CH 99

Chapter 99: All Separations And Reunions Are Predetermined.

“My Lord, all the doors in the Residence are well guarded. Not even a fly can escape.”

A black-masked Imperial Bodyguard whispered to a Eunuch at the Residence of the King of Bei’an County.

Both of them were trusted followers of Empress Dowager Xianyi. At the moment, they were working under her orders.

The Eunuch nodded and said in a shrill voice: “Where is everyone? Have you caught them all?”

“My Lord, they’re all in the courtyard.”

“Then let’s go and see.”

The moment the two men walked to the Residence’s courtyard, they saw young and old people huddled together with frightened faces. They were also surrounded by men with black masks wielding their swords menacingly.

The Eunuch circled around those people three times in a row with a sullen expression on his face: “Where are the Madam and the Princess of Bei’an County?! Have they run away?!”

The crowd remained silent, and no one said a word.

The Eunuch sneered, put his hands behind his back, and said: “According to the law of our great Dynasty, if a person who has committed the greatest crime of rebelling escapes from their Residence, then everyone living in the Residence will be sentenced to death!”

At that moment, some frightened sobs could be heard from the crowd. Some were shaking like chaff, while others were already sitting on the ground due to their weak legs.

Even then, no one spoke.

The Eunuch snorted: “Since none of you can confess where your Masters have gone, when you end up in the Palace Hall of Yama1, you can only blame yourself for your own incompetence.”

As the Eunuch spoke, he waved his hand at the men with black masks covering their faces.

The men nodded and pressed their hands on the hilt of their swords.

“Stop!”

All of a sudden, a loud voice came from afar.

The owner of that voice was none other than Yu Muyao, who stepped forward and frowned at the Eunuch.

“County Princess!” A woman’s voice was heard loud and clear from the crowd.

A’Lian rushed out recklessly, grabbed Yu Muyao’s hand, and trembled. Her gaze was filled with disbelief.

‘Why is the County Princess here?!’

‘I thought the County Princess had escaped. Why didn’t she run away?!’

A black-masked man came forward to pull A’Lian away, while Yu Muyao patted her hand soothingly.

A’Lian wasn’t willing to leave her side, but in the end, she surrendered.

When the Eunuch saw Yu Muyao, he froze. But then, he raised his lips in a mocking smile, and even pretended to salute Yu Muyao: “Princess of Bei’an County.”

Yu Muyao: “I didn’t escape. Let the people in my Residence go.”

The Eunuch laughed: “County Princess, this servant apologizes, but I can’t obey your order. Look around you, the Madam of Bei’an County isn’t here.”

Yu Muyao replied: “My Mother is in her wing room.”

The Eunuch froze again. Although he looked at Yu Muyao suspiciously, he made a gesture to one of the black-masked men to go check.

The black-masked man clasped his fist and left in a hurry. When he came back, almost immediately, he whispered something in the Eunuch’s ear.

The Eunuch’s eyes widened as he asked again and again: “Is she…really dead?”

The black-masked man nodded affirmatively.

The Eunuch then looked at Yu Muyao again.

Yu Muyao looked back at him without fear: “Sir, according to the laws of our Dynasty, the people behind me aren’t guilty. You can take me alone.”

“County Princess!” A’Lian shouted from the crowd.

The Eunuch looked at Yu Muyao and thought: ‘After receiving the orders from the Empress Dowager, I came straight to this Residence full of rebels. Unexpectedly, upon arrival, I have realized that none of these people have the same responsibility as Yu Muyao.’

‘What a pity…. Unfortunately, she’s still too naive.’

The Eunuch sighed, shook his head, and didn’t reply to Yu Muyao. Instead, he said to the black-masked bodyguard: “Do it.”

The black-masked man nodded and made a killing gesture.

In an instant, all the men with black masks hiding their faces raised their swords and began to stab both the unarmed old and young servants without hesitation!

Miserable howls began to sound as blood poured onto the ground like a waterfall. No one was able to escape. As soon as they tried to run for their lives, the blade of a sword pierced through their stomachs from behind, followed by the dull sound a corpse makes when it crashes to the ground.

In the blink of an eye, the lives of several servants were reduced to mutilated bodies scattered on the ground. All of them were innocent people who made their living by working at the Residence of the King of Bei’an County.

Yu Muyao was utterly stunned to see this. She shouted to the Eunuch: “Don’t do this! I didn’t run away! They’re all innocent!”

“County Princess, isn’t Empress Dowager Xianyi known for cutting the weeds and removing the roots2? We all have our fates decided, we just have to follow it.” The Eunuch shook his head as he blurted out these words lightly. Then, he winked at the black-masked man who was standing next to him.

The black-masked man nodded and raised his sword at Yu Muyao.

The iron glow fell and the blade impacted on something.

Yu Muyao instinctively raised her arms to protect herself, but the pain never came. When she opened her eyes to see, she found that her Father’s confidant hadn’t left! Not only that, but he was even protecting her without hesitation!

The confidant waved the sword of the black-masked man with his long sword and shouted to Yu Muyao: “County Princess! Leave!”

