Zhu Youchang was still unaware of Qi Min’s collaboration with the Li family. He angrily exclaimed, “Marquis, the Imperial Grandson is still alive. I can testify as a witness, and the tiger tally given to the Imperial Grandson serves as physical evidence. We can surely bring down Wei Yan!”
Xie Zhong also felt pained for the injustice Meng Shuyuan had borne for so many years. However, as an outsider, he was somewhat more level-headed. He advised, “Marquis, General Zhu when we think carefully about the events of that year, there are still many suspicious points. Wei Yan is also very cunning. We should plan this carefully.”
Xie Zheng and Zhu Youchang remained silent. He continued, “Wei Qilin was a Wei family retainer and later became General Meng’s son-in-law. The Changzhou tiger tally he took was genuine, yet now, Marquis, you can’t find any records of its use in the archives. This means that the Emperor indeed used the tally to cover up the loss of the Sixteenth Prince, and therefore didn’t let the Ministry of War record it. Or… Wei Yan was already powerful enough at that time to privately deploy troops using the Ministry of War’s tiger tally!”
Outside, the wind and rain hadn’t stopped. The damp chill of the rain seemed to have seeped through the air, leaving a layer of moisture in the room. The truth behind the Jinzhou bloodbath and the real cause of his mother’s death made the veins on Xie Zheng’s temples bulge, his mind throbbing with pain.
His handsome face was pale with cold, like snow on a knife’s edge, with a hint of not-so-obvious bloodshot at the corners of his eyes. “Going to such lengths to make General Meng delay the grain shipment, the real purpose of those behind the scenes was to let Jinzhou fall.”
Or rather, to let the Crown Prince of Chengde die.
Everyone knew what the fall of Jinzhou meant for Da Yin.
Even if the Crown Prince of Chengde hadn’t died in the battle of Jinzhou, he would likely have been stripped of his position as Crown Prince upon returning to court.
Xie Linshan was a victim of this struggle for imperial power.
With Xie Zheng’s hint, Xie Zhong quickly understood the key points. He exclaimed in shock, “Could it be that the Sixteenth Prince deliberately put himself in danger? Just to let the Crown Prince of Chengde die in Jinzhou, so he could compete for the position of Crown Prince?”
Zhu Youchang was a simple man, not as quick-witted as Xie Zhong. Hearing this, he asked in confusion, “But wasn’t that too risky for the Sixteenth Prince? He put himself in the tiger’s mouth. Was he so certain that the Emperor would spare no effort to save him?”
The Sixteenth Prince did die in Luocheng.
Luocheng was easy to defend but difficult to attack. When news of Jinzhou’s fall reached Luocheng, the imperial army was devastated. With both the Crown Prince of Chengde and Xie Linshan dead, the army’s morale crumbled.
When the Bei Que people in Luocheng learned that the Bei Que army could march straight through, they no longer kept the Sixteenth Prince as a hostage and killed him to raise their banner.
With the most popular heir apparent and the Emperor’s most favored son both dead, Zhu Youchang suddenly realized that the reasons behind Jinzhou’s fall were not at all simple.
After Zhu Youchang’s explanation, Xie Zhong also felt that his earlier guess didn’t hold water.
He pondered, “As the saying goes, ‘When the snipe and the clam grapple, the fisherman profits.’ Back then, the Emperor favored the Sixteenth Prince. To win hearts in the military, the Crown Prince of Chengde personally went to Jinzhou to oversee the battle. The Sixteenth Prince, to compete for military merit, also petitioned the Emperor and picked up a military position overseeing supplies to follow to the front lines. In the end, both the Crown Prince of Chengde and the Sixteenth Prince died…”
He suddenly looked at Xie Zheng: “Could there be other princes pushing things along to compete for the dragon throne?”
Zhu Youchang thought for a moment and quickly gritted his teeth, “Wei Yan! It must be Wei Yan! After the Crown Prince of Chengde and the Sixteenth Prince died, the Emperor also passed away from excessive grief. Wei Yan quickly overrode all opposition and supported the Nineteenth Prince, who had no foundation, to ascend the throne! That beast, worse than pigs and dogs, for the sake of power, didn’t even spare his sister and brother-in-law! If he wasn’t afraid of arousing suspicion, he would probably sit on that dragon throne himself!”
