Chapter 337: Probing
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: D
Thereafter, Empress Jia said to the palace servant beside her, “Quick. Bring me a seat.”
“Yes, Your Royal Highness,” the palace servant answered.
He quickly went to get a chair.
“Thank you, Your Royal Highness.” Qin Xiaoyao bowed again and sat down on the chair.
Empress Jia had a smile on her face rhe entire time.
“The Emperor and I are very curious about you, Official Qin. Therefore, we summoned you as soon as the court session ended. Hope you don’t mind?” she said.
“Your Royal Highness, you are too kind. It is my fortune to be summoned by the Emperor and Your Royal Highness,” Qin Xiaoyao replied.
Empress Jia nodded with a smile, pleased with Qin Xiaoyao1 s answer.
Suddenly, Empress Jia asked, “Official Qin, are you from the Hua An Prefecture?”
Qin Xiaoyao1 s face stiffened at once.
“Yes, Your Royal Highness,” she answered. At the same time, an alarm went off in her mind.
If Empress Jia was able to ask this question, she must have investigated Qin Xiaoyaos background.
If the Second Prince was able to find out her husband’s identity in the past, surely Empress Jia could do the same?
At the thought of this, Qin Xiaoyao couldn’t help but clench her fingers and she became more guarded.
When Empress Jia saw Qin Xiaoyao s reaction, she laughed.
“There’s no need to be nervous, Official Qin. The Emperor and I are only curious about what kind of place and what kind of family can nurture a person like our beloved official here.
“Who else is in your family? Who is your martial arts master?” Empress Jia continued to ask. She was full of curiosity.
Qin Xiaoyao didn’t dare to be careless and cupped her hands at Empress Jia.
“Your Royal Highness, in my maiden family, there are 6 people, namely my father, brothers, sisters-in-law, and nephew. In my husband’s family, there’s my husband, mother-in-law, as well as young brother-in-law and young sister-in-law.
“As for my martial arts skills, it was taught to me by a traveling Taoist priest.
“Master calls himself the Crazy Taoist Priest.’ After teaching me martial arts for a while, he left. Perhaps it’s because my master and I are not fated to meet anymore, but I have never seen my master again all these years.” After she finished speaking, Qin Xiaoyao s face even showed a look of regret.
This explanation was the same as what she had said to the Second Prince before, and it would never change in the future.
Empress Jia nodded as she listened. When she heard “Crazy Taoist Priest,” she even made a mental note.
Suddenly, Empress Jia asked again, “My beloved official, you’re actually married?”
She saw Qin Xiaoyao looking at her.
Empress Jia smiled and said, “I’m a little curious. What kind of family could be so open-minded that they allow their women to join the army and go to the battlefield?”
Qin Xiaoyao’s heart sank.
She quickly got up and bowed to Empress Jia.
“It was a coincidence that I joined the army. My family didn’t know about it,” she explained.
In this era, although there was no rule stating that women were not allowed to join the army, it was true that no woman would do such a thing.
It was not unreasonable for Empress Jia to punish her for this reason.
Empress Jia smiled and gestured at Qin Xiaoyao with her hand.
“I have no intention of condemning you. Don’t be nervous. Sit down.”
Only then did Qin Xiaoyao sit back down worriedly.
“I’m just curious. Why did you join the army? After all, there aren’t many women with such courage in this world.” When she said this, Empress Jia’s voice already carried undertones of sighing.
The Emperor glanced at Empress Jia but eventually chose to continue drinking tea.
In terms of eagerness to excel, his Empress was the most ambitious among the women.
It was rare for her to meet someone as competitive as her, so it was normal for her to want to chat more with the other party.
A hint of hesitation flashed across Qin Xiaoyao s eyes.
When she saw that Empress Jia kept staring at her, she said after a while, “I won’t hide it from Your Royal Highness. I joined the army… because I want to look for my husband.”
Qin Xiaoyao thought it was probably impossible to hide anything from someone as powerful as this character.
Therefore, she might as well just tell her everything.
“Oh?” The interest in Empress Jia’s eyes intensified.
