“I want to have a private word with Father — what does that have to do with you? I am still Noble Consort Rong of the palace — am I not deserving of a little more respect from you, Elder Brother?”
Nanmen Rong was relieved she had not let slip anything about her escape just now, for otherwise Nanmen Ding would certainly be treating her with even greater contempt.
Nanmen Ding did have some reservations of his own. To his mind, the title of inner palace consort meant absolutely nothing. Any clear-eyed person could see that Nanmen Rong was no longer in favor.
A consort who had fallen out of favor — what standing did she have?
But the critical issue was that she was the Crown Prince’s birth mother, and the Crown Prince had always been a filial son. How could he stand by and watch his own mother suffer without doing anything?
If Nanmen Ding were to come into conflict with Nanmen Rong right now, the Crown Prince might immediately turn against him as well — and in the end, he would gain nothing.
Still, if Nanmen Rong intended to seize command of the Nanmen clan’s military forces, it would hardly be so easy. Right now, that military power was not entirely in Nanmen Ye’s hands.
After thinking it over, Nanmen Ding let out a cold snort and walked away.
When only Nanmen Rong and Nanmen Ye remained in the room, Nanmen Rong could no longer hold herself together. She collapsed at her father’s knees, a bellyful of grievances pouring out. “Father, you must make decisions for me. That treacherous dog Emperor Qiwen — he and Feng Qingyin actually conspired to kill me.”
Nanmen Ye’s eyes went wide. With great effort, he managed to draw one breath, and his voice came out hoarse and indistinct, not at all clear: “They… dare!”
“They do dare! They are doing this precisely because they know I have not a shred of real power in my hands — and they want to poison me and have me killed!”
Nanmen Rong clasped his hand. Her father’s hand was completely cold, without even a trace of warmth. She did not know what illness had taken hold of him, that he should be so weak.
And so there were things that needed to be done without delay. Otherwise, when the day came that her father passed away, she would be left with nothing at all.
“Father, how much military authority do you still hold in your hands? Hand the military seal over to me — I will certainly carry the Nanmen clan to greater glory!”
“If that treacherous dog Emperor tries to harm us again, I will raise troops in open rebellion outright. He does not have many soldiers at his disposal right now — and besides, A’Jiu has also returned. The Emperor is wary of him and must divide no small amount of his forces to deal with him.”
“That wretched Emperor has too few troops to oppose us. Even if we do not rebel, we can simply carve out our own territory and rule it ourselves. Father, your daughter cannot bear to stay in this wretched place any longer. Let us return to Jinliang City — let us be like A’Jiu and declare ourselves rulers!”
She had entirely given up any hope in Emperor Qiwen. Once she returned to Jinliang City, she would join forces with Heng’er to overthrow Emperor Qiwen.
When that day came, the entire realm of Bei Mu would be theirs. Once she became the Empress of Bei Mu, the very first thing she would do would be to tear Feng Qingyin apart with five horses.
“Rong’er…” Nanmen Ye wheezed, wanting to speak, but tonight he had only just suffered an episode, and speaking at this moment was truly difficult.
Had they not come to tell him that Rong’er had returned, he ought to have been lying in bed resting at a time like this.
“Rong’er, Father… Father’s hands…”
“As long as Father hands the military seal to your daughter, your daughter will never let you down!”
“Rong’er…” Nanmen Ye’s wheezing grew louder and louder, and Nanmen Rong grew more and more anxious.
Her father looked as though he might give out at any moment. Even now, he still would not hand over the military seal?
“Father, is the military seal here? Your daughter will go and find it herself — there is no need to trouble you, Father!”
She released Nanmen Ye’s hand and walked to the cabinet nearby, throwing it open and rummaging through everything inside.
If it was not here, it had to be in the study. Either way, if she could not find it here, she would turn the study inside out.
In any case, she was determined to find the military seal tonight. Tonight she would order all the garrison troops inside and outside the city, withdraw overnight to Jinliang City, join forces with all of their brothers there, rise in revolt, and declare herself ruler!
Nanmen Ye watched her frantic behavior, wanting to stop her — but he was completely powerless to do anything.
He could not even muster the strength to raise his arm. Each breath felt as though it were snagged in his throat, no matter how hard he struggled to breathe.
“Rong’er, call… the physician, call…”
“Father, where exactly is the military seal? Is it in the study?” Nanmen Rong seemed to hear none of his plea, and after rummaging through the room without finding anything, she immediately headed toward the door.
She had just opened it when she saw Nanmen Ding rushing toward her, and the two of them nearly collided.
“Where are you going?” Nanmen Ding was somewhat frantic. “What on earth did you get up to in the palace? Why has word come from the palace that Emperor Qiwen has dispatched a large contingent of men to pursue and capture a wanted criminal — and they are now heading toward the Nanmen Manor?”
“What wanted criminal? He is pursuing a wanted criminal — what does that have to do with me?” All Nanmen Rong wanted right now was to get to the study and find the military seal. She had no desire to waste time arguing with him.
She made to push past him, but Nanmen Ding grabbed her by both shoulders and shoved her back.
“Word has come from the palace — Noble Consort Rong poisoned the Imperial bloodline. The evidence is irrefutable. The Emperor now intends to have you sentenced to death, and yet you have broken out of prison and fled!”
“I poisoned the Imperial bloodline?” Nanmen Rong’s brow creased, and her expression fell. “That is utter nonsense!”
“And did you truly never do it?” As her elder brother, how could he not know what Nanmen Rong had done within the inner palace?
It was just that before, Emperor Qiwen had been wary of the Nanmen clan — and even knowing full well how many harmful and unscrupulous things Nanmen Rong had done, he had not dared to investigate to the root.
But now it was different. Emperor Qiwen daring to lay these matters openly on the table meant he was truly going to pursue them this time.
Any one of the crimes Nanmen Rong had committed in the past was enough to warrant the destruction of the entire clan!
“I…” So what if she had done it? There had been no investigation before — why come after her now? What was that treacherous dog truly after?
“You wanted to steal Father’s military seal?” Nanmen Ding’s gaze fell on the cabinet in the room — the drawers had been thrown open in complete chaos. He had only stepped out for a moment, and she had already started making her move on the family’s power?
“You…”
“Father agreed to hand the Nanmen clan’s military authority over to me. Elder Brother — as Father’s son, you should follow Father’s wishes!”
“Nonsense! Father was muddleheaded to agree to hand over the military seal to you. Given your current situation, making you the head of the Nanmen clan would bring ruin upon every single one of us!”
Nanmen Ding was furious. Regardless of whether Nanmen Ye had agreed, he refused to accept it!
“No — for the sake of every single one of us, I must hand you over to the palace to confess your crimes! One must answer for one’s own actions. We cannot let you drag everyone in the entire Nanmen Manor down with you.”
With that, Nanmen Ding suddenly struck out, pulling his hand back just before it reached Nanmen Rong, his five fingers curving into a claw to seize her by the shoulder.
Nanmen Rong’s eyes went cold, and she pushed her palm outward.
She was nothing like Nanmen Ding. Nanmen Ding only wanted to seize and restrain her — but she, from the very first strike, clearly intended to injure.