Chapter 111: Thunderbolts in Clear Skies
Tuoba Zhen anxiously watched Able Consort Wu and suddenly realized that he shouldn’t let her continue on like this. If she continues to speak, the Emperor would find out how they made Yin Tian Zhao frame Li Wei Yang in order to fawn on the Jiangs and would eventually find out his ambitions for the throne because whether it’s him or Able Consort Wu, none of them have a reason to go against Li Wei Yang. Moreover, as long as the Emperor continue to investigate, he will find out that they’ve arranged for Yin Tian Zhao to be in the palace and how they are trying to draw the Jiangs to their side, which would reveal their intentions! At that time, not only the Emperor but the Crown Prince and the Empress would have a fall out with him! If he loses his Imperial Mother, the Marquis of Yong Ning might still support him since he is after all Able Consort Wu’s adopted son. But he can’t let Able Consort Wu say what can never be said or else everything would be over! So he rushed over to hold up Able Consort Wu like he was trying to support her up. Soon after, Able Consort Wu’s body suddenly started having spasms and then she snapped her head back to look at Tuoba Zhen. Her pair of eyes were wide opened as she stared at him. It seemed like blood was going to flow out but she was unable to utter a single sound from her mouth.
Not one person noticed the oddity as everyone thought Able Consort Wu was in so much pain that she couldn’t speak. But Li Wei Yang suddenly walked up a few steps and from an outsider’s perspective, one would actually think that Tuoba Zhen went up to support Able Consort Wu. Li Wei Yang didn’t think this way; right at that moment, a thought drifted into her mind. Tuoba Zhen’s ring had a hidden mechanism that was capable of killing anyone ……
At this moment, the Emperor had already given his order. No one would notice anything wrong with Able Consort Wu and just dragged her out. Tuoba Zhen held onto her with his life which caused the Emperor to send some guards to pull him away: “Imperial Mother!” Tuoba Zhen loudly cried as if he was deeply grieving. Able Consort Wu was only staggering as her fingers grasped the ground with all her strength as if she wanted to hold onto something that can save her life. Soon, she lost all her strength and only left a few streaks of deep blood red stain, causing everyone to feel uneasy as the eunuchs dragged her away.
In the eyes of Marquis of Yong Ning, there were pain but he didn’t dare rush forth to save his daughter. He could only let his tears flow down as he went to help Tuoba Zhen up. He said: “Your Majesty! Your Majesty, please restrain your grief!” He lifted his lead to look towards the Emperor. Hatred hid in his eyes but this hatred only flashed across and disappeared that it was unnoticeable by anyone. The crowd could only see his tears flowing down as he said: “Your Majesty, your old subject thank your blessing for my daughter. But Third Prince is innocent, please, Your Majesty, don’t implicate him into this.”
The Emperor coldly watched them yet he didn’t open his mouth to say a word. The rain had already drenched Tuoba Zhen and Marquis of Yong Ning’s clothes, making them look incomparably confounded. Finally, the Emperor slowly spoke: “Forget it, I won’t blame you all and will only punish that evil sinner. For the sake of raising Zhen-Er, I will bestow her a cup of poisoned wine.” Even though, he had already been possessed by the devil and believe Able Consort Wu to be an evil sinner, if Able Consort Wu’s plan was successful, Li Wei Yang would have an even more wretched ending. Seeing how the Emperor could be this merciless to his bedside partner, would he even show mercy to Li Wei Yang? Li Min De coldly laughed since Able Consort Wu brought trouble to herself. As for Tuoba Zhen, after losing Able Consort Wu, would Marquis of Yong Ning still support him like he used to? It seemed like these two were very united but what about afterwards? Able Consort Wu was the link between the Wu and Tuoba Zhen. Now, this was equivalent to cutting off one of his arms, specifically the arm that was very important to him!
Tuoba Zhen kept watching on side as he faintly believe this had something to do with Li Wei Yang. But he couldn’t think of the connection and only think that he must ask Zhou Tian Shou what this was all about.
Soon, a eunuch came over to announce: “Able Consort Wu had gone to Heavens.”
