Zhanlu was surprised. His master’s plan to capture the city without expending effort to take over the government offices seemed to merely open a path without fully occupying the territory. Since they had decided to attack Zhao, why abandon these cities along the way?
He kept these doubts to himself, knowing his master always had his reasons. Zhanlu sighed, about to check on the grain collection when Shen Zaiye said, “Come with me to see Empress Lü.”
“Yes, sir.”
Though Empress Lü of Zhao held political power, after being captured and imprisoned for days, she was just an ordinary, panicked woman. Xu Yangui had been interrogating her relentlessly about the drug formula, but the clever Empress gave several fake recipes to deceive them.
However, Xu Yangui was no fool. He had previously had imperial physicians research the antidote. Though they couldn’t identify all the ingredients, they listed several. The woman’s formula didn’t match, so it was likely false.
“Your Majesty is quite stubborn,” Xu Yangui said, narrowing his eyes. “Even in this situation, you refuse to tell the truth. Do you not want to live?”
Sitting disheveled in the cage, Empress Lü sneered, “If I tell you, won’t I die anyway? If you have the guts, just kill me. Then two more people will accompany me in death!”
“Two people?” Shen Zaiye entered, hands clasped behind his back, frowning at Empress Lü. “Besides Jiang Taohua, who else?”
Having lived in the deep palace, Empress Lü naturally didn’t recognize them. But seeing Shen Zaiye’s handsome features and scholarly demeanor, she lowered her guard slightly. Looking at him, she said, “I promised someone I wouldn’t say. But if you beg me, I might be willing to tell you.”
Shen Zaiye narrowed his eyes. Xu Yangui burst out laughing, “The rumors of Zhao’s Empress Lü being licentious and obsessed with men are indeed true.”
To dare flirt with Shen Zaiye – she truly had great courage!
Snorting coldly, Shen Zaiye stepped closer to the cage and looked down at her. “Your Majesty need not say if you don’t wish to.”
“What?” Empress Lü startled, backing away. “Don’t try to scare me. I’m just not saying one name. You wouldn’t kill me, would you? Unless you no longer want the antidote!”
“Why would I kill you?” Smiling slightly, Shen Zaiye opened the cage and drew a dagger from his sleeve. Looking at her gently, he said, “You’ll live well until you write out the formula. But since you don’t seem to want a good life, losing your hair and eyebrows shouldn’t matter, right? It won’t endanger your life, after all.”
Empress Lü was speechless.
How important were hair and eyebrows to a woman? She wasn’t becoming a nun – how could she go without hair and eyebrows? It would be better to kill her quickly!
“Stop! Stop!” Seeing the dagger truly coming at her, cutting off a large section of her hair, Empress Lü screamed. Completely panicked, she cried, “I’ll tell you! I’ll tell you! The other one is Jiang Changjie. He’s also poisoned!”
Shaken, Shen Zaiye furiously pressed the dagger to her throat. “When did this happen?”
Terrified by his murderous aura, Empress Lü trembled, “Just recently. Jiang Taohua doesn’t know yet. Her master knows…”
Damn it. Jiang Taohua cared most about her brother. What would happen if she found out? Shen Zaiye pressed his lips together, coldly looking at her. “Write out the antidote formula immediately. Otherwise, I won’t hesitate to turn you into a human pig, leaving only your hands and mouth while destroying everything else. I mean what I say.”
Empress Lü was dumbfounded. If she said there was no antidote now, would she be killed on the spot?
“I… I’ll write it.” This man was even more terrifying than the previous one. His entire aura made one shudder. Though she didn’t know who he was, she sensed that offending such a person would certainly not end well.
They must have half the formula already, which was how they knew her previous writing was fake. Empress Lü gritted her teeth. Looking at the paper and brush brought to her, she carefully recalled the formula for the poison-suppressing drug. She wrote down the easily obtainable ingredients, then scrambled the rare herbs that ordinary doctors couldn’t identify. She omitted one crucial ingredient before cautiously handing it over.
“I make this antidote each time,” Empress Lü said. “Even with the formula, you must keep me to make the drug. Otherwise, it may not work.”
Shen Zaiye examined the formula before passing it to Xu Yangui, who compared it and nodded. “This should be it.”
“What about the final antidote?” Shen Zaiye asked.
Empress Lü froze, then fumbled around and produced a small bottle. “…Here.”
There was no final antidote for the gu poison. She hastily offered something to avoid angering these people.
Neither Shen Zaiye nor Xu Yangui understood gu poisons. They examined the “antidote,” figuring it was fine since Empress Lü was still imprisoned. They let her be, for now, ordering strict guard.
