In a certain corner of the Liu Family's main residence that no one paid attention to.
With torches held high in their left hands and their right hands resting on their waist sabers, over ten Black-Clad Guards were advancing rapidly through the dark, winding, and narrow alleys.
Rumbling sounds and shouts of killing echoed from afar. It seemed that within the Liu Family's main residence, houses were collapsing one by one, and lives were fading away one by one.
The Black-Clad Guards didn't know what was happening, nor could they afford to care what was happening.
They arrived in front of the gate of a residential courtyard. Two Black-Clad Guards in front of the door drew their sabers to block them. "For what matter have you come here?"
The Black-Clad Guards holding the torches didn't halt their steps. The leader raised a Waist Plaque. "By the Master's orders, execute Prince Jing and his family dependents! Step aside!"
The Black-Clad Guards charged straight into the courtyard, only to see that the small quadrangle was completely empty. The doors to the east and west side rooms were wide open; only the door to the north-facing main room was tightly shut.
A Black-Clad Guard stepped forward and kicked the door, only to find that it had already been barred from the inside with heavy objects.
It seemed Prince Jing knew that the Liu Family would fly into a rage out of humiliation and had taken precautions in advance.
Drawing his waist saber, the Black-Clad Guard shouted furiously, "Chop the door to pieces!"
With a single slash, a massive crack split open the wooden door that was papered with white paper. Peering through the crack, the Black-Clad Guard saw Prince Jing, the Prince Heir, and the Commandery Princess inside the room, each gripping a chair.
"Futile!"
Just as the Black-Clad Guard was about to deliver a second slash, the sound of shattering roof tiles suddenly reached his ears from his side. He abruptly turned his head to look. "Who is it?!"
He saw an armored soldier wearing a face mask holding a long saber, charging over from the distant roof. Along the way, with every step the armored soldier took, the roof tiles shattered inch by inch.
In the next moment, the distant morning sun finally penetrated the layers of dark clouds, and a streak of white rapidly tore across the sky. Arriving at the roof of the east side room, the armored soldier leaped into the air!
A Black-Clad Guard hastily raised his saber to block, but this slash cleaving down from the sky carried the momentum of a thousand catties. It actually severed the saber first before severing the Black-Clad Guard's head.
The remaining Black-Clad Guards exchanged glances. The leader said in a heavy voice, "It's a Practitioner! You guys stop him; I will go kill Prince Jing! Prince Jing cannot be allowed to live!"
Having said that, he continued hacking at the wooden door while over ten Black-Clad Guards swung their sabers at the armored soldier to block his path.
However, paying them absolutely no heed, the armored soldier continued ramming toward the main room's door. Upon arriving before the wall of sabers, he actually forcibly twisted his body, taking the saber edges head-on with the armor on his body.
Four saber edges scraped across the cast iron armor plates, trailing streaks of brilliant sparks like waterfalls of silk. Every single saber edge was blocked by the armor plates; not a single one could injure the body beneath the heavy armor.
In the snap of a finger, the armored soldier smashed through the wall of sabers with his shoulder. Abruptly arriving behind the Black-Clad Guard hacking at the door, he thrust his saber forward!
With a
chi
sound, the Black-Clad Guard's body was instantly paralyzed with stiffness, his neck tilting high up toward the sky!
The saber edge stabbed in through his lower back and poked out through the wooden door, startling both Bai Li and the Prince Heir inside the room.
The armored soldier looked back like a wolf, staring fixedly at the Black-Clad Guards behind him, his face mask looking eerie and terrifying. Slowly, inch by inch, he pulled the saber out, then flicked the blood off the blade, creating a mist of blood.
The expressions of the Black-Clad Guards turned solemn as they surged forward to attack together.
Inside the room, Bai Li and the Prince Heir both looked at Prince Jing. "Father, is it someone from the Thousand-Year Army?"
