Chapter 90: A Battle to Decide (Part 2) Update
Yanjing, Chi family mansion.
The mansions of the founding generals and nobles with multiple courtyards are not as rich, magnificent, luxurious and expensive as ordinary people imagine.
Rather, because he came from a martial family, the entire residence was built in a very unpretentious style. There were no pavilions, towers, or rare flowers or trees. Instead, there were spacious martial arts training grounds and a variety of swords, bows, and horsemanship on display.
At this time, in the main hall of the Chi family, Chi Zhan, the head of the Chi family who had fought with Emperor Shengzu to conquer the world, was not sitting in the main seat.
He sat solemnly in the main hall guest seat. On the main seat sat a young man in his twenties, wearing dark gold brocade clothes.
It was the Crown Prince of the Great Zhou, Liu Ziling.
There was another person opposite, Feng Ming, the Crown Princess's younger brother, who accompanied Liu Ziling to sneak into the Chi Mansion at night without being noticed.
As soon as Liu Ziling sat down, he asked Chi Zhan, "General Chi, is the news you brought true?"
Chi Zhan's beard had already turned mostly white, but he still spoke with full vigor, "Your Highness, it is absolutely true."
Liu Ziling's expression was stern, and Feng Ming's expression was also noticeable: "How audacious the King of Xiguan is! He has been deceiving the emperor for nearly twenty years!"
Liu Ziling frowned and looked at him, and Feng Ming stopped talking at the right time.
He then asked Chi Zhan, "Is the captured private guard from the Xiguan Marquis's mansion in the mansion?"
Chi Zhan immediately said, "Yes. Since I've reported this to the Crown Prince, I will naturally keep this witness in my possession. If the Crown Prince wishes to interrogate him, he can order someone to bring him here now."
"Okay, bring a witness. I want to ask about this myself."
A moment later, the guards of the Chi Mansion brought a man and made him kneel in the hall.
The man was dressed in rags, his hair disheveled, and his face unkempt. It was obvious that he had been living in poverty for many years. Perhaps he had been told that he was meeting a powerful figure in Yanjing, so he prostrated himself on the ground, not daring to even glance at him.
Liu Ziling frowned and asked, "Who is here?"
The guards of Chi Mansion heard the prince's question and said to him, "Look up and answer."
The man on the ground shuddered, then raised his head, but he didn't dare look at the person in front of him. He only replied, "My name is Chaozhao. I have been the private guard of the prince of Xiguan Palace, now the young marquis of Xiguan, since I was a child."
Liu Ziye picked up the tea beside him and asked, "You said you were the personal guard of Marquis Xiguan. What evidence do you have?"
"I have evidence! I would never dare to lie in front of you, my lord!"
Chaozhao immediately kowtowed and defended himself, "I grew up with the former Prince of Xiguan, and was one of his only two personal guards. I am familiar with all the past events of the Xiguan Palace. At the end of September in the eighth year of Tianxi, the emperor's close ministers ordered Eunuch Liu Xuan and Captain Pan Yi to the Xiguan Marquisate to announce the emperor's decree. I know everything that happened that day. These events are only known to the Prince's close associates at the Xiguan Palace and the Yanjing Imperial Guards dispatched by the emperor! I can report all the events of that day one by one for you, my Excellencies. Please be kind! There are many other past events in the Xiguan Palace, and I can report them all one by one!"
Liu Ziye and Chi Zhan looked at each other, both of them knew about this matter.
At that time, Chi Mu personally took Liu Jian's general Pan Yi, a team of guards, and the then Xiguan Governor Yi Boli to the capital in Xiguan County and executed them in public.
It is to teach a lesson to all the royal guards and officials in the court and the country.
Chi Zhan turned his gaze back to Zhao Zhao: "Since you say you know, then report it. I will judge for myself whether it is right or wrong."
"Very good! I would never dare to deceive you!"
Chaozhao knelt on the ground and kowtowed again. "When Eunuch Liu and Captain Pan Yi arrived at the Xiguan Marquis's mansion that day, the young Marquis had already been bedridden for a month and a half due to a fall from his horse. As his personal guard, I have often been busy caring for and treating him!"
"In fact, at that time, including the palace steward, the chief historian, and several of our guards and maids, we all believed that the Prince of Xiguan would never wake up. However, unexpectedly, Eunuch Liu, along with Pan Yi and other imperial guards, invaded the young prince's bedroom that day, intending to kill everyone in our mansion, including the young prince."
"Just as Eunuch Liu ordered his men to take action and approached the young prince's bed, the young prince, who had been in a coma for a month and a half, suddenly woke up. At that time, the old people in the palace who were in the young prince's bedroom, as well as Eunuch Liu, Pan Yiren and others, were all terrified!"
Chaozhao recalled the scene when Liu Ziye, the prince of Xiguan, first woke up that day, and still couldn't help shivering.
"The young prince has been known since childhood for his resemblance to the Emperor Shengzu. At that moment, the young prince suddenly woke up. I still can't forget that scene. The normally dim-witted and foolish young prince was like a spirit possessed by a spirit, fierce and terrifying, completely different from the young prince I knew before! Furthermore, the young marquis personally beheaded Eunuch Liu, stunning everyone..."
Liu Ziling held the teacup in his hand, gently turning it and listening to Chaozhao's words.
Regarding the situation at the Xiguan Palace that day, he had not only read the report written by the young Marquis Xigua himself, but also read the detailed report after Chi Mu completed his investigation into the matter.
This Chaozhao was very long-winded, and the major issues were indeed consistent with the reports he had heard before, with many more details.
Afterwards, he recounted several events from the childhood of the Young Marquis of Xiguan. He also talked about how, because he had pleaded with Eunuch Liu that day, the Young Marquis of Xiguan had held a grudge against him and locked him up in the Marquis's mansion without seeing the sun for three years. He had barely escaped...
