This was a baptism of blood. The azure stone bricks in front of Fentian Hall were completely soaked through, and the stench of blood mixed with an odor from human entrails permeated the air, making everyone present break out in cold sweat. Some had already lowered their heads and tightly shut their eyes, not daring to look.
The pain of having flesh cut and bones scraped was beyond what any normal person could endure.
Si Qin fainted from pain multiple times, screaming when he regained consciousness, then fainting again from extreme agony in an endless cycle.
As for Bian Ruohan, she had already been frightened into unconsciousness. Si Qin’s former subordinates were all shaking like sieves, and some had been so terrified they wet themselves.
Watching someone who had once lived alongside them day and night being slowly cut and scraped down to just bones and organs was more than anyone could bear—they were nearly collapsing.
“Waist cutting!” Li Qitian stood on the high steps, his eyes showing the excitement of having seen blood as he pointed at the remaining people in the cages: “Drag all these rebellious traitors to Meridian Gate!”
“By imperial decree!”
Having witnessed a session of lingchi torture, all the palace attendants, guards, and generals were drenched in cold sweat, everyone’s nerves stretched taut, their voices much higher than usual.
Among those still conscious in the cages, hearing the words “waist cutting,” they stared wide-eyed in terror, wanting to beg for mercy but with their mouths gagged, they could only look pleadingly at Li Qitian while nodding repeatedly.
Those subjected to waist cutting didn’t die immediately—some had been known to linger for two or three hours before finally expiring. Compared to lingchi, waist cutting was equally agonizing.
None of the ministers dared say a word of persuasion. At this moment, everyone felt chills down their spines, and when swept by Li Qitian’s bright gaze, their hair nearly stood on end. While executing the Tatar khan certainly satisfied their hatred, everyone could sense that the Son of Heaven’s actions were also a show of force against them.
The cages were loaded onto prison carts and transported to Meridian Gate.
The news that the Tatar khan had been executed by lingchi and the others sentenced to waist cutting was posted by the magistrate’s office. The common people spread the word, and by noon, spectators had packed the open space in front of Meridian Gate so tightly that not even water could flow through. The Capital Guards formed two columns along the sides of the road, pushing the people back and clearing the middle path for the prison carts to reach Meridian Gate.
Qin Yining frowned in the crowd, then said to those beside her: “Let’s go back.”
“Don’t you want to watch?”
“There’s nothing worth watching. Let’s all go back.” Qin Yining didn’t hate those people to the bone marrow enough to want to personally witness them being cut in half and slowly dying. Even though they were enemies, she couldn’t bear to watch such a method of death.
“You’re just kindhearted.” Jingzhe and Xiaoxue followed on her left and right, escorting Qin Yining, who was disguised as a young man, as they squeezed out of the crowd and took a detour back to the estate.
The brutal torture in the capital was so horrific that news of it spread throughout the entire country.
Most surprisingly, when news of Si Qin’s lingchi execution reached the Tatars, it didn’t cause the slightest ripple. Because the Tatar khan had been captured by Great Zhou, the Tatars were left leaderless. Under the combined attacks of Pang Xiao and Ji Zeyu, they had lost any desire to rebel, so the Tatar court began an intense struggle for that sole position.
“The Tatar court is busy fighting for the throne—not a single person cares about Khan Wutejin’s fate. How lamentable.” Xu Weizhi held the teapot, refilling tea for Qin Huaiyuan, Pang Xiao, and Ji Zeyu respectively, then made a gesture of invitation.
Everyone sipped their tea and sighed in unison.
Ji Zeyu asked Pang Xiao: “Have you decided which day to set out for the capital?”
Pang Xiao nodded: “Provisions are ready. We can depart anytime. A’lan, what are your plans for the future?”
Xu Weizhi and Qin Huaiyuan both lowered their eyes to drink tea, deliberately not studying Ji Zeyu’s expression—this was basic respect for Pang Xiao’s close friend.
Ji Zeyu also appeared very casual in front of Pang Xiao, laughing: “I’ve already decided. The four passes including Tianmen are now guarded by the Dragon Cavalry Army. The Dragon Cavalry Army is familiar with this place, and the Tatars couldn’t possibly have the strength to invade south again, so there’s no need to worry here. I plan to return to the capital with you.”
Ji Zeyu’s words greatly surprised both Qin Huaiyuan and Xu Weizhi.
When Pang Xiao spoke of returning to the capital, he was actually planning to lead the Huben Army and Pingnan Army there. The Pingnan Army was easy to handle—Feng Dazhuang was Pang Xiao’s trusted aide and could be relied upon. But the Huben Army currently had Commander Gao Wenliang in charge. To take the Huben Army away, Gao Wenliang would have to be dealt with first.
Simply put, Pang Xiao’s return to the capital meant rebelling against Li Qitian.
If Ji Zeyu wanted to protect himself wisely, staying at the border would be the best choice. If he went back with Pang Xiao, he would inevitably be drawn into this conflict.
Qin Huaiyuan looked up at Ji Zeyu and Pang Xiao. He had always known that Ji Zeyu and Pang Xiao were sworn brothers and close friends, but thinking about it from another angle, wasn’t the Son of Heaven also Pang Xiao’s sworn brother? In the end, didn’t he still harbor suspicions and try every means to put Pang Xiao to death?
