The Prime Minister’s Daughter and the Marquis’s Fool – Chapter 184
by Little PandaIssue the Edict, Order the Imperial Guards to the Qu Residence to Apprehend Them
Within the palace and throughout Capital City, the search for Lin Xizhao and Lin Xikuan continued without pause, but even after a day and a night of scouring, there was no sign of them.
Although Jin Mingjun was reveling in the joy of finally removing Qu Sheng—the thorn in his side—he was humiliated and furious that the grand investiture ceremony he had spent so long preparing for Lin Xizhao had ended with him handing his inner court’s phoenix seal1 over to a stranger.
The imposter had already been imprisoned. Because Jin Mingjun dared not publicly announce that his Empress was missing, the guards faced numerous inconveniences during their search.
After finalizing the rewards for the army with his ministers, Jin Mingjun left the imperial palace to continue the search himself.
“You must search carefully. Do not overlook a single corner.”
Sitting in his carriage, Jin Mingjun watched as the guard captain ordered the soldiers to search house to house. He watched the guards enter a residence, emerge shortly after, and immediately proceed to the next.
After seeing the guards enter several homes without success, Jin Mingjun lowered the carriage curtain. He furrowed his brow, trying to deduce where Lin Xizhao might have gone.
Just as he lowered his head in thought, a guard reported from outside, “Your Majesty, there is a residence up ahead. A portrait of the Empress is hanging inside.”
Upon hearing this, Jin Mingjun asked, “Have you found the Empress?”
“No. But does Your Majesty wish to take a look?” the guard asked, his head bowed but his eyes lifting slightly.
Jin Mingjun lowered his eyes in thought, then asked a moment later, “Where is it?”
“Just in the alley ahead.”
“Lead the way.”
Jin Mingjun arrived outside a small courtyard where the servants inside had all been gathered together. Only then did he realize this was a property under Lin Xizhao’s name, one she had frequented in the past.
Looking at the portrait the guards brought over, Jin Mingjun stared at it for a long time.
This portrait had been drawn by Qu Sheng for Lin Xizhao. It was evident that she had still been quite young at the time, her features not yet entirely rid of their childhood softness.
Jin Mingjun slowly rolled the portrait up. He looked at the servants but did not make things difficult for them, merely ordering his men to keep them under watch.
Sitting back in his carriage, he held the portrait as they headed out of the alley, unable to resist unrolling it to look once more.
If their Jin family had fulfilled the marriage agreement from back then, everything would have been different. Lin Xizhao wouldn’t have been so repulsed by him.
Having searched through the night, Jin Mingjun sat in the carriage clutching the portrait, his eyes dark and bleak. His guards wove through the major streets and minor alleys, yet not a single one returned with news of Lin Xizhao.
“Your Majesty, Marquis Feng has woken up,” a guard tasked with watching Feng Sugao rushed over to report.
Hearing this, Jin Mingjun’s sluggish posture straightened. He threw open the carriage curtain, a surge of anger rising. “To Marquis Feng’s residence.”
Jin Mingjun had previously ordered all of Feng Sugao’s family members gathered together. The entire household was out in the courtyard, waiting for the Marquis to wake.
But the awakened Feng Sugao was still somewhat groggy. When Jin Mingjun’s carriage arrived, the Emperor leapt down before the stepping stool could even be placed.
Striding forward with burning urgency, Jin Mingjun entered the doors and scoffed coldly, “Has Marquis Feng managed to drown his sorrows in wine?”
Feng Sugao had already heard the servants report the Emperor’s arrival, but he had stubbornly remained lying on his couch, pretending he couldn’t get up. Now that Jin Mingjun was inside, upon hearing his voice, Feng Sugao hurriedly scrambled up, using his feigned drunkenness to peer at him.
Seeing him stumble off the couch and stagger over without bowing, Jin Mingjun frowned.
“My worthy son-in-law, what brings you here?” Feng Sugao stumbled forward as if to welcome him, but just as he was about to collide with him, Jin Mingjun dodged out of the way.
Marquis Feng, a man trained in martial arts, subsequently fell flat onto the ground. Jin Mingjun flicked his robes aside, glaring down at him with disgust.
Failing to use the opportunity to make a scene, Feng Sugao simply sat on the ground and refused to get up. He looked up at Jin Mingjun, slapped his own forehead, and said, “Oh, I forgot. My son-in-law has already become the Supreme Ruler2.”
