dead end
The next morning at court, the ministers who learned of Yue Xiao's capture of Hecheng were all furious and cursed Yue Xiao, the instigator.
"Outrageous! How dare that brat Yue Xiao commit such a rebellious act! He shall be torn to pieces!"
"Yue Xiao harbors treacherous intentions, and Heaven and Earth cannot tolerate him. We humbly beseech Your Majesty to issue an edict to execute this traitorous Yue Xiao!"
"Kill him! We must not allow him to endanger the nation!"
The emperor, seated high above, calmly gazed at the indignant ministers below. Only after they had finished their tirade did he slowly speak, "Who will quell the rebellion? Do any of you, my esteemed ministers, have a suitable candidate?"
As soon as the emperor finished speaking, the noisy court fell silent instantly.
For nearly two hundred years, the Great Qi Dynasty had seen little warfare, and civil officials held a higher status than military officials. In the eyes of the civil officials, the suppression of this rebellion was a sure thing, and their credit was guaranteed; the commander leading the suppression would at least receive a promotion. Despite their outward complaints, the civil officials were actually reluctant to recommend high-ranking military officers for the task. Therefore, the selection of personnel for this rebellion required careful consideration.
The military officers, unaware of the civil officials' subtle intentions, saw that the civil officials remained silent, and the impatient military officers stepped forward to volunteer.
A burly man with a full beard stepped forward from the ranks of military officers and said in a loud voice, "Your Majesty, I request permission to quell the rebellion! I will bring the traitor's head to Your Majesty within a month."
The civil officials turned around at the sound and, seeing that it was the uncouth and boorish General He Hu who had volunteered, all breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, He Hu, this brute, was not of high rank.
The emperor took in everyone's expressions and, upon hearing He Hu's request, said calmly, "He Hu will be the deputy general."
Having received the emperor's approval, He Hu happily accepted the order: "Thank you, Your Majesty."
In stark contrast to He Hu's good mood, the civil officials were on edge. How could He Hu, who had been in charge of such a simple campaign to quell the rebellion, not be the main general? Was His Majesty planning to use this opportunity to promote a military officer?
Seeing that the deputy general had been appointed, the military officers below the rank of He Hu were filled with regret. After sitting on the sidelines for so long, they also wanted to make contributions and did not want to look down on the civil officials anymore.
Han Qing dejectedly withdrew his left foot. He and He Hu were of similar ability and the same rank, so the position of commander would not fall to him.
Wei Ran watched everything unfolding in the main hall with a deep gaze. He had a premonition that the choice of commander would be extraordinary.
Sure enough, the emperor asked, "Sun Yi, are you willing to serve as the commander-in-chief in suppressing the rebellion in Hecheng?"
Upon hearing the name Sun Yi, the ministers exchanged bewildered glances. Who was Sun Yi?
Amidst the bewildered gazes of the crowd, a handsome and refined young man suddenly stepped out from the ranks of civil officials.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, he bowed respectfully and said, "Your subject is willing."
Upon hearing the satisfactory answer, the emperor immediately made the decision: "Sun Yi shall be the General Who Pacifies Hecheng, and He Hu shall be the Deputy General, leading an army of 100,000. They shall depart immediately. Court adjourned."
Having said that, without giving the ministers a chance to react, the emperor flicked his sleeve and strode away.
The ministers watched the emperor leave, their feelings a mix of emotions. His Majesty seemed increasingly indifferent to their opinions.
......
When Jin Xiaoxiao was woken up by Bai Guo, she had a splitting headache. Because she suspected that Yue Xiao had rebelled, she hadn't slept all night and only lay down when her body couldn't take it anymore at dawn.
Jin Xiaoxiao closed her eyes, rubbed her forehead, and asked weakly, "What is it?"
"Xiaoxiao, grain prices have gone up."
Jin Xiaoxiao's fingers paused, and she opened her eyes. "Do you know why?"
Bai Guo shook his head. "I purchased grain as you instructed. Yesterday, the grain price was normal, but today all the grain shops in the capital have doubled their prices."
