Fish Meat – Chapter 78

The Ninth Year of Shenchu

Runing’s Winds and Clouds (Part 4)

This banquet was said to be held for Zhen Wenjun, but actually, it was organized by Wei Lun to plan how to rescue Zuo Xu without fail and to investigate further. Zhen Wenjun was just an excuse. Wei Lun shuttled back and forth among various groups of people, whispering. When Zhen Wenjun drank a bit too much, swaying unsteadily at the table several times and nearly smashing her head down to break the table in half, he finally came over.

“Lady Zhen has drunk too much, Ah Ran,” called Wei Lun, “take Lady Zhen to rest.”

“Yes.”

Ah Ran summoned two maidservants to support Zhen Wenjun, but Zhen Wenjun waved them all away, raising her wine cup towards Wei Lun.

This commotion attracted the attention of all the princes, generals, and ministers in the courtyard, as they saw a little lady with a very common demeanor actually raising her cup to toast Wei Situ.

“Wei Situ,” Zhen Wenjun stood in place, without wind or waves, just floating there, her eyes staring at Wei Lun as if they were about to shoot fire.

Ah Ran looked at her as if possessed, while Wei Lun, accustomed to big scenes, remained unfazed. Suddenly, Zhen Wenjun began singing the Pingcang folk song 《New Wedding Dress》. Initially, Yue family’s Ah Jiao and Jiang Daochang had trained her to impersonate Zhen Wenjun, born of the noble Pingcang family, with lifelike precision, teaching her many folk songs. This 《New Wedding Dress》 is very famous in Pingcang, describing the happy yet reluctant feelings of a mother as her daughter marries.

Ever since Ah Ran told her that Wei Tingxu was engaged to Zhangsun Wu, Zhen Wenjun’s mind was filled with this song, echoing back and forth across mountains and valleys. Seeing Wei Lun now, she couldn’t hold back and sang out loud.

Ah Ran and Wei Lun’s expressions were quite remarkable, and all the gentlemen in the courtyard who were originally chatting turned their attention to her, faces adorned with kindly smiles. Zhangsun Wu and the young master of the Da Honglu family were chatting happily when they suddenly heard Zhen Wenjun’s singing and looked in her direction.

“Isn’t that Master Wei’s lifesaver? How suddenly does she have this elegant interest?” The young master of the Da Honglu family drank all the wine in his hand, his Adam’s apple moving strongly, and placed the wine cup aside, “Zhan Ying, I brought several bottles of fifty-year-old aged wine in the kitchen, do you want to come and drink together?”

Zhangsun Wu glanced at Zhen Wenjun once more and followed him to the kitchen.

Such a joyful song was sung by Zhen Wenjun as if in mourning, sorrowful and miserable, without the joy of marriage, instead making the eyes of surrounding mothers, whose children died on the frontline, turn red. Ah Ran tried several times to interrupt Zhen Wenjun but did not succeed. Zhen Wenjun stubbornly sang the entire song and drank the wine in her hand in one go, as a toast to Wei Lun, and was finally supported away by Ah Ran.

“Sister, why are you sad?” Ah Ran took her to the long bench under the tree in the backyard, gently wiping away the tears on her face with a handkerchief, and asked a maid to bring a cup of tea to sober her up.

Before drinking the tea, Zhen Wenjun was still sniffling, not knowing what miraculous potion was added to the tea. After the last mouthful of tea slid down her throat, her mind cleared, confirming that she had indeed sung loudly in front of everyone just now. The alcohol-induced flush on her face had just faded, and a blush of embarrassment appeared again.

My dear mother, what did I just do! Did I sing in that courtyard filled with most of Runing’s high officials and aristocrats? Am I crazy?!

Zhen Wenjun had thoroughly come back to her senses — it was all Wei Tingxu’s fault!

Wei Tingxu sneezed, inexplicably.

“Lady, is it cold? I’ll stoke the coals a bit more,” Lingbi said, realizing that the north would be very cold, but not expecting it to be this cold. Even staying inside, the chill from the wind blowing through the gaps could still be felt. Don’t mention coal fires; even lighting a basin of fire indoors might not warm it up. The howling sound of the strong wind blowing through the valley made people afraid, and the Chongjin people called it the cry of “Devil’s Ten Curses.”

