Gao Family Inn
This was an old inn not too far away from the prison. There were more than ten rooms and they had been booked long ago. With the official documents from the meeting, the women who had been arrested were carried out on oxcarts. They were all covered in blood. Some of them had blood all over their thighs, and were almost naked.
The waiter and the innkeeper's faces were pale. The innkeeper was still calm as he stood guard at the door. When he saw the women being carried in, he hurriedly welcomed them. He then looked at them and said, "They've suffered a great crime. Their bodies are injured and cannot be washed with cold water or hot water. I've already instructed everyone to use warm water."
"My wife and the waiter's wives have also come to serve them."
"I've prepared the medicine as well."
Pei Zi Yun nodded his head, "You're so considerate. Wash these women clean. We don't need your medicine, we've brought our own."
"Also, the magistrate has fallen. Keep your mouth shut. Just this alone is a reward." As he spoke, he took out a piece of silver and threw it at the innkeeper.
The innkeeper caught it and saw that it was five taels of silver. He then bowed, "Young Master, don't worry. We won't say a word. If anyone dares to say anything, I will break their legs!"
The Sect Leader didn't speak at all. She wore a veil over her face, and her face was so pale that nobody dared to look at her. At this point, she brought a few other young ladies into the room. These young ladies had bright eyes and white teeth, but they had a sad look on their faces. Not long after they entered, the sound of crying could be heard.
Pails of warm water were carried in and out of the room, and the air was filthy and foul. After a long time, the Sect Leader finally came out.
"How is it?" Pei Zi Yun asked.
"They've all been washed clean, and the lochia within their bodies have been removed. Now they're all fine. Some of them have broken bones, and may be slightly inconvenienced."
"Also, they've all been violated many times." The Sect Leader's face turned pale as she spoke.
"It's inevitable for women to end up in prison. Since the magistrate has fallen, it's not difficult to deal with these prison guards. We can just chase them down one by one."
"Including the magistrate, they have to go bankrupt. Only then will we be able to make an example out of them." Pei Zi Yun spoke plainly, but his eyebrows were trembling, as though he wasn't calm at all.
Official law was like a furnace. Without power or fame, in this society, killing people was like cutting grass without a sound.
King Lu Mansion
The eunuch brought a few guards with him as they entered King Lu's Palace. King Lu's Palace had already prepared an offering table. King Lu knelt on the ground as he listened to the imperial edict being read.
"I hereby announce: I respectfully accept the mandate of the heavens to establish a vassal state in order to protect the royal family. I hereby appoint County Prince Lu to lead the military governor of Qin Prefecture as his vassal state.
King Lu prostrated himself on the ground as he listened. He could feel the blood coursing through his veins, as though his organs were boiling. He didn't know if he was happy or in pain. When he finished reading, tears streamed down his face as he fell to the ground, sobbing, "Your son … accepts the decree. Thank you … thank you!"
The eunuch stepped forward and handed the Imperial Edict over to King Lu. King Lu's hands trembled as he received the Imperial Edict. He then heard the eunuch sigh, "His Majesty has decreed that King Lu shall take his leave. There's no need for you to bid farewell. We shall depart immediately."
When King Lu heard the Emperor's words, his body slumped to the ground, unable to get up. He could only scream out loud, "Father Emperor!"
The eunuch sighed, "King Lu, this is the Majesty's decree. You cannot defy it. Hurry and pack your things. He said to set off immediately. You have to leave today, even if you're five kilometers away from the city. If not, that would be disrespectful."
"Yes, your son obeys." King Lu sobbed as he accepted the order.
After sending the eunuch out, King Lu then called for eunuch Liao, "Prepare to leave the capital city!"
King Lu had long since made preparations for this. Apart from the items bestowed upon him by the Emperor, he didn't bring any other personal belongings. He only brought three hundred black robed guards and five hundred servants with him.