“I don’t understand,” Empress Lü frowned, watching them. “What’s so special about Jiang Taohua that makes you all protect her so?”
Shen Zaiye paused. “They? Who else?”
“Naturally, Qian Baimei and the Emperor of Wei.” Tilting her head to listen to the sounds of weapons and armor outside, Empress Lü narrowed her eyes. “You couldn’t be the Wei Emperor’s men too, could you?”
Snorting coldly, Shen Zaiye lifted the curtain and left. Xu Yangui followed, clutching the antidote. “I don’t know why, but her giving it up so easily makes me uneasy.”
“Then find a way to question her further,” Shen Zaiye said displeased. “With your skills as the Master of Yangui Gate, can’t you extract this bit of information? Aren’t you afraid of ruining Yangui Gate’s reputation?”
Slightly startled, Xu Yangui gave him a puzzled look. “Who angered you now?”
Shen Zaiye said nothing and strode forward.
He had sent word to Mu Wuxia, asking him to coordinate an attack on Zhao’s capital from within and without. But the boy flatly refused and even retreated thirty miles. He couldn’t understand why at first, but it turned out to be because of Jiang Taohua again.
Shen Zaiye also wanted to know the answer to Empress Lü’s question: What virtue did this woman possess to make so many people worry about her?
As the army approached the capital, the civil and military officials argued fiercely. Some proposed that Jiang Changjie ascend the throne, as he held military power and was the only prince, with the emperor incapacitated, the empress missing, and the princess dead. In this situation, wasn’t the third prince the only one who could stabilize things?
Others disagreed, denouncing Jiang Changjie and his associates as murderers of the royal family, unworthy of the throne.
Taohua let them argue, only inviting the Chief Censor and Lai Shiqing for tea.
“Second Princess, you need not say more,” Lai Shiqing said. “We will not agree to the Third Prince ascending the throne.”
Calmly pouring them tea, Taohua smiled. “Why speak so hastily? Shouldn’t you hear what I have to say?”
The two men exchanged glances. Lai Shiqing spoke, “Please, Princess, go ahead.”
“The court is in chaos. You two insist on preventing Changjie’s ascension, thinking he’ll eradicate Empress Lü’s former faction after taking the throne,” Taohua said with a smile. “But if Changjie doesn’t defend the capital now, your entire families may be even less likely to survive the war.”
Slightly startled, Lai Shiqing frowned. “Why frighten us, Princess? Hasn’t the Second Prince already prepared provisions and troops to defend the city?”
“He’s made arrangements because he’s from Zhao. He should naturally protect his motherland,” Taohua said. “But you two can’t take this for granted. Everyone acts in self-interest. If Changjie can’t ascend the throne, his fight becomes meaningless. When Wei’s army reaches the city, he might open the gates instead of defending.”
The two old ministers frowned. Fan Yushi said, “The Second Prince is kind-hearted. He’s not that sort of person.”
“If being kind-hearted means letting you all use him as a shield without giving him what he deserves, I’d rather teach him to be a villain,” Taohua smiled. “Good people never get rewarded anyway. Doing good is expected while doing evil is unforgivable. It’s better to be a villain – occasionally doing good gets praised as kindhearted. Don’t you agree?”
Fan Yushi fell silent. Lai Shiqing pressed his lips together. “What benefit is there in opening the gates? The Second Prince needn’t bear the name of traitor.”
“I’m married to Wei, on good terms with Wei’s emperor and chancellor-like family,” Taohua said. “Wei now intends to make Zhao a vassal state. Think about it – Zhao wouldn’t lose out. We’d truly become one family, sparing the people from war. And the ruler of this vassal state would certainly be Changjie. What’s not to like?”
The implication was clear: If you don’t let Changjie ascend the throne, he’ll still be the ruler when Zhao becomes a vassal state, and you still won’t fare well.
Lai Shiqing’s brows furrowed deeply. He gazed at Taohua intently. “I never imagined the Second Princess, who once washed clothes by the palace walls, would now have such skill in turning the tides.”
“You flatter me. I’m just a woman,” Taohua said, sensing their softening tone. She handed over two scrolls. “These are two imperial edicts without the jade seal. If Changjie ascends the throne, the seal will be affixed. Please take a look.”
Lai Shiqing and Fan Yushi paused, then took the scrolls to read. They contained a series of rewards, even granting them noble titles and hereditary wealth.
“This…”
“Changjie is a grateful child,” Taohua said earnestly. “If you two can overcome opposition to support his ascension, he’ll naturally be deeply grateful and rely on you heavily. If you don’t wish to be meritorious officials for the new emperor’s ascension, I can find others.”
In the end, people care about their interests. With such generous terms and no other options, the two stubborn old men finally wavered.
(End of Chapter)