From Ji Zeyu’s perspective, not reporting Pang Xiao would already demonstrate extreme loyalty. Now that he wanted to follow and return, he was going to help Pang Xiao.
Such behavior was truly beyond expectation and particularly moving.
Pang Xiao looked at Ji Zeyu, his phoenix eyes showing some worry and disapproval: “A’lan, I understand and appreciate your good intentions, but you know what I’m going to do on this trip. On the battlefield, swords have no eyes, and worldly affairs are unpredictable. Who will win or lose, who will live or die is still unknown. I hope you can stay here to guard the frontier and not get mixed up in this tangled mess.”
Seeing Ji Zeyu about to object, Pang Xiao patted his shoulder: “I know your feelings, but your best choice now is to protect yourself wisely. Though Anyang is gone, you are still the imperial family’s prince consort. The Empress Dowager is still alive. If you return with me, you’ll bear the stigma of betraying your wife’s family and your own relatives. This would become your stain! You’re already a hero with distinguished military achievements whom the people admire—why wade into these muddy waters?”
Xu Weizhi and Qin Huaiyuan agreed with Pang Xiao’s words, both nodding: “Duke Dingguo really needn’t take such risks.”
But Ji Zeyu laughed carefreely: “What Duke Dingguo? What distinguished military achievements and popular admiration? I’ve never cared about these things. Now we’re just one step away from national peace and prosperity—just one step from the goal we set when we first rose up. Why should I retreat?”
Pang Xiao’s heart trembled.
When they had raised their banner in rebellion against the Beiji Kingdom, they had only one purpose: to ensure that the people would no longer suffer oppression and exploitation from the court, to let all people live stable lives.
The former Beiji Emperor couldn’t achieve this, so they rebelled.
The current Son of Heaven also couldn’t achieve this, so they had to continue.
Pang Xiao and Ji Zeyu were the same type of people. For over ten years, their original intentions had never changed. Neither had been blinded by fame and fortune, confused in heart, or changed direction.
Of their three brothers, only the one who sat on that throne had changed.
Ji Zeyu patted Pang Xiao’s shoulder in return, laughing heartily: “What’s there to fear? We’ve just reached this point—it’s time to step onto the next level. Just be ourselves.”
Pang Xiao could no longer try to stop Ji Zeyu and nodded.
Both Qin Huaiyuan and Xu Weizhi were deeply moved.
Ji Zeyu was a man of few words, but unexpectedly, at this crucial moment, he could not only stand up for Pang Xiao but also speak such words. It seemed his taciturnity was reserved only for unrelated outsiders, while with those he considered his own brothers, he was never cold again.
“Excellent!” Pang Xiao nodded with full confidence: “In that case, let’s prepare to depart!”
Hearing this, Ji Zeyu smiled and nodded.
Meanwhile, having dealt with the Tatar khan and the traitors, Li Qitian’s mood finally improved somewhat. He continued ordering arrests of those suspected of being the former dynasty’s prince Zhou Lian, extending the search to surrounding towns and cities.
Such searches left the Shuntian Prefecture and Capital Guards exhausted. After two consecutive searches yielding nothing, when conducting the third search, everyone was too lazy to look carefully. They were all the same people, all registered, all showing no suspicious signs—how could they randomly arrest someone to report success?
Even if they found young men of similar age, they still needed to find the former dynasty’s imperial jade seal! Otherwise, given the Son of Heaven’s temperament, he would surely punish them severely!
After taking revenge by furiously executing traitors, the capital once again fell into a state of alarm at every sound.
Some common people didn’t even dare leave their homes, only coming out when they had absolutely nothing to eat at home.
Not just ordinary people—even high officials and nobles, after the bloody scene in front of Fentian Hall, had greatly revised their understanding of the Son of Heaven. No one dared touch his sore spots at this time. Even the homes of court officials had become more low-key.
The entire capital was shrouded in a layer of black clouds.
Unable to find the former dynasty’s prince, Li Qitian turned his attention to Pang Xiao.
He mobilized troops from the Three Thousand Battalion and appointed two trusted aides, Song Deqiu and Lei Guoneng, as imperial commissioners to go directly to the frontier and read the imperial edict, escorting Prince Zhongshun, who was guilty of eleven serious crimes, back to the capital, and posting Pang Xiao’s crimes throughout the realm.
This time Li Qitian’s words were earnest, portraying himself as a sworn elder brother and diligent ruler so convincingly that many common people, after reading it, began to doubt their previous judgments.
“Could it be that the Son of Heaven is truly innocent? That Prince Zhongshun is really plotting rebellion while the Son of Heaven has been showing restraint all along?”
“Could we have misunderstood the Son of Heaven?”
“How those high officials live in court and what grudges and emotions exist between them—it’s not something we common folk can see or hear. What we see might all be illusions. Who can say for certain what’s really true?”
Quite a few common people had such doubts.
Li Qitian’s method actually made many people suspicious of Pang Xiao.
But just then, manifestos from the former dynasty’s prince Zhou Lian appeared overnight throughout the capital’s streets and alleys, detailing Li Qitian’s actions over the years and listing everything Pang Xiao had contributed during the two disaster reliefs and military campaigns.
With such a stark contrast, anyone with a brain could tell who was black and who was white.
Before Li Qitian could finish being angry about this manifesto, news came from the northern frontier.
“Your Majesty, terrible news! Prince Zhongshun and Duke Dingguo are leading their great army back to court!”