There were many commoners gathered in front of King Lu's Palace as they discussed the matter. Some of the servants and spies were mixed in with the crowd. When they saw King Lu packing his belongings and leaving, they started to discuss amongst themselves. Someone then sighed, "King Lu has left. The Crown Prince has won a great victory. The dust has settled!"
King Lu continued on his way, unobstructed by anyone until he reached the city gates.
King Lu turned back to look at the tall city walls, the bustling streets, and the crowds of onlookers. At this point, there were only a few people who came to send him off.
"Now that I'm out of the capital city, the bustling city is no more!" Although King Lu was prepared for this, and knew that the decision to leave the capital city was a strategic move, when he turned back to look, his heart ached. Tears flowed down his cheeks as he knelt down and bawled, "Your son shall leave. Father, take care."
The bustling crowd quietened down.
Several children were led down the carriage by the concubines as they bowed towards the city, "Emperor Grandfather, your grandson and granddaughter shall bid farewell."
The children weren't nervous or upset. Now that they were bidding farewell, they felt an inexplicable sense of sadness as they started to cry.
City Tower
The Crown Prince looked on as a eunuch stepped forward and whispered, "Crown Prince, Dao Master Pei has sent word that he wants King Lu to stay in the capital city. Why didn't the Crown Prince ask King Lu to stay in the capital city? Why did the Crown Prince allow King Lu to leave?"
Hearing the words of the eunuch, the Crown Prince paused for sometime before replying, "We are after all brothers. Why should we leave him to fight amongst ourselves? Leaving the capital city was the wish of my father, and I have no other choice. Besides, since ancient times, it has been a tradition for the Princes to leave the capital city. Since King Lu has gone to Qin Prefecture, he should be able to hold his own."
Although this was what he said, King Lu finally left. The Crown Prince heaved a sigh of relief, as though he had removed a huge boulder from his shoulders.
Imperial Palace, Study
A eunuch entered and looked at the Emperor. He noticed that the Emperor wasn't even looking at him, and was busy reading the report. The eunuch then knelt down in a corner.
The Emperor was reading a report, and it was about the Magistrate of An Ji Prefecture, Yue Bai. He muttered to himself, as he had some impression of this Yue Bai. He followed the imperial court closely, opened up the fields, and supported the mulberry industry. The last time he was here, he was even rated as' excellent '. Why did this happen?
Just as he was muttering to himself, the Emperor suddenly felt extremely tired. He stopped what he was doing and stood up. He paced around, feeling extremely frustrated. He then leaned back into his chair and retrieved a wet towel to cover his forehead.
After sometime, the Emperor handed the towel back to the eunuch. He then turned around and asked, "Where is King Lu now? Cough cough."
The eunuch who was kneeling down reported, "Your majesty, King Lu has arrived at the city gates. He is kneeling down and crying as he bids his farewells. The other princesses and grandchildren are also crying as they bid their farewells."
Hearing this news, the Emperor raised his brush as his hands trembled, "Preposterous!"
It wasn't known if he was scolding the official, or scolding the report. The eunuch trembled as he hurriedly knelt down on the ground. The entire study room was silent, and the atmosphere was so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.
After some time, the Emperor coughed. The eunuch raised his head to look at the Emperor, as tears rolled down the corners of the Emperor's eyes.
The eunuch finally understood. The Emperor wasn't willing to let King Lu leave the capital city, but he had no choice.
Thinking back to the years when the Emperor was in control of the seas, he had never seen any injustice. Back then, he had killed all the injustice. At this point, the Emperor felt a sense of sorrow.
The Emperor reacted at this point, and pretended to be impatient. He then read the report, "This bastard is insane. There's no need for a trial. He shall be executed immediately. You Ji General Gao Shunyi shall be sacrificed. He shall be posthumously conferred the title of Zhao Yi General."