Speaking of the sad parts, Zhu Youchang couldn’t help but cry out in a hoarse voice, “Wei Qilin truly lived up to being Wei Yan’s loyal dog. General Meng treated him well! Little sister Lihua was even pregnant at the time, how could he bear to help Wei Yan frame General Meng?”
Fearing that Xie Zheng might harbor resentment towards Meng’s descendants because of Wei Qilin, he added, “Marquis, if any of little sister Lihua’s children have Wei Qilin’s blood, you need not treat them as Wei family members. The Meng family doesn’t recognize that ungrateful dog Wei Qilin! They are only Meng family blood!”
Hearing Zhu Youchang mention Wei Qilin again, Xie Zheng’s pale face showed no emotion. His dark lashes lowered as he only asked, “The personal letter Wei Yan wrote to General Meng can also serve as evidence to expose Wei Yan. Does General Zhu know the whereabouts of that letter?”
Zhu Youchang said regretfully, “When news of Jinzhou’s fall came back then, there was chaos throughout the military. I didn’t anticipate Wei Yan framing General Meng at that time and didn’t think that letter would be of great use. By the time the imperial court’s accountability came down and I wanted to find that letter again, it was already gone…”
The headache was still intense, making Xie Zheng frown involuntarily.
The letter had ultimately ended up in Wei Qilin’s hands. Had something else happened that even Zhu Youchang didn’t know about?
The paler his face became, the calmer he appeared. Having obtained the answers he wanted, he said, “Wei Yan has colluded with rebels and has been impeached by the Li family. He will be held accountable in the Imperial Court soon. General Zhu, please rest well for now. The blood debt from seventeen years ago, this Marquis will make that Wei dog pay for it all!”
After leaving Zhu Youchang’s residence, Xie Zhong kept following Xie Zheng closely, several times on the verge of speaking but stopping himself.
The rain was gradually lessening, with only small beads of water falling from the eaves of the corridor, like a curtain of pearls.
Xie Zheng, dressed in a reddish-brown robe, stood silently under the eaves with one hand behind his back, looking at the lush green bamboo in the courtyard. His handsome brows and eyes seemed casual, yet gave people a startling feeling that all his nobility couldn’t suppress that gloomy killing aura.
After much hesitation, Xie Zhong finally spoke up, “Marquis…”
Xie Zheng’s eyelids didn’t move as he only said, “No need to follow me. Go down.”
Xie Zhong rarely overstepped but said, “Madam’s actions back then were likely to protect the Marquis, she had no choice. Marquis, please don’t be heartbroken. If the General and Madam knew of your abilities now from the underworld, they would surely smile.”
Xie Zheng’s gaze suddenly turned cold, “Go down.”
Xie Zhong raised his eyes to look at Xie Zheng’s cold, hard back and sighed softly in his heart.
He had always known that Madam Xie’s suicide was an unresolved knot in Xie Zheng’s heart.
Now that the truth was out, it would likely be even more painful for Xie Zheng.
For the past decade and more, he had hated Madam Xie for being weak, hated her for cruelly abandoning him, leaving him to be raised by his enemies.
But Madam Xie hanged herself to protect Zhu Youchang and the old subordinates of the Xie family after discovering Wei Yan’s plot.
Wei Yan could imprison Zhu Youchang and others for life, but he couldn’t imprison his sister forever. As long as Madam Xie was alive, Xie Zheng would one day know the truth about that year.
With Wei Yan’s methods, he would likely cut the grass and eliminate the roots.
Madam Xie chose to hang herself to save Xie Zheng’s life. Her last words asking Wei Yan to raise Xie Zheng were also intended to send Xie Zheng right under Wei Yan’s nose, to put Wei Yan completely at ease.
A year ago, when Xie Zheng heard those rumors and began to reinvestigate the Jinzhou case, Wei Yan indeed set up a deadly trap, intending to have him die in the Chongzhou rebellion.
The mother he had hated yet missed for over a decade had died for him. Xie Zhong couldn’t imagine how painful it must be for this young man who had shouldered the honor and disgrace of the entire Xie family on his thin shoulders since his youth.
