The morning court session on the Yǐwèi day in the fifteenth year of Yonghe was one for the history books.
The civil and military officials were utterly flabbergasted, and even the Emperor was visibly startled.
Yun Chunfeng still attended court in his simple wheelchair. However, today, he had a little girl sitting on his lap.
The little girl, her hair tied into two small buns, looked around curiously, her eyes wide with wonder.
Behind them, “Huo Ci” looked on with paternal affection at “his” daughter, his hands pushing the State Preceptor’s wheelchair as they slowly advanced.
What was with this picture-perfect image of a family of three?!
Weren’t they mortal enemies trying to destroy each other just a couple of days ago?!
Jiang Xingyan, feeling the shocked stares of her colleagues, quickly let go of the wheelchair and stepped to the side to stand with the other officials.
Xiao Ao steadied his composure and proceeded to deploy a series of actions targeting Beiluo during the court session.
“First Prince, Second Prince, Third Prince, you will each take a team to inspect the regions. Check the state of the grain harvest, how much the traveling merchants have purchased, and how much remains in the households of the common people. Assess if it would be enough to sustain us for several years if war breaks out. Also, inspect the iron mines. Ensure there are no traitors leaking information. You have a little over a month. Be thorough.”
Jiang Xingyan listened, her heart pounding. She knew Xiao Ao was a wise ruler, but she hadn’t expected him to be so decisive. Sending his own sons out on such investigations, seemingly unconcerned about the potential dangers.
She subtly raised her head, secretly observing the three princes standing at the front, paying their respects.
The First Prince, though the eldest, was born of a concubine, Consort Li.
The Second Prince was of lowly birth; his mother was a palace maid, only granted the title of Noble Lady after becoming pregnant. A Noble Lady wasn’t qualified to raise a prince, so the Second Prince had been raised by the Empress Dowager.
The Third Prince was the legitimate son born to the Empress, making him the most prestigious.
Xiao Ao was in the prime of his life and had not yet named an heir. But the court officials had long since split into three factions: one supported the Eldest Prince, another the legitimate Third Prince. Then there was the completely neutral faction; the Huo family had always been thus. The Second Prince, with no maternal family backing and no particular strength of his own, was not in their considerations. Western Zhou had always valued merit over seniority in succession. This mission was also Xiao Ao’s way of evaluating them.
The First Prince was the most eager to request his assignment: “Imperial Father, the Jiangnan region has always been the most critical area for grain taxation and must be strictly investigated. Your son is willing to go!”
Xiao Ao’s expression was neutral, betraying neither joy nor anger. “Granted.”
The Second Prince lowered his eyes and bowed his head, exceedingly respectful: “Imperial Father, your son privately thinks that the Beiluo scoundrels cannot openly transport large quantities of grain out of Western Zhou through checkpoints. They might instead focus their efforts on the border regions. Your son is willing to patrol the border areas and cut off their retreat.”
After Xiao Ao granted his request, the Third Prince finally stepped forward and spoke: “Imperial Father, while investigating the grain supply is paramount, the major cities, starting with the capital, also need to be screened and reorganized. This is to prevent Beiluo spies from being embedded within, which would be disadvantageous to us.”
Although Jiang Xingyan didn’t understand the intricacies of court politics, she had followed her grandfather to inspect various shops and collect rents since she was young, encountering all sorts of people. Just from these three choices, she could see: the First Prince was impatient for success, the Second Prince was reckless (having nothing to lose), and the Third Prince was meticulous and thoughtful. The position of Crown Prince would most likely fall to the Third Prince.
Unless—
Jiang Xingyan abruptly stopped her train of thought.
Dangerous. Far too dangerous!
She had unconsciously started thinking about involving herself in the struggle for the succession. She wanted to make the Huo family pay, but if she got entangled in the change of imperial power, stepping into this brutal arena that devoured people without spitting out the bones, failure wouldn’t just mean a dissolved marriage—even death wouldn’t be the end. A new emperor could dig up her corpse for posthumous punishment. Wasn’t her mother-in-law’s maternal family the prime example?
Jiang Xingyan hurriedly reined in those runaway thoughts and kept her head down until the court session ended.
Just as she stepped out of the Taihe Hall, Su Sheng hurried over and whispered something into Yun Chunfeng’s ear.
Yun Chunfeng nodded slightly in acknowledgment to Su Sheng. He adjusted his hold on Xiao Ya, turned to Jiang Xingyan, and said, “His Majesty summons this unworthy one to the imperial study. I dare not trouble General Huo to wait. This unworthy one will return to the military camp on my own later.”
Jiang Xingyan nodded and reached out to take Xiao Ya back, but she saw the little girl tilt her head and wave at her, content to be carried away by Yun Chunfeng.
