Chapter 35: Received into the Palace
Sweet Tub excitedly: “You want to date the Big Wolf Dog!!!”
“Goo.” The black falcon stuck to Weiyang Palace, occupying a corner of the study.
The Emperor, who had made up his mind never to pull an all-nighter again, had now stayed up all night.
Various ministries began to investigate the ins and outs of the Feng Yong case, convict Feng Yong overnight, and estimate the assets taken by him.
In front of the imperial desk, the Vice Minister of Revenue, carrying the calculation results, reported in panic: “Your—Your Majesty, Feng Yong has taken at least fifteen… one hundred and fifty thousand taels of silver…”
Feng Yong had high status but not heavy power.
But high status itself was capital for amassing wealth.
The Censors, Ministry of Justice, Dali Temple, and others also presented details regarding the Feng Yong corruption case to the Emperor in hindsight.
Documents piled up on Ying Xi’s desk. He annotated them one by one, writing down execution opinions.
Because he was too exhausted, he signaled several ministers to go out and handle affairs first. The ministers withdrew.
Yu Jing stepped forward to persuade the Emperor to sleep.
Ying Xi asked instead, “Has the person been found?”
Yu Jing was startled, then said, “The teams sent out to search have not yet sent back a reply.”
“Send more people. Zhen’s guards will go too.”
Yu Jing’s eyes rolled, intuitively hearing some indescribable implication: “The Duke of Ying has heaven’s blessing.”
Ying Xi frowned: “Feng Yong still holds one hundred and fifty thousand taels of Zhen’s money.”
Yu Jing immediately put away his wild thoughts. The current Son of Heaven saved where he could; one hundred and fifty thousand taels was trampling on the Emperor’s bottom line. It was a matter of utmost importance.
“This slave will go handle it immediately!”
After Yu Jing left, Ying Xi picked up his tea cup. His jade-white fingertips rubbed against the cup; his translucent nails seemed ready to embed themselves into the porcelain.
“Aren’t you worried about the Big Wolf Dog?” Sweet Tub asked.
Ying Xi didn’t answer. The black falcon shrank into a ball.
That falcon was super fierce toward Lian Qing, but toward Ying Xi, it was terrified and cowardly.
Ying Xi withdrew his gaze from the roof beam where the falcon perched. A layer of mist floated in his dark gray eyes, as if seeing a very distant memory through the fog.
He confirmed with Sweet Tub: “Can you help Zhen fall in love?”
Sweet Tub excitedly: “You want to date the Big Wolf Dog!!!”
Their topics were not on the same frequency. Ying Xi ignored Sweet Tub’s ecstasy and steered it back on track: “If so, can you let Zhen see Minister Xie immediately?”
This was Sweet Tub’s area of interest. Sweet Tub instantly perked up: “I can in the future, but not right now. That’s a high-level function of this System; it needs time to accumulate.”
He couldn’t wait.
Ying Xi asked again, “If Zhen cannot see him in person, can I contact him?”
The Romance System was magical, often exceeding imagination.
He was currently waiting passively for news and didn’t like this feeling, so he thought of using the System.
The request wasn’t excessive, Ying Xi thought. In a relationship, from budding to fruition, it was perfectly normal for both parties to want to contact each other. He only needed Xie Qianli to tell him where he was.
Sure enough, Sweet Tub answered crisply: “I can~”
It answered sweetly.
Ying Xi was usually calm, but his mind suddenly tightened: “How?”
Before his voice fell, a cloud-like puff of air appeared before his eyes. When the smoke cleared, a wild goose appeared on the table. It was very delicate, gray-brown, and aroused the vigilance of the black falcon on the beam.
“I can facilitate ‘Swan Goose Delivering a Letter’ (Hongyan Chuanshu),” Sweet Tub said.
It explained further: “You can write a letter to the capture target, and the wild goose will deliver it for you. But this function can’t help you find General Xie.”
“Why?”
“If General Xie is tied up, fainted, or can’t open the door, he can’t receive the letter, let alone reply. So there will be words going out but none coming back.”
Sweet Tub expressed regret: “The Big Wolf Dog went for revenge; it must be very dangerous. How could he send you feedback?”
In an instant, the hope Ying Xi had just ignited was doused by Sweet Tub’s words like cold water.
The wild goose hopped on the imperial desk.