The northern border has no four seasons; here, there is only a short spring and a fleeting summer, together not more than sixty days. The remaining days are all a terrible deep winter. Thick ice and snow will, in the brief sixty days, quickly melt, flowing from the high mountains into the frozen grasslands, awakening hibernating animals, and nourishing the Chongjin people’s grasslands. It lets their horses have grass to eat and them have meat to consume.

It is precisely because of harsh conditions and scarce resources that the four great Hu tribes want to move south to occupy the fertile lands of Da Yu.

When Wei Tingxu and her group arrived at the northern border, it was already at the end of the sixty days. Very soon, this place would once again be dominated by severe cold, and Wei Tingxu and her group had to leave before the snowstorm arrived, otherwise, with her constitution, her life might be at risk.

Liu Feng had lost a leg and now had a high fever that was hard to reduce. Two of the Wei family’s shadow guards had already ridden out at full speed against the wind and snow to pursue Xie Fuchen.

Although she understood that the larger the snowstorm, the slimmer the chance of catching Xie Fuchen, she still held a slim hope of stopping Xie Fuchen from returning to Runing. Xie Fuchen was once a light cavalry captain, skilled in horse riding, not only adept at spying on enemy situations but also knowing how to hide his tracks. Wei Tingxu only hated that her body was too weak and she could not ride a horse; otherwise, she would do whatever it took to catch up and stop Xie Fuchen.

Even though the temperature in the northern border sharply dropped after two not-too-heavy snowfalls, Wei Tingxu did not catch a cold, thanks to her consistent intake of the cold-expelling six pills before departure. These six pills, produced in the all-day scorching desert area of the southern cliff, could nourish the liver and extinguish wind, being extremely dry and spicy. Ordinary people couldn’t bear six pills; even taking one pill would cause nosebleeds. To excel in work, one must first sharpen the tools; for Wei Tingxu, what dragged her down was her damaged body. She had made full preparations before coming, so while Lingbi caught two rounds of cold, Wei Tingxu remained unaffected.

But why suddenly sneeze? Wei Tingxu gently rubbed her nose.

“Duke Wei.”

A shadow guard, covered in sweat, stood behind a circle of flower beds and quietly called Wei Lun.

Wei Lun dismissed the people beside him and leaned over.

“Xie Fuchen has already passed Guanyang.” After saying this, the shadow guard disappeared.

Guanyang is less than a thousand li from Runing. Even though the journey is perilous, with Xie Fuchen’s riding skills, it would take at most only four or five days to reach Runing. Zizhuo and Liu Feng indeed were unable to stop him.

Wei Lun casually placed the wine cup on the neatly trimmed kerria and pushed through the crowd to find Zhangsun Yao.

“I am happy for Sister Tingxu.” Anyway, since her face was already lost, saying anything about drunken missteps now would only be more ridiculous, so she simply admitted it. Being a person of character wasn’t bad either. Zhen Wenjun took Ah Ran’s handkerchief with a backhand, wiped the tears that had already been scared away from the corners of her eyes, and hugged Ah Ran, “As Sister Ah Ran said, Sister Tingxu has been busy outside for years with no chance to settle down, not to mention finding a suitable gentleman. Young Master Zhangsun is very suitable for Sister Tingxu, and surely two beautiful people can have a pretty baby.”

Ah Ran patted her back and sighed with her, while Zhen Wenjun, holding Ah Ran’s arms, gradually weakened, resting her expressionless face on her shoulder and occasionally nodding in agreement.

With her face lost, she had no face to go back and eat. When leaving Situ Residence, Zhen Wenjun’s stomach was flat with hunger. This night was truly aggrieving; she already knew she shouldn’t have gone, causing a belly full of unhappiness. Even though a few well-dressed young masters came forward before she left, offering to escort her, she felt no happiness. She knew she was nothing, and even tonight’s banquet had nothing to do with her, yet these oily-faced silly boys mistakenly took her for someone noble.

While riding in the carriage to Huaichen Residence, Zhen Wenjun’s face was still somewhat hot, and a burp with alcohol stung her into a daze. Upon returning to the residence, Ah Zhu came to take her to sober up, but Zhen Wenjun said it wasn’t necessary and went directly to sleep.

Passing by the front hall, the lights inside were still on, and Li Yanyi was still planning something. So many days had passed, and she didn’t know if Li Yanyi had actually slept at all.

Whether it was Li Yanyi or Wei Tingxu, Xie Fuchen or Wei Lun, these people in high positions were all betting their lives for the countless people behind them and an unpredictable future. And what was she, Zhen Wenjun, doing? Using alcohol to drown small emotions, neither upstanding nor useful.