Listening to his slurred tone, Jin Mingjun demanded impatiently, “Where have you hidden Our Empress?”
At the word “Empress,” Marquis Feng looked as though he had been struck. He stared blankly at the bluestone floor for a long time. A moment later, he actually began to cry.
“My poor daughter, ah…” His wails grew louder, leaving Jin Mingjun momentarily stunned. Then, Marquis Feng cried out, “Your emperor husband has come to your father to ask for you! Where is your father supposed to find you?”
Hearing Feng Sugao mention his deceased wife, Jin Mingjun’s face instantly hardened. He walked over, crouched in front of him, and grabbed him by the collar. “Don’t play games with Us,” he said coldly. “Where did you take Xizhao?”
Feng Sugao was sobbing so hard he could barely catch his breath. When he heard Jin Mingjun explicitly ask for Lin Xizhao, he stared dead into the Emperor’s eyes. Knives seemed to glint in his gaze. Jin Mingjun held that stare for only a second before a sudden jolt of unease made him let go.
Flung back onto the ground, Marquis Feng let out a cold, bitter laugh.
“My daughter was with you for so many years. Your mother bullied and humiliated her to death, and you, as her husband, just stood by and watched! Now, I helped you seize the throne, yet you aren’t even willing to give her a proper posthumous title! Jin Mingjun, are you even human?!” Feng Sugao turned to glare at him, his eyes brimming with hatred.
Jin Mingjun subconsciously took a defensive step back. He was momentarily rendered speechless by the accusation, but for Lin Xizhao’s sake, he still pressed the issue.
“I will ask you one more time. Where did you hide Xizhao?”
“By Your Majesty’s words, does that mean your newly instated Empress has gone missing?” Feng Sugao fired back, his voice taking on an eccentric, hissing tone. “Ah? Hahaha! Good that she’s lost! Good that she’s lost! Hahaha…”
A savage, crazed laugh twisted across Feng Sugao’s face. Watching his manic behavior, Jin Mingjun assumed he hadn’t fully sobered up yet, but he also gleaned from his words that Feng Sugao truly hadn’t known Lin Xizhao was missing.
If Feng Sugao wasn’t the one hiding her, then this had to have been orchestrated by Lin Xikuan.
At this realization, his mouth twitched. He turned around, intending to head back out to continue the search, when someone suddenly burst in from outside.
“I have urgent matters to report to His Majesty! Everyone, out of my way!” An armored military officer, looking as though he had ridden a vast distance, was being blocked by the guards.
“His Majesty is handling an urgent matter. General, please wait a moment.” At this point, Jin Mingjun was frantic to find Lin Xizhao. The Northern Frontier had already secured a great victory, and Qu Sheng had been captured alive—there shouldn’t be anything urgent.
“You—!” the officer choked with anger as crossing blades barred his path.
“What is it?” Jin Mingjun asked as he approached.
Hearing his voice, the officer looked over and hastily dropped to one knee. “Your Majesty, this last general is Gao Yingwei, the primary commander at Lingshui. Our returning army from the frontlines seems highly suspicious.”
“Suspicious how?” Jin Mingjun asked, eyeing him carefully.
“The main commander is not General Tu, and the army is returning far too quickly.” The general poured out his doubts, absolutely certain that something was wrong.
“You’re saying the troops from the Northern Frontier have already passed Lingshui, and the one leading them isn’t Tu Gang?”
“Yes. Due to Your Majesty’s imperial edict, General Shao had no choice but to let the Northern Frontier army pass through the checkpoint. He specifically dispatched this last general to inform you so that if Your Majesty also finds this suspicious, you may prepare in advance.”
Hearing this, Jin Mingjun’s expression instantly froze.
He immediately summoned all civil and military officials back to court. However, before he could issue any decrees, a soldier stationed at the Capital Suburbs Camp rushed frantically into the city and burst in. “Your Majesty, Your Majesty! The returning army from the Northern Frontier has surrounded our main camp!”
The man charged into the main hall, missed his footing, and tumbled head over heels across the floor.
The officials turned to look at his blood-soaked clothes and his cloth armor, which had been shredded beyond recognition. After he collapsed, he did not get back up.
