Chapter 859: This Time, He Came for Me

The Crown Prince's attempts to stop her, Chief Steward Tian Yu's attempts to stop her, and Tong Mo's own attempts to stop her had already made Empress Tong understand the situation.

At a time like this, all she could do was sever herself from the Tong family, even though she was Tong Mo's daughter.

She could not save the Tong family. The more she tried to help, the worse matters would become.

She could only pretend not to hear the cries and shouts of the Tong family members begging for help.

The Sect Leaders of the three great sects slowly walked over.

The assembled court officials watched from a distance.

Many of them remembered Niu Youdao's words: he would not spare a single person in the Tong household!

Looking at his family, Tong Mo's lips trembled.

He too remembered Niu Youdao's warning, and a chill ran through him.

"Grand Minister Gao, these are the assassins who secretly fled the city last night. I'll leave them to you!" Niu Youdao said to Gao Jiancheng beside him.

Gao Jiancheng remained grim-faced and silent.

"They are not assassins!" Tong Mo shouted. "They aren't assassins. They are all members of this old man's family..."

His loud voice faded into a low murmur toward the end.

Was there any point arguing?

He had lost.

The other side had captured his family precisely because they were his family.

Niu Youdao sounded puzzled. "Prime Minister Tong, why would your family be running out of the city in the middle of the night? Surely they weren't traveling in a group to visit relatives after dark?"

He turned to Gao Jiancheng.

"Grand Minister Gao, this matter is extremely suspicious. These people's behavior is strange, and they fled precisely when last night's incident occurred. Even if they were not assassins, perhaps they colluded with the assassins. Please investigate thoroughly and restore their innocence."

Gao Jiancheng still said nothing, his face dark.

Niu Youdao abruptly added, "Prime Minister Tong has reminded me of something. Perhaps members of his household really did collude with the assassins. Grand Minister Gao, please immediately order the Tong residence secured. Don't let any suspects escape."

Still Gao Jiancheng remained silent.

"Niu Youdao!" Gong Lince, who had stopped nearby, finally called out.

Niu Youdao glanced back, then returned to the three Sect Leaders.

"Sect Leader Gong, what are your instructions?"

Gong Lince said, "Enough is enough!"

Niu Youdao asked in return, "So many disciples of the three great sects died. Are we really going to raise the matter high, then set it down lightly?"

Gong Lince cursed inwardly.

Listen to him talk as though he had nothing to do with any of this.

Out loud, he said, "The court officials are all watching. Going too far will look bad."

Niu Youdao said, "I merely want to compensate the three great sects for their losses as much as possible. Quite a number of Heavenly Sword Talismans were used last night. From that alone, one can imagine the wealth of the Tong family. Perhaps their fortune is enormous beyond imagination."

"I think that after Tong Mo confesses his crimes and is executed, confiscating the family property would be entirely appropriate. The Tong family's assets can be used to compensate the three great sects for the losses he caused. That is perfectly reasonable."

The Tong family's property?

The expressions of the three Sect Leaders changed subtly.

Long Xiu even raised his brows.

When all three fell silent, Niu Youdao immediately turned away and walked back to Gao Jiancheng.

He lifted a hand and patted Gao Jiancheng's shoulder.

"Grand Minister Gao, do it quickly. Don't let the suspects escape."

"If even one gets away, I'll make up the number from inside the palace!"

As he spoke, his cold gaze swept across the Empress and Crown Prince.

Then he lightly patted Gao Jiancheng's shoulder three times, as though telling him to think carefully before acting.

The mother and son were terrified.

Both understood exactly what he meant.

If one member of the Tong family escaped, he would take one of them from the palace to make up the number.

Gao Jiancheng slowly turned his head toward Tian Yu.

Tian Yu looked back toward the Sect Leaders of the three great sects.

None of them reacted.

Tian Yu understood.

With a deeply conflicted expression, he slowly turned back toward Gao Jiancheng and gave an almost imperceptible nod.

Gao Jiancheng immediately passed an order to the Imperial Guards.

A detachment rushed out at once to surround the Tong residence.

The suspects at the scene, including Tong Mo and the entire group from the Tong household, were taken away.

Niu Youdao did not interfere.

To deal with someone of Tong Mo's rank required a proper accounting.

He could not simply draw his sword in public and cut the man down.

Morning court was canceled.

The officials gradually dispersed.