“County Princess!!”

Suddenly, someone came forward and pulled Yu Muyao away. At that moment, Yu Muayo raised her head to see who it was.

It was A’Lian.

Without knowing where she had gotten the strength from, A’Lian picked up Yu Muyao and ran towards the Residence’s side door. Behind them, the confidant of the King of Bei’an County followed, fighting against the black-masked men that persecuted them.

However, the Residence of the King of Bei’an County was already heavily surrounded, so how could they escape?

After seeing that the confidant had been stabbed by several swords and was unable to protect Yu Muyao and A’Lian, a black-masked man took the opportunity to raise his sword and viciously swing it towards Yu Muyao.

Without hesitation, A’Lian pushed Yu Muyao away and blocked the sword attack with her own body.

“A’Lian!!!”

Yu Muyao shouted out. Her voice filled with sobs.

A’Lian’s arm was instantly cut off. Although her face paled, and she screamed out with pain, A’Lian still tried her best to knock the black-masked man away.

Yu Muyao’s body trembled endlessly. At that moment, her Father’s confidant was finally able to repel her pursuers. Then, as he covered his most severe wounds on the abdomen, he hurriedly grabbed Yu Muyao by the wrist. Subsequently, the Bei’an County King’s confidant successfully pulled Yu Muyao out of the Residence.

Behind them, A’Lian shouted: “You must live! County Princess! Live!”

A’Lian’s voice faded away in an instant behind them.

Yu Muyao’s tears fell like a waterfall down her cheeks. Still, she didn’t dare to look back.

The two finally managed to break through the siege, but the pursuers were unwilling to show weakness and followed them closely behind.

Luckily, the confidant of Yu Muyao’s Father was well prepared and led Yu Muyao to a stable behind the Residence.

In the stable, there was a horse ready to mount.

With the last bit of strength, the confidant carried Yu Muyao on the horse and hit the horse’s back fiercely.

The horse puckered its hooves and neighed, carrying Yu Muyao towards the exit of the Capital.

The confidant shouted: “County Princess, go east!!”

Then, he covered his wound and turned back to resist the enemy again. Even in his current state, he could give Yu Muyao enough time to escape.

After all, he lived up to his loyalty.

In the distance, apart from the sound of the galloping horse’s hooves, the heartbreaking crying that had been completely suppressed until now could also be heard.

…

That night, it rained heavily in the Capital, plunged into a gloomy atmosphere under the powerful wind and torrential rain.

On the streets, only a few passers-by could be seen, hurriedly trying to shelter from the rain. Most of the people were in their houses, hiding under their roofs to shelter from the rain.

The rainwater mixed with the dirt on the side of the road, converging into small pools and streams, flowed into the low parts of the Capital.

In the now silent Bei’an County King’s Residence, the rain fell on the dark red-stained stone steps. From one moment to another, the rain washed the blood from the ground, completely erasing the evidence of the slaughter that had taken place.

At the same time, in an inner room inside the Imperial Palace, Empress Dowager Xianyi asked the man kneeling in front of her: “Have you taken care of everything?”

The Eunuch respectfully rested his head on the ground and said: “Replying to Empress Dowager, not a single soul was left alive.”

“Hmm.” Empress Dowager Xianyi’s expression was as indifferent as ever, without a single emotion. “Go back.”

The Eunuch kowtowed, got up, bowed his head, and withdrew from the inner room.

After seeing that no one was around, the Eunuch suddenly took a deep breath. When he looked down, he found that his hands were covered with sweat, and his knees were trembling imperceptibly. After all, he had lied to the Empress Dowager.

The Princess of Bei’an County wasn’t caught, but the Eunuch didn’t dare to say it. After all, he was afraid of losing his head.

He still wasn’t sure whether Empress Dowager Xianyi was possessed by evil spirits or not, but he saw with his own eyes how she gave the order that all the relatives of the rebels be killed, including their servants!

Dozens of lives were lost!

This was something that couldn’t be hidden under the rug. Sooner or later, the whole world will know about it.

As soon as such cruelty came to light, her position and status as Empress Dowager will also be in danger. This woman, who had been ruthless all her life, will end up falling into the void because of her own tricks.

‘She’s insane. She must be absolutely insane!’

…

In the inner room, Empress Dowager Xianyi stood alone for a long time. It was as if she was thinking, or just wanted to be alone in complete silence.

After a long time, she finally turned around and walked towards a candlestick. After reaching it, she gently twisted the candlestick.

Right after, a secret door appeared in the inner room, and Empress Dowager Xianyi walked in, step by step.

After crossing through a dark and narrow brick corridor, she suddenly arrived in a lighted space.

This was a very large room, extremely high, but also quite dark. The walls were made of gray stone bricks, there were no windows or other doors, and it looked extremely dull and gloomy.

In the center of the large dark room, there was a Dan Furnace just the right size to hold a single person. Beneath it, there was a fire so hot it seemed as if it could devour anything it touched.

Apart from Empress Dowager Xianyi, there was a man standing in the dark room.