Rising grain prices mean unrest has occurred somewhere in the country. Since grain prices only rose today, the unrest must have only spread from the court this morning. With this thought in mind, Jin Xiaoxiao got out of bed and ordered, "Go to Prince Yi's residence immediately and ask what happened in court this morning."
While putting on her shoes, Jin Xiaoxiao's mind drifted back to the speculation that had kept her up at night yesterday. Suddenly, she raised her voice and called out to Bai Guo, "Wait!"
Hearing the sound, Bai Guo turned around in confusion.
Jin Xiaoxiao added with a heavy expression, "General Han and the gentleman should also send someone to inquire about the situation."
Ginkgo left immediately.
Jin Xiaoxiao took a deep breath, using the cold air to calm her racing heart.
While waiting, Jin Xiaoxiao quietly comforted herself, "Don't worry, don't be afraid, the Jin family is still here. There's still time."
After a long while, Bai Guo walked in with a complicated expression.
Seeing her expression, Jin Xiaoxiao asked in a trembling voice, "Is it related to Yue Xiao?"
Bai Guo nodded and then shook his head. "The Prince Yi's residence is surrounded, and we can't contact the heir."
Upon hearing the words "Prince Yi's mansion is besieged," Jin Xiaoxiao's heart finally settled. She had spent the entire night deducing that the Jin family's fate against Yue Xiao was a near-certain death, with their only hope of survival lying in Prince Yi's mansion. Now, that path was blocked, and certain death was the only outcome. Jin Xiaoxiao sighed inwardly, "Is the male lead truly the chosen one of this world?"
Noticing Bai Guo's gaze, Jin Xiaoxiao looked up at her and smiled, "I'm fine, Sister Bai Guo, you can go ahead and do your work."
Bai Guo was very busy. Seeing that Jin Xiaoxiao had recovered, he only gave her a few words of advice before leaving in a hurry.
Jin Xiaoxiao gazed at the sky. Since the ending was already decided, she might as well enjoy the process. As a transmigrator who died a violent death, she had already won by living this long. Thinking of this, Jin Xiaoxiao felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted from her shoulders, and she felt completely relaxed.
After her mood improved, Jin Xiaoxiao heard a "gurgling" sound. She looked down in the direction of the sound and realized that she was hungry.
Just as Jin Xiaoxiao was about to call for someone, she saw the thoughtful Green Ivy carrying food into the room.
After finishing her meal, Green Ivy took a letter from her sleeve and handed it to her, saying, "Miss, this is your letter."
Where did it come from?
As Green Ivy cleared away the dishes, she said, "They were sent from General Han's residence."
Jin Xiaoxiao opened the envelope and unfolded the letter, quickly reading it at a glance. The letter detailed everything that had happened at the morning court session.
After reading the letter, Jin Xiaoxiao fell into deep thought. Just as she had guessed, the cause of both the rising grain prices and the siege of Prince Yi's residence was Yue Xiao's rebellion. Jin Xiaoxiao's gaze locked onto the name Sun Yi. Why had the task of quelling the rebellion fallen to this Sun Yi? Who was he?
A warm, mellow voice pulled Jin Xiaoxiao back to reality, "Xiaoxiao."
Recognizing Xu Ce's voice, Jin Xiaoxiao quickly stood up to greet him, "Sir, you've arrived."
Xu Ce stepped closer, glanced at the unfolded letter, and said knowingly, "It seems you already know about what happened at the morning court."
Jin Xiaoxiao sat back down in her chair and asked Xu Ce, "Sir, do you know who Sun Yi is?"
“Sun Yi was born into a low-ranking official family. His parents died when he was young, and he and his elder sister depended on each other for survival. Before today, he was just an insignificant clerk in the Ministry of Personnel. As for his abilities, they were mediocre.”
After hearing Sun Yi's resume, Jin Xiaoxiao became even more confused. "If his abilities are only average, why was he chosen as the commander-in-chief?"
Xu Ce remained silent, gesturing for Jin Xiaoxiao to think about it herself.
