Chapter 609 - Dispersing Troops
However, the reply to Wen Xian plea was...
“Zhao Huai is right. He deserves to die.” Wen Panshi’s eyes were bleak and red. He clenched his teeth, suppressing the pain in his heart. “Those that hurt the Little Heir, no matter who they are, should face such an end.” He had watched Lin Feng grow up and treated him like a son. How could he not be upset?
Wen Xian’s expression was full of agonising pain. His sword fell to the ground as his arm seemed to lose its strength. He fell to the ground in front of Lin Feng and sobbed heart-wrenchingly.
The crowd was silent. The air around them felt heavy.
When Ji Yunshu looked at all the dead bodies, her eyes reddened involuntarily. The whole courtyard was covered in blood….
In the end, Jing Rong ordered for the Si and Wen Residences to be sealed up and the truth concealed. All the men related to the incident were to be jailed in Yufu yamen prison on suspicion of smuggling cloth. Very quickly, dozens of people were crammed into the prison like sardines in a can!
However, Zuo Yao, the magistrate of Yufu county, was spared this fate. Jing Rong didn’t intend to let him off, but because of his position, there would certainly be gossip and commotion if he were imprisoned as well. If news of his imprisonment spread to the capital, then the news about the Little Heir and the remnants of the Imperial Duke Residence would also spread.
In Anchang Court, the bratty Tang Si was disciplining Zuo Yao with the whip! Who told him to tie her up? He was lucky that he wasn’t beaten to death!
However, Jing Rong said to spare his life. He would allow him to sit in the county magistrate position for the time being. Although Tang Si didn’t understand, she couldn’t go against it. However, she seized the chance to discipline him. Zuo Yao’s screams rang as loud and jarring as a pig being butchered throughout the courtyard.
In contrast, the room was dead quiet. Jing Rong stood in front of the open window on the left side of the house. He stared at the small puddle on the ground for a long while. A gentle breeze swept and created small ripples on its surface. “Speak.” His tone was so calm that one couldn’t discern any emotions.
At this stage, Ji Yunshu had no need to keep it a secret anymore. She took out the jade pendant again and started, “This jade is one of the two tiger amulets of the Imperial Duke. Once both tiger amulets are put together, the army of hundred thousand hidden by the Imperial Duke can be mobilized.”
“One hundred thousand?” Mo Ruo's eyes almost popped out of his head. “No wonder those people were not afraid of anything. So they had such a large army supporting them?! But any personal army exceeding five thousand, must be reported to the court. How could a hundred thousand soldiers and horses be hidden?”
“By dispersing the troops!”
“By dispersing the troops?” Mo Ruo pondered over the four words. His mind thought rapidly. “You mean that all of the hundred thousand soldiers are scattered all over as bandits? That’s why Zhao Huai appeared here. Does that mean that the Gaoshan Gang was a part of the one hundred thousand troops?” How crazy!
Ji Yunshu nodded. “The troops were prepared by the Imperial Duke for the Little Heir as a precaution. In the event that he met with an ‘accident’, the Little Heir would still be able to mobilize a substantial army.”
“But you are not the Little Heir, you’re female. So how would you explain this jade pendant?”
“It’s Wei Yi’s.”
“What?” Mo Ruo was startled. Cold sweat covered his body. His eyes widened. “Wei Yi… is the Little Heir of the Imperial Duke?” He abruptly got up from the chair, and his hand bumped into the pot of wine.
It shattered on the ground with a loud crash.
The situation was getting more and more confusing. This was definitely the most interesting and shocking thing he had heard in his many years of travels.
Jing Rong, who had not said anything, suddenly coughed. He closed the window in front of him. He turned around slowly, looking at Ji Yunshu. He still acted cold, exceedingly cold. “How did you know?”
Ji Yunshu pursed her lips. “Old General Li.”
“Old General Li?” He frowned. “This was what Old General Li told you when you stopped him outside the city? That’s why you let him go.”
“Yes.” She answered. “At that time when the batch of lanterns caught on fire and burned down Tongren Hall, his motive was not to kill the emperor but to pin the blame on you so that you would go to jail. It was an attempt to stop you from investigating the Lin Capital Case. He was worried when the tombs of the Imperial Duke were opened, you would discover that the tomb containing the Third Madam, who had died from difficult labour twenty years ago, was empty. You would then discover that the Little Heir is still alive.” She revealed everything in a single breath.
Jing Rong showed no expression as he continued to ask, “So what kind of deal did you make with him? Why did you let him go?”
“He promised me that if I found out that if the Emperor was not involved, he would take the other tiger amulet and disband the army after he found the Little Heir, and never again threaten Great Lin.”
“This is what you have been so reluctant to say?”
“Yes.”
“And you have long known that Wei Yi is the Little Heir of the Imperial Duke?”
“Yes!”
“If this didn’t happen today, do you plan to keep it hidden?”
“Yes!”
“Then how do you know that jade pendant is a tiger amulet? How do you know… that Wei Yi is the Little Heir?”
“Uncle Fu!” She replied. “It is natural that he was the one who secretly sent the Little Heir away. The Third Madam died on her way out of the capital, so he gave the Little Heir to the Wei family couple to adopt. I discovered this secret during our stay in Jinjiang.”
Jing Rong looked at her indifferently, as if he were not surprised at all. After all, they just experienced a bloody storm.
A long time later, he continued, “Then they can’t stay.” His tone was filled with killing intent.
“Why?” Ji Yunshu asked.
“The purpose of the great army left behind by the Imperial Duke is certainly not something as simple as merely protecting the Little Heir. No matter what the final truth is, they will not stop.”
“That can’t be.”
“Can’t be?” Jing Rong smiled. “Even if it really wasn’t a case of ‘killing in order to stabilize his position’, you can never really identify those who truly harbor certain ambitions.” Jing Rong cast his eyes down and walked back to the closed window again. For a long time, he looked into the distance without speaking.
…
That night, Ji Yunshu couldn’t sleep no matter how much she tossed and turned on the bed. Finally, she fell asleep. The moment she opened her eyes, she found herself standing in Si Residence courtyard, surrounded by many, many people.
They were all… dead people. She stood on the spot, her head spinning. All of sudden, the corpses lying on the ground opened their eyes and looked at her. Blood flowed from their eyes, noses, mouths, and ears. Everywhere around her was flooded with glistening fresh blood.
When she took a step back, her feet slipped wildly on the blood and she fell backwards, only for the pool of blood to engulf her completely! Ji Yunshu’s face was a mask of terror. Her hands could close into a tight fist, but they were completely useless at grasping anything useful to save her.
Ji Yunshu seemed to hear her own voice by her ear. “From time immemorial, the story of Imperial sons fighting for the throne is one that’s bound to repeat.”
Then, she seemed to hear what Kong Yu had said to her before she died. “If one day, Ah Rong ever steps into that endless fight, I hope you can help him and make him turn back.”
The next Jing Yi! The next Jing Yi! The sound became echoed into the distance and turned indistinct.
“Ugh!” Ji Yunshu suddenly sat up in bed, completely covered in sweat.