Ying Xi stroked its smooth back, chewing on the word dangerous. His brows furrowed tighter and tighter. While lost in thought, his fingers still touched the goose’s feathers, causing the black falcon to become incredibly jealous. It landed in front of Ying Xi, waiting to be petted.
“Goo.”
“!!!”
The sudden appearance of the raptor scared the wild goose into fleeing instinctively.
Who knew this would awaken the hunting instincts of the falcon? The study of Weiyang Palace was instantly filled with circling birds.
The guards outside heard the commotion and became restless, asking from outside the door: “—Your Majesty? Does Your Majesty have orders???”
Inside the study, Ying Xi made no movement. He looked up at the black falcon, thoughtful.
He saw it chasing the wild goose purely to vent anger, yet it dared not truly peck the other to death, maintaining a distance that kept the other terrified and flying frantically.
Ying Xi revealed a very faint smile.
See the small and know the manifest; deduce three from one.
The scene before him was enough for Ying Xi to think of the fastest way to find the person—he was going to arrange for Sweet Tub to send a letter to Xie Qianli immediately, and then he would open the window and release the wild goose.
The wild goose fluttered away.
The falcon landed on Ying Xi’s shoulder, staring straight at where the goose went, both hostile and dissatisfied with this bird that appeared out of nowhere.
The Emperor tickled the falcon’s chin, soothing it slightly, and tied a bright yellow ribbon—extremely conspicuous even in the dark—to the falcon’s claw.
Ying Xi called in the guards and ordered:
“Take Zhen’s decree, ride the fastest horses, and chase this falcon.”
The guards looked at each other in dismay, but having long ceased to question any of the Emperor’s arrangements, they immediately said yes.
The raptor spread its wings; the falcon flew to the heavens!
Outskirts of Chang’an, the Manor.
Feng Yong realized he had fallen for a self-injury ruse (Kurouji). Xie Qianli had used himself as bait to lure him from somewhere deep in the mountains to this place.
But realizing it was too late. Feng Yong was panic-stricken and immediately drilled into the cluster of death warriors.
Xie Qianli had just seized a blade. He was decisive with the knife, thrusting the blade forward, striking straight at the opponent’s weakness. Then, with another stroke, he killed the two death warriors protecting Feng Yong.
Feng Yong rolled and crawled, his luxurious black silk clothes covered in bloody mud.
The fall of the two death warriors left his back exposed. Fearing he would be stabbed to death directly, Feng Yong screamed, “Quick, protect this official!”
Another string of blood splattered—
Xie Qianli’s palms were ice-cold. The movement pulled at his injuries, and gushing blood oozed out of his armor. His vision went black.
That moment of distraction caused his body to become sluggish, and the momentum of his blade halted. Feng Yong fled forward for his life: “Block him! Block him!”
Of course, a living Duke of Ying was more valuable than a dead one.
The family soldiers dared not loose arrows. Another wave of people came up, and then six or seven blades stabbed into various parts of Xie Qianli’s body. Cold light illuminated the night.
In this state, struggling to resist the siege wasn’t worth it. So he abandoned the blade and rolled downward, avoiding several sharp edges. As Feng’s enemy soldiers chased again, Xie Qianli got up toward the central courtyard and picked up the Swimming Dragon Glaive.
The Swimming Dragon Glaive used length to overcome shortness. The pursuers lost their advantage and were swept away by the heavy weapon, fountains of blood flying. Feng Yong was exposed outside the circle once again.
The silver gleam of the spear shaft rushed straight at Feng Yong’s chest. Feng Yong fell sitting on the ground.
But Xie Qianli could no longer hold the heavy Swimming Dragon Glaive steady.
A thicker layer of pallor floated onto his face. His sword-brows and starry eyes dimmed, his brows furrowed fiercely. The silver spear that should have pierced Feng Yong’s heart lowered several inches, piercing through Feng Yong’s thigh instead.
“Ahhhhhh—”
Feng Yong wailed like a slaughtered pig, blood splashing on the ground.
Feng Yong was frightened out of his wits. Dragging his severely injured leg, he retreated, painting a long trail of blood.
Xie Qianli still leaned on the long spear, stumbling forward.
One step, then another.
Every step stamped a bright red footprint.
No one could stop this revenge.