Jin Xiaoxiao silently recited Sun Yi's resume in her mind. When she read the word "elder sister," a thought struck her. "Sir, could it be that Sun Yi's elder sister is Consort Sun?"
Xu Ce nodded in confirmation of her guess: "That's right."
Upon receiving confirmation, Jin Xiaoxiao suddenly understood. So the emperor wanted to use the victory in suppressing the rebellion to enhance his brother-in-law's reputation. Wait a minute? The emperor just demoted Consort Sun, so why is he promoting the Sun family now? The emperor's thoughts are truly unfathomable.
Completely baffled, Jin Xiaoxiao turned to Xu Ce for guidance.
Xu Ce stopped beating around the bush and pointed out the key point to her: "Consort Sun was the Emperor's most favored woman when he was still a prince. The Emperor even gave her the title of Princess. Consort Sun did not disappoint the Emperor. She did a great deal of work to help the Emperor ascend the throne. The current Empress and Consort Qi were both women whom she helped His Majesty marry. Unfortunately, fate played a cruel trick on her, and she lost her ability to have children because of it."
Jin Xiaoxiao gleaned the danger of vying for the throne from Xu Ce's concise words. She wondered if Consort Sun regretted her decision. This thought flashed through her mind, and Jin Xiaoxiao roughly understood the emperor's intentions: guilt and a desire for compensation. He wanted to use Sun Yi's achievements in suppressing the rebellion to restore and consolidate Consort Sun's position. Unfortunately, the emperor's wishful thinking was unlikely to succeed. Yue Xiao's status in this world was not something that a mere Sun Yi could shake.
Jin Xiaoxiao's strange expression caught Xu Ce's attention. "Xiaoxiao, what's your opinion?"
Jin Xiaoxiao didn't want to hide the truth from Xu Ce, but the truth was too cruel to the people of this world. So she carefully asked, "Sir, haven't you overlooked an important question? How was Yue Xiao able to conquer a city so quietly?"
Jin Xiaoxiao's reminder startled Xu Ce. To silently capture a city, weapons, men, and provisions were indispensable. Upon closer examination, the implications were enormous. He carefully recalled the events of the morning court session: the civil and military officials were preoccupied with internal power struggles, and after the emperor appointed the general to quell the rebellion, the courtiers were busy speculating about the emperor's intentions, failing to notice anything unusual about Yue Xiao's rebellion. Even he, who prided himself on his unparalleled wisdom, only realized the truth after Xiaoxiao's reminder. Thinking of this, a chill ran down his spine, and his face changed drastically. "Damn it! I must rush to the palace to see the emperor!"
Watching Xu Ce's hurried departure, Jin Xiaoxiao sighed inwardly. It was useless. The world consciousness wanted Yue Xiao to be emperor; he would definitely become emperor.
Jin Xiaoxiao glanced at the sky and decided to go check on the wounded. Just as she stepped out of the yard, she saw Green Ivy running towards her in a panic.
Upon seeing her young mistress, Green Ivy's expression calmed down slightly, and she said without panting, "Miss, something terrible has happened! A dead person has come to our house."
Jin Xiaoxiao ordered in a deep voice, "Go." Before she finished speaking, she had already turned around and walked back the way Green Ivy had come from.
Green Ivy still had a lingering fear in her eyes, but seeing Jin Xiaoxiao's resolute attitude, she quickly took two steps to lead the way for Jin Xiaoxiao.
A moment later, Jin Xiaoxiao followed Green Ivy to the front yard. A group of people were gathered in the center of the yard, but Jin Xiaoxiao was too short to see what was happening. Fortunately, Green Ivy cleverly helped Jin Xiaoxiao part the crowd.
As the crowd parted, Jin Xiaoxiao saw nothing but people lying quietly. Their eyes were closed, and their bodies were covered in cuts from sharp weapons. Bright red blood flowed from their bodies, staining the bluestone slabs.
When Jin Xiaoxiao managed to make out the word "perfume" from their tattered clothes, her expression grew increasingly grim. She clenched her fists and demanded sharply, "What happened?"
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