Lying in the small house, Zhen Wenjun could not sleep.

She knew her mother had not been saved, and there were still many things waiting for her to do. She could not waste time and feelings here.

Wei Tingxu is truly a frightening person; she has ways to make Xiaohua and Lingbi utterly loyal to her. Now, Zhen Wenjun is about to become the next person to submit to her.

Stay clear-minded, always remind herself of why she came here. Comfort is false, wealth is false, and flattery is also false.

Zhen Wenjun touched the old scar hidden under the crescent “birthmark” on her collarbone, forcefully digging in until the healed skin broke open again, the pain making her curl into a ball.

The sticky blood in her palm brought pain, but it made her clear-headed.

It made her remember who she was, remember her roots, remember her hatred, and remember her name — Alai.

Despite having drunk a lot of wine, Zhen Wenjun still woke up very early the next day. She went to the pharmacy to take some medicine to apply to herself. These days, she was responsible for taking the medicine, and no one noticed what medicine she took.

The pharmacy’s window faced the front courtyard, and when she heard the sound of carriages and horses, she looked out. Before the sun had risen, Li Yanyi had already left in a carriage.

At the second hour of the fifth watch (5PM to 7PM), the deep sound of a grand bell resonated from the distant Forbidden Garden. The bell sound spread from the bell tower in front of the Taiji Hall, with the drums at each street corner gate continuing the sound to even more distant places. This was the sound of the early court session, and on this gradually warming eve of the Dragon Boat Festival, the whole of Runing was awakened.

Sitting in the carriage, Li Yanyi heard the sound symbolizing the start of the early court and turned the prayer beads in her hand one by one into her palm.

Standing at the other end of Zhuque Avenue, looking at the wide-open Yong’an Gate, ministers who had been waiting outside since midnight were finally able to enter the palace to meet the emperor.

Lin Quan, Wei Lun, and Zhangsun Yao were among them. Today, they would unite with fifty-six important ministers to accomplish a major task.

The lingering sound of Yong’an Gate closing echoed dully in the gray sky, like a yawning giant beast.

She grew up in the Forbidden Garden, but the master here was never her. Five years ago, no one thought it would be her, but now it is completely different.

Just like this day, which is about to change.

After the sharp call of the Attendant Huangmen Shilang, hundreds of officials knelt, bowing to Li Ju on the high platform dragon chair. Li Ju’s upper half of his face was hidden behind the ceremonial bead curtain, making it unclear where he was looking. The angular lower half of his long face had grown quite a bit of beard, meticulously groomed into an inverted triangle shape.

Behind the dragon chair he sat on, there was a jade screen carved with dragons and painted with phoenixes. Inside, the curtain hung down, and through it, one could faintly see a woman sitting. Beside the woman was a dedicated maid fanning her, with two basins filled with ice at her feet. Each fan movement brought a breeze of coolness brushing onto the woman’s body, dispelling heat and reducing temperature.

At the start of the early court session, Situ Wei Lun, Shaofu Zhangsun Yao, and Dasi Nong Lin Quan jointly submitted an impeachment of Guo Ru, presenting the well-written document to Huangmen Shilang, who then delivered it to Li Ju.

Zhangsun Yao, as Shaofu, with the most agile tongue, stepped forward and quickly presented Guo Ru’s crimes one by one, loudly and with embellishments. Zhangsun Yao’s words flowed continuously for nearly half an hour before he paused to rest. Following him, led by Wei Lun and Lin Quan, a large group of important ministers echoed in agreement. For a time, the voices in the court were unanimous, piercing through the clouds and splitting the rocks, allowing no rebuttal.

Li Ju, holding the memorial, found his knuckles turning increasingly blue-white. The words of persuasion pierced his ears, making him furious, almost causing him to jump from the dragon chair, as he forcefully threw the memorial to the ground.

“Absurd! Too absurd!”

Li Ju’s roar caused all the ministers below to kneel in unison. Li Ju pointed at them: “In vain you claim to be capable ministers of Da Yu! Where are you capable, and what qualifications do you have to be called ‘ministers’?! 《Zuo Zhuan》 says ministers resolve troubles and dispel doubts! But what is in your brains? Do you have the ability to resolve troubles and dispel doubts? You only cause me to get angry!”