Prince Jing shook his head. "The Thousand-Year Army hasn't fought their way here yet. I had arranged for other reinforcements previously, but this person is not the one I arranged."
All three of them were somewhat bewildered. Deep within this Liu Family residence, who could it be that suddenly extended a helping hand?
Bai Li suddenly said, "Chen Ji."
The Prince Heir hesitated for a moment. "How could Chen Ji possibly appear here? It probably isn't him."
Bai Li also hesitated. Looking out through the crack in the door, she saw that under the combined assault of over ten Black-Clad Guards, the armored soldier was gradually finding it difficult to cope with attacks from all sides.
Guarding the front of the door, the armored soldier actually didn't let a single Black-Clad Guard fight their way inside.
Alarmed and bewildered, the Prince Heir said, "Dad, should we go out and help him?"
Prince Jing thought for a moment. "Yunxi, pull the desk away. Come out with me to pick up a dropped saber and provide him some support."
However, right when the two of them pulled the desk blocking the door away, a muffled voice came from beneath the face mask outside. "Don't come out."
Bai Li cried out in surprise, "It really is Chen Ji!"
The Prince Heir turned his head to look at her. "You can recognize him even from that?"
At this time, Chen Ji was panting heavily beneath his face mask. Over ten additional saber marks had been added to his armor. If not for this suit of heavy armor, he probably would have been covered in cuts and bruises long ago.
A Black-Clad Guard amidst the crowd stared with cold eyes, suddenly delivering a sneak attack slash from a blind spot!
The saber was incredibly fast. Chen Ji forcibly slammed on his mental brakes and retreated backward. The saber slashed past his face, simultaneously splitting open both the white tassel on his helmet and the face mask beneath it.
With two clangs, the bisected face mask fell to the ground, revealing Chen Ji's face beneath it.
The white tassel fluttered lightly to the ground, scattering when the wind blew.
Surrounding Chen Ji in a fan shape within the courtyard, one of the Black-Clad Guards said in a cold voice, "Your strength is exhausted. Drop your saber now, and we will pretend you were never here."
Chen Ji raised his saber. "We'll talk after my strength is actually exhausted."
The sound of a desk being pulled aside rang out from behind him. Prince Jing, the Prince Heir, and Bai Li pulled open the room door and rushed out. Each gripping a chair, they stood beside him.
"You guys..."
Before Chen Ji could finish, a tall and burly figure flew down from the roof. Like lightning and thunder, he pressed a palm against the chest of every single Black-Clad Guard.
The world seemed to pause for an instant. An instant later, accompanied by the crackling sounds of fracturing bones, the seven remaining Black-Clad Guards simultaneously flew backward, slamming into the walls and bouncing off onto the ground, devoid of life.
"Eunuch Feng!" Bai Li cried out in surprise.
Chen Ji let out a long breath of foul air, using his saber to prop himself up. Eunuch Feng turned around, cupped his hands, and bowed. "Your Highness, please forgive me; this humble servant has arrived late."
Chen Ji frowned. If all of this was something Prince Jing had schemed and planned out, how could Eunuch Feng have arrived a step late? If he hadn't appeared, wouldn't Eunuch Feng only be able to collect Prince Jing's corpse?
He cast a sidelong glance at Eunuch Feng, unsure whether the other party had done it on purpose or truly had matters delaying him.
Tugging at Chen Ji's vambraces, Bai Li turned him left and right. "Are you hurt?"
Chen Ji smiled. "Fortunately, Eunuch Feng arrived in time; no injuries."
The Prince Heir and Bai Li sighed in relief. "How did you end up mixing in with the Liu Family's armored soldiers in the first place, ah?"
Chen Ji explained, "A coincidence of fate and timing."
Prince Jing looked at Eunuch Feng. "What is the situation?"