Behind Feng Yong were countless souls who shouldn’t have lost their lives—his father, his vice general, the soldiers who were like brothers to him.
Xie Qianli used all his strength to raise the Swimming Dragon Glaive again: “Killing pays for life; blood debt paid in blood.”
Feng Yong couldn’t dodge anymore. Moving desperately, he screamed hoarsely: “Kill him! Kill him! Release arrows! Quick, release arrows!!!”
Countless bowstrings tightened. Arrows flew like rain. Xie Qianli blocked half with his armor, but those he couldn’t block pierced his body, turning him into a silver-and-red hedgehog.
At the same time, a screech tore through the long night in the sky.
The messenger wild goose arrived first, followed closely by the falcon with the golden ribbon on its leg chasing urgently. Countless imperial guards galloped over.
The guards shouted as they ran along the way, rushing into the manor proclaiming the Imperial Decree: “Her Majesty’s Decree: Feng Yong plotted to harm the monarch, perverted the law for greed, and caused the deaths of meritorious ministers and good generals. His crimes are heinous. The Duke of Ying is ordered to execute him immediately to uphold the law. Respect this.”
The spear tip pierced through from Feng Yong’s back, nailing him completely to the ground.
He made a final grab at the void with his hand. His pupils reflected Xie Qianli’s figure, the guards heavily surrounding the courtyard, and the silver he had hoarded in the yard for years, yet to be enjoyed.
“I… don’t… want… to die… don’t want…”
Feng Yong gradually fell silent.
Great vengeance avenged. The conviction that sustained Xie Qianli through this bitter battle had burned to its end.
His head buzzed. In a trance, he only heard Ying Xi’s decree being shouted everywhere. That decree came at the perfect time, convicting Feng Yong with the fastest speed and letting him kill Feng Yong with his own hands.
Xie Qianli’s mind was chaotic, a scorching heat blocking his heart. His body could no longer support him; he crashed to the ground like a collapsing jade mountain.
The guards rushed to support him with seven hands and eight feet.
Everyone exclaimed: “Duke of Ying! Duke of Ying!!!”
Daylight gradually brightened. Today should have been the Grand Court Assembly, but Ying Xi held no morning court.
Outside the Weiyang Palace study, Yu Jing transmitted the latest intelligence: Guards found Feng Yong’s hiding place at a nameless manor twenty-some li outside the city. Feng Yong is dead, all assets seized, and the Ministry of Revenue has sent people to check the detailed amount. The Emperor is asked to be at ease.
Ying Xi breathed a slow sigh of relief.
Then his gaze scrutinized Yu Jing. Yu Jing was terrified and continued: “The Duke of Ying is injured. The guards are transporting him to Chang’an City.”
Ying Xi’s lip line tightened. He didn’t speak, his gaze involuntarily dimming.
A guard outside reported again: “Your Majesty, the Duke of Ying has entered the city. The Xie Residence requested Imperial Physician Liu to make a house call in advance; the Xie Residence has no resident doctor!”
“…” This was indeed something the Xie family would do.
The Emperor said, “Granted.”
Ying Xi added, “Bestow some medicine for treating injuries.”
That guard was also talkative. Seeing the Emperor showing grace to Xie Qianli and wanting to perform in front of the Emperor, he rambled: “Your Majesty is wise. The Sovereign’s grace covers the Four Seas. Even though the Duke of Ying was stabbed by Feng Yong and then shot into a bloody man by arrows, it would be hard to repay even one ten-thousandth of Your Majesty’s grace!”
In the quiet study, the incense smoke trembled lightly.
Unknowingly, Ying Xi had stood up from the dragon chair.
Perhaps he was too sleepy, his eyes numb. His originally clear and noble voice turned hoarse when he spoke: “Zhen…”
Yu Jing hurriedly stepped forward to serve, holding up a cup of tea for the Emperor. The Chief Eunuch secretly wanted to scold the guard for talking too much, but that inexplicable guess surfaced in his mind again. He dared not speak, afraid of misunderstanding the Emperor’s heart: “Your Majesty has not slept all night. This slave asks Your Majesty to take care of the Dragon Body.”
The Xie Residence was farther from the city gate than the palace.
For Physician Liu to rush there would waste more time.
Ying Xi pushed away the tea cup and finally decided in a deep voice: “Carry him here. Permit him to be treated in Weiyang Palace.”
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