Chapter 1235: He Knows Restraint

Tao Lue said, "Your Majesty, Lord Shao has set himself against the entire court. I'm afraid he will know little peace from now on."

Taishu Xiong gave a cold snort. "The people in court were the ones who struck at him first. Our Lord Shao is no fool. He knows that when he stands alone and weak, yielding will not buy compromise. Stick his head out and he takes a blade; keep it tucked in and he still takes a blade. So he may as well let his hands loose and do what he wants!"

"He is dragging Us along to take the thunder with him. Now We have no choice but to help him. With that man's methods and ability, if Huan'er truly marries him, it would be a wonder if she ever has a good day."

He tossed the blood-written report onto the desk. "Lord Zhao will probably arrive soon. If they come one after another like this, We will never hear the end of it. We do not wish to see them for now. Better to wait until they are all here and meet them together."

"Yes!" Tao Lue bowed. "This old servant will give the order and have them stopped."

Taishu Xiong's gaze shifted toward the doorway. "Noble Consort Lan must be in high spirits right now, busy preparing the dowry?"

"It seems so."

"Official business can never be finished." Taishu Xiong glanced at the documents on his desk and waved a hand. "Come. Let us go see Noble Consort Lan. And on the way, send someone to Black Prison to obtain a copy of the relevant confessions."

"Yes!" Tao Lue followed him out. The moment they stepped through the door, he beckoned over a eunuch and gave the instructions.

Hearing that the Emperor had arrived, Noble Consort Lan, who had been busily selecting items for the dowry, hurried out to receive him. The smile on her face naturally had not faded.

Taishu Xiong strolled through the courtyard, ran a hand over stacks of silk and brightly colored brocade, then looked at the chests of exquisite objects. "Preparing the dowry?"

Noble Consort Lan accompanied him with a smile. "It is our daughter's marriage, after all. Your Majesty is busy with affairs of state. If this concubine does not worry over it, there will be no one left to worry."

"True enough. A mother should." Taishu Xiong nodded and asked what she had prepared. He went through the items one by one, and at last even asked to see the gift list.

Noble Consort Lan smiled. "We're still preparing things, so nothing is complete yet. Fortunately, there is still some time. Your Majesty, have a look. Anything unsuitable can be removed, and anything missing can be added."

"Not bad, not bad. We are only looking." Taishu Xiong offered a couple of perfunctory remarks.

After they had delayed like this for a while, a eunuch arrived and delivered a document to Tao Lue.

Tao Lue glanced through it, nodded, and waved the eunuch away. Then he walked to Taishu Xiong's side. "Your Majesty, the material has arrived."

"Oh." Taishu Xiong set down the gift list, accepted the documents, flipped through them, then turned toward a nearby pavilion and sat down. He continued reading the confessions sent from Black Prison.

Noble Consort Lan did not know what he was looking at and would hardly pry into court secrets, especially with Tao Lue watching nearby. She merely remained at the side, personally pouring tea and attending him.

Once he had read most of the statements, Taishu Xiong did not even lift his head. "Tao Lue." He raised one hand in indication.

"Yes." Understanding immediately, Tao Lue waved the surrounding palace maids and eunuchs away, ordering everyone nearby to withdraw.

Noble Consort Lan looked around and sensed that something was not right.

Still staring at the confessions, Taishu Xiong suddenly asked in a mild voice, "Noble Consort Lan, do you know a man named Jia Wuqun?"

Her heart gave a jolt. She forced a smile. "Does Your Majesty mean that Hidden Chancellor from the State of Song?"

Taishu Xiong did not answer or raise his head. He simply continued turning over the documents and waited.

Under the pressure of his silence, Noble Consort Lan kept smiling with difficulty. "If Your Majesty means that Jia Wuqun, then this concubine does know him. When mother and daughter went to the Fire God Temple on Nanling Mountain last time, we happened to encounter him. We met and spoke for a while."

Taishu Xiong still did not look up. "What did you talk about?"

"Nothing much. He had heard some things about Huan'er and merely said a few words to console and enlighten her."

Tao Lue lifted his eyes and glanced at her.

"Enlighten her? Is that so?" Taishu Xiong said nothing more. He drew one sheet from the documents, placed it on the table, pushed it forward, and tapped the tabletop. "Read it."

"Your Majesty, this is...?" Noble Consort Lan asked, but received no answer. She could only obey and pick it up.

One glance was enough to make her heart pound wildly.

It was actually the interrogation statement of the Fire God Temple's officiant. Everything the man had said to mother and daughter was recorded there without missing a word.

More frightening still, the officiant had not glimpsed some divine mystery at all. Those mystical words had not come from him. People from Song's embassy had bought him off in advance and scripted exactly what he was to tell mother and daughter.

The confession did not explain what that meant, but even Noble Consort Lan could see the implications.

Her "chance encounter" with Jia Wuqun had been deliberately arranged.

And going one step further, the method Jia Wuqun had taught mother and daughter had also been part of a deliberate scheme.

In an instant, the entire affair changed flavor. It now involved maneuvering between states. A chill ran down Noble Consort Lan's back. The hand holding the paper trembled slightly as she began trying to guess why the Emperor had come.

Taishu Xiong lifted his tea and took a sip. "Considering you have been busy with the marriage, perhaps something simply slipped your mind. We will give you one more chance. What exactly did Jia Wuqun say to you? Was Huan'er barging into morning court something he incited and taught her to do?"

Seeing her hesitate uneasily, Taishu Xiong set down the cup and tapped the documents on the table again.

"Noble Consort Lan, We want to hear the truth from your own mouth. It would be best not to make Us produce a second confession. Once We do, the matter becomes deceiving the sovereign. By then, even if you wish to speak, We will no longer wish to listen. You will have no road of retreat."

