Chapter 10: Lawless

“And that Xiao Ji! Without any reason, he broke my only son’s leg! This is utter lawlessness! The Xiao family clearly has no regard for Your Majesty at all!”

The Vice Minister of Revenue accused with tears streaming down his face.

The emperor, seated on the dragon throne, already wore a mask of frost. He hurled the jade cup in his hand to the floor.
“Xie Linyuan! Xiao Ji! Are they trying to turn the heavens upside down? Guards—bring those two here at once to answer for their crimes!”

The palace guards didn’t move a muscle.

Enraged, the emperor swept all the memorials off the desk, scattering them across the floor.
“I am the Emperor of Great Qing!” he roared. “Great Qing belongs to the Liu family—not Xie Linyuan’s private garden!”

After venting for some time, his body, hollowed out by wine and women, lost all strength. He slumped back into the dragon throne.

At last came the high-pitched voice of the chief eunuch:
“His Highness, the Regent, arrives.”

The doors of the Hall of Mental Cultivation swung open, and Xie Linyuan strolled in, unhurried.

The dark robe embroidered with black python motifs gleamed under the sunlight; against the light, his figure approached, and all the guards before the hall lowered their heads in salute.

Black boots stitched with gold stepped onto the floor of the hall, each step like the arrival of the King of Hell himself. Xie Linyuan’s cold gaze swept over the assembly, and the Vice Minister of Revenue—eloquent only moments before—dared not breathe.

He stopped, glanced at the man shaking like a leaf, and parted his lips slightly.
“Your servant greets Your Majesty.”

Not a hint of a bow bent his knees.

The emperor swallowed, forcing his spirit up to scold:
“B–bold, Xie Linyuan! You conspired with Xiao Ji to harm a loyal minister—do you admit your guilt?”

Xie Linyuan smiled.

That cool, languid laughter echoed through the gilded, resplendent hall.

Turning the black jade thumb ring on his finger, he pronounced in a steady voice:
“Vice Minister of Revenue Liu Ming, guilty of corruption and harming the innocent, shall be imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison this very day, executed after the autumn assizes. All adult males of his household are to be exiled.”

Liu Ming’s eyes rolled back, and he collapsed in a faint.

The emperor’s lips moved, making one last attempt to save him.
“To know one’s faults and mend them is a virtue. Lord Liu has realized his wrongs—why not… spare him this once, Lord Xie?”

“His crimes are beyond pardon,” Xie Linyuan replied.

The emperor’s face flushed crimson.

Xie Linyuan cupped his hands.
“Your servant takes his leave.”

And with unhurried steps, he walked out.

The unconscious Vice Minister was dragged away to prison.

Inside the hall, the emperor’s face went red, then pale, then red again. His eyes fixed on Xie Linyuan’s tall, retreating back, wishing he could carve him to pieces.

But the emperor could not touch him. His fragile throne had been handed to him by Xie Linyuan himself, and the borders of the realm were guarded by Xie Linyuan’s armies.

“Attend me! We’re going to the harem!” The emperor, burning with rage, needed a place to vent it.

The Great Qing belonged to the Regent. The court belonged to the Regent. Only the small harem was truly the emperor’s own domain.

The pitiful concubines recently brought into the palace became his tools for venting violence.

But the new arrivals were all plain-faced, dull and flavorless. The emperor took up a whip, walked into some concubine’s chambers, and after a frenzy of strikes that left clothes in tatters, she collapsed in a faint with a scream.

Gripping her chin in disgust, he muttered, “Useless.”

The attendants entered the blood-scented chamber with lowered heads, changing the emperor into fresh garments.

He wiped the blood from his fingers and told his personal eunuch:
“Search outside the palace. I want a beauty of unmatched loveliness.”

The prettier she was, the more exquisite she would look when torn apart.

The eunuch bowed deeply. “Yes, Your Majesty. This servant will see it done.”

---

The Liu household was confiscated; all adult male members thrown into the Heavenly Prison. Over the years, their many crimes came to light, rousing the people’s righteous fury.

When word reached Jiang Chuyue, she set aside the storybook in her hands.
“So the Liu family fell this quickly?”

Baozhu nodded. “I heard the Regent personally oversaw the case. The Ministry of Justice worked through the night; both Liu Qingshu and his father will be executed after the autumn assizes.”

In barely ten days, the Liu family had vanished from the capital’s map.

Clutching the book, Jiang Chuyue sighed. “The Regent truly is swift and decisive.”

She feared Xie Linyuan.

That man was truly terrifying.

Baozhu chattered on:
“Miss, the day you were chased by mountain bandits, news reached the capital. The forests outside the city are too vast, hard to search, so the Regent sent thousands of his private iron cavalry to help General Xiao look for you.”

Jiang Chuyue was taken aback.

She had never imagined Xie Linyuan would send men to search for her.

But thinking a moment more, she quickly understood. Xiao Ji, commander of the elite Xuanwu Army, was the Regent’s sharpest blade.

By helping Xiao Ji find his missing sister, Xie Linyuan would earn both gratitude and loyalty.

“No wonder he’s the Regent,” she murmured. “He’s a master at winning hearts.”

The sun tilted, the day darkened.

After dinner, one of Xiao Ji’s guards came to her.
“Second Young Lady, the general requests you in the study.”

Her heart gave a little leap. “Very well, I’ll come shortly.”

The moon climbed above the willows, night deepened. Jiang Chuyue donned a thin pale-silver Sichuan brocade cloak, checked her reflection in the bronze mirror, and straightened her jade hairpin.

The general’s residence still burned with lamplight; lanterns glowed along the garden corridor as she approached Xiao Ji’s quarters.

There she met Ninth Aunt, weeping pitifully.

The woman clutched a pipa in her arms, her figure gaunt, her features worn and haggard. Seeing Jiang Chuyue, she wiped her tears and said softly, “Greetings, Second Young Lady.”

Jiang Chuyue handed her a handkerchief. “Don’t cry.”

“Many thanks for your kindness…” Ninth Aunt’s voice trembled. “I’ll return to my rooms now.”

She gave a formal bow and walked away in grief.

Jiang Chuyue watched her thin figure fade into the moonlight, sighing inwardly.

In recent days, the rear courtyard of the general’s residence had been still as water. Xiao Ji was busy with official duties, summoning no concubines to his bed. The nine beautiful women lived as though in an ice cellar.

Ninth Aunt, once in high favor, had plummeted overnight. Unwilling to fade into mediocrity, she had tried more than once to offer herself.

Night after night she played the pipa he once loved—but Xiao Ji was as unyielding as stone.

Collecting her thoughts, Jiang Chuyue stepped into the study. Xiao Ji stood over a map of Xuanwu Army patrol routes. Tall and straight as a pine, the candlelight etched his features into striking relief.

She watched him quietly for a moment before clearing her throat.
“Brother, why did you send for me?”

He set aside the map.
“Tomorrow at noon, I’ll send someone to take you to Fan Tower. The other day, when you were chased by bandits, the Regent’s cavalry found your trail and informed me. For this, we must host a banquet to thank him in person.”

Jiang Chuyue was startled. “It was the Regent who found me first?”