Jiang Xingyan: Huh?
Was Xiao Ya already this trusting of Brother Yun?
Well, it was just as well. She needed to go to the execution grounds, and carrying Xiao Ya would be inconvenient.
Today was the day Jinzhu was to be publicly beheaded.
Jiang Xingyan left the carriage for Yun Chunfeng and rode her horse at a leisurely pace.
By the time she arrived, a crowd had already gathered around the execution platform. She had to watch from a distance, seated on her horse.
“Ah, finally waiting for this old hag’s execution! I couldn’t sleep without seeing her die! How could she do that to a child barely over two years old!”
“Exactly! General Huo is such a good man. To be saddled with such a vicious servant—what terrible luck! I heard she was a house-born servant too.”
“Hah, foolish! How could a mere servant have such nerve? If you ask me, I don’t believe there wasn’t someone pulling the strings behind her back.”
The crowd buzzed with discussions about the Huo family’s secrets. Many boldly speculated that the mastermind behind it all was the Old Madame Huo. The reasons were nothing new: disdain for the daughter-in-law, dislike for the granddaughter, and the like.
Jiang Xingyan nodded in vehement agreement inwardly. There really were perceptive people among the commoners. Wasn’t this a hundred times better than Huo Ci, who could only say ‘Mother isn’t wrong,’ ‘Mother had a hard time raising me,’ and ‘We must be filial to Mother’?
Disheveled and filthy, Jinzhu was brought onto the execution platform amidst the noise. Covered in bloodstains, her head hung low, dirty hair obscured her face. The right sleeve of her prisoner’s uniform hung empty. Her whole being seemed to have only the faintest breath left. Even without the beheading, she probably wouldn’t have lived much longer.
Two bailiffs secured her on the execution block. As soon as they stepped back, someone in the crowd shouted, “Let’s stone this old witch to death!”
Instantly, a barrage of rotten vegetables and stinking eggs flew towards Jinzhu, hitting her body with heavy thuds.
One figure stood out in the crowd, desperately trying to block the people around her, screaming hoarsely, “Stop! Please stop! My sister knows she was wrong! Let her go with some dignity!”
It was Yinzhu, who had come hoping to collect her sister’s body.
“Get lost! Touch me again, and I’ll stone you too! A conscience-less thing like you deserves dignity? I spit on you!” A woman nearby spat directly in her face.
After being shoved aside, Yinzhu turned and saw the Young General sitting on his horse. She tried to rush through the crowd to beg for his mercy when she suddenly heard the executioner’s shout: “The hour of noon has arrived! Carry out the execution!”
As the command token hit the ground, the executioner sprayed wine onto his broadsword. Under the scorching sun, he raised the blade high.
Yinzhu felt blinded by the sunlight for a second, and then she saw a bloody head roll to the ground.
Suddenly, she could hear nothing.
She could only watch as her sister’s body was haphazardly dragged away.
The spectators dispersed, satisfied.
Tears streaming down her aged face, Yinzhu threw herself forward and knelt at the feet of Jiang Xingyan’s horse, kowtowing frantically.
“I beg the General to grant this old slave permission to collect my sister’s body! Let her be buried in peace! This old slave is willing to cut off both her own arms in exchange!”
Jiang Xingyan looked down coldly, watching as blood gradually began to stain Yinzhu’s forehead from the force of her kowtows.
She remembered her previous life, after she had died, her soul lingering. She had seen Xiafeng and the other three maids kneel before the main courtyard door just like this, kowtowing until their foreheads were bloody. They begged the Old Madame Huo for mercy, to grant her and Xiao Ya a dignified burial, willing to sign deeds renouncing all claims to the shops.
But that old hag not only cheated them out of the shops but also had men violate them.
The four girls, with nothing left to live for, hanged themselves together in the main room.
After death, they, along with her and Xiao Ya, were thrown into the mass graves to be devoured by wild dogs, denied whole bodies in death.
And hadn’t Jinzhu and Yinzhu personally carried all of that out?
Weren’t they laughing quite happily then?
Why couldn’t they accept it when the retribution fell upon themselves?
“Let her be buried in peace? Who will let us be buried in peace?”
Jiang Xingyan kicked Yinzhu in the shoulder, sending her rolling away with a cry of pain.
“Don’t worry. This General has… other uses for your sister’s corpse.
And your life… this General won’t let that go either.”
Jinzhu’s death had been too cheap.
Even though she had suffered torture in prison, it wasn’t enough.
Jiang Xingyan’s face was dark, her eyes gathering a bloodthirsty killing intent.
Her revenge had only just begun.