Knowing Xie Zheng’s temperament, he didn’t know where to begin with any words of comfort. After bowing to Xie Zheng, he finally withdrew.
The vast corridor was empty, with only Xie Zheng remaining. The cold wind picked up again, blowing the fine rain sideways, drifting under the eaves, brushing past his pale face, leaving only a trace of icy dampness.
Xie Zheng leaned against a corridor pillar, propped up one leg, and sat on the wooden railing. His thick black lashes half-covered his eyes like fans as he stared unblinkingly at the rainwater on the distant bamboo leaves, which had accumulated too much and could no longer be supported, dripping from the leaf tips.
He tried very hard to remember, but still couldn’t recall that woman’s face. In his mind, there was only a blurry shadow smiling very gently, as if there was no fault in this world that she couldn’t forgive.
But the last memory she left him was only of him standing at the door, looking into the room at half a skirt floating in the air.
This scene tormented him for countless nights, making him wake up from nightmares in cold sweats and convulsions.
He hated her for being weak and selfish, yet she had gone to protect him.
The wind blew his bangs onto his eyelids. Xie Zheng tilted his head slightly, raised his hand to cover his eyes, and maintained this posture for a long time, motionless.
Wei Mansion.
This autumn rain seemed intent on washing away the dust of heaven and earth.
In front of the grand gates of Wei Mansion, two lamps were lit, hidden in the thick shade of the phoenix trees in the night, like a pair of blood-red beast eyes.
In front of the study window, a patch of wild chrysanthemums stood with their buds in the cold wind and desolate rain, their thin stems struggling to support them, unclear whether it was pride or stubbornness.
Everyone in the court knew that Wei Yan loved chrysanthemums, but he didn’t like those famous varieties, preferring only the wild chrysanthemums that could be seen everywhere on hills and plains.
Throughout the entire Chancellor’s mansion, the most widely planted were these wild chrysanthemums that grew in patches. With their almost overbearing growth, if the servants were a bit negligent in their care, the wild chrysanthemums could force other flowers and plants in the flower beds to have nowhere to grow.
Three feet of warm light spread before the desk, where a strong-boned old man picked up his brush to review documents. On this cool night with autumn rain still falling, he wore only a single garment, yet his figure didn’t appear thin.
The person kneeling below, drenched in cold sweat, reported the day’s events: “…Two groups of people came to break into the prison. You’ve been searching for the Changzhou tiger tally for years without success, but Zhu Youchang had sewn it into his severed leg. When the first group of people took him out of prison, they were entangled with the Tian group. Fearing he would slow them down due to his inability to walk, he picked up a dagger and cut open his leg flesh, giving the tiger tally to those people…”
“Then another group of people came, their martial arts style seeming to be from the Xie family. They took advantage of the Tian group chasing after the first group who took the tiger tally and rescued Zhu Youchang…”
The old man’s brush didn’t stop, the ink traces reflected in the dim candlelight were strong, each hook and horizontal stroke as if bending iron and breaking gold.
People of the time revered cursive script, and those in official positions were highly esteemed for writing good Palace style, but Wei Yan was famous for his Slender Gold style.
The character was like the man, lean and strong-boned.
Not hearing the old man speak, the person kneeling below gathered more and more cold sweat on his forehead. When the unknown fear reached its peak, he kowtowed heavily towards the desk, his forehead touching the cold floor tiles, and said tremblingly, “Please punish me, Chancellor!”
The old man finally stopped his brush and cast a faint glance downward: “Go to the torture chamber yourself to receive punishment.”
For the death squads raised by the Wei mansion, entering the torture chamber once was tantamount to losing half one’s life. However, upon hearing the old man’s words, the person kneeling below felt only wild joy at having his life spared at this moment.
After kowtowing to the old man once more, he silently retreated from the study.
The attendant came forward to help the old man wash his ink brush and said in a low voice, “My Lord, I’m afraid the truth about that year… can no longer be concealed.”
Wei Yan stood up and paced to the window, letting the cold wind fill his sleeves and flutter loudly. The trembling candlelight cast his shadow exceptionally long, like a mountain.
Looking at the wild chrysanthemums in the desolate cold rain throughout the courtyard, he said, “Send a message to the palace. It’s time to let the Western Expedition Army enter the capital to receive their honors.”