The Emperor next to her also looked at Qin Xiaoyao.
A look of embarrassment flashed across Qin Xiaoyao s face.
Then, she told her about how Song Que had been captured to serve as an able-bodied soldier, and how she had left Mountain Spring Town to track him down.
“My initial thought was to look for Prince Huaiyin and ask him to help me look for my husband. In the end, I encountered Liao soldiers chasing and slaughtering the civilians on the way.
“In a fit of anger, I killed those Liao soldiers. After that, 1 gathered a few people and set off together.
“However, when we arrived at Yellow Flower Town, we accidentally learned that the Liao army had stored a large amount of food rations and provisions there.
“I thought since 1 was there, I might as well help out. So my followers and I burned the Liao army’s food rations.
“In the end, we caught up with Prince Huaiyin’s soldiers when they came to attack Yellow Flower Town.
“Through this coincidence, we stayed in Yellow Flower Town to help defend the town.11
The Emperor and Empress listened with great interest.
In particular, the Emperor greatly admired Qin Xiaoyao’s act of traveling thousands of miles in order to save her husband.
“Tve heard that you’ve also killed many Liao generals in Yellow Flower Town?” Empress Jia continued to ask.
“Yes, Your Royal Highness,” Qin Xiaoyao replied.
“After we took down Yellow Flower Town, many Liao soldiers came back to take revenge.
“And we didn’t have many people. Killing the enemy’s commander was the fastest way to win.
“I killed Xiao Yuan’s grandson, Xiao Tu, by mistake at that time.”
The reason she used the phrase “by mistake” was that Qin Xiaoyao felt that if she had known Xiao Tu’s identity earlier, she wouldn’t have been so reckless as to kill him outright.
It was because she killed Xiao Tu and was afraid of Xiao Yuan’s revenge that she changed her attitude and joined the Second Prince’s camp completely. And then, step by step, she reached where she was today.
Though it had to be said, she did not regret the result.
However, if she had a choice, she felt that she probably would not have chosen this path.
Empress Jia’s eyes flickered slightly as if she had thought of something.
“So, you were afraid of Xiao Yuan’s revenge, and that’s why you decided to follow Prince Huaiyin wholeheartedly?” she asked.
If that were the case , it would make sense.
After all, when Prince Huaiyin went to Mountain Spring Town back then, he had a close relationship with her. However, she had no intention of following him at all.
It was really such a coincidence.
The husband of the person that Prince Huaiyin regarded highly was captured not long after he left the town.
Later on, in order to ask for help, she could only take the initiative to look for Prince Huaiyin.
And by coincidence, she killed the only grandson of the Liao army’s Supreme Commander by mistake, leaving her no choice but to join Prince Huaiyin’s camp.
It had to be said that Prince Huaiyin’s luck was really good.
Qin Xiaoyao nodded without even looking at Empress Jia.
She felt that by saying this, Empress Jia might keep her separate from Prince Huaiyin.
After all, she really didn’t want to offend Empress Jia, and she couldn’t afford to either.
True enough, Empress Jia’s gaze on Qin Xiaoyao became even gentler.
“Actually, there’s nothing to worry about.
“Xiao Tu led the Liao troops to invade our Great Jin State. As a citizen of the Great Jin State, there is nothing wrong with killing him.
“Even if he’s Xiao Yuan’s grandson, it makes no difference.
“No matter how strong and overbearing Xiao Yuan is, he can’t manipulate the Imperial Court of our Great Jin State.”
Of course, she said this because Xiao Yuan was already dead and the Liao State had lost.
Otherwise, the Great Jin State would really have to negotiate with the Liao State in a weak position.
Sacrificing an unimown commoner woman to calm the anger of the Liao general and the Empress Dowager was really nothing to the Imperial Court.
But then again…
The woman in front of her could kill Xiao Yuan and change the battle outlook between the Jin and Liao States all by herself. It was amazing.
“Your Royal Highness is wise indeed.” Qin Xiaoyao cupped her hands at Empress Jia.
Empress Jia smiled and continued, “But it’s still a good outcome..’1