Chapter 558: Kill

Yanjing, the residence of the Grand Minister of Works.

Inside a quiet room stood three long tables and three meditation cushions.

One table stretched across the head of the room, with Tong Mo seated upright behind it.

Two more stood below to left and right. The men seated there were none other than Jin Wuguang, Sect Leader of Zhenling Academy, and Cao Yuer, Sect Leader of Feihua Pavilion—the two factions that had once controlled Nanzhou.

After a long discussion, the two Sect Leaders still had some misgivings.

Cao Yuer tentatively asked, “Grand Minister, have the three great sects agreed to this?”

Tong Mo replied blandly, “Opportunities do not come because someone else gives permission. Most of the time, you have to fight for them yourself. If you do nothing, there will never be an opportunity. Do the two of you not wish to return to Nanzhou and give the disciples of your sects an accounting?”

Jin Wuguang said, “Grand Minister speaks reasonably. But what if the three great sects object?”

Tong Mo gave him a sidelong glance.

If the three great sects supported this, would I need to come looking for you?

Stroking his beard, he said, “Object to what? The imperial court is not afraid, so what are you afraid of? The court will naturally negotiate with the three great sects. If the two of you are truly frightened, I will not force you. There are other people willing to cooperate with the imperial army.”

“That is not what I meant. I merely wished to offer a friendly reminder.” Jin Wuguang exchanged a look with Cao Yuer.

Both rose together and cupped their hands.

“Zhenling Academy and Feihua Pavilion stand ready at any time to cooperate with the imperial army in its punitive campaign!”

After the two had left, Tong Mo rose, walked to one side, and pushed open a sliding door.

A man was sitting cross-legged in the room beyond.

Ga Miaoshui slowly drank his tea.

“The strength of those two sects may not be enough to make this secure.”

Tong Mo replied, “There are plenty of sects begging for a living these days. We can find another two later. I chose these two because they've spent so long as homeless dogs that they're unwilling to accept it. Once they take the field, they'll fight desperately.”

“You don't need to worry about that. What of Nanzhou and Jinzhou?”

Ga Miaoshui said calmly, “For Nanzhou, I will contact Dachan Mountain as quickly as possible. Whether they agree or not is no longer especially important. As for Jinzhou, Hai Wuji has already given His Majesty his assurance that Jinzhou will not interfere.”

Tong Mo nodded. “Good.”

...

A pale strip of dawn was beginning to show along the horizon.

West of Jinzhou, on the official road leading from Pingzhou into Jinzhou, one relay station looked entirely unlike an ordinary one.

Far more guards than usual stood around it, and security was extremely tight. Travelers who tried to enter the station to rest were all turned away.

A Black Jade Eagle descended into the compound facing the first light of dawn.

Three eunuchs jumped down.

At the station entrance, a eunuch who had been standing on the steps with his sword planted before him lifted the weapon and came down.

He cupped his hands toward the slightly plump man leading the newcomers.

“Eunuch Huang, what brings you here?”

The plump Eunuch Huang smiled pleasantly. “I have important business to report to the Director. Go announce me.”

The sword-bearing eunuch glanced back toward the window of one room. Judging that the man inside had probably not yet risen, he was reluctant to disturb him too readily.

Smiling, he asked, “Eunuch Huang, if there was business, a Goldenwing message would have been enough. What matter could require you to make the journey personally?”

The smile vanished from Huang Xie's face.

“If it were not important, why would I have traveled all the way from the capital? Go report immediately!”

The sword-bearing eunuch inclined himself slightly. “Please wait.”

He turned at once, hurried inside, climbed to the second floor, passed through layer after layer of guards, and knocked on a door.

A thin, cold voice came from within.

“Enter.”

Only then did the eunuch push open the door.

By the light of a Moon Butterfly inside, he glanced toward the man sitting cross-legged on the couch in a short white undergarment, long hair hanging loose over his shoulders.

This man was Zhao Sen, a close eunuch serving Zhao's Emperor Hai Wuji and Director of the Imperial Carriage Office.

The sword-bearing eunuch approached and reported quietly, “Director, Eunuch Huang Xie has arrived. He says he has urgent business with you.”

Beneath the curtain of hair half veiling his face, Zhao Sen's eyes abruptly opened.