Casting a glance at Chen Ji, Eunuch Feng reported back in a thin, soft voice, "All six Zodiacs of the Secret Spy Division have arrived together. The Trouble-Resolving Guard and the Thousand-Year Army have already fought their way into the Liu Family's main residence. The Elephant Armor Camp was unable to arrive as reinforcements in time, and the Tiger Armor Iron Cavalry was led northward by Mister Feng into the Ten-Thousand-Year Army's ambush. Rest assured, Your Highness, Lord Bai Long's calculations are flawless; Absolutely Foolproof."
However, Prince Jing possessed no joy of victory; he merely let out a long sigh.
Eunuch Feng asked, "Your Highness, will you rest here for a moment?"
Prince Jing shook his head. "There is no resting. Let's go see Elder Liu off on his final journey; he should be waiting for me."
...
In front of the ancestral shrine, a long path of blood extended all the way to outside the main residence's gates, like a twisted crimson carpet woven from flesh and blood.
Missing an arm, Advisor Liu was gasping heavily as he sat leaning against the front of the ancestral shrine.
Bai Long strolled past leisurely. His white boots had already been dyed red, and his clean white clothes were splattered with drops of blood.
Arriving in front of the ancestral shrine's doors, he didn't spare the Advisor Liu at his feet another glance. He merely watched the back figure of Elder Liu wiping the spirit tablets one by one.
Elder Liu placed his own father's spirit tablet back onto the main shrine niche. Taking down another spirit tablet, he used his sleeve to sweep away the floating dust.
The sounds of slaughtering and agonized wailing behind him seemed to no longer have anything to do with him.
Bai Long said softly, "Elder Liu, the Liu Family's overturning was not your fault. You do not need to blame yourself."
Wiping the spirit tablet, Elder Liu said with a smile, "The winner becomes King, the loser a bandit. There is nothing to blame myself for. Thirty-one years ago, my Liu Family's farmlands connected across the territories of three provinces, yet by ten years ago, we were forced to shrink back to the single province of Yuzhou to prolong our dying breath. I knew ten years ago that this day would arrive sooner or later; I just never expected it to be in such a cowardly and humiliating manner. That Lord Du Xiang, ah, was actually unwilling to give the Liu Family even a vigorous and dignified ending."
Bai Long thought for a moment before saying, "The Jing Dynasty has been sharpening their weapons and feeding their horses these past years. The Liu Family's remaining foundation and assets still have great use and cannot be wasted. In a moment, I might have to borrow the heads of you and the Liu Family clan to persuade the Tiger Armor Camp and the Yuzhou troops to surrender."
Elder Liu gave a light laugh. "By persuading my Liu Family's troops to surrender, aren't you afraid of burying hidden dangers?"
Bai Long's dragon-patterned mask held no expression, displaying neither joy nor sorrow. "That is something the Lord Inner Chancellor should consider. It has nothing to do with a vanguard pawn like me."
Placing the spirit tablet in his hands back into the main shrine niche, Elder Liu looked around and examined the ancestral shrine. "What a pity."
At this time, Jin Zhu's voice came from outside the doors. "Your Highness."
Elder Liu turned his head to look. He saw the Trouble-Resolving Guard yield a path, allowing Prince Jing to walk into the Liu Family's ancestral shrine.
He stared at Prince Jing in silence for a long time. "As father-in-law and son-in-law, let the two of us play one last game of chess."
"Alright."
"Advisor Liu, fetch a chess set," Elder Liu instructed.
Missing an arm, Advisor Liu forcefully pushed himself up and limped through the crowd, returning from a side room carrying a chessboard.
Since there were no suitable tables in the ancestral shrine, he had no choice but to place the chessboard on a stool. When drops of blood from his severed arm fell onto the chessboard, he tried to wipe them away with his other hand, but the more he wiped, the dirtier it became.
Looking troubled, Advisor Liu said, "Master, I..."
Elder Liu laughed gently and warmly. "It's no hindrance. Sit off to the side and rest for a bit."
Advisor Liu gave an affirmative 'Eh' sound and retreated to the side of the door, leaning back against the threshold and sitting down.