"Colluding with a foreign state is a crime that can cost anyone his head. We are giving you an opportunity. Treasure it."

Noble Consort Lan panicked on the spot. She had no idea Taishu Xiong was bluffing her. Seeing that other confessions truly remained on the table, she assumed Jia Wuqun had already been caught and questioned.

She dropped to her knees with a thud. "Your Majesty, Jia Wuqun did incite us! But this concubine truly did not know there was anything so complicated behind it. It was only a marriage. Why would anyone go to such lengths?"

"Only a marriage?" Taishu Xiong rose. "A woman's narrow view. Since when has anything involving the court ever been simple?"

He pointed toward the paper in her hand.

"Your Ladyship." Tao Lue stepped forward respectfully before taking the document from Noble Consort Lan and returning it to the rest on the table. He would naturally leave nothing behind for her to read in full.

Seeing Taishu Xiong turn to leave, Noble Consort Lan hurried several steps forward on her knees. "Your Majesty, what about our daughter's marriage? Is it to be abandoned merely because of this?"

Taishu Xiong stopped with his back to her. "We hope the marriage can proceed as planned. Unfortunately, someone else does not wish it. There are matters even We cannot conveniently force. We can only leave it to fate."

Noble Consort Lan refused to give up. "Your Majesty, You are the sovereign of a state. It is merely one marriage. Who can force Your hand? Your Majesty, the fault lies with this concubine. Huan'er is Your own daughter! You cannot stand by and do nothing!"

"What of being the sovereign of a state?" Taishu Xiong said. "The more one behaves as a sovereign should, the more one is constrained."

"Lan'er, take one piece of advice from Us. What is obtained by force may not be good for our daughter. Shao Pingbo is no suitable match. Following him may instead harm her. There are matters where facing the truth calmly may not be a bad thing."

He pointed back toward the documents in Tao Lue's hands.

"Colluding with a foreign state is enough to take anyone's head. Precisely because Huan'er is Our daughter, and because We have wronged both mother and daughter in Huan'er's affair, We will shield you from this matter and pursue it no further."

"But remember one thing. As for the condition We once promised Huan'er, it would be best if you made sure she never mentions it again."

"Mother and daughter should conduct yourselves well from now on."

With that, he strode away.

Tao Lue remained thoughtful. Only now did he understand. His Majesty had come here precisely to use this opportunity to settle the matter of the condition he had once promised the Seventh Princess.

The thought passed through his mind, and he quickly followed Taishu Xiong.

Noble Consort Lan collapsed onto the ground, tears running silently down her face. Only moments earlier, she had still been smiling with joy.

They had barely left that courtyard when another eunuch hurried over and whispered a few words beside Tao Lue.

Tao Lue immediately caught up to Taishu Xiong. "Your Majesty, Lord Zhao has indeed come. He was stopped outside. He is kneeling at the front gate and refuses to rise, weeping and insisting on seeing Your Majesty."

Taishu Xiong snorted. "He brought it upon himself. Wasn't he shouting loudly enough when they joined hands to force Our hand in court? Now he knows how to cry? That change came rather quickly. Let him cry. We will not see him!"

Tao Lue continued, "Your Majesty, there is more. Lord Shao has finished his sweep and is on his way back to Black Prison."

Taishu Xiong asked as he walked, "How many households did he seize people from?"

"Seven. The seven who shouted loudest in court."

Taishu Xiong said, "So he knows fear after all. We almost thought he intended to arrest people from every great minister's household in the court. That would truly have been courting death!"

Tao Lue added another reminder. "His arrests in those seven households were selective as well. Any branch connected by marriage to Qiyun Sect was left completely untouched."

Taishu Xiong chuckled. "Look at that. This is what our Lord Shao is capable of. He returned to the capital and swept through them with ruthless methods, yet he has measured the proper limits perfectly. It is difficult for anyone to criticize him, and even harder for them to fault him for leaving relatives of Qiyun Sect disciples untouched."

"Good. He knows restraint. Then We can stop worrying."

Tao Lue said, "Your Majesty, letting Lord Zhao kneel there forever without seeing him is no solution."

"We only said We would not see him for now. How could We truly refuse forever?" Taishu Xiong sighed. "Wait until all seven have arrived. You will see. By then, even if We do not want to meet them, avoiding them will be impossible."

"Every one of those men has marriage ties to Qiyun Sect. They are certain to alarm the sect. We will not be able to hide from them."

"But make them kneel a little longer. Perhaps if they kneel long enough, they may reflect on what they themselves did before."

"Shao Pingbo's side has quieted down. Now it is Our turn."

"Send someone over. Obtain the complete set of relevant confessions from him and prepare for what is coming."

"And issue Our decree: mobilize the capital-region army and put it on defensive alert, in case anyone uses the opportunity to create disorder!"

"Yes!" Tao Lue accepted the order.

Everything unfolded exactly as Taishu Xiong expected.

The seven senior ministers whose households had suffered under Shao Pingbo's hand all came to seek an audience with the Emperor, crying injustice and begging their sovereign to uphold justice.

Taishu Xiong simply refused to see them and left them kneeling.

They knelt until darkness fell. By the time none of them could endure much longer, all seven had also calmed considerably.

After discussing it among themselves, they stopped kneeling, flung their sleeves, and left.

The influence wielded by those seven men was no small matter. It was not long before they alarmed someone even Taishu Xiong feared.

Taishu Xiong was in the middle of his evening meal when Tao Lue hurried in and reported, "Your Majesty, the Sect Leader has sent word. He wants You to go see him!"

[End of Chapter 1235]