His gaze moved slowly before he gave a low acknowledgment.

The eunuch withdrew at once.

Before long, the door opened again and Huang Xie entered.

He approached the couch and cupped his hands.

“Director.”

Zhao Sen turned his head slightly toward him. His voice was cold. “You came all this way. Has something happened in the capital?”

Huang Xie did not answer. Instead he turned and waved the sword-bearing eunuch away, ordering, “Have everyone outside withdraw. Without permission, no one is to approach.”

The sword-bearing eunuch looked toward Zhao Sen.

Seeing no reaction from him, he answered, “Yes,” withdrew, and shut the door.

A moment later, retreating footsteps sounded outside.

Only then did Huang Xie move closer. He took a sheet of paper from his sleeve and spread it open before Zhao Sen.

On the yellowed paper was a vermilion imperial notation.

One blood-red character stood out with terrible clarity:

KILL.

Zhao Sen's gaze tightened.

He took the paper from Huang Xie's hand and studied it carefully.

He knew this handwriting very well.

After reading, he slowly folded the paper.

“Who?”

Huang Xie lowered his voice. “The Grand Princess and that newborn bastard.”

Zhao Sen jolted.

Now he finally understood why Huang Xie had ordered everyone else away.

How could word that His Majesty intended to murder his own younger sister be allowed to leak casually?

He rose quickly, stepped barefoot from the couch, flashed to the door, opened it, and looked outside.

Then he moved to the window and checked there as well.

Only after confirming no one was eavesdropping did he return and ask in a low voice, “Does the Empress Dowager know?”

Huang Xie shook his head. “How could we let the Empress Dowager know? If she knew, should she stop it or not?”

“On what charge?”

Unless he understood that point, Zhao Sen did not dare act casually.

The Grand Princess was the Empress Dowager's eldest daughter.

If he killed the Empress Dowager's daughter, what if the Empress Dowager later decided that, for the sake of appearances, she needed to kill him as revenge for her daughter?

“At present, there is no charge,” Huang Xie said. “But Director should understand that killing her is secondary. The sword is truly pointed at Jinzhou. Afterward, naturally there will be a charge.”

“There is no need for me to explain the logic. Before success, there is no charge. Once the deed succeeds, there will be one. It will not be too late to list her crimes afterward.”

Zhao Sen's loose hair swayed as he paced back and forth across the room, his expression grave.

His original assignment had been to tour the realm on behalf of the Son of Heaven.

After reaching Pingzhou, perhaps because he was nearby and because his identity carried sufficient weight, he had suddenly received an edict from Empress Dowager Shang Youlan.

The message said the Emperor had also agreed.

Zhao Sen was to represent both Empress Dowager and Emperor in traveling to Jinzhou to visit the Grand Princess Hai Ruyue and congratulate her on the birth of her child.

In a sense, it had originally been a pleasant assignment.

Who could have imagined he would suddenly receive an order like this?

A good assignment had become a bad one.

This was unquestionably a scalding-hot burden.

The same problem remained: Hai Ruyue was the Empress Dowager's daughter.

After killing her daughter, could Zhao Sen expect the Empress Dowager ever to look kindly on him again?

Huang Xie watched him. “Why hesitate? Does Director intend to resist the imperial decree?”

Zhao Sen's loose hair whipped as he abruptly turned.

His cold gaze fixed on Huang Xie.

He had begun to wonder whether someone behind the scenes was deliberately maneuvering him into carrying out this dirty work.

Huang Xie was startled and immediately softened his expression.

“I am not hesitating,” Zhao Sen said coldly. “I am considering how to act. The Provincial Inspector's Residence is heavily guarded. Even meeting the person is difficult. How could it be so easy to strike? If it were easy, there would have been no need to wait until today.”

“Precisely because it is normally difficult, this is the opportunity,” Huang Xie replied. “A daughter has just given birth. It is entirely natural for her mother to send someone to visit her. Given Director's identity and status, how could she refuse to see you? Those above want Director to wait for the proper moment and act.”

He paused, then added, “I also brought Director something good from the palace's secret stores.”

Zhao Sen turned to look at him.

Huang Xie reached into his sleeve and took out a small object wrapped in yellow cloth.