The Emperor let out a deep breath and turned to speak to the Empress: “Today the Empress organized this banquet so we shouldn’t have discussed this matter here. But this is related to Da Li so this had to go through a thorough investigation.”
The Empress had been keeping Able Consort Wu by her side. Even though the Nine-Tailed Phoenix Hairpin incident caused mutual resentment between them, in the end, she still felt a bit upset: “I would have never thought Able Consort Wu is actually an evil sinner, oh, that is her life.”
Consort Lian also showed a seemingly grieving expression yet at the same time, her eyes showed a trace of complacency. Ninth Princess trembled greatly, pulled Li Wei Yang’s arm and said: “Sister Wei Yang, the banquet today will also end. Let’s leave.”
Li Wei Yang stood at her original spot without moving. It was as if she was waiting for something with eyes shimmering. Ninth Princess curiously watched her yet didn’t know what she was waiting for. But at this moment, everyone in the hall didn’t move, the crowd didn’t know how to react. Even more, they don’t know if they should continue to stay for the banquet or should they leave before the Emperor gives an order. So Li Wei Yang’s behavior wasn’t unexpected and instead very normal.
“Let the banquet continue.” The Emperor gave a glimpse at Marquis of Yong Ning’s ugly expression as he slowly spoke.
Li Wei Yang drooped her eyes; she knew the Emperor’s personality very well, which belonged in the category of those who would kill you but would want you to express gratitude. Today, he suddenly executed Able Consort Wu yet he wouldn’t allow Marquis of Yong Ning to show a single speck of resentment. But to the Marquis, losing a daughter is painful so the Emperor would certainly compensate him. As expected, once everyone returned to their seats, the Emperor had already pleasingly spoken: “Marquis of Yong Ning, your youngest granddaughter is 17 this year, right?”
Marquis of Yong Ning’s face actually couldn’t hold back his tremblings. It was difficult for his flesh on his face to stop trembling as he deeply voiced: “Answering Your Majesty, your subject’s granddaughter Le Ling is indeed 17.”
The Emperor nodded and said: “I remember she has yet to be married. How about this, Rui-Er is at a marriageable age, these two children are very compatible! Today, I’ll bestow them a marriage arrangement.”
The crowd puzzlingly stared at each other. A tempest just passed by earlier, now the Emperor’s smile have become incomparably warm. Not a trace of him rage could be seen. The mind of the Emperor was very difficult to comprehend.
Noble Consort Mei splendidly smiled: “Your Majesty, Rui-Er is still young, there is no need to rush this? Moreover, Third Prince don’t have any consorts yet, how could Rui-Er be the first to marry?” Who is she trying to kid, the Wu’s granddaughter is known to be fierce and unreasonable!
The Emperor showed a subtle smile: “This is two entirely different matters, Zhen-Er’s marriage, I will also think about. As for Wu Le Ling, she will be bestowed to Rui-Er as his main consort.”
Li Wei Yang couldn’t hold back her smile. Tuoba Zhen used to be a family with Marquis of Yong Ning but the connection linking them together was Able Consort Wu. Once this connection broke off, Tuoba Zhen couldn’t manipulate this relation anymore. The Emperor was doing this to first, warn Tuoba Zhen and prevent him from resenting him because of his adopted mother’s death, and second, to let Marquis of Yong Ning know that he has magnificent power. He could kill you yet he could also lift you up to the skies. The main consort position of the Fifth Prince was something countless people coveted.
Marquis of Yong Ning thought no more and expressed his gratitude with Fifth Prince Tuoba Rui. When Tuoba Rui stood up, he even gave Li Chang Le a glance of complicated feelings. If it wasn’t for what happened between her and Tuoba Zhen …… Tuoba Rui would have risk his life to marry her as his main consort.
Li Wei Yang chanced upon his wronged expression and tried suppressing her smile as she lowered her head. Tuoba Rui, oh, Tuoba Rui, such a rare hopeless sentimental. It’s only that she didn’t know if he saw Li Chang Le’s ruined appearance, would he lose all colors on his face.