Over the next several days, Niu Youdao remained inside the palace, personally watching over Tong Mo's case.

Deliberately or otherwise, he kept trying to drag Shang Jianxiong into it.

The three great sects were plainly protecting Shang Jianxiong.

With their obstruction, the fire could not reach the Emperor.

Even when the evidence implicated Shang Jianxiong, the relevant portions were simply erased.

Everything stopped with Tong Mo.

With crimes this grave laid upon him, they were almost sufficient to implicate nine generations.

The Tong residence was confiscated, and everyone in the household was thrown into prison.

As for the Tong family's countless distant aunts, uncles, and in-laws, any relative who had risen by relying on the Tong family's power was dragged in as well.

Niu Youdao spared not a single one.

The three great sects did not care about those people.

They considered them irrelevant and allowed Niu Youdao to do as he wished.

In one sweep, several thousand people were implicated.

The Tong family members who had nearly escaped—the direct descendants of Tong Mo—were all publicly beheaded.

The verdicts were issued and carried out with extraordinary speed.

Naturally, the Tong estate had contained far more people than that.

Tong Mo was fond of women.

There were nearly a hundred he had formally taken into his household, not to mention the many servants.

The important ones were all executed.

The rest who were implicated were effectively confiscated along with the estate.

The men were sent to the frontier armies for penal labor.

The women were either sentenced to degrading servitude or sold into brothels.

The Tong clan, glorious for so many years, was almost completely uprooted by Niu Youdao!

And matters did not stop there.

With Niu Youdao's encouragement and Gao Jiancheng's covert cooperation, more and more people came forward to denounce the fallen faction.

When a wall falls, everyone pushes.

Eventually the accusations reached Empress Tong and the Crown Prince inside the palace.

Tong Mo had supported those two for many years.

Who knew how many things he had done on their behalf?

For mother and son to completely distance themselves from him was impossible.

...

"Niu Youdao, spare the mother and son."

Inside the imperial prison, Tong Mo had aged dramatically in the short time since they last met.

His hair had turned completely white.

Standing inside the cell, he gripped the bars and pleaded with Niu Youdao outside.

Tong Mo had repeatedly demanded to see him, and Niu Youdao had finally come to find out what he wanted so badly.

Niu Youdao smiled faintly.

"Prime Minister Tong truly is Prime Minister Tong. Even locked in prison, you still know everything happening outside."

"The Tong family has already been reduced to this," Tong Mo said. "You are a man of the cultivation world. Why must you exterminate us secular people to the last?"

"So many have already died. And this old man's life is still here!"

Niu Youdao replied, "Do you remember Prince Ning?"

"From what I know, hundreds of thousands of Yan's elite troops were destroyed because of you."

"You also seem to have carried out your share of confiscations and exterminations. How many people did you leave with shattered families and dead relatives?"

"Did you ever spare them?"

Tong Mo gripped the bars with both hands and shook his head, looking old and desolate.

"In truth, you and I both know who the real mastermind behind those things was."

"I was merely a knife in someone else's hand."

Niu Youdao asked, "You called me here just to say this?"

Tong Mo said, "Any conditions can be negotiated."

"Things have already reached this point. You should understand that stopping is no longer so easy."

"Those who covet the Crown Prince's position will not let the matter go."

"But as long as you and the three great sects step in and restrain them, the situation can be controlled. His Majesty will cooperate."

Niu Youdao ignored him.

He turned and walked away.

Tong Mo's shouts followed from behind.

"Niu Youdao! Master Dao! Master Dao..."

Niu Youdao left the imperial prison and stepped back into daylight.

Guan Fangyi, walking beside him, finally could not hold back.

"Master Dao, why are you so determined not to let the Empress and Crown Prince go?"

This time, she truly found it strange.

In her eyes, Niu Youdao had always been tolerant and broad-minded.

Never before had he behaved like this, determined to eliminate every last person involved.

Niu Youdao replied blandly, "Because Tong Mo's power is still there."

Guan Fangyi looked doubtful.

She did not quite understand.

Yet because of those words, Empress Tong and the Crown Prince ultimately failed to escape disaster.

Too many people came forward to denounce them.

Some of the charges were enough to make even Shang Jianxiong's heart jump when he read them.

In short, Niu Youdao simply refused to let go of mother and son.

In the end, Empress Tong was stripped of her title and confined to the Cold Palace.