Pinching a chess piece, Prince Jing placed it down on the bloodstained chessboard and sighed with emotion. "I never expected that the final game of chess between Father-in-law and I would actually be played in such an environment."
Elder Liu cursed with a laugh as he placed a piece down. "Stop your False Display Of Emotion. If not for you, my Liu Family wouldn't have ended up in our current state today."
Keeping his eyes fixed on the chessboard, Prince Jing asked without even raising his head. "Father-in-law, was A-Yi killed by the Liu Family?"
Elder Liu was startled. "Yes. After A-Yi married you, the Empress Dowager wanted her to drive a wedge between you and His Majesty. Who would have thought her heart would be entirely devoted to you, completely unwilling to involve herself in those rights and wrongs... So you started hating the Liu Family from that time."
Prince Jing said calmly, "For her own selfish desires, the Empress Dowager left Yunxi without a mother... So when the Liu Family later arranged for A-Jing to marry me, were you also harboring the intention of driving a wedge between me and His Majesty?"
Elder Liu replied slowly and methodically, "No, it was A-Jing herself who wanted to marry you. I only agreed after she begged me for seven days and seven nights."
Pinching a chess piece, Prince Jing remained holding it for a long time without placing it down. "You didn't agree initially?"
Elder Liu smiled. "I was afraid my vicious and venomous younger sister would kill her as well. Your Highness, could it be that it was purely for A-Yi's sake that you sought to plunge my Liu Family into a Doomed Eternally state?"
Prince Jing fell silent for a long time, avoiding the question. "Over these years, out of our dynasty's collected taxes and silver, three parts enter the state treasury, while seven parts enter the aristocratic families. If these long-standing abuses are not rectified, this empire will lose its very last breath. Let it go, Elder Liu. I have far more important things I must do."
Elder Liu smiled. "Do you truly think I am just waiting helplessly for death?"
Prince Jing looked up at Elder Liu. "I know that the reason you are guarding this ancestral shrine is because there are enough Firearms buried beneath it for you to die a vigorous and fiery death. If you can take both the Eunuch Faction and me along with you, that would be for the best."
Elder Liu raised an eyebrow. "You knew, yet you still dared to come?"
Prince Jing said sincerely, "Those roughly hundred remaining members of the Liu Family who drew living lots want to take a ship south from Yanling Ferry. I have already left them a path to survival; Elder Liu should also leave them a path to survival."
Lowering his head, Elder Liu suddenly began to laugh. His laughter grew increasingly loud and unbridled. "Your Highness ah, Your Highness... in the end, you still used the art of war on this old man."
Looking outside the ancestral shrine, Elder Liu saw countless heads bobbing in the crowd, all waiting for them to finish their chess game.
For a moment, he felt somewhat emotional. "Your Highness, I had considered that other people might stab the Liu Family in the back, but I never once suspected you. Do you know why?"
Prince Jing said, "I do not know."
Elder Liu smiled. "Because I thought you were a smart person who understood the principle that 'If the Lips Are Gone, the Teeth Will Be Cold'. What kind of person the one in Renshou Palace is, you know clearer than me. Once the Liu Family is gone, the next one will be you. Just look at the people outside the doors. They didn't come for me; they came for you!"
Prince Jing remained composed and unperturbed. "His Majesty and I are as close as hands and feet."
Elder Liu burst into loud laughter, as if he had just heard an enormous joke. "Does an Emperor need brothers who are like hands and feet? Forget it, forget it. What is the point of playing chess with a terrible player?"
Having said that, he swept the pieces off the chessboard, stood up, and walked over to the doorway.
Standing on his tiptoes, Elder Liu tore down the white funeral scroll hanging over the lintel. Gripping the funeral scroll, he stepped back onto the bloodstained chessboard. Standing at an elevated height, he tossed the White Silk over the roof beam and tied a slipknot.
