Chapter 41

Feng Kui’s face was as pale as a ghost.

One misstep led to another. Recalling the piles of corpses that littered the city—those soldiers with whom he had once laughed and joked—his heart twisted as if cut by a knife, and he wept blood.

Feng Kui suddenly coughed up a burst of blood with a bitter, metallic-sweet taste and managed to say, “I was too cowardly, too eager to cling to life. I’m sorry, General—it’s my fault…”

Then, he sprang up abruptly and barreled headlong toward the steps ahead.

“Ah—”

Emperor Qing leaped to his feet in shock, and everyone else in the hall couldn’t help but exclaim. Feng Kui collapsed into a pool of blood, his eyes wide open as the blood rapidly spread over his face. “… I’m… I’m sorry…” he managed weakly.

Old Madam Xiao’s lips trembled as she turned her face away, refusing to look at him, while Su Jinyuan and Xie Yunyan remained completely indifferent. A single life, after all, could never bring back Xiao Jin, Xiao Yunxi, and the others—or those doomed to die in Linchuan.

“I told you, the Xiao family could never have staged a rebellion. They have clearly been framed by someone,” declared Lord Jian’an, who had been holding back his anger until now. Stepping forward, he continued, “Feng Kui and Luo Yu are the ones who conspired to frame the Xiao family. And that so-called rebel who was captured—there’s something fishy about him. Nine times out of ten, he’s been deliberately bribed to slander the Xiao family.”

“Speak! Who exactly are you, and why did you frame General Xiao?!” Lord Jian’an barked.

The man trembled uncontrollably, as if Feng Kui’s death had utterly terrified him.

Lord Jian’an said coldly, “If you don’t confess honestly, the capital has a host of severe punishments waiting for you. One by one, they will befall you—flaying your skin, cutting your bones, stripping your tendons, breaking your limbs. I doubt you will ever leave prison intact!”

The man turned deathly pale with fear.

Old Madam Xiao spoke in an icy tone, “Those who wish to harm the Xiao family are simply our enemies.”

She continued, “Even if you don’t tell the truth, we will eventually uncover it. Now that you’re speaking, that’s one thing—but if I later discover your true identity, then even though the Xiao family has never implicated the innocent, I will not hesitate to dismember your whole household, cut by cut, so that you will also taste the agony that now pierces the heart of the Xiao family.”

The man’s eyes were wild with panic, yet he stubbornly refused to utter another word.

Seeing this, Xie Yunyan let out a cold laugh. Lifting his head weakly, he looked to Emperor Qing and said, “Your Majesty, the Xiao family has never committed treason. I’m sure Your Majesty’s investigation today will make it clear that my adoptive father and his associates have never betrayed the Great Jin.”

He added, “The Xiao family seeks no other justice but that Your Majesty deliver this man—and the bodies of Luo Yu and Feng Kui—to us.”

Xie Yunyan’s face was ashen, and his voice trembled with each word; anyone could sense the intense hatred he was suppressing beneath his pain. “When the day comes to bury my father and brothers, I will dismember them right before their graves—forcing them to atone for their sins against my family!”

Emperor Qing’s eyes darkened as he replied, “Agreed.”

Upon hearing that Emperor Qing would hand him over to the Xiao family, the so-called rebel looked at the Xiao family members staring at him with eyes full of malice. Terrified, he lost control of himself.

Fearing that he might indeed be dismembered alive—and dreading the wrath of the Xiao family—he cried, “I—I swear, it was Lord Jiang who ordered me to do this! He told me to pose as a rebel, to frame Xiao Jin…”

“Not me, not me!”

The “Lord Jiang” he referred to was none other than Jiang Zicang, the Prefect of Linchuan whom Feng Kui had mentioned earlier.

Emperor Qing was furious. He immediately ordered that this man be seized and subjected to severe interrogation, and he dispatched men to Linchuan to arrest Jiang Zicang. Meanwhile, Duke Yu, kneeling in the hall with his head bowed, clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white and his pupils trembled violently.

Filled with guilt, Emperor Qing looked at Old Madam Xiao and said, “It is my fault—I failed to identify the traitor who obstructed justice, allowing the Xiao family to be wronged.”

Old Madam Xiao, her brows slightly lowered, replied coolly, “It is that treacherous man with a blackened heart. This has nothing to do with Your Majesty.”

Noticing that Old Madam Xiao was not letting the matter drop, Emperor Qing exhaled in slight relief, “Rest assured, madam; I will surely order that Jiang Zicang be brought back and that this matter be thoroughly investigated in order to restore justice to the Xiao family—and to Xiao Jin and the others.”

