of the court officials and at the same time warn those who might harbor illusions.
As night deepened, the lights of the Sizheng Hall burned until dawn. Unbeknownst to anyone, on this very night, countless invisible shadows had quietly dispersed from the capital to all corners of the land, carrying out the emperor's most ruthless and secret orders. A more covert and thorough purge targeting the remaining forces of the Shen family had quietly begun.
A hundred miles outside the capital, a dilapidated mountain god temple lay like the crouching remains of a colossal beast in the night. The cold wind howled through the broken doors and windows, making a mournful sound.
Inside the temple, the flickering campfire illuminated several still-shaken faces. Leading them was a middle-aged man dressed in a silk jacket, resembling a steward—Shen Fu, the steward of a collateral branch of the Shen family. Beside him were three ragged, pale-faced children, the oldest no more than ten years old, the youngest only five or six. They were all distant relatives of the Shen family, whom he had risked his life to rescue during the horrific massacre of their clan.
"Uncle Fu, I'm hungry..." The youngest girl tugged at Shen Fu's clothes, her voice weak.
Shen Fu quickly pulled out half a hard, flatbread from his pocket, broke it into pieces, and gave it to the children, leaving none for himself. He listened warily to the wind outside and whispered reassuringly, "Just bear with it a little longer. When it gets light, we can go further and find a safe place."
As soon as he finished speaking, the already dilapidated wooden door of the ruined temple was shattered instantly by an invisible force.
Eight dark figures, like phantoms blending into the night, stood silently at the doorway, blocking the only way out. They were shrouded in black, even their eyes hidden in shadow; only the weapons in their hands, reflecting the cold light of the campfire, revealed their purpose.
Shen Fu was terrified, and he quickly shielded the children behind him, his voice trembling: "Who...who are you? We're just refugees fleeing from war..."
The leading figure in black, the head of the Shadow Pavilion, didn't even bother to utter a single word. He simply raised his right hand slowly.
Without any warning, without even exchanging glances, the seven guards behind him moved.
Their movements were faster than the naked eye could perceive, as if the night itself possessed life and killing intent. There were no shouts, no footsteps, only the slight hissing of clothes cutting through the wind and the sharp whistling of weapons slicing through the air.
"No—!" Shen Fu only had time to let out a short scream before a dark light flashed across his throat. His eyes widened as he stared in disbelief at what lay ahead, his body limp and he collapsed, blood gushing out and staining the withered grass beneath him.
Almost simultaneously, the other three guards clearly targeted the three children. Before the children could even feel fear, the cold blades had precisely severed their lives. Their small bodies stiffened for a moment, then fell silently into pools of blood, their faces still showing confusion.
The entire process, from breaking down the door to the end of the killing, took only two breaths.
The campfire still crackled, reflecting the tragedy that had just unfolded inside the temple. The eight guards stood silently, as if they had accomplished a trivial task, not even a drop of blood staining their bodies.
The leader of the Shadow Pavilion coldly swept his gaze over the four corpses on the ground, confirming that they were no longer alive. He made a simple gesture—clean it up.
Two guards stepped forward and skillfully pulled a small porcelain bottle from their robes, pouring the pungent liquid inside onto the corpse. Accompanied by a chilling hissing sound, the body began to rapidly dissolve, turning into yellowish liquid that, along with the clothing, seeped into the soil, leaving only a few dark stains and a faint, fishy stench in the air.
Other guards carefully inspected every part of the temple, erasing all traces of their presence, including the scattered footprints near the campfire.
Moments later, the mountain temple returned to its previous desolation and deathly silence, as if no one had ever been there, and as if that brief, brutal massacre had never occurred. Only the lingering stench in the air proved that life had just been completely wiped out.
The leader of Shadow Pavilion turned around expressionlessly, and the eight black figures once again disappeared into the boundless darkness outside the door, as if they had never appeared.
The night wind still howled, passing through the empty temple gate, swirling up a few withered leaves, and covering the newly turned soil with its unusual color.
Yuwen Che had just finished reviewing the last memorial and put down his vermilion brush. The hall was brightly lit by candlelight, illuminating his cold and stern profile.
A dark figure, like a shadow blending into the candlelight, silently appeared in the hall and knelt on one knee.
"Master, the abandoned temple, 120 li southwest of the capital, has been cleared of Shen Fu, the steward of the Shen family's branch, and three young children. Nothing has been missed." The guard's voice was flat, as if he were reporting a routine official business.
Yuwen Che picked up the warm tea beside him, his eyes showing no emotion.
"Yes. Continue the search, expanding the scope to all prefectures. Anyone connected to the Shen family bloodline, regardless of their distance, shall be killed without exception."
"Yes." The guard acknowledged the order, his figure flickered, and he disappeared again.
Yuwen Che set down his teacup, his gaze sweeping across the deep night sky outside the window. He didn't need to know the process, only the result. The hatred of wiping out nine generations of a family, if it backfired, would threaten the entire Great Zhou royal family. It might even lead to the downfall of the country. Any hidden danger that might threaten Xue'er, the future imperial heir, and the survival of Great Zhou, he had to eradicate in the most thorough way.
His mercy had already been exhausted in the mountains of corpses and seas of blood on the eve of his coronation.
The flickering candlelight inside the palace cast the emperor's lonely yet powerful shadow onto the cold palace walls.
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