Wei Lun said, “Your Majesty, please calm your anger…”

Li Ju raised his hand: “Wei Situ, no need to speak. I just ask you, now that Da Yu has faced many years of disaster and famine, with troubles on the northern line unresolved, and the three major Hu tribes in the northwest beginning to harass the border again. External troubles are not removed, and internal worries are constant. The common people still can’t eat, yet there are those who are corrupt and abuse the law. These are the people you do not impeach, yet you want to impeach Guo Ru for urinating everywhere? What is your intent?”

Wei Lun’s eyebrows slightly furrowed, and he did not speak again.

Kneeling beside him, Zhangsun Yao quietly glanced at him, and Lin Quan was even more puzzled. The ministers behind them also looked at each other; everyone understood whom Li Ju was angrily rebuking, but no one spoke.

“For so long, I have waited, and yet no one has stood up to directly address this matter. I ask you, do you live up to the people of Da Yu, do you live up to me?”

Wei Lun said unhurriedly, “This minister is ignorant; is Your Majesty referring to the matter of Hong Ai embezzling disaster relief grain funds?”

Before the last word of Wei Lun’s statement had even been fully spoken, Li Ju, like a hunter who sees a clever rabbit finally fall into the trap, eagerly closed the net: “Correct! I refer to Hong Ai! In this day and age, how important grain is, everyone knows in their hearts, yet Hong Ai dares to embezzle the people’s life-saving money. This is a crime worthy of lingchi (thousand cuts), a death penalty!”

Li Ju shouted each word with sonorous force, whether from anger or shouting too loudly, his face turned completely red.

Wei Lun slowly raised his head, with a gaze as firm and dangerous as a wolf’s, rising slowly from behind his hu board, undisturbed by Li Ju’s furious outburst just moments before, still calmly looking at him. Li Ju suddenly felt like a jumping clown, unbearably foolish.

Lingchi. Wei Lun secretly laughed in his heart; Li Ju had secretly replaced the “extermination of the family” crime with “lingchi,” meaning only separating Hong Ai from his family, with no relation to them. Feng Kun would not die, nor would Feng Xiyi. Li Ju wanted to use anger to divert everyone’s attention and blur the focus. Not only did he secretly lighten Hong Ai’s crime, but he also suppressed the impeachment of Guo Ru. It seems Li Ju had already decided to sacrifice the chess piece Hong Ai to protect Feng Kun and the northern three counties.

Wei Lun said, “Your Majesty’s wisdom and prudence in rectifying discipline are Da Yu’s blessings. This minister also believes that the matter of Hong Ai must be strictly investigated.”

Li Ju raised his voice and said, “Guan Xun.”

Guan Xun, who had been kneeling silently at the side, seemed well-prepared for being called upon, and he came forward, kneeling: “This minister is here.”

“Has Hong Ai confessed the details of embezzling public funds?”

“Replying to Your Majesty, Hong Ai has been in the imperial prison for forty-two days, and still does not admit to the crime of embezzlement.”

“With conclusive evidence, yet he still wants to deny it. That Hong Ai is just a small governor, yet he dares to embezzle official silver. If no one were backing him, how could he dare to be so arrogant? Moreover, if he truly intended to privately swallow official silver, why would he blatantly place the silver in his residence? That is thirty thousand taels of cash silver, which is very conspicuous no matter where it is placed, especially when stamped with the official seal. Could it be that Hong Ai thinks he has lived too long? This matter perhaps still has something suspicious, and we absolutely cannot let any corrupt officials escape. Guan Xun, I order you to search the Hong residence again, leaving no detail unchecked. Search the Hong residence inside and out thoroughly!”

Guan Xun said, “Understood!”

So that’s it.

Wei Lun knelt in place without making a sound.

Probably, Li Ju found the source of the official silver extremely suspicious and wants to start from this line, hence eagerly rebuking corruption to focus everyone’s attention on this matter. Li Ju’s grasp on this point is correct. Since the previous emperor, there has been a strong effort to investigate corrupt officials, and Li Ju has the right to allow the Minister of Justice Office to first hear this case, and moreover, his actions are reasonable.

Li Ju sat back down, the ceremonial beads swaying before his eyes.

He secretly let out a breath, his heartbeat still rapid. He thought that Wei Lun and this treacherous faction would oppose him in court, and that Empress Dowager Geng, sitting behind the curtain, would suddenly cause trouble, but they did not. This was because the problem he raised had no flaws, leaving them no room to refute.