With what just happened, everyone’s expression showed awkwardness and their smile was too forced. Even the Empress and the concubines felt uneasy, the Emperor calmly said: “Wasn’t song and dance arranged?”
The Empress busily spoke: “Bring in the music and start the dance to liven up the atmosphere.” She was speaking to the eunuchs but her voice felt dry which evidently showed how she still hasn’t left her astonishment behind.
The dance performance was meticulously prepared by the Department of Music. Consort Lian also took the time to choreographed for the Emperor. The dancers were all beauties with bodies like willows, appearances like flowers, and moves ethereally beautiful. If this dance was performed on an average day, everyone would enjoy it but now everyone was absent-minded. Their mind was still fixated on the scene when Able Consort Wu was still sitting above them and then the next moment, she was suddenly given the death sentence.
The wrath of the Emperor really made one terrifyingly cold!
Ninth Princess is a young girl after all so she didn’t have much thoughts and thus, she immediately calmed down as she earnestly watched the performance. But Li Wei Yang who was by her side was still waiting and even showed a bit of anxiousness. She had prepared for a long time and was waiting for today. If everything went smoothly, it would be possible to topple the Jiangs! They’ve found a suitable woman to enter the palace and then have Zhou Tian Shou being favored by the Emperor. Afterwards, she quietly waited to let the Jiangs believe she didn’t have any plans. Everything was set up for this moment! An effective opportunity! An opportunity that can topple the Jiangs!
The dance performance was soon over, the Emperor smilingly said: “The young girl leading the group danced very well, send her over, I want to reward her.”
The eunuch immediately summoned the young girl over. The crowd didn’t notice earlier since she was far away but now that she was this close to them, they realized how alluring her appearance is. Even though her appearance was incomparable to Consort Lian, she was still a beauty no doubt. The young girl strolled forth and with a glance, the Emperor was delighted and rewarded her a jade ornament. He was thinking of letting this young girl serve him tonight but his face didn’t show his thoughts and only waved his hand to signal for her retreat.
Suddenly, this young girl loudly voiced: “Reporting to Your Majesty, your maid has something to petition.”
The Emperor was stunned, followed along by the Empress and others.
“What is it?” The Emperor replied with his conditioned response.
The young girl raised her head and the gentle expression originally on her face vanished like pulling out a sword. She showed a cold air, making everyone focused on her. She waved her hand and the jade ornament originally in her hand was thrown out, carrying a whistling sound. Her right hand which was hidden in her sleeve was revealed to be holding onto a dagger. The jade ornament hit a eunuch behind the Emperor and right at this moment, the dagger in the young girl’s hand had quickly been aimed towards the Emperor.
Amongst the quick attack, the leader of his royal guards had already responded. He shouted and rushed to meet the girl’s attack with the dagger ward off by him. The young girl suddenly emitted a whistling sound which turned the dagger into a sword after the activation of a mechanism. She charged forward, passing the guard and towards the Emperor! The Emperor quickly grabbed a palace maid on his right and the sword went right into the palace maid’s waist. The palace maid, who was originally in good condition, was immediately gushing with blood, entering the netherworld.
This interaction happened in an instant that many people within the hall didn’t have time to react.
Watching how the palace maid dreadfully died, the people finally reacted. There was an actual assassin here! Momentarily, no one knew who let out a shriek.
“Protect the Emperor!”
The exhausting sounds of shriek pierced through ears.
The entire hall was chaotic like a bowl of congee.
“Incompetent ruler, hand over your life!”
As the young girl acted, ten of the dancers who were waiting for their reward simultaneously rushed to the inner hall to assist the young girl. The remaining dancers stayed behind guarding the door and were prepared to obstruct the path of the guards sent to save the Emperor in order to help their peer fight some time.
Seventh Prince Tuoba Yu flew over but two of the assassins blocked him. As he landed, he was actually held onto by one of the dancers. Right at this moment, the young girl swerved her sword around and went for the Emperor. Her force was stronger this time and much faster that her sword soon met the Emperor’s eyes.