The faces of everyone in the great hall abruptly changed, sheer terror flashing across their features.
Panic-stricken, Jin Mingjun shot to his feet and bellowed, “Go get Jiang Pingchao! Call Jiang Pingchao here!”
The streets of Capital City and the homes of the commoners were cast into chaos. The Imperial Guards barged into every household, searching for the missing Empress and throwing the populace into a state of widespread panic.
The returning army from the Northern Frontier had completely massacred the defense forces at the Capital Suburbs Camp. The Emperor issued an edict to heavily reinforce the already barred city gates, and he ordered messengers to slip out of the city and head to Jiangnan to mobilize troops for rescue.
When the sun fully rose, directly south of the imperial palace, the nearly one million soldiers who had supposedly returned triumphant stood before the city’s gates. They shouted up at the capital’s defenders, “We are the Tiansheng royal army! By order of the Grand General, we have come to eradicate the treasonous rebels! Cease your aid to the tyrant and open the gates immediately!”
The capital’s gates were tightly sealed. The soldiers atop the walls had already assumed defensive formations. Their defending commander, Jiang Pingchao, stood on the parapet. His brow was heavy with grim severity as his gaze swept the enemy lines, finally landing on Qu Sheng at the vanguard.
He had met Qu Sheng before. He had even spoken with her back when he followed her to quell the rebellion in the south. Yet now, the two of them were standing on opposite sides of the battlefield.
Jiang Pingchao stood in the gate tower and did not reply. Below, the soldiers grew tired of shouting and eventually went quiet.
Qu Sheng nudged her horse forward a few paces. She looked up at the defending general, seemingly not recognizing who he was.
“General Qu, the realm has already been settled! The Qu family and the Jin family are fundamentally one family. Why not withdraw your troops, swear fealty as a subject, and become a high-ranking regional official? Would that not be a mutual victory for both our houses?” A civil official who had come to the wall to parley called down to Qu Sheng, attempting to persuade the Qu family to bow to the Jin family.
Qu Sheng tilted her head up, leveling a frigid glare at him. In a flash, she drew her bow, nocked an arrow, and fired straight at him. Seeing her move, the defending guards frantically yanked the official aside. Qu Sheng’s arrow embedded itself into a pillar of the gate tower.
Jiang Pingchao’s sharp gaze followed the arrow, spotting a small slip of paper tied to its shaft.
The regicide was Jin Mingjun alone. Hand him over, and you may live.
Staring at the words, Jiang Pingchao furrowed his brow. He chose not to inform the others. Instead, he tore the paper to shreds and scattered them into the wind, letting them flutter down from the tower.
How could he allow the enemy to succeed in shattering his army’s morale at such a critical juncture?
Qu Sheng had initially hoped to persuade the defending general to open the gates, but the man had shredded her message. Recognizing Jiang Pingchao’s refusal to surrender, her vast army below immediately began chanting the contents of the note. “Jin Mingjun murdered the Emperor and usurped the throne! He is a traitorous rebel, and everyone has the right to execute him! Anyone who stubbornly resists will be deemed equally guilty!”
“Such arrogance from the General! Didn’t you also commit regicide in an attempt to help your father usurp the throne? This is merely a case of fifty paces laughing at a hundred paces3! How dare you brazenly accuse our reigning Emperor?” The civil official seized the opening, looking down at Qu Sheng with utter contempt.
Qu Sheng raised her eyes and let out a soft scoff. “Lord Wei, when have you ever seen me commit regicide? And when have I ever helped my father usurp the throne?”
“Then did you not kill Emperor Baoguang?!” Lord Wei roared down at her.
“I never gave the order to kill Emperor Baoguang. He was murdered by the former Crown Prince, Sheng Hongmiao, and I have already executed him to offer a sacrifice in Emperor Baoguang’s memory. You, on the other hand, Lord Wei—forgetting the grace of your former master to align yourself with a treasonous rebel who murdered him, and then actually daring to stand upon this wall and shamelessly hurl accusations at this general? It’s downright laughable.”
“You—!” Lord Wei had wanted to nail down Qu Sheng’s crimes, only to be humiliated by her in return.
He had once been a retainer of the very Emperor whom Jin Mingjun had burned alive.