He looked at Wei Lun’s still hard-to-read face, knowing that Wei Lun was surely analyzing his actions one by one, thinking—Li Ju, this child, wants to investigate the source of the official silver.

Very sorry, this time you will lose.

Li Ju struggled to suppress the urge to laugh.

My purpose is absolutely not in this.

The Emperor gave his order, and Guan Xun brought the court officer’s people to the Hong residence, opened the seal, and rushed in.

“Search for me!”

“Understood!”

Guan Xun and Jiang Wang stood at the door, coldly watching as the Hong residence was turned upside down once more. Jiang Wang, feeling hot to the point of being unable to wear the tall hat, used a flat snake fan to fan out some pitiful breeze, while asking Guan Xun, “Do you guess how many more times we need to search the Hong residence? In this hot weather, coming to search a house, this job is really not for humans. Behind the house, there are still some maidservants’ hanged corpses not yet cleaned up, this stench, tsk tsk tsk…”

Guan Xun’s sword-like eyebrows framed a pair of cold single eyelids as they slid toward Jiang Wang: “If you want to live a few more years, then close your rotten mouth.”

Jiang Wang, instead of getting angry, laughed, like a water snake spitting its tongue at Guan Xun’s neck: “You quite enjoy my rotten mouth.”

The Ministry of Justice Office people searched for three quarters of an hour, truly not overlooking any corner, and searched extremely carefully.

Wei Lun and Lin Quan arrived, and after both saluted them, Guan Xun asked: “Why are Wei Situ and Dasi Nong so free to come and supervise this official’s handling of the case?”

Lin Quan, naturally gentle in voice and also a southerner, spoke softly: “Where does this talk of supervision come from? Because His Majesty greatly values the Hong Ai case, as ministers, we are naturally concerned, so Wei Situ and I came together.”

Guan Xun was about to say something when suddenly a voice announced, “The Emperor arrives,” and they immediately knelt down, shouting:

“Respectfully welcome the Emperor!”

More than thirty heavily armored Huben Guards quickly divided into two rows, as Li Ju, with his arms behind his back, walked through the middle and asked, “How is the investigation?”

Guan Xun said, “Replying to the Emperor, we have not yet found any new clues.”

Li Ju raised his eyebrows and paced alone in place, while two eunuchs holding a sunshade canopy followed closely behind him. Everyone smelled the stench emitted by the corpses, and Li Ju surely smelled it too. However, he was unmoved, displaying no pretentious attitude.

Feng Xiyi’s belly grew larger day by day, and she began to be unable to sleep through the night, often having nightmares. She dared not turn over, for if she did, she feared the child would fall out of her belly and crash to the ground. Countless times, Feng Xiyi was startled awake from sleep, unbearably thirsty.

“Ah Wan,” Feng Xiyi softly called the name of her personal maid.

“Ah Wan?” The maid did not respond, so Feng Xiyi raised her voice and called again.

Still, no one answered.

What is going on?

When Feng Xiyi lifted the curtain, she saw a strange woman sitting at her bedside, which scared her into screaming and shrinking back into the bed.

“What does the Empress want? I will help you fetch it.”

Still frightened, Feng Xiyi turned back to look and, after carefully examining, found this person not unfamiliar. Although shortly after she entered the palace, this person left Huaichen residence and moved out, the two had not met many times, but she often heard the Emperor mention her name.

“Li, Li Yanyi? How are you here!”

“The Empress has been joyful for so long, and I haven’t come to see the Empress; I really should not have delayed. The Empress will not blame me, right?” Li Yanyi stood up and walked to the bedside, and Feng Xiyi screamed:

“Someone, come—”

Li Yanyi lunged forward, grasping Feng Xiyi’s throat with one hand, rendering her unable to utter a word. Feng Xiyi kicked and punched frantically until a cold dagger pressed against her swollen belly, making her as if paralyzed, completely unable to move.

Compared to Ah Xin, Li Yanyi’s strength wasn’t considered strong, but subduing this delicate pregnant woman was still easy. A little pressure from her fingers would cause Da Yu’s future prince to die in the womb.

Feng Xiyi’s extremely fearful tears dripped down her pretty face onto the back of Li Yanyi’s hand. Her whole body shrank into a ball, not daring even to resist, and a desperate sound issued from deep in her throat: “Do not kill… the Emperor’s child.”