He opened the wrapping in his palm.

Inside lay something thin and shriveled, resembling a ginseng root, colored such a deep crimson it was almost black.

Zhao Sen examined it briefly. “What is it?”

“This is called Red Child. It is extremely rare and grows in poisonous, miasmic swamps. It undergoes a change when it encounters blood and becomes lethal once it enters the blood.”

“Even ordinary contact with the skin will gradually deplete a person's qi and blood. If a woman comes into contact with it during her monthly cycle, her blood and vitality will steadily fail until she dies of corrupted blood. Even wondrous spiritual medicines are difficult to use against it.”

“For a woman who has just given birth, whose blood has not yet fully cleared and whose vitality is already depleted, its effect is even stronger. Director only needs to grind it into powder and find a way to let her come into contact with it. Then you may simply wait for good news.”

After speaking, Huang Xie wrapped the object again and gently placed it on the couch.

Zhao Sen's face showed no expression. “Use this to remove the mother. What about the child?”

Huang Xie lowered his voice. “The umbilical cord has only just been cut. The child's body is stained with blood as well. And an infant drinks its mother's milk. If the mother is contaminated, how could the child escape?”

Zhao Sen said nothing.

Huang Xie continued watching him.

Only after a long silence did Zhao Sen slowly say, “Considering His Majesty's position, is this truly the proper time to do something like this?”

“Director has been traveling outside and may not know everything. The situation has changed. The opportunity to recover Jinzhou has arrived.”

“What changed?”

“Yan intends to move against Nanzhou.”

Zhao Sen turned and waited for the rest.

“Over in Yan, Shang Chaozong has become a thorn in Shang Jianxiong's eye and flesh. Shang Jianxiong can no longer tolerate him. He has already sent a secret envoy to meet His Majesty, asking His Majesty to restrain Jinzhou when Yan moves against Nanzhou.”

“Now Shao Dengyun's son Shao Pingbo has entered the service of Jin, making both Qi and Wei wary. Both states are adding troops along their borders with Jin as a precaution. If unrest breaks out inside Zhao, Qi and Wei will have no strength to intervene. Instead, they must guard against Jin exploiting the opportunity.”

“Han is disputing Beizhou with Yan, while Yan itself intends to move against Nanzhou.”

“At this moment, the states surrounding Zhao are all occupied elsewhere. Once the Grand Princess and her son suffer disaster, Jinzhou will be left leaderless. While they are choosing a new leader, Jinzhou's interior will inevitably fall into turmoil.”

“Our army can seize the moment and drive in.”

“This is the perfect opportunity to eliminate Jinzhou's chronic problem in one stroke. Such an opportunity, once lost, may never return. How could we let it pass?”

“So that's how it is.” Zhao Sen slowly nodded.

The folded imperial order crumbled into powder in his hand.

He could not help sighing.

“Pull one hair and the whole body moves.”

“Indeed.” Huang Xie nodded in agreement.

Some time later, Huang Xie left the relay station, mounted the flying beast again, and rose into the air.

Having delivered the secret decree, he hurried back toward the capital to report, so the people there could begin preparations early.

Zhao Sen quickly washed, dressed, and made himself ready.

He knew that with matters having reached this point, he had no choice but to act.

By the time the sky had fully brightened, a column of riders charged out of the relay station, iron hooves thundering as they raced toward Jinzhou.

...

A dozen or so li outside Jinzhou City stood a village.

Inside one farmhouse courtyard, morning had arrived.

After the rooster's cry, dogs occasionally barked around the surrounding homes. Smoke was already rising from household chimneys.

Niu Youdao opened the door and stepped out.

Fang Zhe, currently stationed in Jinzhou and responsible for liaison between Jinzhou and Nanzhou, followed him outside.

Niu Youdao had spent the entire night in a long conversation with him, asking in detail about the situation throughout Jinzhou.

Until he understood Jinzhou well enough to form his own judgment, Niu Youdao had no intention of entering the city rashly.

“All right. Go back for now.” Niu Youdao waved a hand.

Fang Zhe cupped his hands and departed.

After he had gone, Guan Fangyi walked over.

“Word came from home. They succeeded. The men have been locked up at a secret location.”

[End of Chapter 558]