Liu Ziling raised his hand.
Immediately, a guard from the Chi Mansion said, "That's enough!"
Chaozhao quickly stopped his narration.
Liu Ziling asked again, "What about your claim that you have a serious matter to report, concerning the King of Xiguan and the young Marquis of Xiguan deceiving the emperor?"
When Chaozhao heard him ask this, he knew his identity had been basically trusted. He immediately said with bright eyes, "The former King of Xiguan and the current Marquis of Xiguan have jointly concealed a crucial matter and deceived His Majesty until now! This matter is-"
"Young Marquis Xiguan, she is actually a girl! The child born to Princess Xiguan was not a prince at all, but a daughter!"
Upon hearing this, Liu Ziling slammed the teacup in his hand onto the table.
Chi Zhan had heard his story before, so he continued to ask calmly, "This matter is of great importance. What evidence do you have?"
If it were three or two years ago, someone simply claiming to have a secret report about the young marquis of Xiguan would not have attracted the attention of people like Liu Ziling and Chi Zhan.
Today, the situation is completely different.
Not only did Xuan Jing, the greatest Buddhist master of the Zhou Dynasty, openly support the young Marquis of Xiguan in Yanjing.
They already knew very clearly the news that came in from all over the Zhou Dynasty.
Today, Xiguan County has become famous. It is no longer the desolate, remote and barren place of exile forgotten by the entire court during the decades since the establishment of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
Ever since the first year of the war between the Great Zhou and the eight Rongdi tribes, a wave of migration to Xiguan has gradually emerged among the people of the Great Zhou. Now, three years later, this trend has intensified, with everyone rushing to move their families to Xiguan.
In addition, Chi Mu returned to the capital in the first year of the war and brought back the changes in Xiguan County, which surprised Liu Ziling. Gradually, as the news spread among the people, more and more people began to know about it.
None of them, the people in the temple, had ever expected that such a trend would grow so rapidly in such a desolate, barren and uncared-for corner.
When they were not paying attention, it quietly swept across the Great Zhou.
The King of Xiguan and the Young Marquis of Xiguan had been silent for many years, but their appearance gave everyone a huge shock.
Such a person certainly made Liu Ziling feel strongly threatened.
The Chi family, who stood behind him in support, were naturally equally aware of this. They were all prepared for the possibility of a victory in this tug-of-war with the emperor.
Then, this young Marquis of Xiguan, who is sitting in the northwest and cannot be underestimated, is the next opponent who must be either eliminated or his wings must be taken away and placed in an irresistible position.
But if this young Marquis of Xiguan is actually just a woman...
The threat posed by this young Marquis of Xiguan is nothing to worry about at all!
Chi Zhan stared at Zhao Zhao lying on the ground with his eagle eyes and said threateningly, "If you continue to make empty promises like this, no one will believe you."
Chao Zhao kowtowed again: "I dare not! I have real evidence!"
·
Three days later, a royal secret ignited the court.
At the same time, countless rumors began to spread in the teahouses and streets of Yanjing.
It turns out that Liu Ziye, the young Marquis of Xiguan who was secretly measured by countless people, had actually been dressed as a man since he was a child!
On the streets of Yanjing, several familiar vendors gathered together to help each other clean up when the market was about to end and the number of pedestrians gradually thinned out.
After a few casual greetings, the topic involuntarily turned to one of the hottest topics in the Great Zhou Dynasty this year, Xiguan County and the young Marquis of Xiguan.
"Have you heard? Is this true? The young Marquis of Xiguan is so talented and brilliant, and Xiguan County has been revitalized under his leadership. How could he be a mere woman?"
"It's true. Our master came back and said that because of this incident, the emperor was furious and wanted to punish the late King of Xiguan and the young Marquis of Xiguan for deceiving the emperor!"
"...How could this be? How could this be..."
"How did the young Marquis of Xiguan suddenly turn into a woman? Alas!"
"A few days ago, our family couldn't make it in Yanjing anymore, and we were planning to try our luck in Xidu, which is said to be a prosperous place. But now... forget it, let's just stay in Yanjing."
"But even if the young Marquis of Xiguan is a woman, Xiguan County is still the same Xiguan County. Why are you so hesitant?"
"Think about it, Xiguan County is still Xiguan County, but the young marquis has now committed deceiving the emperor and incurred public wrath. How can our current emperor tolerate her in the future?"
"That's right. Take the Qiang tribe's Yao Can for example. He was simply disrespectful to the emperor, yet he was conquered three years in a row. I'm afraid Xiguan Commandery will be the next Qiang tribe to be conquered! Why should we go there now?"
"Alas! We finally have a way to make a living and a future, but why is this happening? If Xiguan County and the young Marquis of Xiguan County are convicted and destroyed, the young Marquis of Xiguan County will be pitiful and lamentable, and we, the common people, will have to continue to struggle and suffer with him!"
When the group of people talked about this, they couldn't help but feel dejected.
One of them gritted his teeth and said, "If you ask me, what does it matter whether the young Marquis of Xiguan is a man or a woman? Precisely because she's a woman, won't the Emperor be secretly delighted?"
“That’s not unreasonable.”
"That's the truth, but it depends on whether the emperor recognizes it or not."
"If the Emperor doesn't recognize him, then what is he supposed to recognize? Does he know how many people in the Great Zhou are suffering? Does he know that the young marquis is the only hope for survival for those on the brink of despair?"
"Hey—stop talking! Don't forget, we're under the Emperor's feet!"
The few people gathered together and looked around furtively, confirming that no one had heard them talking, and then they breathed a sigh of relief.
But after this scare, he didn't dare to say more.
After a while, they all dispersed with dejected looks.
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