With all charges against the Xiao family completely cleared—and though a few details still eluding discovery—everyone knew that the Xiao family, once on the verge of being completely exterminated, had managed to revive their fortunes through this very course.

Not only did Emperor Qing pardon the Xiao family and order the imperial physicians to treat Xie Yunyan, he even stripped Duke Yu of the authority to preside over the Linchuan case and handed it over to Chancellor Bo Ying and Liang Deqiu.

Outside, the heavy rain gradually subsided, and the sunlight suddenly broke through the sky.

Bo Ying stood in front of the hall, watching as Old Madam Xiao and her entourage were personally escorted out of the palace by Feng Huan in the imperial carriage. Suddenly, he let out a soft laugh.

“What are you laughing at, Chancellor Bo?” asked Liang Deqiu.

“Nothing,” Bo Ying replied.

He simply had not expected that the ever-loyal and upright Xiao family would resort to such devious tactics—and so skillfully contrive a plot that everyone had been lured into their scheme.

Yang Hong, Luo Yu, Cai Chuan, Feng Kui (who had only just returned to the capital) and Lord Jian’an—and even Your Majesty with those around him, not to mention the garrison outside the palace gates and the common folk—had all become pawns in the grand game that the Xiao family had set for today.

Did Emperor Qing not realize that Luo Yu had been deceived?

He did. But so what?

Even if the Xiao family had orchestrated today’s events, Luo Yu had indeed intruded upon the Xiao household, smashed Xiao Jin’s coffin, desecrated the remains of the Xiao family, and even attempted to frame them.

No matter how many reasons he might offer, who would believe that the Xiao family committed such acts on their own?

Bo Ying narrowed his eyes slightly.

Among the remaining members of the Xiao family, Xie Yunyan was too restricted in prison to speak out, and Old Madam Xiao would never act in such a way—so then, was it that little girl?

A trace of curiosity and admiration stirred within him, and a faint smile appeared in his eyes.

Standing aside, Lord Jian’an seethed with indignation: “It is such a pity for Xiao Jin and the others—after a lifetime of loyal service, so many lives lost still cannot compel Your Majesty to punish Duke Yu severely.”

He would rather have Luo Yu beaten to death to silence him than risk endangering Duke Yu.

Bo Ying glanced at him and said, “Duke Yu is a pillar of this court and still enjoys Your Majesty’s favor. Without irrefutable evidence, the Emperor will not act against him.”

Duke Yu is different from the rest. He is even more ruthless in his methods and has done some unsavory things on behalf of Emperor Qing. As long as he does not undermine the very foundations of the court or plot rebellion against the Emperor’s will, without concrete evidence, Emperor Qing will not move against him.

Lord Jian’an cursed under his breath in anger.

Liang Deqiu finally broke his silence: “My lord, please don’t be so angry. The fact that the Xiao family has managed to reverse their doomed fate and survive this time is already the best possible outcome. With Xiao Jin’s case being reopened, His Majesty will undoubtedly offer compensation. However, if the Xiao family isn’t content and insists on pursuing the matter relentlessly, it will end up costing them more than it’s worth. Furthermore, since His Majesty intends to appease the Xiao family, Duke Yu won’t receive any punishment at all. Even if Duke Yu manages to escape death, he’ll probably still lose a layer of skin. Moreover, given the ruthless tactics the Xiao family employed today, Duke Yu’s household is unlikely to enjoy any peace from now on.”

Lord Jian’an, upon hearing this, finally felt a bit relieved: “I did it solely for Xiao Jin.”

Bo Ying merely shook his head without saying anything more—whether it was worth it was hard for anyone to judge. Then he turned to Liang Deqiu and said, “Master Liang, this time, the Xiao family owes you an enormous favor from your son-in-law. You, my friend, will be blessed in the future.”

Liang Deqiu was stunned for a moment; seeing Bo Ying smile and then turn and leave, he furrowed his brow in deep thought. Suddenly, he remembered something Luo Yu had said earlier, and as the thought registered, his face turned pitch black.

“That scoundrel Yang Hong—could it be that he really got involved in the Xiao family’s affairs?!”

Liang Deqiu no longer had any inclination to comfort Lord Jian’an. Frustrated and burning with anger, he quickly turned and followed Bo Ying out of the palace, determined to confront Yang Hong. If that bastard really did something, he would peel his skin off!