Then, looking down at Prince Jing, he said with a smile, "Your Highness, stay behind in this mortal realm and see if my words were right or wrong. I will be waiting for you on the road to the Yellow Springs; it shouldn't be too long."
When his voice fell, Elder Liu placed the funeral scroll around his neck and kicked the chessboard and stool over.
By the threshold, Advisor Liu propped himself up with one hand and silently kowtowed three resounding times toward Elder Liu. Then, he slammed his palm against his own forehead, forcefully shattering his own skull.
Sitting in the chair, Prince Jing stared at the scattered chessboard and chess pieces, his thoughts unknown. It seemed like everything had ended, yet also like it had just begun.
Right at this moment, a shrill and sorrowful wail rang out. "Father!"
Turning his gaze sideways, Prince Jing saw Consort Jing stumbling and staggering along the blood path outside the doors.
She made her way through the crowd. Hugging Elder Liu's thighs, she tried to lift him down from the roof beam, but unfortunately, her strength was too meager, completely unable to lift him.
Her eyes red from crying, Consort Jing collapsed onto the ground. Turning her head back to look at Prince Jing, she said in a sorrowful and moving tone, "Your Highness, how did it come to this? How did it come to this?!"
Prince Jing said in a low voice, "The Liu Family's accumulated sins and crimes are so numerous that there isn't enough bamboo to write them all down. Just look at those girls forced to be buried alongside your elder brother. What crime did they commit? And those commoners in Yuzhou whose farmlands were seized by the Liu Family—what wrong did they commit?!"
Consort Jing wept, unable to speak clearly. "But what did I do wrong?! They told me to deceive you and steal Firearms; when I refused, they killed the child in my womb. I adored you, wanting to stay together with you forever just like my elder sister did, yet you used my mouth to induce the Liu Family into rebellion. These are all matters between you men! I only wanted to bear children, raise a daughter, support my husband, and educate our children. What did I do wrong?!"
Prince Jing fell silent and didn't speak.
Instead, Jin Zhu outside the doors suddenly spoke up. "Madam Consort Jing, over these years, the number of maids you've had beaten to death with staves is at least eighty, if not a hundred."
Consort Jing glared at him angrily. "What qualifications do you Eunuch Faction members have to say such things?! Have you killed any fewer people?! In this世道 (world/times), how can one survive without a ruthless heart?! That Consort Yun wanted to kill me every single day; I guarded against her for an entire twenty years!"
Jin Zhu shrank his neck back and said no more.
Releasing Prince Jing's lapels, Consort Jing staggered unsteadily toward the doorway. "Your Highness, when I was fifteen years old, I watched you return triumphantly from suppressing the rebellion outside the Luo City gates. That day, you sat on horseback, wearing gleaming armor with a red tassel fluttering on your head, looking incredibly valiant and heroic. My horse was frightened by the Thousand-Year Army. You jumped off your horse, helped me hold the reins, and said, 'Don't be afraid.' Night after night, I dreamed of this scene; it feels as if it were just yesterday."
"After Elder Sister passed away, I pleaded with my father to marry me into the princely estate; even being a secondary consort would be fine. I thought you would treat me the same way you treated Elder Sister, but I never expected that after we were joined in marriage, you wouldn't even be willing to spare me a single glance, allowing that venomous woman Consort Yun to torture and harshy criticize me. At first, I didn't understand. But later, I realized that you had transferred your hatred for the Liu Family onto me..."
"If there is a next life, I hope I never meet you again."
Pulling a wooden box from her sleeve, she casually tossed it onto the ground outside the doors. "Your Highness, I obtained the Feather-Generating Pill for you. Take care of yourself from now on."
Having said that, Consort Jing abruptly slammed her head into the ancestral shrine's pillar and fell over sideways.
The wooden box smashed against the ground outside the doors, splitting in half. A perfectly round, white Alchemical Pill rolled out, staining itself with blood.
(End of this chapter)