“Ding dong ……” With that sound, the direction of the flying sword was pushed a degree sideward as it slipped past the Emperor’s neck. The Emperor fretfully looked over and in this life-threatening moment, Consort Lian who was originally hiding and trembling behind the throne risked her life and threw a few bowls towards the young girl’s sword. As for Consort Lian, she suddenly rushed forth and pulled onto the assassin’s left and plaintively cried: “Your Majesty, run!”
The Emperor shockingly stared at Consort Lian.
The young girl didn’t even glance at Consort Lian once and kicked her aside. She picked up her sword and made another attempt: “Incompetent ruler. We, the Murongs, have already pledged our allegiance to you. You’ve reneged on your words, destroyed the surrender letter, ruined the agreement, and annihilated my country, hand over your life!”
The consorts were all in utter confusion even when a few of the assassins hadn’t even reach the Emperor’s throne yet. The door was guarded by the assassins and everyone within the hall were running for their lives. The assassins didn’t care who was who and just killed whoever they see. Within the hall, shrill cries were continuously heard as the chaos continued. It was difficult to differentiate the master and the servants; everyone was crawling and weeping louding for help. At this critical moment, Li Min De had already reached Li Wei Yang’s side. He didn’t have any weapons on him so he shielded Li Wei Yang and Ninth Princess as they walked towards the south side of the hall. They didn’t encounter any assassins but Ninth Princess almost tripped because of her bewildered palace maid. Li Wei Yang quickly helped her up and the three watched the anxious situation in the hall with each of their expressions changing ……
Li Wei Yang and Li Min De looked each other in the eyes and from their expressions, both saw astonishment, their plan has changed! The original plan wasn’t like this! Damn! Why did this young girl take out her sword, why did she say those words! Li Wei Yang subconsciously looked towards Consort Lian and incidentally encounter her apologetic expression! Li Wei Yang finally understood everything, it’s she who changed the plan!
Tuoba Yu and Tuoba Zhen were held behind by the assassins and didn’t have a chance to approach the Emperor. Seeing the reflection of the sword, the Emperor frightfully crawled away. Right at this moment, a long sword pierced through the chest of the young girl. Her sword, which was held up in mid-air, didn’t land onto the Emperor’s head. Soon afterwards, she dropped and landed in front of the throne, being half a step away from the Emperor. The Emperor astonishingly looked at the person who saved him and it was Jiang Nan.
As Li Wei Yang watched this scene, her heart slowly sank.
Consort Lian bit her lips with her expression kept on shifting. She didn’t even dare to look at Li Wei Yang’s eyes since after all, she went against what they’ve decided and changed their plan! But now, she still have a chance --- so what if Jiang Nan saved the Emperor, it wasn’t enough to blur out the Jiangs’ sins!
Yet Li Wei Yang let out a deep sigh. Li Min De patted her hand as if he completely understood the disappointment she felt. Li Min De whispered: “Let’s watch what happens first.”
Li Wei Yang nodded. She turned around to a frightened Ninth Princess so she gently calmed her down.
Soon, the imperial guards sent as aid arrived. Per the palace rules, the guards at the banquet should retreat and as a result were arranged to guard the doors. Once the sounds of killing were heard, everyone knew and quickly tried to rush outside the hall but the palace door was narrow. The imperial guards had the advantage of size but was stopped by the eunuchs and maids rushing to escape. They were left with no choice but to kill everyone that ran out from the hall and didn’t care who they killed! The scene was soon under control and in the end, the hall was left in a scattered condition with the ten assassins on the ground. Each person had countless wounds with their tight-fitted dancing clothes shredded and bodies drenched in blood. The originally intact and glamorous tables were broken apart, the silver candlelights were thrown onto the ground of debris and blood, making the sight horrifying. The Empress and Virtuous Consort Zhang crawled up with expressions of fear from survivors of a catastrophe. The palace maids ran to help them up. Consort Rou began vomiting as the terrifying scene had made her lose state of mind.