The Crown Prince likewise lost his position as Crown Prince, was stripped of every office, and imprisoned in a secluded court.

As for the accusations from the six states, Tong Mo was executed by slow slicing.

His dismembered remains were divided among six boxes and sent to the six states as an accounting.

Yan had killed one of its own Grand Ministers to make amends.

What more could the six states say?

If they claimed the weight of the apology was insufficient, how were the Grand Ministers of their own states supposed to feel?

The three great sects had executed Yan's Grand Minister of Works.

Internally, that likewise gave them an explanation to offer their own people.

The Tong clan, once incomparably glorious in Yan, saw all its splendor vanish like smoke.

What remained were stains of blood and tears, along with endless sighs from those who witnessed the aftermath.

Even ordinary people walking the streets could sense that Yanjing's atmosphere had changed.

Every street and alley buzzed with discussion of the Tong family.

Tong Mo had fallen.

The Crown Prince had fallen.

The court descended into disorder.

Several flying birds rose into the sky and sped into the distance, leaving the vast capital of Yanjing behind.

Guan Fangyi said, "I thought you were determined to kill the Empress and Crown Prince too!"

Niu Youdao replied, "This is little different from death. Perhaps it's more painful than dying."

"They may not live much longer anyway. Whoever replaces them will never allow mother and son to rise again and threaten his position."

Guan Fangyi said, "It's a pity that Emperor escaped."

Niu Youdao replied, "He was never my real target from the beginning. The three great sects would never allow my people to control the throne."

Guan Fangyi looked surprised.

"All this was only for Tong Mo?"

Niu Youdao smiled without answering.

And so Niu Youdao, who had suddenly arrived in Yanjing and stirred up a storm of blood and violence, departed just as suddenly...

...

Reconstruction had begun among the ruined portions of the palace.

Grand Minister of the Masses Gao Jiancheng walked out of the Imperial Study.

Expressionless, he left the palace and boarded his carriage.

After returning home, he did not enter through the main gate.

He used a side entrance instead.

Many officials had gathered outside the front gate of the Gao residence seeking an audience.

Quite a few had once belonged to Tong Mo's faction.

The direction of the wind had changed.

After Gao Jiancheng returned to his study, Fan Zhuan served tea and asked with faint anticipation, "His Majesty summoned Master to discuss the vacancy of Grand Minister of Works?"

Seated behind his desk, Gao Jiancheng nodded.

"I will fill the vacancy and stabilize the court for now. The matter will be discussed at tomorrow's morning court."

Fan Zhuan smiled.

"Given Master's prestige and seniority, at a time like this the position naturally belongs to you by common acclaim. The ministers will all support it. Tomorrow's discussion is only a formality. Nothing unexpected will happen."

Gao Jiancheng smiled bitterly.

"In His Majesty's eyes, the most important point is still that Niu Youdao and I are enemies."

Fan Zhuan nodded in agreement.

After taking a sip of tea to moisten his throat, Gao Jiancheng asked, "Niu Youdao has left. Did he send me any message?"

"None," Fan Zhuan replied.

Gao Jiancheng set down the teacup and sighed.

"He came here, stirred up a storm, left everyone else to clean up the wreckage, and then departed as though the clouds were light and the wind gentle."

Fan Zhuan smiled. "At least Master picked up a bargain."

"A bargain?" Gao Jiancheng shook his head slightly. "You still haven't understood."

"At first, even I couldn't make sense of it. It wasn't until he refused to let go of the Empress and Crown Prince that I finally understood."

"Tong Mo fell. The Crown Prince fell with him. The entire Tong faction scattered like monkeys when the tree came crashing down."

"This time, he came for me."

"He was clearing away the obstacles to my rise and to my grasping real authority."

"He was pushing me upward!"

"Uh..." Fan Zhuan froze.

Gao Jiancheng slowly leaned back in his chair and sighed.

"Supporting Shang Chaozong onto the throne was merely a pretense, a smokescreen. The timing isn't ripe at all."

"He is already laying plans for the future."

"There is Shang Chaozong's side, and now there is mine..."

"Without anyone noticing, he is preparing to hollow out Yan's three great sects!"

"If we didn't know the truth of our own relationship with him, even we might have been fooled."

"This Master Dao is formidable."

"In the end, the three great sects are destined not to be his match."

[End of Chapter 859]