When Emperor Baoguang had been trapped in the palace back then, Qu Sheng had wanted to kill him with her own hands. But she knew that if she did, it would give the entire realm justification to crusade against the Qu family for regicide. To ensure a smooth takeover of Tiansheng, she refused to shoulder the blame, opting instead to wait for the House of Sheng to slaughter each other.
Now, before she had even managed to lay out a flawless trap, the Jin family had beaten her to the punch, leaving her to deal with the hidden perils born from Jin Mingjun claiming the throne.
Six of Tiansheng’s neighboring vassal states had already declared their independence. The Sishi Kingdom to the west and the Zongshang Kingdom to the south had also begun amassing troops at the borders. While Tiansheng was weakened, war could ignite at the frontiers at any second.
Previously, when Qu Sheng had departed for the Northern Frontier and rebellion had broken out in Tiansheng’s south, the Sishi and Zongshang Kingdoms had sent scouts to assess the situation. They had already been funneling forces to the border back then, but because Qu Sheng had left the Jin family stationed along the Jiangnan line to suppress any threats, neither kingdom had dared to invade rashly.
Right now, every fear Qu Sheng had harbored was arriving prematurely thanks to Jin Mingjun’s usurpation. She had to drag him off the throne with minimal casualties on both sides to restore the nation’s prestige. Otherwise, once a full-scale foreign war broke out, it would spell absolute disaster for their people.
“Qu Sheng! You are just a woman! What use is it to conquer the world? Your Qu family is either dead or crippled! Your bloodline’s incense has already been severed! What, do you expect a cripple to attend morning court? A one-armed man to become emperor? A sickly invalid to manage state affairs?”
Qu Sheng’s previously indifferent demeanor vanished. Hearing Lord Wei’s vicious, venomous words carve right into her heart, her body suddenly went rigid. She stared blankly ahead for a long while.
Two members of her Qu family had been murdered by the Tiansheng imperial family. Her Fourth Brother had survived their covert poisoning, but he would never be able to live as a normal man again. Her Third Uncle and Fourth Uncle had laid down their lives to protect Tiansheng’s citizens. Her Third Brother was missing an arm, lost in a catatonic dream. Her father was still comatose. She was the only one left capable of leading troops.
Now, her deepest agony had been dragged into the light and viciously ripped apart. In that instant, an uncontrollable killing intent flared in Qu Sheng’s eyes.
Her hand swept up. In a flash, she released the bowstring. Three arrows shot forward simultaneously, driven by her sheer fury. One arrow drove straight through Lord Wei’s throat. The other two struck down the defending soldiers who had rushed over to protect him.
As Lord Wei and the soldiers collapsed, the top of the wall devolved into a chaotic mess.
But after shooting them dead, Qu Sheng made no further moves.
Jiang Pingchao watched from behind as Qu Sheng wheeled her horse around. He wanted to order his men to return fire, but their bows simply did not have the range.
Amidst the confusion on the gate tower, the bodies of the soldiers and Lord Wei were quickly carried down. However, just as Lord Wei’s corpse was being hauled away, the defenders seemed to hear the sounds of slaughter.
“General Jiang, the enemy has started attacking the northern gate!” The reporting junior officer was in such a panic that he collided with the soldiers carrying the bodies several times before finally dodging them and scrambling up the wall.
“How many troops?” Jiang Pingchao demanded urgently, frowning.
“Too many! I don’t know!” The man had clearly lost his nerve. The horizon was black with an endless sea of soldiers; there was no telling just how massive an army Qu Sheng had brought back.
“Which general is leading the charge?” Jiang Pingchao asked again.
“I don’t know! The person is wearing a mask—I’ve never seen them before! But their subordinates fight like demons, and our forces are on the verge of breaking!”
Looking at the man’s frantic state, Jiang Pingchao knitted his brows and threw a glance down at Qu Sheng’s army. The only reason Qu Sheng had been willing to waste time parleying with them was to bait the defenders into pulling their main forces here.
“Do not panic!” Jiang Pingchao ordered with firm conviction. “Go and deploy the formations as I instructed earlier. They won’t be able to scale the walls.”
He had faith in his defensive strategies. As long as they held the line until the great army from Jiangnan was mobilized and arrived, there would still be a sliver of hope. But if it came to that, a brutal clash between the two massive forces was inevitable, and he would very likely go down in history as the sinner who brought about the ruin of his people.