All of the subjects and the female attendees also crawled all of their hiding spaces with expressions of extreme shock. Jiang Xu was fighting with his fists yet still killed a few assassins. The sword in Jiang Nan’s hand came from the assassins they’ve killed.
The Emperor’s wrath was easy to understand. Since his ascension, nothing like this has ever happened before. Never has an Emperor had a sword pointed towards their nose and encounter this murderous predicament!
The entire hall was blocked off. Everyone who was here to attend the banquet was not allowed to leave. Even if there is someone that needed medical attention, under the Emperor’s order, the hall was locked up for a thorough investigation. All of the assassins have died and even if some survived, they’ve all taken poison beforehand. So before the imperial guards captured them, they’ve already died and didn’t leave behind a survivor. But everyone still needed to go through a detailed questioning in the palace hall. The dancers were recruited among the people so there must be evidence left behind. As a result, the Emperor angrily ordered Jing Zhao Yin and Ministry of Punishment official to immediately investigate. On the side, Consort Lian momentarily kneeled and choked with sobs: “This dance was choreographed by me, I didn’t know they hid a malicious intent, I am at fault!” Her face portrayed her as a weeping beauty that she seems so fragile and no one dared to suspect that she had any relations to the assassins.
The Emperor recalled the chaotic scene earlier. She is merely a woman but she rushed forward and grabbed onto the assassin’s leg. This already showed her undoubtable loyalty to him. He was moved and helped her up, he said: “If it wasn’t for my beloved consort, I would have been a corpse now, what were you at fault for!” Choreographing the dance didn’t mean participating in the assassination. The Empress and Virtuous Consort Zhang were so terrified that they crouched up on the side as they shook with fear. They’ve been raised comfortably so they’ve never seen this gory scene of fighting. They’ve only frightfully watched the scene and the usual loyal words they’ve spoken were all forgotten that they didn’t even rush up to save the Emperor. Contrarily, it made Consort Lian seemed more unique. Now the Empress and the others couldn’t say much because who told them to leave the Emperor behind and only cared for their own lives. This is a crime after all but the Emperor didn’t punish them so it was already having mercy on them!
The Empress showed an extremely unbearable expression. The concubines all had their heads down. No one dared to utter a sound. Amongst them, out of the four favored lower-ranked consorts, two died and all the higher-ranked consorts were fine. Watching the situation, the Emperor rebuked them for not being his human shields so he was very unhappy. Even the Crown Prince and Fifth Prince kept their silence. Just then, they were held behind by the assassins and didn’t have a chance to save the Emperor. As his sons, they’ve clearly neglected their duties. But who would have guessed something like this would happen. It had been peaceful for many years, no one could have imagined this scene!
“Your Majesty, based off the assassin’s words, it seems like this has something to do with the Murong family.” Tuoba Yu frowned on the side. He heard the assassin said these words and from those words, this was the real reason behind the assassination attempt.
The Murongs …… the Emperor’s brows were tightly knitted. Murong was a small country to the south of Da Li. He ordered the attack and assigned the Jiangs as the leading general. Because the Murongs rather die than surrender, the country was defeated and families were lost. None of the Murong royalties survived. They return for revenge was a possibility …… but why did the girl say the Murongs were killed after their surrender? The Emperor’s expression slowly sank. Perhaps there was another reason behind the annihilation of the Murongs? Or did someone tampered in between? Thinking how he was being kept in the dark by his own people, he felt as if he was being deceived.
Li Wei Yang watched Consort Lian and noticed bliss in her eyes that she involuntarily sighed. She and Consort Lian both have mutual enemies, the Jiangs. As long as they sincerely worked together, their revenge would have been close at hand. But, Consort Lian was too impatient for revenge and actually changed the plan they’ve agreed on. From the young girl drawing out her sword to the appearance of the group of assassins, Li Wei Yang already knew that the plan was forcefully changed. Boundless fear appeared on her face as if she was shocked but she started to feel more anxious. Consort Lian, oh, Consort Lian, if you followed our plan then we could have delivered a deadly blow to the Jiangs but why must you be impatient!