“How could I kill the Emperor’s child? He is my nephew.” Li Yanyi’s smile was more terrifying than all of Feng Xiyi’s nightmares. In despair, she stared at the red mole between Li Yanyi’s eyebrows, like a drop of blood, also like a keyhole to open the gates of the underworld.

Li Ju had long prepared evidence to prove Hong Ai’s innocence and secretly placed it in an inconspicuous spot in Hong Ai’s study.

This was a forged contract, a contract signed between Hong Ai and the Hu merchant for purchasing medicine. Initially, he was ordered by the Emperor to go to Suichuan for disaster relief, and the official silver allocated to him was not only for buying grain but also for purchasing medicine to prevent an epidemic. The medicine needed to be purchased from the Hu merchants, as it was expensive and scarce, and the Hu merchants did not have enough. Hong Ai then signed a contract for thirty thousand taels of goods, with delivery in forty days. These thirty thousand taels of silver were kept to buy the medicine and, due to transportation inconvenience, were left at the Runing Hong residence. In this way, what else could Wei Lun and Guan Xun say?

As long as the contract was found, Hong Ai could clear his suspicion.

Li Ju thought, does Li Yanyi and Wei Lun still think I am the once easily manipulated weak Emperor? A fall into the pit, a gain in knowledge—who I am now was forced out by you all!

“Found it!” Three or four members of the court officer’s office ran out, holding a pile of bamboo slips and wooden tablets.

“What did you find?” Guan Xun asked.

Li Ju casually looked over and heard the officer say, “We found evidence of Hong Ai colluding with the enemy and selling out the country!”

Li Ju’s smile still lingered on his face, as if he did not understand.

Guan Xun took those letters in hand to examine them; they were all correspondence with Chongjin, involving Da Yu’s military defense, agricultural construction, and other major secrets, with some data even Guan Xun had never heard of.

Guan Xun did not rush to a conclusion but handed the letters to Li Ju, allowing the Emperor to personally review them.

Li Ju could see from Guan Xun’s eyes that he agreed with the officer’s words. Impossible! Colluding with the enemy and selling out the country? How could it be possible! Hadn’t he already arranged for the contract proving innocence to be placed in the Hong residence? Why had it turned into colluding with the enemy and selling out the country!

Li Ju urgently flipped through these letters, and every word pointed to that terrible crime! What almost made Li Ju faint was that these letters involved not only Hong Ai, who was just a pawn, but they also mentioned a high official of Da Yu more frequently, who was the real mastermind behind the scenes.

Although the person’s name was not directly pointed out, as mentioning it would be too obvious, Li Ju could see at a glance that the hinted high official was Feng Kun!

Lin Quan and Wei Lun, as if knowing nothing, asked: “Your Majesty, is this matter of colluding with the enemy and selling out the country true?”

Li Ju wished he could draw Guan Xun’s sword and cut these two pretentious scoundrels into several pieces! Just as they did to Hong Ai’s third sister!

But he cannot do this. He is the Emperor, one who is high above yet cannot do anything out of line!

Li Ju threw the letters heavily on the ground. Lin Quan picked them up, and together with Wei Lun, they examined them. After reading, Lin Quan asked Guan Xun, “May I ask Tingwei Guan, what is the punishment for colluding with the enemy and selling out the country?”

Guan Xun, with a cold face, seemed reluctant to answer, so Jiang Wang spoke for him: “During the Hongque years, there was an official who also colluded with the enemy and sold out the country, leading to the extermination of nine families. This time, Hong Ai is likely to face the same fate, hehehe…”

Li Ju knew they all were not afraid of him; they were all plotting against him. Even this small tingwei dared to mock him.

Perhaps Wei Lun had long anticipated Li Ju’s painstakingly devised “brilliant plan,” and turned the tables, completely pushing Feng Kun onto the guillotine. Li Ju’s eyes turned red with anger: In the eyes of you treacherous people, is this lonely one particularly laughable!

Li Ju questioned them with his eyes, but his furious gaze seemed like a drop of water in the ocean. Lin Quan and Wei Lun, one smiling and the other stern, both looked at him. This was their most natural demeanor, as always, without any fear or pride.

It was as if they had never considered that this confrontation could have any other outcome.

“Someone, come! The Empress is going to give birth!” Ah Wan rushed out of the Empress’s bedchamber, shouting loudly.

Feng Xiyi lay on the bed, painfully clutching her belly, as blood flowed from between her legs, staining the entire bed.

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