Qu Sheng stared up at the flustered defensive officers on the wall. Lowering her head slightly, she listened to the report confirming that Xiao Bingying had initiated the siege on her end. A faint smirk pulled at the corner of Qu Sheng’s mouth. She drew her sword, pointed it toward the gate tower, and roared, “Siege!”
The moment the word left her lips, the army behind her surged into motion. Heavy armored soldiers bearing shields spearheaded the blindingly fast charge. Archers followed directly behind as the second wave, and bringing up the rear in the third wave were Qu Sheng’s improved catapult units.
As Tiansheng’s national power had flourished, its city walls had grown increasingly fortified. The stones hurled by standard catapults could no longer clear the parapets. However, the machines modified by Qu Sheng could effortlessly launch payloads of double the weight directly over the ramparts.
Inside the imperial palace, panic reigned. Every soul trembled in fear. Jin Mingjun had clearly been caught completely off guard by Qu Sheng’s sudden return.
Rubbing his forehead as he sat upon the throne, he barked furiously at the men below, “Out of this entire court of civil and military officials, not a single one of you can offer a sound strategy! What use is there in Us keeping you alive? We should have just killed you all from the start!”
“Calm your anger, Your Majesty…”
“Calm your anger, Your Majesty…”
The ministers dropped to their knees in terror, murmuring their pleas.
Jin Mingjun glared at the crowd, rage boiling from within. He never could have imagined that the 800,000-strong army he had dispatched would be entirely annihilated and absorbed by Qu Sheng’s ragged remnants, allowing her to march directly onto the capital’s doorstep.
“Your Majesty, this old subject suggests that we arrest the Qu family and drag them onto the city walls. It could hold them off for a time, forcing Qu Sheng to halt the siege and buying us precious hours until our reinforcements arrive.” Upon hearing the reports of Qu Sheng’s ferocious assault that threatened to shatter the gates, a civil official proposed this venomous scheme.
“Your Majesty, you must not! The Qu family is full of unyielding stock. If they die on those walls, it will absolutely invite a far more catastrophic retaliation from Qu Sheng. Given her ruthless nature, she will surely massacre the city’s citizens in revenge! Think thrice, Your Majesty!”
“What is the meaning of this, Lord Zhang? The city hasn’t even fallen, yet you’re already planning your escape? Are you simply a coward clinging to life? Do you intend to defect to the enemy?” The official who had made the initial suggestion straightened up from his kneel and angrily hurled accusations at the minister.
“Your Majesty, this subject has not left an escape route for himself, but the commoners in this city are innocent.” He had already foreseen that the capital would fall, and now he could only plead earnestly to keep Jin Mingjun from taking such a disastrous gamble.
What kind of commander was Qu Sheng? Years ago, she had changed the master of the capital with just over a hundred thousand troops. When the Six Kingdoms of the Northern Frontier invaded, she had brilliantly executed stratagems, sowing discord to force the Taoshan Kingdom to withdraw, then trapping the remaining five in an inferno, making them retreat without her shedding a single drop of her own soldiers’ blood.
In the clash against the Bei’an army, despite the massive disparity in weaponry, she had held her ground for so long. And this time, even while fighting the Bei’an forces and facing the 800,000 troops sent by this new emperor, she had still managed to return safely with her army intact. A commander of such divine caliber could only be called a god of war.
Their capital housed little more than a hundred thousand defenders. How could they possibly hold out?!
“Your Majesty, do not listen to Zhang Fu’s treacherous drivel! At a time when a great enemy is at our gates, to not think of how to repel them, but rather how to scurry and live after defeat—these are the words of a rebel! This humble subject suggests executing Zhang Fu on the spot as a warning to the rest!” Sparks practically shot from the eyes of the official who had suggested threatening Qu Sheng, dead set on slaughtering Zhang Fu as a sacrifice to the war banners.
“Your Majesty, every word this old subject speaks comes from the bottom of his heart. You and Qu Sheng are blood relatives. So far, you have not harmed the Qu family. As long as you show a little weakness, Qu Sheng will surely remember the life-saving grace of the late Emperor Zhongwu and spare your life! Your Majesty, you must not choose the wrong path!” With that, Zhang Fu raised both hands and prostrated himself heavily on the floor.