It was as though he was reprimanding the report. After he finished reading, he turned to the eunuch, "Go and take care of the report. Send it to the Imperial Cabinet and prepare the posthumous conferment!"
"Yes, your majesty!" The eunuch received the report and retreated.
"All of you are dismissed as well!" Seeing that everyone had left, the Emperor's face was filled with exhaustion. He leaned back on his chair and threw his brush to the ground. Two streams of tears flowed down his cheeks.
Near the capital city, the sky was dark and gloomy. Thick clouds hung in the sky. The carriages along the roads were already laid out. The carriages were wrapped tightly with tarpaulin. The black robed guards who were walking along the road clanked noisily as they walked. The pedestrians on the road saw them from afar and avoided them.
King Lu sat within the carriage as eunuch Liao fed him some ginseng and meat porridge. King Lu was still rather skinny, and couldn't afford to eat oily meat.
"Your majesty, it's been hard on you." Eunuch Liao said as he fed him.
King Lu was still in a state of disbelief. He took a bite and waved his hands to indicate that he didn't want any more. He then looked out the window and said, "What's so bad about this?"
The carriage continued to move forward, as they got further and further away from the capital city. King Lu suddenly felt as though he had lost something important to him. It was as though he had been freed from some sort of pressure. A sense of panic started to well up within him. King Lu raised his head, his expression had changed, "Has the relay station been prepared?"
Xie Cheng Dong, who was seated beside him, spoke out, "Everything has been prepared. We're just waiting for King Lu's arrival. Then, we can execute the plan. King Lu, your body is still weak. Furthermore, you've just travelled a long distance. You can't be too tired. Why don't you take a nap?"
When King Lu heard this, he leaned against the carriage and closed his eyes to rest. Xie Cheng Dong and eunuch Liao looked at each other before they quietly alighted from the carriage and moved to the back.
Eunuch Liao leaned over to speak. At this point, a black robed guard hurried forward. Eunuch Liao reached out to receive the piece of paper. When he opened it, he was shocked.
"An Ji Prefecture's magistrate Yue Bai was reported to have attempted to assassinate General You Ji? The Emperor was in a bad mood and decided to execute him? "Eunuch Liao read it out softly, his voice was filled with astonishment.
"This Pei Zi Yun's counterattack was swift and ruthless. His methods were similar to the methods he used against King Lu. It was extremely powerful." Xie Cheng Dong spoke out coldly, "A mere magistrate was defeated within a few rounds. Looks like he was the mastermind behind the Crown Prince's plan."
"What do we do now?" Eunuch Liao asked.
Xie Cheng Dong cleared his throat, "The most important thing now is to get King Lu to join us. It's just that King Lu is now a Canton King. We've only allocated five thousand soldiers, and that's far from enough."
"The most important thing now is to restore the position of King Lu, and have him in control of three prefectures. That way, we won't be able to do anything to him!" Xie Cheng Dong spoke out, "This Yue Bai, since the Emperor has already given his orders, nobody can save him."
"Even if he doesn't approve, we can't afford to cause any more problems."
"As for Pei Zi Yun, we can't afford to have any conflict with him. Let's just keep a close eye on him!"
"Alright, with Mister Xie's words, I can be at ease. As for the details, we shall discuss them when His Highness wakes up." Eunuch Liao spoke as he turned around to look at King Lu's carriage. He then stood up and walked out, "I shall take a nap as well. The past few days have been tough."
"Eunuch Liao, please go ahead." Seeing that Eunuch Liao had left, and no one else was around, Xie Cheng Dong revealed a look of exhaustion. This An Ji Prefecture magistrate Yue Bai was just a pawn who had crossed the river. Although he didn't manage to cause any trouble for Pei Zi Yun, he had achieved his goal. He had confirmed that Pei Zi Yun was indeed the mastermind behind the Crown Prince's plan.
"Pei Zi Yun, not only are you talented in literature and Dao Arts, you're also very knowledgeable in the art of strategy?"
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