“Zhang Fu! His Majesty is the Supreme Ruler! How could he ever beg another to spare his life?! Silence your treasonous mouth! Your Majesty, this humble subject beseeches you to parade Zhang Fu through the streets and sever his head to rally our defending generals in the fight against the enemy!”
Listening to the two officials argue, Jin Mingjun lowered his gaze to the prostrated Zhang Fu, appearing deep in thought. Shortly after, he made his decision.
He had dispatched a massive army to massacre Qu Sheng; now that she had arrived with an army of her own, how could she possibly let him live? Since death was waiting for him either way, why not make a final gamble?
“Guards! Seize Zhang Fu! Parade him through the streets and behead him!”
Jin Mingjun handed down the command. The court officials watched in utter shock, yet not another soul dared to speak up. Guards quickly flooded the hall and hauled the kneeling Zhang Fu to his feet.
As Zhang Fu was dragged away, he looked back at Jin Mingjun. Even as he was hauled backward, he actually began to laugh, shouting, “Your Majesty, this subject will wait for you in the afterlife!”
Hearing those words, Jin Mingjun’s expression froze. He stared blankly after the departing Zhang Fu, unable to snap out of his daze for a long time.
“Your Majesty? Your Majesty?” the official from earlier softly called out, trying to pull him back to reality.
Jin Mingjun’s face had gone slightly pale. When his gaze flicked over to the official, there was a visible trace of panic in it.
“Your Majesty, should we issue the edict to apprehend the residents of the Qu Residence now?” The man kept his head raised, speaking as though making a suggestion, yet leaving Jin Mingjun no room to reconsider.
He had already been pushed up the staircase, and the path behind him was entirely blocked. He had no choice but to keep climbing higher.
But whether he would reach the summit and remain there, or come crashing down to a brutal end, he could not know.
“Issue the edict! Order the Imperial Guards to the Qu Residence to apprehend them and deliver them to the city walls!” Jin Mingjun commanded.
The Imperial Guards received their orders and immediately rallied their ranks, marching straight for the Qu Residence.
The Qu Residence was already surrounded so tightly that not even a drop of water could leak through. Locating the targets inside would be effortless, but actually capturing them would require a battle to the death against the estate’s guards.
The guards of the Qu family were no incompetent fools. On the contrary, their martial prowess was significantly higher than that of the Imperial Guards.
Whether the Qu family members would be taken away depended on whether the attackers could break past those protectors. But while the Imperial Guards could constantly cycle in fresh reinforcements, the Qu family guards had only their fixed numbers.
Outside the city, Qu Sheng’s army continued the siege. What had started as an attack on two gates had now expanded into a coordinated assault on seven, each led by a fierce and capable general.
Very few Bei’an soldiers remained within Tiansheng’s borders. Ever since the arson attack on their drug supplies, the Bei’an army had sensed that the Tiansheng forces were gearing up for a counteroffensive.
In those ensuing days, the Bei’an army had poured nearly all of their border forces into reinforcing the Huaiyang Route. They initially clashed with Qu Sheng’s army, and then later fought the troops dispatched by Jin Mingjun. Even though their weaponry and equipment vastly outclassed Tiansheng’s, they suffered a massive disadvantage in sheer numbers.
Jin Mingjun’s army, while battling the Bei’an forces, was simultaneously hunted down by Xiao Bingying’s troops. Caught in a pincer attack, they had no choice but to surrender. By that point, almost all of the Bei’an reinforcements on the battlefield had been annihilated.
Afterward, once Cai Daozheng and General Kou joined forces to slaughter the Bei’an main army, they reunited with Qu Sheng and marched triumphantly back to the capital.
But even in victory, Qu Sheng left a portion of her troops stationed at the Northern Frontier to defend against any potential retaliation from the remaining Bei’an forces beyond the borders.
At this moment, countless reinforcements poured into the perimeter outside the Qu Residence. Inside, the estate’s guards had formed their lines and stood ready, determined to protect their masters until the very last drop of their blood was shed.
Footnotes
- The official seal belonging to the Empress.
- An idiomatic title denoting the supreme authority of the emperor.
- An idiom originating from Mencius, where a soldier who retreated fifty paces mocks a soldier who retreated a hundred paces. Used to describe a hypocrite mocking someone for a fault they themselves share.
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